Gerry Adams's Blog, page 4

The Re-interment of Frank Stagg | Pet Hates

 

The Re-interment of Frank Stagg. 

Last week we remembered Frank Stagg who died on hungerstrike in an English prison in February 1976. 

Frank began his fourth and final hunger strike in December1975. He died 62 days later. He last request was "to be buriednext to my republican colleagues and my comrade, Michael Gaughan" whodied on hunger strike two years earlier. Michael had been buried in Ballinawith republican honours.

Faced with the prospect of another high-profile funeral of arepublican hunger striker the plane carrying Frank Stagg’s coffin wasdiverted by the Irish Government from Dublin, where the Stagg family andfriends were waiting, to Shannon. Frank’s body was hijacked and taken byhelicopter to Ballina, where it was buried. A 24-hour guard was put in placeand concrete was poured over it to prevent the family from exhuming the coffin.

Frank’s brother George later described how, when  hetook his mother to visit the grave, Special Branch officers tookphotographs of her as she knelt and prayed. 

Recently George explained to me what happened afterwards fora new book I am working on. The caretaker of the cemetery was Gerry Ginty, whowas a Sinn Féin councillor. His mother, Jane, also worked there, selling lotsand burial plots. George asked her one day,

‘Who bought that grave that Frank is in, who paid for it?’

Gerry said, nobody. George asked if he could buy it. He took out his cheque book to pay three pounds.

‘How much are you going to give me?’ said Jane.  ‘Threepounds.’ George replied.

‘No,’ she said. ‘Give me a fiver. For a fiver you can get “adouble”. That grave and the one next to it.’

‘Why?’ George asked.

And she said, “In case you ever have to dig down’.

So George bought both graves.  He got a headstoneerected on the empty plot which read:

‘Here in a grave dug by government agents lies thebody of Vol. Proinsias Stagg. His will required that he be buried in theRepublican Plot alongside his comrade in the IRA Vol. M. Gaughan. Having diedon hunger strike in an English jail his body was stolen and defiled by the proBritish Dublin government of the day. The truth for which he lived will blossomwhen his remains are reburied with the Republicans of Mayo. Erected by hisComrades and family.’

The Special Branch maintained a round-the-clock watch onFrank’s grave. But after about a year they realised that it was a waste ofGarda time and resources.

That summer, 1977, George got a call from Gerry Ginty, whohad already been hatching a plan for the removal of Frank remains. 

He said, ‘We can do this!’

They didn’t know if the concrete went down the sides of thegrave also, entombing the coffin and making it virtually impossible to breakinto the grave from the side without using machinery, which would attractattention. They reckoned they needed six trustworthy people in total for theoperation.

Gerry and George made two. Gerry got one other, Con Ryan,and George got the other three – his brother-in-law Jimmy Doyle, Sean Comiskeyfrom Trim, and Paul Stanley from Kildare.

Gerry chose the night carefully, November 5th, anight when there was no moon. It was very dark and a bitterly cold night,with continuous driving rain. They had two lookouts – one up the town, and theother down at the gates of the graveyard.

Four of them would carry out the digging. Two on, twooff.  They made good progress but were soon soaked through to the skin.There was hardly anyone out and about but at one stage the blue light of aGarda patrol car was flashing down near the gates and they thought they hadbeen spotted. They later learned that the driver stopped to offer a lift to arain-drenched pedestrian. Once or twice headlights from cars leaving a nearbyhouse swept across the cemetery and forced them to duck.

George goes on to describe how when they had dug about fourfoot down they came upon a massive rock. It was about five foot in diameter. Itmust have weighed about a quarter of a ton, George thought. They wereperplexed: this is it, they not going to be able to get this huge boulder outGeorge explained. But Gerry told them to keep trying. They sent for the lookoutto give a hand.

Two men were down in the hole and they got a rope around thebig stone and rolled it up the bank, inch by inch. It was a miracle. After theyremoved it they stopped digging down and began to dig sidewise into Frank’sgrave. Then they discovered there was no concrete down the sides. 

It wasn’t long afterwards that they struck the wood of thecoffin. Thankfully it was in fairly good shape. They had quite a bit of troublegetting it to move because it was stuck there by suction. But, again, Georgeexplains, Gerry was very clever. He just dug little holes over the coffin andto the back of it, until they were able to put the ropes through and gentlymove it outwards.

George felt very proud. He was fulfilling a great sense ofduty. He was very mindful of the words he said to the Garda superintendent atShannon airport when Frank’s coffin was seized on behalf of the state

‘I’m telling you now, I promise you. A day will come andI’ll have him back.’

That day had come. When his friends and comrades easedFranks coffin out of its resting place and brought it to the surface Georgeplaced his hands on his brother’s coffin and he whispered, ‘For you, Frank.We’re doing this for you, Frank.’

They placed the coffin on a sheet of plywood, in case itwould disintegrate while being moved. They carried it down to the RepublicanPlot and within a short time they had Frank’s remains reinterred beside hiscomrade Michael Gaughan. They said a prayer. Then standing beside the grave ofthe two republican heroes they saluted.  It was not yet dawn. They leftthe graveyard and each went his own way. George got in this car and headed backhome.

Later, he rang his mother to tell her it was done. He askedher to listen out for the news. She cried. And she thanked him. 

 

Pet Hates

It’s funny the things that annoy me. With everything elsethat’s happening in the world I do consider myself very lucky. So I try to putwee things which irritate me into perspective. All things are relative Itell myself. As you might expect, and as regular readers will know, I getreally annoyed, like many other people, at the way the people of Palestine aretreated. Or Donald Trump’s utterances – and actions. Other global issues upsetme. For example, human indifference to climate change – especially among thosewho cause the dangers to the environment. Litter annoys me. But a few Sundaysago when I tuned into RTE to watch the Rugby match I was reminded of one of mypet hates. The RTE notice which advises viewers who live in the North that ThisProgramme Is Not Available.

I usually came across it when I was trying to tune in forGaelic games coverage. That seems to have improved following a vigorous FairPlay For Gaels campaign. It’s still not as good as it should be but well doneto all involved.

However, when I turned to RTE for the rugby and  to getthe benefit of Irish commentators there was no fair play for Ireland rugby fansin our house. Just the Verbotten graphic. Why?  Why did I have to turn toBBC to watch us beating Scotland.

Funny enough someone told me that The Young Offenders wasalso out of bounds for Nordies. So I checked that out. And yes its true. ThisProgramme – about Cork langers- Is Not Available either. And don’t get mestarted about the weather maps, RTE Radio’s  Morning Ireland  trafficupdates or Late Late Show competitions. All cut off  at the border. Inthis era of global communications its long past the time that RTE dropped itspartitionist broadcasting.

 

The World Stands at a Tipping Point | My Internment by Roseleen Walsh | Climate Crisis

 

The World Stands at a Tipping Point

In themonths leading up to the invasion of Iraq by American and British forces andothers in March 2003 Martin McGuinness and I warned Tony Blair and PresidentBush not to invade. We pointed out that it would be a breach of internationallaw. At one particular meeting in Mr. Blair’s office in Downing Street Martinand I urged the British PM to learn the lessons of British involvement inIreland and in other conflicts. We told him and his officials they were livingin cloud cuckoo land; “if you go into Iraq it will be another Vietnamand it will be a huge mistake.”

One Britishofficial told us that it would all be over in a matter of months. Martin toldhim “... given the previous history of successive British militaryexpeditions to Ireland, that certainly would not be my view of how thesituation in Iraq is going to move in the next short while." 

We raised our concerns regularly with Tony Blair in the runinto the Anglo-American attacks on the people of Iraq. It became obvious to methat Mr Blair was not listening to what we had to say. He was set on joiningGeorge Bush in his ill-considered offensive. If anything Mr Blair was morehawkish than Mr Bush. 

Martin andI were right. They were wrong. The consequences for the people of Iraq wereenormous. The estimates of those killed vary from several hundred thousand toover one million. The political and environmental infrastructure of the countrywas devastated. The political ramifications in terms of global instability arestill playing out today.

The Israeligenocide in the Gaza Strip and the pogroms against Palestinian towns andvillages in the west Bank strike a similar note today and a lesson for theinternational community. The support of the British Government and the WhiteHouse for the Zionist assaults on the Palestinian people is shameful. It isalso, like the war in Iraq, short sighted and counter-productive. 

Over 60,000Gazans have been killed – mostly women and children and 80% of theinfrastructure of Gaza has been destroyed; a thousand are dead in the westBank; south Lebanon is ablaze; Israeli forces have moved deeper into Syria, andthe US President is seeking to expel the Palestinian people of Gaza from theirhomeland. The world stands at a tipping point amid the real risk of a possiblewider conflagration. 

The westernstates who were part of the Iraqi War have failed to learn the lessons of thoseevents. Instead of upholding international law and supporting the InternationalCriminal Court and Court of Justice they have grievously damaged and underminedthese legal institutions. As a result, almost two million people – thepopulation of the six counties – have been forcibly displaced in Gaza and mosthave lost everything.

The history of the last forty years or so reflects a litanyof these militaristic adventures by the larger Western powers. Who hasbenefitted from this? Not the people of the countries or regions on thereceiving end of this aggression. Thankfully saner voices have been raised insupport of peace, human rights and international law.  Unfortunately,the Irish government has not always been as principled as it should be.Uachtarán Micheál D. Ó hUigínn has been much more consistent. 

The Irish government is currently watering down the OccupiedTerritories Bill which would block the import of goods and services into theIrish state from Israeli settlements built on stolen Palestinian land. Thegovernment should be honouring the aims and objectives of the Bill and thefinding by the International Court of Justice that all states must abstainfrom economic or trade dealings with Israel concerning the occupied Palestinianterritory. 

They must also support the right of the people of Gaza toremain in their homeland and for international law to be defended. Interferencein the affairs of other countries rarely work out well for the people of thesecountries. Ask the people of Iraq. Or Afganistan. Or Libya. Or Lebanon. If 77years of Israeli occupation and apartheid have taught us anything it is thatthe Palestinian people will defend their right to national self-determinationwhatever the cost.

 

My Internment by Roseleen Walsh

Roseleen Walsh is one of 36 women who were interned in theearly 1970s. Her latest book – My Internment – tells the very personal story ofher life as a young woman in west Belfast in the late 60s and early 70s. Of theconstant pressure and danger of living under British occupation and of her timeas an internee in Armagh Women’s Prison.

Roseleen has been writing for many years, including duringher time in Armagh Prison. She is a writer of great skill including of poetry,plays and books. She is also a very determined individual as her account of herfirst days in Armagh makes clear. When her cell door was opened for the firsttime she remembers that “there before me was, not a mess, but a blankcanvass. Immediately I knew white walls would suit me best for I intendedmaking those walls a work of art! I would surround myself within the comfort ofmy own words.  Since I was young, I had found it hard to express myself toothers until I discovered that poetry was a wonderful way to articulate what Imeant… The walls were to become like pages of a diary.”

Of course this was Armagh Prison and writing on the wallswas not acceptable to the prison authorities who told her that this was “considereda form of vandalism and I would be obliged to remove everything I had writtenon them, presumably with another coat of paint.”

Later a senior prison officer arrived to read thepoems. “After studying some of the poems, she sighed deeply then walkedout without speaking… After that there was no mention of vandalism or having toremove my poetry from the walls! I was to enjoy and develop the creativefreedom I had in my cell.”

My Internment also tells of the hard times. Of the disputeswith the prison system. Of coping with the news of a comrade’s death in theconflict outside the prison walls. Of facing her accusers in one of the corruptso-called courts set up to determine whether an internee could be released. Italso explores the comradeship that has always a hugely important part of theprison experience for republican political prisoners and political prisoners inother struggles around the world.

Roseleen’s website reflects her remarkable creative output.Take the time to visit. You will enjoy the experience: https://roseleenwalsh.org/

 

Climate Crisis

January was a month of climate opposites. Storm Éowyn is nowbelieved to have been one of the worst to ever hit the island of Ireland. Itbroke wind-speed records; forced the cancellation of flights andferries; and within hours had cut power supplies to over one millionhouseholds and businesses north and south.  Tens of thousands were alsoleft without water as treatment plants lost power.

Although last month Ireland was colder thanusual January was still the hottest month ever recorded across the world.More worrying it is the 18th month out of the last 19 when the averageglobal temperature was greater than that set by the world’s governments.  

In the last decade governments have pledged to keep anyincrease in the world temperature to 1.5C is above the average conditions thatprevailed before the industrial revolution. However, Copernicus which isthe EU programme that monitors our planet’s changing environment and climate,has just reported that 2024 was the warmest year on record. It was alsothe first to exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for the annualglobal average temperature.

To add to this growing crisis President Trump has pulled theUSA out of the Paris Accords on climate and most world governments, whowere due to submit new plans this month for a major conference later this year(COP30) will fail to meet this deadline.

The result of climate warming is more extreme weatherevents, heatwaves, storms, droughts, melting glaciers and changing rainfallpatterns. For humanity it means millions facing serious water and foodshortages and significant political instability.

All governments must play their part in tackling the climatecrisis. The COP30 conference in November is an opportunity to prioritise afairer approach to funding global climate change efforts, particularly those oflow-income countries. They need financial support by the wealthier states todecarbonise. Greater investment is required in renewable energy and thetransition away from fossil fuels. There is not a lot of time left.

 

Partitionism Rules. | International support grows for Palestinian Struggle | OFF LINE.

 

Partitionism Rules. 

Simon Harris has said that Irish unity is not a priority forhim.  That is self-evident. But for him to say so is at odds with thestated position of most senior Irish politicians including An Taoiseach MicheálMartin. Their position is one of verbalised adherence to the constitutionalobjective of unity. In other words, they are verbalised republicans. RhetoricalUnited Irelanders. Mr Harris doesn't even pay lip service to this. Some maythink this clarity from him is good for the unity debate. And they have apoint.

Simon Harris words reflect the reality of the positionof successive governments. Thus far no Irish government has a strategy or aplan for unity. So unity is not only not a priority for Simon Harris. It isclearly not a government priority either.  

 

The truth is he reflects a deep-rooted view within thesouthern establishment which sees partition as acceptable. For 100 years FiannaFáil and Fine Gael have run the southern state – in their own interests. Oneled the government. The other led the opposition. And every so often they wouldwalk across the floor of Leinster House, play musical chairs and change places.Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. Now they are Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dum. 

 

But their position on unity remained unchanged. They knew itwas popular with the electorate. Consequently, sometimes it was important toplay along with the public mood. So Yes, to the rhetoric. No to doing anythingabout it. But as the debate about unity continues and unity becomes a doableproject these positions are coming into sharp relief. 

To this end Harris and Martin will continue to distort thepolitical reality as its suits their aims. On the same day that Harrisdismissed unity, “That’s not where my priority is today” he waffledon how about what he described as the core fundamentals of the Good FridayAgreement. 

For his information the first part of the Agreement, afterthe Declaration of Support, is Constitutional Issues. It’s aboutconstitutional change – and creating the means by which voters here,  asequals can determine the future of this island democratically and freely.

So constitutional arrangements are a core part of theGood Friday Agreement which Mr Harris praises and which The Irish Government isa co-guarantor of. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Implementation of TheGood Friday Agreement acknowledges this in its recent report and calls on theIrish government to plan for Irish unity.

For Simon Harris and Micheál Martin to turn their backs onthis and on the fundamental issue of constitutional change and of the needto plan for it is partitionist short termism. 

 

Harris and Martin should be leading on constitutionalchange. They are obliged to do so in accordance with their respective partypolicies and objectives, as well as the Irish Constitution. Do I expect theywill? Only if public opinion North and South makes the political price too highfor them to ignore. 

So, United Irelanders, whoever you are, from whatever partyor none, Mr Harris has pointed the way forward. Let’s make unity a priority.That means you need to plan and organise to get the Irish government to planfor unity. Only in that way can we consolidate the substantial momentum thathas already developed in recent years and build the new, united Ireland that isso desperately needed for the future. 

International support grows for Palestinian Struggle

As the Israeli state’s brutal assault on the rights of thePalestinian people continues in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank ninecountries came together last Friday at The Hague, in the Netherlands, toinaugurate a new international alliance in support of Palestinians.

‘The Hague Group’ supports South Africa’s genocide caseagainst the Israeli state at the International Court of Justice, and also seeksto maximise international diplomatic and legal action in support of Palestiniannational and human rights. 

The establishment of The Hague Group came one year to theday last year when the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued provisionalmeasures deeming a “plausible case of genocide” by Israel inGaza, following South Africa’s legal action under the GenocideConvention. 

Declan Kearney MLA, Sinn Féin’s National Party Chairperson,who is playing a leadership role in supporting the Palestinian cause, wasinvited to attend and address the event. The nine states making up thisnew international alliance includes South Africa, Malaysia, Namibia, Colombia,Chile, Honduras, Bolivia, Senegal and Belizes. 

 

Declan told me on Monday that Cuba has now joined theGroup. Critically he said; “I think one of the most important aspectsof this initiative is that for the first time an international alliance ofstates from the global south is telling states in the global north that theirposition on Palestine is not good enough.”

 

Declan described the establishment of The Hague Groupas “a pivotal moment for the Palestinian struggle for justice.” Hewas especially grateful for the role played by the Republic of South Africa.The ending of apartheid in South Africa and the creation of a new democraticSouth Africa owed much to the solidarity of the international community. So toowith our own peace process. The international community, governments andindividuals played an important part in achieving the Good Friday Agreement andsustaining the peace. International initiatives and solidarity with the peopleof Palestine are vital to their winning their freedom and independence.

A joint statement by the group declared thatthey  were; “Determined to uphold our obligations to end theIsraeli occupation of the State of Palestine and support the realization of theinalienable right of the Palestinian People to self-determination, includingthe right to their independent State of Palestine.”

Yvonne Dausab, Namibia’s Minister of Justice urged othergovernments to follow the lead of The Hague Group. She said: “Whenfuture generations inquire our contribution to Palestine’s right toself-determination, our response must be that we took concrete measures, or wewill be remembered as leaders who watched and did nothing.”

This is especially pertinent for the Irish government whichrecently adopted the pro-Israeli definition of Anti-Semitism and whose negativeapproach to the Occupied Territories Bill is causing grave disquiet.

 

 

OFF LINE.

I ordered a pair of jeans on line recently. Why, by the way,do we say a pair of jeans? It’s the same with trousers. A pair of trousers iswhat we say. That means literally two trousers. Or does it?  Maybe it’s agenerational thing. Do younger people just say jeans? Or trousers? And why isit plural? Maybe because most jeans and trousers have two legs? A pair of them.So maybe that’s the answer to my question.

Anyway however you describe it or them I recently orderedjeans on line. Waist 36 and leg 32. It all seemed very simple and straightforward. However, when the aforementioned jeans arrived one leg was 38 incheslong. The other one was 34 inches.  Maybe the vendor sent me someoneelse’s jeans. Maybe some person with a 38 inch leg and a 34 inch leg is waitingfor their purchase. Incidentally the 38 inch one is for the right leg. Theother one is for the left leg.

Now I know I can just send them back though that may be toocomplicated a process for me at this stage of my online apprenticeship. Itcertainly makes the process more convoluted and less simple orstraightforward. Hence the reason for this mention in my column.

If you ordered jeans with a 38 inch right leg and a 34 inchleft leg I have them. If you have the ones I ordered we could do a swap. Or forthe right price you can have yours. Otherwise next week sometime I’m gettingout my needle and thread. That’s one of the benefits of being a formerprisoner. I am very handy at sewing. Sewing is much easier than themachinations of on line purchasing. So there you have it. No more online jeansfor me.

Stramer Waiving Rules | Leonard Peltier - Going Home

 

Starmer Waiving The Rules. 

Accordingto the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer his government is looking at"every conceivable way" to prevent me and at least 300 other peoplefrom receiving compensation for wrongful arrest and imprisonment in the 1970s.This issue of compensation arises from the decision by the British SupremeCourt in May 2020 that the Interim Custody Order (ICO) or internment orderissued against me was unlawful. 

Internment was demanded by the Unionist government in 1971and imposed by the British on 9 August that year. It had been used in everydecade since partition in 1920. Internment saw thousands of armed troops smashtheir way into nationalist homes to arrest 342 men and boys. They were draggedfrom their beds and many were beaten. Fourteen – the Hooded Men - weresubjected to days of sustained torture. 25 people were killed in thefollowing four days. In Ballymurphy in west Belfast eleven local citizens, includinga priest and mother of eight, were killed by the Paras in the BallymurphyMassacre.  Five months later the Paras attacked an anti-internment marchin Derry and killed 14 people. Bloody Sunday was another of many dark days inthe conflict. In July 1972 another five citizens, this time in Springhill, werekilled by the British Army. They included another priest and athirteen-year-old girl.

I was interned in 1972. Released and re-interned in July1973. On Christmas Eve 1973 four of us made a failed attempt to escape. Thefollowing July I tried again and failed. Again. For these twoescape attempts I was sentenced by a Diplock non-jury court to five yearsfor attempting to escape from ‘lawful custody’.

Fast forward 32 years to 2009 and a researcher workingfor the Pat Finucane Centre in Derry uncovered a memorandum, dated 8 July 1974,from the Director of Public Prosecutions to the British Attorney General. In itthe DPP warned the Attorney General that before they decided to go ahead withthe escape charges they should understand that there was the possibility thatthe would-be escapers and “many other detainees held under the Orders whichhave not been signed by the Secretary of State himself may be unlawfullydetained.”

It took ten years of diligent work on the part of my lawyersbut eventually the British Supreme Court in 2020 ruled that I had beenunlawfully detained. 

The Supreme Court quashed my two convictions. But theDepartment of Justice in the North decided in 2021 that I was ineligiblefor compensation. I challenged this decision. In April 2023 Justice Coltonconcluded that it was “beyond reasonable doubt that there has been amiscarriage of justice, that is, the applicant is innocent of the crime forwhich he was convicted.” He added that: “I am satisfied thatthe applicant meets the test for compensation under the Criminal Justice Act1988.”

Almost immediately Conservative politicians and unionistscondemned the decision. Several British Tory Lords brought in a rushed legalamendment that would deny compensation to any internee whose interim custodyorder had not been personally considered by the Secretary of State.  Theywere persuaded to drop this in favour of a formal British government amendmentwhich is now part of the Legacy Act. I challenged the Dept. of Justice decisionbut the Appeal Court in Belfast decided that they could not arrive at adecision because of the new law. 

The Act states that no one can take a civil actionor continue with one already in place if the person bringing the action claimsthat their imprisonment occurred because an interim custody order wasunlawfully signed. Most of the major parties on the island, along with theIrish government, victims groups and human rights organizations, have opposedthe law. Many correctly saw it as an effort by the British government toprotect its forces and agents and politicians

While in Opposition the British Labour Party committed togetting rid of the Legacy Act. It is obvious now they will not dothis. 

British Secretary of State Hilary Benn’s treatment of thefamily of the GAA’s Seán Brown is an example of that. Mr Brown was killed byloyalists who included many British government agents. Mr Benn is blocking theBrown family from getting the public inquiry they are entitled to. Hilary Bennshould know better. He should stand up for the Brown family instead of lettingthe securocrats run him. His father, the late Tony Benn used to say, ‘Neverwrestle with a chimney sweep. You will get very dirty’.’ He was talking abouthow to keep high standards. A very wise piece of advice which his son shouldemulate.

Mr Starmer clearly doesn't mind getting dirty. It will beinteresting to see what ‘conceivable way’ he will invent to prevent me, and theother unlawfully detained former prisoners from getting compensation. 

Mr Starmer’s arrogance is in keeping with the imperialmindset that survives yet in the heart of the British establishment. Britanniaused to rule the waves. That leads to strange notions of superiority and thelack of self-awareness so ably demonstrated by Mr Starmer. His remarksare another example of Britannia waiving the rules.

Mr Starmer’s stated intention to subvert the laws he issupposed to uphold will come as no surprise to those in Ireland and incountless other states around the world who have experienced British coloniallaw. The self-proclaimed leading British counter-insurgency expert Frank Kitsondescribed it well in his 1971 manual, Low-Intensity Operations:Subversion, Insurgency & Peacekeeping:

“The law should be used as just another weapon in theGovernment’s arsenal, and in this case it becomes little more than a propagandacover for the disposal of unwanted members of the public.”

So I will continue to pursue this case. I have no personalinterest in compensation for myself. If any comes to me at the end of thisprocess, I will donate it to good causes. 

 

 Leonard Peltier - Going Home

Leonard Peltier is a native American activist. He has spentalmost 50 years in prison in the USA for a crime he has always denied and whichmany, including some involved in jailing him, have long believed he wasinnocent of.  A short time before he left office US President Joe Bidencommuted Leonard’s life sentence to one of home confinement in his tribalhomeland in North Dakota. Leonard is due to be released on 18 February.

While this is welcome it is not a pardon and Leonard remainsconvicted of the killing of two FBI agents in 1975. 

In a short comment Leonard said: “It’s finally over – I’mgoing home. I want to show the world I’m a good person with a good heart. Iwant to help the people, just like my grandmother taught me.”

This week a new documentary about his life – FreeLeonard Peltier – is due to be shown at the Sundance Film Festival.I’m sure the film makers have been working hard to update the documentary whichwill tell the story of the “longest-held Indigenous political prisoner in theUnited States.” The scheduled performances of the film are already sold out andthe film makers are hoping to secure more from the festival organisers. 

Like many others I have publicly and privately raisedLeonard Peltier’s case many times, including many years ago with PresidentClinton and subsequently with other US Presidents since then includingPresident Biden. Leonard has served more time than the presumptive maximumfederal sentence. 

Others have supported the campaign to have Leonard released.They include Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Tutu, Mary Robinson, Robert Redfordand James H. Reynolds the former US Attorney General whose office handledthe prosecution and appeal in the Leonard Peltier case appealed for hissentence to be commuted. In a letter to President Biden he wrote: “Withtime, and the benefit of hindsight, I have realized that the prosecution andcontinued incarceration of Mr. Peltier was and is unjust.”

 

At 80 years old and in failing health Leonard will now havetime with his family and friends. I wish him well. Fáilte abhaile. 

 

Dublin Lacks Ambition | Presidential Vote | Solidarity with the people of Palestine

Dublin Lacks Ambition

Last week Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, supported by theregional independents, published their Programme for Government 2025. Thiscontains the objectives set by the government parties for the next five years.In my ten years in the Oireachtas as the TD for Louth and East Meath I workedthrough two such Programmes. First in 2011 and then again in 2016. NeitherProgramme for Government matched the rhetoric or the commitments containedwithin them.

The Programme for Government 2025 is no different. It is asPearse Doherty aptly described it “a copy and paste job from five yearsago … a tired and stale document that is completely devoid of the ambitionand big ideas our people need and deserve.”

Nowhere is this more evident than in its abject failure toaddress the major issue of constitutional change and a united Ireland. TheProgramme claims that the “Government of Ireland is committed to theunity of the Irish people and believes that this can only be achieved through asustained focus on and investment in reconciliation and we remain steadfast inimplementing the Good Friday Agreement in full.”

However, the Programme produces no meaningful commitments toachieving “unity of the Irish people.” There is no plan forunity. No step by step programme to advance the conversation around the issueof unity. No effort to reach out to those of a different view on unity. Thereare no new or substantive policy proposals to engage with those from theunionist/Protestant section of northern opinion. Moreover, the claim that theFFFGers “remain steadfast in implementing the Good Friday Agreement in full” ismeaningless in the absence of any proposals to bring this about.

The Good Friday Agreement provides for referendums North andSouth to facilitate constitutional change. The Programme for Government makesno reference to this. Nor does it state how it would facilitate this. Howeveruseful the Shared Island initiative is - and additional funding for it iswelcome- it is not an alternative to the establishment of a Citizen’s Assemblyor Assemblies where representatives of the people of this island can cometogether to discuss all of the issues that are pertinent to achieving Irishreunification. The Programme for Government is noticeably weaker that theFianna Fail or Fine Gael Election Manifestos. Our task is to change that. 

Presidential Vote

A further example of the lack of ambition by Fianna Fáil andFine Gael can be found in their refusal to honour the commitment both made in2020’s Programme for Government to hold a referendum on the extension ofPresidential voting rights to Irish citizens living in the North and outsidethe island of Ireland.  

Non-resident citizens in over 120 countries around theworld, including many of our partners in the EU, have the right to vote inelections. This is seen as an issue of equality and inclusivity which benefitsthe state.

In 2013, the Constitutional Convention established by thegovernment agreed that Irish citizens in the North and the diaspora should havethe right to vote in presidential elections. In November 2015 the JointOireachtas Committee on European Affairs recommended extending the votingrights. In October 2018 An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced that areferendum would be held in May 2019. The following month the government saidthe referendum would take place in October 2019. None of this happened. 

One of the most basic rights and entitlements of any citizenis the right to vote.
The President is not the president of a land mass; he is President of the Irishpeople. It is only right that all Irish people have the entitlement to vote forour President. 

 

Solidarity with the people of Palestine

As I write this column the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip isless than 24 hours old. Already thousands of displaced Palestinians driven fromtheir homes by Israel’s genocidal war are starting to slowly make their wayback into Gaza City and northern Gaza. Most carry on their backs the entiretyof their possessions. Their very few clothes and personal belongs and for somethe tents that will provide them with shelter among the rubble that was oncetheir homes. Some have donkeys to help while a few of the more fortunate havemotor vehicles.

Fifteen years ago when I was in Gaza City it was anovercrowded open air prison under economic and military siege by Israel.Despite that there were functioning hospitals and schools, universities andfactories and shops. It was a vibrant society where young people were workinghard to secure an education to help build a better future of themselves, theirfamilies and their society. Today all of that is gone and below the shatteredremains of apartment blocks and houses lie the remains of countless thousandsburied by Israeli bombs.

The official statistics of death total almost 50,000 deadand over 100,000 wounded. Somewhere between 15-20,000 are children and Gaza nowhas an enormous number of children with missing limps and no parents. Orphansof a war that was encouraged and facilitated by the western states who haveabandoned international law and supplied the armaments to facilitate thisgenocide.

Israel is an apartheid state. It engages in collectivepunishment, the use of pogroms against the Palestinian people of the west Bank,the construction of illegal settlements on occupied lands, the wide-spread useof internment, the cruel and degrading treatment of prisoners, and thetargeting of innocent civilians. All of these and much more is a breach ofinternational law.

It is also widely acknowledged that the ceasefire agreementnow in place hasn’t change much from the first draft produced last March.The broad outline is contained in the UN Security Council Resolution 2735 thatwas Adopted by the Security Council on 10 June 2024. That it took so longto reach this point is the result of a ruthless Israeli regime determined tobreak the Palestinian people.

For over 70 years, Israel has never faced meaningfulconsequences for its actions. Instead it has been protected by the UnitedStates, Britain, Germany, the European Union leaderships and others for theseviolations. This has to change.

The immediate priority must be to provide the humanitarianaid which Israel has blocked.

The incoming Irish government has an opportunity todemonstrate real international leadership by taking the steps needed to holdIsrael to account for its actions. 

Regrettably, Micheál Martin announced on the day of theceasefire that the new Irish government will introduce a different piece oflegislation to replace the Occupied Territories Bill. His announcement raisesreal concerns that the government is planning to introduce legislation thatwill fall far short of the proposals contained in the Occupied TerritoriesBill. Any effort to dilute that Bill must be vigorously challenged.

Last July the judgement by the International Court ofJustice that Israel's continued presence in the Occupied PalestinianTerritories is 'unlawful' intensifies the legal and moral responsibility of theinternational community to help bring the occupation to an end. There isan opportunity for the international community to end its shameful response tothis genocide and do the right thing by the Palestinian people and upholdinternational law.  

The aim must be to secure a viable and free Palestine and alasting and just peace based on equality between the people of Palestine and ofIsrael. At this juncture that demands that a peace process is established. Thecease fire is welcome. But it is not enough. It will be challenging but shapinga real peace process is the only way forward. The cessation is the firsttentative step in that process. Let’s build on it.

 

A Good Start To 2025 | Let the Music Keep Your Spirits High | Sanctions Must be applied.

 

A Good Start To 2025. 

 

On Saturday last leading tradeunion activists from across the island of Ireland came together in Newry for apacked Ireland’s Future event in the Thomas Davis Hub. It was a wet wintermorning and i was pleasantly uplifted by the turn out. 

The panel included ICTU assistantgeneral secretary Gerry Murphy, Unison regional general secretary PatriciaMcKeown, Phil Ni Sheaghdha, general secretary of the Nurses and MidwivesOrganisation, Katie Morgan of FORSA, Greg Ennis of SIPTU and Gerry McCormack ofthe ICTU. It was a lively and informative debate which pointed to a much betterfuture for workers in a united Ireland.

Ireland’s Future is for holdingthe referendums by 2030 and Saturday’s public sectoral meeting is part of aconsultation for what it believes is the ‘crucial five-year period’ ahead ofus.

Niall Murphy, who is thesecretary of Ireland’s Future explained that it seeks “to continue to inform,educate and stimulate the conversation on constitutional change in the yearspreceding a referendum. The pace of change has quickened and we are firmly of abelief that a referendum will take place around the year 2030, therefore it isincumbent upon the political administrations in Dublin, Belfast and London toprepare, and it is also imperative that civil society, including the tradeunion movement, recognises the constitutional space we are now entering.”

This month will also see furthermeetings in the USA organised by Friends of Sinn Féin modelled on the work ofthe party’s Commission on the Future of Ireland. Following two very successfulevents late last year in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio two more public eventsare planned before the end of this month. The first will take place inWashington on 27 January and the second in Rockland County, New York on 30January. North Belfast MP John Finucane will address both meetings.

In addition, the Commission alsohas plans well advanced for a series of sectoral and People’s Assembly eventsin Ireland in the first six months of this year.

A few weeks ago Uachtarán ShinnFéin Mary Lou McDonald announced that Conor Murphy is one of six Sinn Féincandidates the party is running in the elections to Seanad Éireann. Conor hasbeen at the forefront of republican politics for decades as a Councillor, anMP, MLA and Minister. He is an experienced activist and a vocal and determinedunited Irelander and has been a key negotiator for the party from the time ofthe Good Friday Agreement. If elected Conor will use his place in the Seanad topromote the all-Ireland economy and agenda as well as being a strong voice forthe North in that institution.

Finally, the Financial Times rana recent story claiming that a united Ireland could cost the South betweenan initial €2.5bn to €20bn a year for two decades. The €20 billion claim firstmade last summer has been firmly rejected by most economists and in responseformer Executive Finance Minister Máirtín Ó Muilleoir took the paper to task.

Máirtín reminded the FT that the‘block grant’ “contains expenditure for the UK debt, UK museums, thecolonial holdover that is the Northern Ireland Office, UK defence, militarymaterial and much more. And then of course, here in the ‘wee North’ we do paytaxes: VAT, corporation tax, income tax, capital gains tax, duties etc. to HMG– all of which should be netted off the block grant.

That being the case, atransfer from Dublin of €20 billion each year for the next two decades wouldmake us one the wealthiest regions in these islands.

Moving the North of Irelandfrom its status as a poor cousin of Great Britain to a vibrant economy, viareunification and readmission to the EU, adds up. |No doubt there will be aninitial cost to Dublin (to whom our taxes would flow) but the benefits would beincalculable.”

Well done Máirtín for thisnail-on-the-head rebuttal to this daft analysis.

 

Let the Music Keep Your Spirits High

I am not a big watcher of television. When Ihave my way – which is usually when everyone else is out – the TV goes on onlywhen there is something I want to watch. Other times it is a constantbackground noise. An intrusion. Like white noise.

Sometimes I just like the silence. Or somegood music.

Alexia and I have become friends. I like tolisten to music when I’m writing. So Radio Na Gaeltachta, Radio Fáilte, Lyric,Radio Ulster and RTE Radio1 are my broadcasters of choice. I also have tons oftunes on my phone. And an IPod loaded up with thousands of songs from SeamusDrumm who has the most expansive reservoir of ceol of anyone I know. Myambition is to listen to all Seamie’s collection before I die. Listening tomusic on these various devices wraps me in a melodious comfort blanket ofuplifting sounds. Sometimes I will even join in.

If I’m not working, if I’m relaxing with a bookor chilling out then I find that playing LPs is a different listeningexperience. I also have cassette tapes from long ago. And hundreds of CDs. WhenI play my LPS, CDs or LPs then that is a session dedicated to the tunes Iselect. It is different from music in the background while I do other things.

Playing LPS is a particular pleasure.Selecting the album. Placing it on the turntable. Setting down the needle onthe record. The initial sizzle and scratch of needle on vinyl. And then theglorious melodious vocals of  your chosen singer or the rich instrumentalfrom your selected musician or musicians. Nothing beats it. Except a livesession or a concert. But that’s another story.

I started to put down a list of my favouriteperformers. But I scrapped that after I got to twenty. It depends on my mood.But one thing is for sure. A world without music or without the creative folkwho provide it is not worth contemplating. Which is why we sing even quietly toourselves. Or collectively at special times of mourning or celebration. And whyI listen to music so much.

My tastes are very wide ranging but I find Iusually come back to ceol I have grown up with. That includes popular as wellas folk and rock music. I am also very conscious that we Irish are blessed witha vibrant living music tradition. There is a special connection, a comfortingacoustic from singing, playing or listening to music which is hundreds of yearsold. We are very lucky.  

So whatever you are doing take time to sing asong or to listen to someone else doing so. Let good tunes take you out ofyourself.  Let the music carry you away. Let it keep your spirits high.

 

Sanctions Must be applied

The Irish government has formallyjoined South Africa’s genocide case against Israel. The South Africangovernment took its case to the ICJ in December 23. In its historic AdvisoryOpinion issued last July the Court established that the occupation of Palestineis illegal and that states are under an obligation not to engage in trade whichentrenches the occupation.

Confirmation that the Irishgovernment has now joined the South African case is welcome. The governmentshould go further and insist on a full oral hearing before the InternationalCourt. It must also move urgently to enact the Occupied Territories Bill whichFine Gael and Fianna Fáil have frustrated for over five years. There is also aneed for sanctions to be imposed.

This becomes even more urgent inlight of last week’s report from The Lancet medical journal which believes thatthe number of Palestinian dead is significantly higher than current officialestimates.

The delaying tactics of thegovernment parties has to end. Every effort must now be made to quickly enactthe Occupied Territories Bill and to introduce strong sanctions againstIsrael. The genocide has been going on for 16 month. A ceasefire is needed now.

 

Nollaig Na mBan | Ted Howell - Republican | Francesca Albanese - A Champion For Truth.

Nollaig na mBan

Monday 6 January is traditionally the date on which the Christmas decorations are taken down. In the Christian calendar it marks the end of the Christmas season and the visit of the Magi – the three wise men – to Jesus.

In Ireland the 6 January is also Nollaig na mBan - Women’s Christmas or Little Christmas. It’s a day set aside to celebrate the role of women who did all the work catering for and making Christmas a success for everyone else.  On 6 January the women rested, although in many rural parts of Ireland it was also an occasion for women to come together and socialise.

There are many traditions and superstitions associated with Nollaig na mBan including the belief, still shared by many, that to take the decorations down before that date is unlucky. The lighting of 12 candles in the window on the eve of Nollaig na mBan was also once very popular with different family members lighting each candle. It was claimed that the first candle to go out would belong to the first person to die!

Until recently the celebration of Nollaig na mBan was declining. However, thankfully it is now enjoying a revival. This year fundraising events in aid of charities or community project supporting women will have been held. 

Today for many women Nollaig na mBan has a much broader meaning. It is a celebration of the strength of women. Of their right to equality and parity of esteem. Long may this continue.

 

Ted Howell – Republican

Ted Howell was 77 when he died last Friday. On Tuesday we buried him in Milltown Cemetery in the grave of the love of his life Eileen Duffy. The two of them were devoted to each other. They were married on the 9 October 1972. That night Ted was arrested. Fortunately, his false ID held up and he was released the following morning.  

Eileen was a formidable republican also. She was a hard worker and a champion of west Belfast. Ted and she had two fine sons Eamonn and Proinsias. Sadly, Eileen died in June 2004. Ted visited her grave, sometimes on a daily basis, in the twenty years since her death. 

Ted was a child of the 50s and 60s. He loved music, an enduring passion.  He was a voracious reader with an abiding interest in politics and international affairs. The anti-colonial wars of that period in Algeria, Cuba, Vietnam and the struggle in South Africa were huge influences in his life but it was the apartheid regime of unionism, its system of structured political and sectarian discrimination, the pogroms of 1969 in Belfast and unionism’s resistance to equality and human rights that shaped his republican politics.

So, he became an activist. Firstly, within his own community in Iveagh and Beechmount in Belfast and then through the trauma of the hungerstrikes into national positions. Ted was a committed united Irelander - a republican activist for all of his adult life. He was twice interned in the 1970s on the Maidstone Prison Ship and in Long Kesh. Think of any of the major republican political, organisational shifts or initiatives taken over recent decades.  Ted was at the heart of all of them.

He was one of the so-called kitchen cabinet which managed Sinn Féin’s initial private/secret engagements the SDLP, with the Irish and British governments, and our efforts to build support in the USA with our peace strategy.

And then there was the public process of negotiations with the two governments and the USA. In all of this Ted was indispensable. We established a negotiations structure to deal with all this and Ted brought cohesion to our efforts, good practice, accountability and oversight.

He was very shrewd with great politics. He could also smell bullshit and bullshitters from a mile away. 

Ted was a progressive in the mould of Connolly and Tone and an internationalist. He was avowedly anti-sectarian. He gave short shrift to anyone he heard making comments that could be construed as sectarian. His brother Jim had been murdered by a loyalist death squad along with his business partner Gerald McCrea on 2 July 1972.

Ted believed in the right of the people of Ireland to self-determination and to the democratic right of Irish citizens to shape our own future. He understood strategy and the need for the national question to be at the centre of Sinn Féin strategy.  Although his illness was making it more difficult for Ted to get about he remained active. He was a valuable member of the party’s Uniting Ireland Committee and just before the Christmas break he took part in a meeting that discussed how we can engage more positively with those from the unionist/Protestant section of our people.

Ted has now gone. His loss to our struggle is immense. His contribution to modern republicanism is enormous. He was a decent human being. Funny, and modest and loyal. He was very sociable and good company.  He was a quiet, unassuming, humble, and generous person. Ted was a giver. A legendary cook and a knowledgeable gardener.  

His loss at a personal level is immeasurable for his friends and comrades. It is even greater for his sons Eamonn and his wife Nora, and Proinnsias and his wife Karen; his grandchildren Miceál, Caoimhe and Amelia and their wider family and friends, including his sisters Anne and Margaret and nieces and nephews.

On behalf of republicans everywhere I want to extend our solidarity and condolences. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.”

 

Francesca Albanese – a champion for truth

2025 begins in the Gaza Strip as it ended in 2024 with the continuation of Israel’s savage assault on a civilian population. One result of Israel’s genocidal war is that 258 United Nations staffers have been killed.

PassBlue is an independent, women-led non-profit multimedia news company. It covers stories and events relating to the United Nations, to women’s issues, human rights, peacekeeping and other urgent global matters. It reports from the UN press corps in the New York City and is widely read for its informative insights into UN operations and activities world-wide.

A fortnight ago Pass Blue published the results of its annual reader’s survey to identify the most influential voices of the previous year. Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories (an unpaid position), was voted the Overall UN Person of the Year. First runner up was

Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the second runner up was António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General

 

Francesca Albanese has been a consistent voice for truth challenging Israel’s lies about the actions of its forces in Gaza and the west Bank. She has courageously spoken out against Israel and has challenged the political leaders of the USA, Britain, Germany, the EU and other governments that provide political support and the weapons of war to Israel. Her award is richly deserved.

 

Note the Gaza photo was taken in April 2009

The Sinn Féin delegation was Ted, Harry Thompson, Gerry Adams and Richard McAuley

One Flu Over? | Gearóid Ó Cairealláin - The Definitive Activist | Israeli Barbarity Knows No Boundaries.

ONEFLU OVER?

Ihave the flu. It’s a sign of my loyalty to you dear reader, that I write thiscolumn in my sick bed. Bathed in sweat. I’ve changed my T shirt four timessince Saint Stephen’s Day. I ran out of paper hankies and turned to kitchenroll for nose cleaning duties. The snatters are tripping me. I’ve changed mysheets as well. Three times. Everyone else is away so I phonedRichard. 

‘I’vegot the flu’ I told him. ‘This could be my last call to you’.

‘Iwould be so lucky,’ he retorted. ‘Try a hot whisky’. 

‘Istill haven’t done my weekly column.’ I told him. 

‘Youhave until Saturday,’ he consoled me. ‘By the way, be careful you don’t haveCovid’. 

‘Igot my Covid injection,’ I replied.

 ‘Andyour flu one also,’ he countered. 

Thatwas true. Richard is usually the most helpful person I know but he has had afew days off. He seems to have forgotten that we are friends. A friend in needis a friend indeed and all that. Or maybe he was just beingcontrary.  I’ve noticed that a wee bit recently.  So Iended our less than helpful call and hobbled into the bathroom to do my ownCovid test. 

ACovid test is a rather complicated process. Especially for someone as sick asme. But I persisted. Despite the challenging size of the very small print ofthe instructions - not helped by my short sighted tear filled eyes-  I eventually completed the rigorous poking up my nostrils with thecotton buddy thingymebob   

Thenthe other intricate manoeuvres before checking the outcome after fifteenminutes. Meanwhile I coughed and spluttered and sneezed and sweated my way backand forth to the bedroom. I had to keep reading the instructions to be surewhat was negative and what was positive. Until eventually I got the allclear. 

Idon’t have Covid. 

AndI also don’t have a column. But I do have some deadly illness which has reducedme to a shivering, shaking, sweating blob  of barely sustainable flesh.That’s when I remembered Richard’s suggestion of a hot whisky. The journey tothe kitchen was like my last descent from Errigal. Slow and panicky. Most hillwalking and mountain climbing accidents happen on the way down. Ditto withstairs, I suppose. But the hot Jameson was worth it. It also got me out of bed.And the second one kept me up so there is hope for the column being done ontime.

Goodold Richard. He knew what he was doing. So a happy new year to him and to allof you. If I survive this affliction I will be for ever indebted to hotwhisky. And Richard.  Sláinte. Hic.  Bliain Úr Faoi MhaiseDaoibhse. 

 

GearóidÓ Cairealláin – the definitive activist

Lotshas already been written about Gearóid Ó Cairealláin who died a fortnight ago.He was such a vital part of the Irish language community in west Belfast overso many years, and as someone I knew and greatly respected him, I cannot allowhis passing to go without a wee personal tribute.

Likemany others I was shocked to hear of his death. His passing has left a deepvoid in the life of his family and also of the Irish language community in westBelfast and across the island of Ireland. Gearóid was an extraordinary humanbeing who embraced life to its fullest. He was a writer, a musician, an actor,a playwright, a theatre director, a journalist and a visionary. He packed intohis time with us an amazing amount of astonishing activism, most notably in hisunrelenting promotion of the Irish language.

Gearóidhad a boundless energy which even the terrible stroke that almost killed him in2006 and left him in a wheelchair, could not diminish. He was passionate aboutthe Irish language. His determination to champion equality and parity for theGaeilge and for gaeilgeoirí was widely recognised and applauded. He was part ofthat small and valiant group of activists who took a stand for Irish languageand civil rights. Their list of accomplishments is long.

Ata time when the British colonial office - the NIO - and government departments,were actively discriminating against Irish speakers and denying BunscoilPhobail Feirste, and the hundreds of children attending it, of any funding,Gearóid refused to be intimidated and silenced. In 1981 he published Preas anPhobail. This was followed several years later by the excellent daily Irishlanguage newspaper Lá. He used his platforms to take a stand against thediscriminatory policies of Belfast City Council highlighting the inequalitiesthat confronted gaeilgeoirí every day in Belfast City.

Withothers Gearóid pioneered Coláiste Feirste, Aisling Ghéar and Cultúrlann MacAdams-Ó Fiaich and Raidió Fáilte and between 1995 and 1998 he was the Presidentof Conradh na Gaeilge. Gearóid was also an internationalist, especially insolidarity with the Palestinians. In 2001 along with Eoin O’Neill he travelledto South Africa and made a documentary for TG4 which included a meeting I hadwith Nelson Mandela.

Thereis a Belfast seanfhocal  - ‘Ná hAbair é, Déan é' – Don’t talk about it –do it, which in many ways reflects the very personal approach Gearóid broughtto his activism.

Hisstanding as a Cranntaca of the Irish language community is evident in the manystatements in praise of him following his unexpected death, including from AntUachtarán Michael D Higgins. 

Iwant to extend my solidarity and condolences to his wife Bríd, and sons Ainle,Cairbre, and Naoise, his mother Theresa and to Gearóid’s extendedfamily circle and many, many friends.

TheMass in his honour in Saint Peters where he was baptised had mighty singers andmusicians, all of them outstanding -Gráinne Holland’s Caoineadh Na Tri Mhuíre captured the mood - and Fr Brian O Fearraigh paid a wonderful tribute toGearóid. No doubt this continued in An Culturlann and will continue for as longas Gearóid’s name is mentioned. 

 

Israelibarbarity knows no boundaries

Webegin the new year as we ended the old one in the Middle East. The Israelimilitary - its ground forces, and air force - continue their expansionist warin southern Lebanon, Syria, the west Bank, the Gaza Strip and in the Yemen. Inpursuit of its land grab Israeli soldiers last weekend forcibly invaded KamalAdwan Hospital in northern Gaza and gave the staff 15 minutes to leave. TheIsraeli forces then stripped the doctors, nurses and other medical staff andforced the semi naked medics and gravely injured patients out on to the coldand rubble strewn streets. There were 350 people in the hospital,including 180 medical workers and 75 wounded people. Many of the medics weretaken away by the Israeli forces their plight uncertain.

Theweather in Gaza is very cold. At least four babies have died from hypothermiain recent days. Many hundreds of thousands of displaced families are nowsurviving in makeshift tents with no heating, little food and no warm clothesor blankets.

Lastweek the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNWRA reported that aPalestinian child is killed in Gaza every hour. UNWRA said: “They arenot just numbers; they are lives lost in a short time without anyjustification. Those who survive endure the trauma of displacement, aredeprived of education and are left scavenging for food among the ruins of theirhomes.”

Atthe same time Israel continued its deliberate targeting of journalists killingfive who were travelling in a clearly marked press vehicle in central Gaza.Their deaths bring to over 200 the number of journalists killed by Israel inthe last 15 months.

2024is at an end but Israeli aggression in the Middle East and in particular itsgenocidal policy in Gaza, is unlikely to end unless those western states whichback it – the USA, Britain, Germany, France and others within the EU – refuseto send weapons and bombs and chose instead to impose sanctions.

 

 

 

Release Leonard Peltier | Hunger for Justice | People Want To Talk About Unity.

 

ReleaseLeonard Peltier

Last week Iposted a Christmas card to Leonard Peltier. I dont know if he will receiveit.  Or the numerous other notes and cards I have sent over the years. At80 years of age Leonard, a native American rights activist and victim of amiscarriage of justice; has been imprisoned for 48 years. This makes him one ofthe longest serving political prisoners in the world.

Like so oftenbefore there was a lobby for President Biden to use his Presidential power toinclude Leonard among those to be pardoned as he leaves office. On 12 Decemberthe White House announced that 39 people were to be granted pardons and almost1500 others had their sentences commuted. Leonard was not on the list.

The nativeAmerican activist was convicted in 1977 of the killing of 2 FBI agents at thePine Ridge Indian reservation in South Dakota. He has always protested hisinnocence. A few years ago James H. Reynolds the former US Attorney Generalwhose office prosecuted Leonard appealed for his sentence to be commuted. InOctober 2022 Amnesty International appealed to President Biden to grant Leonard Peltier clemencyon “humanitarian grounds and as a matter of justice.” 

Calls forLeonard Peltier’s release have also been supported by international figures,including the late Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former IrishPresident Mary Robinson.

With Israel’sgenocidal assault on Gaza and the occupied west Bank; its invasion of Lebanonand events in Syria there are huge humanitarian crises across the world but ifyou have a moment remember Leonard Peltier and write him a letter or send him acard.

LeonardPeltier

#89637-132 USPColeman

USPenitentiary PO Box 1033

Coleman,

FL, 33521

USA

 

Hunger forJustice 

Well done toall of those – 1600 at the last count – who last week participated in theHunger for Justice fast - Troscadh ar son na Córa – in support of the people ofPalestine. Over €100,000 has been raised. As well as individual contributionsscores of vigils and protests were held across the island of Ireland.

The decisionin recent days by the Irish government to finally support the case againstIsrael at the International Court of Justice case, is a welcomedevelopment but should have been taken months ago. More critically the incomingIrish government must now set down a clear marker that its intention is torobustly defend international humanitarian law. This means passing the OccupiedTerritories Bill and enacting meaningful sanctions against Israel. This alsohas to include passing into law the Illegal Israeli Settlements DivestmentBill; provide no more approvals of export licences for Dual Use products, whichhave a military application; take steps to ensure that Irish sovereign airspaceand our airports are not being used to transport weapons of war and intensifyefforts to suspend the EU-Israel Association agreement.

As Israel’sallies continue to arm and politically defend the apartheid regime scores ofcivilians die each day in Israel’s relentless slaughter. As we in Irelandprepare for Christmas the people of Palestine prepare for more genocide andmore repression. 

The baldstatistics of death and life in Gaza at this Christmas time make grim reading:

·       Over45,000 people have been killed. Many thousands more are believed buried beneaththe rubble.

·       Almost17,000 of these were children. Children loved by their parents and families androbbed of life.

·       1.9million people have been forcibly displaced – most several times.

·       2million people, many of them children, suffering from acute food insecurity.

·       Thehealthcare system is almost non-existent.

·       Nota single hospital remains fully operational, and fewer than half arefunctioning at all. 

·       Medicalcare for the sick and injured is critically scarce.

Educationprovision for our children is something we all take for granted. But not inGaza or the west Bank. The Gaza Strip has been especially hard hit. The schoolsand Universities that once housed over 600,000 students are gone. They havebeen deliberately targeted by the Israeli military. According to the UnitedNations: “More than 625,000 students have been out of learning sincethe war began, half of them were going to UNRWA schools. They have all lost ayear of education and learning to the war, risking becoming a lost generation.They have all witnessed unimaginable atrocities no child should go through.”

The 782,000students in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem are also impacted by Israel’sapartheid and military policies. And yet in the midst of this devastationthe strength, courage and resilience of the Palestinian people still inspires.This is especially true in the determination of parents, teachers,educationalists and students to provide a measure of education for the youngpeople of Gaza. Tent classrooms have been established into which scores ofchildren of all ages are packed with teachers working hard to provide somemeasure of education.  

ForPalestinians education has always played a vital role in the sustaining theirculture, their history, identity, language, and values. The schools anduniversities have also been critical in empowering Palestinian resistance toIsrael’s apartheid policies and it is for these reasons that the educationsystem in Gaza and in the occupied territories is being targeted by Israel.

The closureof its Dublin Embassy by the Israeli Government is a compliment to the peopleof Ireland. Of course it is not aimed at us. It is aimed at all those otherstates who need to raise their voices in support of international law andagainst genocide. It is aimed at the incoming Trump administration. Will hewelcome An Taoiseach and others to celebrate Irelands national day in Marchwhile his allies in Israel rail against Ireland. We will see. One thing is forsure. We must never be silent in support of peace in the Middle East and insupport of the right to freedom of the people of Palestine. 

 

Peoplewant to talk about Unity

On MondayUachtarán Shinn Féin Mary Lou McDonald TD joined National Party ChairpersonDeclan Kearney, in publishing the report of the work of the party’s Commissionon the Future of Ireland. The Commission was established to undertake agrassroots engagement by providing citizens with a space in which they can havetheir say on the future of Ireland.

The extensivework of the Commission is clearly evident in the twenty-one public events, thethousands who have attended; the breadth of speakers who have participated,including those from the Protestant/Unionist section of our people; and thehundreds of written submissions that have been made.

The currentlevel of discussion on constitutional change is remarkable. As well as SinnFéin other groups have also been discussing Irish Unity. Theseinclude Ireland's Future; Gaels le Chéile; Constitutional Conversations;Belfast Women's Assembly; Trade Unions for Irish Unity; the SDLP’s New IrelandCommission; Labour for Irish Unity and the Women's Assembly (Hosted by MaryMcAleese in conjunction with the National Women's Council).

TheOireachtas Good Friday Agreement Committee published a landmark report onPerspectives on Constitutional Change; another report on Women andConstitutional Change and last Friday 'The Women's Charter for InclusiveConstitutional Futures' by Fidelma Ashe and others was published.

All of theseare part of the dynamic driving forward the debate on Irish Unity. TheCommission’s report highlights the fact that people want to be part of theconversation on the future of Ireland, on the shape of constitutional changeand how best to navigate the next length of the journey toreunification. They like to be asked and when given the opportunity arepleased to be part of this process of dialogue.

If Sinn Féinand others can facilitate dialogue on constitutional change how much moreeffective and inclusive would the discussion be if the Irish governmentfulfilled its constitutional responsibilities and obligations and took up amore positive role. The next government in Dublin must prioritise planning forreunification and for the unity referendums provided by the Good FridayAgreement.

Mary Lou inher remarks to the launch pointed to the practical steps proposed by Sinn Féinthat the incoming Irish government should take to advance preparations for thefuture. Key to this is a Citizen’s Assembly.

It isirresponsible of those in political leadership, especially in the Irishgovernment, to refuse to advance what is the most important conversation of ageneration.

TheCommission report demonstrates what can be done when one party prioritises anopen conversation about the future. Just imagine what is possible, what can beachieved if a government did this?

Protecting Our Environment | Palestinians Treated as Subhuman - Amnesty Report | Hunger for Justice

 

Protectingour environment

Lastweek the Northern Executive took welcome and decisive action to protect ourenvironment, our health and jobs by committing to a ban on all forms of onshorepetroleum exploration and production, including fracking. This decision is partof the Executive’s commitment to tackle our dependence on fossil fuels. ConorMurphy, the Economy Minister announced that, following drafting andconsultation, he will be introducing legislation next year to block licensingapplications.

Tenyears ago I travelled through the border counties of Sligo, Cavan, Leitrim andFermanagh. It was part of a visit culminating in a speaking engagement at ananti- fracking conference in the Lough Erne Hotel in Fermanagh.

Atthe time there were efforts underway to promote fracking in the region.An Australian shale gas exploration company was planning to drive a borehole over 700 feet into the underground rock. Local people were rightly angryat this threat to their environment.

Thescenery of the west is striking and beautiful. There is a grandeur about thelandscape which catches the breath. I once had the pleasure of flying low overthis region in a helicopter. From the air the view is stupendous. The rollinghills and loughs, the rocky inclines, the streams and rivers snaking their waydown mountain sides and through lush green glens.

Everynow and then you can spot a Neolithic fort or tomb – a prehistoric relic ofthose who once lived here. There is a sparkle from the crystal clear waters ofthe numerous waterways. Upper and Lower Lough Erne are dotted with scores ofislands. Cavan is said to have 365 loughs, one for each day of the year. It isalso claimed that the islands of Upper and Lower Lough Erne achieve the samenumber - although in truth it’s around 200.

TheShannon-Erne Waterway links the two rivers. The source of the Shannon, known asthe 'Shannon Pot', is just a few miles north of Dowra, on the Cavan Way.

Theimportance of the water system to Fermanagh and Cavan and Sligo and Leitrim andto the island of Ireland can be found by simply googling the tourist literaturefor the region. The water system of this region services the population ofthese counties and more with their drinking water. But it does more than that.It sustains much of our tourism, business, and inland fishing industry.

Theabove and below ground water system of these counties is an indispensable partof this community. Its drinking water ensures life for the people and animalsand fauna and fish. Its presence provides leisure and tourism and jobs.

Takeall of that away and the social and economic cost to the people of that areaand of this island would be incalculable. This beautiful landscape does notbelong only to our generation. It was here before us and our duty is to ensurethat it is here after us and for our children and our children’s children.

Thatis why we must oppose fracking which involves extracting natural gastrapped in layers of sedimentary rock between one and two kilometres beneaththe surface. Horizontal wells are drilled and filled with a mixture of waterand sand and chemicals which are forced at high pressure. This fractures therock and allows gas to seep into the wells where it makes its way to thesurface for collection and distribution. An average well will use up to 20,000cubic metres of water. About  a third, containing treatments, sandsand other chemicals, is returned to the surface where it has to be disposed of.

Frackingcan cause serious environmental pollution, health risks for people, and is a significant and dangerous threat to our countryside. It can damagefish stocks. It poses a very real risk to our farming industry, and to thehealth and safety of rural communities, as well as undermining our tourismindustry.

Frackingor onshore petroleum exploration is not the answer to the energy needs ofthe people of the island of Ireland. So, well done to Minister Murphy and theExecutive for this sensible decision.

 

Palestinianstreated as subhuman – Amnesty Report

Lastweek Amnesty International published a landmark and damning report onIsrael’s genocide in the Gaza Strip. The report entitled, ‘YouFeel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza, documentshow the Israeli state has “carried out acts prohibited under theGenocide Convention, with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza.”

Thereport examines the results of investigations into Israeli “genocidalacts of killing and causing serious mental and bodily harm.” Theseacts include killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm and deliberatelyinflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life intended to bring abouttheir destruction.

Amnestyexamined the context of dispossession, the Israeli apartheid regime andunlawful military occupation of the occupied territories over decades.Amnesty’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard described Israel’s objective: “Monthafter month, Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman groupunworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intent to physicallydestroy them.”

TheAmnesty report determines that Israel is fully aware of the harm it is doingand continues to do in defiance of “countless warnings about thecatastrophic humanitarian situation and of legally binding decisions from theInternational Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering Israel to take immediatemeasures to enable the provision of humanitarian assistance to civilians inGaza.”

Beforearriving at its conclusion Amnesty International examined the claims by thestate of Israel that it was targeting Hamas and other armed groups and not thecivilian Palestinian population. It also looked at Israeli claims that the unprecedented destruction and denial of aid to the Palestinian peoplewere as a result of the actions of Hamas. Amnesty concluded that these claimsare not credible. On the contrary Its research found that Israel repeatedlyfailed to ensure that all reasonable efforts are made to protect the civilianpopulation. It found that the Israeli state views “Palestinians asdisposable and not worthy of consideration” and this “in itselfevidence of genocidal intent.”  

Amnesty’sAgnès Callamard described the international community’s shameful failure topress Israel to end its atrocities in Gaza, and the continued supplying ofweapons, “is and will remain a stain on our collective conscience.”

Sheis right. Too many governments pretend that they are powerless to end thegenocide. They need to uphold international law and move beyond expressions ofregret and take decisive action. They also have a duty and responsibility torespect the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrants for PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for warcrimes and crimes against humanity.

Thereis an onus on the new incoming Irish government0, to give a lead on this byurgently passing into law the Occupied Territories Bill and by imposingeconomic and other sanctions against Israel.

Hungerfor Justice

Iwant to ask your support for an important initiative aimed at drawing attentionto the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people and also to raise muchneeded funds for UNWRA. This columnist is committing to join the Hungerfor Justice - Troscadh ar son na Córa initiative. This is a 24-hour fast takingplace across Ireland on the 12th December, 2024. The event is being organisedby former republican hunger strikers, including Laurence McKeown and JackieMcMullan, in conjunction with Nenagh Friends Of Palestine. All funds raisedwill go to UNRWA. The aim is to get at least 1,000 people across the island ofIreland to participate.

Participantsare encouraged to not only take part in the fast but to organise an event intheir local area on the 12th. The event can be as small as 2-3 people holding ashort vigil, or can be much more imaginative.

Anyonewishing to take part in the 24-hour fast can do so by completing the shortonline form at: https://forms.gle/jxUXaL8dSWviYYAQ8

Anyonewishing to donate to it can do so at:

gofundme.com/f/hunger-for-justice-gaza

AFacebook page has been set up specifically for the event:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61568421206188&locale=en_GB

Ifanyone participating wishes to make a short video stating their name and ashort message that can be put on the webpage that would be muchappreciated. 

Samplesof such previous videos can be viewed on the Nenagh Friends Of PalestineFacebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NenaghFriendsofPalestine

Foradditional information on HUNGER FOR JUSTICE please contact the organisersat hungerforjusticeireland@gmail.com