THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GERRY ADAMS....... The recent strike by BBC journalists over the 'REAL LIVES' programme and the dispute at RTE over the interview with NORAID representative MARTIN GALVIN have focused world attention on Sinn Fein once again .MICHAEL KELLY spoke to Sinn Fein president GERRY ADAMS at interviews in Dublin and Belfast , conducted over the course of the past month .
From 'IN DUBLIN' magazine, August 1985 .
MICHAEL KELLY : " Many commentators say that the Sinn Fein vote in Dublin is just the voice of the disillusioned and has no loyalty to your policies . Do you believe this ? "
GERRY ADAMS : " Not at all . I have no doubt that there is an element of that vote , but to see the Sinn Fein vote as disillusioned is to disregard the success of Christy Burke, where the vote was built up over four years . I mean if it had been a cynical note it wouldn't have come out a second time and a third time . But it did , indicating the work that Sinn Fein were doing there . "
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THE ACCUSING FINGER OF RAYMOND GILMOUR....... By NEIL McCAFFERTY.
From 'MAGILL' magazine, August 1983 .
It might take weeks to persuade the British magistrate to let the Gilmour family back into the courtroom , the solicitors informed them on the roadway . The forlorn little bunch , beaten by the RUC , ignored by their son , Raymond , ignored by some prisoners and relatives and ignorant of their father's fate , trailed off to the cars for the journey home .
The rest of the Derry people moved up the road to a portacabin, set on a concrete base , surrounded by protective fencing , pitched in the middle of a wasteland directly opposite Crumlin Road Jail. Inside the cabin , merrily decorated and spotlessly clean , and muggy with warmth , children played with toys . The cabin and its little canteen and its staff , offering voluntary service , was set up by an international children's organisation so that people can leave their children somewhere safe while they visit relatives in jail or in the court , or simply call in for tea and sausage-rolls and soup and biscuits , while awaiting developments . The staff were wonderful , handing out the cup that cheers !
How had those relatives who did not resent the Gilmours maintain composure while the RUC assaulted the Gilmour family ? " You think of RUC members being killed by the IRA , someday , somewhere . You keep that in your mind while you sit absolutely still , and you're not sorry at the prospect..." , said a mild Derrywoman , sitting in a Belfast wasteland , who normally spends the summer days sitting with her family on a Donegal beach.......
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GLOSSARY OF THE LEFT IN IRELAND : FROM 1960 TO 1983....... These notes attempt to record the left-wing organisations which have existed in Ireland since 1960 . No attempt has been made to record purely local organisations outside Dublin and Belfast , or microscopic groups which never reached double figures . The larger organisations have been presented in more detail .
From 'GRALTON' magazine, 1983.
By John Goodwillie.
(NOTE : Links in the following article are as accurate as possible - not all the groups mentioned left a discernible 'footprint' .)
IRISH MARXIST SOCIETY: Formed in 1976 when advocates of Eurocommunism broke away from the Communist Party Of Ireland. This organisation ceased to function after most of them joined the Labour Party in 1977 .
IRISH REPUBLICAN SOCIALIST PARTY: Formed in 1974 as a breakaway from Official Sinn Fein, advocating a more radical socialism . It has become more noted for the battles between the Irish National Liberation Army and the Official IRA, and for the assassionations of its successive leaders Seamus Costello and Miriam Daly, than for its political activities , though it has won seats on Belfast Corporation.
IRISH REVOLUTIONARY YOUTH MOVEMENT: Youth movement of the Irish Communist Movement (Marxist-Leninist).
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