Gerry Adams's Blog, page 6

No to racists and fascists - No Pasarán! | Rita O’Hare – friend and patriot | More stories from the Grave

- 5th August 2024No to racists and fascists - No Pasarán!

I was delighted to attend Féile An Phobail’s Carnival Parade last Saturday as it meandered its colourful, inclusive and vibrant way from the Dunville Park to An Sportlann on Bothar na bhFal. Underage representatives of local GAA clubs, other sporting organisations, community groups and numerous street artistes joined ethnic groups as they danced their way up the road. Led by a battalion of motor bikers and more sedate Lambretta scooterists, Palestinian flags were on display the length of the walk. It was brilliant, noisy, cheerful and uplifting

It was also in complete contrast to the behaviour of the fascist and racist gangs who gathered at the City Hall as part of far right demonstrations organised across the ‘Kingdom’ against refugees following the awful events in Southport in England. Events which have no connection with refugees, awful as they were with the terrible deadly attack on school children, but which were seized upon to feed racist hatred through disinformation and false narratives.
Thankfully the progressive citizens who gathered to oppose the fascists vastly outnumbered them. They are more representative of the majority of Belfast people than the amadans and ne’er-do-wells who screamed their invective and racist hatred.
One concern that I share with many is the approach of the PSNI to effectively stand up to the racists. Businesses were destroyed, citizens threatened and intimidated, a refugee centre attacked and when the fascists attempted to march on the Ormeau Road the PSNI faced the residents who opposed the fascists not the fascists. Well done to Deirdre Hargey, Gerard Rice and the people of that proud district who rose to the challenge and faced down the bigots and racists.

Let us be alert to the reality that this type of reactionary right wing thuggery will now be a constant in our lives. Just below the surface perhaps until now it is out in the open these days. We must oppose it without hesitation. It is too dangerous to ignore or dismiss.

We need also to be mindful that some deprived working people across Ireland, urban and rural, may resent people coming here from across the world to avail, they fear, of scarce resources. We need to fight for these resources for everyone and we also need to engage with these citizens to remind them that their resentment needs to be directed at the British and Irish establishments and not at the refugees or migrants who make their way to our shores. In other words while being mindful of genuine concerns, we need to be avowedly anti-racist.

Belfast is the city which stopped slave ships from doing business here in the past. Led by United Irishmen and women like Mary Ann McCracken and Thomas McCabe Belfast said NO to inequality and the slave trade and YES to equality and enlightenment. That is the real Belfast and we need to live by these principles today.

Those who carried the Coolock Says No do not represent the people of Coolock any more than the loyalists who they joined with, represent the rest of us. So let us be alert. And let us be active. No Pasarán!



Rita O’Hare – friend and patriot


Rita O’Hare is probably one of best known Irish Republican activists of the last six decades. She was a close friend and a comrade, as well as a wife and mother, grandmother and great grandmother and someone who worked tirelessly in pursuit of Irish freedom and self-determination.

On Saturday we published her memoir. It was a great event as part of Féile. Rita - A Memoir is an amazing personal account of a life of struggle. Of a woman who fiercely confronted the injustices of the unionist and British state in Ireland. Who put her life and liberty on the line while working tirelessly to build a better future for the people of our island.

I have long believed that all of us have our own stories to tell and whenever I can I encourage people who do that. This is important everywhere. But especially in Ireland in these post-conflict times. By setting our different narratives side by side we have the possibility of a more complete and inclusive insight into the past and how and why conflict occurred. And how it might be avoided.

Rita’s remarkable story needed to be told but only she could do it justice. Persuading her to put pen to paper took years and is too long a tale to tell here but eventually Rita relented. Sadly her death from cancer came before she had the opportunity to fully complete the memoir. Editing what she left in the written word and on audio tape when she was too ill to write, fell to Danny Morrison who has done Rita proud and the rest of us a great service.

So, ‘RITA – A MEMOIR’ is incomplete as a political memoir but absolutely a gem as a personal one. Her story is of someone who was very connected to her family - to Brendan, her children, her grandchildren, great grandchildren, and, of course, to her parents, Maureen and Billy. And of an activist who demanded 100% from herself and from those of us who worked with her.

As a writer and editor of An Phoblacht, as a long standing member of the Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle in many vital roles; as a negotiator with the Irish government and the US administration during the early days of the peace process; and as Sinn Féin’s representative for more than 20 years in the USA, Rita was a tour de force at the heart of republican politics.

She could also be blunt, acerbic, and scathing in her observations. She was relentless in her criticism of those who presided over Ireland’s inequalities, unfair systems, including the partition of our island and our people. As a survivor of a British Army ambush in which she was shot multiple times, as a political prisoner who served three different terms of imprisonment North and South, and as a woman she brought a unique perspective to our republican politics.

‘RITA A MEMOIR’ stands proudly alongside other similar accounts of struggle from Tom Clarke, Terence Mac Swiney, Ernie O’Malley, and Margaret Buckley to activists in more recent years like Bobby Sands, Jim ‘Jazz’ McCann, Síle Darragh, Eoghan MacCormaic and many more.

Rita died peacefully in March last year at home with her beloved Brendan and their clann, shortly after her eightieth birthday. ‘RITA A MEMOIR’ is published by Greenisland Press and is available at https://www.sinnfeinbookshop.com/ and https://www.thelarkstore.ie/



More stories from the Grave
I have known Tom Hartley for almost 60 years. During that time he has been the consummate political activist as a leader of Sinn Féin in Belfast and nationally. He is an archivist and a collector who has done more than anyone else to ensure that the Ulster Museum and Linen Hall Library have a range of artefacts and materials that tell the story of Irish republicanism.

Tom is a first class historian and in this capacity he has written three excellent books on the City Cemetery; Milltown Cemetery, and Balmoral Cemetery. Tom cleverly uses the stories of those buried in these places to tell the story of Belfast in all its complexity.

Last week Tom published ‘More Stories from Belfast City Cemetery’. This is a collection of new stories that he has uncovered as he continues to research the Belfast cemeteries. In this book he tells the reader of the man who built the Titanic and of the first woman to be licensed as a doctor in Ireland. He tells of Presbyterian missionaries, the man who built the Grand Opera House, the accidental deaths of workers in the Belfast shipyards, as well as the graves of some who were killed in the Belfast riots of the 19th century. And much more including the story of Jim Hargey, a former internee, leader of the Republican Clubs and a community activist in the Market. He was also a fine singer.


Toms latest book is well worth a read. So if you want to know a little more about Belfast get your hands on ‘More Stories from Belfast City Cemetery’. You will not be disappointed. The book will be available at https://www.sinnfeinbookshop.com/ and https://www.thelarkstore.ie/

Moore Street – Rising to our Future | International solidarity needed to end Israel’s genocidal war | Féile Arís

 - 29th July 2024 

Moore Street – Rising to our Future

The campaign to save the 1916 Moore Street Battlefield site and those iconic buildings and streetscape that are forever linked to the most important historic event in modern Irish history has reached another potentially decisive moment.

In May, An Taoiseach Simon Harris announced the establishment of “a Taskforce to take a holistic view of the measures required to rejuvenate Dublin City Centre, north and south”. The stated objective is to make Dublin City Centre “a more thriving, attractive, and safe cityscape; and a desirable location to live, work, do business and visit.” The Taskforce is expected to report this month (August).

On Monday, James Connolly Heron, Christina McLoughlin and Honor Ó Brolcháin of the Moore St. Preservation Trust and architect Seán Ó Muirí who is the Design Principle at Fuinneamh Workshop - an award winning architectural company based in Cork - met with David McRedmond, CEO of the Taskforce. The delegation presented Mr. McRedmond with a copy of the alternative plan for the development of the 1916 Battlefield site as a 1916 Cultural Quarter and a new publication – Preserving Our Past – Rising to our Future – which provides a summary of the alternative plan and a report of the successful conference held by the Trust in the GPO in April.

The property developer  Hammerson in its redevelopment proposals for the area has lodged five planning applications. These have been appealed to An Bord Pleanála and decisions are still awaited. At the same time Hammerson has initiated legal action against the City Council because Councillors voted to add historic Moore Street buildings to the Record of Protected Structures.

The Trust delegation highlighted the enormous threat to the 1916 Battlefield site posed by the Hammerson plan. Hammerson’s proposals do not meet the agreed recommendations of the advisory group that reported several years ago to the Minister. Hammersons propose  the destruction of buildings linked directly to the Easter Rising.

On the other hand the Trust plan not only meets all of the agreed recommendations of the Ministerial advisory group but also satisfies the objections of the Department itself to the extent of the developer's proposed demolitions throughout the site.

Monday’s meeting provided a significant opportunity to impress upon Mr McRedmond and the Taskforce that the creation of a Moore St. Historic and Cultural Quarter will contribute enormously to the rejuvenation of Dublin City Centre and its aim of making it a “desirable location to live, work, do business and visit.”

The historic Moore Street 1916 battlefield site and the traditional street market are crucial in any approach to improving the centre of our capital city. Moore Street campaigners, including the Moore Street Preservation Trust, are determined to protect this area and to ensure its transformation into a cultural quarter, truly cherishing our past and rising to our future. 

International solidarity needed to end Israel’s genocidal war

By the end of this week more than 40,000 people, mostly children and women, will have been slaughtered by Israel in the Gaza Strip.  The Strip has been reduced to rubble and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been left without shelter, food, clean water and sanitation. This is an Israeli made humanitarian disaster.

Day after day courageous journalists living under constant threat from Israeli snipers, drones and bombs continue to report Israel’s targeted bombing of refugees;  the massacre of families living in tents; and of children starving because Israel is preventing food and medical aid from entering Gaza. In recent days Israeli soldiers deliberately destroyed a water treatment plant in the Tel Sultan neighbourhood of Rafah and an MRI machine at the Turkish hospital in Gaza. This is genocide.

However, even in the midst of all of this dreadful suffering there have been important and positive developments. A fortnight ago the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the occupation and annexation of the Palestinian territories by Israel is unlawful. It also concluded that Israel’s discriminatory laws and policies against Palestinians violate the prohibition on racial segregation and apartheid.  

This is a defining moment for the international community and in particular for Israel’s allies who by their support of Israel endorse its apartheid policies. Do they support international law or Israel’s flouting of that law? Is Israel to be held to account for its genocidal/apartheid policies? At this time there is no reason to believe that Israel and its allies will change direction. Achieving that will depend on building international support for international law. This too will not be easy but we cannot give up in our efforts.

Therefore our demands are clear. These must include the withdrawal by Israel from all Palestinian occupied land. There must be an immediate ceasefire by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip. All hostages, including the thousands of Palestinians held by Israel must be released. Humanitarian aid must have free access to Gaza. There must be an immediate halt to the expansion of Israeli settlements. Palestinian statehood and the rights inherent in that must be accepted by Israel and its allies.

Finally, in a very welcome move Hamas and Fatah and 12 other Palestinian groups signed a ‘national unity’ agreement in Beijing aimed at maintaining Palestinian control over the Gaza Strip once Israel’s genocidal war on the besieged territory ends. The agreement calls for ‘interim national reconciliation government’ to govern Gaza.

Israel and its allies have sought to dictate the terms of any governance arrangement for the Gaza strip in any post war situation, including Israel maintaining control of the territory. All of these have been predicated on limiting the democratic rights of the Palestinian people to chose their own representatives and government. This cannot be allowed. The Palestinian people have the right to self-determination.

 

Féile Aris

It is Féile An Phobail time again. Well done to Kevin Gamble and all the Féile team for once again bringing us a truly outstanding Féile programme. There was a time, now receding in memory for many people and never in the memory of countless more who weren’t born in those troubled times, when August,  and the anniversary of Internment, was marked by incursions of British troops and RUC into republican neighbourhoods and  days of rioting and deaths and injuries.

Féile An Phobail has replaced all that. It started following the killing in Gibraltar of three local people, IRA Volunteers Dan McCann, Seán Savage and Mairead Farrell at the behest of Margaret Thatcher in March 1988 and the deaths of others at their funerals. Our community was demonised in a tsunami of invective by the establishment media and our political opponents. Féile was a communal response to that.

For thirty six years West Belfast has hosted what is now an internationally recognised community arts festival with a huge ceád mile fáilte for over 100,000 visitors who join us in celebration of all that is good about us. From August 1 to August 11 we will make music, poetry, dance and have sporting events. We will debate and argue and sing and discuss numerous issues and be inspired by one and other.

We will learn many things about the human condition. We will laugh and have a wee drink, if that is our choice. We will walk our hills and streets and be educated by wise guides.  We will launch books. We will consider plans or proposals for the future.  We will express solidarity with other causes. We will give other causes a platform.  We will be surprised and annoyed by some of what we hear and learn.  We will make new friends and refresh old friendships.

Of course we do a lot of these things a lot of the time. But during Féile we do all it nonstop and the Féile team and all their partners showcase it and facilitate entertainers and musicians and poets and historians from our own place and other places. So thank you again to all involved.  And to everyone else: come along and enjoy Féile 2024 with the rest of us.

Significant boost for Unity Referendum | Have you any tickets?

Significant boost for Unity Referendum

This summer the momentum behind the demand for constitutional change and for the Good Friday Agreement commitment to a unity referendum has dramatically increased. The very successful Ireland’s Future event in Belfast several weeks ago, the all-island economic conference by Sinn Féin’s Commission on the Future of Ireland, the emergence of a small but resolute grouping of United Irelanders from within Northern Protestantism and the positive soundings from an increasingly vocal pro-uniting Ireland lobby in the 26 counties, including from some within the political establishment, means that hardly a day passes without the issue of Irish Unity being raised in the political discourse.

Last week’s publication of the report from the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement - ‘Perspectives on Constitutional Change: Finance and Economics’ – marks a new and decisive moment in the unity debate. The Joint Committee includes eight TDs and six Senators representing all of the major parties in Leinster House, as well as independent voices. Its report makes for remarkable reading.

Its starting point is the Good Friday Agreement which for the first time ever created a peaceful and democratic path to the achievement of constitutional change through referendums North and South. Immediately after last year’s 25th anniversary of the Agreement, the Joint Committee began holding a series of meetings to explore what a united Ireland would mean. The report, published on 16 July, represents the consensus conclusions of all of the participants and represents a fundamental shift in mapping out an agreed strategy for achieving Irish Unity. It examines the economic relationship between the two jurisdictions and the potential of the all-island economy. 
It looks at the likely cost of Irish Unity and the need for the Irish government to build a consensus on the future shape of a united Ireland. In this respect its’ call for the government to begin immediately planning for a referendum on constitutional change marks a striking change in the approach of the political system in the South. Its conclusion is best summed up in the final sentence of the summary of the report which states: “Preparation for referenda on Irish unification will be a historic task. The Committee calls for preparation to begin immediately”. For this process to be successful the Joint Committee calls for a whole of government approach, led by the Department of the Taoiseach, and involving all government departments and state agencies examining the implications of constitutional change. The Joint Committee recommends that a government Green Paper should be published setting out a vision for a united Ireland. Such a paper will require widespread consultation to ensure its conclusions reflect a consensus on the way forward.

In preparing for the unity referendum the Committee emphasises the key role of the civic engagement that occurred around referendums in recent years, including the use of “Citizens’ Assemblies – “Engagement should take place on a sector-by-sector basis. These forums should be as inclusive as possible”.

The report also stresses the importance of an inclusive approach that can facilitate participation by “vulnerable groups and sectors of society that are traditionally underrepresented in policy making” including reaching out and securing engagement from unionism. And it makes a series of recommendations for increased North South co-operation to include:

· Education, including measures to facilitate teachers crossing the border or working in both jurisdiction throughout their careers, including supports to meet the Irish language requirement for primary school teachers.

· Further and Higher Education, including reducing barriers to cross border student enrolment particularly for students from the North studying in the South and strengthen North/South co-operation on apprenticeships and training.

· Energy and on climate action, including increased co-operation through Strand two of the Good Friday Agreement that builds on the progress of single electricity market.

· Transport infrastructure, including implementation of government commitments on the A5 as soon as possible.

· Attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), including closer co-operation between the IDA and Invest NI and part of this should be to ensure greater benefit for areas outside of Dublin and Belfast benefit from FDI.

· Civil service and governance, including developing a North/South exchange programme for civil servants.

Republicans will find much in this report that dovetails with our own policy proposals in recent years and our thoughts on the planning for unity. But like the Good Friday Agreement producing recommendations is one thing, getting them implemented is an entirely different matter.

Therefore it is vitally important that all of us who advocate for Irish Unity read this report and recognise its singular significance in the current constitutional debate. The Joint Committee report provides a historic opportunity and challenge to shift the conversation on Irish unity into a substantially higher gear.

Uachtarán Mary Lou McDonald TD put it well when she welcomed the report. She said: “The report acknowledges that there are no insurmountable economic or financial barriers to unification. The economic success of a new Ireland is in our own hands. What is needed now is detailed and ambitious preparations. Our task is to build a consensus on the vision for a new and united Ireland. Preparing for such a referendum is a historic task and a huge opportunity that requires significant groundwork and a well-prepared constitutional pathway.”

If you want to read the Joint Committee report it is available here:

https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/committee/dail/33/joint_committee_on_the_implementation_of_the_good_friday_agreement/reports/2024/2024-07-16_perspectives-on-constitutional-change-finance-and-economics_en.pdf

Watch Seanadóir Rose Conway Walsh talk about the report here: https://www.facebook.com/reel/873249191346812



Have you any tickets?

There was a time back in the day when I was able to get a ticket for All Irelands. In those days getting a ticket was part of the build up to the big day. It was great fun Stressful and challenging but great fun nonetheless. My first All Ireland was in 1960. I didn’t have to worry about a ticket that day. I was only twelve. My Uncle Paddy took care of all the logistics. We went by rented car which was a novelty in those days. Down won and I still have a clear memory of standing on the terraces as Kerry was dispatched and Sam Maguire came over the border. That’s what my Uncle Paddy sang all the way home – “The cups coming over the border, the border, the border, the border”.

In those days it was possible to lift a child over the turnstile for free entry. I don’t recall if that happened to me in 1960 but for ages in the late 70’s and 80’s I used to lift our Gearóid over the turnstile. Sometimes he would be accompanied by cousins but the match stewards were very tolerant and as long as we had a couple of tickets between us they made us welcome. Many a great game was enjoyed by us. Then understandably health and safety concerns kicked in and all this changed. Rightly so.

That’s when tickets became even more precious. And more expensive. The new Croker stadium followed soon after but it was still possible to wrangle tickets. There was great competition on the ticket front as well as on the playing fields, especially as the Ulster teams started to dominate the football championship. My friend Father Alex Reid was a great Gael. He was usually catered for by the Rice brothers but even he had to seek divine intervention when that source dried up. An old friend of mine in County Louth looked after me for years. Of course with Father Alex and myself the hurling games were the big contests.

And then I got elected to the Dáil and with that came an invite from Croker to the Ard Chomhairle section so I fell out of the habit of scrounging for tickets. Martin McGuinness got a similar invite by virtue of his elevation to the Office of First and Deputy First Minister and we spent many a happy All Ireland together. That’s when Martin was won over to the thrills, skills and sheer superiority of hurling.

All Ireland Sundays in Croke, for both codes and for Ladies Football and Camogie are super. I don’t travel there so much these days. It’s easier to watch on television and I’ve yet to adjust to the new July finals schedule. I was at the Tailteann Cup semi final recently supporting Antrim’s footballers and although the result was disappointing it was a great day out. I was seated behind a big contingent of young Laois fans and the craic was ninety.

I did try to get hurling tickets last week for the hurling only to find that all my old contacts are dead or without influence. Just like myself. I left it too late. The tickets weren’t for me so I wasn’t too disappointed. Now as we go to print I’m being plagued by Armagh and Galway supporters. Ach well I don’t blame any of them for chancing their arm. I’ve been there. Done that.

So if you have any spare tickets give me a shout. Le do thoil.

Solidarity Works | Release Leonard Peltier | Lies and Hypocrisy

Solidarity Works

Forty years ago this month, ten workers from the Henry Street branch of Dunnes Stores in Dublin's city centre went on strike to protest against the selling of produce from Apartheid South Africa. A year later, the group was joined by another worker, Brendan Barron, from the Crumlin store, bringing their number to eleven. The strike lasted for almost three years. I remember it well. I joined the picket line a few times and Sinn Féin and An Phoblacht were firm supporters of the Dunnes Store strikers. Their courageous stand led to the Dublin government banning South African goods from Irish stores. The strike followed a decision by the Irish Distributive and Administrative Union IDATU, now the Mandate union, not to handle South African produce. 

On Thursday 19 July 1984 a customer approached Mary Manning, who was on the checkout, with two South African Outspan oranges. Mary politely told the customer she couldn't handle the goods because they were South African. The Dunnes Store management immediately sent for Mary Manning and her Shop Steward Karen Gearon. Mary was given five minutes to reconsider her position.  According to an An Phoblacht report

"Mary was brought upstairs with myself and was given five minutes to reconsider her position," Karen says. "We weren't allowed talk to each other during the five minutes. She was kept in one room and I was kept in the other. And then we came back in and Mary said, 'No, I'm sticking by my position', and the Dunnes Stores strike began”.

"We decided we wanted to learn more about the issue, and so we started to look into South Africa and what was happening there," Karen remembers. "The more we learned, the more passionate we felt.

The strike began to gain serious momentum when Archbishop Desmond Tutu invited some of the group to meet him in London while he was en route to collect the Nobel Peace Prize. Karen, Mary Manning, union official Brendan Archbold and the meeting's organiser, Don Mullen, travelled over.

"That was definitely the turning point," says Karen. "We got massive publicity and he invited the strikers to visit South Africa. A plan was made to travel to South Africa on the first anniversary of the start of the strike. We had no money to carry out our plan, so we had to do a collection," Karen says.

"One Friday night we went out around Dublin and raised £6,000. That showed us just how much support was out there, because the '80s wouldn't have been an affluent time in Ireland."

Karen remembers the trip being a nightmare.  When the plane landed in Jan Smuts Airport in Johannesburg, it was greeted by police and army officials.  The group were detained there and sent home eight hours later on the same plane. This incident received huge publicity.

The strikers were on the picket line every day for three years. One winter it was so bad that some of them actually had plastic inside their shoes. One of the women, Vonnie Monroe lost her house because she couldn't make the repayments on it. They had £21 union pay a week. They all paid a heavy price for their solidarity.  There was a lot of solidarity between the Dunnes Stores strikers and the miners in Britain, who were also on strike at the time. The Irish government eventually brought in a ban – the first western government to do so - and the strike officially ended in April 1987.

 "We won," Karen says. "All we wanted was for us not to have to handle the goods; the bonus was the government coming out and banning them. We didn't start the movement, the movement was there before us, but we certainly brought a new life to it, and we raised its profile.”

Nelson Mandela made it a priority to meet with the Dunnes Store strikers on his release from prison in 1990. He recognised the sacrifices they made and praised their “unprecedented stand”. 

Forty years later these working class – mostly women -   remain an example to us all and a reminder of the importance of solidarity work, not least the need these days for solidarity with the people of Palestine.  

 

Release Leonard Peltier 

Earlier this month 79 year old native American indigenous activist Leonard Peltier was denied parole. He won’t be eligible now for another parole hearing until June 2026. His legal team will appeal the decision.

Leonard has consistently denied that he was responsible for killing of two FBI agents in 1975. His family and supporters are now deeply concerned that after almost 50 years in prison that Leonard will die there as his health has severely deteriorated in recent years. 

In the intervening years an international campaign for his release has gathered momentum as the evidence of prosecutorial misconduct and due process violations has become increasingly evident. Two years ago James H. Reynolds the former US Attorney General whose office handled the prosecution and appeal in the Leonard Peltier case appealed for his sentence to be commuted. In a letter to President Biden he said: “With time, and the benefit of hindsight, I have realized that the prosecution and continued incarceration of Mr. Peltier was and is unjust”

In addition a witness who recanted her account claimed she had been forced into making a statement by the FBI. A ballistics expert who linked Peltier’s weapon to the murders was reprimanded by the federal court for lying. 

In 2022 Amnesty International issued an Urgent Action notice calling for clemency for Peltier. Amnesty pointed out that in the decades since his imprisonment he has spent significant time in “solitary confinement, serving two life sentences for murder despite concerns over the fairness of his trial”. Amnesty warned that Leonard Peltier “suffers from a number of chronic health ailments, including one that is potentially fatal.”

Amnesty urged President Biden to grant Leonard Peltier clemency on “humanitarian grounds and as a matter of justice.” 

Former FBI agent Colleen Rowley has accused the FBI of a “vendetta” against Peltier. In a letter she wrote: “Retribution seems to have emerged as the primary if not sole reason for continuing what looks from the outside to have become an emotion-driven ‘FBI Family’ vendetta.”

Last September on his birthday Leonard thanked all of those who have supported his cause for justice over the years. He said: “I hope to breathe free air before I die. Hope is a hard thing to hold, but no one is strong enough to take it from me … There is a lot of work left to do. I would like to get out and join you in doing it”.

I support the many calls for clemency for Leonard Peltier. He should be released to spend his remaining time with his family. 

 

Lies and Hypocrisy

Lies, hypocrisy, double standards, starvation, and the mass murder of civilians have been essential tools in the Israeli government’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people. Some have also been a feature of the policies and propaganda employed by those governments allied to Israel’s war strategy. 

Last week Russian missiles destroyed much of a children's hospital in Kyiv. A wave of other similar attacks took place against cities across the Ukraine. There was justifiable criticism of Russia which this column shares. Meanwhile the deliberate destruction of so-called ‘safe zones’ in Gaza by Israeli bombers continues using armaments supplied by western powers. Over a hundred and fifty Palestinians are known to have been killed. Many hundreds more have been left grievously injured trapped in a place that has almost no medical facilities or resources.

The bombing of the designated humanitarian zone in the al-Mawasi area near Khan Younis was the most devastating. Israel claimed it was a ‘surgical strike against Hamas’ but the photos and video of the event exposed this as a lie. 

Almost 40,000 Palestinians are known to have been killed in the 10 months of Israel’s genocide. Last week a report published in the Medical Journal The Lancet stated that "186,000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza". Doctors of the World, an NGO that has staff working in Gaza, described the estimate as ‘credible’ and its President said: "The death toll of 186,000 mentioned in The Lancet is consistent with the health, military and geopolitical situation due to the sea, air and land blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip … “.

Those governments, including the Irish government, that have condemned Israel and/or agreed to recognise the state of Palestine need to urgently agree a joint strategy to increase pressure for a permanent ceasefire, substantial aid, and an arms embargo against Israel. 

AN OPEN LETTER TO KEIR STARMER | A GOOD ELECTION | TRUTH IS THE FIRST CASUALTY OF WAR

AN OPEN LETTER TO KEIR STARMER

Keir a chara, 

 

Congratulations on your election as British Prime Minister. I wish you well in the many challenges facing you and your government. The world is very divided at this time with many violent examples of injustice, poverty, hunger and violence. I hope you will use your office in a positive and progressive way. From the Middle East to get ceasefires and stop the genocide against the people of Palestine to Ukraine and other troubled places. 

 

The last time the British Labour Party was in Downing Street, Ireland was one of those places. 

 

Now the conflict in Ireland has ended but many of the underlying causes remain. Your predecessor Tony Blair played a leading role in the effort to bring peace. The Good Friday Agreement in 1998 was the result of his efforts and An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, most of the local parties and President Bill Clinton with the support of others in the international community. 

 

Tony Blair told me once that he could not have done what he did in Ireland except in the first heady days of his premiership. I believe that. This is why I am writing to you so soon after you take up office and before the system and the pressures of other challenges distract you from your obligations to deliver on commitments on Ireland. 

 

Your election has created an opportunity to implement the Good Friday Agreement fully, to repair the damage done by fourteen years of Tory rule and to create a better relationship with the people of Ireland represented by the Irish Government and the Northern Executive. 

 

I note you describe yourself as a unionist. This is unfortunate. It is your union, not ours. The Good Friday Agreement has set out the way to end the union if that is what the people decide. You are obliged to uphold this and to uphold the Good Friday Agreement by ensuring that its political, legal, and constitutional guarantees are respected and implemented.  

 

As a co-guarantor of the Agreement the British Government must embrace principles of rigorous impartiality, and the right to self-determination and constitutional change toward Irish reunification.

 

I note that your government has committed to repealing the Tories Legacy Act. There is also a responsibility on you to tackle the serious underfunding of public services in the North as a result of the austerity policies of the Tories and Brexit.

 

You have also committed to assisting the effort to build the Gaelic Games Stadium at Casement Park. As a human rights lawyer you may know that Roger Casement, who the stadium is named after, was a champion of human rights. 

 

He was knighted for his work exposing human rights abuses in the Congo and in Peru. Later, after a show trial in London he was hanged for his part in the 1916 Rising. Other leaders were shot to death after court martials in Dublin. At his trial Casement argued that he should be tried by his peers in Ireland. He said, “This is the condemnation of English rule, of English-made law, of English government in Ireland, that it dare not rest on the will of the Irish people but exists in defiance of their will: that it is a rule, derived not from right, but from conquest.”

 

That was true then. It remains so. You now have the opportunity to undo that conquest. This may be too much to expect.  But perhaps you might surprise us?

 

Casement also said, “Self government is our right, a thing born to us at birth, a thing no more to be doled out to us by another people than the right to life itself, than the right to feel the sun or smell the flowers or to love our kind.”

You certainly have the chance to usher in a new era of Anglo Irish relations based on equality and respect as set out in the Good Friday Agreement.  So as I wrote at the beginning of this letter, I wish you well. But those of us who have had to endure London rule and partition will judge you on how you accept our right to rule ourselves and on how you use your influence to bring this about. 

 

Great progress has been made against all the odds. Let's finish the process. 

 

Le gach dea-mhéin

Gerry Adams

          

 

A GOOD ELECTION

 

Well done to everyone who worked in last week's election, especially candidates and their families. The success of Sinn Féin is due to the diligence and commitment of the candidates and all the activists who mobilised the republican voters and to the voters who showed great clarity and vision by voting Sinn Féin. I enjoyed immensely my interaction with many of those voters in West Belfast on polling day. The banter and craic was mighty. Their endorsement of Paul Maskey and the effort they made to vote for him was inspirational. Older people, quite a few in their nineties, turned up alongside droves of first-time republican voters. The future is bright. Thank you one and all. 

 

TRUTH IS THE FIRST CASUALTY OF WAR

We are now into the tenth month of Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the extension of its brutal occupation of the west Bank. The human cost of this in lives lost is appalling. Almost 40,000 Palestinians have been killed. Of these 15,000 are children. The real number of deaths is higher given the numbers missing and of bodies buried beneath the rubble. 

It is a well established maxim that ‘truth is the first casualty of war.’ That was true in our own place where British state control of the media was accepted practice from the beginning in controlling the narrative. The British state and its allies were the good guys – the republicans were the bad guys. 

General Frank Kitson who was the British Army’s self proclaimed counter insurgency ‘expert’ established the framework by which this could be done. He called for the judiciary, the law, the police and the media, to become part of a coordinated strategy. In its Land Operations manual the British Army defines psyops as ‘the planned use of propaganda or other means, in support of our military action or presence, designed to influence to our advantage the opinions, emotions, attitudes and behaviour of our enemy, neutral and friendly groups.’

And so it is with Israel today. Through its own media and with the co-operation of the corporate media in most western states it has worked to control the narrative in defence of its criminal actions against the people of Palestine. Part of this has involved the deliberate targeting of journalists working within Gaza and the West Bank and the denial of access to Gaza by journalists from international agencies.

Last week in one day five journalists in central Gaza were killed by Israel. Bringing the total number of journalists killed to 158. In addition Israel has shut down Al Jazeera in Israel while an estimated 50 journalists have been arrested  while many more are victims of harassment, threats, and assaults.

On Sunday the Foreign Press Association based in London said:

“The Foreign Press Association expresses its shock and profound disappointment that nine months into a devastating war, Israel continues to bar independent access for the international media from Gaza.

Never before has Israel enforced such a long and strict information blackout. It has repeatedly rejected our appeals for access, fought us in court to uphold this draconian ban and offered just a handful of highly controlled "embed" opportunities for a small number of our members.

At the same time, Palestinian journalists inside Gaza continue to face unprecedented threats and restrictions on movement as they courageously try to cover this story.  It raises questions about what Israel doesn't want international journalists to see.

We once again call on Israel to allow international journalists unfettered and independent access to Gaza.”

The reality is that this demand for press freedom will be ignored by Israel. The onus therefore falls on all of us and especially governments opposed to Israel’s actions to demand open access to the occupied territories to report truthfully on events there. Information is key to understanding what is happening and to finding solutions. 

NO PASARAN! | TOMMIE AND MICHEÁL

NO PASARAN!

Across Europe, in the USA, the Middle East and in England regressive political elements are gathering strength. In the North of Ireland we have always had to contend with these forces. And historically the right wing have played a significant role in our affairs across the island. They were well represented in the conservatism  of the Catholic hierarchy which like its fundamentalist protestant counterparts in the North, had a privileged position for far too long.  Everyone deserves full civil and religious rights. But no religious grouping should have the state to uphold its positions.

Fascists also emerged at different times. Cumann Na Gael – now Fine Gael – grew from the Blue Shirts.  Today we live in more enlightened times but the Far Right and other right wing tendencies are raising their heads once again. They must be vigorously, peacefully and resolutely resisted by citizens and be subject also to the rule of law. 

Racism and sectarianism are products and symptoms of colonialism and imperialism. They divide and conquer people by exploiting fears and insecurities especially in times of change.  Ireland, which has suffered from colonialism, has a natural affinity with other colonised countries. It is no accident that Irish people are famously generous in our contributions to victims of  famine and war, or  for example in our support for the people of Palestine and other oppressed people. But not everyone in Ireland supports these positions. 

The presence of people of a different skin colour or others who are obviously not local, in communities across the island discommodes some folks. Protests and arson are now not unusual. In Belfast loyalist paramilitaries intimidate these newcomers. But they also do the same with Catholics so those from that community who decry the presence of refugees need to consider the company they are keeping. 

So too for those who accuse emigrants of taking homes away from the rest of us. Or of taking benefits and over stretching public services. Emigrants are not to blame for the housing crisis, North or South. That is the responsibility of those in government, particularly in Dublin. Simon Harris and Micheál Martin are to blame for the homeless crisis, not some unfortunate people fleeing death or destruction in other climes. And truth to tell, these poor people are not the threat to our public services. Again, that comes from Government policy, particularly privatisation and lack of funding. The reality is that our health services in particular could not function without workers from other countries. 

But when people are getting it rough it is easy to understand why their fears  can be exploited by right wing elements. People who have concerns about the unregulated influx of refugees into communities already under pressure are not necessarily racists.  But the absence of coherent  Government  policy to offer refuge to those who deserve it has assisted the efforts of those who are racists. By such government incompetence are decent people sucked into racist behaviour. 

Populist action by Simon Harris and Micheál Martin like the destruction of tents used by desperate homeless refugees will solve nothing in the longer term. Look at the shameful treatment of the Travelling Community for decades if an example of the unworthiness of that behaviour  is needed. 

No. What is required is a firm resolve to face down the right wingers while promoting and implementing progressive policies based on tolerance, equality, objective need and respect. And by actively building public services including social and affordable housing. 

Equality and democracy are interdependent. If governments do not improve the social and economic well being and rights of all their people – what value does democracy hold for those people?

In such an unfair  dispensation racists and right wingers will thrive.  Our duty is to oppose them. To make sure that they shall not pass. 

 

TOMMIE AND MICHEÁL.

 

I was very shocked to hear of Tommie Gorman’s death.  I had been with Tommie just two weeks before at an event in Dublin.  He had already texted me to tell me his cancer was back. He told me as he always did that he was  “Never better”. That was one of his little sayings, and the name of his book incidentally.

He said to me “it's ok”, it's no problem” and he gave me a hug. We had a yarn and subsequently we texted each other again after that. Approaching his operation I also reached out to wish him good luck. 

I want to send my heartiest condolences to Ceara, Joe and Moya, to Tommi’s sister Mary and his brother Michael.  He  really missed his sister Paula who died recently also.

His death is a great loss to his family and to his friends. Mo comhbhrón leo.

Being from the North West Tommie knew Martin McGuinness & Pat Doherty before he knew me. I really only got to know him properly when he became RTEs northern editor. Our relationship started off pretty robustly. We had quite a few arguments off air but we settled down and I got to know him very well, though at times some of his broadcasts  drove some republicans mad. 

But there was also a little private side to Tommie where he stepped outside of his journalistic role and befriended people. This included people within the leadership of the DUP. He went about gently building bridges between the Sinn Féin leadership and that leadership.

 

He would come quietly and give me and Martin his view of what was going on. He was always positive and always trying to encourage and I'm sure he did the same thing with the DUP.  Peter Robinson and Arlene Foster's presence along with Michelle O Neill and mé féin at his funeral is proof of that.  

When we came to the point back in the day when Sinn Féin and the DUP got talking formally, Tommie had made sure that we already had some personal understanding of each other's positions. Tommie always said he wouldn't go public about any of this and he never did.

So I am pleased and proud to say that at the end of his life we were very good friends. That was part of Tommie’s character. He befriended people. He loved making connections. 

He fought his cancer so bravely. He advocated for cancer sufferers.

He went at my request at times to talk to friends of mine who were diagnosed with cancer and he very gently gave them counselling and mentored them. No doubt he did this with others as well.  He got many people onto a scheme for cancer treatment in Sweden which he also availed of. He was always helpful and was always prepared to go and help people.

Tommie loved RTE and Sligo Rovers. He loved Christy Moore. He loved the peace process. 

Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh and Tommie were buried on the same day. I listened to Micheáls funeral service on Raidió na Gaeltactha on my way to Tommie’s funeral in West Sligo. 

 

My memories of Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh are the same as everybody else who loves Gaelic games. It's that lilting, poetic West Kerry  voice in and out of Irish and English telling the story, lyrically lifting the game beyond at times what was happening on the pitch.  I used to love listening to his commentary on the radio.

 

Two things stick out in my head. He spoke at an event in Cork City Hall that I was speaking at about the future of Ireland. Mícheál chose to read a poem. It was a song by Paul Robeson called ‘My House’. It was to give his sense of the type of Ireland he wanted to see. That is a country with room in it for everyone.

Another memory is of Micheál reading ‘The Beautiful Game’  at young Tyrone Gael Cormac McAnallens funeral. He stood  at Cormacs graveside and read this  gorgeous poem on that sad day.  

The Beautiful Game

Less than a minute remains on the clock,
As I tighten my lace and turn down my sock.
One last chance, and it's ALL down to me,
It must be a goal, for we need all three.

I step up to the ball and look towards the posts.
Is that the crowd I hear, or is it the ghosts
Of men who before me who have faced the same test,
And never once failed to give it their best.

My father he gave my the love of it all,
When he guided my arms to strike that first ball.
A hurley a football, its the same thing to me.
It’s playing the game that matters you see.

From boys in a field to a big crowd roar,
There’s never been anything to excite me more.
From the day I can’t walk,
And even then about the game I’ll still talk.

The few steps to the ball now seem like a mile,
But a well placed shot and I’ll be carried in style
On shoulders of team mates expressing their joy,
It's a dream that’s consumed me since I was a boy.

My feet pound the ground, my foot sends the ball,
It sails through the air over men who are tall.
Then dipping and curling, it finds the goal,
And just for a moment I’m in touch with my soul.

A whistle blows hard and I awake from my dream.
I’m watching my own son play for the team,
And but maybe one day they’ll announce HIS name
As he steps out to play - the beautiful game.- Brendan Kane

Ba guth na Gael Micheal. Glor Cumann Luath Cleas Ghea. Laoch. Fear usail.  Éireannach agus Gaeilgeoir iontach. Mo comhbhrón leis a clann fosta agus a chairde. He was the best of who and what we are.

Candidatitis: Pathway to Change

 

Candidatitis

I first published this article in 2007 and then, slightly amended in2016, 2022 and last year’s local government elections in the North. There arefour elections across the island within the next 5 weeks. So I thought thiswould be a good time to republish Candidatitis again, slightly amended oncemore.

It is my tribute to the majority of candidates who won’t get elected.Good luck to them all. Good luck especially to Sinn Féin’s candidates. I hopewe have a great result. That’s all in the gift of the electorate. So I thankall the voters as well as all the candidates.

Opinion polls have become an integral part of every election campaign.Every newspaper and every broadcast outlet tries to second guess the electorateby commissioning polls. And then their columnists or pundits spend a hugeamount of time analysing the poll they just commissioned.

So do many candidates. And their supporters. This can lead to moodchanges and other character changing tendencies. This can be very stressful. Soevery candidate and everyone else should be mindful of the particular andpeculiar stresses and strains that come with being a candidate. It’s a form ofailment called Candidatitis. It begins with the candidate coming to believe –with a certainty known only to the prophets of old – that they are going towin.

This syndrome is capable of moving even the most rational aspirant orshy wallflower into a state of extreme self belief. It strikes without warning,is no respecter of gender, and can infect the lowly municipal hopeful, theaspiring Parliamentarian, as well as the lofty presidential wannabe.

I believe this is due to two factors. First of all most peoplestanding for election see little point in telling the voters that they are notgoing to win. That just wouldn’t make sense. Of course not. So they say theyare going to win.

That's when Candidatitis starts. As the 'we are going to win' isrepeated time and time again it starts to have a hypnotic effect on the personintoning the mantra.

Which brings me to the second factor.  Most people encourageCandidatitis.  Unintentionally. Not even the candidate’s best friend willsay hold on, you haven't a chance. Except for the media. But no candidatebelieves the media. And most candidates are never interviewed by the mediaanyway.

So a victim of Candidatitis will take succour from any friendly wordfrom any punter. Even a 'good luck' takes on new meaning and 'I won't forgetye' is akin to a full blooded endorsement.

So are we to pity sufferers of this ailment? Probably not.

They are mostly consenting adults, although some parties occasionallyrun conscripts. In the main these are staunch party people who are persuaded torun by more sinister elements who play on their loyalty and commitment. In somecases these reluctant candidates run on the understanding that they are notgoing to get elected. Their intervention, they are told, is to stop the votegoing elsewhere or to maintain the party's representative share of the vote. Insome cases this works. But in other cases, despite everything, our reluctanthero, or heroine, actually gets elected. A friend of mine was condemned toyears on Belfast City council when his election campaign went horribly wrong.He topped the poll.

That’s another problem in elections based on proportionalrepresentation. Topping the poll is a must for some candidates. But in PRelections such ambition creates a headache for party managers. If the aim is toget a panel of party representatives elected they all have to come in fairlyevenly. This requires meticulous negotiations to carve up constituencies.Implementing such arrangements make the implementation of the Good FridayAgreement look easy.

It means only placing posters and distributing leaflets in specificareas with clear instructions to the electorate on how we would like them tovote. In some elections I have noticed that some candidates (not Sinn Féincandidates folks) putting up posters in their colleagues territory. Not a goodsign.

It requires an inordinate amount of discipline on the candidates'behalf not to fall into this trap. Many do. Some don’t. Some get really sneaky.Particularly, as the day of reckoning comes closer. Panic attacks and anallergy to losing can lead to some sufferers poaching a colleague's votes. Thisis a very painful condition leading to serious outbreaks of nastiness andreprisals and recriminations if detected before polling day. It usually cannotbe treated and can have long term effects.

So dear readers all of this is by way of lifting the veil on theseproblems which infect our election contests. Politicians are a much malignedspecies. In some cases not without cause.

So the next time you look at a poster or get a leaflet through theletterbox or are confronted at your door by a wild eyed candidate –occasionally  accompanied by a posse of cameras – then take a moretolerant and benign view of the sometimes strange behaviour of those citizenswho contest elections .

When you are accosted by a pamphlet waving candidate, as you shop inthe supermarket or collect the children at school or are minding your ownbusiness as you walk down the main street, try to see beyond the brashexterior. If they get carried away with themselves it’s not really their faultyou see. Big boys and big girls make them do it.

Most candidates are decent well meaning civic minded citizens. It’s a pity some have awful politics. So your votes should not encourage them.They will have difficulties enough dealing with defeat as well as theoutworking of Candidatitis But they will recover eventually.

If they get elected they or we may never recover. Please spare us fromthat.

 

Pathway to Change

Ireland’s Future has anevent in the SSE Arena in Belfast on Saturday 15 June. Entitled – Pathway toChange –it has all the makings of a seminal moment in our discussions about thefuture. It will be the largest gathering by Ireland’s Future since itsenormously successful ground breaking meeting in the 3 Arena in Dublin inOctober 2022.

Pathway to Change willbring together an impressive number of mainstream political and civic figuresfrom across the island of Ireland to discuss their vision of the future of ourisland. The list of notable speakers includes Alliance leader Naomi Long,SDLP MP Claire Hanna, Uachtarán Shinn Féin Mary Lou McDonald, former Allianceleader John Alderdice, Social Democrat leader Holly Cairns, Trade Unionist MickLynch, Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik, ProfessorBrendan O’Leary, Claire Mitchel, GAA President Jarlath Burns , LeasUachtarán Shinn Féin Michelle O’Neill, and veteran unionist and evangelicalProtestant Wallace Thompson will join Davy Adams and other panel guests.

WallaceThompson is a founding member of the DUP and in a recent interview on the BBC’s‘The View’ said that some fellow unionists share his view that a united Irelandis “inevitable”. He conceded that the previous positions of “no surrender” and“Ulster says No” got unionism nowhere and added: “The Union is damaged byBrexit. I can’t see it being repaired. We’re in danger of rearranging the deckchairson the Titanic.”

Whateverour different opinions might be on future constitutional arrangements thereality is that it is imperative that all of us who seek democratic changeengage in a positive and respectful dialogue with each other.

Thismeans planning for Irish Unity. It is important that unionists areinvolved in shaping this. The unionist population and its politicalrepresentatives need reassured that their cultural identity  will beprotected in a new and independent Ireland.

It alsomeans that the Irish government must stop running away from this issue andprepare for the unity referendums that are coming and plan for a successfuloutcome. The Irish government should establish a Citizen’s Assembly tobegin this work of planning.

I commendIrelands Future for organising the SSE event. On 15 June I will join thethousands of others to listen and to learn. If you haven’t yet got your ticketyet then book now at the link below:

https://www.ticketmaster.ie/ireland-s-future-presents-pathway-to-change-belfast-15-06-2024/event/38005F42B36C13BC

 

Irish Unity makes economic sense: “We are running out of words to describe what is happening in Gaza.” United Nations: A Better World Is Needed.

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Irish Unity makeseconomic sense

 

Last month a report bythe Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) caught the headlineswith the claim that Irish Unity could costthe South up to €20 billion annually. The analysis was quickly challengedby other economists and last week those with different opinions had theiropportunity to address the Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of theGood Friday Agreement.

Professor John Doyle of Dublin City University wasjoined by Seamus McGuinness a Research Professor at the Economic andSocial Research Institute (ESRI) and by Dr. Adele Bergin who is also anAssociate Research Professor at the ESRI.

Professor Doyle told the Committee that the IIEAreport “is wildly inaccurate as the report contained significant errorsand is based entirely on unreasonable assumptions. Consequently the figuresreport not just the worst case scenario but they are completely wrong.” Heestimated that the initial cost to the South would be in the region of €2.5bn ayear. That is 2 percent of the current annual general governmentexpenditure.

John Doyle said that the IIEA report assumed thatpublic service salaries in the North would be immediately increased to levelsin the South in the first year. “This is unrealistic and unnecessary…Convergence will happen over time and will involve negotiations with publicsector trade unions. Merging salary levels over 15 years – half the time takenby Germany, would mean a cost of approximately €133m (£96.3m) in year one,rising on average by that amount each year."

Professor Doyle also told the Committeethat the IIEA study excluded any analysis of economic growth followingunity. He said, “It assumes that with the same political system, EUmembership, policy framework, education system and tax regime, that NI wouldnot economically converge with the South. This is a very unlikely outcome. Whywould Belfast perform so much worse than Cork and Kerry with the same EUaccess, policies, education and tax system?”

He also pointed out that the IIEA paper took noaccount of the additional taxes that would be raised from public sectorworkers.

Professor Séamus McGuinness and Dr Adele Burginfrom the ESRI made it clear that cost is not a barrier to Irish Unity. IrishUnity can be an economic opportunity North and South. What is needed is properplanning. The onus to lead that planning is with the government and theOireachtas but should involve experts, civil society and the public as a whole.

The Dublin government should establish across-party Oireachtas committee empowered to produce a Green Paper. Such aGreen Paper would research all of the key issues crucial to a future prosperousunited Ireland. This would provide much needed information about what a futureunited Ireland could look like and how it would work.

“We are running out of words to describe what ishappening in Gaza.” United Nations

Tuesday was a special day. For the first time thePalestinian flag flew over Leinster House in Dublin following the announcementby the government to formally recognise the State of Palestine. Tuesday’s movewas the next step in a process that will see the Palestinian Mission in Dublinupgraded to an Embassy. The representative office of the Irish government inRamallah will be re-designated as an Embassy and its representative there willbecome an Ambassador.

The Israeli government response to the decision bythe Irish state, Norway and Spain was to parade their three ambassadors infront of the Israeli media while forcing them to watch an Israeli film aboutOctober 7. Other Israeli Ministers also strongly rebuked the three governmentsaccusing them of aiding Hamas.

The reality of course is that Israel’s war aim ofdestroying Hamas has failed. It was never achievable. What is needed is a peaceprocess. And ceasefires to facilitate this. 

Why has Israel reacted so vehemently to therecognition decision? Because it knows that the symbolism is hugelysignificant. It will provide more diplomatic and international avenues to thePalestinian people to hold Israel to account for its actions and it reinforcesthe very real sense of international isolation that the Netanyahu government isexperiencing at this time. The decision by the Irish state, Norway andSpain means that 146 United Nations member states out of 193 recognise thestate of Palestine. Seven European Union members have already taken thisstep - Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden and Cyprus. WithSpain and the Irish state joining this list that means that one third of the EUstates now formally recognise Palestinian statehood. Every effort must be made,especially after the EU elections in June to get  EU institutions torecognise Palestine.

As the Netanyahu government comesunder increasing criticism the decision by the International Criminal Court toseek arrest warrants for potential war crimes for Netanyahu and DefenceMinister Yoav Gallant, in addition to three Hamas leaders, has added toIsrael’s isolation. In addition, the United Nations International Court ofJustice last week ordered Israel to “immediately” halt its assault onRafah. Predictably Israel described the ICJ order as ‘false, outrageousand disgusting.’

Since then the Israeli assault onRafah and other parts of the Gaza strip has continued. On Sunday Israel bombeda tent city burning children and women alive. A bleak, desperate picture of thesituation was given in a briefing to the UN Security Council by Edem Wosornu, of the Office of the UN for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).She said: “To be frank, we are running out of words to describe what ishappening in Gaza. We have described it as a catastrophe, a nightmare, as hellon earth. It is all of these, and worse.”

The next short term steps areclear. The UN Secretary General António Guterres has confirmed that ICJdecisions are binding. The Irish government must now use its internationaldiplomatic services to secure support for a resolution at the UN which demandsan end to Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza; the release of all hostages –including the 6,000 held by Israel – and immediate humanitarian access for themountain of aid that Israel has blocked from Gaza. It also needs to demand thatthe EU institutions recognise the Palestinian state.

 

A Better World Is Needed. 

For decades now I have argued thatthe big central international struggle of our time is for people to havedemocratic control over the decisions which affect their lives. The absence ofthis basic right underpins conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine and otherparts of the world.  It poisons relations between Ireland and Britain andwithin Ireland although thankfully we have a process for dealing with that.Painfully slow though it is, it is better than war. And such an approach isclearly required in the Middle East and between Russia and Ukraine.  Thatis what the United Nations should be advocating. 

 

That means taking a stand for the emancipation ofhumankind from all objectionable political bonds imposed from outside. Selfdetermination is our starting point. That means independence of nations,starting with our own.  

Despite Ireland’s historical neutrality, the Irishgovernment has incrementally moved to supporting the ‘security’ agenda of theworld’s bigger powers. That is why we need to enshrine a policy of positiveneutrality in the Irish Constitution. We should not join or form anyassociation with any military alliance and we should oppose the militarisationof the European Union.

 

The United Nations needs reformed. It needs to bemore democratic, particularly the composition of the Security Council. Properweight must be given to the majority of the world’s people. They want peace.They want an end to war everywhere. They want an end to world hunger. They wanteveryone to have access to food, clean water, and an end to deaths fromtreatable illnesses. They want an end to global warming and a focus on measuresto protect and enhance a clean healthy environment. 

 

So international security needs to shift from apurely militaristic agenda, which attacks democratic rights and civilliberties. A security agenda which is based on repression and the promotion ofconservative right wing economic models favoured by the global elites is not goingto deliver true global security.

 

Abetter world is possible. It is also needed. For all our local distractions weneed never to lose sight of that. 

 

Immigrants are not the enemy: Recognise the State of Palestine: The Bluebells are Back

Immigrantsare not the enemy. 

Divide and conquer is an age oldtactic. It is often utilised by conservative elements to advance theirregressive agendas. This is true of the Irish as it is of any other nation. Infact historically some Irish people have acted against the interests of Irelandand supported imperialistic and other colonial or domestic adventurers. Nonetheless the vast majority of Irish people are fair minded, decent andprogressive. 

At this time conservative and right wing elementsare exploiting the issue of asylum seekers and immigrants or race to advancetheir own agenda. They deliberately heighten the mistaken belief by some that‘outsiders’ are responsible for too few jobs, low wages, or a lack of housing,All of the ills of society are blamed on these ‘others’ who are of a differentethnicity or race or religion, colour or language or customs. Northern societysuffers to this day from divisions supposedly based on religious belief.Nowadays however many have come to understand that this is false. It issectarianism pure and simple, created and sustained to divide. So too with racism.Not everyone concerned about immigrants is a racist.  But their fears arebeing whipped up by those who are. 

The reality of course is that it is governmentsthat have responsibility for managing their societies and economies. If thereare not enough homes it is because the government is not planning for orbuilding them. It is not the fault of immigrants. But if there is a housingshortage and there is and immigrants are being accommodated - even in tents, itis easier to pick on them. 

Today theright wing is at it again. Lies are being told and they are being aided in thisby the incompetence of a bad government in Dublin.  A lack ofplanning or consultation with local communities and a failure to investadequate resources in communities affected has provided the right wing with theopportunity to raise tensions and fears. The government’s immigration policycan best be described as shambolic. It is not fit for purpose.

In recentweeks the Minister for Justice claimed that 80% of those applying for asylum inthe South are coming from Britain via the North. She has no evidence, nostatistics, no data to support this claim but the result is that the right wingand some of its allies in the political system and media demand that the borderbe re-imposed and checkpoints established.

Add thisto the lack of planning; the chaotic and very public mess by government offinding hotels or other accommodation. The recent removal of tents in Dublin -and let’s not forget that is how the Traveller community has been treated fordecades - is a disgrace. 

What isneeded is an immigration policy that is rooted in the human values ofcompassion, fairness  and friendship. 

As MaryLou McDonald told the Oireachtas last week: “That means an immigrationsystem that is fair, efficient and enforced, and a system with common sensethat safeguards social cohesion and protects human rights. Both can be doneeffectively in parallel.”

Thereality is that public services North and South would collapse if it were notfor the many immigrants who have travelled to the island of Ireland in recentyears. Our hospitals, nursing homes, schools, transport system, retail sectorand much more would crumple without the new Irish. And they all pay their taxesand contribute to the well being of our society. Just like we Irish do in otherparts of the world. 

Accordingto Migrant Rights Ireland:

·        The South is in the top ten of states whosenationals emigrate to work.

·        It has the second highest proportion of itspopulation living in other countries of the EU.

·        International studies show that it will needmigrant workers to support an increasingly dependent population.

·        The majority of migrant workers are of workingage and contribute more to the economy in taxes and PRSI than they receive inpublic services or social welfare.

·        It has been estimated that migrants contribute€3.7 billion to the economy annually through taxes and PRSI, work permit fees,immigration registration fees, higher education fees and personal consumption.

·        Migrant workers and their families contributeto society and their local communities.

Inaddition a report from the National Economic and Social Council (NESC)several years ago found that migrants help increase economic growth, easelabour market shortages, improve output and contribute to reducing earningsinequality. And Róisín Fitzpatrick, of Deloitte Ireland said in 2022 of theimpact of the pandemic: “The foreign nationals who have taken up thehealthcare assistant roles in nursing homes and care facilities since July 2021have allowed us to support and care for those most vulnerable in Irishsociety.”

So, weneed a fair and responsible, human rights compliant immigration system.Immigrants are not the enemy but those who promote hatred and divisioncertainly are. 

There wasa time when it was the Irish, fleeing hunger, poverty and the repression andexploitation of British colonialism, who were marginalised, denigrated anddepicted as thuggish and ape-like. The diaspora that escaped to Britain, theUSA and elsewhere across the globe, especially after the great hunger, weretreated dreadfully in their new countries. We should never allow ourselves todo on to others what was done on to us. 

 

Recognisethe State of Palestine

SinnFéin’s National Party Chairperson Declan Kearney MLA was in South Africa at theweekend where he spoke at the ‘Global Anti-Apartheid Conference onPalestine.’  The conference was attended by Palestinian groups. Whilethere Declan met with South Africa’s foreign minister and ANC MP Naledi Pandorwho has led the international condemnation of the Israeli state’s genocidal waragainst the Palestinian people. Declan also told Minister Pandor that Sinn Féinfully supports South Africa’s courageous case against Israel at theInternational Court of Justice.

SinnFéin has had a close relationship with the African National Congress going backmany decades and we each have a long history of international solidarity,particularly in support of the right of the Palestinian people to national selfdetermination.

Also atthe weekend the assault by the Netanyahu government on Rafah has forcedhundreds of thousands of Palestinians to again tread the refugee path in theirown place. Over 35,000 Gazans, including 15,000 children, have now been killedwith many more bodies still under the rubble. Western governments, led by theUS and Britain, have refused to demand an immediate and permanent cessation,the release of all hostages (over 6,000 are held by Israel) and unrestrictedhumanitarian aid for the people of Gaza.

In themidst of this carnage the United Nations General Assembly last week took theimportant step of voting in favour of granting "new rights andprivileges" to the state of Palestine, creating a path toward fullUN-member status. Almost 150 countries voted in favour of upgrading Palestine'sstatus, with nine voting against and 25 abstentions. The resolution also callson the Security Council to reconsider the request for Palestine to become the194th member of the United Nations.  When this last came before theSecurity Council in April it was vetoed by the United States.

Finally,in what could be a historic decision the EU'sHigh Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell appeared to confirmIrish media reports that Ireland, Spain and other like-minded EU member statescould formally recognise the State of Palestine on 21 May. It should no longerbe conditional. It is long overdue especially for Ireland. The Irish governmentmust take this vitally important step and do what the Oireachtas voted for tenyears ago. 

 

The Bluebells are Back

Comhgairdheasto all of those involved in the planning of Féile na gCloigíni Gorma – theBluebell Festival 2024. This is the eighth year of this wonderful event inBelfast’s Upper Springfield/Ballymurphy area. Féile includes mountain walks andtalks and poetry and music. 

TheFestival will honour the dedication of visionary community activist Seán MacGoill whose name adorns the local Glór na Móna centre. Several weeks agofollowing his death I wrote about Seán.  He was one of a band ofactivists who was centrally involved in the growth and development of the Irishlanguage in Belfast. The festival itself is a celebration of life and natureand of the contribution of the Black Mountain in the lives of the people of theUpper Springfield.

Itis on until this Saturday and a programme of the events can be foundhere: https://www.glornamona.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/FNAG_2024_Digital-2.pdf

Solidarity to Student Protesters: Captive Columns – an untold account of prison life: Rights in a New Ireland

 

Solidarity to Student Protesters

In the late 1960s the major national andinternational issues of the day that helped shape my politics were theanti-Vietnam War movement, the anti-apartheid struggle against the racist SouthAfrican government and the civil rights movement in the North.  In allthree the activism of students was central to raising public awareness andopposition to injustice.

Today students are again at the heart of an ant-warmovement. In the USA students at over 100 university campuses have taken astand against the genocidal war of the Israeli government against thePalestinian people. In scenes reminiscent of anti-war demonstrations almost 60years ago the images of riot-clad and armed police brutally arresting over2,000 students, college professors and academics on US campuses has shockedmany. Film footage and photographs from 4 May 1970 of the shooting dead of fourstudents at Ohio Kent State University have been replayed again and again onsocial media as anti-war supporters express their opposition to what is nowtaking place in the USA.

In Britain and Ireland and in parts of Europe, as well asin Canada, Australia and other states similar protests are now taking place atUniversities, including Trinity College in Dublin.

The demands of the students are simple – a permanent end tothe war, the release of all hostages – including the 6,000 held by Israel – andfor universities to disinvest from Israel. Well done and thank you to all ofthose students taking part in these peaceful, non-violent protests.

 

Captive Columns – an untold account of prisonlife

Cumann na Meirleach Poblachtach Éireannach/ TheIrish Republican Felons Association celebrated its 60th birthdaylast weekend.

The first part of last Friday evening’scelebrations was given over to Danny Morrison who hosted two conversations. Thefirst was with Síle Darragh and Mary Doyle and focussed on their experience inArmagh Women’s Prison. The second was with Colm Scullion, Jackie McMullan, andJazz McCann. This centred on Bobby Sands, Joe McDonnell and Kieran Doherty whothey knew well in the H-Blocks. The discussions were insightful, informativeand inspiring.

Afterward I was asked to introduce my good friendGino aka Eoghan Mac Cormac who has just published a new book ‘Captive Columns –an underground Prison Press 1865-2000’.

In all my dealings with Gino he has been verypositive, cheerful and funny. He is also very clever. Especially with words ínGaeilge agus Bearla. From cross word puzzles in the H-Blocks, to regular contributionsto our Irish Unity magazine Éire Nua – to designing republican jigsaws to hisrecent books of poetry and prose. He is the author of Cáibín an Phápa – a novelwritten during his final years in prison and Pluid which both won Oireachtasprizes. On the Blanket, Macallaí Cillín, the Pen behind the Wire, Gael agusGéibheann have also been published and now he has delivered ‘Captive Columns –an underground prison press 1865-2000’.

This new book published by Greenisland Presstells the extraordinary story of how republican prisoners, held in the mostdire of conditions, succeeded in circumventing the prison regimes to producenews-sheets and newspapers. Beginning in 1865 Gino has identified over 60 suchpublications. Sometimes they were single pages, single editions and whimsicalproductions. On other occasions these journals were thirty to forty pages inlength. Some were in English and others in Irish and occasionally they hadillustrations. They were all subject to the challenges of prison life – some foundduring searches – others subject to censorship, sudden transfers and sometimesexecution. That any survived at all is remarkable and often down to the cleverways in which copies were smuggled out of the prisons.

From the mid 19th century throughto the H-Blocks and Armagh in our own time toilet paper and prison prayer bookshave been the stable source of most of these publications. In the 1970s/80’sand 90’s cigarette papers were widely used.

But in his detailed research Gino brings us backto a young Cork Fenian John Sarsfield Casey who was transported to Australia in1867. He had already spent more than two years in prisons in Cork, Mountjoy andlater in Pentonville in Britain. In the latter the prison regime employed aseparation and silent system turning Pentonville into a huge silent tomb wherecommunication between prisoners was forbidden. Circular cages or rectangleswere constructed in the exercise yards and for 45 minutes each day the prisonercould walk without seeing another prisoner.

Casey later wrote; “plotting was the natural consequence of the isolation we were detainedin – necessity the mother of invention…Each prisoner is furnished weekly with asupply of brown tissue paper for WC purposes. Letters and words might be formedby pricking the paper with a needle and holding it between you and the light;the words then became quite intelligible.”

This was the just the beginning of asophisticated system involving republican prisoners recording their thoughts onscraps of paper and sharing them with comrades.

Gino’s book records the evolution of this processover 135 years through the Fenian prisoners held in English jails to the TanWar and Civil War, the 1930s, 40’s and 50s and then into our own period ofprison struggle beginning in 1969. It is an amazing story of human endeavour -of men and women overcoming adversity.

It is very fitting that Gino dedicated CaptiveColumns to Brian Campbell another great writer, editor of Scairt Amach, theCaptive Voice and An Phoblacht. I also want to reference Jazz McCann whoseparately from Gino wrote a book – ‘6,000 Days’ – which like Gino’s ‘On theBlanket’ details the brutality of the prison regime and the courage of theblanket men during that protest. It is a matter of wonderment to me that Jazzand Gino produced two very different accounts of unique, moving and evocativereflections and memories of a shared time in the same wing, at the same time.Both books are compelling and accessible story telling.

For me these two books exemplify the power of theimagination and memory and of the written word and the personal and individualunderstanding of events, personalities and personal experiences which areunique to the H Block Blanket protests. So too with Laurence McKeown’s ‘TimeShadows.’ There are other books about the Block. Armagh women like Síle Darraghand produced their accounts also and that is important.

‘Captive Columns’ is a work of important anddetailed research and scholarship of the highest order. It and the other booksI have mentioned are available in An Fhuiseog 55 Falls Road, BT12 4PD www.thelarkstone.ie; and online at www.sinnfeinbookshop.com

 

Rights in a New Ireland

Lastweek the British government’s Legacy Act took effect and a group ofinternational human rights experts published a major report accusing theBritish state of operating a “systematic” practice of impunity to protect stateforces. In the same week people interested in human rights packed intoSt Comgall’s – Ionad Eileen Howell. The Conference was organised by SinnFéin’s Commission on the Future of Ireland.

The impressive panel waschaired by Ailbhe Smyth, campaignerand activist and included Dr Shannonbrooke Murphy Associate Professor in Human Rights at St Thomas University inCanada; Colin Harvey, Professorof Human Rights Law in the School of Law, Queen’s University and Daniel Holder,Director of the Committee on the Administration of Justice.

The contribution of panellists and audiencemembers clearly identified the need to put in place strategies thatpromote understanding. These must include a robust, internationally complianthuman rights system of laws and governance that incorporate rights, freedoms andresponsibilities; that guarantee civil and political rights; democratic,social, economic and cultural rights; children’s rights; language and culturalrights; environmental and developmental rights.

The Tories have spent 13 years eroding theprotections of the Good Friday Agreement. As a result there is No Bill ofRights; No Civic Forum in the North; No all-Ireland Civic Forum; No North-SouthCommittee of the two human rights commissions and No all-Ireland Charter ofRights. Clearly, there are many challenges ahead to undo these decisions. Bepart of this conversation. Reach out to others. The people of this islanddeserve a citizen centred, rights based society. London won’t give us this.Self-determination will if those of us who want real change plan for it. Thatis what last week’s conference was about. Be part of it. 

A video of the conference is available at https://youtu.be/wT4lj94yHjE