DYING BY THE SWORD .......
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(13 of 17).
The Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985 (ie the Hillsborough Treaty) and the publication of the Framework Document propelled Billy Wright away from his faith and back to violence . He saw the setting up of the Joint Secretariat at Maryfield and the role for the Irish government as a betrayal ; the man who told me that he was the " ... first leading loyalist to call for a loyalist cease-fire ... " believed that the Framework Document meant that " .. the unionist people were to go into a united Ireland . "
But what of the fact that , under the terms of the Framework Document , any unity could only ever happen if there was democratic consent for it ? " Now please don't insult us , " he replied , " we have the Framework Document , and we have calls for it to be imposed . Please don't tell us nothing will be imposed . "
The Irish Constitution was also one of his mantras .......
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" Noirin Ni Liathain and many other Irish Republican women attended the meeting held later that evening ( ie 2nd November 1986 - after the Sinn Fein organisation had split over the issue of taking seats in Leinster House) in the West County Hotel at which Republican Sinn Fein continued on with the Ard Fheis .
I do not have to tell you of the great work being done by the women in the Head Office in Shaw Street , Dublin (RSF's then Head Office) . Only for them I doubt if there would be any Head Office .
Women have read the 'Statement from the Leadership' at many Easter Commemorations for the past number of years ; they are also very active in the work of all Cumann (Branches) in Ireland . I forgot to mention that since the 1970's women have provided Colour Parties at many funerals and parades in Ireland and continue to do so ; not because of a shortage of men but because it is their right as women to do so .
Ireland has every right to be proud of the part women have played in the Fight for Freedom and I know they will continue to do so until the fight is won and then I hope they will be suitably honoured for the part they have played and that a suitable memorial be erected in a prominent position in the capital city of Ireland , this to be dedicated to the memory of all women who died in the Fight for Freedom .
I will finish by paying a special tribute to women all over Ireland who provided billets for men on active service ; without those women and the services they provided there would have been no fight . "
GEAROID MacCARTHAIGH .
[END of ' WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM '].
(Tomorrow - 'STONE COLD' : interview with Loyalist cemetery-killer MICHAEL STONE ).
WHAT IS SINN FEIN ? - Sinn Fein spokesman gives exclusive interview to C.B.C. TV and Radio network .
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 3.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
4. Q - Is Sinn Fein in existence in the Six Counties as well as in the 26 Counties ?
A - Since the last Imperial Election in the Six Counties , Sinn Fein has been declared an illegal organisation and membership means immediate imprisonment , but Sinn Fein does exist in the Six Counties ; evidence of this is contained in a British Army communique released recently and published in Northern newspapers which stated (after reporting military actions) - ' Green coloured pamphlets have been circulated in the Pomeroy and Stewartstown districts . On the top right-hand corner to represent the Six Counties is an orange square on which is printed 'Fight Your Corner' ; further down is an exhortation 'Join Sinn Fein' , and at the bottom - 'Don't Emigrate' ' .
5. Q - Some people think Sinn Fein a new Party ?
A - Sinn Fein is not new , it is representative of the oldest political tradition in Ireland . Sinn Fein was elected by a vast majority of the Irish people with a mandate to establish an Independent Irish Republic ; it was subsequent to that , that the present institutions of partition government were established by British intrigue and force and the threat of immediate and terrible war .
(MORE LATER).
