Gerry Adams's Blog, page 7

A successful conference in support of Moore St: Mass graves an act of barbarism

 

A successful conference in support ofMoore St.

Last week The Moore StreetPreservation Trust and Uachtarán Shinn Féin Mary Lou McDonald organised aconference to support the development of a Historical 1916 Cultural Quarter inDublin City centre with Moore Street at its heart.

The conference was uniquely held inthe GPO in Dublin on 24 April, the date on which the Rising commenced in 1916.It was from that location at the end of Easter Week that several hundredVolunteers, led by five of the leaders, evacuated the burning GPO to MooreSt. This area is at the heart of our fight for freedom. 16 MooreStreet was the last HQ of the 1916 government of the Irish Republic.

It was in the buildings, streets andlaneways surrounding Moore Street that the Irish Republic was born and where itwas defended for six days by heroic patriots who believed in a better future.

The packed meeting of business andretail people, local traders and Save Moore St activists, as well as Relativesof the 1916 leaders heard contributions from a range of speakers including SeánAntóin Ó Muirí the architect who designed the alternative plan for the MooreSt. Preservation Trust. Seán’s presentation gave us a sense of what ispossible. 

Uachtarán Shinn Féin Mary LouMcDonald who hosted the event in association with the Moore St. PreservationTrust, spoke of the ‘ambitious vision’ that the Relatives and the Trusthave for Moore St. She said: “The Master Plan presented by the MooreStreet Preservation Trust is a plan that weaves together much needed housing,retail, and cultural experiences throughout the historical quarter. It’s framedby the idea of the ‘economic of uniqueness’ whereby city centre cores arerevitalised through investment in the unique historical and culturalcharacteristics of a city to create compelling experiences.

This modern approach is driving theregeneration of city centres across the world - creating jobs, delivering newopportunities, fostering social progress and empowerment, and growing localeconomies and tourism sectors in a resilient and sustainable way. This iswhat Dublin needs, and it’s all possible, all achievable.”

The opening contribution was by LizGillis historian and James Connolly Heron, great grandson of James Connolly.The two spoke of the importance of Moore St and cited the campaign to saveKilmainham Jail. Over the centuries that prison held hundreds of republicanprisoners through a succession of rebellions. It was there in May 1916 that 14of the leaders, including the five who had been in Moore St, were executed byBritish firing squads. In the 1930s there were plans to demolish the buildingwhich remained empty and derelict until the establishment ofthe Kilmainham Gaol Restoration Committee in 1958. Hundreds of volunteerworkers persevered for years following 1960 to replace the roof and protect thebuildings. If it had been left to the government Kilmainham Prison would havedeteriorated beyond repair. Today it is the second most popular visitorattraction on the island of Ireland and is among the top ten museums in theworld.

For Liz Gillis and James ConnollyHeron the lesson of Kilmainham is especially pertinent to Moore St.

Professor Terry Stevens is aninternational tourism expert who works with the United Nations in destinationdevelopment. In his contribution he described Moore St as a “unique andremarkable” project that can “deliver something very special to the story ofIreland and to Dublin” and can “enhance the overall appeal of your capitalcity.”

It was a point made time and again inthe course of the conference by local and international contributors.

Paddy Cullivan is a musician,presenter, historian, comedian and all round entertainer whose successful oneman shows on historical characters like Michael Collins and Wolfe Tone are funny,insightful and reveal much about our history that others have sought to reviseand hide.

With the use of photographs hereminded us of the many iconic buildings – Carlow Jail, Kilkenny Workhouse,Frascati House - and other locations from our past that have been swept away bydevelopers and planners to be replaced mostly by shopping centres and hotels.He reminded us that the greed of some has destroyed important parts of ourimportant  historical infrastructure.

Clearly the people of Dublin andIreland will be better served  by Seán Antóin Ó Muirí’s proposal andplan for Moore Street than the developers proposal to demolish this battlefield site. If properly developed this unique initiative will generatejobs and income alongside a sense of pride and respect for the men and women of1916.

Michael Murphy is an architecturaldesigner, educator and writer. He designed the National Memorial for Peaceand Justice in Montgomery Alabama which includes the National LynchingMemorial. It is a striking monument which commemorates a dark time in UShistory but which has also significantly contributed to the economicregeneration of Montgomery. Michael flew in from Boston to support The Trust’splan. 

Others who contributed to a verysuccessful day were Stephen Troy a fifth generation butcher on Moore St, HarryConnolly from Fáilte Feirste Thiar, Caroline Alwright a fourth generationmarket stall owner and Jean McCabe of Retail Excellence Ireland.

All in all it was a hugelyinformative day. The choir from Gaelscoil Coláiste Mhuire sang a rousingversion of ‘Óró, sé dobheatha abhaile’ and Uachtarán Mary LouMcDonald called on the government to “withdraw its backing for theHammerson plan and instead throw its weight fully behind the vision for MooreStreet as set out by the Moore Street Preservation Trust. It should alsoprogress and action the Ceathrú Chultúir 1916 Bill drafted by Aengus Ó Snodaighand passed unanimously by the Dáil in 2021.”

Her comments were echoed by JamesConnolly Heron and the Relatives of the Signatories who attended the conferenceand by the Preservation Trust. In a statement at the end of the conference andin a letter to An Taoiseach Simon Harris, James Connolly Heron advocatedthe alternative plan, and asked for a meeting with Mr. Harris “to present thealternative plan to you in person at the earliest opportunity. We believethat a meeting with you to discuss this alternative vision for Dublin Centralwill be of benefit in progressing a plan that will have the support of allinterested parties.”

It’s now over to An Taoiseach.

 

Mass graves an act of barbarism

Atthe weekend Leas Uachtarán Michelle O’Neill was in London to address amassive pro-Palestinian march. She described what is happening in Gaza as the“gravest human rights violation of our time.” Michelle called for "an immediate, unconditional andcomplete ceasefire. We need to see an end to genocide, ethnic cleansing,and collective punishment. All hostages should be released immediately and allaid for Gaza must be delivered immediately, and Israeli forces must withdrawfrom Gaza and the West Bank.”

Her call follows on the devastating reports thatmass graves have been found at two hospitals, Nasser and al-Shifa inthe Gaza Strip containing the bodies of 400 women, children and the elderly, aswell as doctors and nurses. Many had their hands tied and some were buriedalive. They were all executed by the Israeli military.

The Falls

I love photographs. Especially old photos.  Particularly blackand white ones. Bill Kirk  is a veteran photographer. The Falls ishis  most recent collection, some twenty years after Images ofBelfast. It captures a time and a neighbourhood which has gone.  AsRobin Livingstone in the Foreword says, ‘It is avital and compelling historical archive, describing in rich detail the peopleand places where the latest conflict in the shared and troubled history ofIreland and Britain took place.’

Well done Bill Kirk and Frankie Quinn, Director of the Belfast ArchiveProject. I really enjoyed trawling through Bill’s images, spotting old friendsand associates as well as places where I spent my childhood.I wholeheartedly recommend THE FALLS. 

 THE FALLSis availible from An Fhuiseoig, Falls Road. 

 

It time to recognise the State of Palestine: Seán Mackel and the County Antrim Memorial. : Rights in a New Ireland

 It time to recognise the State of Palestine 

In 2014 Sinn Féin brought forward a Dáil motioncalling on the government to “officially recognise the State of Palestine, onthe basis of the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital …”

I was part of this initiative.It got support from other TDs from other parties and none. It was notopposed by the Government at that time. Following atwo day debate the motion was passed.This meant that ten years ago both Houses of the Oireachtas supported the rightof the Palestinian people to self-determination - to a Palestinian state. Thiswas a positive development. TheGovernment should have acted on this imperative. It refused to do so. I raisedthis refusal regularly with successive Taoisigh. 

Every Taoiseach sincethen refused to deliver on the will and direction of  theOireachtas. They would not  act on this imperative. Instead they argued thatrecognition  of a Palestinian state remained contingent on adeal with Israel to a two state solution. In reality Enda Kenny, Micheál Martin, Leo Varadkar gave the state of Israela veto over the right of the Palestinian people to a Palestinian state.

Today, according to Simon Harris and Micheál Martin, formaldiplomatic recognition of Palestinian statehood is now dependent on thecompletion of international discussions involving the Irish government. Is thisa real commitment to recognition in the short term?  Or is the Irish government’s recognition of the state ofPalestine now conditional on the outcome ofinternational discussions about which few details have been given? 

The motion passedby  by the Dáil ten years ago  was detailed and definitive.It followed an initiative by over 900 prominent Israelicitizens, including Nobel laureates, writers, academics, business people, andbroadcasters. They wrote  toParliamentarians across Europe, including the Dáil, seeking support for aPalestinian state. The letter was evidence of a deep desire and hope bysome Israelis to adopt an approach which they believe is in the interests ofPalestinians but crucially is also in the interests of Israel. 

Days earlier I had been in Palestine and Israelwhere among those I spoke to was – Yehuda Shaul –a former Sergeant andCommander in the Israeli Army. He is a founder and co-director of ‘Breaking theSilence’ an organisation made up of former Israeli soldiers who speak outagainst the actions of the IDF. A role he continues with today. In 2014 inwords prescient of the current genocide and of the approach of theinternational community Shaul told me; “The International community isfailing Israelis and Palestinians. There is a lot of talk but no action.Nowhere in history,’ he said, ‘did people wake up one morningand give up their privileges... the international community has to raise theprice for Israel of the current status quo… No one will live in dignity orfreedom here. Neither the Palestinians or Israelis until there is a sovereignPalestinian state. This is the right patriotic position.”

The formal diplomatic recognition of thePalestinian State cannot forever be conditional on what others may or may notdo. Either the people of Palestine have national democratic rights or theydon’t. If they have the right to self-determination – and I believe theydo and more importantly the Dáilhas decided this – then there should be no more delays. Ten years is too long. 

Tánaiste Micheál Martin several weeks agoacknowledged that many in the international community now accept thatrecognition of a Palestinian state cannot be contingent on a two state peacedeal. He and An Taoiseach now needto act on the logic of that position.   TheIrish government should formally recognise Palestine as the rightful state of thePalestinian people. Perhapsif this had happened as it should have ten years ago the people of the MiddleEast might have been spared the awfulness of what has occurred sincethen.  

Perhaps if they act now theprospect of wider conflict in the Middle East might be avoided. Or at least analternative leading to a meaningful peace process can be started. 

 

Seán Mackel and the County Antrim Memorial. 

Following my tribute last week to Seán Mackel DrTom Hartley has written to me about Seán’s role in designing the County AntrimMemorial in Milltown Cemetery. This memorial  is under the care ofthe National Graves Association, Belfast. There are thirty four IRA Volunteersburied in this plot. It was originally called the Tom Williams plot, becausemoney raised by the Tom Williams Gaelic Athletic and Camogie club bought theplot. The club was founded by republican prisoners in A Wing, Crumlin Road Jailwho wanted to reserve a grave in this plot for the remains of TomWilliams, a young republican hanged in Crumlin Road Jail in 1942. 

The plot has two distinct sections. The mainsection has a cruciform monument.  The smaller section to the immediateleft of the main section contains four graves with a grey stone slab on eachgrave. The original monument in the main section was designed by Sean Mackeland was made from Irish limestone. The bronze figures on the monument were bythe Dublin Sculptor Richard Edna King. On the reverse of the monument was arepresentation of Roisin Dubh calling on the republicans of Antrim to strikefor their freedom. 

The front of the stone carries a male figuresymbolising breaking the bars of imprisonment and rising to freedom. One faceof the stone carried the names of Antrim’s patriot dead in the years 1798 to1803. Another face has names from 1867 to 1953. The front faces of the stonecarries names beginning in 1922 continuing through to 1971. The list on otherfaces carries through to 1990. 

For many years a small stone on the right of themonument carried an inscription in memory of those Irish republicans who foughtagainst fascism during the Spanish Civil War. A black polished marble slab infront of the monument has eighteen names of republican volunteers buried inthis plot. The original monument was unveiled on Sunday, 11 September 1966. Anew stone was dedicated on Easter Sunday 2012. The plot is contained within agrey stone surround with railings.

Thank you Tom. Another slice of our history and afurther insight into Seán Mackel’s role.  Many thanks also to BelfastNational Graves for their outstanding work. They and others throughout Irelandand the world take care of the graves of our patriot dead. Míle buiochasdaoibhse go leir. 

 

Rights in a New Ireland

The issue of rights is at the heart of theconversation on a new Ireland. Sinn Féin’s Commission on the Future of Irelandwhich has been holding successful Peoples Assemblies across the island over thelast 18 months, will host ‘Rights in a New Ireland’ on Friday 3rdMay,in St Comgall’s – Ionad Eileen Howell, Divis Street, between 11.00am –1.00pm

If you are interested in human rights and want tohave your say on the future shape of a new Ireland join us in St Comgall’s– Ionad Eileen Howell on 3 May.

 

Expanding the debate on Unity: Celebrating 100 years: Keep supporting Palestinian people: Seán Mackel

 

Expanding the debate on Unity

A recent report - "Northern IrelandSubvention: Possible Unification Effects" - published bythe Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) caught theheadlines. It contained the startling claim that Irish Unity could cost theSouth up to €20 billion annually. It was grist to the mill of those who opposeunity.

Before the day was out contrary andcritical opinions of the report began to emerge with other senior economistscriticising it for its failure to acknowledge that a united Ireland will nothave responsibility for much of the subvention and that the amounts involvedare significantly smaller. 

Whatever one’s view of the meritsof the IIEA report it succeeded in creating a debate around the shape of afuture economy for the island of Ireland and that is a good thing. Ithighlighted the absence of any planning by the Irish government and reinforcedthe call for a Citizens’ Assembly to discuss future constitutionalarrangements. 

In a further contribution to theconversation around the future shape of a united Ireland Sinn Féin last weekpublished its latest policy document aimed at tackling division and segregationin society. ‘A New Ireland for all: Ending Sectarian Segregation’. Itsobjective is a shared society in which all citizens are cherished, respectedand protected in a new national constitutional democracy. Among thecontributors to the launch was Denzil McDaniel, former editor of the ImpartialReporter in Fermanagh and political commentator.

He told the audience in St.Comgall’s/Eileen Howell Ionad that; “There is a momentum building in thediscourse about a new Ireland, about the economy, what a health service or theeducation system would look like. These are all important conversations, andI’m not ignoring them; nor indeed the new Taoiseach Simon Harris’sdisappointing start in continuing the Southern Government’s failure to embrace theconversation.

But, specific this policy launch isabout ending sectarianism and segregation and that is vital in building abetter society. Small conversations about the kind of shared society we want tolive in and pass on to our children, and grandchildren, are important.Conversations about breaking down barriers, building trust, buildingrelationships are crucial. I was talking to a Protestant friend recently aboutwhat reconciliation really means and he later sent me this definition.

At its simplest, it means finding a way to livealongside former enemies - not necessarily to love them, or forgive them, orforget the past in any way, but to coexist with them, to develop the degree ofcooperation necessary to share our society with them, so that we all havebetter lives together than we have had separately.”

The new policy document is available at: https://vote.sinnfein.ie/need-for-step-change-to-tackle-sectarianism-and-build-better-future-oneill/

 

Celebrating 100 years

Last week I travelled to South Armagh with a large bunchof flowers to join the family of Maisie Moley in celebrating her 100th birthday.Maisie is a fresh, sprightly centenarian – the matriarch of the large Moleyfamily. She and they were in great form as we pushed back the furniturefor the obligatory photographs and all joined in the singing of Lá BreitheShona Duit.

The last time I was at the Moley household was in March1988 when Martin McGuinness and I carried the remains of her son IRA VolunteerBrendan Moley from the family home to his funeral with his comrade VolunteerBrendan Burns. Both had been killed in an explosion. I remembered all of thatas I drove along the narrow country roads and the South Armagh hilltops oneither side of us.

Well done Maisie. Happy 100 birthday to you. 

 

Keep supporting Palestinian people

As the world holds its breathwaiting on the outcome of the current face-off between Iran and Israel and thepotential for a regional war, the slaughter of innocents continues in the Gazastrip and on the west Bann. 

Two weeks ago Israel destroyed partof the Iranian consulate in the Syrian Capital of Damascus. Senior Iranianofficials were killed. Last weekend, after giving a 72 hour warning of itsintention to respond, several hundred drones and missiles were launched by Iranagainst military targets in Israel. Iran has said that it has now concluded itsresponse. But has Israel? 

In the meantime the Israeligenocide against the Palestinian people continues. Pogroms against Palestinianvillages in the west Bank are increasing and hunger has already claimedPalestinian lives, mainly of children.  All of this increases the need forus to keep supporting the Palestinian people.

Seán Mackel

Seán Mackel died peacefullyin his sleep on 6th April. He was ninety one years old. Seán was thebeloved husband of the late Phyllis and loving father to Ciarán, Seán, Pádraig andÁine. He was father-in-law of Cathy, Susanne, Kate and the late Robert. Hewas also a much loved Grandfather and Great Grandfather. His family andfriends, including Jim Gibney and me gathered at St Patrick’s Church Saul in County Down for his funeral on April9th. 

We are all the lesser for hispassing. Especially his family and his generation ofactivists.   Go ndéana Dia trócaire ar a nanam uasal. Seánsson, Ciarán, put it well in his eulogy when he said

“Seán’s life was blessed withlove and sacrifice.  And, as his children and grandchildren, we havebeen blessed with joy and love.  As a community, we have gained fromhis vision, and resoluteness, and been emboldened by his courage and strongcharacter in the face of threat, persecution, and refusal. We arebroken-hearted at his loss, full of sorrow and grief, but united in ourcelebration of his life, and humbled and enriched by his legacy of practicalcontributions to our community.”

That phrase ‘practicalcontributions to our community’ sum up Seán’s activism for me. He was also aprogressive Catholic, a do-er, a gentleman, a Christian and an Irishpatriot. 

Seán was born in 1933 and raisedin Servia Street, Falls Road and in Britton’s Parade in the Whiterock.Seán’s  mother Josephine died when he was sixteen, with the youngestof the nine siblings only four years old.  Geordie, their father,raised his children on his own, supported by Seán, and older sisters Maureenand Nora.  

Seán was educated in St Kevin’sprimary school, and then in St Malachy’s. He went on to become anarchitect. Seán and Phyllis were married in 1954, and they lived for ashort period in Ligoniel and then  Andersonstown, where they raisedtheir four children.  

Seán Mac Goill is one of that bandof visionaries and activists which gave us the new Bombay Street after theoriginal Bombay Street was destroyed in the 1969 pogroms, the urban Gaeltachton Bóthar Seoighe, Ballymurphy Enterprises, The Andersontown News, the Whiterock Industrial Estate, Garáiste an Phobail, TheRockKnitwear Group and many other projects going backto the mid 1960s.  Seán and his peers and their pioneering families were  also immersedin  the Irish language in West Belfast and the wider cultural revolution acrossthe city.

Have no doubtsabout their achievements.  This is a hugely successful group of progressive Irish men andwomen. Theypersisted. And they prevailed. And we all benefitted. They created the structures for education, employment, progress, andself help despite fierce opposition from an actively hostile unionist andBritish regime. None ofthose involved benefitted personally from these initatives.

When theassets of the Industrial Estate – which was taken over by the British Army in1979 – were liquidised the proceeds went to Irish language projects, includingthe new Naíscoil an tSéibhe Dhuibh.

SeanMackle was a very practical activist. He told me once that we needed to replacenames of buildings and project with Irish names. ‘Dontuse the English translation. Use only the Irish and  thats what  people will use also’. He cited AnCumann Chluain Ard and the old Ard Scoil as examples of this. He said Sinn Féinshould have done that with Connolly House and of course he’s right.

 AnChultúrlann is a good example of Sean’s philosophy. So is Féile An Phobail.

An evenolder example is the name Sinn Féin. Gael Ionad MhicGioll, in Ballymurphy, is named after Seán. Itis fitting that plans to expand this facility are well advanced at thistime. 

Seán was a champion of self-helpand co-operative enterprises. He got things done.  He and hiscompatriots  made things happen. Déan é, na h-abair é – don’t justsay it, do it was their mantra. 

Phyllis and Seán moved toDownpatrick in 1988.  His work on Irish language developmentcontinued and he worked for many years for Iontaobhas na Gaelscolaíochta,supporting new and emerging Gaelscoileann. Seán remains inspirational tolanguage and community activists.

 

Gael go smior,is flaithiúil. Ní bheidh a leithid ann arís.

Go ndéana Dia trócaire air, issuamhneas síoraí ar a anam dílís.  

If you want to learn more aboutthese mighty men an women and especially about Seán I am recommendingthe book Togáil Croí. Seán Mac Goill edited by Seán Misteal. It is availible from An Ceathrú Póílí, AnCulturlann. Bothar na bhFál, Belfast.

 

 

Up Antrim!: The Glory of Gaelic: Hurling: Lá Breithe Shona Duit Abdullah Ócalan: Six months of Hell

 

Up Antrim!  

24 yearsago  I wrote a short piece for Antrim 2000. I discoveredit this week when I was clearingout threedecades of accumulated books, newspaper clippings andassorted  pamphlets. The 2000 reflection on Gaelic games isreproduced below. Since then much has changed in the  Gaeldom. Themost important change is probably the growth of womens football. Until recenttimes women were confined to Camogie. Now Ladies Football is the fastestgrowing Gaelic game. 

I look forwardto the outworkings of the Steering Committee for Integration chaired byMary McAleese. 2027 has been revealed as the year that the GAA , the CamogieAssociation and The Ladies Gaelic Football Association will come together asone.  More needs  done in the meantime to give womenGaels parity with their male contemporaries. 

2027 will alsosee the emergence of  the new Casement stadium. Anotherpositive. 

Televisioncoverage has improved also. Mighty work is  being done by punditsincluding some great  podcasts and local print media columns. The BBCas a public service has more to do to bring in parity with other sports. Somecounty club finals have capacity attendances. That needs reflected incoverage.  The RTE blockage of northern access to some fixtures isdownright insulting. So too with the lack of local Council  playingfacilities.  There is much more to be done by all concerned. 

In Belfasthurling remains under pressure. Country clubs continue to stay ahead of cityhurlers. That’s to their credit. This is despite the mightywork of Gaels at all levels of the Association in Belfast.

 Localclubs and their legions of voluntary  helpers, committees, players,coaches,mentors, fundraisers and supporters remain the back bone of the Gaeldomacross the county, the nation and the diaspora. Our county boards do mightywork. So do local schools including Colaiste Feirste which is progressingnicely. Connections between schools, clubs and county will pay dividends indeveloping our player base. 

We are lucky tohave such a living popular tradition. Last Friday’s Late Late Showwas a great celebration of this and a fitting testimony to An Cumann LuathcleasGheal as  more than sporting organisation. It is a family. It isus at our best.

There was a timewhen Irish culture, including our games, was banned. In our own timecarrying a hurling stick in Belfast was illegal. So the last twenty five yearsof gaelic games have been amazing. We can look to the next twenty five yearswith confidence. 

 

The Glor y Of Gaelic 2000.

“My first love is hurling. Thatincludes Camogie. Although there are those who will argue that the camógs playa different game. I think they play a better game. Then comes football which ismainly a kind of sport to keep hurlers fit. Handball is much under-rated and Iam too out of condition now to even think of competing, though I know some agedBelfast men who are still up to championship standard.

Recently, I was told, though I can’tvouch for this, that rounders is also a Gaelic game. Maybe some of your readerscould confirm this.

So what does it all mean? Howimportant are Gaelic games? What part do they play in our lives?

To suggest that one particular sportis better than another simply because it is a native game borders onxenophobia. So, Gaelic games are not necessarily better than other games simplybecause they are Gaelic. They are better simply because they are better.

Soccer is a pedestrian sport, hypedby big money, more entertainment than athleticism. An odd time you would see agood match. Rugby isn’t too bad. In fact it can be very good and I wouldn’tmind getting more time to learn about it. Croquet and tennis and ice skatingare okay so far as they go but they are not exactly team sports. Golfing isless elitist than it used to be and I presume that even bad hurlers could begood golfers and that a half decent hurler could be a great golfer. TigerWoods’ people come from Dunloy.

There is merit in all sport and Ican’t think of one that I would be against. Not on principle anyway thoughpoorly managed boxers battering each other’s brain out has never appealed tome. At the same time Muhammad Ali is one of my sporting icons. Him and SamboMcNaughton.

Cricket is popular in Derry City. Theleast said about that the better. It just goes to show that everyone has theirown taste. And that is how it should be.

But Gaelic games are special not onlybecause of their skills, the degree of athleticism, team work and sheercommitment involved. In this context even a sceptic would concede that theycompare favourably with any other sport and a neutral would agree that theyoutclass all alternatives. I know other ball players who have been amazed athow far and how accurately a senior footballer can kick a dead ball and hurlingstill bewilders visitors from other disciplines.

But Gaelic games are special becausethey are firmly rooted in local communities and open to all who support theGaelic code. Because they bring drama and excitement, craic and huge enjoymentto players and spectators alike. Because everyone can be an expert. Becausethey are part of what we are. Uniquely Irish. No better on that basis thananyone else but special nonetheless.”

 

Hurling

Antrim in Cú Chullain mode

Cheers me up

On the long road home.

Hurling is the victor.

Losing is no shame.

The joy is in playing

This warriors’ game.

 

 

 

 LáBreithe ShonaDuit  Abdullah Ócalan

The Good Friday Agreement was 26 years old on Wednesday, 10 April.For almost all of that time Abdullah Öcalan, a founder of the KurdistanWorker’s Party, has been in prison in Turkey. There is a mural to Abdullah onthe international wall in Northumberland St. April 4 was his75th birthday.

Held in solitary confinement for years, denied family visits for much ofthat time, he has nonetheless become a voice for peace, a leader willing tooffer the hand of friendship to enemies.

There  arealternative ways to resolve long-standing differences. It takespatience and leadership.

Öcalan has demonstrated that leadership. Despite incarceration, hehas forged a road map to peace that commits the Kurdish people to democracy andfreedom and tolerance. He has said that it is time to “silence the weapons andlet the ideas and politics speak.” Öcalanwants a “new beginning” that willbring the Kurdish people’s struggle into a new phase in which they can throughnegotiation create an equal, free and democratic country for “all peoples andcultures.”

I commend Abdullah for his leadership and vision and urge the Turkishgovernment to release him.

Six months of Hell

This week marks six months from theattack by Hamas on southern Israel and Israel’s vengeful genocidal response tothat. October 7 was wrong but it didn’thappen in a vacuum.

Since 1948 when Palestine wasforcibly partitioned and three quarters of a million Palestinians were forcedto flee their homes, the Israeli state has further occupied the west Bank, fora time the Gaza Strip, built illegal settlements on Palestinian land andimposed a brutal apartheid regime.

In the decades since then scores ofresolutions condemning Israeli behaviour have been passed by the UN SecurityCouncil and General Assembly. Israel has ignored them all. 

Six months on almost 35,000Palestinians, including 15,000 children, have been killed by Israeli bombs andsnipers and now by starvation. Scores of UN aid workers and now several foreignaid workers have been targeted and killed. Rafah remains under threat. Inaddition, Israeli forces attack Southern Lebanon and last week bombed theIranian Consulate in Damascus. These actions have increased concern that Netanyahuis trying to provoke a wider war to bolster his own position which is now underincreasing pressure within Israel and internationally. 

So what can we do? Increase pressureon the Irish government and its new Taoiseach to take firm action against Israel.And continue to demand an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages –Israeli and Palestinian – an end to the genocide; humanitarian aid for Gaza;the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza; displaced Palestinians to be ableto return home and the lifting of the illegal blockade of Gaza.

 

Special Rapporteur criticises Irish government on Gaza: Lá Breithe Áras Uí Chonghaile

 

Al Quds hospital 2009

Special Rapporteur criticises Irishgovernment on Gaza

Fifteen years ago this month I led aSinn Féin delegation on a visit to the occupied Palestinianterritories. Our visit took place seven weeks after Israel’s assault onGaza between 27 December 2008 and 18 January 2009. In that attack Israeliforces killed 1400 Palestinians, including more than 400 children and injuredthousands more. Schools and hospitals and infrastructure were alsotargeted. 

Our delegation was impressed by theresilience of those we met and especially by the medical staff who wereworking hard to provide a health service, despite Israeli restrictions onmedicines and spare parts for radiation and other medical equipment.

Fifteen years later and all of thoseplaces we visited then, from the Islamic University, to the Al Quds hospital,to the Al Shifa hospital, to the local Council offices, to schools, factoriesand homes have been obliterated by Israeli forces in the last six months. OnMonday, after two weeks of bombarding and besieging Al Shifa hospital, Israeliforces withdrew. They left behind a scene of utter devastation. Hundreds deadand the hospital, the largest in the Gaza Strip, is in ruins. The wards full ofpatients that I visited - the radiation centre where those with cancer weretreated - are all gone. They have been smashed into rubble. The Gazan HealthMinistry said: "Dozens of bodies, some of them decomposed, havebeen recovered from in and around the Al-Shifa medical complex which is nowcompletely out of service." 

The scale of devastation in Gaza isbeyond anything witnessed in war in recent decades. Over 30,000 killed. Almost15,000 children dead. Most of Gaza destroyed beyond repair.  And thedeliberate starvation of the Gazan population is now part of the Israelistate’s war strategy. 

Last week, in a scathing report- Anatomy of a Genocide – United Nations Special Rapporteur FrancescaAlbanese examined the crime of genocide as perpetrated by the State of Israel.In the conclusion to her lengthy and detailed report Albanese states thatthe “overwhelming nature and scale of Israel's assault on Gaza and thedestructive conditions of life” it has imposed on the Palestinianpeople “reveal an intent to physically destroy Palestinians as agroup.”

The UN Special Rapporteur concludesthat there are “reasonable grounds to believe that the thresholdindicating the commission of the following acts of genocide againstPalestinians in Gaza has been met.” She identifies these grounds as “killingmembers of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to groups’ members;and deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bringabout its physical destruction in whole or in part. Genocidal acts wereapproved and given effect following statements of genocidal intent issued bysenior military and government officials.”

The Special Rapporteur also condemnsHamas and other Palestinian armed groups for 7 October and calls forthe release of all hostages.

As Israel continues to claim that itis abiding by international human rights law the Special Rapporteur accuses itof distorting that law to treat Palestinians and their infrastructure as‘terrorist’ or ‘terrorist-supporting.’ This allows Israel and its allies tojustify its actions on the basis that everyone living in Gaza is “eithera target or collateral damage, hence killable or destroyable. In this way, noPalestinian in Gaza is safe by definition.”

On a visit to the University ofGalway just before the publication of her report Francesca Albanese was criticalof the Irish government’s stance on Gaza. She said: “There’s this tendencyto be very supportive with rhetoric, as Ireland has, but when it comes totaking concrete actions, there is zero. Not a little. Zero. The countries thathave been most outspoken, like Ireland, what have they done in practice?Nothing. And this is shameful. It is disgraceful.”

The subsequent decision by the Irishgovernment to intervene in the case initiated by South Africa againstIsrael under the Genocide Convention at the International Court of Justice is awelcome step but it will take months to come to a conclusion. In the meantimethe genocide continues. The government needs to do more. It shouldimmediately: 

• Enact the Illegal Israelisettlements divestment bill 
• Enact the Occupied Territories Bill.
• Use every possible sanction available domestically and stepup efforts to suspend the EU-Israel association agreement.
• Recognise the state of Palestine.

In addition the government shouldimplement the recommendations in the Anatomy of a Genocide Report including:

·         Support for an arms embargo on Israel.

·         Ensure a thorough, independent and transparent investigation of allviolations of international law committed by all actors, including thoseamounting to war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide,including:

·         Refer the situation in Palestine to the ICC immediately, in support ofits ongoing investigation; 

·         Ensure that Israel, as well as States who have been complicit in theGaza genocide, acknowledge the colossal harm done, commit to non-repetition,with measures for prevention, full reparations, including the full cost of thereconstruction of Gaza, for which the establishment of a register of damagewith an accompanying verification and mass claims process is recommended. 

Across Ireland and internationallyEaster time is an occasion when Irish people celebrate the courage anddetermination of those women and men who over many generations fought for Irishfreedom and self-determination. This year solidarity with the Palestinianpeople was a major part of every commemoration. We are confident in andgrateful for, but not complacent about the progress made by our struggle. Wehave a lot more to do to win our freedom but win it we will. When we do we willcontinue to keep  faith with the struggle in Palestine because weknow that Ireland’s freedom will be incomplete without the freedom ofthe Palestinians.

 

Al Shifa hospital 2009


Lá Breithe Áras Uí Chonghaile

Áras Uí Chonghaile, the James ConnollyVisitor Centre, on the Falls Road celebrated its fifth birthday atEaster.  Located in the very heart of West Belfast’s GaeltachtQuarter it was opened five years ago by Uachtarán na hÉireann Michael D Higginsand Labour and Trade Union leaders from Ireland, the USA, Canada, England,Wales and Scotland.

I frequently visit the Áras, as it isaffectionately known. It celebrates the life and times of Labour leader JamesConnolly who was executed by the British for his part in the 1916 EasterRising. It commemorates the key role he played in the struggle for workersrights, the Labour movement and Irish freedom.

It is also a world class visitorcentre exploring the life of Connolly through a unique interactive exhibition,a library of writings by and about Connolly, historical objects relating toConnolly and that period of our history and it hosts a year round ofengagements with communities schools and visitors. It also has a café whichprovides a really nice cup of coffee. In the last five years Áras UíChonghaile has welcomed eighty thousand visitors from all parts of the worldand thousands more have attended its debates, discussion, music and filmevents.

Visitors include former PresidentMary McAleese; First Minister Michelle O’Neill; actor, Adrian Dunbar;journalist, Michael Portillo; historian, David Olusogai and trade union leader,Mick Lynch. Trade union support has come from even further afield as well, asDirector of Fáilte FeirsteThiar, Harry Connolly, noted:

‘Without our brothers and sisters inthe North American Trade Union movement, Áras Uí Chonghaile | The JamesConnolly Visitor Centre, simply wouldn’t exist. Our long standing advocates andfriends, General President Emeritus of Liuna, Terry O’Sullivan and JohnSamuelsen, General President of the Transport Workers Union, provided supportfrom the very beginning. Connolly’s legacy of internationalism and workers’solidarity, on both sides of the Atlantic, is still felt today.

We are extremely grateful for thissupport and will continue to preserve Connolly’s legacy! This September BrentBooker General President LIUNA will lead a delegation made up of US Trade Unionleaders to Ireland that will build on existing links and partnerships.’ 

Northern Minister for the EconomyConor Murphy formally launched ‘An Scéal go Dtí Seo – The Story so Far- areport by Áras detailing its first five successful years. He said: “TheCentre is a shining beacon of what neighbourhood tourism and community wealthbuilding can be.”

Comhgairdheas to all of the team onthis important milestone.

Slán Leo: The Heartbreak of it All: Major International Conference on Moore St

 

S lán Leo

Leo Varadkar’s resignation from the office of An Taoiseach and as leader of Fine Gael caught observers by surprise. On reflection however it is very much inkeeping with his personality. A bit petulant. Awkward. Impulsive.  Hehad done his best by his own lights. And his best had not been good enough, byhis own admission. So in fairness he probably did the right thing. Better toget out on his own terms. 

Most  people will have very little sympathy for seniorpoliticians and the wear and tear they and their families endure asa  result of the long hours, relentlesspressure,  the  grinding nature of parliamentary work andongoing public scrutiny. You have to believe in what you are doing. Especiallywhen things are not going well. So I think Leo just got a sickner of it all,particularly after the recent referendum results. He was cheesed off andseems not to have the stomach for  continuing in a government whichis just going through the motions and serving out its time.  

 

He was facing into internal turbulence. The Fine Gael Ard Fheis waslikely to be troubled.  Elevenof his TDs have said they will not be standing in the next election. 

 

So why hang about?  His  resignation statementwas very honest. “I am no longer the best person for the job.”he said. 

That was certainly the case on  the North though his instinctsare better than Micheál Martin’s. The amount ofthe  Irish Government’s moneyforCasement was probably Leo’s initiative. His refusal to go for a CitizensAssembly to discuss and plan for unity is a mistake.  He and MicheálMartin are not advocates for a new constitutional future. They are deeplywedded to their own political dispensation. They are not SNQ. Sound on theNational Question. Neither is Simon Harris. 

Labour !eader Ivana Bacik call for a dedicated department to look at thedetailed work for unity planning is important. And welcome. Not least becauseit is recognition of increased and increasing public interest on the need forplanning for constitutional change. Maybe if Leo had applied himself to that hewouldn't be out off a job. Ach well. Slán Leo. 

 

The Heartbreak of it All

The million and a half Palestinianstrapped in southern Gaza city of Rafah, on the border with Egypt, are undersustained and ruthless attack by Israeli forces. Hundreds of women, childrenand men are being killed or severely wounded each day. Hospitals crammed fullof desperate human beings continue to be the target of bomb and tank and sniperattack. 

At the same time tens of thousands are facing starvation while relieftrucks carrying desperately needed food, water and medicine are beensystematically blocked by the Israel state. On Sunday it told the UN thatit will no longer allow food convoys into north Gaza where 70 percent of peopleface the highest level of food scarcity. Speaking at the Rafah crossinglast Friday UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: “Here fromthis crossing, we see the heartbreak and heartlessness of it all. A long lineof blocked relief trucks on one side of the gates, the long shadow ofstarvation on the other. That is more than tragic. It is a moraloutrage."

It is also a war crime. The Romestatute of the International Criminal Court is very clear on this. It definesthe deliberate starving of civilians as a crime if the intention is to deprive“them of objects indispensable to their survival.” This includes “willfullyimpeding relief supplies.” 

Israeli Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu and his war cabinet are immune to all of this. He plans to launch aground offensive against Rafah. Netanyahu insists that this will take placeshortly. His stated aim is the defeat and destruction of Hamas. Common sensetells us that this is unachievable. 

Our own experience of colonialismproves this. For centuries English governments sought to defeat the desire ofthe Irish people for freedom and self-determination. Every conceivable weaponof oppression was used: from mass executions and deportations, to coercion actsand special powers, to the impoverishment and dehumanisation of the Irishpeople, to the denial of basis rights and a cultural war against our language,music and art. These were all part of English policy. So too was starvation.

In his book ‘Ireland Since theFamine’ F. S. Lyons writing about the impact of An Gorta Mór – the Great Hunger– wrote: “…it may well be that the most profound impact on Irishhistory lay in its ultimate psychological legacy. Expressed in its simplestterms this legacy was that the long standing and deep rooted hatred of theEnglish connection was given not only a new intensity, but also a newdimension… this hatred, this bitterness, this resentment were carried overseas,and especially to America by nearly four million Irish men and women andchildren who left their homeland, decade by decade and year by year in the halfcentury after the Famine.”

In our own time and place the statedaim of successive unionist and British governments was the defeat of Irishrepublicanism. Collusion, special laws, torture, sectarian discrimination in employment,military occupation of communities, were all part of government policy. OneBritish Secretary of State was so gung-ho that he spoke of squeezingrepublicans like a tube of toothpaste! None of it worked. 

What worked was a peace process,slowly and painfully built. 

The lesson for the Israeli state isobvious. Occupation, genocide, repression, the theft of Palestinian land andnatural resources will not work. The mass slaughter of innocents will not work.The criminalisation and dehumanisation of the Palestinian people will not work.On the contrary the Israeli massacre of 32,000 in the Gaza Strip and the WestBank is storing up a legacy of bitterness that will ensure that resistanceto Israeli colonialism will continue.

Regrettably, I don’t see Netanyahuhaving any interest in a peace process.  Pulitzer Prize-winning New YorkTimes columnist Thomas Friedman told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Sunday: "Ithink this is the worst government Israel has ever had. And I think Netanyahuwill go down in history as the worst leader in Jewish history, not just inIsraeli history,"

But there is now a discernible changewithin the international community’s approach to Israel’s genocidal strategy.Some allies of the Israeli state are now taking up publicly more criticalpositions. At the weekend it was reported that French President EmmanuelMacron in a phone call told Netanyahu the forced transfer of people from Rafahwould constitute “a war crime” 

It is long-past time for the USA,Britain and others providing war materials to Israel to stop. They cannot fundand arm the genocide while decrying its awful effect on Palestinians. Stop thewar. No funds or arms for Netanyahu. 

 

Major International Conference onMoore St

Uachtarán Shinn Féin Mary LouMcDonald TD, in association with the Moore St. Preservation Trust, will hold amajor international conference next month to discuss the future development ofthe Moore St. 1916 Battlefield site. The main focus of the conference will beon the alternative plan prepared by the Trust to that of the proposals from theprivate developer Hammerson.

Moore St. – as regular readers ofthis column know – is a hugely important part of the story of Easter 1916 andis the heart of the 1916 Battlefield site. It is where the GPO Garrisonretreated when the building caught fire and it was in 16 MooreSt. that five of the seven signatories to the Proclamation met and tookthe decision to order the surrender.

The Moore St. Trust has produced aformidable, alternative plan to that of the developer – who is supported by thegovernment. The plan aims to preserve the site and to sensitively develop it asa historical and cultural quarter that can play a significant role in theregeneration of that part of our Capital City.

The conference will take place in theGPO on 24 April, the date of the Easter Rising in 1916, and it will bringtogether leading experts in the fields of tourism, planning, academia, retailand the arts. Among those taking part will be Professor Terry Stevens a TourismAdvisor to the United Nations, Michael Murphy, architect of the nationallynching memorial Legacy Museum in Alabama, USA, Seán Antoin Ó Muirí architectof the alternative plan and well known historian Liz Gillis. Relatives of the1916 leaders and others will participate. It’s shaping up to be an informativeand crucial conference around the ongoing effort to Save Moore St.

 

 

International Women’s Day: Two formidable Belfast Women: Macalla na mBan

International Women’s Day

Last Friday was International Women’s Day – a day when around the world humankind celebrates the work of women who are active in their communities, in trade unions, voluntary organisations, business, politics, their families and across every facet of our society.

It is also a time to reflect on the long history of struggle by women for equality and fairness. In many aspects of life today women remain second class citizens - in pay and employment rights, conditions of work, in access to education and health and in protection before the law. Hardly a week passes without evidence emerging of the extent to which women continue to face violence in the home, in the workplace and within communities. 

A fortnight ago the northern Assembly endorsed a motion calling on the Executive to urgently implement a strategy and framework to end violence against women and girls. During the debate it was revealed that since 2021 the North has the joint highest rate of femicide in Europe along with Romania. According to statistics from the PSNI between 2017 and 2022, “34 women and girls were killed by men. Many others faced other forms of violence, abuse and intimidation both within their own homes and the wider community.”

Calling for a whole of society approach to tackling this First Minister Michelle O’Neill said: “These women are not statistics, these women are our mothers, our sisters, our aunts, our daughters, our friends, our work colleagues, and they are us who have been speaking in this debate today. We must take action now to stop this violence and we must never forget those that have been killed.”

Last year almost 98% of women surveyed for a report into violence against women - ‘Every Voice Matters!’ Violence Against Women in Northern Ireland’, published by the Ulster University - revealed that that they had experienced at least one form of violence or abuse in their lifetime. 

A second report, published by Queens University - ‘It’s Just What Happens’: Girls’ and Young Women’s Views and Experiences of Violence in Northern Ireland’ found that 73% of girls aged 12-17 reported having experienced at least one form of violence in their lifetime.

 

Irish Republicans have long understood the connection between Irish freedom and equality, and women’s rights. From Ann Devlin to Anna Parnell, from Countess Markievicz to Máire Drumm, from Sheena Campbell to Mairead Farrell, whose anniversary was last week, there is an unbroken line of women who sacrificed all in the quest for freedom and equality and justice. 

 

I had the great privilege of knowing some of this generation of republican women activists. They were ordinary women, many little more than teenagers, who at a time of great crisis and challenge for our people came forward to stand against injustice and to give leadership.

 

At the end of this month Irish republicans will mark the 1916 Easter Rising. The Proclamation of the Republic recognises the rights of women. It opens by addressing Irish men and Irish women and guarantees not just ‘religious and civil liberty”; but also “equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens”. A century later the words of the Proclamation are as relevant as ever in the lives of women in Ireland. 

 

Much of women’s work today is undervalued and underpaid.  Irish women are still disproportionately concentrated in low-skill, low paid and part-time employment. Older women are more likely to live in social isolation. Traveller women face higher poverty, mortality and unemployment levels, and lower levels of educational attainment than their settled counterparts.  Internationally girls and women continue to face additional issues like female genital mutilation and arranged marriages.

 

In Gaza over 8,000 women and girls have been killed in Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people. Tens of thousands more have no access to health care or personal care because their health service has been destroyed. This is shameful.

 

Women on the island of Ireland and all over the world have won many battles for equality over the past century, but there are further battles ahead. The struggle for justice and equality and equal rights will continue.

 

Winifred Carney

Two formidable Belfast Women

On International Women’s Day history was made when two statues were unveiled at the front of Belfast City Hall to two formidable Irish republican women - Mary Anne McCracken and Winifred Carney. Despite the cold hundreds of people gathered for the ceremony to applaud these two fearless women and this important initiative by Belfast City Council. 

Winifred Carney was born in Bangor but was reared at 5 Falls Road. She qualified as one of the first lady secretaries and short hand typists in Belfast and was a strong advocate for the rights of women and a committed socialist. She worked closely with James Connolly and in 1913 she published Connolly’s, Manifesto of Irish Textile Workers’ Union – To the Linen Slaves of Belfast. 

Carney was also a member of the Cumann na mBan and the Irish Citizen Army. In 1916 she was the first women to enter the GPO during the Rising. She worked closely with Connolly in preparing dispatches. When the GPO was evacuated Carney was with the wounded Connolly as he was carried to number 16 Moore Street. There five of the signatories to the Proclamation held their last meeting as the Provisional Government. Julia Grenan, Winifred Carney and Elizabeth O’Farrell were present. 

Following the surrender Winifred Carney was imprisoned in England. In 1922 she was imprisoned in Armagh jail. 

In 1928 she married George McBride. He had fought in the First World War and was from the Shankill Road. They were both committed socialists although differed on the national issue and the Rising. Winifred Carney remained a committed trade unionist throughout her life. She died on 21 November 1943. Belfast Graves erected a headstone on her grave in Milltown Cemetery in 1985.

Mary Ann McCracken was born in Belfast in July 1870 to a wealthy Presbyterian family. She was a radical thinker, social reformer, who was implacably opposed to slavery and poverty, and an advocate for the rights of women. 

Her opposition to slavery was total. When Waddell Cunningham, a merchant, proposed in 1786 that the Belfast Slave Ship Company be established the scheme was vehemently opposed by those who later established the United Irish Society. This and Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man and the French and American revolutions hugely influenced Mary Ann her brother Henry Joy and all of those who came to found the United Irish Society in Belfast in October 1791.

In July 1798 her brother Henry Joy McCracken was sentenced to be hanged for his part in the United Irish Rising. She was with him as he died. 

After the failure of the rebellion Mary Ann dedicated her life to many causes. The breadth of her interests and activism is remarkable. She helped provide education and apprenticeships for children through the Poor House Ladies Committee. In 1847 at the age of 77 she was one of those who established the “Ladies Industrial School for the Relief of Destitution” with the aim of helping those suffering as a result of An Gorta Mór. 

Her opposition was such that as a small frail woman she would hand out leaflets opposing slavery to those boarding vessels to sail to the USA. Frail in body she might have been but strong in heart and spirit she remained all of her days. Mary Ann McCracken died on the 26 July 1866 aged 96.

Two great women now immortalised in statues in front of Belfast City Hall. 

 

Macalla na mBan 

On Saturday evening as part of the events to mark International Women’s Day the garden in the Roddy McCorley Club in west Belfast was rededicated after major renovations. The garden was first opened in 2007. Carál Ní Chuilín gave the main address reminding those present of the sacrifice of republican women in the struggle for Irish freedom. I was asked to read my poem which I wrote in 2006 as a tribute to my friend and comrade Siobhan O’Hanlon.

 

Macalla na mBan

 

Streachailt na mbBan

Caoineadh na mBan

Fulaingt na mBan

Neart na mBan

Foighne na mBan

Fearg na mBan

Dóchas na mBan

Craic na mBan

Gáire na mBan

Cairdeas na mBan

Áthas na mBan

Grá na mBan

Todhchaí na mBan

Saoirse na mBan

Roger Casement I have spent manyenjoyable afternoons in ...

 

Roger Casemen t

I have spent manyenjoyable afternoons in Casement Park watching countless football and hurlinggames and playing in some of them. I have lost count of my man of the match triumphs. Especially for St. Marys or BelfastSchools in hurling. Or on Sports Days. In the past thestand and terraces or raised mounds aroundthe pitch provided a wonderful view of the contests. Some games attracted a fewhundred spectators while others were watched by enthralled thousands. 

Casement Park wasopened in June 1953 and was named after Roger Casement. He was one of theleaders of the Easter Rising of 1916 who was hanged in London by the British inAugust that year. The people of Belfast, but especially the west of the City,raised over one hundred thousand pounds to construct Casement Park. 

For much of its 71years Casement has been at the heart of the west Belfast community. At onepoint classes for primary school children were held under the stand. On the 50th anniversaryof the Easter Rising in 1966 a huge and colourful pageant was held in Casementto mark that historic moment in Irish history. For a time after OperationMotorman in 1972 it was occupied for more than a year by the British Army. Rallies in support of the hunger strikers were held there also.

For the last 8years it has lain empty and silent as a legal battle was fought over planningpermission for a new 34,000 seat stadium. That process is now at an end andlast week the first steps were taken to allow construction work to begin. Thedecision by the Irish government to allocate €50 million toward theconstruction is a very welcome development. The hope is that the new CasementPark will rise phoenix-like within the next three to four years in time to hostthe Euros in 2028. 

These exciting newdevelopments got me thinking about Roger Casement. Who was this Dublin man whofound a home in North Antrim and wanted to be buried at Murlough Bay nearBallycastle? 

Casement was amember of an Ulster Protestant family, a Knight of the British Empire and aBritish diplomat. He was also a gaeilgeoir who loved the Glens of Antrim. Hewas proud to be Irish. He was a thinker who took many of the weightiestdecisions of his life whilst pacing on Cushendall beach. He was resolute in hisopposition to British rule in Ireland and his goal was a free, united andindependent Ireland. 

Casement came toNorth Antrim after his mother died when he was nine. His father decided tobring the family back from England to live near relatives. His father died inBallymena when Roger was 13. Roger remained in Ballymena, going to what laterbecame Ballymena Academy. He moved to England at the age of 16 and eventuallyjoined the civil service.

In 1903 he wasasked by the British government to produce a report on the conditions in aregion of the Congo controlled by the King Leopold of Belgium. Rubber and ivorywere the main produces. Indigenous workers were being mercilessly exploited.Millions died from exhaustion, hunger and disease. Casement’s expose of thecruelty of Leopold’s activities created an international outcry which led toLeopold being stripped of his control of the Congo.

Later Casement wassent to South America where he investigated the use of slaves and theill-treatment of local native people by a British rubber company. In 1911, forthis work Casement was given a Knighthood by the British. However, hisexperience had also opened his eyes to colonialism. 

Two years laterCasement helped establish the Irish Volunteers. He travelled to the USA toraise money for that organisation and was involved in the smuggling of Germanweapons into Howth in July 1914. Casement negotiated with the German governmentduring the First World War for more guns and assistance for the plannedrebellion. He was arrested by the British at Banna Strand in County Kerry inApril 1916 three days before the Rising took place.

He was taken toLondon where he was initially held in the Tower of London. Casement was viewedby the English establishment as a traitor. He was tried for treason and hanged onAugust 3rd 1916. In his famous and powerful speech from theDock Casement lambasted the English establishment. For England, he said … “thereis only England; there is no Ireland; there is only the law of England, noright of Ireland; the liberty of Ireland and of an Irishman is to be judged bythe power of England.”

Addressing thedivisions created by English governments Casement said that IrishRepublicans:  … “aimed at uniting all Irishmen in a natural andnational bond of cohesion based on mutual self-respect. Our hope was a naturalone, and if left to ourselves, not hard to accomplish. If external influencesof disintegration would but leave us alone, we were sure that nature itselfmust bring us together.”

And onthe right of the people of Ireland to independence and sovereignty RogerCasement told the court that condemned him to death that: “Self-governmentis our right, a thing born in us at birth, a thing no more to be doled out tous, or withheld from us, by another people than the right to life itself — thanthe right to feel the sun, or smell the flowers, or to love our kind. It isonly from the convict these things are withheld, for crime committed andproven, and Ireland, that has wronged no man, has injured no land, that hassought no dominion over others — Ireland is being treated today among thenations of the world as if she were a convicted criminal.”

In a letter to hiscousin Elizabeth ‘Eilis’ Bannister dated 25 July 1916 from Pentonville PrisonRoger Casement wrote: “Don’t let my body lie here – get me back to thegreen hill by Murlough – by the McGarry’s house looking down on the Moyle –that’s where I’d like to be now and that’s where I’d like to lie.” In1965 British Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson agreed to the return ofCasement but only to Dublin. He was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery. The newCasement Park will be a fine tribute to a great patriot. Let’s get it built.

 

Starvation

There is now overwhelming evidence that the Israelistate has added a new weapon to its arsenal of genocide against the Palestinianpeople – hunger. The video and photographic images of starving children anddesperate parents searching for food and water are heart rending. The UNsays some 2.3 million people in Gaza are now on the brink of starvation.

Palestinian peoplehave been filmed eating grass in northern Gaza as emaciated children carrybowls hoping for some food in southern Gaza. There are reports of babies dyingfrom acute malnutrition.

We Irish have ourmemory of An Gorta Mór - The Great Hunger of 1845-52 - and of starving peopleeating grass. Some call it the Irish Famine but in a famine there is no fooddue to some natural catastrophe. In Ireland there was plenty offood. During those years the quaysides of Limerick were lined each day withabundant produce including pork, oats, eggs, sides of ham and beef––all boundfor export. 

The reality andirony of this is appalling and was aptly described by George Bernard Shaw inhis play “Man and Superman.” The character Malone says: ‘My father died of starvationin Ireland in the Black 47. Maybe you’ve heard of it?

Violetreplies, ‘The Famine?’

‘No’, saysMalone ‘the starvation. When a country is full of food and exportingit, there can be no famine.’

And so it is in theGaza Strip. There is plenty of food waiting in food trucks. More will be sentbut the Israeli state is deliberately blocking these. Starvation and hunger arenow part of its strategy to kill Palestinians and drive them from their land.It cannot be allowed. Ceasefire now. We are all Palestinians.

Respect: A Window on the Past: Ceasefire Now

 

Respect

On Sunday last Ispoke at the 40th Anniversary Commemoration of the killing by the SAS of IRAVolunteers Henry Hogan and Declan Martin in Dunloy County Antrim. Declan was18. Henry was 20.

I was also thespeaker at the funerals in February1984. At that timehundreds of  RUC  and scores of landrovers surrounded HenryHogans wake house and myself, Martin McGuinness, Danny Morisson and Owen Carronlinked arms with other mourners to create a human barrier around the house andthe funeral to shield them from the RUC. That is the way many republicanfunerals were conducted in those days.

It was part of aconspiracy between the NIO, the RUC, British Army and the Catholic Hierarchy tostop patriot dead being buried with the national flag as part of their criminalisationstrategy.  It eventually failed as  a strategy not leastbecause of the resolve of the families  involved, their neighboursand friends and local republican communities. 

Sunday’s event whichdrew a huge crowd, was part of a weekend of discussions, music and remembrancein Dunloy. It got me to thinking of how this effort to criminalise our patriotdead is still the focus nowadays of some anti-republicanelements and some lazy journalists. One  of the questions most askedof newly elected First Minister Michelle O Neill is whether she will attend IRAcommemorations. No questions to unionist representatives about their attendanceat commemorative events. And neither should there be. 

I have noobjection to them or  others commemorating their dead. This includesBritish soldiers, RUC or UDR officers and unionist paramilitaries. I said thisin Dunloy on Sunday. Of course all acts of rememberance should  beconducted in a dignified and sensitive way. They should also be held only inplaces which are generally receptive tosuch events. No one should engage inprovocative language or offensive behaviour. Respect should  be thewatchword. 

Incidently thereare no IRA commemorations. The IRA is gone. Republican commemorations areorganised by groups like The National Graves Association or The NationalCommemoration Committee which is respnsible for 1916 events  or bylocal committees drawn from local communities, old comrades, families, SinnFéin and others.  They are not about - and should not be about -being  provocative. We who have suffered in the conflict are notabout glamourising or glorifying the war. We should be mindful always of thefeeling of those who lost loved ones due to IRA actions. 

And others whooften still describe republicans as terrororists need to ask themselves what isachieved by such offensive language. The war is over. The healing has begun formany people. This is for the good.  Leaders can help this bytempering their language. We will probably never agree on the past. But we canagree to disagree. There is no single narrative. Only by including all thenarratives will a complete picture emerge of what happened and why it happened.Understanding that is part of being enabled to prevent it ever happeningagain. 

Of course it is notonly elements of the British or unionist establishment who continue to insultrepublican communities or the families of republican patriot dead. The Dublinestablishment also repeats  the same old story. Again and again. Theydon’t do irony. Fianna Fail leader Micheál Martinleads the chorus of ooh aah good old Ra of the 1920s while insulting thefamilies of the bad old Ra of more recent times. 

Will he changehis tune? Probably not. But we live in hope. I’m not evenarguing for him to do so. Let’s keep our viewsof the past if that is all we can do but let’s tryto  articulate it differently. I’m arguing for usto move into a new phase of our process of change. A phase of healing andshaping the future. The past is gone. Let’s not repeatit.  Even rhetorically. 

Of course somevictims cannot move on. Fair enough. That’s theirentitlement. But others have and continue to do so. They are an example to therest of us. Especially for those in political leadership. 

The leader ofthe DUP was once a member of the UDR, an organisation which the BritishGovernment had to disband. The leader of the UUP is a former British soldier. Ihave yet to hear a Sinn Féin representative cast up about any of that.

So let’s reflect on howwe  commemorate our dead. Republicans need to continue to do so in afitting manner, in tune with current political conditions and with a mind tobuilding an inclusive future. 

Others shouldjoin us in this endeavour. 

 

A Window on the Past

Ask almost everyone you know aboutthe date when internment was introduced and the 9 August 1971 will be thepopular answer. .

That was the day 342 men and boyswere dragged from their homes in the early hours of the morning to be beaten,interrogated and interned. Fourteen were the victims of planned torture – theHooded Men.

What is less well known is thatAugust 1971 was not the first time internment was introduced in the most recentphase of conflict. I was reminded of this by my good friend and comrade TomHartley – noted historian and collector - who presented me with a photocopy ofa page from the Irish Press – a Dublin based paper at the time – in which thenames of 24 Republicans interned in Crumlin Road Prison was published on 22August 1969.

Internment was a favoured weapon ofthe British and of the unionist regime at Stormont. It was also widely employedby Britain’s colonial administrations across  its colonies. It was used bythe British after the Easter Rising and by the Free State government during theCivil War. In the North the unionist government used it in 1922-23; 1925; 1935;1938-45; 1950-51; and 1957-61. 

In August 1969 unionist mobs led by BSpecials and the RUC attacked nationalist parts of Belfast. Hundreds of homeswere destroyed, thousands of families became refugees and … were killed. TheUnionist regime sought to blame Republicans for these events. Even claiming toa disbelieving media that nationalist families had destroyed their own homes.

The Unionist Prime MinisterChichester-Clarke issued a public statement in which he claimed that: “Well-disciplinedand ruthless men, working to an evident plan, attacked the police at a numberof points in the city.” He described this as a “…a deliberate conspiracyto subvert a democratically-elected Government.” The aim was to blame theIRA not unionism and its street mobs for the instigation of violence. 

As British soldiers were beingdeployed on our streets the RUC raided homes and arrested two dozenRepublicans. They were all interned under the notorious Special Powers Act.They included Prionsias MacAirt; Jimmie Hargey; John McGuigan;  J. McCann;Frank Campbell; Denis Cassidy; Denis Casson; M. Darity; J.J. Davey; FrankDonnelly; P. Duffy; R. Fitzpatrick; L. Johnston; D.J. Loy; H. Mallon; P.J. McCusker; John McEldowney; F. McGlennon; Malachy McGurran; Liam McIlvenna;Billy McMillan; L. Savage; M. Toal and F. White. 

I sent  Deirdre Hargey MLA theclipping Tom sent me for her mother. In turn Deirdre  sent me an RUC photoof her father taken at his arrest.  So there you have. Another little exampleof the state we were in. 

Most of the 24 internees werereleased within weeks. Billy McMillan, Prionsias MacAirt and Malachy McGurrancontinued to be held. McMillan was eventually released in late September whilePrionsias MacAirt and Malachy McGurran were held until the end of the year.

 

Ceasefire Now

The EuropeanUnion’s Foreign Policy chief Joseph Borrell took issue with US President JoeBiden and his remarks that the Israeli state’s offensive against thePalestinian people had been excessive. “If you believe that too many people arebeing killed maybe you should provide less arms,” Mr. Borrell said…”If theinternational community believes  thatthis is a slaughter, that too many people are being killed, maybe they have tothink about the provision of arms.”

Mr. Borrell isright. The US administration along with Britain and other European powers arecomplicit in what Israeli state’s violations of international humanitarian law.It’s long since time for a ceasefire. The huge attendance at demonstrationsacross the world, including Ireland, shows there is popular support for an endto the genocide.  People want peace. ThePalestinian people deserve peace. Ceasefire now.

An appeal for Information: Israel’s War Against Children: Moore St Raffle

 

An appealfor Information

Inthe 1970s the IRA shot dead and secretly buried a number of people. This is aterrible legacy of that period of our history.  The families of thosekilled have suffered a grievous injustice. Republicans, including the IRA,recognise and have acknowledged this fact. What happened was wrong andunjustifiable.

Inthe autumn of 1997 as part of the outworking of the peace process and followingrepresentations from Fr. Alec Reid and me the IRA established a specialinvestigative unit to ascertain the whereabouts of these graves. Following thatinvestigation the IRA said it  believedthat the number of persons involved was nine. In April 1999 it issued astatement acknowledging this and naming those killed and buried by it.

TheIndependent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains was established inthe same month by the Irish and British governments. This followedrepresentations from myself and Fr. Alec Reid. The hope at that time that theremains would be quickly recovered proved naïve.

One reason for this is that the IRA –as is widely acknowledged - had no institutional memory – no records to examinethat would provide accurate information. It was entirely reliant on thememories of those who were involved. After so many years memories provedelusive in some cases, small numbers of people were involved and some had diedin the interval. Geography and landscape too had changed making the pinpointingof locations challenging. And of course the IRA no longer exists.

Afterthe first bodies were recovered there was then a significant gap. I discussedthis with Fr. Alec Reid and we put a proposal to the governments in 2001 inwhich he urged them to employ experts in the recovery of remains. We alsoproposed the use of high-tech equipment and archaeological methods, includingarchaeological specialists, forensic experts, specialist scanning equipment andbody dogs. We also suggested that ‘a recreation of the scene’ approach beadopted.

Ittook some years for this to materialise. The service of a forensic scienceinvestigative consultant was secured. Geoff Knupfer took up his position in2005 and immediately carried out a review of the work up to that point.

Republicansimmediately engaged with Mr. Knupfer and up to his retirement last year metwith him on numerous occasions as the efforts to locate remains continued. In2007 Mr. Knupfer acknowledged the co-operation he and his team received. Hesaid:

"In a spirit of co-operation andreconciliation they [the IRA] are trying to help in every way they can. I amabsolutely convinced that they are doing everything they can to assist. Thesupport we have had from them has been absolutely 100 per cent from dayone."

Geoff Knupfer’s deputy Jon Hill, who has sincetaken over as lead investigator, reiterated this.  

Theprocess to date has involved;

·       The use of aerial photographs,from military or commercial sources of the sites at the time of the killings.

·       Ordinance survey maps of thisperiod.

·       Forestry records.

·       X Ray equipment.

·       Archaeological experts.

·       Records, maps, photos, reportsof work already carried out on each site.

·       The appointment of a projectmanager with the power to make things happen.

It success can be seen in its results.According to its most recent account the Commission reported that seventeenpeople were killed and secretly buried. Seamus Ruddy was victim of the INLA andhis remains were recovered in May 2017 and Seamus Maguire is believed to havebeen the victim of another republican group. The list does not include LisaDorrian who is believed to have been killed by the UVF and whose death afterthe Good Friday Agreement is outside the remit of the Commission. As a resultof the work of the Commission and information provided to it by republicansources thirteen bodies have been recovered.

Thereare still three outstanding cases that were the responsibility of the IRA.These are Columba McVeigh; Robert Nairac and Joseph Lynskey. The failure thusfar to find the remaining bodies is not due to any lack of resolve orcooperation by republicans.

Allof these families have a fundamental right to bury their loved ones withdignity. I continue to meet with the Commission and I want to appeal again foranyone with information to bring that information forward. They can do so incomplete confidence to me, or to the families involved or to the Commission. Ifthey wish to speak to someone else that too is fine. What is important is thatanyone with information makes that information available.

Finally, I want to commend all of the families who have campaigned with dignity for many years to locate the remains of their loved ones. I also want to acknowledge once again the grave injustice inflicted upon them and to express my deep regret about this.

I want to thank everyone who has worked to help the families, including the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains, An Garda Síochána and the experts and staff who have been brought in to assist in this work. They deserve our full support.

The killing and secret burial ofpeople – has long been a brutal feature of war. In 2009 a report by a UNWorking Group recorded a total of 53,232 cases from 1980 affecting 82 states.

According to historians Pádraig Óg ÓRuairc and Dr Andy Bielenberg inan article, ‘Shallow Graves—documenting and assessing IRA disappearances duringthe Irish revolution 1919–1923’ the IRA was responsible for killing andsecretly burying approximately 110 people during that period.

No effort was made following the end of thecivil war to establish any process by which these bodies could be recovered andreturned to their families. We must continue our efforts to recover the remainsof Columba McVeigh; Robert Nairac and Joseph Lynskey.

I would appeal to anyone with information tobring that forward. They can do so directly to the Commission on the basis ofconfidentiality. The confidential number for the Commission is 00800 – 55585500.

 

 

Israel’s War Against Children

The accountsof the Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip against the Palestinian people haveproduced many difficult and heart wrenching moments. The destruction of homesand schools and hospitals; the deliberate killing of over 30,000 children,women and men; the mass murder of health workers, journalists and civilians; thedestruction of cemeteries; the premeditated shepherding of civilians intokilling zones by Israeli forces, and so much more have shocked and appalledmillions around the world. The Israeli state’s war on Gaza will be rememberedfor all this. It will also be forever remembered as Israel’s war againstchildren.

 

Hind Rajab was aged 6. Look at the photo ofthis beautiful young child. No threat to anyone. She went missing on 29 Januaryin Gaza City along with her Aunt and Uncle and cousins as they tried to flee intheir car. She spoke by mobile to the Palestine Red Crescent. An audiorecording of her last words were released by it. Her family had been killed by anIsraeli Tank and she was alone in the car with the bodies around her.  

 

She wasterrified. She pleaded for help. “Come take me. You will come and take me? … I’m so scared, please come. Please call someoneto come and take me.” Desperately the Red Crescent sought clearance fromthe Israeli Army to send an ambulance. But contact was lost with that also.

 

At theweekend her decomposing body and those of her family were found in their bulletriddled car. The Ambulance was found parked nearby. It was destroyed and thetwo medics killed.

 

This isIsrael’s war on children. Almost 12,000 children have been killed and many morelie buried under the rubble.

 

And withIsrael marshalling its forces for an attack on Rafah - the largest displacedrefugee camp in the world – the scene is being set for a humanitariancatastrophe not witnessed before.

 

Moore St Raffle

The Moore Street Preservation Trust are raffling a framed,limited edition Moore Street Print by renowned Irish Artist RobertBallagh. 

Tickets are €10/£9 and the draw will take place on EasterSunday. 

Get your tickets here: http://msptshop.myshopify.com/

Remember our history.  Support ourcampaign.  Stop the demolition of Moore Street.  Build a1916 Cultural Quarter.