Anthony McIntyre's Blog, page 1170
December 18, 2017
Donald Trump: A President Swallowed By History
Stanley Cohen writes in Al Jazeera that:
The US has tried and failed to create a capital for another state before. "Israeli" Jerusalem will be the next Saigon.
The life of Donald Trump is a full-time campaign to disguise incompetence to the roar of the inept, writes Cohen [Reuters]
US President Donald Trump is a great impersonator. Not a day goes by without his desperate effort to masquerade as human. Surrounded by faux gold and fawning fools from his earliest days, Trump has stumbled from scam to scam, bank to bank, grope to grope, as he reached the absolute pinnacle of moral failure. His is a world of cheap thrills, empty rhetoric and intimidating context.
Few of knowledge would stop to challenge Trump's unprecedented scorecard of international failure. Indeed, ad hoc chaos has become very much the executive order of his day.
Whether it's a Muslim ban that targets states from which not a single national has engaged in an act of terrorism that has cost the life of a US citizen, to his retweets of videos posted by a British far-right activist, to a pointless border wall styled on hateful votes and little else, to a proposal to seize Iraqi oil as "spoils of war", his is a hustler's hustle. It's the penultimate Ponzi scheme, a boiler-room operation based in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The life of Donald Trump is a full-time campaign to disguise incompetence to the roar of the inept. While the spectre of nuclear holocaust on the Korean Peninsula, military threats to Iran, and attacks on the domestic political aspirations and independence of Venezuela and Cuba may empower those who draw vigour from the echo of empty words, they do little but confound a world built on fragile relations and nuanced exchange. To be sure, they present a clear and real danger to us all.
Those foolish enough to believe the arrival of the Romanovs of Fifth Avenue would herald a tempering of US imperial ambitions were soon disappointed.
Thus, in Yemen, having been empowered to act on its own, the Pentagon unleashed drone slaughters of mostly civilians at an unprecedented pace. From offshore, the US fired dozens of Tomahawk missiles into Syria as an offset to a suspected chemical weapons attack. In Afghanistan, we saw the detonation of the world's largest non-nuclear bomb as very much a herald to more US troops and to permanent US warfare.
With reckless abandon, Trump has fled from international agreements designed to give hope to the prospect of life for us all long after the debacle of his imperial design comes to its well-deserved end.
The Paris Climate Agreement became the first victim, with the US departing as the only country in the world indifferent to a global call for adoption of clean energy and the phase-out of fossil fuels. With damning nationalist praise, Trump announced to the world he "was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris".
Not long after his coronation, he withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, distancing the US from what were its Asian economic allies. Later, citing its alleged anti-Israel bias, he withdrew from UNESCO, which the US helped found in the shadow of World War II. Can it be long before the US abandons a nuclear arms-control agreement that has long been, verifiably, working?
US President Donald Trump gestures to show the extent of temperature change he thinks there is, as he announces his decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement [Joshua Roberts/Reuters]
Unsurprisingly, Trump's global "no confidence" rate soared to 74 percent.
Cast in the light of a presidency certain to soon enter its second year of crude dysfunction, why is anyone, at all, surprised by Trump's empty, lawless announcement that the US will hereinafter recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel?
Like the wall for which Mexico will pay, at day's end, Trump's apostolic blessing was little more than a "sham show in waiting", to offer up to a powerful Zionist lobby and ignorant evangelical political base when needed.
Indeed, having shown no understanding of the history or complexity of today's world, let alone core values of international law, Trump's gratuitous toss of "legitimacy" to the illegitimate journey of Israel was as predictable as it was desperate.
Jerusalem is not Israeli, by law
Any discussion of Trump's mindless recent croon about a world-defining moment of 70-plus years, reduced to presidential fiat, alone, must necessarily begin from the reality of international law. To bestow upon an occupation force lawful annexation of land not theirs for the taking is, ultimately, to do little more than insist that the world is flat.
In 1948, when the United Nations recognised Israel as a state, it called for a demilitarised Jerusalem as a separate entity under the protection of its exclusive aegis.
Not long thereafter, pursuant to Resolution 194 (III), the General Assembly declared Jerusalem to be an open city subject to the well-recognised legal principle of internationalisation.
Predictably, not long thereafter, Israel declared Jerusalem to be its capital as it established various government agencies in the western part of the city.
Meanwhile, Jordan continued to exercise formal control of Jerusalem's eastern section, including, most importantly, the Old City, leaving open its ultimate status to a final settlement of the unresolved "question" of Palestinian statehood.
All was to radically change as Israel seized and occupied the entire West Bank of Palestine, including East Jerusalem, during the war of 1967, thus rendering it subject to the various protections of the Geneva Convention.
In relevant part, the convention holds it unlawful for an occupying power to transfer its own population into the territory it occupies. In addition, it prohibits the establishment of settlements and the confiscation and annexation of occupied land.
Time and time again, the United Nations, as a toothless organisation, has ordered Israel to cease its expansion of illegal settlements and annexation of occupied Palestinian land.
Time and time again, Israel, as a rogue state, has scoffed at the notion that it owes any obligation whatsoever to well-settled international law.
Indeed, between 1967 and 1989, the UN Security Council adopted 131 resolutions directly addressing the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Israel held itself out as beyond the reach of these resolutions.
In 1980, and again in 1990, pursuant to Resolutions 478 and 672, the UN demanded that Israel abide by the Geneva Convention and end the construction of illegal settlements. In doing so, it emphasised the "independence" of the City of Jerusalem and the protection of its "unique spiritual and religious dimension". Israel ignored this demand.
In February 1999, the Security Council again rebuked Israel's effort as an occupying power "... to alter the character, legal status and demographic composition of Jerusalem". Israel ignored this demand.
In point of fact, as of 2015, Israel had been condemned in, and had ignored, some 45 resolutions by the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Anyone with even a modicum of historical context, let alone intellectual capacity or interest, would understand that a now seven-decade-old, deadly standoff between Palestine and Israel will not go away by wishful thinking or inane talismanic chant.
Yet that is precisely what Donald Trump did when, with typical denial, he preached on a faux resolution, took credit, and then, with alarming ease, said, "Problem solved ... next".
Ultimately, in a strange sort of way, and in more ways than one, Trump's unearned arrogance and dramatic disconnect from the crossroads of history and reality may have produced results clearly unintended, yet, necessary.
Oslo is dead
For decades, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has toiled under the well-financed illusion that the Israelis who sat across the negotiation table, and their enablers in Washington, brought more than just the appearance of goodwill to the effort.
Time after time, outrage after outrage, the PA has always returned with hat in hand to the folly of talks which accomplished little, but provided an irrelevant political vent as more and more land was annexed, and lives stolen, to the hum of bombs or the slam of prison doors.
Palestinian technocrats who started out in their prime with Oslo have now aged beyond hope, along with any illusion of relevance. So, too, the march of time leaves no doubt that Oslo has represented nothing but a palpable pretext for Israel to carry out systematic ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, be it by force of arms or by law.
In the years since Yasser Arafat posed with Yitzhak Rabin and renounced armed struggle, three US presidents have come and gone. Each has sold a perverse balance that the US could, somehow, play objective arbiter in the midst of a one-sided slaughter supported, all the while, by US politics and money.
US President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands as they deliver remarks before a dinner at Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem [Ariel Schalit/Reuters]
However, do give Donald Trump credit where credit is due. With one, short, slurred speech, he peeled away, forever more, the veneer of any US integrity or independence when it comes to facilitating a just and equitable resolution, respecting the rights and aspirations of Palestinians.
Oslo is a failed, futile fantasy that has filled the coffers of the few while the many have suffered from an economic strangle-hold dressed up in institutional benevolence that, in reality, has been used primarily by the PA to buy and control political winds and opposition.
Any reasonable read must lead to the conclusion that the long terminally-ill Oslo has died, along with its whimsical two-state solution, when Trump, essentially, told the PA to shut its doors and walk away.
Hopefully, 82-year-old Mahmoud Abbas got the message loud and clear.
The one state solution
It is well past reality's reach that a two-state solution can, at this late date, provide a viable vehicle for meaningful Palestinian sovereignty or for overall peace.
The notion that a series of disconnected Bantustans - stripped of a traditional land base, natural resources, and the unique centre of religious and faith-based history - can suddenly become a feasible independent state for millions of stateless Palestinians is fool's gold.
Ultimately, no matter what its form or shape, the essence of statehood is the ability to develop and maintain political and economic institutions and security and to control borders, including air rights and, where applicable, seaports.
To suggest that Israel would cede any degree of meaningful self-determination, in these all-defining cornerstones of sovereignty, to a Palestinian state is simply laughable, in light of its decades-long practices.
Indeed, at this late date, there is but one solution acceptable to the millions of Palestinian living as refugees abroad or suffering under apartheid, occupation and ethnic cleansing fueled by supremacist hate: one state for all from the river to the sea.
It matters not whether this state becomes a system of independent, but connected, cantons - as in Switzerland. What is important is that the single state embraces no official state religion, ensures equal protection and rights for all, guarantees "one person, one vote", and opens all jobs, roads and communities. What is also important is that it is based not on race, religion or politics but on the willingness to struggle for a collective good that will at long last serve the united interest of one people.
While some will surely scoff at this notion and, perhaps, find little hope for its success, unification provides the sole means by which Palestinians and Jews, Muslims and Christians can begin to heal the wounds that have long divided people that, left to their own unimpeded devices, would find much more that unites them than divides.
Lest there be any claim of naivete, the road to a one-state resolution is, of course, littered with more than mere encumbrances of communities, schools and highways long segregated by barricades and barbed wire.
Seventy years of forced displacement, death and destruction have left, for many, the scars born of tears and hate. Only time and unification can begin to heal those wounds and end the nightmare. All else is just sheer destructive folly.
For Israelis, who see delay as their ally, it's a false hope born of little more than convenient denial. "Out of sight, out of mind" does not solve a crisis but simply puts off its reckoning to another day - one which grows more difficult and demanding with the passage of time.
All occupations, large and small, ultimately awaken one day to find themselves captive to a "graveyard of empires". Here, it will be no different.
The eternal capital of Palestine
Today, in Palestine and in Israel, there are more than 5 million Palestinians with the median age of 19 years. They will not go away or surrender to the silence of the night.
For years, the young women and men of Palestine have been in the vanguard of an unbroken national effort to reclaim their freedom and rebuild their state.
For them, the price has been dear. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Information, since 2000, alone, Israel has killed more than 3,000 Palestinian minors. During the same period, Israeli forces have injured another 13,000 youth and arrested more than 12,000 others. Today, Israel holds about 300 children in its prisons.
Despite an awful price exacted for their courage and resistance, for the young women and men of Palestine, the future holds no truth but one, built on a determined struggle to confront and end a criminal occupation and apartheid by any means necessary, including armed struggle.
For Palestinians, history is, indeed, a guidepost of what is yet to come. For Palestinians, history is an unbroken saga, handed down from the elderly in refugee camps throughout the Middle East to their very young who find comfort in the cultural breath of dabke.
Mr Trump: Were you an informed observer of history, you would know well that this is not the first time the US has tried to designate a city as the capital of a state against the political and historical will of its people.
In Vietnam, such an attempt did not end well, as Saigon eventually gave way to the legitimate, national aspirations and rights of millions who refused to be held captive by the imperial design of a foreign occupation force.
Yes, Mr President, history does, and will indeed, repeat itself.
Capitals are much more than cold, sculpted monuments to those that have come before, or warehouses of political ideals and rights beyond the reach of all but the chosen few. Nor can they inspire from behind barricaded buildings in which petty despots dole out rights and benefits based upon one's mere name or faith.
Capitals are homes to collective freedom and will, with open doors that know no artificial boundaries or lawful segregation. To be honest, to empower, they must represent the collective will and aspirations of all those who look to them for justice and opportunity.
For millions of Palestinians, that capital is Jerusalem. It weaves with the rock of the ages and hums to the tune of history. To walk down the ancient pathways of the Old City, to hear the call to prayer, to look out in all directions from Al-Aqsa plaza across the open and free expanse beyond its age-old walls is a journey that is Jerusalem.
Nothing that you, Donald Trump, can say or do will undo the magic and majesty that is Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Palestine.
The views expressed in this article are the authors' own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.
Stanley L Cohen is a lawyer and human rights activist who has done extensive work in the Middle East and Africa.
Follow Stanley Cohen on Twitter @StanleyCohenLaw
The US has tried and failed to create a capital for another state before. "Israeli" Jerusalem will be the next Saigon.
The life of Donald Trump is a full-time campaign to disguise incompetence to the roar of the inept, writes Cohen [Reuters]US President Donald Trump is a great impersonator. Not a day goes by without his desperate effort to masquerade as human. Surrounded by faux gold and fawning fools from his earliest days, Trump has stumbled from scam to scam, bank to bank, grope to grope, as he reached the absolute pinnacle of moral failure. His is a world of cheap thrills, empty rhetoric and intimidating context.
Few of knowledge would stop to challenge Trump's unprecedented scorecard of international failure. Indeed, ad hoc chaos has become very much the executive order of his day.
Whether it's a Muslim ban that targets states from which not a single national has engaged in an act of terrorism that has cost the life of a US citizen, to his retweets of videos posted by a British far-right activist, to a pointless border wall styled on hateful votes and little else, to a proposal to seize Iraqi oil as "spoils of war", his is a hustler's hustle. It's the penultimate Ponzi scheme, a boiler-room operation based in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The life of Donald Trump is a full-time campaign to disguise incompetence to the roar of the inept. While the spectre of nuclear holocaust on the Korean Peninsula, military threats to Iran, and attacks on the domestic political aspirations and independence of Venezuela and Cuba may empower those who draw vigour from the echo of empty words, they do little but confound a world built on fragile relations and nuanced exchange. To be sure, they present a clear and real danger to us all.
Those foolish enough to believe the arrival of the Romanovs of Fifth Avenue would herald a tempering of US imperial ambitions were soon disappointed.
Thus, in Yemen, having been empowered to act on its own, the Pentagon unleashed drone slaughters of mostly civilians at an unprecedented pace. From offshore, the US fired dozens of Tomahawk missiles into Syria as an offset to a suspected chemical weapons attack. In Afghanistan, we saw the detonation of the world's largest non-nuclear bomb as very much a herald to more US troops and to permanent US warfare.
With reckless abandon, Trump has fled from international agreements designed to give hope to the prospect of life for us all long after the debacle of his imperial design comes to its well-deserved end.
The Paris Climate Agreement became the first victim, with the US departing as the only country in the world indifferent to a global call for adoption of clean energy and the phase-out of fossil fuels. With damning nationalist praise, Trump announced to the world he "was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris".
Not long after his coronation, he withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, distancing the US from what were its Asian economic allies. Later, citing its alleged anti-Israel bias, he withdrew from UNESCO, which the US helped found in the shadow of World War II. Can it be long before the US abandons a nuclear arms-control agreement that has long been, verifiably, working?
US President Donald Trump gestures to show the extent of temperature change he thinks there is, as he announces his decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement [Joshua Roberts/Reuters]Unsurprisingly, Trump's global "no confidence" rate soared to 74 percent.
Cast in the light of a presidency certain to soon enter its second year of crude dysfunction, why is anyone, at all, surprised by Trump's empty, lawless announcement that the US will hereinafter recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel?
Like the wall for which Mexico will pay, at day's end, Trump's apostolic blessing was little more than a "sham show in waiting", to offer up to a powerful Zionist lobby and ignorant evangelical political base when needed.
Indeed, having shown no understanding of the history or complexity of today's world, let alone core values of international law, Trump's gratuitous toss of "legitimacy" to the illegitimate journey of Israel was as predictable as it was desperate.
Jerusalem is not Israeli, by law
Any discussion of Trump's mindless recent croon about a world-defining moment of 70-plus years, reduced to presidential fiat, alone, must necessarily begin from the reality of international law. To bestow upon an occupation force lawful annexation of land not theirs for the taking is, ultimately, to do little more than insist that the world is flat.
In 1948, when the United Nations recognised Israel as a state, it called for a demilitarised Jerusalem as a separate entity under the protection of its exclusive aegis.
Not long thereafter, pursuant to Resolution 194 (III), the General Assembly declared Jerusalem to be an open city subject to the well-recognised legal principle of internationalisation.
Predictably, not long thereafter, Israel declared Jerusalem to be its capital as it established various government agencies in the western part of the city.
Meanwhile, Jordan continued to exercise formal control of Jerusalem's eastern section, including, most importantly, the Old City, leaving open its ultimate status to a final settlement of the unresolved "question" of Palestinian statehood.
All was to radically change as Israel seized and occupied the entire West Bank of Palestine, including East Jerusalem, during the war of 1967, thus rendering it subject to the various protections of the Geneva Convention.
In relevant part, the convention holds it unlawful for an occupying power to transfer its own population into the territory it occupies. In addition, it prohibits the establishment of settlements and the confiscation and annexation of occupied land.
Time and time again, the United Nations, as a toothless organisation, has ordered Israel to cease its expansion of illegal settlements and annexation of occupied Palestinian land.
Time and time again, Israel, as a rogue state, has scoffed at the notion that it owes any obligation whatsoever to well-settled international law.
Indeed, between 1967 and 1989, the UN Security Council adopted 131 resolutions directly addressing the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Israel held itself out as beyond the reach of these resolutions.
In 1980, and again in 1990, pursuant to Resolutions 478 and 672, the UN demanded that Israel abide by the Geneva Convention and end the construction of illegal settlements. In doing so, it emphasised the "independence" of the City of Jerusalem and the protection of its "unique spiritual and religious dimension". Israel ignored this demand.
In February 1999, the Security Council again rebuked Israel's effort as an occupying power "... to alter the character, legal status and demographic composition of Jerusalem". Israel ignored this demand.
In point of fact, as of 2015, Israel had been condemned in, and had ignored, some 45 resolutions by the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Anyone with even a modicum of historical context, let alone intellectual capacity or interest, would understand that a now seven-decade-old, deadly standoff between Palestine and Israel will not go away by wishful thinking or inane talismanic chant.
Yet that is precisely what Donald Trump did when, with typical denial, he preached on a faux resolution, took credit, and then, with alarming ease, said, "Problem solved ... next".
Ultimately, in a strange sort of way, and in more ways than one, Trump's unearned arrogance and dramatic disconnect from the crossroads of history and reality may have produced results clearly unintended, yet, necessary.
Oslo is dead
For decades, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has toiled under the well-financed illusion that the Israelis who sat across the negotiation table, and their enablers in Washington, brought more than just the appearance of goodwill to the effort.
Time after time, outrage after outrage, the PA has always returned with hat in hand to the folly of talks which accomplished little, but provided an irrelevant political vent as more and more land was annexed, and lives stolen, to the hum of bombs or the slam of prison doors.
Palestinian technocrats who started out in their prime with Oslo have now aged beyond hope, along with any illusion of relevance. So, too, the march of time leaves no doubt that Oslo has represented nothing but a palpable pretext for Israel to carry out systematic ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, be it by force of arms or by law.
In the years since Yasser Arafat posed with Yitzhak Rabin and renounced armed struggle, three US presidents have come and gone. Each has sold a perverse balance that the US could, somehow, play objective arbiter in the midst of a one-sided slaughter supported, all the while, by US politics and money.
US President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands as they deliver remarks before a dinner at Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem [Ariel Schalit/Reuters]However, do give Donald Trump credit where credit is due. With one, short, slurred speech, he peeled away, forever more, the veneer of any US integrity or independence when it comes to facilitating a just and equitable resolution, respecting the rights and aspirations of Palestinians.
Oslo is a failed, futile fantasy that has filled the coffers of the few while the many have suffered from an economic strangle-hold dressed up in institutional benevolence that, in reality, has been used primarily by the PA to buy and control political winds and opposition.
Any reasonable read must lead to the conclusion that the long terminally-ill Oslo has died, along with its whimsical two-state solution, when Trump, essentially, told the PA to shut its doors and walk away.
Hopefully, 82-year-old Mahmoud Abbas got the message loud and clear.
The one state solution
It is well past reality's reach that a two-state solution can, at this late date, provide a viable vehicle for meaningful Palestinian sovereignty or for overall peace.
The notion that a series of disconnected Bantustans - stripped of a traditional land base, natural resources, and the unique centre of religious and faith-based history - can suddenly become a feasible independent state for millions of stateless Palestinians is fool's gold.
Ultimately, no matter what its form or shape, the essence of statehood is the ability to develop and maintain political and economic institutions and security and to control borders, including air rights and, where applicable, seaports.
To suggest that Israel would cede any degree of meaningful self-determination, in these all-defining cornerstones of sovereignty, to a Palestinian state is simply laughable, in light of its decades-long practices.
Indeed, at this late date, there is but one solution acceptable to the millions of Palestinian living as refugees abroad or suffering under apartheid, occupation and ethnic cleansing fueled by supremacist hate: one state for all from the river to the sea.
It matters not whether this state becomes a system of independent, but connected, cantons - as in Switzerland. What is important is that the single state embraces no official state religion, ensures equal protection and rights for all, guarantees "one person, one vote", and opens all jobs, roads and communities. What is also important is that it is based not on race, religion or politics but on the willingness to struggle for a collective good that will at long last serve the united interest of one people.
While some will surely scoff at this notion and, perhaps, find little hope for its success, unification provides the sole means by which Palestinians and Jews, Muslims and Christians can begin to heal the wounds that have long divided people that, left to their own unimpeded devices, would find much more that unites them than divides.
Lest there be any claim of naivete, the road to a one-state resolution is, of course, littered with more than mere encumbrances of communities, schools and highways long segregated by barricades and barbed wire.
Seventy years of forced displacement, death and destruction have left, for many, the scars born of tears and hate. Only time and unification can begin to heal those wounds and end the nightmare. All else is just sheer destructive folly.
For Israelis, who see delay as their ally, it's a false hope born of little more than convenient denial. "Out of sight, out of mind" does not solve a crisis but simply puts off its reckoning to another day - one which grows more difficult and demanding with the passage of time.
All occupations, large and small, ultimately awaken one day to find themselves captive to a "graveyard of empires". Here, it will be no different.
The eternal capital of Palestine
Today, in Palestine and in Israel, there are more than 5 million Palestinians with the median age of 19 years. They will not go away or surrender to the silence of the night.
For years, the young women and men of Palestine have been in the vanguard of an unbroken national effort to reclaim their freedom and rebuild their state.
For them, the price has been dear. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Information, since 2000, alone, Israel has killed more than 3,000 Palestinian minors. During the same period, Israeli forces have injured another 13,000 youth and arrested more than 12,000 others. Today, Israel holds about 300 children in its prisons.
Despite an awful price exacted for their courage and resistance, for the young women and men of Palestine, the future holds no truth but one, built on a determined struggle to confront and end a criminal occupation and apartheid by any means necessary, including armed struggle.
For Palestinians, history is, indeed, a guidepost of what is yet to come. For Palestinians, history is an unbroken saga, handed down from the elderly in refugee camps throughout the Middle East to their very young who find comfort in the cultural breath of dabke.
Mr Trump: Were you an informed observer of history, you would know well that this is not the first time the US has tried to designate a city as the capital of a state against the political and historical will of its people.
In Vietnam, such an attempt did not end well, as Saigon eventually gave way to the legitimate, national aspirations and rights of millions who refused to be held captive by the imperial design of a foreign occupation force.
Yes, Mr President, history does, and will indeed, repeat itself.
Capitals are much more than cold, sculpted monuments to those that have come before, or warehouses of political ideals and rights beyond the reach of all but the chosen few. Nor can they inspire from behind barricaded buildings in which petty despots dole out rights and benefits based upon one's mere name or faith.
Capitals are homes to collective freedom and will, with open doors that know no artificial boundaries or lawful segregation. To be honest, to empower, they must represent the collective will and aspirations of all those who look to them for justice and opportunity.
For millions of Palestinians, that capital is Jerusalem. It weaves with the rock of the ages and hums to the tune of history. To walk down the ancient pathways of the Old City, to hear the call to prayer, to look out in all directions from Al-Aqsa plaza across the open and free expanse beyond its age-old walls is a journey that is Jerusalem.
Nothing that you, Donald Trump, can say or do will undo the magic and majesty that is Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Palestine.
The views expressed in this article are the authors' own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.
Stanley L Cohen is a lawyer and human rights activist who has done extensive work in the Middle East and Africa.Follow Stanley Cohen on Twitter @StanleyCohenLaw
Varadker's Green Lambeg
Leo Varadkar will certainly throw the nationalist cat among the republican pigeons if he goes on the Brexit offensive by committing his party, Fine Gael, to organising and contesting Northern Ireland elections. So says controversial commentator, Dr John Coulter, in his Fearless Flying Column today, as he outlines a Fine Gael blueprint for success in the North.
John Coulter's
The Green Sash
Organise north of the border instead of shouting from the South! That’s my advice to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar if he wants his Fine Gael party to represent the interests of Northern nationalists in the Brexit talks.
Emperor Leo has been banging his green lambeg for weeks, claiming to be the champion of Northern nationalism now that his bitter rivals in Sinn Fein have electorally battered the moderate SDLP into oblivion.
But Leo needs to pay very close attention to the old proverb, fine words butter no parsnips. He can make all the loud noises he wants, but until his Fine Gael party copies Fianna Fail and organises in Northern Ireland and unveils plans to contest future polls, then another proverb will be his fate – empty vessels make the most sound.
There has been much debate as to how moderate Northern nationalists can counter the Sinn Fein election juggernaut. Will the SDLP eventually go the same way as former movements, such as the Irish Nationalist Party from Stormont days, or the Irish Independence Party?
Should the SDLP merge with Fianna Fail or Fine Gael? Is it time for a new nationalist movement based around the principles and report of the New Ireland Forum? Should a new pan-nationalist/liberal Unionist front be established in the Centre taking in what’s left of the SDLP, Alliance, liberal rebels in the UUP, and the Greens?
All these sound like workable solutions on paper as moderate nationalists will never throw their weight behind the litany of dissident republican political fronts as an electoral alternative to Sinn Fein. But time is not on Leo’s side. Brexit will come in 2019 – and a Dail election even sooner.
Leo may find himself having to bite his lip very hard if the only way he can keep Fine Gael in power is to climb into bed politically with the Shinners! His problems mount as this is exactly what Sinn Fein wants – to be a minority government partner in Leinster House with someone, anyone!
Leo will have to box clever in the coming months, otherwise his speeches will come across like the frantic ranting which poured out of Dublin when the DUP initially put the boot in British Prime Minister Theresa May’s initial Brexit blueprint on progress.
Mind you, given May’s recent Commons defeat at the hands of her own Tory rebels must have left the Prime Minister – and the Taoiseach – wondering if the Tory/DUP pact is as rock solid as it appeared on so-called Black Monday for the ‘remain’ campaigners.
What would be so bad about Fine Gael organising in Northern Ireland – it might even attract some Unionist support given Fine Gael’s past history with the hardline Right-wing Blueshirt movement in Ireland of the 1930s.
While Fianna Fail will inevitably attract tactical Unionist voters who want to give the Shinners a political bloody nose, the hard reality is that Fianna Fail is seen as a light green Sinn Fein. All Sinn Fein has to do is keep former IRA prisoners in the political closet, stop yelling ‘Up the Rebels!’ at party conferences and honouring dead republican terrorists, and there would be very little clear green grass politically between Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein.
In terms of tactical voting, Fine Gael is more likely to attract Centrist and Unionist voters than Fianna Fail. The most recent Westminster poll spelt the end in Commons terms of the SDLP; the next Stormont poll will mark the clear demise of the party built so strongly by John Hume and Gerry Fitt.
The time has unfortunately come for Northern nationalists to face the unpalatable truth – the party’s over as far as the SDLP is concerned. Tragically, like many elderly people before they pass from this scene of time on their death bed, they make a last rally before death claims them, so too, will the SDLP make a last rally in the next super council elections, where a handful of councillors with huge personal popularity will retain their seats.
But then again, those SDLP councillors would probably win their seats because of their sterling records on constituency work no matter what party label or independent ticket they ran under.
Leo should also learn the lessons of the success of the Maryfield Secretariat, established in the 1980s under the terms of the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement. It gave Dublin its first really effective voice in the running of Northern Ireland’s affairs since partition in the 1920s. The lesson for Leo – he needs to establish a Fine Gael public base in Northern Ireland for a start.
Second, he needs to provide a New Year gift for Northern nationalists by formally declaring that Fine Gael will organise in Northern Ireland, and contest elections, thus giving those nationalists a credibility which they currently lack with the SDLP – an all-Ireland identity.
Of course, this will require a massive recruitment drive to set up branches in heartlands where the SDLP once reigned supreme. There’s not a snowball’s chance in the flames of Hell itself of the SDLP winning back the three Commons constituencies lost to Sinn Fein – but Fine Gael could, especially with a pledge of taking its seats at Westminster.
Sinn Fein can politically slabber that it has scored a superb victory by forcing Theresa May to concede – for the time being – that there will be no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.
But if Fine Gael moves north, could a deal also be struck that could eventually see a Unionist/Fine Gael coalition at Stormont working for the benefit of the people of Northern Ireland in the same way as the Trimble/Mallon partnership in the early years of the peace process?
The Blueshirt matched with the Orange sash – now’s that’s a politically fashionable combo! Imagine, too, the impact of Fine Gael MPs delivering hard-hitting speeches for Irish unity in the House of Commons; at least Fine Gael MPs would have the political maturity to take their seats and have a voice. If the Scottish and Welsh nationalists can take their Commons seats, so could Fine Gael. But remember, Leo, that timer to the Brexit Blast-off is still ticking!
John Coulter is a unionist political commentator and former Blanket columnist.
Follow John Coulter on Twitter @JohnAHCoulter
Dr Coulter is also author of ‘ An Sais Glas: (The Green Sash): The Road to National Republicanism’, which is available on Amazon Kindle.
John Coulter's
The Green Sash
Organise north of the border instead of shouting from the South! That’s my advice to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar if he wants his Fine Gael party to represent the interests of Northern nationalists in the Brexit talks.
Emperor Leo has been banging his green lambeg for weeks, claiming to be the champion of Northern nationalism now that his bitter rivals in Sinn Fein have electorally battered the moderate SDLP into oblivion.
But Leo needs to pay very close attention to the old proverb, fine words butter no parsnips. He can make all the loud noises he wants, but until his Fine Gael party copies Fianna Fail and organises in Northern Ireland and unveils plans to contest future polls, then another proverb will be his fate – empty vessels make the most sound.
There has been much debate as to how moderate Northern nationalists can counter the Sinn Fein election juggernaut. Will the SDLP eventually go the same way as former movements, such as the Irish Nationalist Party from Stormont days, or the Irish Independence Party?
Should the SDLP merge with Fianna Fail or Fine Gael? Is it time for a new nationalist movement based around the principles and report of the New Ireland Forum? Should a new pan-nationalist/liberal Unionist front be established in the Centre taking in what’s left of the SDLP, Alliance, liberal rebels in the UUP, and the Greens?
All these sound like workable solutions on paper as moderate nationalists will never throw their weight behind the litany of dissident republican political fronts as an electoral alternative to Sinn Fein. But time is not on Leo’s side. Brexit will come in 2019 – and a Dail election even sooner.
Leo may find himself having to bite his lip very hard if the only way he can keep Fine Gael in power is to climb into bed politically with the Shinners! His problems mount as this is exactly what Sinn Fein wants – to be a minority government partner in Leinster House with someone, anyone!
Leo will have to box clever in the coming months, otherwise his speeches will come across like the frantic ranting which poured out of Dublin when the DUP initially put the boot in British Prime Minister Theresa May’s initial Brexit blueprint on progress.
Mind you, given May’s recent Commons defeat at the hands of her own Tory rebels must have left the Prime Minister – and the Taoiseach – wondering if the Tory/DUP pact is as rock solid as it appeared on so-called Black Monday for the ‘remain’ campaigners.
What would be so bad about Fine Gael organising in Northern Ireland – it might even attract some Unionist support given Fine Gael’s past history with the hardline Right-wing Blueshirt movement in Ireland of the 1930s.
While Fianna Fail will inevitably attract tactical Unionist voters who want to give the Shinners a political bloody nose, the hard reality is that Fianna Fail is seen as a light green Sinn Fein. All Sinn Fein has to do is keep former IRA prisoners in the political closet, stop yelling ‘Up the Rebels!’ at party conferences and honouring dead republican terrorists, and there would be very little clear green grass politically between Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein.
In terms of tactical voting, Fine Gael is more likely to attract Centrist and Unionist voters than Fianna Fail. The most recent Westminster poll spelt the end in Commons terms of the SDLP; the next Stormont poll will mark the clear demise of the party built so strongly by John Hume and Gerry Fitt.
The time has unfortunately come for Northern nationalists to face the unpalatable truth – the party’s over as far as the SDLP is concerned. Tragically, like many elderly people before they pass from this scene of time on their death bed, they make a last rally before death claims them, so too, will the SDLP make a last rally in the next super council elections, where a handful of councillors with huge personal popularity will retain their seats.
But then again, those SDLP councillors would probably win their seats because of their sterling records on constituency work no matter what party label or independent ticket they ran under.
Leo should also learn the lessons of the success of the Maryfield Secretariat, established in the 1980s under the terms of the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement. It gave Dublin its first really effective voice in the running of Northern Ireland’s affairs since partition in the 1920s. The lesson for Leo – he needs to establish a Fine Gael public base in Northern Ireland for a start.
Second, he needs to provide a New Year gift for Northern nationalists by formally declaring that Fine Gael will organise in Northern Ireland, and contest elections, thus giving those nationalists a credibility which they currently lack with the SDLP – an all-Ireland identity.
Of course, this will require a massive recruitment drive to set up branches in heartlands where the SDLP once reigned supreme. There’s not a snowball’s chance in the flames of Hell itself of the SDLP winning back the three Commons constituencies lost to Sinn Fein – but Fine Gael could, especially with a pledge of taking its seats at Westminster.
Sinn Fein can politically slabber that it has scored a superb victory by forcing Theresa May to concede – for the time being – that there will be no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.
But if Fine Gael moves north, could a deal also be struck that could eventually see a Unionist/Fine Gael coalition at Stormont working for the benefit of the people of Northern Ireland in the same way as the Trimble/Mallon partnership in the early years of the peace process?
The Blueshirt matched with the Orange sash – now’s that’s a politically fashionable combo! Imagine, too, the impact of Fine Gael MPs delivering hard-hitting speeches for Irish unity in the House of Commons; at least Fine Gael MPs would have the political maturity to take their seats and have a voice. If the Scottish and Welsh nationalists can take their Commons seats, so could Fine Gael. But remember, Leo, that timer to the Brexit Blast-off is still ticking!
John Coulter is a unionist political commentator and former Blanket columnist. Follow John Coulter on Twitter @JohnAHCoulter
Dr Coulter is also author of ‘ An Sais Glas: (The Green Sash): The Road to National Republicanism’, which is available on Amazon Kindle.
December 17, 2017
Is Sexual Harassment Against Young Women At Epidemic Levels In The UK?
Writing last month Mick Hall examined the sexual harassment issue.
Peter Preston recently wrote there have been many good articles by women about the current sex scandal furore but very few from men. So I thought I would give my two pennies worth.
Let's me be clear, women in this country are still treated as second class citizens and until this ends wage differentials between men and women and sexual innuendos, harassment and intimidation by men will continue.
In the political field the only way this will change is for positive discrimination in favor of women to be introduced for MPs MEPs, local councillors and mayors and currently this would be against the law.
The media response to the outing of Weinstein as a sexual predator has been so predictable. Basically it boiled down to shock horror, how could his behavior gone undetected for decades.
What humbug. I doubt there is hardly anyone in a prominent position within the film industry, along with the journalists who get their living from it, who hadn't heard the rumours circulating about his wretched behaviour.
The same goes for the current UK brouhaha over the sexual harassment and worse at the Westminster parliament. The BBC's political correspondent Laura Kuenssberg said as much when she said: "The toxic Westminster environment of sexual harassment and the like had, for years, been “an open secret.”
Knock, knock Laura, if you knew such despicable behaviour was going on why as a responsible journalist did you not inform the authorities and your viewers, for are we not entitled to be told how certain MP's have allegedly been behaving?
We know why she failed to do this. It was an act self interest. She simply did not wish to destroy the relationships she had built up with her parliamentary contacts. Instead Laura and many other journalists who work in parliament left these wretched men free to continue to harass young women and worse.
Much the same happened at the BBC over Savile. Almost all senior management and front of camera presenters must have heard the rumours about Jimmy Savile's reputation as a groper, potential rapist and possible paedophile. BBC journalists too heard the same rumours. Yet not one covered this story. And when Liz MacKean and Meirion Jones made a film for BBC's Newsnight programme which exposed Savile as a prolific sexual predator it was cancelled by the BBC tops even though they must of known it was true.
Why? because they were protecting their 'talent,' and their own backsides. When BBC director of news Helen Boaden told George Entwistle, the director of vision at the BBC about the Newsnight investigation and the possible impact on a planned tribute to Savile, she wasn't appalled or shocked at the revelations, why would she be as in all probability as a TV insider she was well aware of Savile's behaviour? No, she warned Entwistle if the segmentwent out he may have to change the Christmas schedules.
Thus Liz and Meirion's exposé was binned.
If there has been sexual harassment and worst at Westminster and within other British institutions like the BBC, which there undoubted has, then the mainstream media has been complicit by failing to report it for decades. But it's not only the media which is at fault powerful people in Britain's political parties at a local and national level have also turned a blind eye to this wretched behavior.
Leaving young women to be bullied and intimidated into tolerating the sexual advances of powerful men.
The nation at large
As to how widespread the sexual harassment of women in the UK is, my recent conversations with three generations of women points to it still being at an epidemic level.
One young woman in her late teens who works in the hospitality industry told me: she experienced sexual harassment from customers almost every day in her working life. When she mentioned it to her boss, a kindly man by all accounts, he shrugged his shoulders and said sorry but as long as it's not explicit sadly it's part of the industry in the UK.
Asked if she came across it in her non working life she replied: "Of course, why would it be any different?"
Another woman in her late forties had this to say: Initial thoughts to your question, quick poll round the office.
Every woman has been subjected to sexual (power/powerless) harassment
when young.
We live in a misogynist society
Was a hell of a lot worse in 70s/80s but still goes on
However, as working class women, we dealt with it and there's more pressing worries now Housing, work, family, poverty, day to day living etc etc.
Having said that remember the interns at start of their professional life
Work for nothing, etc open to abuse.
Palace of Westminster, BBC fair game for abusers.
Anyway America is great again now, forget Donald as Kevin is the enemy.If your interested one of the best speeches about misogyny I've heard came from Julia Gillard I was in tears at the time as was spot on.
The third woman was in her early 70s worked in the city of London for much of her life. Her attitude was resilient but angry, nay furious it still goes on. After almost a lifetime's experience she had come to regard most men as pathetic creatures who cannot control their sexual urges and emotions.
She said some interesting things:
Not easy to do for a shy young woman staring out in life for sure, but necessary all the same, one of the problems they face is can they afford to, and are they willing to put personal ambition to one side.
If it goes beyond harassment forget reporting it to your boss. Their first thought will be how to cover it up and smooth things over. Report it to the police. If you find this difficult which is understandable, ask a friend or family member to come with you.
I found myself in that position when as a 15 year old who had just left school, a man with authority insisted he drive me home. Being naïve I thought nothing of it until he drove into the countryside and propositioned me. When I came home and told my family my elder brother took me to the police to report it. To this day I look back at his act with admiration as I would never had the courage to report it myself. The police were hopeless as the man was one of theirs but the fact my elder brother believed me and acted accordingly helped me greatly.
The current furore
It should not be about how the average man behaves towards the opposite sex, even if it still leaves a great deal to be desired, it's about how powerful businesses, political parties and institutions which are mainly run by men treat the women who work for them. They have a duty of care but more often than not they fail to practise it.
If we lose sight of this the current media brouhaha will go on for a few weeks then disappear from the front pages and nothing will have changed.
It's not that long ago when racist language was used openly, due to government legislation and bottom up campaigns this has changed. Racists are still prevalent, often holding powerful positions in British institutions like the police, judiciary, and military, but due to a societal change none would publicly express racist language today.
The lesson from this is legislation alone will not solve the problem but it may help expose predatory men who hold powerful positions for what they are. It may even make some of these men change their behaviour.
Mick Hall blogs @ Organized Rage.
Peter Preston recently wrote there have been many good articles by women about the current sex scandal furore but very few from men. So I thought I would give my two pennies worth.
Let's me be clear, women in this country are still treated as second class citizens and until this ends wage differentials between men and women and sexual innuendos, harassment and intimidation by men will continue.
In the political field the only way this will change is for positive discrimination in favor of women to be introduced for MPs MEPs, local councillors and mayors and currently this would be against the law.
The media response to the outing of Weinstein as a sexual predator has been so predictable. Basically it boiled down to shock horror, how could his behavior gone undetected for decades.
What humbug. I doubt there is hardly anyone in a prominent position within the film industry, along with the journalists who get their living from it, who hadn't heard the rumours circulating about his wretched behaviour.
The same goes for the current UK brouhaha over the sexual harassment and worse at the Westminster parliament. The BBC's political correspondent Laura Kuenssberg said as much when she said: "The toxic Westminster environment of sexual harassment and the like had, for years, been “an open secret.”
Knock, knock Laura, if you knew such despicable behaviour was going on why as a responsible journalist did you not inform the authorities and your viewers, for are we not entitled to be told how certain MP's have allegedly been behaving?
We know why she failed to do this. It was an act self interest. She simply did not wish to destroy the relationships she had built up with her parliamentary contacts. Instead Laura and many other journalists who work in parliament left these wretched men free to continue to harass young women and worse.
Much the same happened at the BBC over Savile. Almost all senior management and front of camera presenters must have heard the rumours about Jimmy Savile's reputation as a groper, potential rapist and possible paedophile. BBC journalists too heard the same rumours. Yet not one covered this story. And when Liz MacKean and Meirion Jones made a film for BBC's Newsnight programme which exposed Savile as a prolific sexual predator it was cancelled by the BBC tops even though they must of known it was true.
Why? because they were protecting their 'talent,' and their own backsides. When BBC director of news Helen Boaden told George Entwistle, the director of vision at the BBC about the Newsnight investigation and the possible impact on a planned tribute to Savile, she wasn't appalled or shocked at the revelations, why would she be as in all probability as a TV insider she was well aware of Savile's behaviour? No, she warned Entwistle if the segmentwent out he may have to change the Christmas schedules.
Thus Liz and Meirion's exposé was binned.
If there has been sexual harassment and worst at Westminster and within other British institutions like the BBC, which there undoubted has, then the mainstream media has been complicit by failing to report it for decades. But it's not only the media which is at fault powerful people in Britain's political parties at a local and national level have also turned a blind eye to this wretched behavior.
Leaving young women to be bullied and intimidated into tolerating the sexual advances of powerful men.
The nation at large
As to how widespread the sexual harassment of women in the UK is, my recent conversations with three generations of women points to it still being at an epidemic level.
One young woman in her late teens who works in the hospitality industry told me: she experienced sexual harassment from customers almost every day in her working life. When she mentioned it to her boss, a kindly man by all accounts, he shrugged his shoulders and said sorry but as long as it's not explicit sadly it's part of the industry in the UK.
Asked if she came across it in her non working life she replied: "Of course, why would it be any different?"
Another woman in her late forties had this to say: Initial thoughts to your question, quick poll round the office.
Every woman has been subjected to sexual (power/powerless) harassment
when young.
We live in a misogynist society
Was a hell of a lot worse in 70s/80s but still goes on
However, as working class women, we dealt with it and there's more pressing worries now Housing, work, family, poverty, day to day living etc etc.
Having said that remember the interns at start of their professional life
Work for nothing, etc open to abuse.
Palace of Westminster, BBC fair game for abusers.
Anyway America is great again now, forget Donald as Kevin is the enemy.If your interested one of the best speeches about misogyny I've heard came from Julia Gillard I was in tears at the time as was spot on.
The third woman was in her early 70s worked in the city of London for much of her life. Her attitude was resilient but angry, nay furious it still goes on. After almost a lifetime's experience she had come to regard most men as pathetic creatures who cannot control their sexual urges and emotions.
She said some interesting things:
When young I mostly ignored their unwanted advances, changed the subject or left the room but as I gained confidence with age I told sexual predators to "fuck off" in an extremely loud voice which resounded around the office, at the very least it ensured the jerk harassing me would not do it again. It may not make you popular but you will feel a damn sight happier and confident when you stand up to the man who put you into such an unpleasant situation.
Not easy to do for a shy young woman staring out in life for sure, but necessary all the same, one of the problems they face is can they afford to, and are they willing to put personal ambition to one side.
If it goes beyond harassment forget reporting it to your boss. Their first thought will be how to cover it up and smooth things over. Report it to the police. If you find this difficult which is understandable, ask a friend or family member to come with you.
I found myself in that position when as a 15 year old who had just left school, a man with authority insisted he drive me home. Being naïve I thought nothing of it until he drove into the countryside and propositioned me. When I came home and told my family my elder brother took me to the police to report it. To this day I look back at his act with admiration as I would never had the courage to report it myself. The police were hopeless as the man was one of theirs but the fact my elder brother believed me and acted accordingly helped me greatly.
The current furore
It should not be about how the average man behaves towards the opposite sex, even if it still leaves a great deal to be desired, it's about how powerful businesses, political parties and institutions which are mainly run by men treat the women who work for them. They have a duty of care but more often than not they fail to practise it.
If we lose sight of this the current media brouhaha will go on for a few weeks then disappear from the front pages and nothing will have changed.
It's not that long ago when racist language was used openly, due to government legislation and bottom up campaigns this has changed. Racists are still prevalent, often holding powerful positions in British institutions like the police, judiciary, and military, but due to a societal change none would publicly express racist language today.
The lesson from this is legislation alone will not solve the problem but it may help expose predatory men who hold powerful positions for what they are. It may even make some of these men change their behaviour.
Mick Hall blogs @ Organized Rage.
My God's Bigger Than Your God!
From Andrew McArthur, Atheist Republic blogger gets something off his chest.
Nonetheless, like an accident scene on the freeway, I crawl by at slow speeds, unable to tear my eyes away from the carnage (in this case mental,) displayed before me. I imagine spittle dribbling like gore from the open wounds that serve as the outlet for their barks and yips. I see them, eyes wild, arms akimbo and flailing wildly, as the work themselves into a fine religious lather over the relative supremacy of their chosen delusions.
What gives? Is a resurrected prophet somehow better or worse than one who ascends to the heavens on a magical flying horse? Does walking on water trump the perfection of prose? Is your God actually bigger than mine?
The contest nowadays is mainly between the followers of Islam and those who prefer the christian God. The fact that the object of both sides' adoration is actually the same God does nothing to diminish the vitriol of their followers' fusillades. To the ears of the non believer, these outbursts sound like nothing so much as toddlers involved in a squabble over who has first dibs on the toy du jour.
"Is too!
"Is not!
"Is too!
Well you get the general idea I'm sure.
Just wanted to get that off my chest.
Carry on…
Follow Atheist Republic on Twitter @AtheistRepublic
Nonetheless, like an accident scene on the freeway, I crawl by at slow speeds, unable to tear my eyes away from the carnage (in this case mental,) displayed before me. I imagine spittle dribbling like gore from the open wounds that serve as the outlet for their barks and yips. I see them, eyes wild, arms akimbo and flailing wildly, as the work themselves into a fine religious lather over the relative supremacy of their chosen delusions.
What gives? Is a resurrected prophet somehow better or worse than one who ascends to the heavens on a magical flying horse? Does walking on water trump the perfection of prose? Is your God actually bigger than mine?
The contest nowadays is mainly between the followers of Islam and those who prefer the christian God. The fact that the object of both sides' adoration is actually the same God does nothing to diminish the vitriol of their followers' fusillades. To the ears of the non believer, these outbursts sound like nothing so much as toddlers involved in a squabble over who has first dibs on the toy du jour.
"Is too!
"Is not!
"Is too!
Well you get the general idea I'm sure.
Just wanted to get that off my chest.
Carry on…
Follow Atheist Republic on Twitter @AtheistRepublic
December 16, 2017
Game Of Thrones
Sean Mallory casts his wary eye over political events at home in Ireland and abroad in England and elsewhere.
A somewhat trite attempt to lure SF back to the negotiating table to discuss further the re-establishment of Stormont.
Foster, perhaps feels the Ides of March closing in on her as Nigel, her not so trusty deputy Dodds, continues to shine at Westminster and hog the limelight. Or maybe she feels the heat more from her old pals in the UDA, UVF and UFF and not RHI, who are now demanding their payment from the one billion bung for their endorsement of her party in the last Westminster elections.
Whichever, if not all, Foster needs a PR success to thwart any future findings of her progressively unethical behaviour and management ineptitude from the heat of the RHI scandal as the public enquiry gets underway.
Leo Varadkar, according to Unionism, once Tonto but now more Lone Ranger, and across the water best thought of as Kipling's Mowgli, and once facing disintegration of his coalition due to his Tánaiste Francis Fitzgerald developing amnesia, has survived at the last minute.
Fitzgerald, much to the Daily Star's dismay, resigned to retain Leo's position of strength in the British Brexit negotiations.
Unrepentant of her involvement in the Garda whistleblower scandal, she inevitably succumbed to public pressure and unselfishly was pushed on her sword thus saving Leo and the coalition from collapse and early elections. But, not resolving the governmental corruption involved!
Theresa May, as ever, thrill seeking on the edge of the abyss, and laughing in the face of her stays of execution, was advised by one of her former ‘sacked by Theresa’ cabinet ministers, Ex-International Development Secretary Priti Patel and once considered a potential leadership contender, that the UK should tell the EU to 'sod off' over the divorce bill. Blunt and candid advice coming so close to the December crunch meeting with the EU. Theresa and her band of merry men are said to be pondering the minute details of such advice.
Also offering her just as equally blunt advice on her government’s foreign policy on the Brexit Irish border issue, was one DUP Sammy Wilson.
Wilson warned her that any discussion of Norn Iron being treated differently from the rest of the UK and she and her cabinet can kiss the DUP support goodbye.
May, apparently considered telling Wilson and the DUP to go f*** themselves that she was the PM, 55 million English people were more important, and the alternative was no billion pound bung and Corbyn as PM. Shortly afterwards she dispelled any thought of issuing that sort of response once Dodds, DUP party leader at Westminster, called on Tory Brexiteers to remind her that she is mortal.
Wilson and his motley crew, without Arlene too, are meeting to discuss the gravity of the situation with specifically which one of them is going to convey to Big Jackie and the boys that Ulster is more important than pounds sterling!
Undeterred by Wilson's advice, May faced further calls for Trumps state visit to be denied after his endorsement of Britain First. An organisation whose ethos closely resembles Fosters unionist paramilitaries.
With the rise of the Weimar Republic, German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, in no less a precarious position as Theresa and Leo, faces imminent demise and the end of her 12 year tenure as her party scrambles for a new leader and a new coalition.
Jenny Hill, BBC Berlin correspondent, told the BBC's The World This Week: "This is her twilight. For Merkel, this is the beginning of the end.”
The only resolution to Angela's plight and that of her party is a deal to be done with the Social Democrats by Christmas. As much as Leo's party did with Michael's.
Saad Harriri, Lebanon's Prime Minister, after un-forcibly resigning while not being held against his will in Saudi Arabia by Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, has decided to put his resignation “on hold” now that he has escaped, sorry, returned back to Lebanon – a resignation reversal which led to celebrations on the streets of Beirut but increased his prospects for assassination. Maybe that's what they were celebrating Saad and not your return or your decision to postpone you resignation!!!!
Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, a man in the middle of a civil purge and a man responsible for the crimes against humanity in Yemen and who is militarily advised and supplied with munitions in that conflict by Britain, has attempted, along with the Israelis, to ignite Lebanon in to another civil conflict in order to undermine Hezbollah but especially to impede the spread of Iranian influence throughout the Levant. On the other hand, the Israelis, already defeated by Hezbollah in past battles, are just shitting themselves for fear of the now same guerrilla battle hardened Hezbollah returning from Syria.
Qatar, emboldened by Harriri's stanch of defiance, and also bearing the brunt of the Crown Prince’s petulant and erratic behaviour have come out publicly to condemn the Crown Prince.
Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, Qatar’s foreign minister, accused Riyadh of “bullying” its neighbours and risking new conflict amid an ongoing diplomatic crisis.
“This is a big country bullying a small country – we have seen it in Qatar and now we are seeing it repeated in Lebanon.”
Al-Thani perhaps ‘sensing’ a change in the Gulf States support for the Crown Prince and his numerous follies and especially an ill wind blowing within Saudi Arabia due to his civil purge, feels that the time is right to declare such. For his and Qatar's sake I hope so!
As a bellicose Ratko Mladić was being dragged away to his cell where he will most likely see out his days, in Zimbabwe, a ‘jovial’ Robert Mugabe gave in and resigned leaving the way open for the return of his once right hand enforcer, Emmerson Mnangagwa, the deputy he sacked but always presumed to be the heir apparent even though he is 75 years old. Mugabe and his family, pensioned off, will not face any investigations at all in to his past malfeasance.
Mnangagwa, once a core member of Mugabe’s inner circle and known as the crocodile, was head of the State secret police during the 1980s civil conflict in which thousands of civilians died.
Mnangagwa has denied any part in the massacre and blamed the army. The same army that returned him to head Zimbabwe.
It's nice these days to see people and or institutions not holding a grudge unlike those bitter and spiteful people from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia who judged Ratko!
Aung San Suu Kyi has been formally stripped of the Freedom of the City of Oxford. The City Council unanimous in its decision, did not want to celebrate “those who turn a blind eye to violence”. Very noble when one considers the past world monsters that once threaded the halls and corridors of its more illustrious institution of learning!
And to finish on a happier note, Harry, Prince of the House Windsor, has announced his and Meghan Markle’s engagement. Once divorced and not pure white Anglo-Saxon, Meghan declared undying love for the Prince and signalled as ‘Camilla the Taig’ has done, that the institution of the English Throne is modernising....well more refurbishing really!
Let's wish them good luck, well, better luck than his Dad or even his Mum whose relationship with a person of similar tone ended so tragically!
Sean Mallory is a Tyrone republican and TPQ columnist
A somewhat trite attempt to lure SF back to the negotiating table to discuss further the re-establishment of Stormont.
Foster, perhaps feels the Ides of March closing in on her as Nigel, her not so trusty deputy Dodds, continues to shine at Westminster and hog the limelight. Or maybe she feels the heat more from her old pals in the UDA, UVF and UFF and not RHI, who are now demanding their payment from the one billion bung for their endorsement of her party in the last Westminster elections.
Whichever, if not all, Foster needs a PR success to thwart any future findings of her progressively unethical behaviour and management ineptitude from the heat of the RHI scandal as the public enquiry gets underway.
Leo Varadkar, according to Unionism, once Tonto but now more Lone Ranger, and across the water best thought of as Kipling's Mowgli, and once facing disintegration of his coalition due to his Tánaiste Francis Fitzgerald developing amnesia, has survived at the last minute.
Fitzgerald, much to the Daily Star's dismay, resigned to retain Leo's position of strength in the British Brexit negotiations.
Unrepentant of her involvement in the Garda whistleblower scandal, she inevitably succumbed to public pressure and unselfishly was pushed on her sword thus saving Leo and the coalition from collapse and early elections. But, not resolving the governmental corruption involved!
Theresa May, as ever, thrill seeking on the edge of the abyss, and laughing in the face of her stays of execution, was advised by one of her former ‘sacked by Theresa’ cabinet ministers, Ex-International Development Secretary Priti Patel and once considered a potential leadership contender, that the UK should tell the EU to 'sod off' over the divorce bill. Blunt and candid advice coming so close to the December crunch meeting with the EU. Theresa and her band of merry men are said to be pondering the minute details of such advice.
Also offering her just as equally blunt advice on her government’s foreign policy on the Brexit Irish border issue, was one DUP Sammy Wilson.
Wilson warned her that any discussion of Norn Iron being treated differently from the rest of the UK and she and her cabinet can kiss the DUP support goodbye.
May, apparently considered telling Wilson and the DUP to go f*** themselves that she was the PM, 55 million English people were more important, and the alternative was no billion pound bung and Corbyn as PM. Shortly afterwards she dispelled any thought of issuing that sort of response once Dodds, DUP party leader at Westminster, called on Tory Brexiteers to remind her that she is mortal.
Wilson and his motley crew, without Arlene too, are meeting to discuss the gravity of the situation with specifically which one of them is going to convey to Big Jackie and the boys that Ulster is more important than pounds sterling!
Undeterred by Wilson's advice, May faced further calls for Trumps state visit to be denied after his endorsement of Britain First. An organisation whose ethos closely resembles Fosters unionist paramilitaries.
With the rise of the Weimar Republic, German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, in no less a precarious position as Theresa and Leo, faces imminent demise and the end of her 12 year tenure as her party scrambles for a new leader and a new coalition.
Jenny Hill, BBC Berlin correspondent, told the BBC's The World This Week: "This is her twilight. For Merkel, this is the beginning of the end.”
The only resolution to Angela's plight and that of her party is a deal to be done with the Social Democrats by Christmas. As much as Leo's party did with Michael's.
Saad Harriri, Lebanon's Prime Minister, after un-forcibly resigning while not being held against his will in Saudi Arabia by Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, has decided to put his resignation “on hold” now that he has escaped, sorry, returned back to Lebanon – a resignation reversal which led to celebrations on the streets of Beirut but increased his prospects for assassination. Maybe that's what they were celebrating Saad and not your return or your decision to postpone you resignation!!!!
Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, a man in the middle of a civil purge and a man responsible for the crimes against humanity in Yemen and who is militarily advised and supplied with munitions in that conflict by Britain, has attempted, along with the Israelis, to ignite Lebanon in to another civil conflict in order to undermine Hezbollah but especially to impede the spread of Iranian influence throughout the Levant. On the other hand, the Israelis, already defeated by Hezbollah in past battles, are just shitting themselves for fear of the now same guerrilla battle hardened Hezbollah returning from Syria.
Qatar, emboldened by Harriri's stanch of defiance, and also bearing the brunt of the Crown Prince’s petulant and erratic behaviour have come out publicly to condemn the Crown Prince.
Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, Qatar’s foreign minister, accused Riyadh of “bullying” its neighbours and risking new conflict amid an ongoing diplomatic crisis.
“This is a big country bullying a small country – we have seen it in Qatar and now we are seeing it repeated in Lebanon.”
Al-Thani perhaps ‘sensing’ a change in the Gulf States support for the Crown Prince and his numerous follies and especially an ill wind blowing within Saudi Arabia due to his civil purge, feels that the time is right to declare such. For his and Qatar's sake I hope so!
As a bellicose Ratko Mladić was being dragged away to his cell where he will most likely see out his days, in Zimbabwe, a ‘jovial’ Robert Mugabe gave in and resigned leaving the way open for the return of his once right hand enforcer, Emmerson Mnangagwa, the deputy he sacked but always presumed to be the heir apparent even though he is 75 years old. Mugabe and his family, pensioned off, will not face any investigations at all in to his past malfeasance.
Mnangagwa, once a core member of Mugabe’s inner circle and known as the crocodile, was head of the State secret police during the 1980s civil conflict in which thousands of civilians died.
Mnangagwa has denied any part in the massacre and blamed the army. The same army that returned him to head Zimbabwe.
It's nice these days to see people and or institutions not holding a grudge unlike those bitter and spiteful people from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia who judged Ratko!
Aung San Suu Kyi has been formally stripped of the Freedom of the City of Oxford. The City Council unanimous in its decision, did not want to celebrate “those who turn a blind eye to violence”. Very noble when one considers the past world monsters that once threaded the halls and corridors of its more illustrious institution of learning!
And to finish on a happier note, Harry, Prince of the House Windsor, has announced his and Meghan Markle’s engagement. Once divorced and not pure white Anglo-Saxon, Meghan declared undying love for the Prince and signalled as ‘Camilla the Taig’ has done, that the institution of the English Throne is modernising....well more refurbishing really!
Let's wish them good luck, well, better luck than his Dad or even his Mum whose relationship with a person of similar tone ended so tragically!
Sean Mallory is a Tyrone republican and TPQ columnist
Neil Hegarty, With His Fellow Prisoners, In Need Of Support This Christmas
Sean Bresnahan, Chair of the Thomas Ashe Society Omagh, calls for the immediate release of Neil Hegarty, calling also for support towards prisoner initiatives as the Christmas season approaches.
The Thomas Ashe Society view with alarm last week’s gaoling of Neil Hegarty, only 24 hours after his release from Maghaberry. This spiteful and retrograde move on the part of the British Government represents a serious escalation of its repression in Ireland that must be challenged by right-thinking people. We demand his immediate release and extend to his family our full support and ongoing solidarity at this difficult time.
Mindful also, with Christmas approaching, that the gaols of Ireland still hold many as political prisoner, remembering likewise that December has always been regarded here as ‘Prisoners Month’, we note that the issue of political prisoners and their unjust treatment remains a continuing blight on society. With that in mind, we extend our regards to all Republicans imprisoned in Maghaberry, Hydebank and Portlaoise Gaols.
We encourage the wider Irish public to better inform themselves of the situation in the prisons today and to donate, where possible, to the various campaigns that highlight this issue. We acknowledge and pay tribute to the selfless efforts of those who maintain those campaigns, who offer much-needed, invaluable support to the families of those impacted.
To those families, we extend our full support over the Christmas period and beyond. To the prisoners themselves: your cause is a just one and we commend your ongoing sacrifice. Know that there are still those in the community who respect and recognise your endeavour.
The gaols of our country have for too long endured the wretched phenomenon of the political prisoner. For too long those who seek nothing more than the legitimate goal of an independent Ireland have suffered behind their walls. May the All-Ireland Republic, our shared objective, some day soon be won — bringing a long overdue end to their plight.
The Thomas Ashe Society view with alarm last week’s gaoling of Neil Hegarty, only 24 hours after his release from Maghaberry. This spiteful and retrograde move on the part of the British Government represents a serious escalation of its repression in Ireland that must be challenged by right-thinking people. We demand his immediate release and extend to his family our full support and ongoing solidarity at this difficult time.
Mindful also, with Christmas approaching, that the gaols of Ireland still hold many as political prisoner, remembering likewise that December has always been regarded here as ‘Prisoners Month’, we note that the issue of political prisoners and their unjust treatment remains a continuing blight on society. With that in mind, we extend our regards to all Republicans imprisoned in Maghaberry, Hydebank and Portlaoise Gaols.
We encourage the wider Irish public to better inform themselves of the situation in the prisons today and to donate, where possible, to the various campaigns that highlight this issue. We acknowledge and pay tribute to the selfless efforts of those who maintain those campaigns, who offer much-needed, invaluable support to the families of those impacted.
To those families, we extend our full support over the Christmas period and beyond. To the prisoners themselves: your cause is a just one and we commend your ongoing sacrifice. Know that there are still those in the community who respect and recognise your endeavour.
The gaols of our country have for too long endured the wretched phenomenon of the political prisoner. For too long those who seek nothing more than the legitimate goal of an independent Ireland have suffered behind their walls. May the All-Ireland Republic, our shared objective, some day soon be won — bringing a long overdue end to their plight.
December 15, 2017
Dublin’s Glory Years: Part I
Matt Treacy writes on the history of Dublin GAA.
Dublin’s first football All Ireland
February 28, 1892, Clonturk Park,
Young Irelands (Dublin) 2 – 1, Clondrihid (Cork) 1 – 9
Dublin’s first All Ireland was won in the pleasant surroundings of Clonturk Park in Drumcondra. It has long since been swallowed by houses but was the venue for several early finals. It even merited a mention by James Joyce in the Cyclops episode of Ulysses:
Dublin had previously won the hurling title in 1889 when Kickhams, the forerunners of Ballymun Kickhams, beat Tulla in the final. The 1892 final was played amid considerable internal turmoil following the overthrow of Parnell as leader of the Home Rule party, and his death in October 1891.
The GAA was generally supportive of Parnell and paid a heavy price for its allegiance as it became the target of the Catholic Church hierarchy which was able to more or less suppress the organization in many parts of the country. There were even threats to excommunicate people who attended matches on Sundays. So successful was the fatwa that the first time all Ulster counties took part in the championship was 1945. The GAA in Dublin was one of the very few places where it mostly weathered the storm although the number of clubs declined.
The GAA in Dublin was strongly Parnellite and members of Dublin clubs provided a guard of honour, with black crepe covered hurleys, on Parnell’s funeral procession to Glasnevin. In 1892 James Boland, father of Harry who was killed during the Civil War, and a member of the PW Nally club, was elected the Chairman of the Dublin County Board. He was a leading member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood in the city.
Just days before the final a Dublin Castle Special Branch report claimed that the GAA was in serious decline due to the Parnell split, but that the were “elements of danger in the movement and it needs to be carefully watched.” The number of clubs had fallen from 777 in 1889 to 339 in late 1891 and over two thirds of those were under IRB control. At present there are over 2,300 GAA clubs in Ireland.
A former Castle detective Pollard later wrote a book entitled The Secret Societies of Ireland in which he noted that the GAA had never been run by “respectable people.” He also referred to the games being used as an excuse to practise all sorts of “savagery.” He must have lived in north county Dublin.
Young Irelands had won the Dublin county championship in 1892, and were thus selected as the county representatives. Likewise Clondrihid had won the Cork equivalent. Apparently many of the Young Irelanders were men who worked in Guinnesses and were noted for their “robust” style.
Although the conclusion of the championship took place in February 1891 it was actually part of the 1892 series. It attracted a lot of attention and the Freeman’s Journal described it as “One of the best day’s sport that have probably ever taken place in the metropolis.” The three games were the football semi final between Dublin and Cavan Slashers, the All Ireland hurling final between Ballyduff of Kerry and Crossbeg of Wexford, and the football final.
The attendance was described as the second largest to have ever attended a GAA match and was described as mostly good humoured although there were several pitch invasions at tense moments in the hurling decider. Young Irelands easily defeated the Cavan team. in a match played at 11am, on a scoreline of 3 – 7 to 0 – 3. The wind was very strong and with it at their back Dublin gave an exhibition of “kicking in magnificent style.”
The hurling final ended in controversy when Crossbeg claimed that they had had a legitimate goal disallowed. The referee Patrick Tobin who was also Secretary of the GAA somewhat bizarrely ruled that time had elapsed before the ball passed the goalposts. Extra time ensued and Kerry won their only hurling title. Wexford’s objections were later rejected.
In the final Young Irelands fielded the same team that had beaten Cavan. There was a very strong wind and with its aid the Dublin team led by 2 – 1 to 0 – 1 after a half described as having been of a “dashing, determined” nature.
Cork likewise made full use of the wind in the second half and scored two goals. The first of these was disallowed by the referee from Laois, J.T Whelan, but only hours after the match had ended, so Clondrihid thought they had won. As a goal outweighed any amount of points Dublin were awarded the honours. That was changed the following year so that a goal was worth five points.
Naturally enough the result led to an appeal by Cork but it was dismissed by the GAA central council after hearing evidence from the umpire. Michael Deering who had made the appeal resigned from the council in disgust in 1894 when Young Irelands beat another Cork team, the Nils after a replay. That game in Thurles ended in controversy when, with the game level, the Dublin team refused to play on after several of them were assaulted by Cork supporters. The game was abandoned but Dublin were later awarded the title.
Young Irelands went on to win two more All Irelands; beating Kerry to win the 1892 championship. and the controversial 1894 decider described above. Young Irelands won five Dublin football championships in total, the last of them in 1896, and six hurling titles between 1932 (team photo above) and 1965. They disappeared some time after that although I have a vague recollection of seeing either them or the also defunct New Irelands playing in the early 1970s. It was whichever of them wore white jerseys with a green sash.
The 1890s saw Dublin win its first three in a row between 1897 and 1899. A second triple was secured between 1906 and 1909, a third between 1921 and 1923, and we shall be concluding with Dublin’s latest three in a row, won last September.
The Dublin team that beat Cork:
G. Charlemont, G. Roche, J. Scully, T. Lyons, J. Roche, J. Silke, J. Kennedy, P. Heslin, J. Mahoney, A. O’Hagan, P. O’Hagan, D. Curtis, S. Hughes, S. Flood, T. Murphy, J. Geraghty, T. Halpin, T. Cooney, M. Kelly, R. Flood, M. Condon.
Matt Treacy’s book on Dublin’s quest to win the All Ireland in 2013, The Year of the Dubs, is available on
Matt Treacy blogs @ Brocaire Books.
Follow Matt Treacy on Twitter @MattTreacy2
Dublin’s first football All Ireland
February 28, 1892, Clonturk Park,
Young Irelands (Dublin) 2 – 1, Clondrihid (Cork) 1 – 9
Dublin’s first All Ireland was won in the pleasant surroundings of Clonturk Park in Drumcondra. It has long since been swallowed by houses but was the venue for several early finals. It even merited a mention by James Joyce in the Cyclops episode of Ulysses:
She swore to him as they mingled the salt streams of their tears, that she would ever cherish his memory, that she would never forget her hero boy who went to his death with a song on his lips as if he were but going to a hurling match in Clonturk park.
Dublin had previously won the hurling title in 1889 when Kickhams, the forerunners of Ballymun Kickhams, beat Tulla in the final. The 1892 final was played amid considerable internal turmoil following the overthrow of Parnell as leader of the Home Rule party, and his death in October 1891.
The GAA was generally supportive of Parnell and paid a heavy price for its allegiance as it became the target of the Catholic Church hierarchy which was able to more or less suppress the organization in many parts of the country. There were even threats to excommunicate people who attended matches on Sundays. So successful was the fatwa that the first time all Ulster counties took part in the championship was 1945. The GAA in Dublin was one of the very few places where it mostly weathered the storm although the number of clubs declined.
The GAA in Dublin was strongly Parnellite and members of Dublin clubs provided a guard of honour, with black crepe covered hurleys, on Parnell’s funeral procession to Glasnevin. In 1892 James Boland, father of Harry who was killed during the Civil War, and a member of the PW Nally club, was elected the Chairman of the Dublin County Board. He was a leading member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood in the city.
Just days before the final a Dublin Castle Special Branch report claimed that the GAA was in serious decline due to the Parnell split, but that the were “elements of danger in the movement and it needs to be carefully watched.” The number of clubs had fallen from 777 in 1889 to 339 in late 1891 and over two thirds of those were under IRB control. At present there are over 2,300 GAA clubs in Ireland.
A former Castle detective Pollard later wrote a book entitled The Secret Societies of Ireland in which he noted that the GAA had never been run by “respectable people.” He also referred to the games being used as an excuse to practise all sorts of “savagery.” He must have lived in north county Dublin.
Young Irelands had won the Dublin county championship in 1892, and were thus selected as the county representatives. Likewise Clondrihid had won the Cork equivalent. Apparently many of the Young Irelanders were men who worked in Guinnesses and were noted for their “robust” style.
Although the conclusion of the championship took place in February 1891 it was actually part of the 1892 series. It attracted a lot of attention and the Freeman’s Journal described it as “One of the best day’s sport that have probably ever taken place in the metropolis.” The three games were the football semi final between Dublin and Cavan Slashers, the All Ireland hurling final between Ballyduff of Kerry and Crossbeg of Wexford, and the football final.
The attendance was described as the second largest to have ever attended a GAA match and was described as mostly good humoured although there were several pitch invasions at tense moments in the hurling decider. Young Irelands easily defeated the Cavan team. in a match played at 11am, on a scoreline of 3 – 7 to 0 – 3. The wind was very strong and with it at their back Dublin gave an exhibition of “kicking in magnificent style.”
The hurling final ended in controversy when Crossbeg claimed that they had had a legitimate goal disallowed. The referee Patrick Tobin who was also Secretary of the GAA somewhat bizarrely ruled that time had elapsed before the ball passed the goalposts. Extra time ensued and Kerry won their only hurling title. Wexford’s objections were later rejected.
In the final Young Irelands fielded the same team that had beaten Cavan. There was a very strong wind and with its aid the Dublin team led by 2 – 1 to 0 – 1 after a half described as having been of a “dashing, determined” nature.
Cork likewise made full use of the wind in the second half and scored two goals. The first of these was disallowed by the referee from Laois, J.T Whelan, but only hours after the match had ended, so Clondrihid thought they had won. As a goal outweighed any amount of points Dublin were awarded the honours. That was changed the following year so that a goal was worth five points.
Naturally enough the result led to an appeal by Cork but it was dismissed by the GAA central council after hearing evidence from the umpire. Michael Deering who had made the appeal resigned from the council in disgust in 1894 when Young Irelands beat another Cork team, the Nils after a replay. That game in Thurles ended in controversy when, with the game level, the Dublin team refused to play on after several of them were assaulted by Cork supporters. The game was abandoned but Dublin were later awarded the title.
Young Irelands went on to win two more All Irelands; beating Kerry to win the 1892 championship. and the controversial 1894 decider described above. Young Irelands won five Dublin football championships in total, the last of them in 1896, and six hurling titles between 1932 (team photo above) and 1965. They disappeared some time after that although I have a vague recollection of seeing either them or the also defunct New Irelands playing in the early 1970s. It was whichever of them wore white jerseys with a green sash.
The 1890s saw Dublin win its first three in a row between 1897 and 1899. A second triple was secured between 1906 and 1909, a third between 1921 and 1923, and we shall be concluding with Dublin’s latest three in a row, won last September.
The Dublin team that beat Cork:
G. Charlemont, G. Roche, J. Scully, T. Lyons, J. Roche, J. Silke, J. Kennedy, P. Heslin, J. Mahoney, A. O’Hagan, P. O’Hagan, D. Curtis, S. Hughes, S. Flood, T. Murphy, J. Geraghty, T. Halpin, T. Cooney, M. Kelly, R. Flood, M. Condon.
Matt Treacy’s book on Dublin’s quest to win the All Ireland in 2013, The Year of the Dubs, is available on
Matt Treacy blogs @ Brocaire Books.
Follow Matt Treacy on Twitter @MattTreacy2
Brexit Dynamic Can Realise What Adams Strategy Could Not
Returning to The Pensive Quill, Sean Bresnahan considers Monday’s appeal by ‘civic nationalism’ as a further indication of changing dynamics in the North. A member of the 1916 Societies, he writes here in a personal capacity.
As Malachi O’Doherty rightly noted earlier this week on the Nolan Show – this while discussing Monday’s letter in the The Irish News – Brexit can deliver what the Adams strategy could not: a United Ireland. For once it would seem that Malachi is right. Yet, going on social media, it seems that all Republicans can focus on is Sinn Féin, Sinn Féin and Sinn Féin.
Given the dynamic which Brexit has unleashed, the fall back position of Republicans should not be to bemoan every initiative undertaken by others — Monday’s letter from ‘civic nationalism’ being a case in point. There is a particular tendency towards this response where a hint of the ‘dastardly Shinners’ is detected. Brexit is bigger than Sinn Féin, however, and it’s time Republicans got their heads around this. They should not be the lens through which we undertake our analysis of political developments.
Either way, surely we can manage a better approach than endless negativity — something now rampant in Irish Republicanism. While we might have issued a different letter and while the letter itself is no doubt soft in its content, the fact it was issued at all is of note. Where was the letter or the joint approach from ourselves we might ask? Better, it seems, to moan instead in retrospect.
In truth, this letter need not be dismissed as mere irrelevant crawling on the part of its signatories — even if that is what it amounts to. An alternative view might hold it the tentative beginnings of a broad push towards Irish Unity, even if those who framed it might not be of that mind in this particular instance.
Ultimately, the negativity should stop. The British state is in the throes of a crisis unseen in generations — a crisis as yet to be contained, which could have a significant bearing on prospects for Irish Unity. Are we going to moan about the failures of others, real or perceived, or are we going, instead, to build up and advance our own efforts — as surely we ought to. That is the question Republicans are faced with. How we answer is now up to us.
As Malachi O’Doherty rightly noted earlier this week on the Nolan Show – this while discussing Monday’s letter in the The Irish News – Brexit can deliver what the Adams strategy could not: a United Ireland. For once it would seem that Malachi is right. Yet, going on social media, it seems that all Republicans can focus on is Sinn Féin, Sinn Féin and Sinn Féin.
Given the dynamic which Brexit has unleashed, the fall back position of Republicans should not be to bemoan every initiative undertaken by others — Monday’s letter from ‘civic nationalism’ being a case in point. There is a particular tendency towards this response where a hint of the ‘dastardly Shinners’ is detected. Brexit is bigger than Sinn Féin, however, and it’s time Republicans got their heads around this. They should not be the lens through which we undertake our analysis of political developments.
Either way, surely we can manage a better approach than endless negativity — something now rampant in Irish Republicanism. While we might have issued a different letter and while the letter itself is no doubt soft in its content, the fact it was issued at all is of note. Where was the letter or the joint approach from ourselves we might ask? Better, it seems, to moan instead in retrospect.
In truth, this letter need not be dismissed as mere irrelevant crawling on the part of its signatories — even if that is what it amounts to. An alternative view might hold it the tentative beginnings of a broad push towards Irish Unity, even if those who framed it might not be of that mind in this particular instance.
Ultimately, the negativity should stop. The British state is in the throes of a crisis unseen in generations — a crisis as yet to be contained, which could have a significant bearing on prospects for Irish Unity. Are we going to moan about the failures of others, real or perceived, or are we going, instead, to build up and advance our own efforts — as surely we ought to. That is the question Republicans are faced with. How we answer is now up to us.
Brexit Dynamic Can Realise What ‘Adams Strategy’ Could Not
Returning to The Pensive Quill, Sean Bresnahan considers Monday’s appeal by ‘civic nationalism’ as a further indication of changing dynamics in the North. A member of the 1916 Societies, he writes here in a personal capacity.
As Malachi O’Doherty rightly noted earlier this week on the Nolan Show – this while discussing Monday’s letter in the The Irish News – Brexit can deliver what the Adams strategy could not: a United Ireland. For once it would seem that Malachi is right. Yet, going on social media, it seems that all Republicans can focus on is Sinn Féin, Sinn Féin and Sinn Féin.
Given the dynamic which Brexit has unleashed, the fall back position of Republicans should not be to bemoan every initiative undertaken by others — Monday’s letter from ‘civic nationalism’ being a case in point. There is a particular tendency towards this response where a hint of the ‘dastardly Shinners’ is detected. Brexit is bigger than Sinn Féin, however, and it’s time Republicans got their heads around this. They should not be the lens through which we undertake our analysis of political developments.
Either way, surely we can manage a better approach than endless negativity — something now rampant in Irish Republicanism. While we might have issued a different letter and while the letter itself is no doubt soft in its content, the fact it was issued at all is of note. Where was the letter or the joint approach from ourselves we might ask? Better, it seems, to moan instead in retrospect.
In truth, this letter need not be dismissed as mere irrelevant crawling on the part of its signatories — even if that is what it amounts to. An alternative view might hold it the tentative beginnings of a broad push towards Irish Unity, even if those who framed it might not be of that mind in this particular instance.
Ultimately, the negativity should stop. The British state is in the throes of a crisis unseen in generations — a crisis as yet to be contained, which could have a significant bearing on prospects for Irish Unity. Are we going to moan about the failures of others, real or perceived, or are we going, instead, to build up and advance our own efforts — as surely we ought to. That is the question Republicans are faced with. How we answer is now up to us.
As Malachi O’Doherty rightly noted earlier this week on the Nolan Show – this while discussing Monday’s letter in the The Irish News – Brexit can deliver what the Adams strategy could not: a United Ireland. For once it would seem that Malachi is right. Yet, going on social media, it seems that all Republicans can focus on is Sinn Féin, Sinn Féin and Sinn Féin.
Given the dynamic which Brexit has unleashed, the fall back position of Republicans should not be to bemoan every initiative undertaken by others — Monday’s letter from ‘civic nationalism’ being a case in point. There is a particular tendency towards this response where a hint of the ‘dastardly Shinners’ is detected. Brexit is bigger than Sinn Féin, however, and it’s time Republicans got their heads around this. They should not be the lens through which we undertake our analysis of political developments.
Either way, surely we can manage a better approach than endless negativity — something now rampant in Irish Republicanism. While we might have issued a different letter and while the letter itself is no doubt soft in its content, the fact it was issued at all is of note. Where was the letter or the joint approach from ourselves we might ask? Better, it seems, to moan instead in retrospect.
In truth, this letter need not be dismissed as mere irrelevant crawling on the part of its signatories — even if that is what it amounts to. An alternative view might hold it the tentative beginnings of a broad push towards Irish Unity, even if those who framed it might not be of that mind in this particular instance.
Ultimately, the negativity should stop. The British state is in the throes of a crisis unseen in generations — a crisis as yet to be contained, which could have a significant bearing on prospects for Irish Unity. Are we going to moan about the failures of others, real or perceived, or are we going, instead, to build up and advance our own efforts — as surely we ought to. That is the question Republicans are faced with. How we answer is now up to us.
December 14, 2017
MoD Pulling Strings
Daniel Bradley, writing last evening, was angry at a further delay in the inquest into his brother's death at the hands of the British Army in 1972.
45 years on the British government is using the MoD to pull strings in the Northern Ireland courts.
My brother's inquest was supposed to begin yesterday the 11th December till the 22nd,.
I had fought hard to get it changed from Belfast to Derry and I was given a promise by the court that it would be held in Derry.
The MoD complained that they hadn't got enough time to do this and to do that hence the court in Derry was cancelled and now to be held in Belfast on the 5th Feb. 2018.
Where are our so called politicians?
The fight for justice goes on and the truth shall come out belfast or Derry as I won't give up they may think they our winning by doing what there doing but here my messages back to the MoD.
I Have Not gone Away You Know.
Daniel Bradley is a Derry justice campaigner.
45 years on the British government is using the MoD to pull strings in the Northern Ireland courts.
My brother's inquest was supposed to begin yesterday the 11th December till the 22nd,.
I had fought hard to get it changed from Belfast to Derry and I was given a promise by the court that it would be held in Derry.
The MoD complained that they hadn't got enough time to do this and to do that hence the court in Derry was cancelled and now to be held in Belfast on the 5th Feb. 2018.
Where are our so called politicians?
The fight for justice goes on and the truth shall come out belfast or Derry as I won't give up they may think they our winning by doing what there doing but here my messages back to the MoD.
I Have Not gone Away You Know.
Daniel Bradley is a Derry justice campaigner.
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