IN TRUE Stalinist style, history continues to be rewritten within The Workers' Party. Only a few months ago, its President, Tomas MacGiolla was claiming that he had no knowledge of the existence of the Official IRA since 1972. But on Sunday August 22 last Joe Sherlock TD was to be heard on radio proclaiming: "in the 1950s there was a campaign of resistance in the North and that cammpaign continued until 1962 and it is fair to say our party supported that campaign of resistence in the North. Since 1962 we have condemned vioolence from whatever source it has come."

The IRA bombing in 'London on July 20 is not justified for the following reasons:

The Provisional IRA has now acquired the capacity for a limited and sporadic bombing campaign in England, as a oprelude to a sustained onslaught there, which forms an integral part of its strategy for a 20 year war.

Sean MacStiophain was opposed to the campaign in England from the beginning. There were repeated arguments at army council level in the early years over this issue, especially in August 1971 after internment, in Feb 1972 after Bloody Sunday and, more particularly, in August 1972 after Operation Motorman. Several members of the IRA army council believed at the latter time that the most effecitve response to the massive British operation in Northern Ireland then would be a bombing campaign in England.

The country is about to face its severest crisis since Independence.

THE FUTURE of The Sunday Tribune continues to be uncertain. At a staff meeting in July the editor, Conor Brady, said that negotiations were takking place with a British research group and with The Irish Times with a view to partnership or take-over. We have since learnt, however, that both these options have now been closed. The British research group involved was AGB Research, one of the largest consumer research organisations in the world - they have also an in terest in business magazines and considered for a while buying Vision from the Smurfit organisation.

The proposed constitutional amendment on abortion has very little to do with the actual issue of abortion but a great deal to do with re-asserting the Catholic nature of this state and reversing recent trends towards a pluralist society. It has also to do with the degenerate nature of the Irish pollitical system, whereby any demand is acceded to and where all politicians run scared - or conversely wish to appear holier than thou - on an issue of deep emotional and reliigious significance.

Charlie Haughey has gone broke and has been forced to sell Kinsealy. He was unable to pay a bill for the hire of a Helicopter in the last year. He is badly in hock to a merchant bank. He is involved in an affair with a well known television personality (female)jwith a well known journalist (also female). It is perhaps a tribute to the pervasiveness of his personality that Charlie Haughey rumours, such as the above, dominate much oj the social gossip of Dublin. Haughey himself used to be mildly amused by such stories - he once said one should believe every rumour one hears.

Should Fianna Fail fail to win the East Galway by-election, Charlie Haughey's position as Taoiseach and leader of the party would be under further threat, possibly fatal threat.

ON JUNE 25 last Kevin McGready, 26, was sentenced to life imprisonment at Belfast, Crown Court after pleading guilty to 27 charges, including three counts of murder, and four of attempted murder. Passing sentence, "Lord Justice,," Gibson regretted that he couldn't be more lenient, but McGready had pleaded guilty ,and the, life sentence was mandatory.