The Simple Truth About The Irish Sugar Industry . In the past week or so , the remains of the sugar industry in this State has again come under attack from outside interests : with this in mind , we re-print a document which was first published 17 years ago (1989) .
The Simple Truth About The Irish Sugar Industry .
Address by Ruairi O Bradaigh , Uachtaran , at a meeting of Comhairle na Mumhan (Munster Executive) ,Sinn Fein Poblachtach , in Killaloe , County Clare , on Sunday 19 February 1989 .......
Already there are fears about the impact of the closure of the Thurles Sugar Plant on the railway line from Waterford to Limerick ; fear , indeed , for what remains of an already truncated railway system . Sinn Fein Poblachtach , while standing firmly with the Tipperary people in their crisis will insist on a wider debate that will have to include the 'Single European Act' , lack of regional planning and indeed our whole relationship with the EEC now that the mirage of unending agricultural advance - always an illusion as we pointed out from the beginning - is finally being seen for what it is .
That debate has to begin with the simple reality of a 200,000 tonnes quota limit on Irish beet production - a deliberate attempt by Brussels to corner the market , despite the alleged commitment to market economics , and the effective handing over of the control of Irish destinies to Brussels by the time-serving politicians of Leinster House and their even more vulgularly well-heeled brethren in the so-called 'European Parliament' in Strasbourg .
[END of 'The Simple Truth About The Irish Sugar Industry']
FIANNA FAIL - THE MASK OF DE VALERA ....... From 'AP/RN' , August 10th , 1989 .
(No 'By-Line')
So authoritarian had the Fianna Fail government become that , in 1947 , the Free State Cabinet agreed to a proposal from Sean Lemass (never implemented as it turned out) to make strikes illegal after the flour-milling workers threatened to come out on strike !
The Fianna Fail administration which had 'ruled' virtually unchanged in personnel since 1932 was replaced by the first 'inter-Party' government which took over after the 1948 general election .
De Valera was back in office from 1951 to 1954 and from 1957 to 1959 when he finally resigned as taoiseach : the 1950's had been a decade of deep conservatism and de Valera left the scene with his old protectionist economic policies in tatters as unemployment and emigration threatened completely to depopulate the country .
And , appropriately enough , his last administration went out on an anti-Republican note : it introduced internment without trial in response to the IRA's Border Campaign .
[END of 'FIANNA FAIL - THE MASK OF DE VALERA']
(Monday 27th - 'ALL AT SEA' ; a 'light-hearted' look at the S.E.A. legislation !)
BILLY WRIGHT , LOYALIST VOLUNTEER FORCE . " I have been prepared to die for long many a year . I don't wish to die , but at the end of the day no one will force their opinion down my throat . No one . "
On August 29 , 1996 , shortly before the 'Combined Loyalist Military Command's' death threat against him expired , EMER WOODFUL interviewed LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT in his Portadown home .......
From 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 .
Emer Woodful : " After David Ervines statement saying that the loyalist cease-fire is close to breaking point , the Taoiseach in Dublin , John Bruton , said he would meet anybody who was'nt involved in violence . Would you be interested in meeting him ? "
Billy Wright : " No , no . I mean , John Bruton must examine the Irish Republic's (sic) Constitution . He must understand that that Constitution justifies republican violence and leads nationalist young men to feel that they have the right , because of that Constitution and that claim , to take the lives of our people . "
Emer Woodful : " But unity would only be with consent , so why do you feel so threatened ? "
Billy Wright : " Well , consent , now - come on . Lets be totally honest . We have seen the Irish Republic (sic) seal the border because of a cattle problem . Why did'nt they do it during the Troubles ? The Constitution justifies the murder of British citizens . And having spent many years in the H-Blocks and listened to young nationalists singing their songs , believe me they draw their opinions because of their education , and because they are brought up to believe that they have a right to take away (sic) this land . "
Emer Woodful : " I know you told me before that you were a religious preacher , and that you had to give it up , because you were afraid of the risk of public appearances . How do you marry your strong religious beliefs with , say , support in the past for the UVF ? "
Billy Wright : " Well , I'll say it again , when you look into the coffins of loved ones , who died at prayer , and died at work , and died for every reason you can think of , and then you're told by your security forces (sic) 'we can't stop this , nobody can stop this , but it's wrong also to defend yourself' , I have to say that people have the right to defend themselves . "
(MORE LATER).
LIAM MELLOWS AND THE IRISH CIVIL WAR .......This is the bulk of a public lecture given at University College , Galway , by Sinn Fein Ard Comhairle member and Deputy General Secretary of the 'Local Government and Public Services Union' , Phil Flynn , on December 8th 1982 , the 60th Anniversary of the Free State's execution of Liam Mellows .
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , March 1983 .
The Irish Civil War was fought by Republicans against the Free State , but due to the degeneration of the political organisation of the workers this was not a war of the working class against the exploiting class : the working class sympathised with the Republicans , many politically conscious workers fought on the Republican side , but the Republican Movement was not led by the working class .
This caused grave damage both to the cause of the Republic and to the cause of the working class - it damaged the Republic since it meant that the class differences on which the Civil War was fought were not antagonistic class differences . The war for the Republic could only have been fought to a finish if the interests of the class which led the Republican struggle were irreconcilable with the interests of the class which led the Free Staters .
In class terms it was a war of small property owners against large property owners : of petty bourgeoisie against bourgeoisie .......
(MORE LATER).
