It seems that every culture has the same terrible troubles..... ones that can be used in novels..............
Lack of role models drive young people to join gangs
The study found gangs often provided many young people with a sense of identity
Date: 14 August 2008
By Michael Howie
Home affairs correspondent
ONE in three young people in Scotland does not have a parent it regards as a role model, according to a new report.
The Culture of Youth Communities report by the Prince's Trust reveals that 30 per cent surveyed lack a parental role model, and suggests this is driving them to join gangs.
Sixty-two per cent of young people in Scotland claim that finding a sense of identity is a key reason for joining a gang, where more than one in five looks for role models in gangs.
Geraldine Gammell, the Scotland director of the trust, warned the breakdown of traditional communities was pushing the country's young people into forming their own alternative communities.
She said: "All the threads that hold a community together – a common identity, role models, a sense of safety – were given by young people as motivations to join gangs. Our research suggests that young people are creating their own 'youth communities' and gangs in search of the influences that could once have been found in traditional communities."
The report further revealed young people are more than twice as likely to turn to a peer than a parent if they have a problem. Of those questioned, 61 per cent said they would go to a peer, while only 30 per cent would approach a parent.
The report also puts into context alarm over knife crime and youth crime. Only 9 per cent of young people have spent time as part of a gang, 3 per cent "regularly" take drugs, and 2 per cent carry a knife.
Recent research has found there to be about 300 territorial gangs in Scotland.
Police are focusing attention on diverting young people from gang culture. Detective Chief Superintendent John Carnochan, head of the Violence Reduction Unit, agreed with the report's main findings.
"Young men from deprived backgrounds who have poor parental relationships can often find the support they don't find within their families among a group of similar young men – there is a sense of understanding through their shared experience," he said.
"The gang therefore becomes almost like an extended family.
"When you do not experience success in school or home and lack the aspiration to do so, the reputation as a fighter or gang member may be all you have."
The YouGov poll surveyed 1,754 aged between 14 and 25 across the UK in July.
PROFILE
SAMANTHA Thomson had a difficult upbringing which led her into drug abuse and unemployment.
"Lacking a strong role model in my life and being involved in a bad relationship, I started smoking cannabis and was suffering from very low self-esteem," said the 19-year-old from Barrowfield, Glasgow.
"This lack of confidence and motivation I feel also prevented me from engaging with my local community and from seeking a job."
Visited a local careers office, she learnt about the Prince's Trust's 12-week programme, designed to give young people the opportunity to work in a team on a community project.
While completing the programme, she worked on a community project in Parkhead and participated in various fundraising initiatives.
She is now a part-time youth worker with the YMCA, working with 12- to 18-year-olds.
Ms Thomson says the trust provided her with a mentor, "someone who made me feel good about myself and built up my confidence".
She adds: "Through this I am now working in a job I love, and able to use the experience I have gained to mentor other young people."
'There are lots of contradictions in contemporary parenting'
Professor Lynn Jamieson
ARE fathers role models? It is not clear what a "role model" means to young people.
Even if children are happy with their parents as parents, that may not mean they want to be like them.
The majority of children have two active parents and almost three-quarters live with both parents. Divorce or separation of parents is certainly much more common than in the 1950s or 1960s, but the most likely negative impact of fathers leaving the family home is a loss of income and relative poverty.
Estimates vary concerning how many children have no real relationship with their father, but it may be no more than 10 per cent.
Nevertheless, children and young people who know of a living father, but have no contact, or only unhappy contact, with him often experience "ambiguous loss", unresolved grief and a sense that things should be otherwise.
Research also shows that even when children live with a mother and father, fathers are often rather more shadowy figures than mothers, who are more likely to know their children's friends, and with whom children are more likely to discuss problems.
There are lots of contradictions in contemporary parenting that affect the experiences of children and young people. Most parents have a sense of time pressure.
Mothers try to juggle caring for children with paid work and fathers of young children have the longest working hours despite the fact that more men than ever would like to be more involved fathers.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Fascinating Story
Even the birds are getting aggressive.............
You squawking to me? Bird terror turns tourists' stroll into emergency escape
Great skuas show little fear of humans while protecting their young, or of other birds when hungry
« Previous « PreviousNext » Next »View GalleryADVERTISEMENT Published Date: 13 August 2008
By JOHN ROSS
PICKPOCKETS in Turkey, too much sun in Spain or a hurricane off the coast of Florida are all holiday hazards that can be anticipated on an exotic break.
However, one couple were astonished to find their gentle stroll on a holiday to Orkney fraught with danger when they were dived-bombed by angry seabirds and had to be airlifted to safety by the coastguard.
The pair, from London, got lost while walking on the island of Hoy on Monday and then found themselves targeted by great skuas after stumbling on their nests.
Most residents of the Northern Isles know to stay well away from the great skuas, or "bonxies" as they are known, which are renowned for their swooping assaults on humans who invade their territory during the breeding season.
A direct "hit" is extremely uncommon, but the aerial bombardment, designed as a scare tactic, can be frightening and intimidating for the victims.
Chris Booth, a naturalist who carries out counts of the birds on Hoy, has taken to wearing a crash helmet after suffering cuts to his head.
"They are just defending their nests. If you walk into their territory they will attack you but they don't attack for any other reason.
"These people were wandering around a bit aimlessly and went into a skua territory and the birds were telling them to get out of the way."
At this time of year nesting is almost over with just a few large chicks left to fledge.
Mr Booth has counted 44 great skua nests at Stourdale, near the Old Man of Hoy, and expects about 14 pairs to rear young.
His advice to those who find themselves in a nesting area is to raise a stick above their heads: "If you raise your profile the birds will come down to the highest point. If you lift a stick they will tend to touch the stick rather than you."
Other birds known to dive-bomb are Arctic skuas, Arctic terns, tawny owls, hen harriers and some species of gull.
Doug Gilbert, an ecologist with RSPB Scotland, also has experience of being hit by bonxies and Arctic skuas.
"I've been dive-bombed in Shetland and elsewhere, it's an occupational hazard. They are much more aggressive in mid-egg stage and very young chick stage. You could be 100-150 yards away and be dive-bombed.
"They swat the back of your head with their feet or use their wing tips to belt you.
"I've felt the 'sting' from a great skua's feet; it's like getting a whack on the head with a ruler. If you're not expecting it it can freak you out.
"Local people will know all about bonxies but most people in Britain will never have seen them. They are impressive birds and to suddenly find you're being attacked by them can be a bit of a surprise."
Eric Meek, an RSPB warden on Orkney, said in 28 years on the island he has been hit only twice by a great skua: "If a bonxie does hit you, you know you've been hit. But it's very rare occurrence.
"They will threaten you and come whizzing past your ears. But as soon as you walk out of their territory they will leave you alone."
FACT BOX
• Sometimes called flying thugs or the bovver boys of seabirds, great skuas are aggressive pirates that terrorise other birds to steal a free meal.
• Bonxies, as they are known in Orkney and Shetland, are about 50-58cm in length with a 125-140cm wingspan.
• They deliberately harass birds as large as gannets to give up the food they have caught so they can eat it themselves.
• They also readily kill and eat smaller birds such as puffins and it has been known for a bonxie to swoop on a flock of ducks and pick off the young one by one.
• Great skuas migrate to the northernmost isles of the UK from their wintering grounds off the coasts of Spain and Africa.
You squawking to me? Bird terror turns tourists' stroll into emergency escape
Great skuas show little fear of humans while protecting their young, or of other birds when hungry
« Previous « PreviousNext » Next »View GalleryADVERTISEMENT Published Date: 13 August 2008
By JOHN ROSS
PICKPOCKETS in Turkey, too much sun in Spain or a hurricane off the coast of Florida are all holiday hazards that can be anticipated on an exotic break.
However, one couple were astonished to find their gentle stroll on a holiday to Orkney fraught with danger when they were dived-bombed by angry seabirds and had to be airlifted to safety by the coastguard.
The pair, from London, got lost while walking on the island of Hoy on Monday and then found themselves targeted by great skuas after stumbling on their nests.
Most residents of the Northern Isles know to stay well away from the great skuas, or "bonxies" as they are known, which are renowned for their swooping assaults on humans who invade their territory during the breeding season.
A direct "hit" is extremely uncommon, but the aerial bombardment, designed as a scare tactic, can be frightening and intimidating for the victims.
Chris Booth, a naturalist who carries out counts of the birds on Hoy, has taken to wearing a crash helmet after suffering cuts to his head.
"They are just defending their nests. If you walk into their territory they will attack you but they don't attack for any other reason.
"These people were wandering around a bit aimlessly and went into a skua territory and the birds were telling them to get out of the way."
At this time of year nesting is almost over with just a few large chicks left to fledge.
Mr Booth has counted 44 great skua nests at Stourdale, near the Old Man of Hoy, and expects about 14 pairs to rear young.
His advice to those who find themselves in a nesting area is to raise a stick above their heads: "If you raise your profile the birds will come down to the highest point. If you lift a stick they will tend to touch the stick rather than you."
Other birds known to dive-bomb are Arctic skuas, Arctic terns, tawny owls, hen harriers and some species of gull.
Doug Gilbert, an ecologist with RSPB Scotland, also has experience of being hit by bonxies and Arctic skuas.
"I've been dive-bombed in Shetland and elsewhere, it's an occupational hazard. They are much more aggressive in mid-egg stage and very young chick stage. You could be 100-150 yards away and be dive-bombed.
"They swat the back of your head with their feet or use their wing tips to belt you.
"I've felt the 'sting' from a great skua's feet; it's like getting a whack on the head with a ruler. If you're not expecting it it can freak you out.
"Local people will know all about bonxies but most people in Britain will never have seen them. They are impressive birds and to suddenly find you're being attacked by them can be a bit of a surprise."
Eric Meek, an RSPB warden on Orkney, said in 28 years on the island he has been hit only twice by a great skua: "If a bonxie does hit you, you know you've been hit. But it's very rare occurrence.
"They will threaten you and come whizzing past your ears. But as soon as you walk out of their territory they will leave you alone."
FACT BOX
• Sometimes called flying thugs or the bovver boys of seabirds, great skuas are aggressive pirates that terrorise other birds to steal a free meal.
• Bonxies, as they are known in Orkney and Shetland, are about 50-58cm in length with a 125-140cm wingspan.
• They deliberately harass birds as large as gannets to give up the food they have caught so they can eat it themselves.
• They also readily kill and eat smaller birds such as puffins and it has been known for a bonxie to swoop on a flock of ducks and pick off the young one by one.
• Great skuas migrate to the northernmost isles of the UK from their wintering grounds off the coasts of Spain and Africa.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Historical Snippets
This came from Scottish Snippets newsletter. Gotta' keep my historical timelines in order. Publisher wants another Clan Gunn book--it's still selling well.
Anniversaries of Scottish Historical Events
August 10 1460 - King James III crowned at Kelso Abbey.
August 11 1560 - Latin Mass prohibited in Scotland by Parliament as
Protestant faith gained the ascendancy.
August 12 1922 - Popular character actor Fulton McKay was born in Paisley.
August 13 1957 - Scotland's first nuclear power station at Dounreay went
"critical" ushering in the generation of power from atomic reactions.
August 14 1337 - King Robert III born at Scone.
August 14 1390 - King Robert III crowned at the Augustinian abbey of Scone.
August 15 1771 - Novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott born.
August 15 1840 - Foundation stone for the Monument to Sir Walter Scott laid
in Princes Street Gardens.
August 16 1766 - Birth of Carolina Oliphant (Lady Nairne), poet and author
of many Jacobite songs, including "Charlie is my Darling". Her songs are
second only in popularity to Burns.
August 17 1822 - Visit of George IV to Edinburgh began, orchestrated by Sir
Walter Scott.
August 17 1947 - First Edinburgh International Festival opened.
August 18 1966 - Tay Road Bridge opened.
August 19 1745 - Charles Edward Stuart, raises his standard at Glenfinnan,
at the start of the '45 uprising.
August 20 1897 - Ronald Ross, the first Scot to win a Nobel prize (in 1902)
dissected a mosquito and established the link with malaria.
August 21 1689 - Battle of Dunkeld when the newly formed Cameronians
defended the town against 3,000 Highlanders.
August 22 1282 - Devorgilla, Countess of Galloway founded Balliol College,
Oxford. She was mother of John Balliol (who acceded to the Scottish throne
in 1292).
August 23 1305 - William Wallace executed.
Anniversaries of Scottish Historical Events
August 10 1460 - King James III crowned at Kelso Abbey.
August 11 1560 - Latin Mass prohibited in Scotland by Parliament as
Protestant faith gained the ascendancy.
August 12 1922 - Popular character actor Fulton McKay was born in Paisley.
August 13 1957 - Scotland's first nuclear power station at Dounreay went
"critical" ushering in the generation of power from atomic reactions.
August 14 1337 - King Robert III born at Scone.
August 14 1390 - King Robert III crowned at the Augustinian abbey of Scone.
August 15 1771 - Novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott born.
August 15 1840 - Foundation stone for the Monument to Sir Walter Scott laid
in Princes Street Gardens.
August 16 1766 - Birth of Carolina Oliphant (Lady Nairne), poet and author
of many Jacobite songs, including "Charlie is my Darling". Her songs are
second only in popularity to Burns.
August 17 1822 - Visit of George IV to Edinburgh began, orchestrated by Sir
Walter Scott.
August 17 1947 - First Edinburgh International Festival opened.
August 18 1966 - Tay Road Bridge opened.
August 19 1745 - Charles Edward Stuart, raises his standard at Glenfinnan,
at the start of the '45 uprising.
August 20 1897 - Ronald Ross, the first Scot to win a Nobel prize (in 1902)
dissected a mosquito and established the link with malaria.
August 21 1689 - Battle of Dunkeld when the newly formed Cameronians
defended the town against 3,000 Highlanders.
August 22 1282 - Devorgilla, Countess of Galloway founded Balliol College,
Oxford. She was mother of John Balliol (who acceded to the Scottish throne
in 1292).
August 23 1305 - William Wallace executed.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
More Irish history
I love Ireland and its many stories. Even my novel, LOST SON OF IRELAND, takes in some of the history. The book takes place in 852 Ireland, when the Norse wanted to reclaim Dublin from the Danes. I just dragged some characters through the times, just to see how they might act. It was a fun book to write.
This comes from IrishHistory.org
Essex sent to Ireland : His Failure There
Elizabeth, however, was not a ruler likely to allow a country the possession of which she knew, in the then condition of Continental affairs, to be of almost vital importance to the very existence of England, to slip thus easily from her grasp. She resolved to send across the Channel such a force as would not only, she felt sure, speedily crush the rebels, but would extend her authority over the whole island, and make her in reality ” Queen of Ireland.”
In her selection of a leader for the expedition she allowed herself to be swayed rather by feeling than by reason. Her choice fell on Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, a handsome man of thirty-two, having many superficial advantages, but whose success in military affairs had not, so far, been remarkable. He was the son of Walter Devereux, Earl of Essex, whose attempt at a Plantation in Ulster had ended so unfortunately, and since Leicester’s death in 1588 he had been the Queen’s chief favourite.
The title of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, more honourable than that of Deputy, was now conferred on him. The army placed under Essex’s command was, with the exception of that which followed Richard II in 1394, the largest that had ever crossed from England to Ireland. It numbered 16,000 infantry and 1,300 cavalry, all well armed and equipped. If the troops already in the country be added, we may estimate that the Lord Lieutenant had at his command a force of at least 21,000 or 22,000 men.
Towards the middle of April 1599, Essex landed in Dublin and at once proceeded to ignore the instructions which he had received before leaving England. Rightly judging that if the leader of the rebellion were once crushed, the whole coalition against her would fall to pieces almost of itself, Elizabeth had ordered Essex to at once attack ” the Arch-traitor Tyrone.” In Dublin, however, the Lord Lieutenant met many persons, some of them high officials, who had either themselves been dispossessed by the rebels of great estates in Munster, or were related to those who had so lost them. These men, ” aiming rather at their private interests than the public good,” persuaded Essex to turn south.
He marched through the midland counties to Limerick and Waterford, then back through Wexford and Wicklow. A series of disasters marked his way. Near Maryborough his rearguard was shattered by Owney O’More at the head of 400 men. The pass where the encounter took place was afterwards known, from the many English helmet plumes that strewed the ground, as ” the Pass of the Plumes ” (t)eo,|\riA tiA Cteitroe).
In Co. Limerick the Burkes and the O’Connors inflicted defeats on the forces of the Lord Lieutenant and his allies.Still more disastrous on the morale of the army than these reverses was the almost continual skirmishing; a species of warfare to which the English soldiers were unaccustomed, and for which their heavy armour and equipments rendered them unfit. It was with a force ” weary, sick and incredibly diminished in numbers ” that the Lord Lieutenant returned to Dublin in June.
Elizabeth was both disappointed and enraged at the poor results achieved by the splendid army from which she had hoped so much, ohe brushed aside Essex’s attempts at explanation, and reproached him for his disobedience in a tone to which the haughty favourite had been httle accustomed from his hitherto indulgent Sovereign. She so far relented, however, as to send him, at his request, a reinforcement of 2,000 men. Yet, even after the arrival of these additional troops, Essex hngered in Dublin, allowing his forces to waste away by illness and desertion. or two months there was virtually a pause in the military operations ; then, early in August (1599), Essex ordered Sir Conyers Clifford, who, since his raids in the previous year, had remained mostly in and about Ballymote, to advance across the hills, called in English the Curlews (CoipufUAo), into Sligo, and, having raised the siege of Collooney Castle, where O’Connor Sligo was being hard pressed by the Irish, to proceed into Fermanagh.
Essex sent to Ireland : His Failure There
Elizabeth, however, was not a ruler likely to allow a country the possession of which she knew, in the then condition of Continental affairs, to be of almost vital importance to the very existence of England, to slip thus easily from her grasp. She resolved to send across the Channel such a force as would not only, she felt sure, speedily crush the rebels, but would extend her authority over the whole island, and make her in reality ” Queen of Ireland.”
In her selection of a leader for the expedition she allowed herself to be swayed rather by feeling than by reason. Her choice fell on Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, a handsome man of thirty-two, having many superficial advantages, but whose success in military affairs had not, so far, been remarkable. He was the son of Walter Devereux, Earl of Essex, whose attempt at a Plantation in Ulster had ended so unfortunately, and since Leicester’s death in 1588 he had been the Queen’s chief favourite.
The title of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, more honourable than that of Deputy, was now conferred on him. The army placed under Essex’s command was, with the exception of that which followed Richard II in 1394, the largest that had ever crossed from England to Ireland. It numbered 16,000 infantry and 1,300 cavalry, all well armed and equipped. If the troops already in the country be added, we may estimate that the Lord Lieutenant had at his command a force of at least 21,000 or 22,000 men.
Towards the middle of April 1599, Essex landed in Dublin and at once proceeded to ignore the instructions which he had received before leaving England. Rightly judging that if the leader of the rebellion were once crushed, the whole coalition against her would fall to pieces almost of itself, Elizabeth had ordered Essex to at once attack ” the Arch-traitor Tyrone.” In Dublin, however, the Lord Lieutenant met many persons, some of them high officials, who had either themselves been dispossessed by the rebels of great estates in Munster, or were related to those who had so lost them. These men, ” aiming rather at their private interests than the public good,” persuaded Essex to turn south.
He marched through the midland counties to Limerick and Waterford, then back through Wexford and Wicklow. A series of disasters marked his way. Near Maryborough his rearguard was shattered by Owney O’More at the head of 400 men. The pass where the encounter took place was afterwards known, from the many English helmet plumes that strewed the ground, as ” the Pass of the Plumes ” (t)eo,|\riA tiA Cteitroe).
In Co. Limerick the Burkes and the O’Connors inflicted defeats on the forces of the Lord Lieutenant and his allies.Still more disastrous on the morale of the army than these reverses was the almost continual skirmishing; a species of warfare to which the English soldiers were unaccustomed, and for which their heavy armour and equipments rendered them unfit. It was with a force ” weary, sick and incredibly diminished in numbers ” that the Lord Lieutenant returned to Dublin in June.
Elizabeth was both disappointed and enraged at the poor results achieved by the splendid army from which she had hoped so much, ohe brushed aside Essex’s attempts at explanation, and reproached him for his disobedience in a tone to which the haughty favourite had been httle accustomed from his hitherto indulgent Sovereign. She so far relented, however, as to send him, at his request, a reinforcement of 2,000 men. Yet, even after the arrival of these additional troops, Essex hngered in Dublin, allowing his forces to waste away by illness and desertion. or two months there was virtually a pause in the military operations ; then, early in August (1599), Essex ordered Sir Conyers Clifford, who, since his raids in the previous year, had remained mostly in and about Ballymote, to advance across the hills, called in English the Curlews (CoipufUAo), into Sligo, and, having raised the siege of Collooney Castle, where O’Connor Sligo was being hard pressed by the Irish, to proceed into Fermanagh.
Posted on August 5th, 2008 under Irish Success.
This comes from IrishHistory.org
Essex sent to Ireland : His Failure There
Elizabeth, however, was not a ruler likely to allow a country the possession of which she knew, in the then condition of Continental affairs, to be of almost vital importance to the very existence of England, to slip thus easily from her grasp. She resolved to send across the Channel such a force as would not only, she felt sure, speedily crush the rebels, but would extend her authority over the whole island, and make her in reality ” Queen of Ireland.”
In her selection of a leader for the expedition she allowed herself to be swayed rather by feeling than by reason. Her choice fell on Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, a handsome man of thirty-two, having many superficial advantages, but whose success in military affairs had not, so far, been remarkable. He was the son of Walter Devereux, Earl of Essex, whose attempt at a Plantation in Ulster had ended so unfortunately, and since Leicester’s death in 1588 he had been the Queen’s chief favourite.
The title of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, more honourable than that of Deputy, was now conferred on him. The army placed under Essex’s command was, with the exception of that which followed Richard II in 1394, the largest that had ever crossed from England to Ireland. It numbered 16,000 infantry and 1,300 cavalry, all well armed and equipped. If the troops already in the country be added, we may estimate that the Lord Lieutenant had at his command a force of at least 21,000 or 22,000 men.
Towards the middle of April 1599, Essex landed in Dublin and at once proceeded to ignore the instructions which he had received before leaving England. Rightly judging that if the leader of the rebellion were once crushed, the whole coalition against her would fall to pieces almost of itself, Elizabeth had ordered Essex to at once attack ” the Arch-traitor Tyrone.” In Dublin, however, the Lord Lieutenant met many persons, some of them high officials, who had either themselves been dispossessed by the rebels of great estates in Munster, or were related to those who had so lost them. These men, ” aiming rather at their private interests than the public good,” persuaded Essex to turn south.
He marched through the midland counties to Limerick and Waterford, then back through Wexford and Wicklow. A series of disasters marked his way. Near Maryborough his rearguard was shattered by Owney O’More at the head of 400 men. The pass where the encounter took place was afterwards known, from the many English helmet plumes that strewed the ground, as ” the Pass of the Plumes ” (t)eo,|\riA tiA Cteitroe).
In Co. Limerick the Burkes and the O’Connors inflicted defeats on the forces of the Lord Lieutenant and his allies.Still more disastrous on the morale of the army than these reverses was the almost continual skirmishing; a species of warfare to which the English soldiers were unaccustomed, and for which their heavy armour and equipments rendered them unfit. It was with a force ” weary, sick and incredibly diminished in numbers ” that the Lord Lieutenant returned to Dublin in June.
Elizabeth was both disappointed and enraged at the poor results achieved by the splendid army from which she had hoped so much, ohe brushed aside Essex’s attempts at explanation, and reproached him for his disobedience in a tone to which the haughty favourite had been httle accustomed from his hitherto indulgent Sovereign. She so far relented, however, as to send him, at his request, a reinforcement of 2,000 men. Yet, even after the arrival of these additional troops, Essex hngered in Dublin, allowing his forces to waste away by illness and desertion. or two months there was virtually a pause in the military operations ; then, early in August (1599), Essex ordered Sir Conyers Clifford, who, since his raids in the previous year, had remained mostly in and about Ballymote, to advance across the hills, called in English the Curlews (CoipufUAo), into Sligo, and, having raised the siege of Collooney Castle, where O’Connor Sligo was being hard pressed by the Irish, to proceed into Fermanagh.
Essex sent to Ireland : His Failure There
Elizabeth, however, was not a ruler likely to allow a country the possession of which she knew, in the then condition of Continental affairs, to be of almost vital importance to the very existence of England, to slip thus easily from her grasp. She resolved to send across the Channel such a force as would not only, she felt sure, speedily crush the rebels, but would extend her authority over the whole island, and make her in reality ” Queen of Ireland.”
In her selection of a leader for the expedition she allowed herself to be swayed rather by feeling than by reason. Her choice fell on Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, a handsome man of thirty-two, having many superficial advantages, but whose success in military affairs had not, so far, been remarkable. He was the son of Walter Devereux, Earl of Essex, whose attempt at a Plantation in Ulster had ended so unfortunately, and since Leicester’s death in 1588 he had been the Queen’s chief favourite.
The title of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, more honourable than that of Deputy, was now conferred on him. The army placed under Essex’s command was, with the exception of that which followed Richard II in 1394, the largest that had ever crossed from England to Ireland. It numbered 16,000 infantry and 1,300 cavalry, all well armed and equipped. If the troops already in the country be added, we may estimate that the Lord Lieutenant had at his command a force of at least 21,000 or 22,000 men.
Towards the middle of April 1599, Essex landed in Dublin and at once proceeded to ignore the instructions which he had received before leaving England. Rightly judging that if the leader of the rebellion were once crushed, the whole coalition against her would fall to pieces almost of itself, Elizabeth had ordered Essex to at once attack ” the Arch-traitor Tyrone.” In Dublin, however, the Lord Lieutenant met many persons, some of them high officials, who had either themselves been dispossessed by the rebels of great estates in Munster, or were related to those who had so lost them. These men, ” aiming rather at their private interests than the public good,” persuaded Essex to turn south.
He marched through the midland counties to Limerick and Waterford, then back through Wexford and Wicklow. A series of disasters marked his way. Near Maryborough his rearguard was shattered by Owney O’More at the head of 400 men. The pass where the encounter took place was afterwards known, from the many English helmet plumes that strewed the ground, as ” the Pass of the Plumes ” (t)eo,|\riA tiA Cteitroe).
In Co. Limerick the Burkes and the O’Connors inflicted defeats on the forces of the Lord Lieutenant and his allies.Still more disastrous on the morale of the army than these reverses was the almost continual skirmishing; a species of warfare to which the English soldiers were unaccustomed, and for which their heavy armour and equipments rendered them unfit. It was with a force ” weary, sick and incredibly diminished in numbers ” that the Lord Lieutenant returned to Dublin in June.
Elizabeth was both disappointed and enraged at the poor results achieved by the splendid army from which she had hoped so much, ohe brushed aside Essex’s attempts at explanation, and reproached him for his disobedience in a tone to which the haughty favourite had been httle accustomed from his hitherto indulgent Sovereign. She so far relented, however, as to send him, at his request, a reinforcement of 2,000 men. Yet, even after the arrival of these additional troops, Essex hngered in Dublin, allowing his forces to waste away by illness and desertion. or two months there was virtually a pause in the military operations ; then, early in August (1599), Essex ordered Sir Conyers Clifford, who, since his raids in the previous year, had remained mostly in and about Ballymote, to advance across the hills, called in English the Curlews (CoipufUAo), into Sligo, and, having raised the siege of Collooney Castle, where O’Connor Sligo was being hard pressed by the Irish, to proceed into Fermanagh.
Posted on August 5th, 2008 under Irish Success.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Scotland news-Most silly
This is one of the silliest things I've read of late. From the Scotsmen.com.
Judge bans man from the pub for killing his wife
By Brian Ferguson
A JUDGE yesterday spared a pensioner who killed his wife a prison sentence – and instead banned him from going to the pub.
Edward Flaherty strangled his wife with a tie after she refused to give him money to go to his local bar in Glasgow. But the 74-year-old was told by the judge, Lord Matthews, that his dementia made him unsuitable for prison, and that being unable to go to the pub would be a "more meaningful" punishment.
Lord Matthews imposed a year-long order that will keep him inside his home during pub opening hours. He will be tagged and banned from going out between 11am and 11pm.
The sentence was attacked last night, both for failing to protect the public and for not providing proper care for Flaherty.
Labour's justice spokesman, Paul Martin, said: "The sentence is clearly not robust enough for the crime, and the failure to provide a package of care completely inappropriate.
"The judge has to take responsibility for this."
Flaherty claimed he had no recollection of throttling his wife with a tie in April last year at their home in Drygate, Glasgow.
His lawyer told the court that his client had been diagnosed with progressive dementia and that he would ultimately need 24-hour care.
Lord Matthews told the defendant: "You were found guilty of the culpable homicide of your wife, who you were together with for many years.
"In normal circumstances this would attract a prison sentence in double figures.
"I have read and considered a number of reports from experts. It is plain to me that if I were to impose that sort of sentence you would be released in a very short time because prison would not be able to cope with your condition.
"Sentencing you would just be a token gesture. I am anxious to impose a sentence that restricts your liberty.
"You still go to the pub where you went with your wife. That must annoy her relatives.
"Not being able to go there will be a more meaningful disposal than a prison sentence which will not last long."
Mr Martin, a Glasgow MSP, said: "This is clearly a very difficult case in which there has been a mental illness involved.
"However, the real issue here is that the sentence has not been robust enough to protect the public from him doing anything similar again.
"There has been no effort to provide any kind of appropriate care package to deal with this man's mental health condition.
"A restriction of liberty order is clearly inappropriate in a case as serious as this."
Edward McLaughlan, a spokesman for the Scottish Dementia Working Group, an independent campaign group funded by Alzheimer's Scotland, said: "It's a quite shocking sentence for a crime like this.
"There are obviously a lot of people with dementia who are being treated in prison, although we don't know how serious his condition is.
"The whole issue of the provision of care for dementia sufferers needs to be looked at in the light of this case, as there would clearly be issues if he was to be treated in a care home.
"I'm not entirely sure what the best sentence for this individual would be, but it's certainly not appropriate for him to receive a restriction of liberty order."
Flaherty was convicted of killing 69-year-old Ina with a tie after she refused to give him money to go to the pub.
The High Court in Glasgow was told that, in a medical report, Flaherty claimed he had actually killed his sister, because she was cheeky.
Donald MacLeod, QC, defending, said yesterday: "The report prepared for the court paints a picture of a man in significant physical and mental decline.
"There is a clear diagnosis of dementia setting in. It is a progressive condition and ultimately he will need 24-hour care.
"I am deeply conscious there has been a death here, but this man is very unwell.
"He was always willing to plead guilty to culpable homicide, but this was flatly rejected by the Crown and that is why a trial was necessary."
Flaherty went on trial accused of murder on 2 April last year.
A jury convicted the retired scaffolder of the reduced charge of culpable homicide.
The jury was told that even slight pressure around Mrs Flaherty's neck could have caused her death because her arteries were furred.
The court had heard that Flaherty had regularly visited a pub called The Lampost, on Duke Street, after his retirement and had developed a drink problem.
After the couple returned from the pub he wanted to go back for more, but Mrs Flaherty refused to give him any money.
Giving evidence in his defence, Flaherty, of Gibson Heights, Drygate, said he had no recollection of the moment he throttled his wife.
The court heard Flaherty, who has had three heart attacks, could not remember who the Prime Minister was and called him "that curly headed bloke".
He also thought the current US president was Richard Nixon.
He recently boarded a train to Bristol, did not know where he was and had to have £100 sent to him to get home.
But when asked who killed Mrs Flaherty, he said: "It must have been me. There are no ghosts running about the house who would have done that."
Flaherty had denied a suggestion from the Solicitor-General, Frank Mulholland, QC, prosecuting, that he "blocked Ina's killing out of his memory because it was so dreadful".
Some jurors wept as he told the court how he and his wife had a "strong and firm" marriage that lasted 52 years. He had never once struck her in all these years, and she had never hit him, the jury was told.
A spokesman for Victim Support last night said: "We never comment on specific cases, but at the end of the day the only people who can provide sensible judgment on a case are those who hold all the relevant evidence."
SPS insists that it could cope as nation braces itself for an epidemic
THE Scottish Prison Service has insisted it has the right facilities in place to tackle a vast majority of medical conditions – including mental-health illnesses such as dementia.
An SPS spokesman said: "We do definitely have prisoners with dementia, although it's not possible to say exactly how many. We have people in our prisons with all manner of medical conditions. The only exceptions would be those people with terminal illness, who have a few months to live that are better suited to hospital treatment." But Bill Aitken, the Scottish Conservative justice spokesman, said that in this case normal sentencing guidelines could not be applied.
"There are a lot of dementia sufferers who are not violent, and there may be questions about how to deal with this individual if he does not adhere to his restriction of liberty order," he said.
"The key thing in this particular case is that the judge has seen all the relevant medical reports. I am satisfied that the normal sentencing considerations could not be applied."
Campaigners have warned that health and social services could be overwhelmed by the vast numbers of people with dementia. Up to 65,000 people in Scotland are thought to have dementia, but it is estimated that the number of people affected will rise by 75 per cent by 2031 as the elderly population increases.
There have also been concerns in the past year that dementia patients could be denied drugs to slow down their progression because of a move by NHS rationing watchdogs. Alzheimer Scotland, a leading campaign group, has called for an additional £150 million to tackle what it has described as the dementia epidemic.
Although dementia often begins with increasing forgetfulness, a sufferer will increasingly require assistance with everyday activities, such as dressing and going to the toilet.
By the end of their life, dementia sufferers will probably be living in a care home, nursing home or hospital.
Judge bans man from the pub for killing his wife
By Brian Ferguson
A JUDGE yesterday spared a pensioner who killed his wife a prison sentence – and instead banned him from going to the pub.
Edward Flaherty strangled his wife with a tie after she refused to give him money to go to his local bar in Glasgow. But the 74-year-old was told by the judge, Lord Matthews, that his dementia made him unsuitable for prison, and that being unable to go to the pub would be a "more meaningful" punishment.
Lord Matthews imposed a year-long order that will keep him inside his home during pub opening hours. He will be tagged and banned from going out between 11am and 11pm.
The sentence was attacked last night, both for failing to protect the public and for not providing proper care for Flaherty.
Labour's justice spokesman, Paul Martin, said: "The sentence is clearly not robust enough for the crime, and the failure to provide a package of care completely inappropriate.
"The judge has to take responsibility for this."
Flaherty claimed he had no recollection of throttling his wife with a tie in April last year at their home in Drygate, Glasgow.
His lawyer told the court that his client had been diagnosed with progressive dementia and that he would ultimately need 24-hour care.
Lord Matthews told the defendant: "You were found guilty of the culpable homicide of your wife, who you were together with for many years.
"In normal circumstances this would attract a prison sentence in double figures.
"I have read and considered a number of reports from experts. It is plain to me that if I were to impose that sort of sentence you would be released in a very short time because prison would not be able to cope with your condition.
"Sentencing you would just be a token gesture. I am anxious to impose a sentence that restricts your liberty.
"You still go to the pub where you went with your wife. That must annoy her relatives.
"Not being able to go there will be a more meaningful disposal than a prison sentence which will not last long."
Mr Martin, a Glasgow MSP, said: "This is clearly a very difficult case in which there has been a mental illness involved.
"However, the real issue here is that the sentence has not been robust enough to protect the public from him doing anything similar again.
"There has been no effort to provide any kind of appropriate care package to deal with this man's mental health condition.
"A restriction of liberty order is clearly inappropriate in a case as serious as this."
Edward McLaughlan, a spokesman for the Scottish Dementia Working Group, an independent campaign group funded by Alzheimer's Scotland, said: "It's a quite shocking sentence for a crime like this.
"There are obviously a lot of people with dementia who are being treated in prison, although we don't know how serious his condition is.
"The whole issue of the provision of care for dementia sufferers needs to be looked at in the light of this case, as there would clearly be issues if he was to be treated in a care home.
"I'm not entirely sure what the best sentence for this individual would be, but it's certainly not appropriate for him to receive a restriction of liberty order."
Flaherty was convicted of killing 69-year-old Ina with a tie after she refused to give him money to go to the pub.
The High Court in Glasgow was told that, in a medical report, Flaherty claimed he had actually killed his sister, because she was cheeky.
Donald MacLeod, QC, defending, said yesterday: "The report prepared for the court paints a picture of a man in significant physical and mental decline.
"There is a clear diagnosis of dementia setting in. It is a progressive condition and ultimately he will need 24-hour care.
"I am deeply conscious there has been a death here, but this man is very unwell.
"He was always willing to plead guilty to culpable homicide, but this was flatly rejected by the Crown and that is why a trial was necessary."
Flaherty went on trial accused of murder on 2 April last year.
A jury convicted the retired scaffolder of the reduced charge of culpable homicide.
The jury was told that even slight pressure around Mrs Flaherty's neck could have caused her death because her arteries were furred.
The court had heard that Flaherty had regularly visited a pub called The Lampost, on Duke Street, after his retirement and had developed a drink problem.
After the couple returned from the pub he wanted to go back for more, but Mrs Flaherty refused to give him any money.
Giving evidence in his defence, Flaherty, of Gibson Heights, Drygate, said he had no recollection of the moment he throttled his wife.
The court heard Flaherty, who has had three heart attacks, could not remember who the Prime Minister was and called him "that curly headed bloke".
He also thought the current US president was Richard Nixon.
He recently boarded a train to Bristol, did not know where he was and had to have £100 sent to him to get home.
But when asked who killed Mrs Flaherty, he said: "It must have been me. There are no ghosts running about the house who would have done that."
Flaherty had denied a suggestion from the Solicitor-General, Frank Mulholland, QC, prosecuting, that he "blocked Ina's killing out of his memory because it was so dreadful".
Some jurors wept as he told the court how he and his wife had a "strong and firm" marriage that lasted 52 years. He had never once struck her in all these years, and she had never hit him, the jury was told.
A spokesman for Victim Support last night said: "We never comment on specific cases, but at the end of the day the only people who can provide sensible judgment on a case are those who hold all the relevant evidence."
SPS insists that it could cope as nation braces itself for an epidemic
THE Scottish Prison Service has insisted it has the right facilities in place to tackle a vast majority of medical conditions – including mental-health illnesses such as dementia.
An SPS spokesman said: "We do definitely have prisoners with dementia, although it's not possible to say exactly how many. We have people in our prisons with all manner of medical conditions. The only exceptions would be those people with terminal illness, who have a few months to live that are better suited to hospital treatment." But Bill Aitken, the Scottish Conservative justice spokesman, said that in this case normal sentencing guidelines could not be applied.
"There are a lot of dementia sufferers who are not violent, and there may be questions about how to deal with this individual if he does not adhere to his restriction of liberty order," he said.
"The key thing in this particular case is that the judge has seen all the relevant medical reports. I am satisfied that the normal sentencing considerations could not be applied."
Campaigners have warned that health and social services could be overwhelmed by the vast numbers of people with dementia. Up to 65,000 people in Scotland are thought to have dementia, but it is estimated that the number of people affected will rise by 75 per cent by 2031 as the elderly population increases.
There have also been concerns in the past year that dementia patients could be denied drugs to slow down their progression because of a move by NHS rationing watchdogs. Alzheimer Scotland, a leading campaign group, has called for an additional £150 million to tackle what it has described as the dementia epidemic.
Although dementia often begins with increasing forgetfulness, a sufferer will increasingly require assistance with everyday activities, such as dressing and going to the toilet.
By the end of their life, dementia sufferers will probably be living in a care home, nursing home or hospital.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Fact from yesterday...
On this day in 1460 James II of Scotland was killed during the siege of Roxburgh Castle. The King was attacking the castle of his favourite enemy the Earl of Douglas when he filled a cannon with too much gun powder. The cannon exploded and killed him instantly.
This is a bit earlier than my Clan Gunn novel, but I still find this history interesting.
This is a bit earlier than my Clan Gunn novel, but I still find this history interesting.
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