Gerry Adams's Blog, page 5

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

 

The Numbers Game | Christmas in Long Kesh 1976 | Cage Eleven | Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

 

TheNumbers Game.

AsI pen these lines it is too soon to attempt a deep analysis of the LeinsterHouse election. Not all the counts have concluded although there is enough toform general impressions of the outcome. I outline them in no particular order.

Itis clear is that the mould has been broken in Irish politics – there are nowthree main parties. Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Sinn Féin. But while Fianna Failand Fine Gael have their own separate histories and cultures and are likely forthe foreseeable future to jealously retain these they are now one electoralpolitical block. This gives them a decided advantage in the efforts to form acoalition government because they start off with 40 percent of the vote and theequivalent of this in seats. For its part Sinn Féin has consolidated ourposition as the main party of opposition and with a mandate to form agovernment at this time. Getting partners will be a considerable challenge.It’s a numbers game.

Notwithstandingthis the General Election also delivered a strong mandate for the parties ofchange – for Sinn Fein, Labour, Social Democrats and others. Even if it is anoption none of us should go into government with FFFG. They represent acontinuation of the policies that created so much difficulty for workingpeople. The big issues remain to be resolved, housing, health, partition, costof living, climate change, the genocide in Palestine. A FFFG led governmentwith a mudguard made up of individual TDs or one of the smaller parties willnot resolve these critical injustices.

Theoutworking of the negotiations to form a new government will be interesting. Itis More-Of – The -Same versus Change-For-The -Better. For the many. Not thefew.

 SinnFéin came to this election after poor local government results and negativecontroversies on the eve of the General Election. We fought a very goodcampaign led by Mary Lou and the leadership team.  We have confounded thecritics and will return with thirty eight or thirty nine TDs. I am delightedthat we have re-taken 3 of the 4 seats we lost in the last term, with aroundeight new TDs. For the first time Sinn Féin has won seats in every singleconstituency in Connacht/Ulster. This consolidation is crucial. Remember ittook a long time in the North to build the support we have there.

Sonow we will be reaching out in the first instance to the other parties andindividuals elected on a mandate of change to look at how we deliver for thepeople who want to see the housing crisis fixed, tackle the cost of living,advance Irish re-unification and ensure that our young people have a futurehere in Ireland. And we will continue to work to deliver our vision for aUnited Ireland. And not just electorally. We will also campaign with citizensand communities

Christmasin Long Kesh 1976

It’sthree weeks to Christmas. The decorations, inside and outside of the houses andshops.  and the Christmas trees in all of their finery are everywhere aswe prepare for the festive season. It puts me in mind of another Christmaswhich was not so jolly but where the spirt of friendship and family rose abovethe place we were in.

Belowis a short extract from one of the stories in Cage Eleven, my book of life inthe Cages of Long Kesh in the 1970s, which has just been republished.

Thecell door opens to let fresh air in.

Everyoneraises his head for a look at the sky.

Freespirits haunting the sky of liberty,

Doyou know your own kind are languishing in prison?

That’show Ho Chi Minh describes it in his Prison Diary. Some things are universal. Inthe H-Blocks the POW sits, wrapped in a blanket, as far from the pisspot ofstale urine as the small cell permits, and eats the mush from the tray.

Lastyear Republican prisoners in the Crum, Armagh, Long Kesh, Magilligan,Portlaoise, the Curragh, Mountjoy and Limerick prepared for Christmas.

Lastyear in Hull, Wormwood Scrubs, Wakefield, Albany, Strangeways, Long Lartin,Gartree, Winchester, Winston Green, Parkhurst, Durham, Walton Leicester,Bristol, Aylesbury and Perth, Republican prisoners made ready for the festiveseason. This year they prepare themselves once more. It is the same in otherstruggles. For a Vietnamese in jail in Southern China;

Inthe cold autumn night, without mattress, without blankets,

Lyingwith back curled round and legs folded up close,

Itry in vain to sleep. The moonlight on the plantains

Increasesthe sense of cold, and through the window bars

TheGreat Bear draws up alongside and looks in.

 Inhomes throughout Ireland and England, families await the coming of Christ’sbirthday. In many homes Christmas this year will be a mere memory ofChristmases long gone. A home is a family. In jail the family, the home, is amemory.

Withonly memories to sustain it, Christmas is a lonely time. But then, memorieskeep us together. Memories of the past provide us with the determination neededto endure the present and to be ready for the future.

KieranNugent is four months in solitary wrapped in a blanket. No Christmas cards,holly, mistletoe or turkey. No tinsel or Christmas tree. Santa Claus isforbidden to visit prisoners. The materialistic side of Christmas is lockedout. But a finer thing, a better thing, a holier thing is locked in. In cellseverywhere the spirit of Christmas is imprisoned.

Isigh loudly. Bik (Brendan McFarlane) opens the study-hut door. The sudden noiseshakes me from my musings. He and Bobby (Bobby Sands) step into the yard. Theyalso cheerfully abuse me.

‘Didthe boys finally break you?’

‘Ican’t do a minute of it,’ I reply.

Theylaugh and go into their huts. I stomp the coldness out of my feet and walk outinto the centre of the cage. Leaning my head back I gaze skywards. I can seefor ever. The inky black heavens with thousands of pinpricking Bethlehem starsstretches into eternity…

Outsideit starts to snow. Cage Eleven of Long Kesh settles uneasily into its winteringover Christmas. The hut OC turns off the lights. The hut is bathed in an orangeglow from the lights outside on the perimeter fence. Snowflakes swirl againstthe windows. The wind howls through the wire.

‘Oíchemhaith, muckers,’ Egbert shouts from below his blankets.

‘Onwardto freedom,’ Your Man replies. ‘Tiocfaidh ár lá,’ he yells.

‘Nollaigshona dhaoibh,’ says Cedric.

‘Nollaigshona dhaoibh, comrades.’

‘Nollaigshona,’ we reply.

 Cage11 was re-published last month with original drawings by Danny Devenny. It isavailable from most good bookshops including : 

www.sinnfeinbookshop.com  and An Fhuiseog 55 Falls Road www.thelarkstore.ie

 

Solidaritywith the Palestinian People

LastFriday – 29 November – was the annual International Day of Solidarity withthe Palestinian People. It was a day set aside by the United Nations GeneralAssembly in 1977  to mark the date in 1947 when the United NationsAssembly adopted the resolution on the partition of Palestine (resolution181 (II)).  The 1977 resolution was intended to encourage UNmember states to give the widest support and publicity as an act of solidaritywith the Palestinian people. The United Nations designates such days as a meansof raising issues of concern and to mobilise political will and resourcesto address global problems.

Thegenocidal war being waged by Israel on the Palestinian people is a blight and ashame, especially on the British, American, German and other governments whichsupports and arms Israel in its the mass slaughter of innocents. The images ofdead and mutilated children and women – who make up 70% of the 44,000 killed inthe Gaza strip – and the media and personal accounts of the victims of Israel’satrocities, will haunt those who stood by while this genocide was taking place.

Ifany one or any people needs a Day of Solidarity, it is the people of Palestine.We must not allow the daily reporting of murder and destruction, of ethniccleansing and death to desensitise us to the genocide.  The people ofPalestine deserve to be more than just another news story that is read andpassed over.  

Sinn Féin Can Win This Election | Sanctions Urgently Needed Against Israel | Solidarity and Condolences to the Family of Pat Donaghy.

 

SINNFÉIN CAN WIN THIS ELECTION. 

 

Duringthe General Election campaign I have been in several constituencies.In Dublin, in Drogheda, Dundalk, and Donegal and some other places inbetween. People are clearly  fed up with the cost of living, the crisis inpublic services, especially in health and housing, childcare and disabilityservices. 

Butincreasingly after a century of the Tweedledee and Tweedledum politics by thetwo civil war parties, many people are annoyed at the sameness of theirpolitics, their dismal failure to tackle the big issues impacting on people’sdaily lives and the conceited self-serving way they approach election contests.With a sense of entitlement. This is hardly surprising given that they havebeen in power, one way or the other, for a century. However, many people arecatching up on the reality that a vote for Micheál is a vote for Simon and avote for Simon is a vote for Micheál. That is despite the sham Punch andJudy arguments between them.  

Housingprovision in the South is a mess. Rents and childcare costs are through theroof. Education is in a crisis, as is the health system. The Children’sHospital, which Simon Harris vainly tried to wash his hands of during atelevised debate two weeks ago, is now the most expensive hospital ever built -anywhere in the world. It has cost two billion euro of taxpayer’s money. Sofar. 

Theenvironment, rural Ireland and agriculture are under enormous pressure and theFianna Fáil/Fine Gael government – and in particular Simon Harris as HealthMinister – has failed to deliver on his commitment to provide for children withscoliosis. And then to add to this debacle it was revealed at the weekend thatthere is a five billion black hole in Fine Gael’s manifesto financialcommitments.

Noneof this will come as a surprise to anyone who has watched these two parties.Between them after partition they created a conservative and mean spiriteddispensation which was particularly cruel to women, children and the poor. Overmany decades both were responsible for mass emigration when at least amillion people left Ireland for Britain, the USA, Canada and Australia. 

 Undertheir watch there was the horror of the "Reformatory and IndustrialSchools" operated by CatholicChurch orders, which were funded and supervised by the Departmentof Education. It was the stuff of nightmares. The Ryan report laid bare asystem that treated children like prison inmates and slaves. They wereroutinely abused and subject to beatings and rape. 

TheMagdalene Laundries were another long-standing scandal ignored by FineGael and Fianna Fáil.  Women and girls pregnant outside of marriage orsuspected of 'immoral' behaviour were incaserated  in institutions run bynuns. They were unpaid labour.  They were deprived of their liberty andsuffered both physical and emotional abuse.

Andthen there were the Mother and Baby Homes. The final report intothese institutions by a Commission established in 2015 was published inJanuary 2021. It revealed that around 9,000 children, one in seven of thoseborn in the 18 institutions covered by the Commission's terms of reference, haddied in them between 1922 and 1998. This was double the infant mortality ratein the general population.

Rememberalso that the Fianna Fáil party drove the southern economy over the cliff in2008/9 and Fine Gael and Labour then imposed harsh austerity measures thatinflicted huge hurt on the most vulnerable in society. 

In2020 Martin denied that Fianna Fáil would enter a coalition with Fine Gael. Hesaid: “: “… the people want change … they want Fine Gael out of office …they’ve been there too long …” He described any u-turn on a coalitionwith Fine Gael as “Jekyll and Hyde behaviour.” Martin then did au-turn. He misled the voters. 

Buteven this experience of the last two decades only scratches the surface.

Inaddition, members of both parties have been linked over many years to planningcorruption that saw elected politicians receive money in return for favours.

Republicansalso know that neither party is serious on the issue of Irish Unity. Fine Gaeland Fianna Fáil pay lip service to it but refuse to take the practical stepsneeded to plan for an end of the union. For decades they ignored partition andits impact on the economy of the island and on the families living along withborder corridor. They disregarded the decades of discrimination and inequalityin the North and backed British government policy, even when that policy wasreliant on collusion and torture. They have spent 100 years bolsteringpartition. 

TheGood Friday Agreement has a process to end all this if that is what the peoplewant. Over twenty-five years after the Agreement neither Fianna Fail or FineGael have made any real effort to plan for this. In its manifesto Sinn Féin hasset out the steps that a Sinn Féin led Government will take if it wins amandate in this election.  Sinn Féin has A Plan for Unity. A plan whichwill usher in constitutional, legislative and political change. 

SinnFein also has 71 candidates in the field. One hundred and seventy four TDs willbe elected so Sinn Féin will not be able to form a majority government even ifall its candidates are elected. But neither will Fine Gael or Fianna Fail. Noparty will form a government on its own. 

However,if Mary Lou receives a mandate to lead a government she will then be able reachout to other progressives to form a government without Fianna Fáil or FineGael. That is do able. 

So,there is a historic opportunity in this general election to opt for fundamentalchange – to push aside the failed and self-serving politics of Fine Gael andFianna Fáil. 

It’sall in the hands of the voters. They have the opportunity to elect a strongprogressive and sustainable government. led by Sinn Fein. Without Fianna Failand Fine Gael. It is all to play for. Sinn Fein can win this election. 100years of FFFG is too long. So is 100 years of partition. Next Friday will tellthe tale. 

 

Sanctionsurgently needed against Israel

LastWednesday was World Children’s Day. It was first established in 1954 asUniversal Children's Day and is celebrated on 20 November each year to promoteinternational togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improvingchildren's welfare. It is also the date in 1959 when the UN General Assemblyadopted the Declarationof the Rights of the Child. It is also the date in 1989 when the UN GeneralAssembly adopted the Conventionon the Rights of the Child.

Thefollowing day the world’s top war-crimes court issued arrest warrants forIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Minister for DefenceYoav Gallant. They stand accused of crimesagainst humanity in connection Israel’s genocidal war on the people ofthe Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Thewarrants acknowledge that it is believed that both Israeli political leadersare using “starvation as a method of warfare.” They are doing this bydeliberately blocking humanitarian aid entering Gaza and they haveintentionally targeted civilians. The current underestimate is that over 44,000people have been killed in Gaza. Over half of these are women and children. Asthe world marks Children’s Day the Israeli military, using weapons provided bythe USA, Britain, Germany and others are killing Palestinian Children in theirthousands.

TheIrish government has been negligent in taking meaningful action against Israel.The next government must step up to the plate. It must introduce sanctionsagainst Israel, pass into law the Occupied Territories Bill and join acoalition of states determined to stand up to Israel and its allies.

 

Solidarityand Condolences to the family of Pat Donaghy

AsI finish this column I got the sad news that Pat Donaghy has died. Originallyfrom Tremoge near Carrickmore in County Tyrone Pat emigrated to the UnitedStates in the 1950s. Like many others he went looking for work because work wassparse for northern nationalists in unionism’s apartheid northern state. He wasin his late teens. His older sister Nora sponsored him. Pat was the sixth offifteen children. Phyllis, Peggy and Bella along with Nora had alreadyemigrated. Other siblings born after Pat and the older sisters alsoemigrated.

Igot to know Pat through his work for Ireland, his loyalty to the Irish causeand his native county of Tyrone, and his commitment to the Friends of SinnFéin. Pat by dint of hard work did well in the USA.  He founded StructureTone with Lewis R Marino in 1971. It is now one of the biggest constructioncompanies in the USA.

PatDonaghy threw his considerable influence and good will into the peace processand behind Sinn Féin’s peace strategy. He became one of The Friends of SinnFein’s main supporters when that important group was established in 1995 andwas part of the small group of like-minded patriots who inaugurated the annualFriends of Sinn Féin Dinner in New York in 1995.

Ialways found Pat to be a warm friendly and unassuming patriot. Despite his hugesuccess in the construction industry he was grounded in the traditions andgenerous core values of his parents and his native place. I am honoured to havebeen his friend and to have enjoyed his company.

Iwant to extend my solidarity and condolences to the entire Donaghy family inthe USA and Tyrone, especially his wife Mary, his children Brian, Jimmy, John,Ray, Maureen and Eileen. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam díli

The Local and the National | Mind Your Language | Lá Breithe Richard

 

Thelocal and the national

Ihave been doing a wee bit of canvassing in the General Election in the South.The response has been positive. There are clearly some who see electioncampaigns, including this one, as opportunities to write Sinn Féin’s obituary.Sorry to disappoint. Like all parties fighting elections there will be momentsof gain and moments of pain. That is in the nature of electoral politicsespecially in volatile times. However, if your political ideology and theleaderships connection with the base is strong then all challenges can beovercome. That’s one of Sinn Féin’s strengths.

Thereis clearly a desire in the South for fundamental change. The challenge forrepublicans is to persuade Increasing numbers of people across this island, whostrongly desire progressive social change that Sinn Féin is the vehicle toassist that process.

Thesecitizens want and deserve an Ireland that embraces equality and inclusivity forall citizens. They were a significant force in referenda, which secured theright to equal marriage and bodily autonomy for Irish women. They are among thechange makers behind the demonstrations against the genocide in Gaza andLebanon. They will also be crucial in the unity referendums provided for in theGood Friday Agreement.

Thereare others who sow fear and division. They seek to exploit the anger of thosedisadvantaged people who have been failed by the state. Sinn Féin hasfirmly rejected this divisive agenda. 

Ilearned a long time ago that building support means engaging with citizens andwith communities. Progressive politics needs to be about empowering citizens.Public services need to be provided in partnership with the public in an openand transparent citizen centred way. So too with the need to move toward IrishUnity. Sinn Féin is committed to bringing this about. But we are not on ourown. There are lots of United Irelanders out there. 

Forexample, in July the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the implementation of theGood Friday Agreement published a landmark report on Unity. It called fora whole of government approach, led by the Department of An Taoiseach. TheCommittee called on the Irish government to immediately begin planning forthe unity referendums on constitutional change. 

Thethen Taoiseach Simon Harris ignored the Report. So did An Tánaiste MicheálMartin. Neither of these men are United Irelanders. We need to elect aTaoiseach – a woman - who is. 

Thiselection is an opportunity for republicans to match the local and national, thesocial and economic with an all island approach. It is time to build a societywhere the needs of working people and their dependents are prioritised, wherehousing, health and other public services are accessible, and where everyonehas a real stake in the future.

Itis also time to take decisive steps toward the reunification of our country. AsJames Connolly said its time for the re-conquest. Sinn Féin has a Plan tobring this about. A plan that will promote constitutional,legislative and political change. 

ASinn Féin led government will engage positively with the BritishGovernment to set the date for the unity referendums. We will appoint aMinister of State for reunification; produce a Government ‘Green Paper’ in thefirst 100 days setting out our vision for a new and United Ireland; initiate adiplomatic offensive to promote unity through international forums, includingthe United Nations, and the European Union. We will draw on the resources andenergy of our diaspora. A Sinn Fein led government will also establish aCitizens’ Assembly or Assemblies on our constitutional future. 

Thechoice in this election is crystal clear - another government led by Fine Gaeland Fianna Fáil. In power now one way or the other for a century. Or a newgovernment led by Sinn Féin. 

 

MindYour Language. 

ThroughoutIsrael’s genocidal war on the Palestinians countless social media posts byIsraeli politicians, officials and its occupying forces have highlighted theracism that underpins Zionism and that is being used to dehumanise thePalestinian people.

Theuse of the language of hate is an integral part of Israel’s assault on Gaza,the west Bank and now Lebanon. Israeli government Ministers and their soldiersregularly use abusive language that labels Palestinians as animals, rats andsnakes, as well as primitive and immoral. In this way they seek to justifytheir war crimes.  

Throughouthistory monarchies, dictatorships, empires and states have employed suchlanguage to defeat those they wish to conquer. The Irish people have enduredthis approach by English governments for nine centuries. We were the barbarianswho needed to be civilised. We were the ape like creatures who could be left todie from starvation in An Gorta Mór or who were forced in our millions toemigrate to places where – No Irish Need Apply. 

Priorto and during World War 2 the Nazis used language to demean and humiliate Jews,gypsies  and gay people; those with disabilities and others they wished totorture, use as slave labour, imprison in concentration camps and then toexterminate. They were sub-human, rats, beasts. Not people. 

Inour time and place we have witnessed the use of the language of hate todemonise and dehumanise northern nationalists. It was employed by the Unionistregime at Stormont and by successive British governments as they applied thetactics of collusion, torture, internment, and shoot-to-kill.

Wewho were on the receiving end of that also need to mind our language. Termslike Orangies or Huns should have no place in our vocabulary. So, we haveto oppose the language of hate and dehumanisation in our own place.  

 

Wemust also reject and stand firm against it when used against the Palestiniansby the Israeli state or its western backers. The incoming new Irish governmenthas a responsibility to lead by example in Europe. This means movingimmediately to enact the Occupied Territories Bill and demand that all EUmember states initiate sanctions against Israel.

 

Lábreithe Richard

Richardis seventy-two. He reached that lofty age on Sunday. If he lasts for a few moremonths he will have lived longer than any of his ancestors in his branch of thehistoric clann of McAuley. That’s quite an achievement. Congratulations RG.  Ihope you live forever. 

Richardhas been my leader for almost fifty years now. We first met in the Cages ofLong Kesh in the mid-1970s. He was in Cage 12. I was in Cage 11. He was the PROfor the Sentenced Republican Prisoners. I was doing bits and pieces of writingfor Republican News and other publications. So everything I wrote I had to sendto Richard for clearance. Contrary to his cuddly, easy going imageRichard was extremely strict. He still is. So some of my more fancifulflights of fancy never got past his centrist and censorist eye. 

Everyweek I dispatched my proposed drafts to him by ‘pigeon’. A pigeon was awell tied snout (tobacco) tin containing a copy of my musings and afew pebbles for ballast. We hurled our pigeons from cage to cage. This was aline of communication that the screws could not penetrate. If you were a goodthrower, that is. 

OccasionallyRichard would order me out to the wire to give me my instructions or to explainthe PR line to me. He was very good at his job. I often wondered what thePrison Authorities thought of prisoners having a PRO. One English PrisonOfficer confided in me one day that he never came across a prison like LongKesh. He was right.  There was no other prison like Long Kesh. 

Laterwhen we left there I started working for Richard on the outside. He remains myboss to this day. In between times he also became a good family man, a father,a grandfather and a great grandfather. He loves music. His phone. Films.Kindle. Sci-Fi fiction. Talking. 

Heis a work horse for the republican struggle. A great researcher. A fine writerand a reliable source of knowledge, advice – usually good advice – and he has ashrewd political brain. Most of the time. 

Heis also one of the good guys. Positive and dependable. Usually good humoured.He and I were exiled in Dublin when I was a TD, for two Dáil terms. Weshared living quarters. A bit like The Odd Couple. We also travelled the worldmaking allies for Irish freedom and supporting other struggles. So I am pleasedto call Richard my friend and to wish him a hearty Lá Breithe Shona. Don’tlet the old man in mo chara. 

 

Time for a Change of Government | Judicial Review lodged in defence of Moore St | New Mural in Support of Palestinians.

 

Timefor a Change of Government. 

The southerngeneral election was called last Friday. In just over two weeks’ time 174Teachtaí Dála (TDs) will be elected to the Dáil – an increase of 14 overthe number elected in the 2020 general election.

OnSunday I was in Dublin for the Save Moore Street rally but afterwards I was inCaledon Road and St. Mary’s Road in East Wall with a Sinn Féin canvas teamurging voters to give their number 1 vote to Mary Lou McDonald and their number2 vote to Janice Boylan. The response was very good.

Theearly opinion polls – and I’m not a fan of opinion polls – have the three mainparties - Sinn Féin, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil - all within two or three pointsof each other. Some folks get carried away with opinion polls. That’s foolishas we have seen recently in the USA. Nothing beats real engagement with theelectorate. 

Predictably,the usual naysayers and bregrudgers are engaging in negative campaigningagainst Sinn Féin. It wouldn’t be an election if that weren’t the case butrepublican activists are upbeat - we like a good fight - the policies areexcellent and the candidates are getting a positive response. 

Evenbefore Simon Harris had announced the election Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil wereseeking to outdo each other in election promises. Decisions on housing andhealth, on pensions and VAT and other matters are all issues of concern thatthey could have delivered on while in government. They didn’t. Why believe theywill do it after 29 November?

FineGael has been in government for the last 14 years. Fianna Fáil supported FineGael in Government between 2016 and 2020 and then joined it in a coalitionafter the February 2020 general election. It did so despite Fianna Fáil leaderMicheál Martin famously saying: “People want change, that’s the messagewe’re receiving, they want Fine Gael out of office … Fine Gael need to come outof government, they’ve been there too long, they haven’t delivered on keyissues such as housing, health and the impact of cost of living on many people.The people want a new government, that means a completely new government.” Unfortunately,the people didn’t get their new government. Instead they got Fine Gael backpropped up by Fianna Fáil. People in the south deserve a change of Government.It’s up to Sinn Féin to convince them to give us a chance. 

Thistime there is a real prospect of ending the dominance of the two civil warparties who have run the Irish state in their own interests for over 100 years.Sinn Féin is running 71 candidates which creates a real opportunity for a SinnFéin led government. 

Thatis the only way of creating a new style of government that is for workingpeople and for communities and which will deliver for citizens. As Mary Lou putit: “If Sinn Féin wins, you win, your family will win, your future will win.”

Thisis true on all the social and economic inequalities pressing down on people.The housing crisis and the cost of living and health crisis facing many peoplewill only be rectified by Sinn Féin in government. 

 

Itis also true on the national question. Northener’s know the approach of theother parties has been minimalist. They have failed to plan for the future.There has been no Citizens Assembly to discuss the constitutional changes whichare needed. No real commitment to fulfil all aspects of the Good FridayAgreement. Sinn Féin on the other hand has a plan for unity and a clearmanifesto commitment to bring this into government if the people vote forus. 

It’ssimple. If you want Irish unity vote Sinn Féin. 

Thenext few weeks will be interesting. It’s all to play for between now andNovember 29th.  Watch this space. 

Judicial Review lodged in defence of Moore Street

Thebattle to save the 1916 Moore Street Battlefield site has entered a new andcritical phase with the decision by the Moore Street Preservation Trust to seekleave for a judicial review of the decision by An Bord Pleanála to allow thedeveloper’s plan to proceed. Almost two decades after the campaign to protectthis important historic part of the Easter 1916 revolutionary story thecampaign has reached a decisive moment.

JamesConnolly Heron, the grandson of James Connolly announced at a rally in Moore Ston Sunday that the Trust had lodged papers last Friday for a judicial review ofthe planner’s decision. He said: "The Hammerson plan woulddemolish much of the 1916 battlefield site, including buildings occupied by theVolunteers at the end of Easter Week. The area would be turned into a buildingsite for up to 15 years to construct unwanted and unnecessary retail and officedevelopments.”

JamesConnolly Heron added: “Moore Street campaigners, with widespread publicsupport at home and abroad, have up to now saved this historic site fromdestruction. That support will be needed more than ever now in the latest phaseof our campaign.”

Severalhundred people attended the rally which was addressed by campaigners, includingMary Lou McDonald, Donna Clooney, Proinsias Ó Rathaille, Stephen Troy,Diarmuid Breatnach and Micheál MacDonncha.

TheSinn Féin leader criticised successive Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil governmentswho have allowed the area to be “shamefully left to go to rack and ruin. Notonly have they abandoned the area to go to rot but they have also obstructedand delayed acting to ensure the revitalisation of the Moore Street area as ahistorical quarter. They actively support a plan to hand over Moore Street,including the revolutionary terrace, to private developers who seek to paveover our history for the sake of greed and profit.!!”

TheDublin Central TD told the rally that a Sinn Féin led government will not allowthe destruction of this most important site to go ahead. She described the planby the Trust as “the plan that a Sinn Fein led government will back from dayone … The Moore Street area echoes with the past and calls out to the future.The legacy of this historic area belongs to us all and for generations to come.We shouldn’t have to campaign to save it, we shouldn’t have to fight to fightto save it, but by working together we will save Moore St.”

MaryLou is right. The judicial review papers have been lodged. Support the effortto save Moore Street from demolition.

 

NewMural in support of Palestinians

Atthe weekend a new mural was unveiled in Andersonstown in west Belfasthighlighting the shared experience of struggle and solidarity between thepeoples of Ireland and Palestine. Well done to Marty Lyons and Michael Dohertyand the organisers.

Themural comes on the back of a report last week from the UnitedNation’s Human Rights Office that revealed that 70% of those killed inGaza between November last year and April this year were women and children. Inthe intervening months we are witness day after day to the deliberate andsystematic genocide of the civilian population of the Gaza Strip. The people ofsouthern Lebanon are now enduring the same Israeli tactics.

AnOxfam report concluded that more women and children have been killed in Gaza byIsrael than in any equivalent period since the start of this century. Currentestimates reveal that more than 43,300 people – of which one third arechildren – have been killed since October 23. Many more bodies are believed toremain under the rubble of destroyed buildings.

Oxfamalso published data showing that the Israeli military has attacked civilianinfrastructure on average every three hours.

·       Homesare attacked every four hours

·       Tentsand temporary shelters every 17 hours

·       Schoolsand hospitals every four days

·       Aiddistribution points and warehouses every 15 days.

TheIsraeli government has clearly no intention at this time of stopping itsassault on the Gaza Strip or on Lebanon. Shamefully most western governmentsare colluding in this.

Ourtask must be to continue to campaign for an end to the war and in support ofthe Palestinian people. It also means demanding the imposition of sanctions onIsrael, as well as the release of all hostages – Palestinian and Israeli – andthe provision of desperately needed aid.  

Prison Poems by Bobby Sands | Rally to Defend Moore St this weekend | Irish Government fails Palestinians

 

Prison Poems by Bobby Sands

In a recent interview ChristyMoore remarked that the death of Bobby Sands robbed us of a great writingtalent. Christy was praising the quality of the work Bobby created inthe harsh conditions he endured. He was making the point that you canonly imagine what Bobby might have gone on to produce in differentcircumstances where his creative imagination could have been nurtured and notrepressed. But of course this was not to be. Bobby led the secondhunger strike in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh and he was the first of the tenmen who fasted to death in that awful summer of 1981. 

I remember years earlier Bobbypracticing his singing and guitar playing in Cage Eleven, where we were guestsof the British Government, before the H-Blocks were built. Christy Moore wasone of Bobby’s go-to performers as he honed his musical skills. He would bedelighted that Christy has done so much to perpetuate his poetry and songwriting alongside the sacrifice of the blanket men and theArmagh women. ‘McIlhatton’ and ‘Back Home inDerry’ are now part of the Irish singing tradition. 

Another man who has helped toperpetuate Bobby’s writing is Danny Morrison. Danny, a very diligent member ofThe Bobby Sands Trust, is editor of a new collection of Bobby’s poetry (whichfirst came out in October 1981). This reprint is a beautiful book,with wonderful illustrations and cover design by renowned artist TonyBell. 

Thereare twenty-four of Bobby’s poems. All of these poems were written inremarkable circumstances. Hundreds of mostly young protestingprisoners were cooped up naked for over five years – with only a blanket forcover-  in the Special Control Units of the newly built H-Blocks. Theywere denied washing and toilet facilities and the right to exerciseand to any form of intellectual or recreational rights, includingpens and paper. They were beaten regularly.  All of this was part of aBritish Government offensive to criminalise the republican struggle. Womenrepublican prisoners in Armagh Prison were also targeted as criminals. 

As Danny Morrison points out inhis Introduction to Prison Poems, “The real criminality throughoutIrish history is English/British interference in the affairs of anotherpeople.”

That essential truth is borneout in Bobby’s writings, which include short stories, songs, andhis statements and comms reproduced in David Beresford’sclassic, Ten Men Dead. One Day In My Life (Introductionby Sean MacBride) was first published by Mercier Press in 1982,which also published his Writings From Prison (Introduction bymyself, 1998 ed.). His Prison Diary sold 40,000 in 1981,alone. All of this writing was accomplished secretly in his cell andscribbled on cigarette papers secreted in his body and smuggled out to the SinnFéin POW Department in Belfast where Tom Hartley had the foresight to archive anyof the material which he received so that a large amount of this prisonliterature has been preserved. 

DannyMorrison’s ‘Introduction’ traces the history of the prison protestsas well as the span of Bobby’s poetry and it is a reflective and movingreminder of the genius of the man and his unbreakable spirit. 

Prison Poems is publishedby An Fhuiseog and is available from good bookshops and online @AnFhuiseogand www.sinnfeinbookshop.com

 

Rally to Defend Moore St thisweekend

The campaign to protectthe 1916 Moore St Battlefield site from demolition is moving up agear. As regular readers will know An Bord Pleanála  - the planningauthority in the South – gave the go ahead recently for the Hammersondevelopment plan which will see much of this historic site reduced to rubble.

Last week the Moore St.Preservation Trust published ‘The Battleof Moore Street' by Ray Bateson, a bi-lingual history of the final battle ofthe Easter Rising in the words of those who were there. Renowned Irishactress Fionnula Flanagan formally launched the book in Liberty Hall in Dublinsaying; “It’s a great honour to have been asked to be here today and to launchthis wonderful book."  It is available from https://msptshop.myshopify.com andfrom good bookshops and online including @AnFhuiseog and at www.sinnfeinbookshop.com

ThisSunday the Moore St. Preservation Trust is holding a rally in Moore St. toprotest against the decision by An Bord Pleanála. The rally will takeplace at 1pm and I would encourage all of those who believe that thisiconic 1916 historic site should be protected to join with us this Sunday.

TheMoore St. Preservation Trust has produced a short video introduced by historianLiz Gillis. It can be viewed at: https://www.facebook.com/MooreStreetTrust/videos/11233766693550977

So,join us this Sunday at 1pm in Moore St. to defend this historic sitefrom the wrecking ball.

 

Irishgovernment fails Palestinians

Moremassacres. More children dead and maimed. More civilians killed by the Israeligovernment in a series of deadly assaults in Gaza and Lebanon. Health workers,journalists, and children continue to be the preferred targets for a right wingIsraeli government that is being armed, funded and empowered by its westernallies.

Internationalcondemnation and accusations of breaching international law make no differenceto Netanyahu and his cronies. Only sanctions that are economically effectivehave any chance of shifting Israeli Government opinion. 

Lastweek at the United Nations, the U.N. special rapporteur on the occupiedPalestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, published a major report - “Genocideas Colonial Erasure. The report makes frightening reading. Ms Albanesedescribed Israel’s order on “14 October 2023 for 1.1 millionPalestinians to move south from northern Gaza in 24 hours as ‘one of thefastest mass displacements in history.

Inthe year since then at least 90 per cent of Palestinians in Gaza have nowbeen forcibly displaced amid calls from Israeli officials and others forPalestinians to leave and Israelis to ‘return to Gaza’ and rebuild …High-ranking Israeli officials, ministers and religious leaders continue toencourage erasure and dispossession of Palestinians, setting new thresholds foracceptable violence against civilians. The Nakba, which has been ongoing since1948, ha

Asa result of her courageous stand Albanese has been accused of beinganti-Semitic by the United States and Israel. 

Thisis the desperate context for the appalling decision by the Fine Gael/FiannaFáil and Green Party coalition in the Oireachtas to reject an offer by SinnFéin and other opposition parties to provide time this week to facilitate thepassing of the Occupied Territories Bill which the Government has stalled onfor five years. 

UachtaránShinn Féin Mary Lou McDonald wrote to the government last week. In her letterto Simon Harris she wrote: “The people of Gaza cannot wait one momentlonger. Israel must face the strongest of sanctions for the genocide that isunfolding. It is unconscionable to ask the people of Gaza to wait even onemoment longer. The genocide is continuing and Israel is being allowed to actwith impunity. A ceasefire will only happen if Israel faces consequences fortheir actions”.

Witha general election in the South likely to be called by the end of this weekthere was only a short window in the political calendar for the Bill to bepassed into law. An election campaign and then the negotiations needed to formthe next government means that the Occupied Territories Bill will not becomelaw until the new year. 

Thisis unacceptable. Irish government Ministers claim to oppose Israel militaryaggression, especially at a time when Irish peacekeepers are under threat fromIsraeli forces in Lebanon and genocide is occurring in the Gaza Strip butrefuse to take the decisive action needed to stand up to Israel. 

Whateverthe outcome of the general election a priority for the incoming Irishgovernment must be firm and resolute action against the Israeli statement.Nothing less will do.