Gerry Adams's Blog, page 8

Something fundamental has happened: Alex Maskey: Ivor Browne

 

Somethingfundamental has happened.

The restoration lastSaturday of the political institutions and the election of Michelle O'Neill asFirst Minister marks an extraordinary turning point in the process ofconstitutional change for the North and for the island of Ireland. It is asignificant new chapter in the transitional process of change that began withthe peace process. Last Saturday something  fundamental  happened.

In its century ofexistence the northern statelet reflected the ethos and wishes of those whoruled us. It was born out of colonialism, occupation, conflict, sectariandivision, fear and partition. Under successive unionist and British regimes itrelied for its survival on special powers, structured inequality anddiscrimination. Up to this point the northern state has had 11 unionist PrimeMinisters and First Ministers and a succession of largely mediocre BritishSecretaries of State who saw their role as shoring up unionism and defendingpartition and the union. Last Saturday that changed. A Republican is now FirstMinister. Structures foisted on us to block this from ever happening havecrumbled.

In 1998 the GoodFriday Agreement began the challenging process of unravelling all of this. Itprovided for a level playing field on which all of the political parties canpresent their analysis; promote their policies; and advocate for theirobjectives – Irish Unity or Union with Britain – while requiring that theyaccept the outcome of the democratic process. 

On the core issues ofIrish Unity or the Union the Agreement recognised that it is for the people “ofthe island of Ireland alone, by agreement between the two parts respectivelyand without external impediment, to exercise their right of self-determinationon the basis of consent, freely and concurrently given, North and South, tobring about a united Ireland, if that is their wish, accepting that this rightmust be achieved and exercised with and subject to the agreement and consent ofa majority of the people of Northern Ireland.”

The Agreement alsoprovides for referendums North and South and if in the future, the people votefor Irish Unity there is a “binding obligation on both Governments to introduceand support in their respective Parliaments legislation to give effect to thatwish.”

Of course, Britishgovernments are not renowned for honouring commitments. Last week, followinghis deal with the DUP, British Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris claimedthat any change on the North’s place in the union “would absolutely depend onthe consent of both communities.” Not true. Any change will depend on ademocratic majority in a referendum voting for unity. 

That places asignificant onus on republicans who want maximum constitutional change and anew Ireland – united and independent - to engage positively with those who donot share our vision of the future or with those who are unsure what thatfuture should look like. 

Michelle O’Neill willcarry out her duties and responsibilities honestly and with diligence. As FirstMinister she will advocate for every citizen, and for every family irrespectiveof their attitude to the Union or Irish Unity. She will defend the right ofevery citizen, of every family, to choose their preferred future. But as acommitted Irish Republican activist and leader she will also work to advancethe objective of Irish Unity. These are not contradictory positions. They arecomplementary.

Michelle’s speech tothe Assembly is evidence of this. It was a confident, well deliveredwide-ranging manifesto for change for the future. It spoke of the need todeliver “for all our people, for every community” and to make “life better forworkers, families, communities.”

Michelle acknowledgedthat the new Executive will “face great challenges” and it will. Not leastbecause of the stranglehold British governments – Tory and Labour - have overthe North. Among these she identified the rising cost of living, patientswaiting for treatment and support, workers on the picket lines, the need forchildcare supports, social and affordable housing, key infrastructuredevelopment projects, the climate crisis and Lough Neagh, and using the WindsorFramework to advance the all-Ireland economy. She identified the epidemic ofviolence against women and girls and said she would prioritise a new strategyto tackle this.

She expressed hersorrow for all the lives lost during the conflict. And she committed herself tothe work of reconciliation.

Michelle spoke for allof us who have watched in horror the Israeli government’s genocide against the Palestinianpeople when she called for an immediate ceasefire. For dialogue and peace.

Last Saturday was agood day. Everyone who made a stand over the decades or in more recent timesshould be proud of the progress we have made. Inevitably there will be manychallenges. The Tories in London are not our friends. And the Executive is acoalition of parties with widely different opinions. But with good will andrespect we can make it work. 

Alex Maskey

Before the business ofelecting the Ministers my friend and comrade for many years Alex Maskey finallygot the opportunity to step back from the Ceann Chomhairle’s office.

Four years ago yearsAlex was elected Speaker and he did that job intelligently, fairly andpatiently. His time was up in 2022 but because the Assembly was suspended Alexcontinued to play that role for the last two years. 

He took a number ofvery worthy initiatives even though the Assembly was suspended. They included A Youth Assembly made up of ninety young people aged fromthirteen to eighteen. He also convened A Women's Parliament and an Assembly forCitizens  with Disabilities. 

He met foreigndelegations and hosted others interested in the Good Friday Agreement and thepeace process. Last year he was front and centre in Parliament Buildings forthe 25th celebration of the Good Friday Agreement.

The respect and esteemin which he is held was evident at the weekend in the unanimous words of praiseand thanks he received from all sides of the Assembly.

It was a far cry fromAlex’s first entry into elected politics in 1983. In June that year he was SinnFéin’s first Belfast City Councillor. He ran a gauntlet of abuse fromunionists. They refused to talk to him. They tried to shout him down, soundedhorns, blew rape whistles, threatened him. He was the target of constantharassment by the British Army and RUC and the victim of several assassinationattempts by unionist death squads, including one in which his friend Alan Lundywas shot and killed in Alex’s home and another in which Alex was gravelywounded. Undaunted by all of this Alex went on to become the first ever SinnFéin Mayor. 

Alex has committedhimself to continuing his activism and to the goal of Irish Unity and to theprinciples and objectives he has dedicated his life to. So, well done Alex andwell done also to Liz, an activist in her own right. She has been by his sidethrough all of these years. Ádh mor oraibh a chairde. 

Ivor Browne

Ivor Browne died lastweek, aged ninety four. I admired him a lot. And I’m glad to say I met him afew times. He was one of the world’s leading and pioneering psychiatrists. AsPresident Micheal D Higgins said he ‘…left a profound mark on the understandingand attitudes to mental health in Ireland’. A visionary and a doer Ivordismantled mental institutions and developed community clinics. He was arevolutionary. Professor Brendan Kelly said his legacy was ‘the additionalliberty enjoyed by thousands of people who avoided institutionalisation as aresult of the reforms which Ivor came to represent’.

He spoke up on behalfof the political prisoners, especially the Armagh Women Political Prisoners.Speaking out in 1985 against strip searching he said: “Strip searching is arather violent procedure and tremendous intrusion on a human being . . . InIreland clothes are almost a part of a person’s body. To invade this is aviolation. It is a violent act, and I think, in this sense rapacious.”

Ivor was also amusician and a co founder in 1959, with Garech Browne, of Claddagh Records, torecord Irish traditional music, song and poetry.  Claddagh is stillthriving and wonderful elements of our rich heritage is preserved thanks totheir vision. 

Ivor was also SNQ -sound on the national question. He did great work in Derry in the 1970s andafterwards  by assisting the development of  community models forhuman development.  My condolences to Ivor’s family. His life was a lifewell lived. 

 

Comhghairdeas Kneecap; Irish government must join; Áras Uí Chonghaile – A world class visitor centre;

 

ComhghairdeasKneecap

Comhghairdeas Kneecap as an rath a bhí ar bhur scannán ag féile scannánSundance.

Last August Itravelled over to a studio close to Queen’s University to meet with Kneecap.The three west Belfast lads were busy putting the final touches to their moviewhich recounts – mostly i nGaeilge - how they were formed. That night they wereto do some work with Michael Fassbender but I was there to film a shortsegment.

Mo Chara, MóglaíBap and DJ Próvaí and director Rich Peppiatt all watched and laughed as I stammeredmy way through several different versions of my lines. That evening Kneecapplayed a sell out gig at the West Belfast Féile in the Falls Park.

I haven’t seenthe film yet. I am looking forward to it. Kneecap’s music is exuberant and fun.They have a sharp sense of the outrageous, the political and the ironic. Thecrowd that night in the Park was enthusiastic and we all enjoyed every minuteof the performance.

Despite criticism from the DUP and others who neverhave anything positive to say about the Irish language, the reports from theSundance Film Festival have been amazing. The festival is the mostimportant international film event for independent film makers. Kneecap beingscreened there was hugely significant. As is now well known the film receivedwidespread critical acclaim at its first night opening, with Variety, themajor entertainment trade paper, describing it as: “A triumph … to keep a languagealive it must be part of the culture now, and not only  a remnant ofbygone eras. Their music has the power to inspire those their age to learn it,to pass it on.”

To add to this success the following day the filmwas picked up by Sony Picture Classics for distribution across theUSA, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Turkey and the Middle East. And thenat the end of last week came the news that it had picked up the Audience Award:NEXT. The first time a non-US film had been selected to take part in thatsection of the festival.

So well done again to Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap andDJ Próvaí, Rich, Trevor and all of those who helped make Kneecap. The moviewill be shown in Ireland later this year. Watch for the ads – Agus bígí linn.

 

Irishgovernment must join

Manythanks and commendations to the government of South Africa for taking the caseto the ICJ on behalf of the people of Palestine.

Therewas widespread welcome for the decision of the International Court of Justicelast week ordering Israel to:

·        Refrain fromacts under the genocide convention

·        Prevent andpunish the direct and public incitement to genocide

·        Take measuresto ensure humanitarian assistance to civilians

·        Preserveevidence of genocide and submit a report to the Court

·        And submit areport to the ICJ in one month.

Whilethe Court did not call for an immediate ceasefire the import of its judgementis that a ceasefire is now imperative. The Court ordered that Israel ‘take allmeasures within its power to prevent’ the killing of Palestinians; causing them‘serious bodily or mental harm’; prevent the deliberate inflicting ‘conditionsof life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or inpart.’ The Court said that ‘Israel must ensure with immediate effect that itsmilitary forces do not commit any of the above-described acts. How do they dothat and wage war?

Theonus is now on the international community to increase pressure on Israel andits allies to call an immediate ceasefire and to demand that all hostages arereleased. The ICJ specifically called on Israel to ‘take immediate andeffective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic servicesand humanitarian assistance.’

However,within hours the USA, British and German governments and seven other states hadwithdrawn funding from the United Nations agency – UNWRA – that is responsiblefor providing essential services, food and water to the Palestinians. Thedecision by these states is in response to claims by Israel that 12 UNofficials in Gaza – out of 13,000 - were involved in the Hamas attack on 7October. António Guterres, the UN Secretary General has appealed for the 10 countriesto reconsider their decision. Two million Palestinians, already sufferinghunger, are to be penalised because of the alleged acts of 12 UN staff.

Thisweek Sinn Féin is to table a motion in the Oireachtas calling on the Irishgovernment to join the South African case at the International Court ofJustice.

Finally, MaryLou McDonald and Michelle O’Neill have committed to raising the Israeligenocide against the Palestinian people when they visit Washington in March. MaryLou and I discussed this issue at a public event in Cabra, in her Dublinconstituency last Friday evening. I was asked about some calls on the party toboycott the US St. Patrick’s visit. I pointed out that those calling on us not to go to the USA are not calling on us to nottalk to the British.  Sensible peopleknow that dialogue is the only means by which this or any issue of conflict canbe resolved. Our bridge into the USA is Irish America. St. Patrick’s Day isIreland’s national day. Boycotting this and denying ourselves the opportunityto advance our struggle or indeed the struggle of the people of Palestine wouldbe a mistake.

Sinn Féin disagrees with the USA administration on many issues,particularly foreign policy issues. We have always made that clear. When I met PresidentClinton in the 1990s I told him the US embargo on Cuba was wrong. I told GeorgeW Bush that his policy on Iraq and Afghanistan was wrong. I remember Martin andI urging Tony Blair not to invade Iraq. We told him it would be the biggestmistake of his leadership. We have a responsibility to raise these issues andMary Lou and Michelle will be equally forthright with those they meet in Marchabout US support for Israel’s war on the Palestinian people.

People in struggle, particularly people involved in national liberationstruggles, understand that your own struggle … has to be your primary focus. Theywill expect you to raise their issues, and we should. They will expect you tostand with them, and we should and will. But they would not expect us to doanything– any more than we would expect them to do anything – which would setback our own struggle or make space for those who are opposed to us.

 

Áras Uí Chonghaile – A world class visitor centre

Áras UíChonghaile – the James Connolly Visitor Centre on the Falls Road – was formallyopened by Uachtarán Michael D Higgins in April 2019. The Áras celebrates thelife and times of James Connolly, the key role he played in Irish history, thestruggle for freedom and the Labour Movement. It be a world class visitorcentre exploring the life of Connolly; with a unique interactive exhibition; alibrary of writings by and about Connolly; historical objects relating toConnolly, and an all year round programme of engagement with communities,schools and visitors and a bialann.

Last week the Áras received theBronze award for sustainability and environmentally-friendly practice by GreenTourism. It joins the prestigious award from the Royal Society of UlsterArchitects that it won two years ago as building of the year.

Last week Áras Uí Chonghailealso announced its Clár an Earraigh – its spring programme of debates anddiscussions for the next three months. It is an excellent programme thatincludes a lecture on Mike Quill, one of America’s best known and most respecttrade union leaders who as an IRA Volunteer fought in the Civil War beforetravelling to the USA; Winifred Carney who was in the GPO during Easter Week1916; and The Future of the Irish Language. Takura Donald Makoni who is PolicyOfficer for the African and Caribbean Support Organisation will speak onInequity and Power in a post colonial world.

It is an exciting programme.Well worth a visit. The programme and information on membership is available athttps:arasuichonghaile.com. See you there.

 

 

100 Days of Hell: 100 Days of Hell: The Fermanagh Blackbird

 100Days of Hell: 

Israel’sgenocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the west Bank passed the100 day mark last week. 

By the time this column is published the number of dead at the hands of Israel’s war machine is likely to have passed 25,000, mostly women and children. That’s almost equivalent to the entire population of Newry wiped out.

Atthe same time almost two million Palestinians have been forcibly displaced.That is comparable to the population of the North forced from their homes whileevery hospital, school, university and most homes is destroyed. Oxfam hasconcluded that the daily death toll of civilians in Gaza is greater than anyother major conflict in the last quarter of a century.

Atthe weekend and across the world, in more than 120 cities – including Belfast,Cork and Dublin - millions gathered in a global day of action to demand aceasefire and an end to the Israeli genocide. The protests also criticised themilitary strikes by the British and US governments on Yemen.

Last weekthe South African government led the international demand for peace by takingthe Israeli state to the International Court of Justice at the Hague. More than50 countries are supporting the South African initiative. To its shame theIrish government, which supported a similar case being taken against Russia forits invasion of Ukraine, has refused to join with South Africa.

 SouthAfrica lawyers presented an irresistible case against Israeli genocide. One ofits team of lawyers, Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC, gave the closing statement.She told how Israel’s actions had coined a new and horrifying label WCNSFs– Wounded Child No Surviving Family.

NíGhrálaigh’s concluding remarks summarised the savagery of Israeli actions. She said: “On average 247 Palestinians are being killed and are at risk ofbeing killed each day … They include 48 mothers each day, two every hour andover 117 children each day, leaving UNICEF to call Israel’s actions a war onchildren… The risk of famine will increase each day… Each day over 10Palestinian children will have one or both legs amputated, many withoutanaesthetic… Each day ambulances, hospitals and medics will continue to beattacked and killed… Entire multigenerational families will be obliterated.”

TheInternational Court of Justice could take years to reach a final judgementhowever it can make an emergency order against Israel’s continuing killing anddestruction in the Gaza Strip. That could take just weeks.Consequently, Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh concluded by calling onthe Court to “indicate the provisional measures that are so urgentlyrequired to prevent further irreparable harm to the Palestinian people in Gaza,whose hopes — including for their very survival — are now vested in the Court.”

UachtaránMary Lou McDonald was in London last Saturday where she addressed severalhundred thousand protestors. She praised the South African initiative andcalled for an end to the slaughter. She said: “We won’t stay quiet aboutIsrael’s apartheid. We won’t be silenced in the face of genocide – a genocidethat is broadcast every day for nearly one hundred days now…”  For 100days she said the mothers and fathers of Gaza have “wept an ocean of tears overthe still bodies of their dead children.”  

Mary Lousaid: “The world stands at a crossroads and there is a choice to be made. Wenow demand human rights, justice, and the rule of law for Palestine, for Gaza,for the West Bank.”

 

IrishUnity Summit for New York

Thisweek the tickets became available for a major public event on Irish Unity to beheld in New York on 1st March. Billed as an ‘Irish UnitySummit’ the event is jointly sponsored by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, theBrehon Law Society, Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, Friends of Sinn Féin USA,Irish American Unity Conference, James Connolly Labor Coalition, Ladies AncientOrder of Hibernians.

The‘Summit’ will be held in The Great Hall at Cooper Union. It will start at1:00 pm on Friday 1st March and conclude at 6:00 pm. There willbe keynote speakers, panel discussions, and cultural performances.

Sofar the programme will include Professor Brendan O’Leary (University ofPennsylvania) in conversation with Meghan Stack (New York Times). Also speakingwill be Uachtarán Mary Lou McDonald TD; Niall Murphy (Human Rights Lawyer andIreland’s Future Board Member); Glenn Bradley (Former British Soldier, formerUlster Unionist Party Officer, and member of Veterans for Peace); OlaMajekodunmi (born in Lagos, Nigeria, Radio Presenter, Irish Language Activistand member of Foras na Gaeilge);  Sophie Colgan (Director of NavigatingNew York, dedicated to connecting individuals and businesses in the Irishdiaspora in NYC) and Professor Christine Kinealy (Irish historian, author, andfounding director of Ireland's Great Hunger Institute at QuinnipiacUniversity).

Theprogram will also include contributions from the Presidents of the sponsoringbodies and bipartisan US political leaders. There will be live music andspoken word contributions and performancesbetween speakers and paneldiscussions.  

Ifyou are interested in Irish Unity and live in the New York area I would urgeyou to save the date and join the discussion on Irish Unity. I have no doubt itwill be a great event.

 

TheFermanagh Blackbird

Dónal O Connor and his family have made a long standingand continuing contribution to Irish traditional music and song. Dónal is awell known and respected musican, broadcaster and producer. We are all indebtedto and enriched by the work of the O Connor and Ní Uallacháin clanns. Becauseof them and others like them the traditional music scene is alive and well.Many songs and tunes which might have been lost have been retained orrecovered.

This is especially the case in Ulster. The song traditionis particularly strong here. Renowned singers and collectors like Len Graham,Paddy Tunney, Sarah Makem, Eddie Keenan, Pádraigín Ní Uallachaín, Grainne Holland, Davy Hammond, Albert Fry,Prionsais MacAirt, Seán McCorry and musicans like Davy Maguire, Neal Martin, SeanMaguire,  John Sherry, Cathal Hayden, the Diamonds, theVallelys, the Sands andMcPeake families and many many more have ensured that our indigenous music  is a part of every day life for many people. A livingtradition.

Every part of Ulster  has lively circles of singers,musicians, dancers and story tellers. Theseare  the custodians  of our music. But they arealso  teachers, whether formally through Comhaltas or Singing and MusicClubs or informally in sessions across all parts of the North. Many of themlearned their songs from parents or grandparents and from the generationsbefore them. And they are passing it on to the next generation. 

Number Gabriel McArdle among them. Gabriel, fromKinawley in  Fermanagh, is a singer and a concertina andaccordion player. Dónal O Connor has produced an album - GabrielMcArdle The Fermanagh Blackbird -  which showcases Gabrielstalents. It is a fine uplifting record of traditional songs and tunes whichcapture Gabriels great traditional singing style and music playing. It is alsohis first solo album, though hopefully not his last. 

Gabriel’s singing is exquisite.Clear, melodic and true to his dialect.  Sweet and easy on the ear.Érin Grá Mo Chroi is a gem of a song. So is Johnny and Molly. In fact there isnot a bad song in this collection. 

The instrumentals are equally good. Many perhaps suitedto, and drawn from, the dance music of Ulster.  I was particularlytaken by I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave and The March Of The ClannMaguire. So well done to all involved with this fine album. ParticularlyGabriel McArdle. It has been on the go for a year now so  thank you AntAthair Seos for my copy. It has given me hours of pleasure.  

http://www.redbox recording.com

http://www.facebook.com/gabriel.mcardle.1

 

 

 

Death of a Hero: Kitson was amply rewarded for his foul deeds – in Ireland and elsewhere: Nollaig na mBan

 

Death of a Hero

Justbefore Christmas my colleague Greg O'Loughlin,the Executive Director of Friends of Sinn Féin in the USA , gave  methe sad news that veteran American Civil Rights leader King Hollands had died. I had the honour of meeting Kingand his fellow activists Rip Patton and Richard Dinkins during a visit toNashville in November 2018.

I wasthere to speak in the Civil Rights Room in the Nashville Public Libraryalong with King on the connections between the Civil Rights Movement in the USAand the Civil Rights Association in Ireland in the 1960s.

King and Rip had participated inthe famous Woolworths Lunchtime sit-ins in 1960s. They were also FreedomRiders. At that time black citizens were banned by the draconian segregationlaws from sitting at Whites Only lunch counters. They were also segregated onpublic transport - confined to the Back of The Bus. When this legislation endedthere was violent opposition by white racists to the integration of theinterstate transport system. So some courageous women and men, black and white– Freedom Riders – took to the buses and trains to challenge segregation.Many were beaten and hundreds were imprisoned.

         Mise agus King Hollands

While in Nashville I visited theWoolworths building where they did sit-ins, with Rip and King, and withJudge Richard Dinkins, another veteran of those days. We sat at the lunchcounter where almost 60 years ago African American citizens were attacked. Theyrecounted their experiences of those days, including arrests and assaults,before we sang ‘We shall overcome’ to our surprised guests.

The death of KingHollands is a huge loss to his family and friends. And to the struggle forrights. I enjoyed his company. And his singing. And celebrate his courage. Gondeanfaidh Dia trocaire air. 

 

Kitson was amply rewarded for his foul deeds – in Ireland and elsewhere

Richard has insisted that I write alittle bit about the death of Frank Kitson. Kitson, British Army general andleading advocate of counter-insurgency operations and collusion between stateforces and death squads died last week. I have written about him many times. Iam sure his death will be mourned by those within the British system whom heserved over many decades in defence of the Empire. He was rewarded with medals,a knighthood, and military promotions. He was for a time Commander in Chief ofthe UK Land Forces and from 1982 to 1985 he was Aide-de-Camp General to the British Queen.

Few if any of  his manyvictims who were tortured, imprisoned, killed by his counter-gangs andcollusion strategies, whether in the North or in Malaya, Kenya, Aden or Cyprus,will shed tears at his passing. 

After the Second WorldWar Britain fought over 50 colonial wars in defence of its Empire. Kitsonfought in some of these and his damaging influence was felt in others. Hefought in Malaya but it was in Kenya in the 1950s that he came to prominence.The dehumanisation of the native Kenyan people reached new levels of racism andbarbarity at that time. They were labeled animals, barbarians and vermin. Tensof thousands ended up in over 100 detention camps. Many of the men werecastrated using pliers. Men and women were raped, sometimes using bluntinstruments like bottles and rifle barrels. Others were mutilated by prison guardsand British Army officers. Some had fingers and ears sliced off. Others wereburned to death.

Kitson established counter-gangs.The groups were made up of British soldiers, including Kitson on occasion, andformer members of those fighting against British rule. They travelled thecountryside killing, maiming, interrogating and torturing. One particulartechnique Kitson introduced involved using ‘hooded’ agents/informers toidentify those who were then sent to the camps for torture.

The result of all this wasthat 30,000 Kenyans were killed; one and a half million were interned;torture was commonplace and 1090 were hanged using a portable gallows.

Kitson honed his skills in othercolonial conflicts including Aden and Cyprus and Oman. Consequently, when theBritish Army were deployed in Derry and Belfast in August 1969 many within itsranks had served in these conflict zones and brought with them the brutaltechniques they had learned.

Kitson joined them in 1970 asCommander in Belfast of the 39th Brigade area. He immediatelybegan implementing his strategies. In the autumn of 1971 the British Armycreated a new unionist paramilitary organisation – the Ulster DefenceAssociation – out of many small neighbourhood vigilante loyalist groups.

Kitson believed that to winagainst a guerrilla enemy which had the support of its community or at the veryleast a significant proportion of its community, the government, the law, thejudiciary and the media all had to be reshaped and moulded by government tosuit the aim of defeating the enemy.

It was about controllingthe population; using counter-gangs (death squads) to coerce it; establishingspecial units and employing psyops (psychological operations) and mediamanipulation. Kitson rationalised the use of death squads and the corruption ofjustice: ‘Everything done by a government and its agents in combatinginsurgency must be legitimate. But this does not mean that the government mustwork within exactly the same set of laws during an emergency as existedbeforehand. The law should be used as just another weapon in the government’sarsenal, in which case it becomes little more than a propaganda cover for thedisposal of unwanted members of the public.’

While Kitson was basedin Belfast he was responsible for establishing the Military Reaction Force(MRF). It sought to stoke sectarian conflict by killing Catholics. In addition1 Para was also based in Palace Barracks in Holywood where  Kitson alsoresided. He encouraged the Paras to be violent and brutal in their actions. TheParas were known as ‘Kitson’s private army.’

The Parachute Regimentwas responsible for the Ballymurphy Massacre and Bloody Sunday inDerry. When the Paras killed 14 people in Derry the adjutant of 1 Para wasMichael Jackson. He subsequently produced in his own handwriting the ‘shotlist’ which claimed that all of the victims had guns or bombs. Like Kitson herose to the top of the British Army.

Later Jackson describedhis admiration for Kitson: “he was the sun around which the planets revolved … andvery much set the tone for the operation style in Belfast.”

I know that thosewho opposed British militarism by force in our own place, like the freedom fighters in other parts of the globe, were also responsible forinflicting hurt. I have never tried to disguise that and I regret the harmdone. Kitson was a failure. He never to my knowledge showed any concern for thebrutal policies he devised and implemented. His policies failed. They reflectedthe will of the British establishment at that time. Kitson was their man. 

Youcannot begin to understand the conflict in Ireland or Kitson’s role in itwithout setting it in the context of the English colonization of Ireland. Norcan you understand the brutality and depravity that accompanied it without recognisingthat the British Empire was built on a deep rooted racism, arrogance, andintolerance that saw other peoples as less than human. Today’s genocide in Gazahas its roots in this history.  Millions died across the world as Britishcolonialism exploited them in the interests of profit.

Kitson was the epitomeof this imperialist and colonial aggression and he was amply rewarded for hisruthless and cruel defence of that imperialism by successive Britishgovernments.

 

Nollaig na mBan

Nollaig na mBan - Women’s Christmasor Little Christmas  – was celebrated last Saturday. Traditionally, it’sthe last day of the Christmas period when the role of women who did all thework preparing for and making Christmas a success for everyone else, wascelebrated.  January the 6th was the day when they had the opportunity torest and celebrate. 

It’s also the day when theChristmas tree and decorations are supposed to come down. Until recently thecelebration of Nollaig na mBan had declined. Thankfully that is now changingand this old custom is being revived. 

 Nowadays for many womenNollaig na mBan has a much broader meaning. It is a celebration of the strengthof women. Of their right to equality and parity of esteem. Long may thiscontinue.

 

 

This Land is Your Land: Gaza: 2024

 

This Land Is Your Land. 

I am a long time fan of Woody Guthrie. He is one of the worlds great songwriters in the English language and many of his words  are as releventtoday as they were when he wrote them. He was also an American activistwho agitated and educated and sang for social equality,  immigrationreform, peace and fairness. He stood against fascism, racism,  war,corruption and for a clean environment. He sang about love, for workersrights and a better life for all. 

He also wrote a lot. I read his Bound For Glory book years ago as well ashis novel House of Earth. And now I am delighted to have  a Christmas boxof a magnificent publication of Woody’s ‘Songs and Art * Words and Wisdom’ curated by his daughter Nora Guthrie and historianRobert Santelli.  

This is a large handsome reproduction of some of Woodys drawings, doodles,scribbled thoughts, songs, poems and political observations on the back ofenvelopes, scraps of paper, jotters and dairies. He obviously knew theimportance of these notes because he dates them and in many cases noteswhere he is at the time. Woody travelled a lot. These tiny little details addgreatly to the readers enjoyment and knowledge. So do the many finephotos.  

 He also has lots of wisdom.  Here he is on fascism.   

‘ …..all human  beings (need) to come always closer and closertogether – to know and understand all races, creeds, and colours better; andfascism says for us to split ourselves up into the thousand cliques and klansand beat our own chains of slavery onto our ankles by wasting our strengthfighting our friend and neighbour – and allowing the fascists to nip us off oneby one, little by little, group by group……’ 

He was equally opposed to racism. He had deep friendships with bluesmusicians Lead Belly and Sonny Terry and Brownie Magee who he toured with inthe 1950s. He challenged racism head on. They were often attacked bythe  Klu Kluk Klan. They stood up to their attackers. And they playedtheir music.  

And Woodys song’s are still sung today. Hewrote thousands of songs. We are very lucky that recording by him ofsome of these are still available. Many of his better known songs have beencovered by Irish singers. They include Deportees, Pretty Boy Floyd, The LudlowMassacre, Jesus Christ and many more. Bob Dylan also recorded Woody songs. Sodid Pete Seeger, Joan Baez and Bruce Springsteen, The Byrds, Grateful Dead,Billy Bragg, Fergus O Hare, Willie Nelson  and Ry Cooder.  

This Land Is Your Land is an anthem and rallying call to working people. It  is perhaps his best known work. Woody was also a poet, a painter,illustrator, novelist, journal keeper, and prolific letter writer.

Incidentally, Woody Guthrie’s ‘Songs and Art * Words and Wisdom’ includes  notes by Woody on how to write songs.It also contains contributions by other singers, artists andwriters.  What more could you want?   

Woody Guthrie ‘Songs and Art * Words and Wisdom’ is published by ChronicleBooks. www.chroniclebooks.com

 

 

Gaza

This column has published this wee poem before. Iwrote it in Gaza City fourteen years ago. Before it was as terrible as it isnow. It’s time to reprint this short verse aris.

 

Gaza

Rubble on rubble

Twisted metal

And Ghosts

Everywhere

Ghosts of little children

Playing in the ruins

Little ghosts

Páistí bochta

Laughing

Shouting

Crying

And dying in Gaza.

 

2024

Best wishes and blessings to you all in 2024.2024 is shaping up to be a decisive year that will determine the politicaldirection of travel for this island for the next ten years, and possibly evenlonger.

The many challenges facing all of us are enormousbut so too are the substantial opportunities for change and progress.

First up will be whether the DUP is prepared toend its damaging refusal to participate in the power sharing institutions. Theexcuse that its negotiations with the British government on the WindsorFramework and the Brexit mess are still ongoing is now patently absurd. 

Thedecision for Jeffrey Donaldson will be brought to a conclusion in the next weewhile. The outworking of that decision - whatever it is - will close downanother option for unreconstructed unionism. Meantime the rest of us willcontinue the process of change. That includes constitutional change.   Thesocial and economic interests of the people of the North have never been bestserved by London. 

Thespeculation is rife that the British PM Rishi Sunak will go for a May generalelection. A crystal ball is not needed to know that the Tories face asignificant loss of seats in the local government elections in England andWales on 2 May. A general election with its higher turnout might salvage someof these but whether the British general election is in May or October theConservatives are headed for defeat. The next government in London will be aLabour government. Let’s not hold our breath waiting for that. With a fewnotable exceptions British Labour has not served Ireland well. It never willuntil it implements the Good Friday Agreement provision for a referendum on theUnion.

Inthe South there will be local government elections in June and elections to theEuropean Parliament on the same day. These will be a crucial test for all ofthe parties as they prepare for the general election in that jurisdiction whichcould be held before the end of the year.

Inrecent days Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has been setting out his vision for the nextfive years – more of the same. A Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Green Party governmentwith the leaders carving up the ministerial posts as Varadkar and MicheálMartin play tweedle dee and tweedle dum over the role of Taoiseach.

Forthe first time there is the real possibility of a government without either ofthem. Successive elections over the last decade have witnessed the consistentgrowth in the Sinn Féin vote. In 2020 it emerged with the greater share offirst preference votes. The party is now the largest in the Oireachtas. As MaryLou wisely put it her aim is to deliver real change with a fresh governmentthat will have neither of these parties in it. It’s a doable project. But, ofcourse it will depend on the voters.

Clearlythere is huge disenchantment with the policies of the current government. Manypeople want change. But they want more than just the language of change. 

Sothe challenge for Sinn Féin is to present and deliver a new vision of the newIreland that a Sinn Féin government will seek to construct. That means clearpolicies on the economy, on housing, on health and mental health, on theenvironment, on investment in and the transformation of education and childcareand supports for carers. A programme for change that has fairness and equalityat its core. Much of this work is well underway.

Butit especially means for the oldest Republican party on this island that thereis an onus on us to map out the kind of United Ireland we are for – inclusive,with equality at the heart of policy making and delivery, anti-sectarian,pro-working family, standing up to the fascists and right wing who seek to whipup violence and division, and defending the rights and entitlements of allcitizens.

Much progress has been made. But we need to domore.

AnIrish government has the political and diplomatic resources to advance all ofthese propositions – if it has the political will. Irish governments have paidlip service to a united Ireland. That has to change. 2024 can see that change.

A Boy named Jay: 2024 – Momentum toward Unity Polls set to increase: A New Year Wish

 ABoy named Jay

Idid a book signing for Christmas at An Fhuiseog’s stand in the Kennedy Centre.It was a pleasant hour of banter and craic, meeting old friends and making newones. Gerry Kelly was there just before me but he escaped when I arrived. So itwas just me and the punters. And RG and Maggie who was selling all matter ofgifts for An Fhuiseog. 

Thebook buyers were a mixed bunch. Grannies and Grandas as well as young couplesor lone shoppers. Mostly locals with  a few stragglers from out of town.From Tyrone and Tandragee, Kilrea and Dublin, two sisters from Australia,relatives of the late Albert Fry, Gael and renowned singer í nGaeilge. SomeNewry neuks and a family from Dundalk. 

Therewere even folks from North Belfast. 

Everyonewas in good form, including the wheel chair warriors and walking stick users.There was an epidemic of young people. Selfie aficionados. TheTic  Toc generation. Full of craic.

Andthere was a boy named Jay. I noticed him hovering shyly around the table whereI was seated. A dark haired neatly dressed young fellah on his own. Eventuallyhe approached our table.

‘Howmuch is The Black Mountain book? He asked.

 ‘Twelvequid’ I replied. 

 Hewas obviously disappointed. 

 ‘Iwas going to get it for my Daddy for Christmas’.

 ‘Howmuch have you got’? I asked.

 Hescooped a handful of coins out of his pocket. 

 ‘Six pounds and fifty pence’ he replied. 

 ‘Giveme a fiver’ I said.

 Hehesitated.

 ‘Ihave to get my lunch’ he said. 

 Buthe wasnt being calculating. Or cynical. Merely thinking aloud innocently theway young people do when they have options to consider. 

 ‘Whatsyour name?’  I asked.

 ‘Jay’he said. 

 ‘Wudyou be availible for negotiations at Hillsborough?’ I mused. 

 ‘Givethe wee lad a book’ RG ordered me with a smile,  the way he does whenhe gets all bossy and assertive.

 So I did. Jay smiledangelically at us as I signed his book. I hope his Daddy liked his present. Jayis what Christmas is all about. 

 Ahappy new year to you and your Da and Mammy and all your family. 

 

 

2024 – Momentum toward Unity Polls set to increase

After weeks, months, of public and privatenegotiations it is still not clear as 2023 draws to a close what the future ofthe Executive and Assembly will be. The British government says it has deliveredits final word on the issue. The various party positions remain as they were.We shall see what the New Year brings on this.

In the meantime, with or without the NorthernAssembly, what we can be certain of is that 2024 will see the momentum grow forthe unity referendum promised in the Good Friday Agreement. In addition, with ageneral election in the South on the horizon, the issue of a Citizens’ Assemblyto discuss the future of Ireland will take on an increasing importance.

2023 saw the conversation on constitutional changegathering strength. The Sinn Féin Commission on the Future of Ireland concludedthe year with its 11th public initiative. This time in the GalwayGaeltacht. There were also stalls at farming events, North and South, stalls atFreshers day in the universities, and leaflets distributed everywhere.

Meetings are already planned for Fermanagh and WestTyrone in February and initial conversations have begun about similar meetingsbeing held in the USA and Canada. Submissions to the Commission on the kind offuture you the reader would like can be sent to www.sinnfein.ie/futureofireland

2023 also saw the emergence of a voices from theProtestant/Unionist/Loyalist section of our people openly considering and insome cases advocating, the merits of Irish unity. The year saw space beingcreated for people who think this way to participate in events held by the SinnFéin Commission. Events were also held by the New Ireland Group whichfacilitated people from Protestant, Unionist and British backgrounds whosupport maintaining the union with Britain having their say.

 

In the last year the Derry City & StrabaneDistrict Council working group on Irish Unity initiated a consultation amongratepayers on Irish unity. The first phase of this consultation resultedin hundreds of submissions on the topic of Irish unity. There have beenIrish unity working groups set up in Belfast City Council, Newry, Mourne andDown District Council, Mid Ulster Council and Donegal County Council.

The SDLP’s New Ireland Commission also held aseries of public events and the Irish News came out in support of a Citizens’Assembly. Ireland’s Future worked hard during the year with public eventsattracting people from the business community and academia, as well as a seriesof meetings with political parties across the island. 

On 15 June 2024 Ireland’s Future will be holding amajor conference – Pathway to Change – in the SSE Arena in Belfast. Among thosealready committed to speak are Professor Brendan O’Leary, Jarlath Burns,President of the GAA, Mary Lou McDonald TD, Ivana Bacik TD, John Alderdice,David Adams, trade union leader Mick Lynch, Claire Hanna MP and Claire Mitchelland many more. Tickets are already available and given that Ireland’s Futurepast events have sold out now is the time to book. https://www.ticketmaster.ie/ireland-s-future-presents-pathway-to-change-belfast-15-06-2024/event/38005F42B36C13BC

In August An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar acknowledgedthat we are now ‘on the path to unification’. He said that he believes “therewill be a United Ireland in my lifetime.” Responding Mary Lou McDonald urgedthe Irish government to begin planning for that future. Leo Varadkar she saidhas “correctly said that we’re on the path to Irish unity. The question and thechallenge now for him and for the government is what are they going to do aboutthat?”

Throughout 2023 United Ireland  activists havebeen involved in walking for unity, swimming for unity and running for unity aswell as planting Crann na Saoirse – a freedom tree- in support of Irish Unity.

Gaels le Chéile too continues to attract growingsupport from GAA grass root members. A packed hall during Féile an Phobail inAugust heard a senior panel of Gaels articulate the importance being active onthe need for a Citizens’ Assembly. The panel included Antrim Gaels Jane Adamsand Paddy Cunningham, former Tipperary hurler Timmy Hammersley, Kerry nativeand former Offaly senior football manager Stephen Wallace, Margaret Flynn ofO’Donovan Rossa and Niamh McElduff Carrickmore footballer. Jarlath BurnsPresident Elect of the GAA was in the audience.

Mary Lou McDonald speaking at Sinn Féin’s Ard Fheisin November said that this is the time for our generation to write the nextchapter on unity – to build a new Ireland. She said: “Government must plan fordemocratic constitutional change. That means a Citizens Assembly on unity. Theday is coming when everyone on this island will have their say in referendums.Each vote counting equally, no vetoes, no shifting of the goal posts. Momentumis building, the conversation is live, history is happening now. Irish Unity isthe very best opportunity for the future. In the words of Rita O’Hare, “We mustkeep going. A United Ireland 
lies ahead”.

So, 2023 was a very busy year. Lots ofactivism. 2024 is already shaping up to be even busier. So, join the campaignsfor a Citizens’ Assembly and for the unity referendums. Have your say on thefuture and help shape the new Ireland.

 

A New YearWish

Bliain Úr Faoi Mhaise Daoibhse Go Leir.

I received this verse in a Christmas card. Very appropriate.

Our New Year Wish

Peace and justice where life is hell;

In Gaza, the West Bank and Israel,

In Russia, Ukraine and Afghanistan,

In South Sudan and Pakistan,

In Myanmar, Mali and Somalia,

In Yemen, Chad and Ethiopia,

In Cameron, Darfur and Syria

In Mozambique, Congo and Libya

In Lebanon, Kosovo and Iraq,

And especially, Nagorno Karabakh

(The last is personal, as you may know,

For family there, a desperate blow)

This list goes on; in this cruel time

Hope and history do not rhyme.

But wars must end and fighting cease.

Witness today, Ireland at peace.

So friends and family, far and near,

Do not despair of the coming year.

 

A Christmas Gift: Journalists under attack by Israel: Defend Irish neutrality

 

A ChristmasGift

I am recommending this new book  - Togáil Croí. Seán Mac Goill - as a great Christmas present for you dear reader andfor someone you love. It is bilingual and veryaccessible. Irish and English columns side by side, page by page. It is beautifullydesigned, colourful  and with many graphics and photos as befits a bookwhich celebrates the work of the people it is about. 

Seán Mac Goill is one of that band of visionariesand activists which gave us the new Bombay Street after the original BombayStreet was destroyed in the 1969 pogroms, the urban Gaeltacht on BótharSeoighe, Ballymurphy Enterprises, the Whiterock Industrial Estate, Garáiste anPhobail and many other projects going back to the mid 1960s. It is also aboutthe Irish language in West Belfast and the wider cultural revolutionacross the city. 

While Seán is singled out for special mention thisbook is about all those who were involved and their pioneering families. It isa tribute to the critical role played by these Irish speaking visionaries and do- ers. 

This book is about the structures for education,employment, progress, and self help which they created despite fierceopposition from an actively hostile unionist and British regime. It also drawsheavily on archival material from An Spás Dín in the wonderful Coláiste Féirste in the Gaeltacht Quarter.

Have no doubts about theirachievements.  This is a hugelysuccessful group of progressive Irish men and women  in one of the  most ‘economically impoverished yet intellectually and culturallyrich areas in Ireland’. They persisted. And they prevailed. And we all benefitted. 

It also gently reminds us of the type of languageactivism which  is  needed for the future. The activism of Na h’abhair é. Dean é. Don’t talk about it. Do it. 

I  am a huge admirer of all the people celebrated in this veryimportant book. I am constantly inspired and encouraged by their example. ReadTogáil Croí and you will be inspired also.  So will whoever is lucky toget it from you in theirstocking this Christmas. 

Availible from An Ceathrú Póílí, An Culturlann. Bothar nabhFál, Belfast.

 

Journalists under attack byIsrael

For as far back as I can rememberthe phrase ‘truth is the first casualty of war’ has been used when wars are analysed.The phrase is very old. The first time we know it was used was by Greeksoldier, poet, and playwright Aeschylus in the fifth century BC who said: ‘In war,truth is the first casualty.’

We Irish have long experience ofthis. During the decades of conflict inour own place political censorship by the British and Irish governments and theestablishment media was widespread. But media manipulation goes back further. Inher exceptional book ‘Ireland – the Propaganda War’ Liz Curtis reminds us thatthe arrival in the North of the BBC in 1926 saw that organisation institutionalisea unionist ethos within its news coverage.

Quoting from a BBC document in1930 Liz Curtis wrote: The BBC Regional Service ‘reflects the sentiments of thepeople who have always maintained unswerving loyalty to British ideals and toBritish culture. Northern Ireland relies on broadcasting to strengthen itscommon loyalties with Britain.’ There were of course exceptions within the BBCand outside of it. There were journalists prepared to lift their heads abovethe parapet to tell the truth. Fair play to them but they didn’t face whattoday’s journalists in Palestine face on a daily basis.

Israeli forces are systematicallytrying to shut down the truth in a ruthless and methodical campaign ofassassination of journalists.

At the weekend Al Jazeera journalist SamerAbudaqa was killed. His colleague Wael Dahdouh was wounded. Only weeks ago fourmembers of Wael Dahdouh’s family, including his wife Amna, son aged 15, daughteraged 7 and grandson aged 1 were killed. They were murdered when Israeli forcesblew up the house they were sheltering in. The house was in a neighbourhoodthat the Israeli government said was a safe zone.

The Committee to Protect Journalists reported at theweekend that at least 64 journalists, most Palestinian, and media workers areamong the almost 20,000 killed by Israel forces so far. At least 13 others havebeen injured and three journalists are reported missing. In addition, journalistsin the west Bank are routinely and savagely assaulted by Israeli soldiers andsettlers.

The Israeligovernment’s objective is to try and control the narrative – to excuse theirgenocidal campaign against the people of Gaza but in particular children. Theyalso seek to keep on board those few governments who shamefully support turningGaza it into a graveyard for the innocent.

Iwelcome the Irish government’s recent effort at last week’s EU summit, alongwith Spain, Malta and Belgium, to persuade the EUto adopt the demand for a humanitarian ceasefire. According to An Taoiseach LeoVaradkar, ‘The position of the overwhelming majority of the EUcountries now is that there should be a ceasefire.’ However the summit failed to reach agreement.

This Monday will beChristmas Day. There is little prospect of the slaughter stopping. But if it isit will be for a pause. That is not acceptable. The deliberate and callousshooting dead of two Christian women –Nahida Khalil Anton and her daughter Samar as theywalked to a convent of nuns in the compound of the Holy Family Parish - theshooting dead of three Israeli hostages by Israeli soldiers, and the use of abulldozer to crush Palestinians seeking refuge at Kamal Adwan Hospital, adds tothe abundant evidence that Gaza is a killing field for the Israeli government.

This weekendas we celebrate and reflect on the Christmas story let us applaud thosejournalists under threat every second of every day in Gaza and the west Bankand recommit ourselves to the enormous solidarity campaign for the Palestinianpeople that has seen many millions across the world declare – We are allPalestinians Now.

Defend Irish neutrality

At a time whensignificant wars are raging – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Israel’s assaultand genocide against the Palestinian people, and in the Sudan and Sahel regionof Africa –and elsewhere, Irish neutrality has never been more important.International tension and disputes between nations and within nations are notnew. The establishment of the United Nations after the Second World War createda new paradigm – a new international structure to resolve conflicts.

It has notbeen easy. The system is not perfect. The recent use of the veto by the UnitedStates government to block a ceasefire resolution for Gaza at the UN isevidence of the fragility of the system. But the UN remains the best means forresolving disputes. And Irish forces in peacekeeping missions make an enormousand positive contribution to peace.

The announcement by Fianna Fáil leader and TánaisteMicheál Martin last month that the Irish government is to scrap the triple locksystem is a retrograde step. The triple lock is amechanism which sets out the criteria for the involvement by 12 or more Irishsoldiers in peace missions overseas. For troops to be deployed requires thatthe action is mandated by the United Nations; must be approved by the governmentand then by the Dáil through a resolution.

This is not the first time that the future of thetriple lock or of neutrality has been raised. Fine Gael supported dumping thetriple lock two years ago but Fianna Fáil in its 2020 manifesto for the generalelection said it would ‘fully maintain’ neutrality and the triple lock.

And therein lies the rub. Irish neutrality and thetriple lock are seen as political Siamese twins – inextricably linked. Thescrapping of the triple lock would dangerously undermine neutrality and openthe door for a future Irish government joining NATO – a decision Micheál Martinhas already said does not require a referendum but simply a decision ofgovernment. Following the invasion of Ukraine Martin said: “We need to reflect onmilitary non-alignment in Ireland and our military neutrality.” 

The Irish government is treading a dangerous path. Neutralityis and should remain the cornerstone of Irish Foreign Policy. It allows anIrish government to play a positive role in the wider world, especially indefence of human rights. It shouldn’t be left to government politicians todecide whether Irish soldiers are sent to fight wars for the big powers.

 

Words for Shane: The de-humanising of the Palestinians: Christmas Ceol

 Words for Shane

Last Friday I travelled to Nenagh for the funeralof Shane MacGowan. It was a sad and yet joyous event with family and friendslifting their voices and their hearts as a succession of musicians played someof Shane’s best known songs, including the exuberant Fairytale of New York, CórCúil Aodha, including Seán O’Sé and Seán O’Riada’s son Peadar also did whatthey do best.

I did a Reading at the mass and made a few remarks.This is what I said:

“Victoria asked me to say a few words. That’s whatShane wanted.

Mo comhbrón leatsa agus leis bhur gclann goh’airithe deirifiur Shane and a Athair, Siobhán agus Maurice.

Go raibh maith agat an Athair Pat.

My words are words of gratitude.

Gratitude for Shane’s genius – for his songs.

His creativity and his attitude.

Gratitude for his humour and his intelligence andhis compassion.

Grateful for his vulnerability, his knowledge andhis modesty.

Gratitude for his celebration of the marginalised,the poor, our exiles and underdogs.

Grateful for the Pogues and all our music makers,all our dreamers of dreams.

Thankful to Shane’s carers.

Proud of how Shane deepened our sense of Irishnessand our humanity.

Grateful for his rejections of the revisionism oftime serving fumblers in greasy tills.

Glad that he stood by the people of the North.

In war and in peace and that he was proud ofTipperary’s fight for Irish freedom and his family’s role in this.

Thankful for his poet’s eye for words of loveand betrayal, justice and injustice, rejection and redemption.

Grateful that Shane lifted us out of ourselves and thathe never gave up.

Delighted that he empowered us to dance and sing,to make fun and to shout and yell and laugh and cry and to love and to be free.

Ar  laoch thú Shane.

Ar ghile mear.

Fíle, Ceoltóir, fear uásal.

Your music will live forever.

You are the measurer of our dreams.

Go raibh maith agat Shane MacGowan.”

 

The de-humanising of the Palestinians

Last Sunday was the 75th anniversaryof the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was a response to the horrorof the Second World War, and in particular the holocaust of European Jews andmurder of countless millions of trade unionists, gay people, socialists andothers the Nazi regime regarded as inferior. Its first sentence encapsulationwhat many hoped would be the dawn of a new era – ‘All human beings are bornfree and equal in dignity and rights.’

That same year the Israeli state was born andPalestinian hopes for their future died in the Nakba – the great catastrophewhen hundreds of thousands were evicted from their homes, forced into refugee campaignsand thousands more killed.

In the 75 tears since then the Israeli state hasbreached successive United Nations resolutions. Its treatment of thePalestinians, especially at this time, mimics what many suffered under fascism.

Today the propaganda battle being waged by theIsrael government in defence of its genocide in Gaza and its ethnic cleansingof the west Bank, follows a predictable pattern used by colonial powers forcenturies, including the Nazis.

The French writer Jean-Paul Sarte wrote: “How canan elite of usurpers, aware of their mediocrity, establish their privileges? Byone means only: debasing the colonised to exalt themselves, denying the titleof humanity to the natives, and defining them simply as absences of qualities –animals, not humans. This does not prove hard to do, for the system deprivesthem of everything.”

For centuries the Irish were depicted by theBritish state as stupid, ape like, idle, work-shy, savage, not human. The 19th centuryIrish leader Daniel O’Connell was described as “scum condensed of Irish bog.”

The British state, its writers and publicationspromoted a racist view of the Irish that excused the widespread imposition ofpoverty and hunger. In 1846 The Times wrote: “For our own part we regard thepotato blight as a blessing. When the Celts once cease to be potatophagi, theymust become carnivorous. With the taste of meats will grow an appetite for them… “

One English writer wrote in 1860 as he travelled inIreland: “I am haunted by the human chimpanzees I saw along that hundred milesof horrible country … to see white chimpanzees is dreadful; they were black,one would not see it so much, but their skins, except where tanned by exposure,are as white as ours.”

Treating other human beings as animals, and deservingof no respect, makes it easy to slaughter them, to colonise and exploit them.

In our own time British propaganda machine wasbuilt on a strategy of merging all governmental structures; the judiciary,the law, the police and the media, into one structure with the aim of defeatingrepublicans.

This meant policies of censorship and mediamanipulation that perpetuated the decades of conflict. It reinforced theconditions for division and violence. It deliberately covered up British stateviolence, its torture of prisoners and its collusion with unionist deathsquads. And it was a major obstacle to the necessary dialogue needed to chart acourse toward peace.

And so it is in the Israeli state’s prosecution ofa war they claim is against Hamas but is in fact against the Palestinianpeople. The propaganda strategy used by British colonialism is at work in Gazaand the west Bank. Israeli politicians label Palestinians as ‘human animals.’According to the Israeli Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Aryeh Yitzhak King they “aren’thuman beings and not human animals. They’re subhuman and that’s how they shouldbe treated.” His solution?  Use Bulldozers to “cover all these hundreds ofants, while they're still alive.” He and others in the Israelistate defend the denial of the basic necessities of life – food, water,energy, medical care, shelter. Children are dying in their thousands from bombsand snipers and are now starving from hunger.

Netanyahu’s government believes they don’t deservecompassion. Palestinian journalists in Gaza are killed in their dozens.Broadcasters from other states are refused entry by Israel and disseminatetheir news from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem making it easier to control thenarrative. Occasionally some are allowed in as embedded journalists travellingwith Israeli forces. And we know how that worked in Iraq and Afghanistan.

At a time when the media claims that the Israel governmentis killing a greater proportion of civilians than in any other war in the last100 years and prisoners are being killed in Israeli prisons,  the failureof many other governments to take a stand against Israel’s genocidal policy isshameful. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights seems now just a distantmemory.

 

Christmas Ceol

If you are looking for musical stocking fillersthis column recommends two bits of ceol. First off is Fergus O Hare’s new CD –Deep in my Heart.

Fergus is Belfast’s singing botanist, guitarist,Gael, teacher, broadcaster, long time activist and full time wonderful humanbeing. He is in fine voice in this exceptional collection of his favouritesongs, including Victor Jara, Aird Uí Chuain and We Shall Overcome. Deep in myHeart is available at An Ceathrú Póilí, An Cultúrlann, Bóthar na bhFál.Belfast.

Next up is Piaras Ó Lorcáin. Piaras is representativeof today’s generation of young Irish singers. From South Armagh he is steepedin the Gaelic traditions of the Oriel. An active member of Gaelphobal Ard MhacaTheas.

Piaras has made his mark at Irish singingcompetitions including this year’s under 35 Sean Nós Competition ar Oireachtasna Samhna. Bláithín Mhic Cana who accompanies Piaras on this CD took thirdplace in the Women’s Sean Nós Competition.

Piaras has an exception singing voice wonderfullysuited to the five Irish language songs in this collection which includes Tá‘na Lá and Gráinne. You will not be disappointed with this fine CD.

Available also at An Ceathrú Póilí, AnCultúrlann. So make someone happy this Christmas. Give them ceol.

 

Where to for Loyalism?: Peace requires respect for Palestinian rights: The Far Right must be challenged

Where to for Loyalism?

I have met many loyalists over a very long time. In prison. Out ofprison. In secret or in private talks going back to the 1970s. And many timessince then. I like to think that some of us became friends. Or at least we becamefriendly. Some loyalist leaders played a crucial role in the negotiations whichled to the Good Friday Agreement. They deserve great credit for that. That wasthen.  Unfortunately some of those involved have died or are no longeractive. In other instances more progressive elements have been replaced bya younger cohort, with little interest in politics or experience of prison orconflict. Twenty five years after the Good Friday Agreement the main loyalistorganisations remain in existence. Why?

Maybe for some it is a way of life. For others it is alucrative way of life especially for those who are involved in the illegaldrugs trade. In many cases it is impossible to distinguish between thetwo. There is not even a pretense that they are interested in anything otherthan racketeering, extortion, drug pushing and money making. But not allloyalists are like that.

Incidentally, the scourge of illegal drugs is not confined to anyone section here. It is a huge problem also in other communities across thisisland  with some of the gangs involved flying ‘republican’ flags ofconvenience and also cooperating with their ‘loyalist’ counterparts in criminalactivities. In my view this is a policing issue which requires a more urgentand strategic focus by the PSNI and An Garda Síochána.

So what is loyalist paramilitarism about today?  In thepast the main loyalist organisations were run as ‘counter gangs’ by British andRUC Special Branch. In fact some were established or resurrected by BritishIntelligence agencies. This is now a matter of public record. So iscollusion. There was also a crossover between membership of the old B Specialsand the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) and loyalist paramilitaries.  Themain unionist political parties also maintained a close relationship with themain loyalist paramilitaries. In fact the DUP set up its own paramilitarygroups including Ulster Resistance which went on to import arms from theApartheid regime in South Africa in 1988. To my knowledge Ulster Resistance hasnever been properly investigated by our media nor did it engage with theCommission responsible for putting weapons beyond use.

So why are loyalist paramilitaries still in existence?  Theyobviously still recruit. So too, it seems, do  so called republican dissidentgroups. Those who genuinely disagree with Sinn Féin should do the decentthing and pursue their aims peacefully and politically. There is no reason forarmed groups to exist.

For its part when the IRA formally ended its armed struggle in 2005 itstopped recruiting and left the stage. Sinn Féin has effectively filled thatspace and is the only republican movement nowadays. Sinn Féin is committed topurely political modes if struggle. It also has widespread popular support.

Loyalist working class people have no such organization, even inskeletal form to represent them.  Since the death of David Ervine, theloss of Billy Hutchinson’s seat in last year’s Council elections and theresignation of Dawn Purvis some years ago there seems little chance of loyalismorganizing itself politically and separately from the main unionist parties.This is despite their intense hostility towards in particular the DUP. They freely vent against the way they have been used and abused in thepast. They give off about the failure – or refusal- of the main unionistparties to secure services for deprived areas. And then they go off andelectioneer for the very same parties which exploit them in this way.

At the same time there are individuals including former loyalist prisoners,and some of the above, doing their best to improve conditions fortheir communities, which like their working class republicancounterparts suffer greatly from disadvantage and poverty.  In myopinion these are decent people as much opposed to the drugs trade and wantingbetter opportunities for young people as the rest of us.

There are numerous other activists in the civic and community sector,across Belfast loyalist neighbourhoods, particularly the women’s sector,with no paramilitary connections whatsoever, doing great work to tacklesectarianism and inequality. There are also former loyalist prisoners,alongside republicans, doing important work in Belfast’s so-calledinterface areas to ease tensions especially at times of heightened difficulties.

Getting them to go beyond this is extremely difficult. Maybe they don’thave the influence or the inclination at this time to do more. Maybe otherswould make life too difficult for them.

For our part those of us who are committed to the aim of uniting Protestants,Catholics and Dissenters should not give up on our loyalistneighbours. We can agree to disagree on the constitutional future of thisplace while coo-operating on social and economic needs.  That meansbeing avowedly anti-sectarian. At a personal level. At a community level. Andeventually at governmental level.

 

Peace requires respect forPalestinian rights

The four day ceasefire in Gaza andthe release of hostages, including Emily Hand the nine year old Irish/Israelichild, was a welcome development. Every effort must now be made to ensure therelease of all hostages. But this must include those Palestinian hostages – nownumbering in their thousands and including many children – some of whom havebeen interned by Israel for years.

The attacks by the Israeli army onthe families of Palestinian hostages is reprehensible. The occupation ofnorthern Gaza, the indiscriminate attacks on civilians, and the ongoing attacksagainst Palestinian families on the west Bank is evidence of the Israeli government’sdetermination to maintain its apartheid system. A Palestinian population almostequivalent to the entire population of the North has been forcibly displaced asrefugees. Over 15,000 people are now believed to have been killed in Gaza andalmost half of these have been children. The dreadful images of broken bodies,of shocked and wounded and orphaned children have moved millions around theworld to cry STOP to Israel’s genocidal slaughter of innocents.

The public claim by Israel that itsmilitary objective in Gaza and the west Bank is to destroy Hamas and to providesecurity for its future is false. Neither of these will be achieved. Israel’s current strategy has strengthened Hamas support amongPalestinians. No one with any sense can believe that the last six weeks ofindustrial level destruction in Gaza will have improved Israel’s security.

On the contrary Israel is becomingincreasingly isolated internationally. Around the world millions are on thestreets week after week demanding a permanent ceasefire and justice for thePalestinian people. The EU political consensus is breaking down with somegovernment’s criticising Israel and others now openly advocating forPalestinian statehood. Moreover, Israeli efforts to find allies among Arabstates, has taken a significant battering.

Thirty years ago – after the OsloAccords the Middle East peace process held out the real potential for a twostate settlement. As Seamus Heaney so wisely explained it in our own place in1994 after the IRA cessation – it was a space in which hope can grow. That’swhat happened here. Against all the odds. Because there was leadership tonurture the hope. But in the Middle East it was not to be. Successive Israeligovernments, and especially those led by Netanyahu, have deliberatelyundermined that latent possibility choosing instead to expand its theft ofPalestinian land. They have institutionalised an apartheid system of controland domination as inhumane and pervasive as that of South Africa. The desirefor an exclusively Zionist state from the Mediterranean to the Jordan hasbecome for many – but not all Israelis – the dominant aim of Zionism.

Whatever process of negotiations andpeace efforts emerge out of the current crisis it will only succeed if theZionist dispossession, occupation and apartheid regime is ended.  Nationalself-determination and equality of opportunity and respect for the rights ofPalestinians - alongside the rights of their Israeli  neighbours, has tobe the bedrock of any peace process.

 

The Far Right must be challenged

The horrifying stabbing in Dublinlast week of three children and a woman from Gaelscoil CholáisteMhuire and the subsequent street violence was shocking. And thebravery of those who tackled the attacker is to be commended.  Theburning of Garda cars and buses  and  the looting of shops  mustbe condemned. But that is not enough.  There are real questions about howthese events were handled  and about the lack of resources, policing capacityand intelligence.  

The people of Dublin’s inner city aredecent people. The far right represents only a tiny fraction of the population.But as in Europe and elsewhere they are a violent fraction eager to fomentdivision, promote disinformation, and encourage racism and hate. They mustbe opposed, challenged at every opportunity. So, well done to all of those whoparticipated in the trade union sponsored rally at the GPO on Monday.

Those involved in the violence willundoubtedly, as the Government has promised, face the full rigours of the law.But a thorough investigation is also required of Garda handling of the events.And a multi agency led strategy of social inclusion is also urgently needed sothat all of our young people have equality of opportunity. 

Eileen Howell/St. Comgalls: Seán Harte - a fior Gael, republican and decent man: First Prize: Palestine

 

Going from strength to strength 

Regular readers will know that Ionad EileenHowell/St. Comgall’s was formally opened in June by the US Economic Envoy JoeKennedy. It came after many years of fundraising, planning and hard work by allinvolved – not least Eileen Howell who the centre is named after. The projectis designed to promote economic, educational, social and cultural benefits forthe people who live and work in the local area and to promote good relationsbetween communities. Ionad Eileen Howell joins Conway Mill and otherlocal projects in this important work. 

Last Friday the last unit in Saint Comgall’s wasformally opened by the Pat Finucane Centre, the human rights NGO named afterassassinated Human Rights Lawyer Pat Finucane. 

The same week it was joint winner of the Community Award at the Aisling Awards.

It has been a busy five months for Ionad EileenHowell. The Director of the Project Gerry McConville told me of the many recentevents that have been held there and of the plans up to Christmas. Last weekthe Falls Women’s Centre held their conference in the centre. In earlyOctober a range of international experts from Ireland; the United States;France; Switzerland and Canada attended the inaugural Acute PaediatricsInternational Conference (APIC).  In the same months Trade Unionists for a New Ireland (TUNUI) held atwo day conference there.

Among the many organisationsnow using Ionad Eileen Howell is the Dept of Commerce; the Education Authority;local mental health charities; the Department of Finance and a wide range ofcommunity groups. The Fleming Fulton School use it each week for teenagers withspecial needs and the ShankillWomen’s Centre held a conference there last week. 

Local businesses too are based in St. Comgall’s.Among them is Stephen Farnan’s ‘We have it wrapped up’ a unique and innovativeblend of fresh designs in ceramics, wood, glass, aluminium and red earthenwareclay. So successful is the business, which showcases his work and that of othergreat Irish makers/artists that Stephen recently opened a new shop on theLisburn Road in South Belfast. These join his other two outlets in Castle Courtand in Portstewart. His pottery is as busy as can be and his 

studio in Ionad Eileen Howell is open eachday from 10am to 2.30pm. It’s well worth a visit. It you are interested inseeing what they produce they can be found on Facebook at #wehaveitwrappedup.

Another business doing verywell is Elite Dance Design which currently sells uniquely designed Irish dancecostumes around the world. There is also a Global Shipping Company; an ITsoftware developing company and Féile an Phobail. 

On the 1st December Artistsfor Palestine will be holding an event organised by Féile. On 3December there will be a Christmas Fair and two days later at 7pm on5 December there will be a Christmas Concert with the Ulster Orchestra players,St. Joseph’s PS Choir and the Black Mountain Choir.

These are just a few of theevents taking place in Ionad Eileen Howell /St. Comgall’s. The success of thecentre is a tribute to Eileen - an outstanding leader -  and to allof those who have turned a derelict old school into a first class community and business centre. Amazing.

 

Seán Harte - a fior Gael, republican anddecent man

Seán Harte was a proud County Tyrone man – a nativeof Loughmacrory - a GAA stalwart and long standing republican activist inCanada where he was a board member of Friends of Sinn Féin. His death is a hugeloss to the Irish Republican and GAA communities in Canada but especially tohis family. 

Like many others I was deeply shocked at the startof the month at the news of Sean’s death. I was unable to travel to his funeralin Toronto but I did send a message of solidarity and sympathy to Noelle,and Justin and Catherine. “Seán fought hard to stay with you andalthough it may not seem possible now I am sure your memories of him willsustain you in these difficult times. That’s what Sean would like. Tá arcroíthe briste libhse. No one knew Seán better than Noelle. No one had a betterDaddy than Catherine and Justin.”

Seán was a Tyrone Minor Champion with Carrickmorein 1972 and a founder member the Loughmacrory St Teresa’s Club. He lined outwith them in their first ever competitive match in 1973. Like many Irish peopleover the centuries he decided to emigrate in search of a better life. Hetravelled to Toronto but never forgot Tyrone and never stopped playing for andbeing part of the growing GAA family in that huge country. 

He was a founder member of Club Tyrone whichinvests in the GAA in his home country. Seán was the current secretary of theCanadian County Committee and a former chairperson of the organisation. Overmany years he played a pivotal role in organising GAA tours of Canada.

Sean was a decent man. He was always positive,generous, good natured and deeply proud of his family. Their loss is all thegreater because of this. Ní beidh a leitheid aris ann. Sean never forgot wherehe came from. He was Irish, Tyrone and Loughmacrory through and through.Fittingly he was named Irishman of the Year in Canada for 2023. Tyrone GAA intheir statement on his death put it well: “Although Seán spentvirtually all of a half-century in Canada, his was a stellar case of ‘theman maybe leaving Tyrone, but Tyrone never leaving the man’."

Seán was also a fior Gael. Steeped in Gaelicgames from boyhood  and instrumental in expanding the Gaeldom inCanada. He fell ill at the Toronto GAA Convention in October. 

Seán was a sound Irish Republican. He neverforgot his IRA brothers Gerard and Martin, executed along with Volunteer BrianMullin in 1988 by the SAS and the British Army near Drumnakilly in theirhomeland. 

Sean was a stalwart supporter of Irish freedom andlike his late brother Nishey and the Harte family he was a staunchsupporter of the peace process.

I want to extend my deepest sympathies andcondolences to Noelle, and Justin and Catherine and to all of his familycircle, as well as to the GAA in Ireland and Canada and finally to Friends ofSinn Féin in Canada. We will all miss him. Thank you Sean for yourdedication and commitment.  Mo comh bhrón le Noelle agus teaglach Sheáin.Ba laoch Seán Harte.

First Prize

I rediscovered this certificate last week. I was awarded it fifty years ago. It celebrates me winning the Leeper category in the annual Long Kesh Cage Feis organised by the local Sinn Féin Cumann. In our cage the Cumann was called after big Mundo or Eddie O’Rawe. Eddie was an IRA Volunteer executed by the British Army after they captured him down the Falls in Belfast, in April 1973. Eddie was a patriot and a gentleman.

The Mundo O’Rawe Sinn Féin Cumann organised lots of activity behind the wire. Debates and discussions. And all kinds of competitions. I was a very unlikely winner of the Leeper one. Incidentally, it should be Leaper not Leeper but who cares. It’s one of a kind. Some younger readers may wonder what a leeper is. In the Kesh the term was generally used to describe someone with dubious hygiene habits. It was also used to describe a place. For example his cell is leeping. It is probably derived from jumping. That toilet is jumping. Meaning it is smelly and unclean.

Bogging is another good word. It gave us the term bogger. I won that title one year also. Just saying. My comrades thought they were funny. I was neither leeping or bogging. I just didn’t conform to their Doc Martens, shin high Wrangler and denim clad attire. Or skin head hair styles.  My hair was long. So was my beard. How that amounts to me being a leeper is debateable. But I’m used to getting blamed in the wrong. And  I’m glad I rediscovered my certificate.

Palestine.

The awfulness of the Israeli State’s onslaught on Gaza continues to shock people in Ireland and throughout the world. The mobilisation of people everywhere is admirable. It is crucially important that we do not stop our demand for a Ceasefire. That means Hamas as well as Israeli forces. It means international law being applied. As this column goes to print it appears there may be some positive news on the release of hostages. If that happens it will be good. But much more is required. A negotiated peace process is urgently needed allied to emergency aid for the region. Ceasefire Now.