Gerry Adams's Blog, page 64

Supporting the Ballymurphy Families

The decision by the British Secretary of State, the PSNI and the HET to try to prevent inquest and trial transcripts from being given to the families of three victims of the conflict has again focussed attention on the refusal of the British government to deal properly with victims and their families, and in particular the victims of British state violence.
Patrick McAdorey was killed by the British Army on August 9th 1971; Sarah Larmour was killed by the UVF on October 3rd 1979 and Michael Donnelly was killed by the British Army on August 9th 1980. Their families want to know what happened and why.
The Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure Caral Ni Chuilin sought and was given the go-ahead by the north’s Attorney General for the inquest papers and trial transcripts to be handed over to Relatives for Justice and to the families. All of these documents are already in the public domain and were reported in the media at the time.
Until 2012, these types of papers were routinely disclosed by the Public Records Office to relatives and their legal representatives.  That changed last summer, when the PSNI/HET attempted to introduce itself as a new gatekeeper over the disclosure of all such Public Records, without the permission or knowledge of the DCAL Minister.  That is at the heart of this latest issue.
The desire of the British state and its agencies to withhold information about its actions in the north is at the heart of this issue. Consequently, they sought and secured an injunction against any public dissemination of the files. We now have to wait until later on Thursday to find out what happens next.
This is not a new approach by the British government. Successive British governments have steadfastly refused to deal comprehensively with the issue of victims. Bloody Sunday was one example. This current court case is another. So too is the British refusal to deal honestly with the families of the Ballymurphy and Springhill massacres. 11 citizens from the Ballymurphy area, including a local priest and mother of 8 were killed by the Paras in a 36 hour period following the introduction of internment on August 9th 1971. They were among 20 people, including IRA Volunteer Patrick McAdorey, who were killed by the British Army in the north in the week after August 9th.
Five months later the same regiment killed 14 people in Derry and six months after that they returned to the greater Ballymurphy area and shot dead another five citizens, three of whom were children. They also killed another priest.

Last Sunday the relatives of the Ballymurphy victims held a march and rally to highlight their demand for truth. They and the Springhill relatives have demonstrated extraordinary courage and determination in the face of British secrecy and obstruction over many difficult years.
Their tenacity and resolve has seen the families compile significant evidence which shows that all who died were killed unlawfully and in breach of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The Ballymurphy case also raises serious questions regarding human rights abuses committed by the British Army and of the culture of impunity that allowed members of British state forces to routinely carry out violent actions without fear of being held accountable.
In November 2011 the families succeeded in persuading the newly appointed Attorney-General that new inquests should be held.
While this was a welcome development the families are understandably concerned about the limitations of an inquest to investigate the context, circumstances and aftermath of the deaths of their loved ones. They also have no confidence in the review of the deaths by the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) within the PSNI.
They question the independence of the HET and as the recent report by Professor Patricia Lundy concluded there is much that is wrong with the HET. The families have also met two British Secretaries of State who were less than helpful.
They have spoken to the Taoiseach and to Irish government officials but with little evidence that they are challenging the British position.
Undeterred by all of this the Ballymurphy families have proposed a new initiative to get to the truth. They are seeking the appointment of an Independent Panel to examine all of the documents relating to the context, circumstances and aftermath of the deaths of their loved ones.
The Panel would investigate the role of the British Government, British Army, and criminal justice agencies such as the RUC, DPP, the Coroner’s Office and the significance of the media; as well as secure the public disclosure of all of the available documents. It would publish a detailed, comprehensive report demonstrating how the disclosed documents add to public understanding of these events, their investigation and the consequences.
The families’ proposal is based on the terms of reference of the British Government funded work of the Hillsborough Independent Panel. I support their proposal. It is an innovative approach to the issue of truth and I would urge everyone interested in supporting the families to back their proposal and to join with them in demanding that the British government establish an Independent Panel.
However it is specific to these cases and will not help the hundreds of other families that have been bereaved or hurt. As the current court case involving Relatives for Justice demonstrates there is a need to construct a different approach, one which involves in the international community.
My experience in working with victims’ families has convinced me that only a statutory process of truth recovery facilitated by an acceptable international agency holds any prospect of addressing the needs of victims and families.

Adams responds to Statement by Stack Family

Brian Stack was the chief officer in Portlaoise prison in March 1983 when he was shot and grievously wounded. The IRA said it was not involved. A year and a half later Brian Stack died as a result of his injuries.
Mr. Stack was a married man with three young sons. Since then the family have sought answers to questions about who shot their father and why.
At the beginning of May I met Austin and Oliver Stack in Leinster House. They asked for my assistance in seeking answers and closure to questions they had surrounding the killing of their father. I told them I would try to help.
From that time I worked with Austin and Oliver to establish whether the IRA was involved in their father’s death.Recently I accompanied Austin and Oliver to a meeting with a former IRA leader who had enquired into the events of March 1983.

The substance of his conclusions are contained in the family statement which states that the former IRA leader: “ Acknowledged that the IRA was responsible for the death of Chief Officer Brian Stack and that IRA members acting under orders carried out this attack.  We were further informed that the IRA leadership had not sanctioned the attack and upon becoming aware that its members, acting under orders, carried out the attack, the IRA disciplined the member responsible for issuing the instruction. 
The statement also expressed regret that it had taken so long to clarify this matter and acknowledged that the attack should not have taken place.  An expression of sorrow for the pain and hurt suffered by our family was also included.”
Also in their statement the family said: “This process has brought an element of closure to our family …”
I want to pay tribute to the Stack family – to Sheila Stack and her sons, Austin, Kieran and Oliver.On behalf of Sinn Féin I extend my regret at the killing of Brian.

I hope that these recent developments will help them achieve the closure they have sought for 30 years.Addressing complex and painful legacy issues is an enormous challenge.

Dealing with the human consequences of conflict in terms acceptable to victims and their families is very difficult, especially in the absence of a process which provides for the voluntary participation of witnesses.Nonetheless it is a challenge which republicans will not shy away from.

This generation of republican activists who lived through and survived the war have a duty and a responsibility to do our best to help victims and families.
 

Heroic response to Hospital flood

The stream behind Letterkenny Hospital seemed so innocent and innocuous. There was no huge torrent of water rushing through the culvert. It was hardly more than a small stream of water. It looked harmless and it was hard to imagine that last Friday evening it turned into a tidal wave of destruction that swept through the hospital leaving devastation in its wake.

Yesterday morning Padraig McLaughlin TD, and Councillors Gerry McMonagle and Micky McMahon and I visited the hospital to see for ourselves the damage wreaked when the stream burst its banks and contaminated water a metre deep cascaded down through the hospital. Workmen were busy clearing away debris from the stream and from along its course to prevent a recurrence. An independent civil engineering review is currently being carried out to establish what happened and why, and to make recommendations to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
  The Culvert and Hospital
But around 5pm last Friday a deluge of rain saw the culvert break its bank and flood through Letterkenny hospital putting some 40% of the hospital out of action in a frightening and shocking one hour period. Youtube has video of the water rushing down corridors. Staff we spoke to recounted how they desperately moved seriously ill patients out of flooded rooms along debris strewn corridors. Remarkably no one was injured. The hospital staff and emergency services performed heroically and succeeded in getting patients to safety.
Sean Murphy the hospital’s General Manager and Anne Flood the Head of Nursing explained the scale of the emergency but also outlined their efforts to get services back up and running as quickly as possible. As we spoke in a conference room on the ground floor a large lorry arrived outside with a CT scanner. It will be parked in the grounds and put to work. It will be joined by X-ray equipment and an MRI also in lorries.
The extent of the damage is evident in the list of departments closed – the emergency department; the acute medical assessment unit; haematology and oncology; the outpatient department; the radiology department; coronary care; kitchens and support service offices. We spoke to Irish Army soldiers preparing to move medical records. The depth of the water has also meant that some 10,000 files have been damaged and contaminated and will need to be carefully cleaned by specialists.
For patients this is of particular concern as their future treatment will be determined by what those records contain.
The hospital management say that they have received outstanding support from everyone. There has thus far been no quibbling over money and resources. Altnagelvin hospital in Derry and Sligo hospital have picked up some of the work of Letterkenny. Nursing staff and doctors from Letterkenny are travelling to Derry to help Altnegelvin treat Donegal patients. Normally for medical staff to get accreditation to allow them to work in a different jurisdiction would take several months but the respective professional and health providers are co-operating to get this done in days.
The staff, emergency services and Donegal community have rallied to the hospital and are determined to repair all of the damage. It is vital that the government and the HSE step up to the mark and commit themselves to what will be a long term commitment to restore Letterkenny hospital.
Some older parts of the hospital may need to be replaced but even the newer buildings affected have been badly contaminated by the water damage and require significant infrastructure work.
The tour of the hospital revealed to us the extent of the devastation. In one place a line of dirt showed the height the water had reached in the corridors. A lot of the equipment has already been cleaned but the contamination means that specialist cleaning will be required and major infrastructure repairs carried out.
I want to again commend all of the staff and those in the emergency services who have responded to this unique and unparalleled disaster.

Building a new Republic – Let’s begin now

 Speaking at MacGill Summer School in the Glenties Patrick MacGill was born not far from Glenties in south west Donegal. He was a poet and a novelist. At aged 12 he was sent to the Hiring Fair in Strabane where he was taken on by a wealthy Tyrone farmer. Many children of that period in Donegal frequently found themselves in Scotland working long hard hours for little return.

MacGill worked on the railway line in Scotland and subsequently called the ‘Navvy’s poet’.

He published several volumes of poetry and in 1914 an account of the harsh life of Irish emigrant workers in Scotland. During the 1914-18 war he fought and was wounded as a British soldier. Afterward he continued to write poetry and fiction and drama.

As a tribute to this remarkable individual journalist and producer Joe Mulholland, along with some local people, established a ‘summer school’ in 1981. This isn’t a school of the kind we are all used to. It is a special, different kind of ‘school’ which brings together for one week politicians, journalists, academics, trade unionists, economists, writers, lawyers, community activists, university lecturers, and church leaders to discuss the great issues of the day.

There are other similar ‘schools’ held during the summer months – including one by An Phoblacht.

The MacGill Summer School has an international reputation. So consequently each year the Glenties plays host to a diverse range of contributors.

This year with the centenary of the 1916 Rising only three years away the organisers set as the main theme: Looking to 2016 – How stands the Republic? 

I spoke on Wednesday evening in the section entitled – Envisioning a Republic of Justice, Equality and Fairness.

Not surprisingly I nailed my colours to the mast at the outset. This state is not the Republic envisaged by those who wrote the Proclamation. They had a vision for a real republic – a republic of justice, equality and fairness – a republic for all the people of this island.

This is clear when you read the Proclamation. It addresses Irish men and Irish women. At a time when women didn’t have the vote this simple address was in itself a progressive statement. Irishmen and Irishwomen is what it says.
It doesn’t say unless you are gay or unless you are a traveler or unless you are poor or unless you are disabled.
No. The Proclamation speaks of pursuing the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and all its parts; guarantees civil and religious liberty, and equal rights and equal opportunities; and commits the republic to cherishing all the children of the nation equally.
It is also impossible to examine this issue without referencing the fact that almost 100 years ago partition created two conservative states ruled in their narrow self-interests by two conservative elites.

The northern state was a one party state which reinforced the institutionalised use of discrimination, sectarianism and segregation. And despite the significant progress arising from the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement the legacy of that structured discrimination and inequality still needs to be tackled in a focussed and systematic way.

Partition also affected the south. This state is the product of the counter-revolution that followed the Rising and of a dreadful civil war which tore out the heart of what remained of the generosity of our national spirit.

As the idealism of the aborted revolution waned a native conservative elite replaced the old English elite with little real change in the organisation of Irish society and no real movement towards a rights based dispensation. Instead conservatism ruled. Religion was hijacked by mean men who used the gospel not to empower but to control, and narrow moral codes were enforced to subvert the instinctive generosity of our people.

Women were excluded from the workplace and public life; gay and lesbian citizens were denied equality under the law and all the while scandals like the abuse in the industrial schools, the Magdalene laundries, Bethany Home and the barbaric practice of symphysiotomy were tolerated and encouraged.

The arts were censored. Our language undermined.  Millions fled to England, the USA and Australia. A lesser people would not have survived.


The real republic that the 1916 leaders fought and died for and which this generation seeks is a republic tolerant of the views, opinions or beliefs of others and is inclusive of all its’ people. It is a republic rooted in the core principles of 1798, of 1916 and the Democratic Programme of the First Dáil.

It is a republic that shares its wealth more equitably, looks after its’ aged and young, provides full rights for people with disabilities, liberates women and delivers the highest standards of public service.

It is a republic that has a sense of itself, will defend and enhance its language and culture and ensure that equality is the basis on which it plans, promotes and sustains the language.
A new Republic for the 21st century must mean equal rights for those in same sex relationships, ethnic minorities and those of all creeds and none. Equality and fairness must be at the heart of this. The key to building a new republic – a 32 county republic – is to begin now. The island of Ireland today is in transition. A lot of the old certainties are gone. Many of the old conservative influences have been weakened. Progress has been made.

We have the opportunity to ensure that justice, equality and fairness are core principles of a new society. We have the opportunity to win real freedom.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Moore Street – the campaign must go on

 
 
 Every state holds monuments which are important to its sense of identity. This is particularly true of those states which have fought for freedom against foreign occupation and oppression. Think of the USA and the American Revolutionary War. Independence Hall in Philadelphia is where the Declaration of Independence was signed; or Faneuil Hall in Boston which was the site of speeches setting the scene for the subsequent war of independence or Paul Revere’s home. The French have the former Army ammunition dump at Les Invalides in Paris which was stormed by revolutionaries and whose weapons were then used to attack the Bastille.

The Vietnamese have their Củ Chi system of tunnels which was the base of operations for their Tết Offensive in 1968. The people of South Africa have Robben island where Madiba and other famous political prisoners courageously opposed the apartheid regime.

And on it goes. Place after place. State after state. Proud of their history. Proud of their resistance to injustice. Proud to have fought and won their freedom.

Now imagine the scandal, the outrage if Independence Hall was left to become derelict or Les Invalides had fallen into disrepair or Robben Island was abandoned to the elements?


Regrettably that is what successive Irish governments have allowed to happen to 14-17 Moore Street which was accepted as a National Monument by the Irish government in 2007. This is the place where, on the Friday evening of Easter week and with the GPO in flames behind them, the surviving leaders of the 1916 Rising and the men and women of the GPO garrison escaped to. Carrying a wounded James Connolly they left the GPO by a side entrance in Henry Street. Under sustained sniper fire from British soldiers they managed to reach Moore Lane and then Moore Street.

The garrison entered number 10 and tunnelled from one house to the next until they reached no 16 – Plunket’s a poultry shop.

In a room in this terraced house the members of Provisional Irish Government held their last council of war. Pádraig Mac Piarais, Joseph Plunkett, Tom Clarke and Seán Mac Diarmada and James Connolly met to decide their next move. They had hoped to reach the Four Courts but that was clearly impossible. They looked at the possibility of storming the British Army position at Parnell Street but that too was ruled out.

Finally they decided that the only sensible course of action open to them was to surrender and Elizabeth O’Farrell was given the arduous and dangerous task of making her way to the British lines. She met the British General Lowe in Tom Clarke’s shop a short distance away in Parnell Street and a short time later Pearse signed the surrender document at the Moore Street barricade.



These are what Taoiseach Enda Kenny aptly described in a debate with me in the Dáil as ‘the laneways of history’. This is the ‘battlefield site of 1916’ but much of it is to be concreted over to make way for a shopping mall!

Last week I was among a delegation of Oireachtas members who visited the national monument in Moore Street. I was shocked and dismayed by the condition of the buildings. They stand in a state of considerable dereliction and decay. No other state in the world would allow such an iconic national monument to deteriorate into such a shameful condition. The roofs are in poor condition; there are serious structural problems with ceilings and walls, and dampness is everywhere; joists are severely decayed and some floors are unstable and have sagged, and there is substantial rot in timber rafters.

On the same day as our visit the Minister of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan TD announced his proposals for the preservation and development of 14-17 Moore Street which I welcome but these proposals exclude the battlefield site which is disappointing.

The Minister’s decision changes important aspects of the plan by the owners of the site, Chartered Lands. This company is owned by Joseph O’Reilly who has been described in the media as ‘NAMA’s largest client with debts of close to €3bn’ and who is paid a salary of €200,000 out of the public purse by NAMA.
The Minister’s changes are in part good news. He has consented to works on the National Monument which, he states, ‘are considered necessary for the conservation and preservation of the National Monument’.
The work consented to seems consistent with the preservation and restoration of the National Monument and the development of the commemorative centre.
However, the Minister has also consented to the demolition of Numbers 13, 18 and 19 Moore Street on the grounds that they are post-1916 structures. This facilitates the destruction of the terrace 10-25 Moore Street. This means that he has confined himself to his remit under the National Monuments Act to 14 to 17 Moore Street alone. He has not acted on his overall responsibility as Heritage Minister to preserve this historic area – Moore Street and the ‘laneways of history’ behind it, the evacuation route from the GPO and the entire battlefield site.
So, the campaign to save Moore Street, led by the families of the 1916 Leaders, must continue. A delegation of TDs met the Minister this Tuesday. I told him this in our conversation.  
I and the other TDs urged him to engage with all of the stakeholders – the 1916 relatives, all property owners in the area and not just Chartered Land, the National Museum, NAMA and other relevant State agencies and NGOs with the aim of framing a new plan to fully preserve the National Monument and the terrace in which it stands, but also to develop the Historic 1916 Quarter/Battlefield Site.
The preservation of the National Monument and of Moore Street and the surrounding streetscape would allow for the development of a Historic 1916 Quarter encompassing the entire Moore St/O’Connell St. area. This would have ample scope for commercial and retail development, helping to rejuvenate this neglected part of our capital.
 In my view all this needs to be done quickly so that when the centenary of the 1916 Rising takes place that Moore Street and its environs will be a place every Irish man and woman will be proud to visit.


 
 

Lá Breithe Madiba

 I want to extend birthday wishes to Nelson Mandela – Madiba - who is 95 today.
“ Lá breithe shona duit Madiba”.
People around the world will today celebrate Madiba’s birthday with him and his family.
Throughout his life Madiba has demonstrated enormous courage, vision and tenacity.
He is a role model and example to us all.
Madiba is in my view the greatest political leader of our time.  

 

Fighting for the rights of the oppressed -Toshi Seeger

At the weekend I learned with great sadness of the death of Toshi Seeger. She died on July 9th. She had just turned 91 on July 1st. Four years ago I had the huge pleasure of meeting her and her husband Pete at their home in Upper New York State.

As a teenager growing up in the 1960s Pete Seeger was and still is one of my heroes. He was an American singer songwriter and was already a legend by that time.  Seeger was a contemporary of Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie; wrote and sang songs of protest; was vocal in his opposition to segregation and racism, and in support of trade unions, and in the 1950’s he was blacklisted during the McCarthy era.

His songs helped shape the music of the 20th century and influenced generations of other musicians. For over 70 years he has been out there singing his songs and making music for workers and fighters for civil rights, and women and disadvantaged people. He still is at ninety four years of age.
Anyone who saw him on television with Bruce Springsteen and a gang of
other wonderful musicians at the first Obama inauguration will have marvelled at the man’s energy and musicality. And he is still an activist. And an idealist.

Four years ago, during one of my mad schedules of events in the USA and Canada a mutual friend arranged for me to travel to Pete’s home in Beacon, in the Hudson River Valley in Upper New York State and to meet him and his wonderful wife Toshi.
 They live in a forest. In 1949 he and Toshi bought a bit of land and lived in a trailer before building a log cabin and after some time the house that they now live in. It is a very beautiful and quite isolated place.

When we arrived at the front door Pete was on his way out. He was pushing a wheelbarrow.

‘Here are our friends, all the way from Ireland’ he announced to Toshi, a
small cheery faced woman who was busy at the table in the big kitchen.
She welcomed and shepherded us into the heat while her husband wheeled
his barrow outside.

‘Pete was bringing in wooden blocks for the fire’ Toshi explained.

Soon we were gathered in a circle listening to Pete’s yarns. He is a
natural story teller and within minutes he was singing for us to
illustrate a point. His first songs were pop songs from the 1920’s and
he sang a few bars to give us a flavour of that time.

‘Now here’s one an Irish plumber taught me forty years ago and he launched
into Óró Sé Do Bheatha Bhaile.

‘Óró sé do bheatha bhaile. Oró sé do bheatha bhaile. Oró sé do bheatha baile. Anios ar theacht an tsamhraidh.’

This Blog is pleased to say that I sang close harmony on that one.
And before we knew we were into Guantanamera and then If I Had A Hammer and Pete was talking about his parents and his grandparents and his Irish great granny and Woodie Guthrie, and The Weavers and Ireland and Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Sands and Bruce Springsteen and the Clean Up the Hudson campaign, all interspersed with songs and Toshi was making tea and keeping him right. 
Because that’s what she did for 70 years – organising his life and keeping him right.  
Speaking after her death Pete described her as the ‘brains of the family’. ‘I’d get an idea and wouldn’t know how to make it work and she’d figure out how to make it work.’ 
In a biography of him in 1981 the author said of Toshi: ‘As Pete’s producer she made sure he was in the right place at the right time and in the right mood and knew where to go next. When problems arose she took the blame. At tax time when her shy singer couldn’t face how much money he earned – or worse, how much he gave the government for war – Toshi would place a blank page over the return when he signed it.’ 
Toshi produced his concerts, organised his schedule, helped found the Newport Folk Festival and made an Emmy award winning documentary about him. 
She was fundamental to his life. But she also had a wicked sense of humour. One friend of the family recalls seeing an old cartoon on the wall. It’s of a woman answering the phone and she’s got a child under her arm  and the phone in her hand and she’s doing the dishes and mopping the floor with her foot and the caption reads something like; ‘I’m sorry my husband can’t come to the phone right now. He’s out fighting for the rights of the oppressed.’ 
Our visit to their home in November 09 was a special moment. Toshi’s death is a huge blow to Pete and their son Daniel, daughters Mika and Tinya, their six grandchildren and one great grandson. But it is also a loss to all of us who have admired and enjoyed the music of Pete Seeger.  
Go ndeanfaidh Dia trocaire uirthi.
 

Christopher O Neill - A Brave, Courageous Republican

 



  Early this morning I left Dublin and travelled to Kilrea in county Derry. It was there in the early hours of Saturday morning last weekend that two young men from that community were killed in a tragic road accident.


Christopher O Neill and Declan McKenna were both aged 22. Christopher O Neill was also a leading Sinn Féin member in the area.
Today Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, Daithi McKay MLA and local Sinn Féin Councillors and party activists and hundreds of local people joined with the family to bury their Christopher.
Kilrea came to a stop. It’s much like any small town in rural Ireland and in brilliant sunshine the funeral cortege followed behind a coach pulled by two black horses.
We made our way to St. Mary’s in whose cemetery two other Sinn Féin members, Tommy Donaghy and Danny Cassidy who were killed by unionist death squads are also buried.
This is my oration at the graveside of Christopher O Neill.
“I am very sad but very honoured to be here speaking to you today at the funeral of Christopher who was tragically killed on Saturday with his friend Declan who was buried yesterday.
I want to welcome all of you who have travelled here this morning to stand with Christopher’s clann and to extend to them on your behalf, and to the McKenna clann, our sincerest condolences and solidarity at this terrible time.
Tá muid buioch daoibh. Tá fhios agam go bhfuil bhur croí briste. Caithfidh mé a rá go bhfuil a lan daoine brónach inniu. Caill muid ar cara.

The deaths of Christopher and his friend Declan have left a deep void in the lives of the O’Neill, Davey and McKenna families; their extended family circles and the community of Kilrea.
Their deaths are a deep blow to these families.
To Christopher’s mother Maria, his sister Ciara and girlfriend Mairead and their entire families I want to express my sincerest sympathies and condolences on behalf of republicans everywhere. Your loss is a terrible one.
I have some limited sense of what you are going through. Two of my young nephews – teenage brothers Liam and Miceál – were killed in a car crash.
Families never get over such a loss. You can only slowly learn to live with it.
So I hope it is some small consolation for you to know that you are in the thoughts and prayers of Christopher’s comrades, of your neighbours and people everywhere.
Christopher’s death at any time would have been hard but coming as it did on the first anniversary of the death of his father Kevin it was especially traumatic for the family.
Christopher and Declan were only 22. They were childhood friends growing up across the street from each other and going to the same school – St. Paul’s College in Kilrea.
From a very young age Christopher had a deep interest in Irish republicanism. He grew into a deeply committed republican activist. Christopher joined Sinn Féin at the early age of 16 and was highly regarded by all of his colleagues.
He was a member of the Dunloy Fallen Comrades Flute Band and was also the Chair of McGinn/Rodden/Donaghy/Cassidy Sinn Féin Cumann in Kilrea. This was an important role which he fulfilled with energy and distinction.
In 2011 he stood as a candidate for Sinn Féin in the Skerries ward in Coleraine Council picking up almost 300 votes and coming close to taking the last seat. Those who canvassed with him were impressed by his energy and enthusiasm and ability to articulate Sinn Féin policy.
This struggle has been blessed by having so many brave and courageous people involved with it. Christopher was one of these. He played his part.
Christopher’s death is not the first tragedy inflicted on his family. You suffered the devastating loss of his grandfather; our friend and comrade Councillor John Davey who was shot and killed in February 1989.
John is an iconic figure in the decades of republican struggle. He was a lifelong republican, who worked tirelessly for his community and who was loved by all who knew him.
I never to my knowledge met Christopher but without doubt we were in attendance at the same meetings in our time. I have met many hundreds of young activists, like Christopher, who have become involved in this struggle in the years since the IRA cessations and the Good Friday Agreement. Young men and women who were only youngsters in the worst years and have no personal recollection of the war or who weren’t even born then.
Like them Christopher was a republican through conviction. Yes, he was conscious of his grandfather’s enormous contribution to Irish republicanism and of the circumstances of his death, but Christopher’s republicanism also came from his own deep understanding of the damaging effects of partition and British government involvement on this island.
Christopher understood that the republican struggle for freedom and justice and the reunification of Ireland is the best means to secure a lasting peace between the people who live on this island and between these islands.
I am very certain that John Davey, who helped lay the foundations of a strong republican party in this area, would be enormously proud of Christopher. He would be equally proud of the achievements of local republican activists.
Because of the sacrifice of men and women like John Davey and Tommy Donaghy and Danny Cassidy, of Sheena Campbell and Bernard O’Hagan and the hard work and dedication of younger activists like Christopher O Neill, Sinn Féin and Irish republicanism is stronger now than at any time since partition.
In the 2011 local government elections Sinn Féin emerged with 25% of the overall vote and 138 council seats – a huge achievement. While other parties were in decline Sinn Féin’s vote and the number of seats we held increased. Christopher contributed to that.
Christopher will be missed by his family and all who knew him.

He will also be missed by his republican family. Next year we will be facing into the next round of elections for local councils and European elections. I have no doubt that Christopher would have been central to that endeavour in this area.
He would have been on the streets and laneways rapping doors, canvassing, arguing the republican case and looking votes for candidates – including probably himself.
But more than all of this Christopher was a much loved son, brother, boyfriend, cousin, uncle, friend. All of you who knew him best will have your own special memories. Keep them fresh; keep those memories – stay strong and be glad and proud of Christopher your family member, your friend and our comrade and his friend Declan.”   

Christopher’s friend and comrade Sean Bateson also spoke at the graveside. Sean said:

“It is with great sadness that I stand before you at the graveside of Christopher O’Neill to pay my respects on behalf of Sinn Féin Republican Youth.
As you are well aware coming from the many comments and remarks from everyone over the past few days, Christopher was an exceptional young lad who had his whole life ahead of him but instead it was tragically taking from him in the early hours of Saturday morning along from him on the early hours of Saturday morning along with his close friend Declan McKenna.
I knew Christopher well, he was a comrade but also a friend of mine and it was only last Thursday that me and him sat outside the front of my house chatting about politics and this and that and the other.
Unfortunately like the rest of you it will be the last time I will ever get to speak to Chrissy again.
But that’s the type of lad Chrissy was. He was an exceptionally kind, generous, down to earth and warm hearted lad who had all the time of the day to sit and shat away to everyone regardless of who they were. These are the type of attributes which made Chrissy such a fantastic, capable and talented young Republican and he took these with him as he served the role of Chairperson of the local Sinn Féin Cumann here in Kilrea.
Coming from a large republican family with his grandfather being John Davey, a Sinn Fein Councillor from Lavey who was murdered by loyalists acting in collusion with British state forces in 1989, Christopher knew fine well about the struggle for equality, justice, unity and freedom here in Ireland and this is what propelled him to take on such a role within the republican movement.
His untimely death at such a young age is a great loss to the republican movement and of course to his family and friends and the wider community here in Kilrea and beyond.
I want to extend my sincere and heartfelt condolences to the O Neill and McKenna families on behalf of Sinn Féin Republican Youth. Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this very difficult time.  

Weasel words from Micheál Martin

On Tuesday in the course of Taoiseach’s Questions in the Dáil the Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin raised the issue of the Boston tapes, paraded the Ed Moloney book based on some of these tapes, and spoke about the PSNI investigation into the killing of Jean McConville.

The Taoiseach said he had not raised the issue and therefore would not be making a statement. Mr. Martin then went on to make his remarks.

Later that evening I met some of the families of those who were killed and secretly buried by the IRA. I made clear my commitment to do all that I can to help find all of the remains and to bring closure to them.

I am publishing on this blog my response in the Dáil:

“I am uncertain as to whether I should ignore the leader of Fianna Fáil in his charges. Sometimes, it is impossible to know what the right thing to do is when someone comes in with a book, parades it in the Chamber, makes accusations and engages in weasel words.

Should I sit on my dignity and let this pass or get up and speak to the issue? I was very taken last week talking about other tapes - the Anglo Irish Bank tapes - to note mentally that the leader of Fianna Fáil spoke to the Taoiseach and said "You choose to exploit the past, not to learn from it". I said "Micheál, I hope you remember that".

The Boston tapes is a matter that is in the hands of the PSNI and it will do with that what it wants.

I have been very restrained in my comments about all of that and will continue to be. I have consistently rejected claims, however, by those who accuse me of having any knowledge of or part in the disappearance and killing of Jean McConville.

The issue of those who were detained, abducted, shot and buried by the IRA is a terrible legacy of the conflict. We know it is not unique to this phase of the conflict. It has happened at other times. There are still issues going back to the Civil War and the Tan war, which have to be resolved.

At least, this generation of republicans, among whom I count myself, is trying to undo the wrong that was done.

Clearly, those who were killed cannot be brought back to life, but I do think that a grievous wrong was done. For its part, the IRA, which is now on ceasefire, has left the stage and is not around, apologised for what it did.

I have been very much part of the effort to retrieve these remains since I was approached by some of the families. Some of the families are republican families. Some of them are friends of mine. Some of them are neighbours of mine. Fr. Alec Reid, others and I have worked very hard, which the leader of Fianna Fáil must know.

The commission was established under a Government of which he was a part. The different suggestions that were put and the co-operation the IRA, including what were referred to as "primary sources", gave to the commission are matters of public record. The man who is in charge of the special forensic investigating team, which was put in place on suggestion from us, has acknowledged all of this.

He said in 2009 that those who were working with him were working in a spirit of co-operation and reconciliation to help in every way they could. He said he was absolutely convinced that they were doing everything they could to assist.

Now, we come to how this is used to score political points. I am also meeting the families this evening. I made the point earlier that some of them are friends of mine and many are my neighbours.

Those who make accusations against me, apart from those in the Dáil, are implacable opponents of the peace process.

They say there should not be a peace process and the war should have continued, and they attack me as a means of undermining that.

Some of them are passed, some of them are still active and some of them are still out there. At least, they have their convictions. They are not doing it for electoral gain. They are not doing it for political point scoring. They are not doing it as a Fianna Fáil leader trying to reclaim the republican mantle which was so despoiled by successive Fianna Fáil leaderships which let the people down in a most deplorable and anti-republican way.

It is also my view that those who brought together this Belfast project have a similar view. These two individuals who misled are not supporters of the peace process. They have since acknowledged that they could not and should not have given the commitments which they gave that these would not be revealed until these individuals were dead.

I am trying not to fall into the trap here of trading points on other people's wounds with the leader of Fianna Fáil. I have a deep investment in what is happening in the North. I will continue to have a deep investment. I do not shy away, I do not hide, I do not disassociate myself but I like to think that I am also defined, as are those who work with me, by what we have still to do.

I would appeal, once again, because I believe - I cited the person in charge of the forensic team's statement that republicans are co-operating actively - the remains of nine of these persons have been recovered and are in graves that their families can visit. Seven have still to be found.

Not all of those seven were killed by the IRA, but seven have still to be found and we all need to do our best to play a positive role in this.

I appeal, once again, to anyone with any information whatsoever, no matter how small, tiny or insignificant he or she thinks it might be, to bring that forward to the commission, to the families, to the Garda or to the PSNI, or to me or anyone else he or she thinks can usefully bring this forward to help these families.”


I went on: “I do so again today. Will that be the end of the matter? Of course not because this party, (Fianna Fáil) under its current leader, is fighting a battle for its survival and that is its only concern in raising this issue. I repeat what Teachta Micheál Martin said last week to the Taoiseach: "You have chosen to exploit the past, not to learn from it." He should practice what he preaches. The abduction, killing and burial of the people concerned was a grave injustice, but efforts are ongoing and when the seat on which Deputy Micheál Martin has his bum is cold, they will still be ongoing until all the remains have been returned.

Jean McConville was one of those whose remains were retrieved through the diligent work of the people on the commission and others, but the remains of seven people have yet to be found. We have to continue with our efforts, no matter what is said or how this is used or exploited for party political gain.”

 

Remembering – July 8th 1981

Tomorrow we remember some of the victims of Thatcher’s militarist Irish policy among them hunger striker and IRA volunteer Joe McDonnell, Nora McCabe and Fian John Dempsey.
 Joe, who was arrested in October 1976 along with his close friend and comrade Bobby Sands, died on July 8th 1981. He was the fifth of the hunger strikers to die. Joe, who was aged 30, was also one of those who stood in the 1981 general election for the Dáil. He missed out on winning a seat in Sligo-Leitrim by 315 votes.
 Each of those who died on hunger strike was a unique and exceptional individual in their own right. Joe was married to Goretti. They had two children, Bernadette and Joseph.  He was born in the Lower Falls but grew up in the Greater Andersonstown area and came to live in Lenadoon Avenue where he was a well-known and very popular man. When talking about him now all those who knew him, both in the prison and outside all remark on his great sense of humour. Even in the face of enormous adversity he was always laughing and playing practical jokes. From the day he was sentenced Joe refused to put on the prison uniform to take a visit, so adamant was he that he would not be criminalised. He died just after 5am on Wednesday morning July 8th 1981 after 61 days on hunger strike. Nora McCabeA few hours later Nora McCabe, a 33 year old mother of three young children was struck by a plastic bullet fired from an RUC landrover. She was walking from her home in Linden Street just off the Falls Road to a local shop when she was struck in the head. She died the following day.
 RUC efforts to claim that they were not responsible for the incident and that the only plastic bullet had been fired at two petrol bombers came unstuck when film footage from a Canadian television crew showed that the fatal shot had come from an RUC landrover and that there were no petrol bombers.
 As ever the British system protected its’ own and no one was prosecuted for Nora McCabe’s death. On the contrary the RUC Commander for west Belfast who was in the vehicle from which the plastic bullet was fired and who gave evidence claiming that there were two petrol bombers and that the RUC were never near Linden street, was promoted to the rank of Assistant Chief Constable.  16 year old Fian John Dempsey was shot and killed by British soldiers at the Falls bus depot. I visited the wake house and attended the funeral. A few days later I wrote in An Phoblacht/Republican News: Until the morning of last Wednesday week, Fian John Dempsey, aged 16, lived in one of the grey houses which sprawl on either side of the Monagh Road in Turf Lodge.
His family, a week after his death, are now like so many other families, trying to pick up the pieces - in the heart-rending vacuum which is always created by sudden death, especially by the death of one so young and cheerful as John.

At the wake on Thursday week he looks only twelve years old, his body laid in an open coffin flanked by a guard of honour from Na Fianna Éireann.

Hardened by many funerals, by too many sudden deaths, yet one is riveted to the spot unable to grasp the logic, the divine wisdom, the insanity, which tightened a British soldier's trigger finger and produced yet another corpse.

"He's so young, " exclaimed those who call to pay their respects. "Jesus, he's only a child."

All night, neighbours, friends and relatives call. All with the same reaction.

But young people call also, shifting uncomfortably in adult company, but strangely unshocked - not visibly at any rate - by what they see in the sad living room of the Dempsey home.

Just a tightening of young faces as they gaze silently at John's remains, a hardening of eyes, and then silently out again to stand in small groups at the street corner. None of the awkward handshakes and mumbled "I'm sorry for your troubles".

They understand better than most the logic which directed the British Army rifle at John, and, having understood, they pay their respects and move outside - to wait.

John's mother, Theresa, sits comforted by friends, while her husband Jimmy stands, a gaunt figure at the head of his son's coffin, gently stroking John's head. Jimmy shakes hands with Dal Delaney - both fathers of dead patriots (the latter of Dee Delaney killed in a premature bomb explosion in Belfast in January 1980).

Many of Jimmy's prison comrades come to the house. He spent six years in Long Kesh as a political prisoner, and soon talk turns to the Kesh, but not like at an adult wake where 'craic' flows non-stop.

At least, not in the living room, where the youthful figure in the coffin brings one sharply back from what has passed to what lies ahead, from what has been done, to what still remains to be done.

The next morning, the slow sad procession to the chapel on a bright warm summer morning; and after Mass, the girl piper heralding our passing as we make our way, once again, to Milltown. Down from the heights of Turf Lodge, past the spot where John was murdered, and by the British Army barracks, through the open gates of the cemetery, to the republican plot, where two open graves - one for Joe McDonnell - await our arrival.

John left school at Easter. He played hurling and football for Gort Na Mona and soccer for Corpus Christi, and like his father and his many uncles he was a keep fit enthusiast with an interest in body building.

He joined Na Fianna Éireann in October 1980 and like many young people from Turf Lodge, was subjected to regular harassment by British soldiers.

Wreaths are laid before we leave for Lenadoon and the funeral of Joe McDonnell.

John Dempsey's funeral, a smaller and in many ways a sadder ceremony than Joe's, is a stark reminder that for the first time in contemporary Irish history, the struggle has crossed the generation gap.

When Joe McDonnell was first interned in 1972, John Dempsey was a mere seven years old. Yet they were to die and be buried in the same republican plot, within hours of each other, in the service of a common cause and against the same enemy.

As Jimmy Dempsey said of his son, "John has joined the elite. He died for the freedom of his country."

So, did Joe McDonnell. Go ndeanfaidh dia trocaire uirthi.