503-Jan86 - Connolly Association

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JANUARY 1986
No 503
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244-246 GRAYS INN ROAD, LONDON WC1
CARNIVAL
OF REACTION
IN NORTH
Opening Hours: 11 am - 6 pm
Phone: 01 8 3 3 3022
DERRY MOCKUP IN
DEUTSCHLAND
A PARIS correspondence sends us
a translation of parts of an extra•r*dinary article which appeared in
May
1984
in the
German
newspaper
"Stern."
It alleges that the British'Army
has been allowed to construct a
mock-up or replica ofDerry City in
a remote
German
forest,
"complete
with
churches
and pubs and with the walls of the
houses covered with graffiti."
A wall separates the Catholic
republican ghettf from the loyalist
middle-class district.
In this isolated area, known as
"tin-town"
journalist,
Bernard
Landwehr, says manoeuvres are
executed simulating as far as
possible conditions in the six
Counties.
Whether this practice area still
exists
could
no doubt
be
discovered. It may have been
dismantled when the article was
published and the cat let out of the
tag
What it does seem to point to,
however, is NATO involvement in
the continuing occupation of the six
counties, and throws some light on
why Chancellor Kohl was so swift
to congratulate Fitzgerald on the
Hillsborough
agreement
which
could make parts of
Ireland
available for the same purposes.
COMPLAINTS
THE SDLP is pressing the so-called
Anglo-Irish Conference to consider civil
rights complaints made by members of the
nationalist population. The British side is
resisting this. Mr Mallon said: "If the
nationalist people found that the
conference was not prepared to deal with
specific complaints they would lose faith in
it." But another danger is that the
Conference might be used by the Tories as
an excuse to refuse to answer questions in
»he House of Commons. This was how
St'ormont was used.
KATH COLLINS,
R.I.P.
THE CONNOLLY Association,
(uid particularly the South London
•ranch, suffered a tragic loss on
November 19th with the very sad
A;ath of Kathleen Collins at only
it. A member for some 25 years
and a most generous supporter,
Kath ran a number of splendid
socials and garden parties to help
the Association.
Born Kathleen Regan she came
from a famous Irish republican
family in Bermondsey and was
m m M v a o ^ .
of
^
Cork
through her mother's
family, the Nagles. We extend
sincere sympathy to her family.
Militarising
the Irish Sea
HILLSBOROUGH HOPES DASHED
Repression intensifying
L A B O U R M P s and others t a k e n for a ride on the H i l l s b o r o u g h hijack (some g e n u i n e friends of
Ireland a m o n g t h e m ) will not be celebrating the first two m o n t h s ' operation o f t h e ThatcherFitzgerald a g r e e m e n t .
This cynical and reactionary fraud, to which one suspects Mr Kinnock
was fully privy and taken in by it, promises merely what Connolly called a
"carnival of reaction" in the six counties.
The ink was scarcely dry when Mr King announced that the Irish
government had accepted partition in perpetuity. Later he said he didn't
mean that.
Mrs Thatcher herself was
accused by Mr John Hume
(himself sneered at as "Lord
Hume" by Fianna Fail European
Assembleymen) of misleading the
Unionists. And here is her
verbatim reply:
"Yes, we do have a duty to
consult Dublin — no, that's
not right; we do not have a duty
to consult. The Republic can
make proposals."
A model of clarity and precision
in a garden of sweetness and light!
RESIGNED
The Unionist MPs have all
resigned and are going up for reelection. Young Unionists are
making a protest walk from Derry
to Belfast. But they know they
have now no more than a nuisance
value, and are in effect offering the
SDLP power-sharing
if
Hillsborough is abrogated. The
SDLP have no reason to bother
their heads about them. They
betrayed the Irish nation and how
they are betrayed themselves.
They should have thought what
England would do to them before
they a c c e p t e d the role of
Quislings.
At the same time their actions
do not seem to presage the perfect
peace the public has been
promised.
Whenever the Tories have a
political victory they celebrate it
on the economic f r o n t On
C h r i s t m a s eve t h e r e w a s
announced a £44 million cut in
housing subsidy in the six counties
with an expected loss of 2,000
jobs. And the point should sink
home. Now they've got Dublin in
tow the Tories are independent of
the Unionist workers, and could
privatise Shorts, or closedown the
shipyard without the slightest risk
of losing control of the six
counties.
Some of the money saved is to
be spent on industry. But hopes of
rapid investment from America,
raised when the Dail vote was
marginally in doubt, have done a
vanishing trick and a joint
delegation of the British and Irish
governments h a s gone to
Washington to beg hand-outs.
These are likely to be long delayed
because of the "log j a m " in
Congress financial arrangements.
The Washington administration
takes the view that finance should
be left to the private sector!
The hopeless disarray of Tory
p r o s p e c t s h a s n o t however
prevented the ugliest aspect of the
d e a l f r o m s h o w i n g itself.
E v e r y t h i n g else has been
subordinated to the assault on
Republicanism as a precursor to
ending Irish neutrality.
EXTRA TROOPS
So on the first day of the new
year 600 extra soldiers are sent
across the Irish Sea, to be
stationed near the border, implicit
announcement of an intended
military flush-out of South
Armagh while Free State forces
seal the border.
Just after Christmas eighteen
republicans were arrested in a
series of dawn raids, including Sinn
Fein Councillor Seamus Cassidy,
Martin McGuinnes, and ex-MP
Owen Carron. Mr Carron was
charged with possession of arms.
H e denied that the arms in
question were in his possession.
T H E TORY militarists have plans for
mining the Irish Sea in peace time and
think they have found a way to get
r o u n d international law on this
subject, which is that any mining must
be notified.
They have invented a mine which
can be activated by remote control
a n d are arguing that it isn't a mine
until the switch is pressed making it
active.
T h a t would presumably mean they
would have to announce the switcho n , but there's such a thing as
forgetting to. The laying of secret
minefields is totally forbidden.
Worst news is that their new invention,
unlike the US deep sea mines, is intended
for shallow water, so that the areas
between Fair Head and Kintyre, and
between Pembroke and Rosslare are in
question.
In effect what they want to do is to mine
Irish coastal waters without telling the
Irish. One more stage in the .Militarisation
of the Irish Sea. Anyway the plan has
leaked out in Dublin, so that's onethingto
*
the good.
SUSTENTATION
FUND
IT'S great to see the names Of
supporters who have been backing up
the Connolly Association for yearS
and years. A special thank you to
them.
But there's also reason why there
should be a lot of new ones. And we
hope the old ones will help to discover
them.
Everybody knows about James
Connolly today. But do they'
appreciate that he hadn't the name he'
has now thirty years ago? And do they '
know and appreciate the part played '
by the Connolly Association in
getting him recognised?
But leave aside past records. The
Association is the only sizeable
(Continued o n p a g e 2, col 1)
organisation in Britain standing for
the international principle of national
sovereignty. The conference in
November was the first shot in a
campaign that will escalate.
In launching that campaign we
*
.
m
.
have before ui Connolly's vision of a
occasion they have to sleep on the w o r i d o f f r e e > c q u a l ) independent
floor, also that their sleep is nation states.
interrupted every 15minutes during
Our thanks to:
the night, and that their exercise
k ^ ' ^ ^ ^ c ® ^
has hten restricted to a small
covered yard.
l i o ^ l f f i f e S f S S ?
The Irish Democrat has sent E»«n a r. Horp'n Mp; j. Mcii*^ a-. s.'b. £i;
their statement to an interested
.
Member of Parliament in hope that BuIhEiKn f m ' o!
t^MmtPS^a
these verv serious allegation* will be WMd £2;A- ***** ft""*w. landu t.u.
utcac very X/rnO allegation* wm U€ aub£IO;P.D^rcy£l;M.CUnton£l.J<K,T.Uonird£5;
investigated
After all thev are jj.
c. Maloney
£2; M. Outer £3; M. McOuire Ur, O. Ruihe
r s i H | w t < h t y t m r mm
p cartyM£1; ). Kavanath £3.JO; J. Caddy 50p; I.
untried and if this is what happens
** **«*«®«rk T.yior a-, a. nnoiay
Strip-searching in Brixton?
MEMBERS of the Irish Prisoners'
Appeal and Women in Troops Out
Movement
(245a,
Coldharbour
Lane) announced a picket of the
Home Office to draw attention to
the plight of two remand prisoners,
Ella
O'Dwyer
and
Martina
Anderson.
Their press statement alleges
that Ella O'Dwyer was strip
searched 27 times in 23 days though
nothing was found. They complain
dffrequent cell changes and that on
^ES'HSca^
V
J r .
' ""rr*™
to the supposedlyJ Innocent, what of
J
„ 7,7.,
tne gUlttyr
£5; jTrocS. £7; H. Robson £3; V. Oriffia £12.JO; R.
smut. n. io-, m. kea« £* j. McGr.th m; l Daiy» g.
O'Donohoe £10; J. Wylie £5; supporter! in South
Londo«fllJ7.Tom; £141.37 (December).
January 1986
January 1986
rHE IRISH DEMOCRAT
P a g e Two
Innocence
abroad
THE PEOPLE IT SUITS
AN
I A O I S F A C H . Dr Garret
I 11/gcraId
in
1.1•>
speech
introducing
the
ill-starred
Hillsborough
agreement
e x p r e s s e d his g r a t i t u d e to the
I a n a i s t e . the minister lor f o r e i g n
A f f a i r s , the Minister lor Justice
a n d the Attorney G e n e r a l for their
a s s i s t a n c e in bringing a b o u t the
accord
A n d he went on as follows:
" A n d I want to t h a n k also the
British Prime Minister w h o , once
s h e became c o n v i n c e d that the
d i r e c t i o n and path set o u t in this
a g r e e m e n t was the right o n e to
follow,
engaged
herself
c o u r a g e o u s l y a n d with such full
commitment
towards
its
successful c o n c l u s i o n , a n d also
her Secretary of S t a t e for Foreign
A f f a i r s , Sir G e o f f r e y H o w e , and
successive Secretaries of State for
N o r t h e r n Ireland — M r . J i m Prior.
M r D o u g l a s H u r d a n d Mr T o m
K i n g — together with their team
of negotiators, whose c o m m i t m e n t to this most difficult of tasks
m o s t amply m a t c h e d t h a t of o u r
ou n
May I also, ai iius p o i n t , express
m y a p p r e c i a t i o n , a n d that of my
c o l l e a g u e s lor the c o u r t e o u s a n d
e f f e c t i v e security p r o v i d e d by the
R I J C at Hillsborough last Friday.
I MDS'I also express my t h a n k s
t o t h e g o v e r n m e n t s of so m a n y
c o u n t r i e s who d u r i n g the past
year
have o f f e r e d
us
such
e n c o u r a g e m e n t in p u r s u i n g this
p a t h t o w a r d s peace, a n d w h o have
b e e n good e n o u g h since the
s i g n a t u r e of the a g r e e m e n t to
e x p r e s s their c o n g r a t u l a t i o n s on
the successful o u t c o m e of what we
have a t t e m p t e d . I want to thank
particularly President
Reagan,
Speaker
O'Neill,
Senator
Kennedy a n d the F r i e n d s of
Ireland whose s u p p o r t h a s been so
unstinted, a n d whose generosity in
o f f e r i n g to back this agreement
with
financial
aid
is s o
unprecedented and so heartening.
I want t o thank C h a n c e l l o r
k o h l . I orcign Minister G e n s c h c t
a n d (he G e r m a n G o v e r n m e n t for
then
expression
ol
German
s u p p o r t . P " ' s i d c n i M i l t c r a n d and
I orcign Minister D u m a s lor their
w a r m messages of s u p p o r t on
behalf (il F r a n c e ; the Italian
( i o \ c i i i m c n i loi their message ol
s u p p o r t . Prime M i n i s t e r l ubbers
foi what lie said on behalf ol the
N e t h e r l a n d s ; Prime Ministei
M a r t e n s a n d F o r e i g n Ministei
I i n d e m a n s who have s p o k e n on
behall
ol
Belgium,
Foreign
Ministci I llcman J e n s e n w h o has
s p o k e n Iim D e n m a r k ; Deputy
I orcign Ministei P a n g a l o s who
h a s s p o k e n loi ( i recce; the/
G o v e r n m e n t ol L u x e m b o u r g foi
then message Irom t h e n Cabinet
Urging the Dail to reject the
agreement Mr Charles Haughey,
Fianna Fail leader said:
CARNIVAL OF
REACTION
Add to all this Mr Mallon's
c o m p l a i n t that t h e Ulster D e f e n c e
R e g i m e n t have increased their
harassment
of
the
nationalist
c o m m u n i t y since the signing of
the Hillsborough agreement.
W e ask those w h o have been
s w e p t a w a y in the e u p h o r i a to tell
u s , in the n a m e of e v e r y t h i n g
t h a t ' s sensible, in w h a t way d o e s
t h i s scenario point the way t o
peace?
I I IS, I think, fair to say that n o
action
directly involving a
G o v e r n m e n t ol Ireland h a s evei
received such e x t r a o r d i n a r y a n d
u n a n i m o u s support f r o m a c r o s s
the world as the action we h a v e
taken
in
entering
into
this
agreement with the G o v e r n m e n t
of the U n i t e d K i n g d o m . "
It is lair to say. But w h o were
they? First rellect on those absent
f r o m the list. O n e d o e s n ' t suppose
Dr Fitzgerald missed Russia or
C h i n a , b u t t h e y ' r e m i g h t y big
states. But what a b o u t India?
Weren't
they
delighted
No
N o r w a y , n o Sweden, no Austria,
n o F i n l a n d , no Iceland. Not a
single S o u t h - A m e r i c a n c o u n t r y .
Not a single African c o u n t r y . N o
New Z e a l a n d .
But read the list again — every
single c o u n t r y apart I rom
Australia
is a m e m b e r
or
c a n d i d a t e m e m b e r of the FEC".
Likewise they are all in N A T O .
It's o b v i o u s f rom the speed with
which they acted that all these
countries knew what was going to
h a p p e n . I n d e e d it was probably
cooked u p in c o n s u l t a t i o n with
them. If a m a n is k n o w n by the
c o m p a n y he keeps an a g r e e m e n t is
k n o w n by t h o s e who a p p l a u d it It
is a w a r - m o n g e r s ' a g r e e m e n t And
seven of t h e m are colonial or excolonial
powers.
It is a n
imperialists' a g r e e m e n t .
UNCONSTITUTIONAL!
"In our amendment we make it
dear that we recognise fully the<
need to improve the situation of the
Nationalist community in the North
of Ireland and we approve and
support any effective
measures
taken on their behalf We cannot
accept, however, the abandonment
of our claim to Irish unity or the
— From p a g e one
recognition of British sovereignty
T h i s is a clear i m p l i c a t i o n that he over the North of Ireland which is
c l a i m s he was f r a m e d .
involved in this agreement.
A n d p e r h a p s the m o s t a l a r m i n g
w a s t h e sentencing to l o n g t e r m s
o f i m p r i s o n m e n t of 27 men, all of
w h o m protest their i n n o c e n c e , o n
t h e u n c o r r o b o r a t e d evidence ol
self-confessed murderer and
supergrass
Marry
Kirkpatrick.
T h i s decision was t a k e n by o n e
j u d g e a n d w ithout a j u r y , and was
d e s c r i b e d by Mr S e a m u s Mallon
o f t h e SDL.P as a " p r e p o s t e r o u s
w a r p i n g of the official p r o c e s s . "
A n d s o m e of the s e n t e n c e d men
have already started a hunger
strike.
M e e t i n g ; Prime Minister H a w k e
a n d Foreign Minister H a y d e n
w h o h a s spoken for A u s t r a l i a ; the
S p a n i s h G o v e r n m e n t f o r their
w o r d s of e n c o u r a g e m e n t ; the
P o r t u g u e s e G o v e r n m e n t lor their
the
message
on behalf of
P o r t u g u e s e people; a n d m a n y ,
many others, including
the
F e d e r a t i o n of Irish Societies a n d
Council
ol I r i s h
Counties
Associations
in
Britain,
the
C o m m i t t e e for a New I r e l a n d in
the
United
States, a n d
the
President of the C o m m o d o r e
John
Barry
Division o f the
Ancient O r d e r of H i b e r n i a n s ,
a m o n g others. And at international
level I w e l c o m e
particularly
the messages
ol
support
from
the
Secretary
G e n e r a l of the United N a t i o n s
a n d the President of the E u r o p e a n
Commission.
We are deeply concerned that by
signing this Agreement the Irish
Government are acting in a manner
repugnant to the Constitution oj
Ireland by fully accepting British
sovereignty over a part of the
national
territory
and
by
purporting to give legitimacy to a
British administration in Ireland.
By confirming what is called the
constitutional status of Northern
Ireland as an integral pert of the
United Kingdom in this agreement
we will do serious damage in the
eyes of the world to Ireland's
historic and legitimate claim to
the unity of her territory.
h is also our view that the
agreement
will lead the Irish
Government into an impossible
political situation, in which they
will find themselves
assuming
responsibility for actions and
becoming involved in situations,
particularly in the security field,
over which they will have no
control.
What lias happened is that the
Tories have received the go-ahead
for a massive wave of repression.
The talk about civil rights is all hot
air. "New Society" publishes
Article 2 of the Constitution oj
figures showing that discriminat i o n against the n a t i o n a l i s t Ireland, Bunrepcht na hEireann,
community in terms of jobs is as states that "the national territory
bad as ever. Justice and policing consists of the whole island of
speak for themselves.
Ireland,
its islands and the
Even so, there is something territorial seas." In 1949. Dail
useful to be done even before the £ireann, by unanimous declaration,
inevitable changes of government
solemnly
reasserted
the
we are impatient for. The Tories
indefeasible
right
of
the
Irish
nation
should not be let off the hook on
the issue of civil rights. There to the unity and integrity of the
should be full support for the national territory.
campaign for the repeal of the
The New Ireland Forum report
Prevention of Terrorism Act, and
states
in paragraph 5.4:
a demand that real and effective
AfftOftff the fundamental
action should be taken to end
realities
the Forum has identified
discrimination.
is the desire of nationalists for
a united Ireland in the form
of a sovereign, independent Irish
state to be achieved peacefully
and by consent. The Forum
recognises that such a form
of unity
would require a
general and explicit acknowledgment of a broader and more
comprehensive
Irish
identity.
Such unity would, of course, be
different
from
both
the
existing Irish State and the
existing
arrangements
in
Northern Ireland because it
would necessarily
accommodate all the
fundamental
elements in both traditions.
Until now the basic national
objective
of unity has
been
reaffirmed time and time again. By
giving it a clear and unequivocal
expression, the Irish Constitution
does no more than reflect the
deepest aspiration of the great
majority of all the people on the
island of Ireland. Dailtireann must
not accept or subscribe to any
course of action which is in conflict
with that fundamental aim or which
undermines the nation's ability to
achieve that aim.
Neither the Government nor the
Dail may disregard the powers and
duties conferred upon them by the
Constitution or take action in
conflict with its provisions Even by
executive
action
alone
the
Government may bring themselves in
conflict with the Constitution ij
"the circumstances are such as to
amount to a clear disregard by the
Government of the powers and
duties conferred upon it bv the
Constitution" - the Chief Justice
giving judgement in the Boland
case.
If Dail Eireann were to accept
and approve this agreement, they
would by doing so, derogate from
the concept of Irish unity by
seeking to confer legitimacy on an
administration
and a political
entity the existence of which is a
denial of that concept of unity. This
is not rhetoric; this is not an appeal
to the emotions; I am simply
outlining the political, legal and
constitutional reality of what is
involved in what we are being asked
to do here
today.
A new
administration
is not
being
provided for or established in
Northern Ireland. What is proposed
is that the Irish Government, by
becoming involved in the existing
British
administration
there
however tenuously, will afford that
administration an acceptance, an
endorsement end an approval,
which constitutionally, they cannot
and should not do."
Schnitzer
bv
ppl 84
Donafi
Published
by Brandon Price £9 95.
AT FIRST sight, this is a novel
about a young man who is the
living embodyment of innocence
and o p t i m i s m . From
his
adolescence he has been feeding
his m i n d with H o l l y w o o d
fantasies, by excessively frequent
visits to the cinema.
His occupations have been farm
labourer, navvy, hod carrier and
finally, professional gaelic poet.
As his philosophy of passive
acceptance of life as it is, becomes
more influenced by his reading of
the c l a s s i c s of E u r o p e a n
philosophy, he becomes more and
more introverted and fascinated
by his own mental processes.
Finally, the consequences of his
near total social isolation fall on
him. By then he has become so
remote f r o m normal life that he is
incapable of understanding the
tragedy of his situation.
R e c o u n t i n g the h e r o ' s
adventures enables the writer to
i n t r o d u c e many d i f f e r e n t
c o l o u r f u l but true to life
c h a r a c t e r s , landladies, t r a d e
union organiser, gaelic fanatic, a
TV reviewer, the literary "hangers
on" in Dublin, the "winos" in
L o n d o n , and finally, the
custodians of law and order and
the administrator of British
"justice".
As with all outstanding novels
the irony is not just referring to the
central character. Have we all not
met the employee who is so
anxious to please the manager
t h a t he h a s t e n s his o w n
redundancy or early retirement.
All too many people we meet have
insulated themselves from the
world by means of a diet of TV
soap opera and "tit and b u m "
daily. There are many "Schnitzer
O'Sheas" about.
The novel combines the satiric,
the comic and the philosophic in a
unique
way. Highly recommended.
Q.C.
MacBRIDE AT LCI MEETING
"IRELAND has gained nothing from
the Anglo-Irish deal; it is wholly to
Britain's advantage — and may have
disastrous consequences for both
countries". This is the view of Mr
Sean MacBride SC who spoke at a
public meeting at London's County
Hall organised by the LCI to discuss
the Hillsborough Agreement. It is in
Mr MacBride's view an acceptance by
the Fitzgerald government of
Partition. The main intention of this
accord is to isolate and defeat Sinn
Fein and the IRA. This, however, will
not happen. The violence will
continue and the divisions among
Catholics and Protestants will deepen.
The only lasting solution was for the
British government to declare that it
would no longer claim soveignty over
Ireland or My part of it.
O'Shea
MacAmhlaigh.
On the platform also was Mr Ken
Livingstone, leader of the GLC and a
president of the Labour Committee
on Ireland. He agreed with Mr
MacBride adding that, in his view
Ireland 'was no longer a neutral
country'. He went on to say that the
Accord could do nothing to end the
policies of repression in the North and
that plastic bullets and Diptock courts
would remain.
He was followed by Jeremy Corbyn
MP who stressed the influence of
America in the establishment of this
deal. The fact that as part of it
America was undertaking to
guartntec large investments was in
Corbyn's view a very ominous
develqpment.
NOTE: Donall Mac Amhlaigh was
at the Four Provinces Bookshop on
December 20th, to sign copies of tins
book. A big crowd attended, 4»ut
unfortunately the books, thoMgh
ordered well in advance had not been
received from the publishers, and may
have been held up in the customs.
Fortunately the Four Provinces
Bookshop is conveniently located,
and it being Christmas time, with
copious supplies of lemonade in close
vicinity, the hoped for customers were
not totally without recourse. The
book is now in stock. — EDITOR.
Smoky Dublin
DUBLIN has smoke emissions«ix
times greater per square mile than
London, which has had smokefree zones since the fifties.
Because of air p o l l u t i o n
Dubliners haye a three times
greater chance of contracting
respiratory diseases than rival
dwellers. Trouble also comes f r o m
l e a d in p e t r o l , w h i c h i s
particularly bad for infants wjth
growing bones.
A? Anti-Pollution pill is to be
introduced to the Dail in 1986 to
provide for the progressive extension
of smoke-free zones over most of
Dublin, starting with the inner city.
Now that natural gas from Kinsale
has been piped to the capital, it is
ppsotble gradually to move over to
Msijkg this for beating purposes.
The coal distributors' lobby, which
makes money from importing coal,
does not like the anti-pollution tilk.
But things are now so serious that
something drastic must be dam.
THE IRISH DEMOCRAT
ISM CHAIRMAN
FOR SPAIN
Page Three
INTERNATIONALISM - TRUE AND FALSE
By
EUROPE" is a constant theme >j
politicians when they are talking about
ihe EEC. Newspapers, loo are full oftalk
about "European" elections, the
"European"
parliament
and
"European" affairs. But lei us be clear
ai once thai ihe association of states
they like to call Europe is made up. in
fad, of a distinct minority of European
Ai Madrid on January
8th, stales - 10 out of 25. to be precise, if we
i Zaragossa on the 9th and Bilbao on exclude the USSR. The EEC (naturally Th IS is the speech made by a delegate from Rome
the l()th he will speak at public enough!) does noi include ihe Eastern
meetings and on Spanish radio and European couwu,Nor
does it include who attended the Connolly Association conference
1 V about the pressures some E E C half ofthe countries of Western Europe, on national sovereignty on November 30th. The
circles are exerting on Ireland to co- h does, however, include Western
1
operate more closely on common Europe's most powerful (and some oj main paper before the conference is obtainable at
EEC "security". He will explain how the world's most powerful) slates. It also the Four Provinces Bookshop, price 25p, post free.
Ireland's position as the only non- includes some of the weakest economies
Conference decided to reconvene in the spring, to
N A I O EEC member would be in Europe. The former dominate the
sirengthened if Spain also opled out latter. The latter provide cheap .labour support the publication of Mr John Boyd's pamphlet
of NATO.
investment opportunities and strategic exposing the great EEC fraud, and to hold an
In Spain the government is telling military outpost
international meeting in the autumn. The aim is an
IRISH Sovereignty Movement
chairman Anthony Coughlan has
been invited by the Spanish AntiNATO Commissions to speak on
Irish neutrality in the opening stages
of S p a i n ' s N A T O r e f e r e n d u m
campaign.
ERNA BENNETT
ihe people lhat now that they are in
The fashion of talking about
lhe EEC it would be dangerous a n d "Europe" when what is meant is the
indccent for them to leave NATO, ETC is, therefore, a deception.
whereas in Ireland the government Endlessly repeated, as it has been over
says of course that neutrality is quite
ihe past twenty years, it has created the
sale within the EEC. Public opinion in
deliberately
misleading impression lhat
Spain sirongly favours the EEC. They
only i<>incd on January Isl after all, lhe EEC is something approved by and
.ind like the Irish in 1972 have been led involving all the states of Europe. By
io think it is El Dorado. Public lhe use of this and other deceptions the
opinion, however, is opposed to EEC' has been foisted on to millions oj
NAT O. The last opinion poll showed people whose national, democraticallyiwo-ihirds against — and there is elected legislatures
have been
1
siong opposition to I IS bases in the increasingly subordinated lo the
country. Hence the desire of the Anti- bureaucratic and technocratic rule oj
N A I O Commissions to hear an Irish Brussels - more than people are aware,
voice.
and much more than the majority of
international campaign for national sovereignty.
"internationalisation" fraud behind
them, are very well qualified to lead ihe
resistance to this new "Union" of
"Europe." This Conference is a sign
that this may be more than just a
possibility.
IT has always been the most
conservative and reationary of political
forces in the EEC member-stales who
have most persuasively argued the
"international" character of the EEC.
They like to call it a community. They
people would tolerate if they did know.
T H E Spanish' socialists promised There is no act of political arrogance are for ever talking of every kind of
political and ecomomic advantage thai
that they would hold a referendum to
to compare with it since the flagrant is to be gained from membership. For
bring Spain out of NATO before they
corruption
that
was
used
to
buy
off
the
were . elected. Since then West
ihe working people of the EEC
Irish parliament in 1800. The enormous countries, however, none of these
Germany has gone to work -on behall
of America and socialist . .prime publicity budget of the EEC dwarfs,
advantages - whatever they are - has
minister G o n / a l e / has done a I H u r n even' in present day values, the
ever materialised.
and is now campaigning to keep Spain corruption fund • of the London
Clearly, if there were not advantages
inside NATO.'' There is still the government of 'hat lime, because it
lo
be gained by someone, we can be sure
awkward business of (he referendum, aims to corrupt entire populations as
lhat the enormous energies thai have
however, now due in March, ft is well as their representatives, and
been expended in constructing the EEC
likely to be one of the-Western promotes every thing from Car stickers
would not have been exertedfor so long.
• Europe's big political news stories of and glossy brochures to continentaljoyihe New Year.
rides and bun-feasts for its myriads of In the business pages-Af the newspapers
we are told thai it is "business" which
shameless camp followers. The Irish,
ben< jits, but when it comes to the
The Anti-NATO Commissions are with the experience of one such
crunch the benefits seem to consist ofan
all-party groupings linking people
from right to left across the Spanish
political spectrum. Mr Coughlan has
. never been a member of a political
party aparl from a couple of years'
membership of ihe Irish Labour Party
when he was a student. He has a longtime inierest in Irish neutrality and is a
member of the executive of Irish
CND.
Buy it here!
T H E "Irish Democrat" is sold ai the
following bookshops in Britain. Clyde
Books, 15-19 Parnie St. Glasgow;
Houseman's Bookshop, 5 Caledonian
, Road. London. N l ; Progressive
Books. 12 Berry Street, Liverpool;
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Southall; Collets Bookshop, 64/66
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In addition it is distributed by
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WANTED: Sellers in Leeds,
Edinburgh, Bristol, Sheffield, Cardiff,
Swansea, Hull,
Portsmouth,
Plymouth and the Lancashire towns.
THE REAL AMERICA!
NOBODY who went to the
G.L.C.-sponsored
exhibition
"The other America" can fail to
have been impressed.
Unfortunately it closed just
before Christmas and, surprising
though this may seem, there seem
to be no plans to bring it to
Liverpool, Bristol and Glasgow,
the cities with the closest ties with
the USA. And what about
Ireland?
However, you can if you want
get a copy of the magnificently
illustrated catalogue from
Journeyman Press, 97 Ferme Park
Road, Crouch End, London, price
£7.95.
Is it worth £7.95? It certainly is.
Indeed one would be tempted to
buy the hardback at £14.95. For
here are splendid reproductions,
in full colour, of drawings,
paintings, designs and posters
illustrating the history of the
American Labour movement.
T H E exhibition was first staged
in Berlin (West) in 1983, and has
been somewhat slimmed down
from its original size. The German
catalogue had 550 pages. And it
does seem a little odd that those
who selected material for the
showing in Britain did not include
a single reference to the Irish! For
the role of the Irish in the Knights
of Labour was an epic — to say
nothing of the Molly Maguires.
Well, it's still worth it. You can see
the America of slavery, of
peonage, of wa^e-labour, of
poverty and unemployment, and
the intense and violent struggle of
the dispossessed to repossess their
heritage.
I n B r i t a i n t h e r e , lis a
phenomenon that might be called
"rotten anti-Americanism." This
identifies everything American
with reactionary popinjays like
President Reagan, and that too
often not because of his evil
actions, but out of jealousy that
England is top dog no more and
cannot do the same on the old
scale.
This exhibition is the best
possible antidote.
BUT it has another value than that
f o r t h e L a b o u r h i s t o r i a n or
internationalist. It has a position in
the history of art. The names of
photographers, artists, poster
designers and so on have been
meticulously searched out, so that the
result becomes a work of reference in
that field. Librarians please note.
It is of the greatest political
importance also that the "Other
America" should be known in
Europe. I would like to see a
delegation of US peace activists
touring Britain to talk world peace.
But if we can't have that, at least this
book shows that there are such
people, boycotted though they are by
the British mass media, and that alone
is something.
- C.D.G'.
invitation to afree-for-all in which what
s small and man-sized goes to the wall,
and from which the powerful emerge
even more powerful When we look at
these powerful interests we discover,
increasingly as time passes, thai they
are transnational corporations and
their affiliates,
and that the
"internationalism' they present to us
through EEC propaganda is really
' supra-naiionalism.
THESE "internationalists" are
internationalist only in the same way
lhat the British Empire was
internationalist.
They are as
internationalist rs Fascism's New
Order in Europe that cost 30 million
human lives only forty years ago hence, no doubt, the extreme right's
enthusiasm for the EEC. These
"internationalists" are 'nternationalist
only in their appetites - they are
complete!) indifferent as to which nation
or which people they feed on. When il
suits them, these people are good ai
talking about common interests (just as
lhe\ like lo share out iheir problems bv
talking of the common crisis) but when
they get down lo brass lucks these
latter-day internationalists slill have the
same greedy glim in their eyes as their
forebears of a century ago when drove
imperialist armies lo mass murder in
the continents oj the south - using
methods already well-tested in Ireland
Up till now aggressors have only been
able to dissolve the boundaries of
nations and swallow iheir contents by
waging war. Thai has always been a
costly and a ri\kv business The
pow erful interests thai hold ihe reins oj
the EEC have now learned thai the
dinner jacket is every bit as good as lhe
jackbooi. and the power of mone i
as vreai as thai of ihe sword and boih are a great deal safer. For all
the evocations oj "internationalism
and the sophistry about "interdependence." the EEC's policies,
particularr towards former colonies
now euphemistically
known as
"associated members, " reveal that this
now fashionable internationalism to be
a device for prolonging the vitality oj
capitalism and extending the reach oj
an imperialism all refurbished and done
up new to meet the needs of an age
dominated by the transnational
corporations.
THE fashionable internationalism of
the EEC is merely a screen to hide the
fact thai national boundaries can be
dissolved - in the interests of
multinational capitalist corporations by trickery as well as bv force, and the
end result is ihe same • It is not
surprising, therefore, now ihai
capitalism has gone international, thai
a whole new band of theorists has
appeal ed out of the woodwork, charged
with' the mission of denigrating the
.
nation-state and extending a warm
welcome to the
trans-national
corpcfyBtions w hich - and I quote - "are
ihe visible tip of an iceberg of a vast
network of transnational forces that
are the wave of the future." Now
there's a fine mixed metaphor for you.
What is surprising, however, is thai
MR J O H N DONLEARY (Abingdon) some theorists of the left have
embraced similar notions.
writes:—
One party of the left in Ireland,
I WAS interested to read Jim
welcoming trans-national investment in
Connell's own account of The Red
the under-developed Irish economy,
Flag in your December issue.
Some years ago, the late Jim argues that this will lead to a muchof the
Garnett, of Haslingden (an occasional needed industrialisation
contributor to the "Irish Democrat"), economy, which w ill lead, in turn, to the
gave an account of James Connell and formation of an industrial working
the circumstances under which he class, which, in its turn, will open ihe
composed the Red Flag, to the road to socialism. Such a theory
"Blackburn Evening Telegraph".
ignores that an industrial working class
R e - r e a d i n g t h e " T e l e g r a p h " already exists in Ireland, and lhat a
feature, it is obvious that Jim Garnett targe part of it has been isolated from
w a s f a m i l i a r wilh the " C a l l " playing any part in the Irish economy
interview; he was able to supplemeni by the Partition Act, just as it ignores
it with additional biographical details
that the re-iniegration oj this working
of Connell, such as his association
class
into Irish political and economic
with the Social
Democratic
Federation and the Fabians; and he life depends on the resolution of the
national question and the re-unification
was able t o add a sequel.
Jim Garnett inclined to the view of lhe country.
OTHER socialists have fullen for
that the dirge-like tune, based on the
"internationalism'
but
German O Tannenbaum, often put capitalist
people off, and he related how, at the socialists should bew are of capitalists
gifts,
and
capitalist
bidding of Ramsay MacDonald. bearing
George Lansbury of the "Daily internationalism is no exception. It
Herald", organised a competition for reminds us of ihe gift of national
a new l a b o u r a n t h e m .
Hugh "autonomy" promised by Griffith and
Robertson, conductor of the Glasgow other spokesmen for the capitalist class
Orpheus Choir, and the tenor John to the Irish people in 1922, provided
McCormick were appointed judges, that he led the struggle, and they fought
and, having examined the 290 entries, it. For various reasons - disunity of the
declared that not one of them could movement, short-sightedness of the
compare with the Red Flag.
labour leaders, and a much-encouraged
Without speculating on Mac- behef lhat social liberation and
Donald's motives in 1925, it does national liberation were distinct, not
seem that most reservations regarding identical, struggles Griffith's
the Red Flag tend to be with regard to persuasive powers prevailed on the
the tune, and not the words composed majority of the Irish. Too late when the
by Connell almost a century ago.
Tight was over they realised that what
(Quite right, too! Maryland or they had won for Ireland by their long
Tannenbaum is of course not bad years df war and hardship was
music. James Connolly in a " H a r p " capitalist self-determination, and this
article says it was used by Mozart for very rapidly put socialists and
the Kyrie of one of his early masses. revolutionists in their subordinate
But keeping the flag flying is not the places. What Griffith, ihe capitalist,
same as " L o r d have mercy on us," had meant . by national
selfeven though that may have its proper determination and what the Irish
place. Does any reader know when w orking people meant by national selfand why Maryland was chosen? Was r determination were very different
it because nobody knew the White things, and ihe people paid very heavily
Cockade .without the decorations for their mistake.
Connell deplored? — Editor).
MORE ABOUT
JIM CONNELL
T H E IRISH D E M O C R A T
P a g e Four
MORE TREACHERY AFOOT
I III C o m m o n M a r k e t erev\ art'
planning new assaults on n a t i o n a l
independence. At their m e e t i n g in
t a r h D e c e m b e r the EEC H e a d s of
(>o\ernment
agreed that
there
»ould be a new treat \ on a
" c o m m o n " E E C foreign policy, as
well as c h a n g e s to the Rome T r e a t \
which would increase majorit>
voting and reduce the use of the veto
on m a t t e r s h a \ i n g to do with the
internal m a r k e t .
" I n t e r n a l w h a t ? " , I hear you ask.
I he i n t e r n a l m a r k e t e n s u r e s a
WINIFRED
CARNEY
single expanding market within the
EEC for goods, capital and l a b o u r ,
h\ the removal of physical technical
and fiscal harriers. But as L a b o u r
fIX
A s s e m b h woman C h r i s t i n e
C rawley put it in the ' G u a r d i a n ' ,
the workers and ordinarv people of
Europe should beware, because its
rather boring title is the only
innocuous thing about it.
The
internal
EEC
market,
brainchild of l ory-appointed E E C
Commissioner Lord Cockfield, is a
several-headed monster in t e r m s of
lost jobs, rights and liberties, and it
eats socialist-planned e c o n o m i e s
for continental b r e a k f a s t .
IT insists with all the force of its
right-wing economic
orthodoxy
that import controls a r e o u t ,
unfettered competition is in, and
state aid to industry is bound f o r the
knacker's y a r d . And it hardly r e f e r s
/•'Ol'R decades after her death in
1943 the National
Graves
A \sociation has put up a memorial
in Mill town Cemetery, Belfast, to
H inifred Carney, comrade and
secretary to James Connolly. The
modern womens' movement should
THERE
was s p l u t t e r i n g f u r y
remember predecessors like her.
among judges and
policemen
Winifred
Carney
helped N o r t h a n d S o u t h when S e a m u s
Connolly organise the Belfast girl S h a n n o n w a s released an i n n o c e n t
null-workers
into the
Textile m a n — t h e s e c o n d p e r s o n t o h a v e
W orkers Cnion in 1912. She had been e x t r a d i t e d t o the Six
joined him, along with other women C o u n t i e s by D u b l i n on a p o l i t i c a l
from the suffragette
movement. charge, t h o u g h the case a g a i n s t
She helped him organise the "Non- him w h e n it c a m e to trial d i d n o t
Sectarian Labour Band", which s t a n d u p .
This is h i s t o r y r e p e a t i n g itself as
played the music at the head of the
farce, f o r o n l y a s h o r t t i m e a g o
Transport Cnion marches of the D o m i n i c M a c G l i n c h e y , w h o h a d
dockers and mill-girls. Connolly been b u n d l e d a c r o s s the B o r d e r in
compared the freedom for riot and the m i d d l e of the night, b e f o r e t h e
sedition enjoyed by the Unionists as S u p r e m e C o u r t h a d even given its
they organised assaults on the reasons f o r rejecting his a p p e a l ,
Belfast workers with the brutalities had also been f o u n d i n n o c e n t a n d
of the Liberal Government in sent b a c k t o t h e S o u t h .
F o r years the Unionists a n d
London against the
suffragette
meetings. In a message of support British h a v e been l a m b a s t i n g
he wrote: When trimmers and D u b l i n f o r h a r b o u r i n g " t e r r o r compromisers disavow you. I, a poor sits" a n d b e i n g unwilling t o
e x t r a d i t e t h e m . N o w we see t h e
slum-bred politician, raise my hat
reality of these claims. A s t h e
in thanksgiving that / have lived to " I r i s h P r e s s " p u t it, " M a c see this resurgence of women."
Glinchey
and
Shannon
were
W/N/FRED Carney, along with a p p a r e n t l y t o p of the w a n t e d list,
Elizabeth
O 'Farrell and Julia yet the e v i d e n c e against t h e m w a s
Grennan, two Cumann na mBan so p o o r t h a t a j u n i o r b a r r i s t e r o n a
nurses, stayed by Connolly's side in b a d d a y c o u l d h a v e seen t h r o u g h
the GPO during Easter Week. As it. H a v e o u r c o u r t s been t a k e n f o r
a ride by t h e N o r t h e r n a u t h o r i t i e s ?
his secretaty Winifred would type
O r d o e s a g r i m m e r t r u t h lie b e h i n d
out despatches and messages to the this e p i s o d e ? Is this the s o r t of
other Volunteer forces. She was e v i d e n c e t h e R U C h a v e been u s i n g
arrested after the Rising and was all a l o n g t o s e c u r e c o n v i c t i o n s in
kept in jail, along with Helena less p u b l i c i s e d a n d c l o s e l y
Moloney, until Christmas 1916.
s c r u t i n i s e d cases in the D i p l o c k
In the 1918 general election c o u r t s ? "
H inifred Carney was one of two
women nominated to represent THERE was much publicity last
Sinn Fein, the other being Countess September
about the
Oxford
Markievicz.
Winifred
Carney Conference which launched the
stood for the Victoria Division of British
Association
for
Irish
Belfast. She returned to Belfast in Studies and the undergraduate
1920 and devoted her life until her course at Keele University.
death to trade union and socialist
Britain's Education Minister Sir
activities. Her grave had lain Keith Joseph - one of the
unmarked since 1943, but there is ideologues of Thatcherism - and
now this fine memorial, which was Irish Education Minister Gemma
unveiled recently by Liam Rice, a Hussey turned up. The Taoiseach's
veteran Belfast republican.
daughter Mary FitzGerald. who is
ONE small point. The memorial attached to Keele University, is
refers to H inifred as a "life-long concerned with organising the
republican socialist." She should course.
surely have been called a "socialist
Now it seems thai Keelc is
republican."
All socialists are organising a big conference next
republican, for otherwise they must April under the auspices of the Irish
be monarchist. But all republicans Studies Institute on "The subject
are not necessarily
socialist. of the feasibility of consensus in
Someone, li'. • Winifred Carney, Ireland." Invitations have gone
who was both socialist
and
out from Mary FitzGerald to publicrepublican is properly styled a figures in Britain and in the
"socialist republican." It shows a
North and South of Ireland to come
misunderstanding
of
both
along to this event and the
republicanism and socialism to put person to preside at the official
things the other way round. And
dinner on April 3rd is our friend
perhaps that is not really a small
l ord Terence O'Neill, no less.
point. Winifred Carney herself, or
TITLES of papers include such
Connolly, would not think so.
mouthfuls as "The Feasibility of
4. C.
to organised labour, although its
success ultimateh depends on
creating a drastically reduced,
mobile, low-paid and malleable
European workforce.
The attempt by the BrusselsStrasbourg bureaucracy to bring
about a uniform EEC-wide market
aims to destroy nationally based
industry in the interest of the
transnational corporations. It will
f u r t h e r e n f e e b l e the s e l f determination of member states,
with its conviction that "excessive"
national standards should be
standardised. So watch out. Social
legislation
lobbyists
and
environmental pressure groups!
And the draft treaty on foreign
policy cooperation will make
nonsense of the foreign policy
independence which must underline
any meaningful neutrality for
Ireland.
One article, for example,
requires any EEC State thinking of
undertaking a foreign policy
initiative to consult with the others
first and take their views into
account. For Ireland the "others"
are all NATO members of course.
How practicable therefore would it
be for Ireland to undertake an
independent line on disarmament or
nuclear issues, or on economic
issues where the policies of the
other States are different from
Ireland's?
AS Fianna Fail leader Charles
Haughey said in the Dail: "The
practical effect could be to water
down our neutrality to a minimalist
policy level with little practical
content."
The Fianna Fail leader went on
to criticise Article 8 of the Draft
IS this t h e r e a s o n the N o r t h e r n
a u t h o r i t i e s h a v e been so slow t o
use t h e C r i m i n a l L a w J u r i s d i c t i o n
Act w h i c h t h e D a i l went to such
t r o u b l e t o p a s s n i n e years a g o ?
T h a t a l l o w s t h e trial of p e o p l e
w a n t e d f o r a l l e g e d o f f e n c e s in t h e
N o r t h b e f o r e t h e T w e n t y Srx
C o u n t y c o u r t s . Is it that the R U C
have not been sure that southern
c o u r t s w o u l d c o n v i c t on t h e s o r t
of e v i d e n c e
t h e y have
been
a c c u s t o m e d t o use in the N o r t h ?
will not sign t h e c o n v e n t i o n at
least until it has a m e n d e d Irish law
to ensure
that
no-one
is
e x t r a d i t e d unless a p r i m a facie
case
has been
established
according
to
the
norms
of
s o u t h e r n c o u r t s , a n d until there
h a v e been s u f f i c i e n t c h a n g e s in the
N o r t h e r n police a n d c o u r t s t o
enable nationalists to have
c o n f i d e n c e in t h e m .
Splitter and splatter!
E x t r a d i t i o n w a s o n e of t h o s e
grand
gestures
Southern
p o l i t i c i a n s w e r e a n x i o u s to m a k e
— at s o m e o n e else's expense — t o
r e a s s u r e N o r t h e r n Unionists. It
has p r o v e d t o b e a d i s a s t e r area f o r
all c o n c e r n e d a n d t h r e a t e n s t o
bring t h e R e p u b l i c ' s c o u r t s i n t o
disrepute and create antagonism
towards the gardai.
Yet t h e C o a l i t i o n G o v e r n m e n t ,
n o t h i n g d a u n t e d b y the a b s u r d
pass-the-parcel
game
with
MacGlinchey
and
now
with
S h a n n o n , p l e d g e d t h e m s e l v e s at
Hillsborough
t o sign
the
European C o n v e n t i o n for the
S u p p r e s s i o n of T e r r o r i s m , w h i c h
would
make
extradition
automatic
even
for
political
offences.
A s t h e " P r e s s " says, it s h o u l d
n o w t h i n k a g a i n . I n fact it s h o u l d
t h i n k f o u r o r f i v e times m o r e .
D u b l i n s h o u l d m a k e it clear t h a t it
A N D what of M r S h a n n o n ? H e
spent t w o a n d a h a l f years in jail
o n a charge of m u r d e r i n g f o r m e r
S t o r m o n t S p e a k e r , Sir N o r m a n
S t r o n g e . H e h a s served
the
e q u i v a l e n t of a five y e a r s e n t e n c e
f o r n o t h i n g . D o n o t t h e great
" l i b e r a l s " of F i n e G a e l feel t h e r e
is a p r o f o u n d i n j u s t i c e in t h a t ? D o
they
have
any
plans
to
compensate Mr Shannon?
Sean M a c B r i d e , w h o d e f e n d e d
S h a n n o n in t h e S o u t h , w a r n e d
t h a t H i l l s b o r o u g h w o u l d give rise
t o pressure f o r m o r e e x t r a d i t i o n s
N o r t h w a r d s , t h o u g h this h e l d
tremendous dangers for innocent
people. Sean M a c B r i d e said t h a t it
h a d t o be r e m e m b e r e d t h a t t h e r e
were n o jury trials in t h e N o r t h ,
t h e Diplock c o u r t s o p e r a t e d a n d
even the rules of e v i d e n c e h a d
been c h a n g e d to t h e d e t r i m e n t of
defendants. Extradition therefore
was a monstrous injustice.
M r S h a n n o n is n o w c o n s i d e r i n g
s u i n g for w r o n g f u l a r r e s t a n d false
imprisonment.
BRAIN-WASHERS
Shared Sovereignty and/or Shared
Administration,"
Initiatives
for
Consensus-Power-sharing" and so
on. Obviously it is all about
Hillsborough and after, and the
invitations
indicate
that the
conference is to he private, with the
general public not being let know
what is going on.
Now what has this to do with
Irish Studies? Or with furthering
the cause of Irish learning in
Britain's
universities?
Is it
appropriate that Miss FitzGerald
should encourage such a highly
political theme as the focus for
Keele's efforts in this area?
there have been too man\
political conferences on Ireland
behind closed doors. For years the
British-Irish Association
annual
jamborees at Oxford have been
used to push the Foreign Office line,
sussing out the political views of
innocent
Irish
participants,
informing the British about what
they might count on and whom
they should not trust on the Irish
scene.
THE role of the
"think-tanks"
and "foundations" in influencing
Irish policy-makers in recent years
is only now beginning to be
appreciated. These are the wellendowed British and American
agencies, with their Foreign Office
and CIA connections, which have
financed the ideological subversion
of much of Ireland's policy-making
elite. The Heritage Foundation, the
National
Endowment
for
Democracy,
the
National
Democratic Institute in the USA.
And in Britain Chatham House, the
Institute for European Defence and
Strategic Studies, the Ditchley
Foundation and the British-Irish
Association.
It would be a pity if the wellintentioned efforts to encourage the
study of Irish culture and history in
British schools and colleges should
be spoiled by dubious connections
of this kind or by attempts to push
support for a tendentious political
scheme like the
Hillsborough
accord.
January 1986
Treaty, which reads: "The High
Contracting Parties consider that
closer cooperation on questions of
E u r o p e a n S e c u r i t y would
contribute in an essential way to the
development of a European
external policy identity . . . . They
are determined to maintain the
t e c h n o l o g i c a l and i n d u s t r i a l
conditions necessary for their
security."
THE Fianna Fail leader says:
"These paragraphs taken together
could bring us a long way away
from neutrality in practice. To
agree that closer cooperation on
questions of European security is
essential, and I emphasise the use of
the word 'essential', even if for the
time being the Member States are
only ready to cooperate more
closely on the political and
economic aspects of security, could
and no doubt will be interpreted as a
formal abdication in principle of
our neutrality. Acceptance of that
paragraph is formal acceptance of
the principle that military and
defence matters are essential to the
development of a European foreign
policy identity. For that reason,
unless it can be shown that our view
and interpretation is erroneous or
exaggerated, I must give notice that
we will find it difficult to support
this draft treaty when it comes
before the Dail."
And if Fianna Fail is so critical,
what of the Labour Party? What
have they got to say about this EEC
scheme to sign away the right to an
independent foreign policy? Will
they pretend thaf Irish "neutrality"
is safe because we are not signing
on the dotted line of NATO
membership tomorrow? That
because we are not formally
joining a military alliance, Ireland
can go along with everything else
that aligns us with NATO policies?
IS the unwillingness to rock the
Coalition boat so all-important? Is
Labour willing to abandon the real
basis of Irish neutrality in order to
pander to FitzGerald's Euromania?
The coming months will show
clearly what Labour really thinks
about Irish neutrality.
SAINEOLAI NA DTRA
M O b h u i o c h a s d o c h a r a de m o
c h u i d a t h u g an l e a b h a r d o m m a r
f h e r i r i n N o l l a g . Is f a d a a n la o
b h a i n m e an o i r e a d suailce as
l e a b h a r is a f u a i r m e a g l e a m h
" C l a d a i C o n a m a r a " le S e a m a s
M a c an I o m a i r e d o m . Is f e a r baile
mhoir
me a t a
aineolach
ar
iascaireacht, ar b h a d o i r e a c h t n o
a r an iliomad c u r s a i a r i t h e a n n Ie
beatha shaolta na t r a n n a tnhara
a g u s an d u l r a a g h a b h a s leo. D e
m o c h e a r t a i n n e o i n a r i a m h ni
r a i b h me a b a l t a l e a n u i n t a r n a
gnath-leabhair
eolaiocha
ina
b h f a i g h e a n n tu f i o s a r na r u d a i
seo. Is d o i c h e g o r a i b h siad r o theicniuil a g u s d a t h a i r b h e sin r o t h i r i m a g a m . A c h ni h i o n a n n sin
a g u s an l e a b h a r i o n t a c h s e o
"Cladai Conamara". Cuireann
c u m a s s c e a l a i o c h t a a n u d a i r ina
r i t h i m blasta G a e i l g e C o n a m a r a
d r a i o c h t o r t sa d o i g h is n a c h na i r i o n n tu a n m e i d e o l a i s a t a se a g
d i n g e a d h isteach i d o c l o i g e a n n . Is
athfhoilsiu e ar an chead chlo a
t h a i n i g a m a c h i 1938.
Scriobh
Seamas
Mac
an
I o m a i r e an s a r - o b a i r s e o n u a i r a
b h i se i Meiricea a g u s e ina lui t i n n
in o s p i d e a l a r f e a d h se m h i le
e i t i n n . Ba c h a i t h e a m h aimisire
aige e, a d u i r t se. A r n d o i g h
c h u i r f e a d h se f e a r g a r d h u i n e ,
a g u s ni he d e n c h e a d u a i r e, g u r a b
eigin d o n f e a r e i r i m i u i l seo o n
Ghealtacht, a raibh
bua
na
s c r i o b h n o i r e a c h t a aige, an tir a
f h a g a i l l e n a sli b h e a t h a
a
shaothru.
January 1986
Page Fiv® ,
THE IRISH DEMOCRAT
LAGAIM LIGHTS "THE REVOLUTION WITHIN"
BY S. O. D I O C H O N
HILLSBOROUGH PRIORITY
IF Garrett
Fitzgerald's
representatives on the Hillsborough Conference want to
impress the Nationalists in the Six
Counties that they can deliver, they
would be as well to remove their
concentration on Article 7 of the
Agreement, which is all about
security and law and order, and
switch their attention in the New
Year to Article 6. Under this Article
they can deal with the latest report
of the Fair Employment Agency.
Mr Bob Cooper former executive
member of the Alliance Party and
now head of the Government's Fair
Employment Agency has issued a
report on the current pattern of
employment in the 6,000 labour
force in Shorts plane-making
factory at Sydenham, Belfast.
Apparently the reports had been to
hand for some time but was held
back so as not to cause embarrassment to the Anglo-Irish summit
negotiations. Its publication in the
middle of the Christmas rush was
calculated to lessen its impact. The
report is a damning indictment of
Short's management for its
continuing discrimination against
employing Catholics.
serious effort to right the situation.
Although the applications from
Catholics had greatly increased,
their recruitment to the firm
actually fell by 2.6% during 1985.
THE American capital investors
are under pressure from the Fair
E m p l o y m e n t T r u s t . This
organisation is an independent
body of b u s i n e s s m e n and
academics, sponsored by Mr Sean
MacBride. It carries on an
agitation for the implementation of
fair employment as set out in the
"MacBride P r i n c i p l e s " . Its
secretary Mr Oliver Kearney
commented on the recent report
thus: "The F.E.A. has teeth which it
has constantly failed to use. Shorts
must not be permitted to continue
any longer with this charade of
affirmative action. If the F.E.A.
does not act immediately the Trust
will make direct represenatations
to the US Defence Department to
have all further phases of the
present £20 million contract
cancelled."
Certainly recent developments
show that more drastic action is
needed to bring the Short's
management and its bigoted
At present this plant is dependent workforce to heel. For example last
for its existence on American month there was a large-scale
capital investment and on orders intimidation of the handful of
for aircraft for the U S airforce. Catholics who work there at the
Over two years ago Sir Philip moment. The para-military U.V.F.
Foreman the Chairmail 'of Shorts' stuck ' up recruitment ' posters
gave an undertaking to the throughout the plant along with
Americans that he would end the loyalist banners and insignia. When
blatant discriminatory practice asked to remove these the militant
which had resulted in 97% of his loyalists staged a protest parade.
workers being drawn from the As long as they are allowed to have
Protestant population. It is evident their way it will remain a
from this latest F.E.A. report that Protestant plant for Protestant
Short's management have made no workers.
A C O R R E S P O N D E N T h a s sent
t h e " I r i s h D e m o c r a t " a c o p y of a
magazine entitled "Ulster", and
f r o m m u c h o f its c o n t e n t s o n e
w o u l d g a t h e r t h a t its c o n t r i b u t o r s
w o u l d not r e g a r d themselves as
totally
alienated
from
the
protestant paramilitaries.
But the article which we take the
l i b e r t y of p u b l i s h i n g b e l o w s h o w s
the sharp d i l e m m a c o n f r o n t i n g the
anglophile population w h o have
b e e n so s h a m e l e s s l y b e t r a y e d by
"perfidious Albion."
O n a n o t h e r page the magazine
publishes a n article by UlsterAmerican M r Paul Loane, who
s p e a k s of U l s t e r heroes a n d glorifies
W o l f e T o n e a s o n e of t h e g r e a t e s t ,
with favourable quotations f r o m
M r Sean C r o n i n .
Years ago I remember talking to
A l f C o t t o n u p in D r u m c o n d r a . H e
was a protestant on the Republican
side during the troubles. A k n o w n
m e m b e r o f t h e I . R . B . in t h e C o
Tyrone, he told me he hired an
O r a n g e b a n d f o r a p a r a d e in
THE summer of 1985 will be
remembered for two things; its bad
weather and the concerted police
effort to clamp down on Orange
parades at the behest of the English
Government which was trying to
appease its counterparts in Dublin.
The effect of the bad weather will only
be temporary the effects of the parade
bans have, I believe, triggered a
movement of thought within the
Unionist community which will
change the political structure of
Northern Ireland completely.
If the Anglo-Irish talks have done
nothing else/ they have highlighted
just how few friends Unionists have at
Westminster and how little influence
Unionism is able to exert on an
English government. The friends of
Unionism are, by the admission of
leading members of the OUP, limited
STEP UP THE WORD-PROCESSOR
IN last month's "Irish Democrat"
an article by "Sligo" quotes the
Professor of Communications in
the University of
California,
Herbert L. Schiller, as saying that
the two dirtiest words in the
American language are "national
sovereignty." The dirt of course
does not refer to US sovereignty
but to other nations' claims to selfrule. The White House is not alone
in using this kind of distortion to
deceive and confuse.
In the Six Counties, people are
unremittingly
injected by the
media,
the politicians
and
Government statements with three
words - "mainland", "terrorism"
and "alienation." The constant
repetition of these words aims to
cast public thinking into a certain
mould to accommodate Government policies and to constrict the
expression of independent opinion.
TO describe Britain as being
Ireland's
mainland
is a
comparatively recent innovation. It
is patently a propagandist term to
emphasise the political union with
Britain which in now in the process
of breaking down. It is notable that
under the "sell-out" government,
which holds power in Dublin at the
moment, the word "mainland" is
sometimes used by the pro-Brit
writers and journalists in the
TwentySix counties. It is surely an
ironical situation
where the
backward elements in Ireland seek
to con the people with this word,
that the same "mainland" is
rapidly becoming an off-shore
island to that part
of the
geographical mainland of Europe
ruled by the
transnational
monopolies of the EEC.
The British Government and its
media of propaganda have been
very
successful
with
the
manipulation
of the
word
"terrorism."
Terrorism and the
IRA are now synonymous terms
within the context of Six-County
politics. If you raise objections to
this as a biased classification, you
will be accused of dealing in
semantics and even of supporting
violence. However it is a fact that
sectarian killings by the loyalist
UDA, the UVF or the UFF a:e not
reported as acts of terrorism but as
murders or assassinations. When
the Ulster Defence
Regiment,
commanded by Sandhurst officers,
shoots down unarmed citizens they
are not spreading terrorism but
making mistakes or exceeding their
duties. When the Royal Ulster
Constabulary, accompanied by its
squad of British soldiers, break in
the doors, line up the frightened
household and proceed
to a
wrecking search of the house they
are not causing terror but seeking
to contain it. In the British political
dictionary terrorism is exclusive to
the republican para-militaries..
ALIENATION
It was John Hume, MEP Westminster MP
an abstentionist
member
of the NI
Assembly, who gave the word "alienation"
its present vogue and prominence in the
current language of Six-County
politics.
Like "terrorism" it is used in a selective way
by those who maintain that there can be an
internal political solution under British
sovereignty. John Hume's basic argument is
that the people of the Nationalist
tradition
are alienatedfrom the system and processes
r
o NI government. If that alienation can be
overcome by reforms and power-sharing
then the two traditions will learn to live
peacefully together under British rule. That
proposition of John Hume is now the basis oj
the Hillsborough Agreement. It is a falsity, if
not indeed a deception, and it will not work.
The real alienation thai the Nationalists feel
is their separation from their Irish people
across the border. The decision of John
Hume and the SDLP to put the problem oj
that alienation on the long finger and to
Thatcher/Fitzgerald
collaborate with the
accord will eventually lose them much of the
support which they have had until now.
The most
bi:arre
and
potentially
dangerous form of alienation is that of the
Unionist population. It is rep. irted thai Mrs
Thatcher was shocked at the ven^rr'nee and
hatred directed at her and her Govern/,:°nl
by the Unionists over the
Hillsborough
Agreement. In her ignorance of Irish history
did she expect the Unionist to give priority to
the global strategy of the British which is
behind the Agreement? During the coming
year she will find that the legacy of British
rule and her throwing in of the "Orange
Card' have created a situation which she
willfind not at all easy to handle, even with
the help of Garrett Fitzgerald.
h o n o u r of t h e c e n t e n a r y o f 1798. H e
a s k e d t h e m w h y t h e y w o u l d play f o r
the
I.R.B.
but
not
for
the
Devlinites. They replied they would
h a v e nothing to d o with people who
r e p l i e d t o o n e f o r m of b i g o t r y with
a n o t h e r , but h a d n o a n t a g o n i s m to
p e o p l e w h o w a n t e d to d o a w a y with
b i g o t r y altogether. In o t h e r words
they h a d no aversion to escaping
f r o m t h e i r s e c t a r i a n p r i s o n if they
were offered a way out.
It m a y be t h a t M r s T h a t c h e r ,
f r o m t h e w o r s t o f m o t i v e s , is
offering them a way out. When Dr
F l a n n C a m p b e l l ' s b o o k on the
n a t i o n a l record of Irish protestants
c o m e s o u t , t h e p e o p l e o f U l s t e r will
be
able to realise their
true
t r a d i t i o n , n o t b a c k i n g o n e king
a g a i n s t a n o t h e r , b u t l i v i n g freely as
I r i s h m e n a n d w o m e n in a r e p u b l i c .
M e a n w h i l e all f r i e n d s of Irish
f r e e d o m will m o s t c a r e f u l l y r e f r a i n
f r o m saying o r d o i n g anything
likely to hinder the reawakening
t h a t m a y b e in t r a i n .
to the Conservative Party. Within that
party they number no more than
between 20-30 back bench M P ' s out of
a Parliamentary party of well over
300. It is hard to believe that any such
back-benchers
would
risk
their
political careers by opposing an
Anglo-Irish deal backed by their
beloved and revered Prime Minister.
W h a t few Tories that d o support
Unionist principles, are not of an ilk
that would support the defiance of a
Dublin backed ban on traditional
parades. It must surely be cleai to
Ulster people by now that a Tory
Prime Minister who betrayed the
people of Rhodesia/Zimbabwe by
delivering them into the hands of
Robert Mugabe (a terrorist) and then
had the audacity to dance with him at
a social function, cannot be trusted
with the future of one million Ulster
Loyalists. More recently she invited
representatives of the P L O t o meet her
government, an invitation which was
later withdrawn not because of her
aversion to terrorism but rather
because she had to act in accordance
with President Regan's wishes. This,
of course, poses the question as to
what Regan wants Thatcher to do
about Ireland!
So it is now evident that n o English
government, whether Tory, Labour
or Alliance, has the will to defeat the
Provos. They merely want t o keep the
situation quiet and keep the number
of English soldiers to a minimum.
Ordinary Constitutional politics has
failed and while people pursue it
alone, they are wasting the lives of
Ulster people.
Unionists are ignored as they lack
the "cutting edge" of the Provos.
There can be no doubt that when Sinn
Fein say their violence is the only
language English g o v e r n m e n t s
understand, they speak the truth.
Take the example of Portadown; what
d o you think will have the most
influence on political and police chiefs
alike when-they consider the issue next
year? Will it be the empty rhetoric of
Unionist politicians or will it be the
legitimate resistance of Loyalists in
the streets and estates of-Portadown?
Unionism is a two-way concept. To
succeed it needs commitment from
Ulster people and f r o m English
governments. The former has never
been lacking, the latter has never
existed, as can be seen f r o m history
when one considers the attitudes of
Gladstone, Lloyd-George, Churchill,
Wilson, Heath and now Thatcher. As
a nation, what is our primary aim? Is it
to preserve the Union at all costs or is
it to preserve the nationhood, culture,
identity and survival of o u r people?
There can be no doubt that our main aim
is survival! The Union no longer offers
us security of property o r of the
- EDITOR
person. Our English overlords despise
our loyalty and have no respect for
o u r ethnic and cultural identity. Our
Orange and Loyalist parades, o u r
d r u m s and music, our religions and
moral beliefs are a distinct
e m b a r r a s s m e n t to a s e c u l a r
" m o d e r n " society. They have robbed
us of our industry and created a jobs
wasteland. For the past 15 years we
have been fighting not only the Provos
and S D L P , but also our Sovereign
governments. It is a gradual battle
which we are slowly, but surely I
It was the banning of Traditii
Parades over the summer
illustrated just how much we have
over the last 15 years. Traditii
Orange " w a l k s " which had
going on for nearly 200 years
banned on the wishes of the S
and Dublin government. After
years the English government finally
managed to turn the security forces on
the community which had been their
natural allies and certain sections of
the R U C got "stuck in" with so much
relish that it left many Loyalists
wondering just whose side they were
on. On the issue of the parades, the
English government had "given in" to
the Republicans once again, just as
they have done in the past on so many
occasions.
So what conclusions can we draw
from all this? Well, the reader can
draw his own conclusions but in doing
so, try to answer a few simple
questions in your mind. Is the Union
really the best way of destroying o u r
enemies? Is it the best way of securing
the future of the Ulster Nation? Is o u r
destiny secure in the hands of
Thatcher,
Kinnock, and
Owen
because as long as we remain loyal t o
Westminster it is they who control o u r
situation — our wishes are irrelevant.
Do the P r o v o s really
fear
governments in Westminster, who
give political scope to Sinn Fein and
who have no will to defeat the Provos?
History teaches us that it was the
Ulster Nation who defeated militant
Republicanism in 1922 and 1956-62.
English governments merely concede
defeat as in 1916-22 and the last 15
years. A government which accepts a
Dublin vote in the running of
Northern Ireland after 15 years of a
Republican campaign of sectarianism
and genocide will never secure victory
over OUR enemies. We, the Ulster
Nation must win our own battles a n d
win them quickly for time is running
out for us.
The Union is dead, killed neither by
us, nor by the Provos, but by
successive English governments. Let
the spirit of Ulster Nationalism awake
and assert itself. T o survive we must
govern ourselves.
RODEN
Page Six
THE IRISH DEMOCRAT
anuary 1986
CEOL AN PHIOBAIRE
• s- I'-?
Ff /7
A
Bb
Bb
r ? ^Ij J JI j i j I j) iif f!r
j
ryt
I,k)
JU
Jy lyt
WuulJ you cart
|0|
,f,c
r
r|
r r
j j J.l r Li!
luswd him by,
KEY F
Jk)
lor
JJt.
lo
[yc
pui
ru>1 d y
ihasc some quite bung- It
^
rlH ).
fyj •
T H O l K i H T J a c k lo himself " N o w what can this be.
But the finest of whiskey f r o m f a r ( J e r m a n v ,
S m u g g l e d up in a basket a n d sold on the sly
And the n a m e that it goes by is q u a r e bungle r y e , roddy rye, e t c .
Jack
Said
Jack
"Oh
p a v e her a pound a n d h e thought nothing s t r a n g e
she " M o l d the basket till I get you your c h a n g e "
l o o k e d in the basket a n d a baby did spy
B e g o r r a h " says J a c k " T h i s is q u a r e bungle r y e , roddy rye, e t c .
Now t o get t h e child c h r i s t e n e d w a s J a c k ' s first i n t e n t ,
l or to get t h e child c h r i s t e n e d to the parson he went.
Says the p a r s o n to J a c k , " W h a t will he go b y ? "
" B e d a d n o w " s a y s J a c k , " C a l l h i m q u a r e bungle rye, roddy r y e , e t c .
S a y s t h e p a r s o n to J a c k , " N o w t h a t ' s a q u e e r n a m e "
S a y s J a c k t o the p a r s o n , " I t ' s a queer way he c a m e .
S m u g g l e d u p in a basket a n d sold on the sty,
And the n a m e t h a t he'll go by is Q u a r e Bungle Rye, Roddy Rye, e t c .
Now all you y o u n g sailors who r o a m on the town
Beware of t h o s e d a m s e l s w h o s k i p up and down
l a k e a look in their b a s k e t s a s they pass you b v .
O r else they might sell you s o m e q u a r e bungle r y e , roddy rye, e t c .
THE THIEF OF THE WORLD
O H , w h a t ' s t h e good of g o v e r n m e n t , and what do we pay peelers f o r ?
And w h a t ' s the use of soldiers to be s t a n d i n g at their ease?
What do they seize the poteen stills and hunt the h i g h w a y s q u e a l e r s f o r
When r o g u e s c a n r o a m the h i g h r o a d and g o robbing a s they please?
O h , the thief of the world, but s u r e t h e sorrow m e n d m y s e l f ,
Itie two blue laughing eyes of h e r , the dimple on her chin!
They s t o l e t h e h e a r t right out of m e , b e f o r e 1 could d e f e n d myself
I fell into the dimple and I c a n ' t get out a g a i n .
She was s i t t i n g at the door a n d n o b o d y but the cat with her,
When I s t e p p e d in to light my pipe and pass the t i m e of d a y .
And I n e v e r felt the time g o while I talked of this a n d that with h e r .
And sure, ' t w a s almost evening when I rose to g o a w a y .
O h . the thief of the world, when up at last I got t o g o
M> heart w a s g o n e , my head w a s g o n e , my p e a c e of mind likewise,
But wasn't 1 t h e a m a d a n - and she p r e t e n d i n g not to know And all the t i m e the mischief, in the c o r n e r of her e y e s .
But I'll h a v e her up in c o u r t , a n d I'll c h a r g e h e r with the felony.
And if she p l e a d s " N o t G u i l t y , " 'twill be only w a s t e of b r e a t h ,
For I'll set my f a c e against h e r . a n d c o n d e m n her f o r her villainy
To he locked in my a r m s till the d a y of her d e a t h .
O h , the thief of the world! T h e r e ' s no use being kind to her.
Around my neck she'll have to h a n g , until her dying d a y .
As a w a r n i n g to all s c h e m e r s t h a t the s a m e way a r e inclined as h e r .
To go a b o u t t h e i r business and not lead poor boys a s t r a y .
I l J F I ,
Jft.j.Jp
MacBride exposes
jet-set conspirators
MA phosann tu an sistcaloir is tu bheas ag caoineadh.
Mhuirnin dileas is 'fhaoileann og.
Beidh tu do thachtadh le barrach na tire,
'Mhuirnin dileas is 'fhaoileann og
Beidh tu i d o shui go mbeidh se an mean oiche
Ag siordho na gcoinneal's ag sciobadh an lin de,
Ach ba mhile b ' f e a f duit mise agat is ceol binn mo phibe,
Mhuirnin dileas is 'fhaoileann og.
QUARE BUNGLE RYE
The Mountains
of Pomeroy
T H E m o r n was b r e a k i n g
bright and fair
The lark sang in the sky,
When the maid she bound her
golden hair
With a blithe glance in her
eye,
For who, beyond the gay green
wood
Was awaiting her with joy?
Oh, was but her gallant Renardine
On the mountains of Pomeroy.
CHORUS.
An outlawed man in a land forlorn
He scorned to turn and fly
But kept the cause of freedom
safe
Up on the mountain high,
"Dear love," she said, "I'm sore
afraid
For the foeman's force and
you!
They've tracked you in the lowland plain
And all the valley through.
My kinsmen frown when you
are named.
Your life they would destroy;
'Beware,' they say, 'of Renardine
On the mountains of Pomeroy'.
CHORUS
"Fear not, fear not, sweetheart,"
he cried,
"Fear not the foe for me!
No chain shall fall, whate'er
betide
On the arm which will be
free!
Oh leave your cruel kin and
come,
When the lark is in the sky.
And it's with my gun I'll guard
you,
On the mountains of Pomeroy."
CHORUS
The mom has come, she up and
fled
From her cruel kin and home;
And bright the wood, and rosy
red.
And the tumbling torrent's
foam,
But the mist came down, and
the tempest roared
And did all around destroy;
And a pale drowned bride met
Renardine
On the mountains of Pomeroy.
G E O R G E SIGERSON
Ma phosann tu an fiodoir is tu bheas ag caoineadh.
'Mhuirnin deleas is 'fhaoileann og,
Beidh cead luig laig ag an uim da scaoileadh,
'Mhuirnin dileas is 'fhaoileann og.
Beidh tu i d o shui go mbeidh se an mean oiche
Ag siordho na gcoinneal's ag cronan fan ineadh,
Ach ba mhile b'fhearr duit mise agat is ceol binn m o phibe.
'Mhuirnin dileas is 'fhaoileann og.
Ma phosann tu an tailliur is tu bheas ag caoineadh,
Mhurirnin dileas is 'fhaoileann og.
Beidh sop i mbeal a dhorais mar bheadh mada ar c h a r n a n aoiligh,
'Mhuirnin dileas is 'fhaoileann og.
Beidh tu i do shui go mbeidh se an mean oiche
Ag siordho na geoinneal's ag creimneail na bpiosai,
Ach ba mhile b'fhearr duit mise agat is ceol binn m o phibe.
'Mhuirnin dileas is 'fhaoileann og.
HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
" T H E Y ' L L all b e h o m e f o r C h r i s t m a s , " said o l d B e t t y ,
" M y lively s o n s , all t h r e e of t h e m , will c o m e ,
T h e y left m e l o n g a g o b u t I'll see t h e m s o o n , I k n o w ;
'Tis C h r i s t m a s t i m e a n d they'll be h e a d i n ' h o m e .
" T h e r e ' s J a m i e , h e ' s the e l d e s t , big a n d l a u g h i n ' ,
H e ' l l bolt in, like a cart h o r s e , t h r o u g h t h e d o o r ,
A n d I'll s a y , " J a m i e d e a r , A c h , it's g r a n d t o see y o u h e r e . "
A n d he'll kiss m e t h e n a n d s w i n g m e r o u n d t h e f l o o r .
" A n d M i c h a e l , h e ' s the next o n e , d a r k a n d d r e a m i n ' ,
•
He'll s t a n d t h e r e , silent, l o o k i n ' all a r o u n d ,
T h e n he'll h o l d m e t o his b r e a s t a n d his t e a r s will s a y t h e rest,
A n d my o w n will mingle w i t h t h e m o n t h e g r o u n d .
" A n d P a d d y , h e ' s the y o u n g e s t — a c h , a divill
H e ' l l n o t c o m e in — he'll h i d e o u t s i d e t h e d o o r ,
A n d they'll tell s o m e silly t a l e a b o u t P a d d y b e i n ' in j a i l
T h e n I'll h e a r h i m l a u g h . . . a rascal e v e r m o r e !
" T h e y ' l l h a v e p r e s e n t s f o r m e , t o o , all w r a p p e d in r i b b o n —
A h a n d s o m e b r o o c h , a silken s h a w l so g a y ,
A n d I'll be n o d i s g r a c e in m y b l o u s e of C a r r i c k lace
W h e n we all g o o f f to M a s s o n C h r i s t m a s D a y .
" I ' v e a locket m a d e of g o l d : o give t o J a m i e ,
F o r M i c h a e l I've his f a t h e r ' s silver r i n g ,
A n d f o r P a t , avic m a c h r e e , I ' v e m y m o t h e r ' s r o s a r y . . .
I'll give t h e m all m y t r e a s u r e s e v e r y t h i n g .
" I will deck t h e h o u s e with h o l l y f o r t h e i r c o m i n '
^
A n d a c a n d l e s h i n i n ' o u t will g u i d e t h e m h o m e ,
I'll h a v e c h i c k e n s in t h e p o t a n d rich b r o t h , all s m o k i n ' h o t —
O h , they'll find a p l a c e of p l e n t y w h e n t h e y c o m e .
" A n d then at n i g h t a r o u n d t h e fire we'll g a t h e r
A s we used t o d o a t C h r i s t m a s l o n g a g o ,
A n d I'll set t h e i r f a t h e r ' s c h a i r f o r his spirit will b e t h e r e . . .
A n d o h , the j o y a n d s w e e t n e s s t h a t we'll k n o w !
" T h e y ' l l all be h o m e f o r C h r i s t m a s , " said old B e t t y ,
" M y lovely s o n s , all t h r e e of t h e m will c o m e , "
A n d in the f a d i n g g l e a m she d r e a m e d h e r little d r e a m . . .
But her lovely s o n s will never m o r e c o m e h o m e .
F o r G o d h a d w i p e d a w a y in H i s g r e a t m e r c y ,
T h e m e m o r y of t h a t m o r n i n g in t h e s n o w
W h e n s t a n d i n g , s i d e b y side, h e r s o n s h a d f o u g h t a n d d i e d ,
All t h r e e of t h e m , f o r I r e l a n d , l o n g a g o .
The Minstrel
Boy
IRELAND, MOTHER IRELAND
D e a r isle a c r o s s t h e o c e a n , d e a r loving l a n d
of o u r s .
May your d a y s be s u n n y , a n d y o u r way a
way of f l o w e r s ;
Wide ihough we be s c a t t e r e d , o ' e r alien
vale or hill.
All the love y o u gave l o u s we k e e p a n d
cherish still
If you Mgh we h e a r y o u , if y o u w e e p we
weep.
In your h o u r s of g l a d n e s s , h o w o u r pulses
leap!
Ireland, m o t h e r I r e l a n d , lat w h a t m a y
befall,
Ever shall we h o l d y o u , d e a r e s t , best o f all.
O h , l a n d of love a n d b e a u t y , to you o u r
h e a r t s are wed,
T o y o u in loving d u t y we ever b o w o u r
heads.
O h , p e r f e c t , loving m o t h e r , y o u r exiled
c h i l d r e n all,
A c r o s s the s u n d e r i n g seas to y o u , in f o n d
d e v o t i o n call,
If y o u sigh we hear you.if y o u weep we
weep;
In y o u r h o u r s of gladness, h o w o u r pulses
leap!
I r e l a n d , m o t h e r I r e l a n d , let w h a t may
befall,
E v e r shall we hold y o u , d e a r e s t , best of all.
The Minstrel boy to the war is gone,
In the ranks of death you'll find him;
His father's sword he has girded on,
And his wild harp slung behind him.
"Land of Song!" said the warrior bard,
"Tho" all the world betray thee,
One sword, at least thy rights shall guard,
One faithful harp shall praise thee!
The Minstrel fell!—but the foeman'schain
Could not bring his proud soul under;
The harp he lov'd ne'er spoke aga:..;
For he tore its chords asunder;
And said, "No chains shall sully thee,
Thou soul of love and bravery!
Thy songs were made for. the pure and free,
They shall never sound in slavery."
Page Seven
THE IRISH DEMOCRAT
January 1986
ON TO THE
REPUBLIC
"On to the Republic,
Derry
Kelleher, Ripening of Time
Publication. £2.
WHEN the first Coalition Government
was formed in 1948 one of the civil war
veterans thanked Michael Kelly,
Secretary of Clann na Pobhlachta, for
'removing the Union Jack' which De
Valera had wrapped around him and his
Free State associates hack in 1922.
This remarkable incident is recalled in
the pamphlet 'On to the Republic!' by
Derry Kelleher.
Hie purpose of the pamphlet is to
analyse the mistakes of the Republican
and Labour Movements from the midsixties onwards and it is aimed at the
unification of republican and socialist
forces in Ireland on the basis of
securing National Independence as the
pre-requisite on the establishment of a
form of socialism suited to Irish
conditions and circumstances.
Derry Kelleher was vice-president of
Official Sinn Fein in the early
seventies. So he is in a key position to
comment on their evolution into The
Workers Party of today, which he
evidently has little time for and sums up
as follows: 'Sinn Fein the Workers
Party is jettisoning the traditional
republican support of the petty
bourgeois elements of the countryside
in favour of a new lily-white proletarian
vanguard to be supplied from the rural
capital investment of the multinational
corporations.' He quotes Lenin's
defence of the 1916 rising as 'a
progressive event' because it involvedthe
small bourgeoisie 'even with all its
prejudices', in order to show the fallacy
of such a simplistic approach to real
politics. His assessment of the Workers
Party is fair enough, though they have
increased their vote and have two seats
in the Dail. If it continues to advance
is likely to be mainly at Labour's
expense in urban areas; b«t all the signs
are that it can at best hope to become
essentially a more radical version of the
Labour Party on social issues, ultraleftist on most economic ones and just
as bad as Labour on the national
question.
In spite of the massive social and
economic problems created by high
unemployment the 'lily-white*
proletariat does not seem to be flocking
to the Workers Party. Fianna Fail is as
strong as ever and the Fine Gael share
of the vote is almost 49%. The Lakour
Party ami the Workers Party compete
against one another for the decreasing
left-wing vote. The young people in
desperation are turning away from
politics in increasing numbers towards
drugs, alcohol, crane and violence
because they feel none of these political
parties offer them a future.
Derry KeUeher recognises the reality
of the situation: that socialist
republicans are faced with a serious
ideological struggle which must be
fought out within the progressive
the public as a united force. He
hammers the point home with a quote
from Lenin which still sounds topical:
"Without a revolutionary theory there
can be no revolutionary movement.
This idea cannot fee insisted upon too
strongly at a tine when the fashionable
preaching «f opportunism goes hand in
hand with an infatuation for the
narrowest forms of practical activity."
There will he no political progress in
Ireland until socialists are convinced
thatrepublicanismis complementary to
socialism and that indeed the sociafsts
mutt be the best a i d most
•8 republicans of all.
i that this is the message of
of feadar
A Message To The Irish
People. Sean MacBride,
Mercier Press.
£4.95.
120pp. (p/b) Reviewed by
Donal Kennedy.
AMONGST the honours heaped
on Sean MacBride are the Nobel
Peace Prize, the Lenin Peace
Prize, the American Medal of
Justice and the Irish Military
Service Medal 1919-21. He has
been Chief of Staff of the IRA,
Irish Foreign Minister (twice),
Assistant Secretary-General of
the United Nations, a co-founder
of Amnesty International and is
President of the Geneva-based
International Peace Bureau. He
regards his internationalism as an
i n t e g r a l c o m p o n e n t of his
Republican heritage and he has
gained the world's praise without
bartering his Irish soul.
T h i s s e l e c t i o n of r e c e n t
speeches and articles reflects
concern for world peace, Irish
sovereignty and neutrality and the
intelligent use of Irish resources.
Mr MacBride is not a Socialist and
he favoured Ireland's accession to
the EEC. His comments on US
foreign policy and his misgivings
over the E E C arise f r o m
circumstances as he finds them.
He r e m a i n s a R e p u b l i c a n
separatist, since 1937 in the Irish
Constitutional mould, — Not to
be confused with that counterfeit
constitutional nationalism which
binds itself by the British veto and
"Ulster self-determination".
Within a united Ireland he would
prefer a federal, canton system,
like Switzerland, to a centralised
unitary state.
Not long ago Mr MacBride's
main ideas were the common
currency of Irish life, for its
leaders had at one time or another
fought for them — the reconquest
of Ireland by her people, support
for others fighting colonialism
and the substitution of right for
might in the world at large. Then
one might have expected those of
M a c B r i d e ' s a g e to r e t i r e ,
confident that their generation's
work would be built on by the
next. Instead Mr MacBride has
thought ft necessary to hear
witness once more, to counter the
influential forces seeking to
persuade the people that their
gallant history was but the trouble
of fools. Regular readers of this
paper will be aware of some of the
anti-national trends, and
"trendies", in polite Irish society,
but MacBride seeks to spotlight
their sponsors. What he reveals of
the "Trilateral Commission" and
" T h e Atlantic Institute for
International Relations" deserves
special attention.
T h e C o n s t i t u t i o n of t h e
Trilateral Commission is not
registered at the UN — or
anywhere the plebs might see it,
but R was founded by David
Rockefeller, Henry Kissinger,
Robert McNamara and Zbigmew
Brzezinski a m o n g others.Membership is by invitation and
confined t o 300 persons from
North America, Western Europe
- Continued from column one
oical ammunition
in
others in the
and advancing,
Towards the
and for £2 is
ptt&j
a n d j a p a n . It h a s b e e n s a i d t h a t its
p u r p o s e is to d e v e l o p b e t t e r c o operation between those countries
f r o m w h i c h it a p p o i n t s m e m b e r s ,
all o f which, s a v e I r e l a n d a n d
J a p a n , are in N A T O . Its British
m e m b e r s include t h e C h a i r m a n of
R i o T i n t o Zinc, a c o m p a n y closely
l i n k e d with S o u t h A f r i c a in t h e
exploitation of u r a n i u m
in
N a m i b i a in t h e t e e t h of r e s o l u t i o n s of the U N .
G a r r e t t F i t z G e r a l d is a m e m b e i
of t h e C o m m i s s i o n , a s is f o r m e r
Foreign
Minister
Michael
O ' K e n n e d y of F i a n n a F a i l a n d T .
Wh
get it s t a r t e d a n d was a s s u r e d of it.
F r o m t h e start the D e p a r t m e n t of
Finance and the C e n t r a l B a n k
sought
to s a b o t a g e
the
p r o g r a m m e , wining a n d d i n i n g
the A m e r i c a n A m b a s s a d o r
to
have the support w i t h d r a w n . T o
his c r e d i t the A m b a s s a d o r d i d n o t
play ball, but informed M a c B r i d e
T h e C i v i l Service d i d m a n a g e t o
c u r t a i l t h e p r o g r a m m e s o t h a t its
t a r g e t h a s n o t been m e t . It is t o d a y
f e a r e d t h a t there will be a w o r l d
s h o r t a g e of t i m b e r by 2 0 0 0 A D
Trees planted during MacBride's
M i n i s t r y a r e now r e a d y f o r felling
In t h e p a s t few y e a r s t h o u g h ,
C l o n d a l k i n P a p e r Mills, w h i c h
u s e d t o p r o d u c e m o s t of t h e
c o u n t r y ' s p a p e r n e e d s , albeit f r o m
i m p o r t e d t i m b e r , h a s b e e n let g o
t o t h e wall. Irish t i m b e r is b e i n g
given a w a y at £1 p e r t o n t o
Scandinavia, and returns thence
a s p a p e r at high p r i c e s , b o t h
j o u r n e y s , a s Irish S h i p p i n g t o o h a s
c o l l a p s e d , in f o r e i g n b o t t o m s .
E v e r y s c r a p of p a p e r u s e d in
I r e l a n d is i m p o r t e d .
NATO Ministerial meetings. One
aroused controversy when it
showed Europeans enthusiastically endorsing the deployment
of Cruise and Pershing missiles
in their midst. Dr FitzGerald was
described by his aides as a
Governor of the Institute when he
a d d r e s s e d the
European
Assembly in 1982 and Jack Lynch
has been a Governor. It is
noteworthy that
Charles
Haughey's name has never been
linked with these questionable
and secretive institutions. Mr
MacBride suspects that the
o r c h e s t r a t e d a t t e m p t s at
Haughey's political burial were
If t h o s e r e s p o n s i b l e h a d hall t h e
jointly masterminded by the CIA
and British Secret Service. s h a m e o r decency of J u d a s t h e y ' d
MacBride's long experience as a b e t a k e t h e m s e l v e s , with h a l t e r s , t o
leading member of the Irish Bar is t h e w o o d s .
T h e r e ' s q u i t e a bit m o r e w o r t h
not such as would have him jump
r e a d i n g a n d reflecting o n in t h i s
to hasty conclusions.
Mr MacBride also alludes to a r e c o m m e n d e d c o l l e c t i o n .
DONAL KENNEDY
1984 report that some senior
British civil servants were to be
"inserted" into key positions in
T H E R E is an interesting comment on
the Irish Civil Service, following Mrs Thatcher by someone f r o m her
yet more secret talks. He asks own class who knew her in the
whether they owe allegiance to the recently published letters of Ann
British Crown to which they were Fleming.
already sworn or to the Irish
Ann Fleming was a society hostess
Constitution. Another chapter f r o m the 1950s to the 1970s. She was
begs the question to whom or wife to both Lord Rothermere of the
what d o many of our OWN Civil "Daily Mail" and to Ian Fleming, a
correspondent of Evelyn Waugh and
Servants give fealty?
a highly intelligent, robust high Tory
A c o n d i t i o n e x a c t e d by type with a ruthless gimlet eye for the
MacBride in 1948 for leading lifeless a n d pretentious.
Clann na Poblachta into the
T h a t c h e r , she records as "totally
Coalition Government was an humourless, and with a nervous
afforestation programme to make system usually attributed to fishes
Ireland self-sufficient in timber Surely she has never read a book or
with 500,000 acres by 1990. He got looked at a picture?"
Does it not tell one quite a bit a b o u t
not only the support of the
Coalition partners but also of a person if she is humourless?
Remember her saying that " A crime is
Fianna Fail — so had 100% Dail a crime is a crime" as she refused
support. The objective was trivial concessions to the H-block
realisable a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l m e n ? O n e w o n d e r s w h e t h e r
forestry specialists regarded it as Thatcher's humorlessness will help
suited to Irish soil and climate, or hinder her as she squares up to Jan
MacBride sought Marshall Aid to—Paisley and Co.
J t a £ c r ? f R a n d ' s Central
<
> Bank- A
National
Committee for the Study of
International Affairs" was set up
in Dublin within the Royal Irish
A c a d e m y , f u n d e d by the
Commission, whose Chairman,
accompanied by George Ball ol
t h e US S t a t e D e p a r t m e n t
inaugurated its proceedings where
they were lionised by Messrs
FitzGerald and O'Kennedy. Close
links, political and financial, were
established with the Department
of Foreign Affairs and academics
from UCD co-opted. Tony
O'Reilly, Rugby International
and Chief Executive of the
Pittsburgh-based Heinz multinational, was a key figure in the
arrangements. He owns, too,
Independent Newspapers and
55% of all papers, national and
provincial, produced in the whole
of Ireland.
Not long after the inauguration
a fashionable- academic, Dr
Ronan Fanning, produced for the
Royal Irish Academy a paper
treating Henry Kissinger's views
on neutrality as tablets given
Moses, to make rubbish the views of
Eamon DeValera. By this time
DeValera was dead — as were
many neutrals in Cambodia and
Chile, though Dev died in his bed
without the aid of Kissinger's
minions. Late in 1981 the
"National Committee" held a
seminar on neutrality which
misfired when challenged by Irish
C N D . Later Dr Kissinger, a
Text
private US citizen, flew in to Britain's Light Railways.
by Anthony Burton, photograph
Dublin to stay with his friend
captions by John Scott Morgan.
Tony O'Reilly but was feted at
Moorland Publishing Company.
o f f i c i a l r e c e p t i o n s by t h e
£7.95.
Taoiseach and the Department of
Foreign Affairs to which all Irish
THIS book is a delve into the 'light'
m e m b e r s of t h e T r i l a t e r a l
railways of the past and present and
can be summarised as a pleasant
Commission were invited. By the
enough experience. In a book by
way, O'Reilly had a programme
English authors it goes without saying
devoted to himself on BBC lately
that for Britain you should read
where he claimed that western
'Britain and Ireland'. It does not
capital was invested "without
pretend to be a comprehensive survey
strings" in Third World countries
nor a potted history and only a few
— and with no dilution of
lines are mentioned, their inclusion
national sovereignty. Tell that to
seeming to be purely arbitrary.
the US Marines. A secret
Basically, a light railway is one
which was built and operated cheaply,
agreement was signed with the US
without the high standards of
during the period covered on
construction and signalling required
"military standard
and
of other railways. There were many
specification" of telecommunisuch in Ireland, but I must say I found
cation components.
the chapter on Ireland disappointing.
The Atlantic Institute for
The choice of the Cork, Blackrock
International Relations has 200
and Passage Railway to illustrate light
corporate subscribers in Europe,
railway practice is surprising. Of all
the narrow-guage railways in Ireland,
the US and Japan. The Ford,
the C.B. & P. bore the least
Rockefeller and
Volkswagen
resemblence to a light railway. It was
Foundations belong, as does P. J .
double-track for much of its length
Carroll of Dundalk, the cigarette
and ran, by Irish standards, an
firm. It holds seminars — closed
intensive suburban service.
to the Press, addressed by defence
An interesting feature of this
experts, one of which, Tony
chapter is the way the author explains
O'Reilly might note, was called
the Irish Tramways Act of 1883. His
" s t r a t e g i c i m p l i c a t i o n s of
: is worth quoting: "The fin' 1 from
economic aid t o the Third
the Englisfi habit "ofregardingIreland as
World". It holds public opinion
one of her colonies which required
polls twice a year and ensures the
widespread progagation of their special treatment, the method that
results « - timed t o anticipate was vnry sis^iar to the one used in
State
HUMOURLESS
IRISH RAILWAYS
ON THE CHEAP
India — with equally disastrous
results."
Yes, indeed! The 1883 Act allowed
private speculators to build railways
with tittle hindrance and have their
profits guaranteed by the local
authorities. One hundred years later
the wheel has turned full circle, with
the present Conservative government's deregulation of buses doing
the same for road operators in
England and Wales.
The main purpose of the 1883 Act
was to facilitate the immigration of
the rural population, as exemplified
by the Letterkenny and Burtonport
Extension Railway (wrongly
captioned in the book) which
bypassed the villages and headed for
the Atlantic.
In later years many of these light
railways came to be of service to thpir
communities, in varying degrees.
While many survive in England and
Wales under private ownership, they
have disappeared from the Irish scene.
A false start was made a few years ago
to reconstruct a piece of the Derry and
Strabane Railway from Victoria Road
station in Derry. A second attempt is
now in the offing, using the. fonder
trackbed of the Great Northern
Railway on the other side of the Fojje.
In the south-west, a group ol
railway enthusiasts is contemplating
re-opening the Fenit branch fam
Tralee as a tourist line. I hope 4hey
succeed, because there ^.something
timeless about rural railways, which
allows you to fotget about the mad
world typified by road (
Page Eight
Peter Mulligan's
peep show
SINN FEIN + S.D.L.P.? - Mr
Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fein leader
has appealed to the S.D.L.P. to
form an electorial pact. Four of the
15 seats held by the Unionists can
be considered marginal and could
be won by Sinn Fein or the
S.D.L.P. if the vote is not split. The
four seats are Mid-Ulster where
there is a Unionist majority of onl\
78. Fermanagh and South Tyrone
(7,676); Newry and
Armagh
(1,554); and South Down held by
Enoch Powell by only 548 votes. Daily Telegraph.
ENGLISH BUILD PRISONS
— f o l l o w i n g a w a r n i n g b y t h e IRA
that
building
contractors
repairing
police s t a t i o n s
and
p r i s o n s w o u l d n o w be c o u n t e d as
legitimate targets; m a n y w o r k e r s
have
walked
off
security
controlled
buiding
sites
in
N o r t h e r n I r e l a n d . " Y e s t e r d a y the
N o r t h e r n Ireland Secretary and
his d e p u t y M r N. S c o t t p l e d g e d
that building and repair work
w o u l d g o o n . . . . there is t e c h n i c a l
e x p e r t i s e a v a i l a b l e in t h e a r m y
a n d c i v i l i a n c o n t r a c t o r s c o u l d be
b r o u g h t in f r o m t h e m a i n l a n d
under proper protection
and
could remain anonymous."1 —
DAILY TELEGRAPH.
OUTNUMBER
POLICE
"The number of private security
men on hire in this country today is
now estimated to be more than the
combined police force of England
and Wales. The present total is put
between 250,000 and 200,000 - a
figure already posed to swell
considerably as one local authority
brings in private security men to
patrol its housing estates and
others look set to follow suit." "It's a growth sector." predicted
John Wheeler. Conservative M P
who is director general of the
British Security Industry
Association. - Sunday Times.
January 1986
THE IRISH DEMOCRAT
IRELAND IN THE WAR YEARS (1)
T H E 26 C o u n t i e s — still s o m e
years o f f d e c l a r i n g itself a R e p u b lic — s t a y e d r e s o l u t e l y n e u t r a l
d u r i n g the s e c o n d w o r l d w a r . T h a t
n e u t r a l i t y — now a s t h e n the
subject of d e b a t e — w a s a s o u r c e
of p r i d e a n d s a t i s f a c t i o n t o m o s t
of the citizens of the T w e n t y Six
Counties though there were many
w h o believed we s h o u l d h a v e been
actively h e l p i n g the Allies in the
war a g a i n s t G e r m a n y . E a m o n n d e
Valera ( t h e 'real T a o i s e a c h ' if ever
there w a s o n e ! ) w a s t h e g r e a t
c h a m p i o n of Irish n e u t r a l i t y a n d
c a m e t o s y m b o l i s e it i n d e e d to
most of us; w h e n the w a r w a s o v e r
and C h u r c h i l l h a d b i t t e r w o r d s t o
say a b o u t o u r n e u t r a l role D e v
a n s w e r e d h i m with a b r i l l i a n t
speech t h a t is t r e a s u r e d in m a n y
an Irish h o m e t o d a y , a f a d e d t w o page d o c u m e n t t a k e n b u t n o w a n d
then t o be read with t h e k i n d of
pride we h a v e not felt in m a n y of
o u r T a o i s i g h since.
But
Irish
neutrality,
as
C h u r c h i l l himself a d m i t t e d , w a s a
m a r k e d l y b e n e v o l e n t n e u t r a l i t y as
tar as Britain was c o n c e r n e d a n d
C h u r c h i l l a n d his g o v e r n m e n t
soon c a m e t o realise t h a t t h e r e was
more t o be g a i n e d f r o m the
s i t u a t i o n a s it was t h a n f r o m a n y
attempt at coercion . . .
an
invasion of t h e 26 C o u n t i e s (very
much o n t h e c a r d s f o r a t i m e )
would h a v e d i v e r t e d m a n p o w e r
and materials a n d apart f r o m the
resistance
that
would
be
encountered, however effective or
By
DONALL MacAMHLAIGH
those Irish citizens who lost their
lives fighting with the British
armed forces and the bombs that
fell on Belfast and Dublin, but it
was a period of great national
spirit with men from all ranks and
classes rushing to join the Defence
Forces which numbered some
80,000 men, I believe, once the
voluntary mobilisation got under
way.
It is an era inextricably
associated in most minds with
uniformed men, there were army
camps all over the country and the
old garrison towns were bursting
at the seams with soldiers —
dressed first in the old fashioned
leggings and britches with peak
cap and stiff tunic-collar, and later
in the 'jam-jar' variety of leggings,
slacks, re-modelled tunic and
forage cap. The Irish army was
well-trained and
highlydisciplined, the ordinary soldier
almost invariably presenting a
smart appearance, boots and
leggings gleaming with Ruby
polish, a knife-edge crease in the
slacks and brass buttons a-glitter
with Brasso . . . I remember when
the war had just ended and there
were still several hundred troops
in Kilkenny word came through
that a contingent of G.I's
( p r e s u m a b l y with
Irish
connections) was to visit the city
and all uniformed men were
warned to present a good
appearance before the visitors;
accordingly the Irish troops
excelled themsj^yes in spit and
polish, but" when the Yanks
arrived what a contrast they made
— boot-laces undone, caps stuffed
into pockets and their tunics
unbuttoned a? they slouched
about the streets, relaxed as a
band of hippie?.
otherwise, would have given
Germany an excuse to invade us,
too. In fact Irish contribution to
the Allied war e f f o r t was
c o n s i d e r a b l e , with
many
thousands »«f Irishmen
and
women joining the British armed
forces and manning factories and
other essential war works in
Britain. Emigration had not
assumed the proportions that it
would a decade or so later (there
were restrictions imposed by the
Admittedly they had been
Irish Government that kept
certain categories of worker at through the real thing while only
home) but there is no denying the the older men in the Irish Army
part played by so many Irish in had seen active service either in
the Great War or the War of
spite of our declared neutrality.
Independence — but who can
IRELAND came through the doubt that the 'gikiyness' of the
Emergency unscathed if we except Irish troops was part and panel of
what makes a disciplined, and
thus a professional, soldier?
SOLDIERS are often tolerated
at best by their own compatriots
in peacetime and of course theie
was a share of friction between
soldier and civilian, particularly in
dance halls, but overall the little
towns of Ireland coped very well
with having large numbers of
military in their midst. There
seems to have been an admirably
high standard of honesty among
the troops, too; a Kilkenny
publican who had extended credit
to literally thousands of men over
the six-year period told me that
only two men ever let him down! I
spoke of the readiness with which
men in very different walks of life
volunteered as private soldiers as
soon as the Emergency was
declared; doctors, lawyers and
academics rushed to join up along
with t h o s e w h o h a d n o
employment at all . . .
My father was BQMS stationed
in either Cahir or Templemore in
the early part of the war and he
told me of one volunteer, a
particularly inept soldier who was
quickly assigned to storeman's
duties; the man clearly came from
a very privileged background,
highly educated and extremely
polite, and after he had been some
time in the stores he asked my
father and another NCO if they
would like to come home with him
at the weekend.
"Having nothing else to do they
agreed and on the Saturday
afternoon a gleaming limousine
called at the barracks, chauffeur
driven, to whisk all three of them
away to one of the more stately
homes of Co. Waterford — and
there, as she poured tea for them
out of a silver teapot, the
storeman's mother thanked them
for all their kindness to 'Master
James!'
D E S E R T I O N was f a i r l y
common and the commonest
cause of it was quite simply the
difficulty of maintaining a family
HURRAH FOR T H I FREE RANGE PI®
A TIME when people are
struggling to recover from a
surfeit of frozen turkey is
appropriate
for considering
O R A N G E F R E E STATE! — " W e
Michael Viney's suggestion that
hope that Mrs Thatcher will be guided
the f^ee-range pig may come back
by the speech made by Mr Botha, the
president of South Africa, and follow into its Own.
his wisdom in dealing with the rebels
His article in the Irish Times
against the crown in Northern
took my mind back to a
, Ireland. Westminster stabbed the conversation I had in the Belfastwhite Rhodesians in the back to give
Dublin train a quarter of a
majority rule to the blacks. The result
— catastrophe; tribes fighting against century ago.
My companion was a civil
each other. Does Mrs Thatcher want
scrvftnt from the department of
the same catastrophe in Northern
Ireland by also stabbing her loyal agiicufture, and at that time small
friends in the back" letter from Beryl f«rm families were simply locking
Holland of the North Down
the doors of their houses and
Democratic Party to the Belfast
setting sail for Birmingham or
Telegraph.
Huddersfield.
It may have been the time that
Sea# Redmond and I had the beefsteak of our lives in Strabane. Or it
' ROYAL G I F T S for poH« "
have been when I discovered
Queen has made substantial personal
roast beef with the old taste in it in
donations towards a new treatment
centre for policemen injured on duty
Monaghan.
because they are as concerned as
Anyway I told the civil servant
everyone e l s e . " - D A I L Y . that there would be a great
TELEGRAPH.
demand for such food in Britain,
'
If "' and indeed plenty of other food.
Printed by Ripley Printers Ltd (TV),
The food companies were then
Nottingham Road, Ripley, Derbys,
and published by Connolly Publi- going 100% for appearance. The
finest mushrooms came from the
cations Ltd, 244 Grays Inn Ri "
horse pastures of Ross and
London WC1. Telephone: 01-833-3
Sutherland, 'JEJie trade was
boosting dinky tittle white knobs
grown in the dark, fW identical,
and all withoufjracp of flavour.
How c o u l d . a small Irish
farmer's scraggy turkey or goose
compete with j f a handsome
thoroughbreds doited in the gas*
chambers of faflplry agriculture?
I told him tfyentire approach
was wrong. Scottish mushrooms
were raggle-taggle but they were
individual. Not'Only had they all a
flavour, but all the flavours were
not the same. This indeed is true of
brambles, but nobody has caught
on to it.
'>
WHAT they needed to do was
to boost the individuality of Irish
products, and, growing more
enthusiastic as my argument
proceeded, I said that if there was
such a thing as a government in
the country, they'dopen shops in
. the five big cities of Britain, and
retail under the slogan of
"Individual food. Irish food has
taste in it."
The only reason the small
farmer couldn't sell his produce
was that the
marketing
organisation was in the hands of
big business. They boasted of
giving the housewife choice —
choice for example of six or seven
pieces of packaged soap labelled
Cheshire, Leicester, Wensleydale,
Cheddar or Double Gloucester
cheese. You'd never get the
Ftench being so foolish. And it
Was only the invasion of foreign
capital that started some of the
Irish on such an un-Irish principle
of production.
I don't know whether the civil
servant gave the matter much
thought. But he said, "Do you
really believe that people in
England would pay more to buy
fresh Limerick ham when they can
get ham ready cooked in tins?"
Perhaps he didn't know there
was a legal limit imposed on the
amount of water that can be
injected into tinned ham, and that
that limit is far from bone dry. Tlie
standard of food has slumped to
an all-time low thanks to the
operations of big business. Big
business debases every product it
turns out. Only a consumers'
revolt produced "real ale". There
should be a similar revolt against
chemicalised bread, and there
may be soon.
on the meagre allowance paid by
the Irish Army. The wives and
families of Irishmen serving in the
British forces fared better than the
dependants erf Irish soldiers but
while I would not deny that many
Irishmen joined the B.A. for the
express purpose of combatting
Nazism there is no denying either
that there was a less laudable
motive for many more. And with
reference to a recent letter in this
paper castigating the Irish for
their neutral stance in world war
two I think it should be said that
there was not as great an
awareness of the evils of Nazism
until the war was over — Britain
herself tolerated Hitler's antics f o r
long enough and many people in
the higher ranks of the British
establishment — including some
royalty — had quite a soft spot for
Adolf in the mid 1930's.
I remember the disbelief and
scepticism with which people
greeted the newsreels m Irish
cinemas in 1945 when the horrors
of Belsen and other concentration
camps were first revealed; many
thought it Allied propaganda and
could not accept that the highlycivilised German nation could be
guilty of such atrocity. By and
large people viewed the war, while
it was on, as being akin to the
Great War where neither side
could claim particular virtue. It
was only natural that people in
Ireland should feel thankful to
have been spared participation in
the war but it was all very much
more remote in those days than
would have been possible in the
age of television. The average man
was poorly informed and the habit
of newspaper reading was not yet
very widespread; I worked in a
woollen mill for three years of the
second world war and I can't
recall a newspaper being read<b$
any of the workers in my tirrte
there. Certainly there was 4i
general wish that the Allies would
prevail but overall what impinged
most on people in Ireland was: the
rationing and shortages, and iii
the next article I will take a look art
the way we coped during the
Emergency.
'
DONALL Mac AMHLA1GH
HOWEVER, to return to
Michael,Viney. He thinks there is
a sporting chance that
circumstances may be : comi!
right for a break-through on
food front that would benefit Ihe
small farmer and benefit the
consumer.
It would seem that with the
collapse of the EEC farming
bonanza, the smaller farmers are*
looking for ways of making s ]
bob. And one of them is free i
operations. The movement H
full swing in Co. Tipp —
Gillies "
Irish
Growers
a bright
enterprises
tastes."
He points
that demand for
free-range
organically j
products far exceeds the
Britain. The price
problem.
So
the
thfc
to
ould be
Marttet
about some of
die wealthy Irish businessmen
in London? It's no use.
poor mouth these days,
you are damned well off!
£ '
_
C.&C.