| I hope you enjoyed the film of the 1942 Howth Regatta recommended in my BLOG -“NO TROUBLE AT ALL.” Most of you will, of course, realise why Howth, and the liberated part of Ireland ,was a haven of peace then. In India millions were dying of starvation imposed by an Imperial Government and thousands of democrats were imprisoned without trial. In the United States tens of thousands of US citizens were similarly interned because they were ethnically Japanese. And there was a lot of unpleasantness in most of the world. The RTE Archives include a newsreel* from Howth,Harbour from July 1961 , “Amharc Eirinn” shot by Gael Linnfive months before RTE was inaugurated. Yes, you can find it on You Tube! It shows the return of Erskine Childers’ Yacht, “Asgard ” to Howth 47 years after its first and only arrival there. It hadcarried 900 obsolete single shot rifles – the secret of why Howth was a haven of peace in 1942. As an FCA member of the Howth Platoon I was on the 100 strong Guard of Honour for President De Valera,*a veteran of the gunrunning, as were many TDs from Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, present that day. The 1961newsreel is rather grainy and I could not recognise myself in it. About twenty years later in London I was treated to a meal in Wheelers’ Restaurant in Knightsbridge byBreandan MacLua,Editor of the Irish Post. We crossed the road for brandy and cigars, then got talking to a musician there.When hearing that I was from Howth he recalled being there with the Army Number 1 Band on the return of the Asgard, Breandan told us that he was one of the Gael Linn team who madethe Newsreel. * “47th Anniversary of the Howth Gunrunning”AOIBHINN BHEITH AR BHINN EADAIR – Back to Howth Harbour |
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