The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. Finn is protected in his exile in the United States after having worked for the CIA. Consequently, British Intelligence has come up with a plan to lure Finn back into their jurisdiction, Northern Ireland, by revealing the identity of the man who is ultimately responsible for the killing of Finn’s wife, Shauna.

Here they hope not only to apprehend him, but also lead them to another conspirator, Martin Sheehan, who hides in the Northern provinces. For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland.

The Bleeding Hills, Wilfried F. Voss’ newest novel, is skillfully divided into three time lines; they keep the reader glued to the story by providing some surprising twists and turns. The first time line describes the life of Finnean Whelan and his first contact with the Irish Republican Army in the late 1960s. The second line is set in the presence and it portrays Whelan’s journey to Northern Ireland where he intends to accomplish his final plot. The third time line is dedicated to the activities of British Intelligence Services, namely the MI5, attempting to apprehend Whelan and his co-conspirator, Martin Sheehan. All time lines come together in the end and they make for some intriguing twists.

Wilfried F. Voss has cleverly weaved real events of recent Irish history, namely the Irish Troubles, into the life story of Finnean Whelan. They are, just to name a few examples, the events of Bloody Sunday, and the murder of Captain Robert Nairac, an officer with the British Army. The historical facts have been thoroughly investigated, but the author also takes some liberties for interpretation; these interpretations are, nevertheless, based on his meticulous research.

One theory, for instance, is that Captain Robert Nairac was the victim of child abuse at Ampleforth College in England, which, consequently, caused Nairac’s violent behavior during the Irish Troubles. Another interesting theory is based on the claim that British Intelligence Services, even to the present day, are instrumental in a plot to disrupt the peace process in Northern Ireland. Whether or not these claims are true is of no consequence; The Bleeding Hills is not only entertaining, but it also effectively tickles the reader’s mind to learn more about recent Irish history.

Reviews

Using the yarns of the past and the present, violence and love, deceit and honesty, The Bleeding Hills is a tale woven like an Irish sweater. It is a well crafted page-turner that keeps the reader in suspense with unexpected twists throughout. This story is about more than just a the Irish Troubles and espionage; it is personalized through Finn exploring his triumphs and retrospective regrets. What is truly impressive is the author’s skill at exploring the larger issue of civil conflicts–how individuals become involved and how governments perpetuate–without being obvious or sacrificing any of the story at hand.
An outstanding story that is a must read. – Paul Dolan Iubito

Great novel! The story line is captivating and the characters are believable. The author incorporated events of recent Irish history, but he also addresses political issues such as the current MI5 involvement in Northern Ireland. His views may be pro-Irish, but they are nevertheless in favor of present day British policies. All this is skillfully mingled with a real-life story with all the right elements – love, romance, suspense, and humor. – L. Pierro-Pulsifer

Although the story here is fictional, I felt the historical research portrayed in The Bleeding Hills was very well done. Voss has achieved weaving the three time lines portrayed in the story together with interesting twists and turns (that I was not expecting) into a solid and, I think, fair rendition of the Irish Troubles from a personal point of view – that of Finnean Whelan. The story of Finnean Whelan and his love of Ireland is both exciting and touching – a good read for anyone interested in the Irish Troubles with a touch of excitement and mystery included. – Y. Campbell

More Background Information

The Boys of Barr Na Sraide
I first heard the song The Boys of Barr Na Sraide in Ireland on the small isle of Inishbofin off the coast of Galway. My wife’s grandmother was born here and she immigrated to the United States in the early 1920s. We had visitied Paddy Joe and Regina King, some distant cousins of my wife’s. Their son, Peadar (the Irish version of Peter), had shown me a CD by Colm O’Donnell, Farewell to Evening Dances, which he was very fond of and I share that feeling now. The title of Colm O’Donnell’s CD is taken from the song The Hill of Knacknashee, another sentimental and lyrical ballad on the CD. I shamelessly copied the idea and took a line out of The Boys of Barr Na Sraide, the line that goes “And when the hills were bleeding and rifles were aflame…”, to use it as the title for my book “The Bleeding Hills“. Read the author’s post.

March 7, 2009 – Terror Returns to Northern Ireland
Isn’t it ironic – The storyline of my novel-in-the-making “The Bleeding Hills” invokes the possibility of a plot to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland, an idea that could have been viewed as somewhat preposterous. Yesterday, March 7, 2009,  two British soldiers were killed and four others, among them two pizza delivery men, were wounded in what is the first major terrorist attack in the province for over a decade. The shootings occurred at the Massereene army base in Antrim, 16 miles north of Belfast, at 9.40pm. Nobody has yet claimed responsibility for the attack but security sources said the incident was undoubtedly the work of dissident organisations opposed to the peace settlement. In my novel I refer to the so-called Real IRA as the force behind the assassination plot. The Real Irish Republican Army was founded in October 1997 by former members of the Provisional IRA, who were dissatisfied with the direction of the Irish peace process, especially the position of Sinn Fein. Read the author’s post.

British Undercover Operations in Northern Ireland
Yet again the idea behind my book “The Bleeding Hills” has been strikingly confirmed by the the latest attack on British soldiers on March 7th. In my blog entry – and my book – I refer specifically to the operations of the so-called Real IRA and, ironically, the RIRA has claimed responsibility for the attacks. However, one comment in the first report of the attacks caught my attention, since my book also addresses British undercover operations in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland’s chief constable, Sir Hugh Orde, had confirmed that undercover British army troops were on paramilitary surveillance duties in Northern Ireland. In my mind I had started another blog entry, complaining that British officials are inexplicably unable to learn from past mistakes, but I have been pre-empted (if I may say so) by somebody more competent to talk about such affairs. Read the author’s post.

Bloody Sunday – January 30, 1972
I have often criticized the lack of good literature explaining the events of Bloody Sunday untainted and comprehensible. I have been faced with the same dilemma, now that I am in the middle of writing chapter four of my novel “The Bleeding Hills“, where Bloody Sunday takes center stage. For the record, I am not looking down on those who were present at Bloody Sunday and wrote a book about it. An atrocity like this should be a part of a well recorded history, but I also believe that, in order to spark the interest of future generations, you need to start with the basics and these basics should, first of all, not be politically tainted; consequently they will lose credibility. In regards to comprehensiveness of recorded history, it does not help to confuse the newcomer to Irish history by frequently referring to Unionists, Republicans, Loyalists, MRF, SAS, MI5, MI6, Real IRA, Continuity IRA, RUC, Provisional IRA, INLA, NICRA, Saville, Widgery, MP, PM, etc., etc., without providing a comprehensible reference. The majority of books and web sites I found on the subject were written by experts for experts, having only their own indulgence in mind. What a waste of resources and what a waste to make it so difficult for our children to understand history! Read the author’s post.

The Bloody Sunday Inquiry
The story line behind my novel “The Bleeding Hills” would not be complete without a look into the two inquiries of Bloody Sunday, the Widgery Report of 1972 and the official Bloody Sunday Inquiry initiated in 1998. The Widgery Tribual was held in the immediate aftermath of the events of Bloody Sunday; it was set up to look into the events. This was conducted by Lord Chief Justice Widgery. The report was widely criticized as a whitewash. Even though the judges of the official Bloody Sunday Inquiry retired on November 23, 2004, there has been no measurable result to this day. Statements regarding a possible publication of the Inquiry’s Report have been modified from year to year. The current statement on the Wikipedia web site is that the publication “was expected at the end of 2007, or possibly early 2008.” – Note: This blog entry was written on March 22, 2009. Read the author’s post.

Robert Nairac – Hero, Butcher, Homosexual…?
During the research for my book “The Bleeding Hills” I stumbled upon the intriguing story of one charismatic character, British Captain Robert Nairac, an undercover agent active during the Irish troubles (For more references see the hyperlinks at the end of this article). While Irish republicans consider him a butcher, and the British Army calls him a war hero, they all share the view that “he was strange” – to use a mild expression. First of all, after studying various articles on the life and death of Robert Nairac, I have come to the conclusion that Nairac was driven by a death wish, a point that may not be disputed by many of those who knew him. My next conclusion may be, however, far more controversial. After applying a simple method of studying behavioral patterns and comparing it to recent as well as historical cases, I have come to the personal conclusion that Captain Robert Nairac was either gay and/or the victim of sexual abuse during his childhood. Read the author’s post.

For more author’s posts see http://www.frogenyozurt.com/my-novels/the-bleeding-hills/.

Guardian.co.uk - Bloody Sunday - PM Apologizes

David Cameron today issued a formal apology on behalf of the state for the “unjustified and unjustifiable” killing of 14 civil rights marchers by British soldiers on Bloody Sunday in Derry 38 years ago.

The prime minister said the Lord Saville inquiry’s long-awaited report showed soldiers lied about their involvement in the killings, and that all of those who died were innocent.

He said the inquiry was “absolutely clear” and there were “no ambiguities” about the conclusions.

Cameron told the Commons: “What happened on Bloody Sunday was both unjustified and unjustifiable. It was wrong.”

Relatives cheered as they watched the statement, relayed to screens outside the Guildhall in Derry.

Bloody Sunday, as the events on 30 January 30 1972 came to be known, was one of the most controversial moments of the Troubles. Paratroopers opened fire while trying to police a banned civil rights march.

They killed 13 marchers outright, and wounded another 13, one of whom subsequently died later in hospital.

The conclusions of the 5,000-page, 10-volume report, which took 12 years to compile at a cost of almost £191m, prompted the first formal apology to victims’ families in almost four decades.

The prime minister began his statement by saying he was deeply patriotic and did not want to believe anything bad about his country. But he said that the conclusion of the 12-year inquiry were “absolutely clear”. He went on to outline the findings of the inquiry before making the apology.

“The government is ultimately responsible for the conduct of the armed forces, and for that, on behalf of the government and on behalf of the country, I am deeply sorry.”

The inquiry found that the order that sent British soldiers into the Bogside “should not have been given”, said Cameron.

It found none of those killed by British soldiers was armed with firearms and no warning was given by the soldiers.

Cameron said the casualties were down to the soldiers “losing their self control”. Some soldiers had “knowingly put forward false accounts” to the inquiry.

Lord Saville uses the word “unjustifiable” repeatedly throughout the report to describe the fatal shootings carried out by the parachute regiment – a judgment that opens up the possibility of legal action against soldiers involved in the atrocity.

In terms of declaring the Bloody Sunday dead innocent, the report concludes: “None of the firing by the Support Company (paratroopers) was aimed at people posing a threat or causing death or serious injury.”

While the report clears the 14 civilians killed that day, it appears to exonerate some of the army officers who were in charge of the military operation.

The report finds that Lieutenant Colonel Wilford blatantly ignored the advice of senior military commanders not to send troops into the Bogside.

Many of the soldiers lied to the inquiry, Lord Saville also concludes in his report. “Many of these soldiers have knowingly put forward false accounts in order to seek to justify their firing.”

Under the rules of the inquiry this conclusion means that soldiers can also be prosecuted for perjury. Lord Saville said that on Bloody Sunday there had been “a serious and widespread loss of fire discipline among the soldiers”.

Reacting to the report, a former priest who was on the fated march 38 years ago, Denis Bradley, said: “The city has been vindicated, the city has been telling the truth about Bloody Sunday all along.”

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jun/15/bloody-sunday-report-saville-inquiry

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Queen of Misfortune

A Lady Jane Grey Novel by Peter Carroll

A Love Story of Almost Shakespearean Dimension!

Queen Of Misfortune is the fictional story of Lady Jane Grey as told by her beloved tutor, John Aylmer. At the time of her execution a stranger is recorded to have assisted her when, blind folded, she lost her way upon the scaffold. Was it the same ‘stranger’ who was also recorded to have visited her when she was imprisoned in the Tower? Little is known of this unfortunate girl who was beheaded for treason in the 16^th Century. She was only 16. She is omitted from the list of monarchs but was actually queen for nine days. Author Peter Carroll, in his novel, follows John Aylmer’s close relationship with Jane as her tutor and later, as she grows up, her lover. [More...]

Available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble, and any other good bookstore.

In my novel The Bleeding Hills I raise the view that conservative powers, including those of the British security establishment, are, in a passive aggressive way, not interested in upholding the Good Friday agreement, and, in all consequence, refuse to support lasting peace in Northern Ireland.

In my book I also refer to Tony Blair as “the first prime minister with a brain.” In fact, Tony Blair, despite his failure of handling the Iraq question, was the first prime minister who successfully established peace in Northern Ireland, which included the disarmament of paramilitary organizations of both sides, Protestant and Catholic.

The events of Bloody Sunday, almost 40 years ago, were particularly damaging to Britain’s reputation as was the Widgery report which is widely – even in Great Britian – considered a white-wash. I am counting that the Saville report, which will be released today, will provide an objective finding of what really happened during the events of Bloody Sunday. After all those years it is not a matter of pointing to the guilty; this is a matter of admitting a wrong-doing that shouldn’t have happened and never should happen again. In order to make a better future we need to learn from the past – See above quote by George Bernard Shaw.

My view that conservative powers and the British security establishment are not interested in finding the truth are, with the upcoming Saville report, being confirmed on a daily basis – See the Guardian’s article below and read my post Bloody Sunday – Saville Report Will Be Published.

Bertie Ahern says security chiefs pressed Tony Blair not to call inquiry

Guardian.co.uk – Monday 14 June 2010

Britain’s security establishment tried to dissuade Tony Blair from agreeing to the Bloody Sunday inquiry, the former Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern said today. Ahern, who was taoiseach at the time the Saville inquiry was set up in early 1998, also said its creation had helped build nationalist confidence in the Northern Ireland peace process.

The inquiry’s long-awaited report into the killing of 14 civil rights marchers by British paratroopers in Derry in 1972 will be published at 3.30pm on Tuesday in Derry and London. The 5,000-page, 10-volume report took 12 years to compile, at a cost of almost £191m.

Ahern said its impact on the peace process had been critical. “It was immensely important because at that time we were trying to build confidence and help the people of Derry, who had been dealing with this for years,” Ahern said.

Martin McGuinness, the former IRA chief of staff who is now Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister, today denied claims that he had told Blair an apology from London over Bloody Sunday would be enough. The Sinn Féin MP said the assertion by Jonathan Powell, Blair’s chief of staff in Downing Street, that McGuinness told Blair a multimillion-pound inquiry was not necessary was “erroneous.”

In his book Great Hatred, Little Room, Powell alleges McGuinness made the observations to Blair during secret talks. But McGuinness said: “The citizens of Derry, to a man and woman, want Saville to make it absolutely clear that the 27 people who were shot on that day – murdered and injured – were completely innocent people and that those people who inflicted those deaths and injuries were the guilty parties.” In evidence, McGuinness told the inquiry that on Bloody Sunday he was adjutant of the Derry IRA.

Read the full article…

Banner and Crosses carried by the families of the Bloody Sunday victims on the annual commemoration march.

More than twelve years after the hearings started, and after numerous delays, the Saville Report addressing the findings of the events of Bloody Sunday will finally be released tomorrow.

Also today I found an article in The Guardian which represents the most critical account of British handling of the affair I have ever read in an English newspaper. It bluntly addresses the cover-up by British troops that continues to this day.

In my novel The Bleeding Hills I refer to the British Army’s poor handling of the situation during and after the events of Bloody Sunday, and my views are definitely not shared by British militaries. Nevertheless, I feel great satisfaction that my views are confirmed by the Guardian’s reporter, Richard Norton-Tayler.

And there is yet another aspect in my novel that is being confirmed in the article, namely the different handling of the affair by the new conservative government. I raise the point that a conservative government will change Great Britain’s course on achieving lasting peace in Northern Ireland, and it will change it dramatically. In fact, I predict that, in the long run, a conservative British government will challenge the validity of the Good Friday agreement and thus fuel violence in the Northern Provinces again.

The Guardian article also refers to the justice secretary Kenneth Clarke complaining about costs and timeline of the Saville report, and the tone used indicates to me a very critical view not limited to expenses. Yes, the inquiry took longer than expected, and the continued delays angered many. The most important aspect, however, is finding the truth, and it seems the truth will not sit well with British conservatives and militaries. In all consequence, they will criticize every aspect that comes with the report.

Bloody Sunday: Amnesia among troops, inflammatory claims by officers

Source: Guardian.co.uk, Sunday 13 June 2010

A week after Bloody Sunday, Field Marshal Michael Carver, chief of the defence staff, met soldiers from 1 Para. He told them they would be supported if they had acted in good faith and if they told the truth at the Widgery tribunal. If they did not, “God help them”, Carver told the soldiers.

They did not tell the truth to Widgery. No disciplinary action was taken against them even though that inquiry, accepted as a whitewash (the secretary to the tribunal said Widgery would “pile up the case against the deceased”, according to declassified documents) concluded that firing by some soldiers “bordered on the reckless”.

Nor did the soldiers tell the truth, years later, to the Saville inquiry. By then they had long since left the army. Most – though not all – fell back on their lawyers’ advice, blocking questions with the refrain “I can’t remember”.

Read the full article…

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The Bleeding Hills

A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy iv. 7

The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland. [More...]

The Bleeding Hills is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Nobel, and any other good bookstore.

The Bleeding Hills - A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

January 30th marks an anniversary in recent Irish history that most people living outside of Ireland and the Northern Provinces recognize only through a famous U2 song, Sunday Bloody Sunday. Unfortunately, the song is still misinterpreted as a “rebel song.” Nothing could be further from the truth. The band was aware of the controversial nature of Sunday Bloody Sunday, that its lyrics might be misinterpreted as sectarian, and possibly jeopardize their personal lives. Some of The Edge’s original lyrics explicitly spoke out against violent rebels, but were omitted in order to protect the group. The result is a song with virtually null relevance – other than its title – to the events of Bloody Sunday, and, in all consequence, U2 should have taken the efforts to find a different title for an otherwise extraordinary anti-violence song.

What happened in Londonderry on January 30th, 1972 went far beyond violence, and the song does not recognize the real issue at hand, the oppression of the Catholic minority living in Northern Ireland. Carmen de Monteflores once said, “Oppression can only survive through silence,” and while I applaud U2‘s campaign for anti-violence in Northern Ireland, I fail to see how the oppression would have ended without the war that followed after Bloody Sunday. On that day, members of the 1st Battalion of the British Parachute Regiment shot twenty-six demonstrators. Thirteen people, six of whom were just seventeen years old, died at the scene, with five of those wounded shot in the back. To this day there is no evidence that any of the demonstrators were armed.

Northern Ireland, during 1950s, 1960s 1970s, and beyond, was a place at odds with the rest of the civilized Western world. The pride of defeating Nazi Germany was still remarkably alive in the United Kingdom and fighting Communism had become the prime directive. However, in contrast to the self-proclaimed image of defender of the free world, their halo paled as they turned a blind eye on the oppression of the Catholic population in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland was a place where the treatment of the Catholic minority came with the foul stench of Kristallnacht, the night when the Nazis coordinated an attack on the Jewish community in Germany as part of Hitler’s anti-Semitic policy. Most certainly, in the history of mankind there has been no greater crime against humanity than the Holocaust, but the question is, has Kristallnacht ended with the defeat of Nazi Germany? Did the world get a false sense of security?

The British occupation of the Irish island began as early as the late twelfth century, and attempts to annihilate the Irish identity fill the history of English rule. Some of these attempts carry a striking resemblance to Hitler’s henchmen trying to eliminate the Jewish population in Germany, although not quite as methodical. History is also filled with constant acts of Irish resistance, and no ruling king or parliament was ever able to solve the problem. The saying is that the nineteenth century Prime Minister William Edward Gladstone tried to deal with the Irish question, but never found the answer as the Irish continued to change the question.

December 1921 saw the signing of the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty between Great Britain and Ireland, which established a free Irish republic with jurisdiction over twenty-six of the thirty-two counties. It also created the separate province of Northern Ireland that remained under British rule. It consists of the six northeastern counties of the predominantly Protestant Ulster region.

The terms, as negotiated by the founder of the IRA, Michael Collins, did not find the approval of the entire Irish population and, even though the Republic of Ireland was officially established, the battle for Irish reunification began. The importance of the IRA, though, endured a slow, but steady decline until the late 1960s, which saw increased confrontations between the Civil Rights movement in Northern Ireland and British officials, especially the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC).

The Civil Rights movement’s demand was, just to name one particular issue, for equal voting rights. The current system allowed only house owners to vote in local elections, and they were predominantly Protestants supporting British rule in Northern Ireland. The Protestant majority defended their superiority by engaging their own militias against Catholics, and they were actively supported by the predominantly Protestant RUC.

By the summer of 1969, these disputes reached the dimensions of an outright Civil War, and in August of 1969 the British government deployed troops to Northern Ireland with the intent to restore public order. “Operation Banner” ended at midnight on July 31, 2007, thirty-eight years later, instead of the planned “few months,” and it represents the longest deployment in the history of the British Army. The death toll included more than 3500 civilians and 763 soldiers.

In 2008, General Michael Jackson, the British Army Chief, called Operation Banner a successful combat. Nothing could be further from the truth. The English army became part of the problem very quickly, and they turned out to be another player in the conflict, not a referee.

Initially, the Catholic population welcomed the presence of the army in the hope they would serve as a neutral force and protect them against the RUC and Loyalist forces. However, their hopes were shattered in July 1970 during a British operation called “Falls Curfew,” which resulted in three days of rioting and battles between the British Army and Irish Republican paramilitaries. In the final tally, five people were killed, and three hundred were arrested.

The streets of Londonderry endured a long line of events filled with violence and the rage among the Catholic population turned not only into increased support for the IRA. They expressed their anger in a series of protest marches. One of these marches took place in Londonderry on January 30, 1972. That day was seared into the memories of the Irish people as Bloody Sunday.

The Civil Rights Organization of Northern Ireland had contacted the RUC’s Chief Superintendent, Frank Lagan, to inform him of their intention to hold a non-violent demonstration and to protest against internment without charge or trial. The internment, officially named “Operation Demetrius,” allowed the RUC and the British Army to detain suspects without justification. Lagan, in turn, notified the British Army and requested they keep away any military interference, a wise recommendation and, if followed, could have prevented the bloody events. The army, however, turned down before, was eager to prove that their well-rehearsed plan would put an end to the riots in Northern Ireland.

Just a week before Bloody Sunday, at an anti-internment march held at Magilligan Strand, British soldiers beat a number of protesters with such an intensity that their own officers had to physically restrain them. An attack on the patrol car of two RUC officers resulted in their deaths the Thursday before Bloody Sunday at Creggan Road. Nevertheless, the organizers of the Sunday march, the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association, had called for a peaceful march. They tried everything to prevent a repeat of the events at Magilligan Strand.

The march started almost an hour late from Central Drive in the Creggan Estate and proceeded toward the Bogside area of Derry. The official report, produced only a few weeks later by the Widgery tribunal, tried to downplay the magnitude of the march and gave an estimated number of somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000, while organizers claimed a number as high as 20,000. The correct figure was likely somewhere in between.

The organizers had intended to direct the march toward the town’s guildhall and hold a meeting there, but British military units had erected a number of barriers at strategic spots to seal the demonstration in the Bogside area away from the guildhall. They had also positioned a large number of snipers at strategic points around the perimeter of the Bogside area.

The barriers, the snipers, the stone throwing that followed, and the verbal abuse – all this was as familiar territory for the demonstrators as it was for the soldiers, who were very well protected in their anti-riot gear. The marchers did not suspect that the army’s reaction would be somewhere out of the ordinary. Maybe they would see some rubber bullets fired at them, maybe some gas, and then they would proceed to their meeting with the feeling they had fought well for their cause.

The exact details of the British Army’s reasoning for their attack are still, more than 30 years after the fact, under investigation. The fact is that the British Army engaged into a massive combat operation. Armored cars raced through the streets at a speed of forty miles per hour, thrashing through a horrified crowd. This was not a spontaneous response to a violent provocation, this was a well-rehearsed military operation. The soldiers that jumped out of the armored cars were paratroopers not wearing the usual anti-riot gear. Instead, they were wearing full combat gear. They took their strategic positions quickly and precisely and then they started shooting, using their fire-and-movement tactic as if they were fighting another army.

The only possible explanation for the army’s savage attack is that they believed they had effectively provoked an encounter with IRA forces. That was evidently not the case. Regardless of whether or not the attack was initiated on grounds of an erroneous interpretation of the circumstances or a more sinister plan, they were not able to recall their forces. Once a bloodhound smells blood, he is impossible to stop.

At the end of the riots, members of the 1st Battalion of the British Parachute Regiment had shot twenty-six civil rights protesters. Thirteen people, six of whom were just seventeen years old, died at the scene. Five of those wounded were shot in the back. After the shooting ended the army continued with collecting the dead and wounded, lining up demonstrators against walls, searching, and abusing them.

The Army Headquarters in Northern Ireland dealt with the following media inquiries particularly badly and defensively. The British Army Chief, Major General Robert Ford, just as useless as his fellow officers seeking to explain the firings, claimed his soldiers had only fired at IRA snipers and grenade-throwers, which turned out to be a blatant fabrication.

The question is, what was so different, so significant about Bloody Sunday? There had been rioting before, and people were killed. While that is true, the events of Bloody Sunday manifested a magnitude that was beyond anything that had happened before in Londonderry. Until Bloody Sunday, there was only a struggle for civil rights. There were riots, but the killing of people was a disturbing exception. After Bloody Sunday, it was outright war.

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Queen of Misfortune

A Lady Jane Grey Novel by Peter Carroll

A Love Story of Almost Shakespearean Dimension!

Queen Of Misfortune is the fictional story of Lady Jane Grey as told by her beloved tutor, John Aylmer. At the time of her execution a stranger is recorded to have assisted her when, blind folded, she lost her way upon the scaffold. Was it the same ‘stranger’ who was also recorded to have visited her when she was imprisoned in the Tower? Little is known of this unfortunate girl who was beheaded for treason in the 16^th Century. She was only 16. She is omitted from the list of monarchs but was actually queen for nine days. Author Peter Carroll, in his novel, follows John Aylmer’s close relationship with Jane as her tutor and later, as she grows up, her lover. [More...]

Available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble, and any other good bookstore.

The Bleeding Hills - A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

I had written in my very first entry on this blog that I had chosen an “easy” topic for my first novel, just to get a feel of the whole writing process. Well, the topic wasn’t easy at all and the quote “The best way to become acquainted with a subject is to write a book about it”  became reality. At this time I know much more about Bloody Sunday than ever before and continue to find more information.

I did, nevertheless, get a good feel of the writing process, even in several dimensions. First of all, I believe that my writing style has continually improved since chapter one – I am still not where I want to be, though. Through some extensive research on the writing process I have learned how important the use of a professional editing service is. I had sent my first chapter to one of these services and they worked on the first three pages without charge, just to give me a sample of their work. The result was amazing. They didn’t alter my style or the story line, but they improved the readability a great deal with only a few modifications.

I also learned that a novel should have in the neighborhood of 60,000 words (roughly 300 pages). Naturally, more than 60,000 words are allowed as well. My word count – now that I have finished chapter four – is roughly 38,000, which means that I am well on target.

The first part of chapter four was the most difficult period during the writing process and it took the longest time as well. This part involves the events of Bloody Sunday in the view of the main character, Finnean Whelan. The remaining two thirds of chapter four took only three days to write, but I have only roughly four hours per writing day available (The rest is occupied by a 23 month old boy…). Unfortunately, I have to maintain a daytime job and can only dedicate one day per week for writing.

The rest of the story line is pretty much in my head, even including dialogs, and I am hopeful to have the first draft finished by the end of May 2009. From there on I will spend more time to flesh the story line out where necessary and revise my earlier writing. I have set end of June as a target for this step. The final review by the professional editing service will take ten to fifteen days and after that I need to revise/accept their changes. All in all I am targeting end of July 2009 as the release date of my novel, The Bleeding Hills.

Supplement 07/20/2009:

Well, it is already July 2009, and we are close to publishing, however, by far not as close as originally projected. Again, we are going through a learning process.

As of today, we have the first draft (56,000+ words as of today), and I am working on adding more. The first draft has undergone the consistency editing, and I was about to pass it on to the final editing. However, in the meantime I had found a really great web site (http://www.essayrater.com). It is a paid service, and it allows you to copy and paste your text, and have it checked for a myriad of parameters. We are not talking about a simple spell/grammar check, but a very intelligent test of my writing. The first runs of the program pointed to some “problem” areas, and I decided to work on these areas before we pass the text to the final editing service. I just think, that the final result will be much better.

As of today, we are targeting end of September as the publishing date.

Mr Tony Blair MP, The Prime Minister
Statement to the House of Commons
29 January 1998

The Bleeding Hills - A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

The story line behind my novel “The Bleeding Hills” would not be complete without a look into the two inquiries of Bloody Sunday, the Widgery Report of 1972 and the official Bloody Sunday Inquiry initiated in 1998.

The Widgery Tribual was held in the immediate aftermath of the events of Bloody Sunday; it was conducted by Lord Chief Justice Widgery. The Widgery Report which was produced 11 weeks after the day, but it was widely criticized as a whitewash.

The conclusion was:

• That shots had been fired at the soldiers before they started the firing that led to the casualties;
• That, for the most part, the soldiers acted as they did because they thought their standing orders justified it;
• And that although there was no proof that any of the deceased had been shot while handling a firearm or bomb, there was a strong suspicion that some had been firing weapons or handling bombs in the course of the afternoon.

Click here to read the full Widgery Report.

In his 29 January 1998 statement, the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, said the following:

“The time scale within which Lord Widgery produced his report meant that he was not able to consider all the evidence that might have been available. For example, he did not receive any evidence from the wounded who were still in hospital, and he did not consider individually substantial numbers of eye-witness accounts provided to his inquiry in the early part of March 1972. Since the report was published, much new material has come to light about the events of that day. That material includes new eye-witness accounts, new interpretation of ballistic material and new medical evidence.
:
I have been strongly advised, and I believe, that there are indeed grounds for such a further inquiry. We believe that the weight of material now available is such that the events require re-examination. We believe that the only course that will lead to public confidence in the results of any further investigation is to set up a full-scale judicial inquiry into Bloody Sunday.”

Click here to read the full statement.

Even though the judges retired on November 23, 2004, there has been no measurable result to this day. Statements regarding a possible publication of the Inquiry’s Report have been modified from year to year. The current statement on the Wikipedia web site is that the publication “was expected at the end of 2007, or possibly early 2008.” – Note: This blog entry was written on March 22, 2009.

Supplement – March 23, 2010

Here we go again. A year after my last entry on the topic of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry there is still no report on the events of Bloody Sunday. See the following references:

Bloody Sunday families angry at Saville delay

There is growing anger amongst the Bloody Sunday families that they may not see the report into the killings until after the general election. On Monday, Secretary of State Shaun Woodward said the document would remain with Lord Saville if Parliament is dissolved before it has been checked. Government advisers are reviewing it to ensure it does not endanger anyone or breach national security. Read more…

SEE ALSO

March 19, 2010 - Bloody Sunday report plan changed

February 23, 2010 - Sunday families want report date

September 23, 2009 - New delay to Bloody Sunday report

Banner and Crosses carried by the families of the Bloody Sunday victims on the annual commemoration march.

I have often criticized the lack of good literature explaining the events of Bloody Sunday untainted and comprehensible. I have been faced with the same dilemma, now that I am in the middle of writing chapter four of my novel “The Bleeding Hills“, where Bloody Sunday takes center stage.

For the record, I am not looking down on those who were present at Bloody Sunday and wrote a book about it. An atrocity like this should be a part of a well recorded history, but I also believe that, in order to spark the interest of future generations, you need to start with the basics and these basics should, first of all, not be politically tainted; consequently they will lose credibility. In regards to comprehensiveness of recorded history, it does not help to confuse the newcomer to Irish history by frequently referring to Unionists, Republicans, Loyalists, MRF, SAS, MI5, MI6, Real IRA, Continuity IRA, RUC, Provisional IRA, INLA, NICRA, Saville, Widgery, MP, PM, etc., etc., without providing a comprehensible reference. The majority of books and web sites I found on the subject were written by experts for experts, having only their own indulgence in mind. What a waste of resources and what a waste to make it so difficult for our children to understand history!

As I wrote, I have been faced with the same dilemma of describing the background of Bloody Sunday in a way that it would seamlessly fit into my story line without boring or overwhelming the reader. In my novel, the main character, Finn Whelan, is an eye-witness of the events and I needed to explain the history that led to Bloody Sunday.

The Bleeding Hills - A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

Here is my draft version:
The British occupation of the Irish island began as early as the late twelfth century and the history of English rule is filled with attempts to annihilate the Irish identity, which bear striking characteristics of Hitler’s henchmen trying to eliminate the Jewish population in Germany, however, not quite as methodical.

History is also filled with constant acts of Irish resistance and no ruling king or parliament was ever able to solve the problem. It is said that the nineteenth century Prime Minister William Eward Gladstone tried to deal with the Irish question, but never found the answer, as the Irish continued to change the question.

December 1921 saw the signing of the ‘Articles of Agreement for a Treaty between Great Britain and Ireland’, which established a free Irish state with jurisdiction over twenty-six of the thirty-two counties. It also created the separate province of Northern Ireland which remained under British control. It consists of the six northeastern counties of the predominantly Protestant Ulster region.

The deal, as negotiated by the founder of the IRA, Michael Collins, did not find the approval of the entire Irish population and, even though the Republic of Ireland was officially established, the fight for an Irish reunification began. The importance of the IRA, though, endured a slow, but continuous decline until the late 1960s, which saw increased confrontations between the Civil Rights movement in Northern Ireland and British officials, especially the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the official police force in Northern Ireland.

The Civil Rights movement’s demand was, just to name one single issue, for equal voting rights. The current system allowed only house owners to vote in local elections and they were predominantly Protestants supporting British rule in Northern Ireland. The Protestant majority defended their superiority by engaging their own militias against Catholics, supported by the predominantly Protestant RUC. By the summer of 1969 these disputes reached the dimensions of an outright Civil War and in August of 1969 the British government deployed troops to Northern Ireland, with the intention to restore public order. The mission was called “Operation Banner” and was envisioned to last only a few months. As a matter of fact, Operation Banner lasted thirty-eight years; it ended at midnight on July 31, 2007 and it represents the longest deployment in the history of the British Army. More than 3500 people died and 763 soldiers were killed.

Initially, the Catholic population welcomed the presence of the army in the hope they would act as a neutral force and protect them against the RUC and loyalists. But their hopes were shattered in July 1970 during a British operation called “Falls Curfew”, which resulted in three days of rioting and battles between the British Army and Irish Republican paramilitaries. Five people were killed and three hundred were arrested. The British Army became a player in the conflict, not a referee.

This is the in-a-nutshell-history that led to the events of Bloody Sunday on January 30, 1972. There should be many more references included, but, as I wrote, I needed to be short and efficient in my novel.

According to the CAIN Web Service (see http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/bsunday/sum.htm):
‘Bloody Sunday’ refers to the events that took place in Derry on the afternoon of Sunday 30 January 1972. A Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) march had been organised to protest against the continuation of Internment without trial in Northern Ireland. Between ten and twenty thousand men, women and children took part in the march in a ‘carnival atmosphere’. The march was prevented from entering the city centre by members of the British Army. The main body of the march then moved to ‘Free Derry Corner’ to attend a rally but some young men began throwing stones at soldiers in William Street. Soldiers of the Parachute Regiment, an elite regiment of the British Army, moved into the Bogside in an arrest operation. During the next 30 minutes these soldiers shot dead 13 men (and shot and injured a further 13 people) mainly by single shots to the head and trunk.
The soldiers responsible for the deaths and injuries insisted that they had come under sustained gun and bomb attack by members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and only fired at people in possession of weapons. Those involved in the march, and those who witnessed the events, provided evidence that ran contrary to the evidence given by the soldiers. According to these civilian testimonies none of those killed or injured had any guns or bombs.

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My research on the subject of Bloody Sunday began almost exactly to the day one year ago. At the time I had no definite vision of my work’s format, whether it would be a non-fiction account of historical facts or if I should package the events into a novel. The question was, how would I separate myself from the numerous other books available on the subject? Just a quick search on Amazon.com will show you what I mean; there are a myriad of books on the Irish War and adding yet another non-fiction work would be like adding sand to the Sahara. Another circumstance that made my choice for a novel was the sober look at a simple number: The Amazon ranking. Amazon sells millions of different books and a ranking below 100,000 is not too shabby, however, most books on the Irish Troubles rank way beyond that, which accounts for a very few book sales per month throughout the entire United States.

The low ranking has, in my very personal opinion, several reasons. First of all, most books on the Irish War are either incredibly boring (they are usually written for people who already have intimate knowledge of the Irish Troubles) or are so politically tainted that you need to doubt their credibility. The other reason may be plain lack of interest in an event, such as Bloody Sunday, that took place more than 30 years ago. Well, I am almost sure there is some good literature out there, but none of them sticks out far enough to separate themselves from the masses.

Consequently, after a few weeks of intense research, I had made my decision to write a novel and embed some Irish history into the storyline, just enough to not be boring, but tickle the readers’ curiosity. Maybe they will feel inspired to go to their local library, bookstore, or even Online, eager to learn more about a topic that deserves more attention than it currently receives.

Besides writing I also create my own covers and I had decided it would be best to use a photo related to Bloody Sunday. The previous research had provided me with a small number of contacts and as it turns out my first contact was also where I got the photo I liked best. That contact was Mary Andrews, Pictures Syndication Manager of the Guardian and Observer. It was very uplifting to receive a response per e-mail that started with a “Hiya, Wilfried.” She offered me a number of photos, most of them relating to the recent Bloody Sunday inquiry (or to use proper English: enquiry), which would have been an interesting choice, but I felt they were not quite right considering the storyline of my novel. One photo, though, caught my attention from the beginning; it is described as Boys Playing In The Bogside Catholic Neighbourhood Of Derry, A Republican Stronghold In Northern Ireland, Antonio Olmos, 01 July 2002.

The events of Bloody Sunday took place in the Bogside neighborhood. The black & white photo shows, besides the boys playing, a large sign in the background “Free All Political Prisoners“. What I liked about the picture is the contrast between the playing children and the political message placed in a neighborhood where thirteen civil rights protesters, six of whom were just seventeen years old, were killed by members of the 1st Battalion of British Parachute Regiment. I obtained the copyright later that year, which also included a very pleasant phone conversation with Mary as she took my credit card number.

I would also like to thank Adrian Kerr of the Derry Journal for his efforts. The Derry Journal owns some few photos related to Bloody Sunday, but they were taken either before or after the events. You can find a number of photos of the victims on their web site (http://www.derryjournal.com/), but as Adrian told me, victim photos belong to the individual families.

Another possible source of authentic photographs was Eamon Melaugh, a photographer, who owns an extensive collection of photos made during and after Bloody Sunday. He also maintains a very impressive web site on the subject, but I have to say he was a vast disappointment. I wrote several inquiries per e-mail, which he chose not to answer.

Well, after all, I am very satisfied with my current choice.

Supplement 07/20/2009:

Maybe I should have done this much earlier, but, now that we are getting closer to actual publishing, I looked into the terms & conditions allowing me to use the cover photo. The terms did not allow me to modify the photo, which limited the design choices for the nice cover. As a result, the cover looked too bland, and we decided to change it. Another reason is, that the royalties I paid are based on a sales volume of up to 100 copies, and I am sure it will sell better than that. We downloaded a nice picture at BigStockPhoto.com, meaning there are no royalties involved.

Well, as I wrote before, this entire process was supposed to give me a look & feel of publishing a novel, and I can say, I have learned a lot.

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The Bleeding Hills

A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy iv. 7

The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland. [More...]

The Bleeding Hills is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Nobel, and any other good bookstore.

The Bleeding Hills - A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

Back in 2005 I discovered the thrill of writing and publishing my first book on a very dry technical topic – Controller Area Network, a technology developed for automobiles. Since then I had published two more books of similar nature, but for the longest time I had toyed with the thought of breaking the cycle and explore other topics to write about, maybe even writing a novel of some kind. I am aware, writing technical literature or writing a novel are two very different ballparks, but am also thrilled by the idea.

Now, that a decision for a novel was made, I had to decide the subject to write about. I do have enough material in my mind that would account for at least four or five novels, but I also wanted to start with an “easy” subject, something to get a feel of the whole novel writing experience without wasting years of research and writing. One recent issue of the Poets & Writers magazine listed cases where authors worked for up to 18 years on their first novel, which, honestly, does not appeal – maybe it’s my German efficiency thinking.

After numerous hour-long sessions in the hot tub I came up with the “easy” subject of Bloody Sunday, which made my wife crinch when I told her. Having a law degree and knowing my rebel attitude she foresaw all the legal implications such as verifying copyrights, accuracy of historical facts, etc. It’s ironic, because being married to an Irish-American green-eyed red-head who is spiritually, however, not actively a staunch supporter of Sinn Fein, confronts you with the very passionate topic of Irish history on a nearly daily basis. To my wife’s credit, I hadn’t told her I was thinking about a novel; her initial expectation was a non-fiction account of the events. As Mark Twain put it so adequately “Familiarize yourself with the facts and then you can distort them any way you please.” and that is exactly what novel-writing is about.

Bloody Sunday, which many people associate only with the famous U2 song, refers to the events in Derry (the name Londonderry is not acceptable for a good Irish Republican) in Northern Ireland on January 30, 1972, when twenty-six civil rights protesters were shot by the 1st Battalion of the British Parachute Regiment. Thirteen people, six of whom were only seventeen years old, died at the scene. Five of those wounded, were shot in the back. While the study of such a tense subject seemed promising, I also found that good literature on the subject is hard to come by. Most books are either politically tainted to a degree that their credibility must be taken with a considerable grain of salt or the writing style simply defies the basic rules of good and fluent reading. It is my firm belief that writing about history should not only catch, but also keep the reader’s attention; otherwise the writing turns out to be a worthless task.

I was discouraged to have selected several bad examples from a myriad of available books on recent Irish history. One work in particular, written by a former member of 14 Company, at some time considered the most secret undercover operation of British Intelligence, was written in the style of an adolescent with an inferiority complex the size of Wisconsin describing a violent video game. Accompanying photos were plenty and one of them showed an example of how a pistol was properly tucked into the backside of a woman’s jeans with the subtitle “A fine example of a nicely shaped butt”. A head shake is in order now. I am now using the vast Internet resources for my research.

Another inspiration for my story was a CD I had first heard in Ireland, when we visited some relatives (I am now officially “Irish by Marriage”). My wife’s grandmother was born on the island of Inishbofin off the coast of Galway and came to the United States in the early 1920′s. The CD in question is Farewell to Evening Dances by Colm O’Donnell, one of my absolute favorite Irish musicians. One song in particular, The Boys of Barr Na Sraide, caught my attention. The song, according to Irish singer Tim Dennehy’s web site, “captures beautifully the essence of Cahersiveen nestled as it is between the mountain and sea”. Cahersiveen is an Irish town located at the Ring of Kerry. The song is based on a poem by Sigerson Clifford, who was born in Cahersiveen, and it tells the story of the boys of Barr Na Sraide – Top Street – who hunted for the wren.

Through the intensive research on the topic of recent Irish history I discovered many more interesting details, which influenced my writing significantly as I tried to incorporate historical facts into the story line. Bloody Sunday is still an important part of the story, but more in respect that it strengthened the position of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and resulted in the recruitment of a great number of new members determined to fight British rule. I used references to The Boys of Barr Na Sraide in a very unique way and you need to read the final result to find out how…

Talking about the story line… Here is a summary:
The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. Finn is protected by the CIA in his exile in the United States after working for them for the past twenty years. Consequently, British Intelligence has come up with a plan to lure Finn back into their jurisdiction, Northern Ireland, by revealing the identity of the man who is ultimately responsible for the killing of Finn’s wife, Shauna. Here they hope not only to apprehend him, but also lead them to another conspirator, Martin Sheehan, who hides in the Northern provinces. For Finn this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland.

The title of the book will be “The Bleeding Hills“. It is divided into six chapters and as of today’s date I have finished chapter three; time to forward it to my editing resource. The remaining three chapters already contain a very coarse draft and I need to flesh them out. You will see me somewhere in Western Massachusetts, hanging out at a Panera Bread, copying thoughts from my brain into my beloved MacBook. The current plan is to be ready for publication by end of May. In the meantime I will post further updates here on my blog.

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The Bleeding Hills

A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy iv. 7

The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland. [More...]

The Bleeding Hills is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Nobel, and any other good bookstore.