Hibernia Unanimis

By John Piper

There has been a sea-change in European politics. After the financial crisis in Greece, Germany has taken steps to protect her loan repayments from Ireland and has installed a minister in the Irish government in an 'advisory' capacity to guarantee repayments are made.
Scotland has left the United Kingdom and England has exited the European Union. It is in this scenario that a schizophrenic megalomaniac makes his move to take over Ireland by force as a dictator.
He starts by trying to recreate the Irish Confederacy of 1642. He gathers a group of influential people with republican sympathies and persuades them to sign an Oath of Allegiance.
To ensure that the British Prime Minister will listen to his demands, he abducts Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. He also has hundreds of bombs hidden in major cities in England, Ireland and elsewhere. Bombs he can detonate with just a phone call.
When one of the New Confederates becomes disaffected, the British Secret Service recruit him to help spoil the dictator's plans, but he has no experience in espionage.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Piper
• Release date: May 29, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310845932

John Piper

John Piper is a suspense writer with a dark side. The four books published so far very much explore the sinister side of life.His subjects include, but are not limited to, prostitution, kidnapping, people trafficking, cannibalism, political unrest and industrial espionage. Claude's Journey, La Crème de la Crem and Hibernia Unanimis are murder suspense stories but they use both the reader's revulsion and fascination with these various subject categories to add to the suspense of the chase! His latest book, A Dangerous Formula, was written before the pandemic, but is centred around a chemical testing laboratory.All characters are fictitious, but based on people the writer has known over the years. Historical references are carefully researched to ensure their veracity.John is very well traveled and his life experiences enhance the pictures he paints with his words, with respect to places and events, but particularly regarding experiences..

Book preview

Chapter 1

On the top floor of a modern steel and glass office building in the City of London, a cultured and immaculately dressed man in his early fifties was saying his goodbyes to his fellow directors. The sun illuminated a wide band across the sumptuous boardroom and reflected off the highly polished table, causing some of the directors to shield their eyes. Always a thoughtful boss, the man strode to the windows and adjusted the blinds to everyone's comfort before continuing. He then made a short and stirring speech about the company and its future without him at the helm and introduced his successor officially to the other main board directors, although the new man had been on board for several weeks and was becoming well known to them all.

His successor then made a longer but less stirring speech thanking the out-going CEO for his magnificent contribution, peppered with several 'retirement' jokes, mostly to do with fishing and golf. His secretary poured champagne and a variety of toasts were made which the outgoing CEO declined until, after a round of handshakes, Declan Ryan took his leave and walked briskly out of the boardroom and the office block.

Kerry Construction had been a very successful company. They had never taken on the lead role in any of the major projects, but they had been the sub-contractors of choice for the whole construction industry. This way, they always had many irons in the fire but they didn't take the whole responsibility and therefore never shouldered the whole risk. They were loved by their industry partners as well as by the stock exchange. Kerry Construction always delivered on time and always to budget. Many architects and consultancies had tried to get them to take on entire projects, but Declan Ryan had always been dead set against this. Despite a significant workforce of their own, Kerry Construction regularly took on 'sub-sub-contractors' from a cache of very thoroughly vetted companies. There was great prestige to be had from holding Kerry Construction's recommendation and up and coming construction firms worked hard to try to get on their list.

Then he had suddenly decided he had had enough. It had been a surprise to everyone, but as usual, Declan was immovable. There were no shortages of prospective CEOs who wanted to take over from him, but Declan had been typically meticulous in finding his replacement. He had painstakingly organised his extrication from the business too, along with his financial settlement, which was considerable to say the least.

Always a very patriotic Irishman and a devout Catholic, he had ensured that his workers all observed the holy days of obligation in the calendar even when they were not public holidays. Overtime was never on offer on these religious holidays. He was a fair boss, but he expected his colleagues to return that in an honest days work for which they were well rewarded.

As a young man, he had been deeply influenced by the stories of hunger-striker Bobby Sands, but the subsequent descent into violence in the Six Counties had turned him away from actively following Sinn Féin. He had then suffered a long period of illness where he had found he had much time on his hands to study, read and think. His religious fervour had then taken him over, partly due to the amount of religious history he had been reading and partly due to his condition. He had suffered from depression and frequent mood swings to begin with but as his treatment progressed, his physicians had noted that he displayed regular spells of disorganised speech and delusions, which could also have pointed to schizophrenia.

Declan was always highly intelligent and very determined. He vowed that he would beat this 'black dog' and he did. He left the care of the Irish Mental Health Department having convinced them that he had been completely cured by their treatments, but it was down in fact to his single mindedness and self control. Alone in his apartment at night, he would still have terrible dreams and he kept himself self-medicated to dull the worst of his demons.

He spent all of his vacations in Ireland, despite his considerable wealth. His closest friends (of the few he had) were priests. He had not married and there had never been any hint of scandal following him.

However, he had not fought his way up from the building site, throwing away his hard hat and shovel once he rose to the office. No, Declan was an honours graduate in Business Studies from the University of Dublin and he had started already seventy-five percent up the ladder.

University had been his best outlet once he had the depression under his control. The lectures inspired him and he was the top student in Business Studies. He had wanted to take Religious Studies but when he applied, he had been turned down. Maybe he had not interviewed well, having such set ideas about religion and his own faith, or maybe his parish priest had feared his mental health history might make him vulnerable to fanaticism and had not given him the ringing recommendation he had anticipated.

Whatever the case, Declan had been the perfect student, working hard, contributing to the lectures, discussing strategies with his tutors and writing excellent notes and essays. Always persuasive and articulate, Declan's presentations never failed to convince his audience. His graduation with honours had been a foregone conclusion.

Declan had joined Kerry Construction when they were a small scale sub-contractor who had landed a project far bigger than they had experienced before and they needed an influx of managerial talent. His new employers were delighted to get him with his exceptional qualifications, though he had no real experience in the field having only recently graduated. A few years on and he owned the majority shareholding in Kerry Construction and they were heading skywards, fast.

In fact, he had been already in his thirties when he had graduated, but he never let on as to what he had been doing with his life beforehand. Speculation was that he had been in a seminary training to be a priest, but no one knew.

Likewise, no one knew how he planned to spend his retirement. He just walked out of the offices, hailed a taxi (he never drove) and disappeared.

Declan was a tall man, slim and very erect in his bearing. He exuded authority and his self-confidence displayed the same air of total control that was very contagious. Everyone believed he knew exactly what he was doing and his results bore that out. If Declan was involved in the bid for a project, he always won, even though he would always be the supporting act.

Although he was always very elegantly dressed, he was a man of simple tastes and never one to spend unnecessarily on himself. He wore good clothes and he entertained business associates in good restaurants, but beyond that, he lived in a one-bedroom apartment not far from the offices and his main passion was reading - mostly history books and historical fiction.

He bade the taxi wait for him outside his apartment block and within ten minutes, he emerged with a suitcase and directed the taxi driver to take him to Heathrow Airport, Terminal Two.

At the Airport, he paid off the taxi and strode to the Aer Lingus desk where he purchased a one-way ticket to Dublin on the next flight. Ninety minutes later he was watching Heathrow Airport disappear beneath him as the aircraft soared into the bright sunlight above.

That afternoon, at four pm, he was in an architect's office in Dublin, putting the finishing touches to his favourite project of restoration of a once sumptuous Georgian mansion to better than its original splendour. It had been a project that had taxed even his construction industry experience and single mindedness. Afterwards, the architect invited him to a drink to celebrate their success, but Declan declined. He didn't drink and he rarely celebrated anything - he was too much in tight control of himself to allow any outpouring of emotion.

The following morning he had meetings with a variety of contractors together with his architect and he would be kept busy while the last finishing touches were carried out and the snagging list completed and perfection was attained. Although his life was one of meticulous planning, he had not pre-booked an hotel, but he knew the bigger hotels in Dublin and he was always a welcome guest.

Soon after, he checked himself into a prestige suite close to St Stephen's Green. Then he called the architect to tell him where he was staying and to get the meeting venue passed around to all of the contractors.

Next day, after the best night's sleep he had enjoyed in years, he spread his papers and plans out in the sumptuous sitting room of his suite and prepared to meet his architect and the list of assembled contractors who would arrive at various predetermined times during the day.

Chapter 2

The Parade Tower in Kilkenny Castle has hosted many significant gatherings in Ireland’s history. On this occasion, several people had been gathered for an important meeting concerning Ireland and her future. The invitations had been expensively produced but held little information about the matters of the day. Each invitee had received a follow up telephone call from a professional agency to confirm their attendance and arrange transport, enquire about dietary issues and generally ensure that those invited would feel that they were key members of the meeting. On the day, there were three bishops, two of whom had travelled from the USA, an American Senator, two Irish peers, an English Catholic Member of the House of Lords and several Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin representatives. In total, there were fourteen delegates at the conference.

While tea and an assortment of boxty, báirín breac and Kimberley Biscuits were served, the assembled delegates viewed each other with a mixture of distrust, curiosity and respect for the various titles represented. At ten o’clock, they were invited to take their seats and a man whom was unknown to any of them took the stage.

Gentlemen, he began, you have been invited here to this meeting because, for all of your differences, you have one thing in common. Each and every one of you is truly committed to the goal of a unified Ireland. Not only that, but a unified Ireland which bears loyalty to the Pope.

He paused for his words to sink in before continuing,

I know that most of you have travelled here via Dublin today and those of you who did not are all familiar with our beloved capital city. You will likewise be familiar with Temple Bar, the area that was intended to be a centre of culture in the early ‘90’s. Later, in 1999, Taoiseach Charles Haughey banned the practice of using the area for hen nights and stag nights and the drunken and debauched behaviour for which this historic area had become popular. I know that many of our countrymen like a drink, but this behaviour is from young men and women who are certainly not slaking their thirst after an honest day’s labours and very few of them are indeed Irish.

We all thought that our problem was within the six counties and the Orange Order. If Ireland were to be one, we could solve that problem easily. The true problem we face is the spreading cancer within our people and that is being openly encouraged by Europe.

Our beloved motherland is being taken over by sin. All this time later, Haughey’s words are still being ignored. Everywhere you look, our traditions are being rubbished and drugs, alcohol, sex and greed are the new religion. We must get back to our old values and we must restrain or eject those who would seek to deny us this goal. We are under the yoke of the European Community and that is dragging us down. It has denied us the right to refuse entry to our shores to those we deem undesirable and now, since the Euro has fallen in value, we are scrabbling around to survive, under the heel of Germany and the authority that Germany’s wealth gives them over us. We must again be masters of our own fate. We must cure Ireland of what ails her

My name is Benedict Plunkett and I am the man who will make this prospect a reality. In a moment, agendas for the day will be passed around the room. These will set out the order of business for the day. Once you have had a chance to read the agenda, I will show a short film which will give you some insight into the Ireland which, I propose, we shall forge together. There would have been many questions from the floor without doubt, but Benedict Plunkett strode off the stage to allow the agendas to be distributed and the film set to roll.

Slowly the conversation began to buzz, gently at first as the distributed papers were rustled and the order for the day was read. It seemed logical if lacking in content perhaps.

Promotional film for Hibernia Unanimis

Why is one Ireland stronger than an Ireland split?

How do we include all who share our goals?

How do we exclude those who do not?

Steps to achieving ‘our’ Ireland

Where does the finance come from?

Who should lead such an Ireland?

Dealing with Objections

Soon after the agendas had been distributed by staff brought in for the event, the film began. It showed evocative images of Ireland with a gently persuasive Irish voice commentating over the images of both pastoral scenes and modern cities and airports. There were happy families with smiling children enjoying free time together in the open countryside and contented elderly people sitting down to dine in nice restaurants. There were couples walking their dogs along the beach and waving to others who were riding horses. In crowded bars, young people were entertaining the clientele with traditional music played on traditional instruments. In the fields, men toiled and stood back to admire what they had achieved with contented smiles. In the City centres, there were business people shaking hands and signing contracts, shown in an environment of steel and glass that spelled success. It showed all that was good and successful and all that was beautiful about Ireland for about fifteen minutes, ending with a successful young man arriving home to a nice house, driving a nice car and being greeted at the door by his pretty wife, pregnant and with a toddler by the hand and two other appealing children running out to greet their father.

Then the background music changed. This section showed images of child poverty of street brawls and large groups of immigrants. It showed burned out cars littering the beautiful countryside around Dublin and bombed out buildings in Belfast. There were demonstrations and fights. The Gardaí were hard pressed to hold back the angry crowds and many people were led away by them and forced into waiting vans. Drunken young people were spilling out of pubs and vomiting and fighting whilst making gestures at the camera. In business, there were boarded up shops and offices, empty factories and incomplete housing projects with the wind blowing rubbish around the deserted buildings and rats scuttling across the unmade roadways. This section of the film had a female voice over, but she sounded fearful and desperate. Then the film showed she was the same pretty wife at the end of the first section, but she was in rags and her children were dirty. She was scouring the streets looking for somewhere they could stay. She was being turned away from everywhere she went, it was raining and none of them were wearing warm clothes.

Finally, the film cut to Benedict Plunkett. He just asked Which Ireland do you want?

It was a very powerful piece of film and you could have heard a pin drop among the audience.

Right gentlemen, Benedict started again, You have seen the film and you have had a chance to read the agenda. Before we start, does anyone have any questions or objections to the order of the day?

Two of the Fianna Fáil delegates and the Irish bishop raised their hands. Benedict went to the bishop first.

Is this some attempt at forming a new political party? he asked.

No, Your Excellency, Benedict replied unless you want to put that up as a suggestion.

The first of the Fianna Fáil representatives then asked Who exactly are you? I’ve never heard of you and I suspect that no one else here has either.

I am the man who will save Ireland. You may not have heard of me yet, but I have made this my life’s work and I have put a considerable amount of my own time and money into making this day a key date in the history of our motherland. During the course of today, you will get to know me much better and understand what I, and only I, can offer Ireland and why, if you love her as I do, you will make your first contribution to her future during today.

I think I have made many contributions to our country. The Fianna Fáil representative replied.

Have patience and you will yet see how paltry they were in comparison to our goal. Then, without waiting for another response Benedict turned to the other Fianna Fáil representative. Sir, you had a question?

Yes, why are there so few of us here today if it is as important as you state? Would you not want to have representatives from other parties or from the Northern Irish National Assembly?

Oh, you have all been hand picked. I have watched you all and how you conduct yourselves and it is my opinion that you could all help forge the future of Ireland. Now, if that is all, let us move on.

Benedict Plunkett was a man in his fifties. He was tall, slim and well groomed and he was immaculately dressed. His voice revealed that he was indeed a Galway man. He spoke in an educated manner and he was a very good orator. He would have succeeded well in whichever political party he had favoured, or he could have been a very high powered salesman, such as one who would sell major projects to governments. Whatever his background, he was a very persuasive man and he held this group of strong personalities in the palm of his hand. When he spoke, it was as if he were speaking to each of them individually.

What followed was a presentation, using visual aids that Benedict controlled from a remote in his hand. As he spoke, he paced back and forth, but never took his eyes off his audience for more than a few moments.

Of course, he began, there were advantages commercially to a single Ireland. The north of the country was split into the six counties that were first populated by Protestant immigrants for political gain and not through any plan for industry, finance or agriculture. Historically, Donegal had been out on a limb and had suffered from lesser road and rail links as a result.

The ‘Celtic Tiger’ financial boom of a few years ago had been spoiled by the split and Benedict put forward persuasive arguments to support why the boom would still be on-going were it not for the divided country.

Opportunities in the North had only been open to the favoured few, usually on account of their religious allegiances. The British Army had been there for far too long, protecting the bigots and those who wanted to perpetuate separatism. No one gained from this, least of all the British who had to sacrifice their sons and daughters to a conflict they had been forced into.

Nothing he said could be easily denied by the audience. Even so, there were a few exclamations where he stated the more controversial claims and there were some questions, all of which were dealt with by Benedict quickly and easily. He knew his subject to perfection and no one was going to trip him up. Long held beliefs were dashed by his logic, but everyone there still felt he was on their side and arguing for their cause even so. Where most of the audience had been brought up to hate and mistrust the English, this man was telling them that the English were as much victims of history as the Irish were and it was a convincing argument. A strong and prosperous single Ireland could negotiate on equal terms and forge valuable links that would do more to rid them of bigotry than any other past campaign had. All the conflicts of the past had just made the divisions more deep seated and Ireland had been the inevitable loser.

The next discussion point was even more controversial and Benedict had to deal with several objections to his description of how the country should be run. He referred back to the Confederate Assembly of Kilkenny several times. He spoke with passion about that attempt in 1642 to bring all factions together and resist the Protestant infiltrators, whilst retaining their loyalty to King Charles. He blamed the Protestant elements, particularly the Puritans, for forcing Ireland into the heart breaking split of their motherland and the strife that had resulted over the centuries.

The discussion turned into more of a history lesson and Benedict Plunkett was very much at home with his favourite subject. Despite their collective educational backgrounds, none of the delegates had any more than a rudimentary understanding of the Confederate Assembly and quite a few held all sorts of misconceptions about what had gone on. The Americans were clearly shocked that there had ever been any possibility of loyalty to the Crown of England being offered voluntarily. Benedict was a well informed and passionate teacher and over the course of forty-five minutes or so, he had lit up the subject and transported them all back to that period of Irish history and the terrible consequences of the failure of the Confederate Assembly to negotiate a settlement.

He held up King Charles as a virtual God and with the same words, he vilified Oliver Cromwell and what he had done to both Ireland and their collective ancestors. No Protestant would ever again have any prospect of holding office in his unified Ireland.

The American senator wanted to know how ‘Irish’ should be defined because his great grand parents had been Irish. Benedict told him that he could be considered Irish because although he had not been born in Ireland and his mother was of Polish descent, his paternal family was Irish and both branches were exclusively Roman Catholic. He was able to name every one of the senator’s family tree and their countries of birth. If he had had any break in his paternal family from the Irish forebears or if there were any non-Catholic ancestors on either side, he would have been disqualified from Benedict’s definition of Irish. On the other hand, Benedict emphasised, being non-Irish need not be a disadvantage where true loyalty was shown.

Being Protestant would be insurmountable unless the person concerned was prepared to convert to the Catholic faith. The senator bowed out of the argument faced with a barrage of information with which even he could not compete.

Ultimately this discussion came round to non-Europeans and Jews, Muslims and other non-Christian religions. Benedict explained that his vision of Ireland was a country of Catholics who were born in Ireland or born of Irish ancestors who returned to help the motherland in her hour of need. He would also welcome those of European origin who were Catholic and loyal to the same aims. He had no objection to Jews as such, they had existed in Ireland for generations, but they or other non-Christians would not be allowed to vote, own property or hold any public office. Irish Protestants would be allowed to vote for their Protestant Representative on the Irish Parliament. This post would be held by a Catholic who would have the task of presenting Protestant interests to the rest of the Parliament. There would be a further representative to present all non-Christian views, but he would be appointed rather than elected.

The steps to achieving the goal were discussed along similar lines. There would be heavy sanctions for transgressing any laws, but these would be doubled for any non-Irish or non-Catholic miscreants. Other countries that failed to help fund this venture would have their embassies closed and their citizens returned to them. Ex patriot Irish would be encouraged to return and help rebuild the country.

Finally, the question of who should lead this new Ireland was broached.

The senator spoke up, I suppose that will be you will it?

Oh no, my friend, Benedict replied, I am not worthy of such high office. Let us first consider the character, talents, intellect, stature and morals of the person who would be at the head of our country. Let us also consider who would be an acceptable person in the eyes of the international community. Then we might suggest some individuals. I already have a name in mind, but you may have even better ones. Whoever we choose must have undeniable credentials and be a statesman of great experience and influence.

The audience were partly brainwashed by this stage after the persuasive barrage they had been put to by Benedict. Various names were put forward from around the room and without exception, someone objected to every suggestion. No one had had the opportunity to think this through of course, but the suggestions mostly ranged from the impracticable to the downright laughable.

Finally, one of the American bishops said, Benedict, you said you had a name in mind. May we know who this person is?

Benedict paused for full effect and then clicked the remote in his hand. Projected onto the screen behind him was a picture of Prince Charles taken shortly after his confirmation, whilst receiving communion in St Peters from the Pope.

Then he said "I have in mind the most well known Catholic today after His Holiness himself. I suggest a man of well known qualities, a man who represents a return to