#But there will never be peace in Ireland until the people of the 32 counties elect one parliament without British interference"

[seachranaidhe]

In tribute of a gallant life long Irish Republican and patron of Republican Sinn Féin Óglach Dan Keating, Born on the 2nd January 1902

Dan Keating was born on a small farm near Castlemaine, in Kerry. Dan joined Na Fianna Éireann in 1918 and in 1920, during the era of the Irish War of Independence, he joined the 3rd Battalion, 1st Kerry Brigade of the Irish Republican Army. Like a majority of the Kerry IRA, he rejected the sellout Anglo-Irish treaty that enacted the partition of Ireland in 1921 and went on to fight on the…

[ericfruits]

Obituary: Martin McGuinness died on March 21st

THERE were four moments, Martin McGuinness said, that made him a republican. The first—the one that made him raise his head from his job packing bacon for Doherty’s in Derry, and take an interest in civil rights—was when the Royal Ulster Constabulary beat up marchers in Duke Street in October 1968. He was 18 then, and for the first time he took up stones, bombs, anything, and spent his evenings attacking the police. The moment he remembered longest, though, was when they took young Dessie Beattie’s dying body out of a car by his house. It was July 8th 1971, the first time that the British army had used lead bullets in Northern Ireland. Blood was everywhere. It shocked him, and scared him more than a little. He had never seen anyone killed by a bullet before.

It was crystal clear to him that this was a war, and had to be fought like one. Armies must oppose armies. There was a peaceful path available, through political pressure and the Social Democratic and Labour Party, but he did not take it. Nothing could be achieved that way. His aim was now to fight until the last British soldier was driven down the River Foyle or down the Lagan, and Ireland became a socialist republic of 32 counties. From 1976 he took shared command of the Irish Republican Army, groomed its volunteers, organised its bloody campaigns, improved its weaponry (from fertiliser stuffed in milk churns to surface-to-air missiles from Libya) and played the alternately shifting or immovable hard man in talks, or back-channel manoeuvres, with the British government.

And on the other hand there he was, in 1997, minister of education in the first unionist-republican power-sharing executive in Northern Ireland. He was still listed on the Army Council of the IRA; but the bomb-thrower was now congeniality itself, and the most violent thing he was proposing was to scrap the 11-plus exam, which he had failed as a child. And there he was in 2007, even more astonishingly, deputy first minister to Ian Paisley, the most diehard of the arch-unionists, laughing along with him and having the craic, until they were known as the Chuckle Brothers. In 2014, all smiles, he shook the hand of Queen Elizabeth. People were confounded by the change.

Yet to his mind, there was no change. In 2017 he was as committed a republican as he had been at the start. He desired with all his heart the union of the north and south of Ireland. But having fully embraced violence as the only cure for oppression and discrimination against the Catholic minority in the north, having always held out the threat of bloodshed or refusal to decommission weapons when the peace process faltered, he gradually became aware that he was getting nowhere. The IRA would never give up its aim, as he would not, but the path now lay through politics.

Besides, there was always a part of him that kept away from violence. Friends from his youth in the impoverished Bogside thought him quiet, and in his parents’ house there was no politics discussed whatsoever, just nightly kneeling to say the rosary. (On the run in the 1970s, as a wanted man, he still made efforts to get home for his mother’s cabbage, spuds and pork ribs.) He did not drink, smoke or womanise, went to mass, and enjoyed thoughtful tasks: fishing, digging and, on holidays in Donegal, cutting turf and setting potatoes.

He long denied that he was a member of the IRA, preferring “republican activist in Free Derry”. He expressed horror later at IRA bombings, at the same time sliding the conversation towards the atrocities, and the victims, on both sides. Despite directing operations, he played no active part in them, not least because he was blind as a bat and could not see his targets. When he joined the republican cause he was told he had a good face for it, with the blue eyes and red curly hair that made him look like a cherub, not a terrorist. He and his family got through the Troubles unscathed, perhaps because he didn’t take chances with his life; or perhaps because the British had already marked him as someone with whom they might talk. His long-time friend Gerry Adams was useful, too; but aloof, where he had wit, and a ready smile, before that hard-as-flint look came over.

On the steps of Stormont

In effect, his chief usefulness was his undeniable (much as he denied it) power within the IRA. Over the years he trained the group, streamlined it and imposed iron discipline in its heartlands, including the tarring and feathering of “anti-social elements”. Eventually he persuaded members that there was need for a cessation, for laying down weapons and working through Sinn Fein, the political arm of the movement. He was doing this himself and enjoying it, first getting elected to the Assembly in Stormont in 1982—though not taking his seat—and then becoming MP for Mid-Ulster in 1997.

Before this, in December 1994, he had gone to Stormont for talks with the British. It was his first visit. He was delivered in an armour-plated black cab, dangerous cargo. As he stood on the steps of the Assembly building, looking down the grand avenue, he felt “we had taken ownership for the first time of the place, that we had...arrived politically and that we could build a new Ireland.” A peaceful Ireland, yes. And eventually, as he never stopped hoping, united and republican.

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[aroundtheworldin18years]

What on earth is ‘Geocaching’?  Funnily enough I was asking that very same question just a few short weeks ago.  Now, I’m dragging the ladies the length and breadth of Ireland and beyond looking for spiders, tupperware, canisters, frogs, fish and other weird and wonderful geocache containers.  Please allow me to explain, enlighten and invite you to the ‘exciting’ world of Combining Geocaching with Travel!

Captain Cod Fish (GC7WFH8) find #91 in Tempo

WHAT IS GEOCACHING?

Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity enjoyed by millions of people across the globe.  Participants, or Geocachers as they (we) are known; use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device (typically a smart-phone) to hide and seek containers.  These containers are called ‘geocaches’ or ‘caches’.  The geocaches are placed at locations marked by GPS coordinates all over the world.  The aim is to locate and log (using the geocaching app) as many geocaches as you can.  No prizes, just the warm satisfaction of finding a hidden geocache.  Although, some geocache containers have little ‘swaps’ where you TS (take something) and LS (leave something).  Basically it’s a modern day treasure hunt on a global scale!

GC27864 – Find #22 at Drumskinny Stone Circle

HOW DID WE GET INTO GEOCACHING?

Our first geocache find was born out of intrigue (or ‘cash’ greed) rather than actual participation!  On a recent trip to Croatia we stumbled across an intriguing road sign as we travelled around the rocky island of Krk.  Curious, we stopped in a lay-by and crossed the road to read the sign.  A lady was stood beside the sign with a mobile phone in her hand looking a tad perplexed!  Mummy, being curious, got chatting to Sarah and found out she was searching for ‘cache’.  Of course, Mummy thought it was ‘cash’ and was soon assisting to locate the hoard!  After a while, the ladies returned empty-handed to the lay-by where I was chatting to Christoph, Sarah’s husband.  Their children, Noah and Eliah, sat in the rear of their car watching ipads.  Unfortunately they didn’t share their parents excitement in hunting for geocaches!

Geocache GC57PPX in Croatia – Crossing 45

FINDING OUR FIRST GEOCACHE IN CROATIA

The family were from Germany and holidaying in Croatia, where they were also hunting for geocaches.  After chatting for a while, Lily-Belle decided she wanted to try and find the geocache.  So, back over the road and the hunt began.  After climbing a small wall, and searching for a few minutes; Lily-Belle let out a shriek and presented Sarah with a small camouflaged container!  Now, geocache etiquette means I’m not allowed to tell you where the geocache was located but…I can say it was well camouflaged in its location.  Etiquette also means that once you write your details (name, time and date of find) on the cache log, you must return it to its original location!  Which we did!  Our first geocache find – Crossing 45 (GC57PPX)!  Lily-Belle was very excited…and I was hooked, I wanted to find another!  Mummy wanted to find a sunset!  Matilda slept!

Find #1 in Croatia with Erzcazhe

SUNSET IN CROATIA

After taking a photo and swapping info with Sara and Christoph, Erzcache (their Geocache username) drove away and we discreetly changed into evening clothes at the side of the road.  All dressed, we set off for Punat to watch the sunset over the mountains.  Our timings were slightly out, and I had to stop at the side of the road to film the sunset with a small port in the foreground.  As I enjoyed the sunset (time-lapse video), my mind wandered into the world of Geocaching.  I also wondered if we were close to any other hidden geocache containers.  Maybe there’d be one or two caches in Punat?

Sunset over Punat, Croatia

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PURSUING GEOCACHING IN PUNAT

Punat is a beautiful small seaside town located on the southern coast of the island of Krk.  Full of charm and typically Croatian with small narrow streets and arched doorways that lead to colourful houses and taverns.  The sun had set and our evening meal was a little later than normal, we were all ravenous with rumbling tummy’s!  During our meal we discussed geocaching and whether or not it’d be of interest to pursue this as a hobby.  The vote, three for and one against….yaaaaaay, let the hunt begin.  Regretfully we didn’t search for any more geocache containers whilst in Croatia.  We just wanted to relax, swim in the warm clear waters off the Croatian coast, and enjoy our time as a family.  A time we thoroughly enjoyed, even though I almost fell off a cliff, but hey-ho, that’s a story for another day!

Peaceful and secluded Stara Baška beach in Krk, Croatia

GEOCACHING ON HOME TURF

Upon our return to Ireland we were greeted by horizontal rain, hard to believe it’s the height of summer.  Less than 24 hours earlier we had been enjoying temperatures of 32°C in Croatia.  A three hour drive before we arrived home in the small hours, unloaded the car into the dining room and went to bed.  The postman gave us an early morning alarm call delivering a parcel.  All I could think about was geocaching!  App opened I located a cache just 3 miles from the house and it didn’t take us long to get in the car in search of our second geocache.  After 90 minutes of searching we gave up (found at a later date) and moved on to another, this time a successful find disguised as a plastic spider.  Geocaching is SERIOUSLY addictive… I needed more!

Horsey Horsey (GC839VW) find #8 in Dromore, County Tyrone.

ANTARCTICA ANYONE?

At the time of writing this post, we have 101 successful finds to our name….but it won’t be long until we find more!  We may even book a Geocaching Holiday (yes, they exist) to satisfy my ‘cache craving’!  I say ‘my craving’ because the ladies don’t quite share my newfound enthusiasm for Geocaching!  Do you like treasure hunts?  If you do, then the geocaching is pretty much the world’s largest treasure hunt!  There are all sorts of caches hidden in random places on every continent and across 191 countries!  In all honesty; I’m surprised that no one has fathomed out how to get a cache on to the moon!  Now that would be some FTF (first to find), I might have to give NASA a call!  And I am led to believe there’s a cache in the frozen wilderness of Antarctica that has never been located…I wonder why?

Anything Goes (GC7P48R) find #52 at Necarne Estate in Fermanagh

There’s Ben (GC1PZP5) find #70 on the Red Trail at Florence Court, Fermanagh.

Fun in Fermanagh (GCNX4K) find #18 at Castle Archdale near Lisnarick

COMBINING GEOCACHING WITH TRAVEL

Geocaching is the perfect way to explore the great outdoors and see the world.  Since beginning our quest to locate caches, we’ve seen local areas and landmarks that we never knew existed, and some are right on our own doorstep.  The great thing about geocaching is that all you need is a basic membership (available from Geocaching), a smartphone with app installed and a sense of adventure.

Geocaching was born in 2000 and here are a few stats to lure you in:

There are more than 3 million active geocaches worldwide,

Want to find them all?  It would take 822 years if you found 10 caches per day,

Geocaches are hidden on every continent and across 191 different countries,

As of 2019, there are more than 361,000 geocache owners all over the world,

Geocaching.com is translated into 24 languages,

Android and iOS apps are translated into 20 languages.

For further information please visit Geocaching.

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              Information, currency and prices are correct at the time of publishing. Views, opinions and experiences are that of The Callaghan Posse and are correct at the time of publication. Photos, unless credited, are taken by The Callaghan Posse for use and distribution by Around The World In 18 Years. Images and content may not be used or copied (private or commercial) without obtaining prior permission. Main image view from Cuilcacgh Boardwalk in Fermanagh.

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COMBINING GEOCACHING WITH TRAVEL What on earth is 'Geocaching'?  Funnily enough I was asking that very same question just a few short weeks ago.