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

 

Timefor a Change of Government. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

Judicial Review lodged in defence of Moore Street

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

NewMural in support of Palestinians

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

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

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

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

·       Homesare attacked every four hours

·       Tentsand temporary shelters every 17 hours

·       Schoolsand hospitals every four days

·       Aiddistribution points and warehouses every 15 days.

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

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