On this day in 1922, two days after coming into existence, the Irish Free State executed four members of the Irish Republican Army, Dick Barrett, Joe McKelvey, Liam Mellows and Rory O’Connor. the four had been a part of Anti-Treaty IRA that was opposed to the Anglo-Irish Treaty that created the Irish Free State as a dominion of the British Empire. They believed that Ireland should have full independence as a republic. The executions had been explicitly ordered at a government cabinet meeting in reprisal for the Anti-Treaty IRA’s murder of Seán Hales.
The four were killed at 9am in a badly botched execution commanded by Hugo MacNeill, nephew of Eoin MacNeill. The women prisoners in the wing overlooking the yard counted a volley followed by nine revolver shots. In 2011, the Irish government acknowledged that the executions that took place without trial were murder: “People who were murdered or executed without trial by the Cumann na nGaedheal Government were murdered. It was an atrocity and those people killed without a trial by the first government were murdered.
Photograph of Joe McKelvey, a leading member of the anti-treaty IRA who was executed in 1922.
1. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus: subjecting minors to softcore porn.
2. The Christmas Song: Open fire?
Pollution. Folks dressed up like Eskimos? Cultural appropriation.
3. Holly Jolly Christmas: Kiss her once for me? Unwanted advances.
4. White Christmas: Racist.
5. Santa Claus is Coming to Town: Sees you when you’re sleeping? Knows when you’re awake? Peeping Tom/stalker.
6. Most Wonderful Time of the Year: Everyone telling you to be of good cheer? Forced to hide depression.
7. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: Bullying.
8. It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas: Forced gender-specific gifts: dolls for Janice and Jen and boots and pistols (GUNS!) for Barney and Ben.
9. Santa Baby: Gold digger, blackmail.
10. Frosty the Snowman: Sexist; not a snow woman.
11. Do You Hear What I Hear: blatant disregard for the hearing impaired.
12. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas: Make the yuletide GAY? Wow, just wow.
13. Jingle Bell Rock: Giddy-up jingle horse, pick up your feet: animal abuse.
14. Mistletoe and Holly: Overeating, folks stealing a kiss or two? How did this song ever see the light of day?
15. Winter Wonderland: Parson Brown demanding they get married: forced partnership.
16. Grandma got run over by a reindeer: Elder abuse
Uh oh…flying over the Caribbean near Venezuela…
Today is the birthday, in 1966, of Irish singer, songwriter and activist Sinead O’Connor. She was best known for her single ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, released in 1990, which reached No.1 and brought her worldwide fame. O’Connor, who was outspoken in her social and political views, released 10 studio albums between 1987 and 2014. In 1991, she was was named artist of the year by Rolling Stone magazine and took home the Brit Award for international female solo artist. Her second studio album, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got (1990), received glowing reviews upon release and became her biggest success, selling over seven million copies worldwide. She died on 26 July 2023 age 56. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-EF60neguk
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