LIAM MELLOWS statue ,Eyre Square, Galway. Over the last few days a 'war of words', of sorts , has been entered into by Irish Republicans , who rightly objected to the mis-use of the above Commemorative statue by "an alliance of community action groups and individuals" calling themselves the 'Galway Alliance Against War' : this group stated their intention to dress the Mellows statue in an "orange boiler suit", an action which , as stated , Irish republicans objected to. A Mr Niall Farrell, representing that group , stated, in a post on 'Indymedia' which he filled with other equally-nonsensical ramblings of a nature one would expect from a bitter spoilt child - "I have a sneaking suspicion that RSF particularly didn’t like the colour of the boiler suit – orange. And I jest not."
The man is , in my opinion, a political clown , hell-bent on making a reputation for himself at any cost, and at any cost to whichever organisation he latches on to. He runs the risk of 'burning bridges' that he , himself , put no effort into assembling and , if left unchecked by his own people , will eventually destroy the solidarity which exists between Irish republicans and , in this instance , the overall 'Alliance Against War' organisation . He is a liability to any non-establishment organisation and his cheap publicity stunt has , in my opinion , the potential to seriously damage relations between progressive groups who share a somewhat common goal. By then , of course , the Farrell's of that group will have moved on , perhaps to wreck havoc in other organisations or , more likely , to nestle their useless arse in a cosy seat in Leinster House .
Myself and other republicans have marched with , and supported , 'Alliance Against War' groups in Dublin many times - indeed , we often assembled with them at the Garden Of Remembrance in Dublin's Parnell Square . However , there was never any attempt by the Dublin group to 'dress-up' any of the statues in that fine venue . It seems that the Dublin group are not as easily mis-lead by Farrell and his likes . What next - a spray-paint job on the Republican Plot in Glasnevin ?
Also- a person calling him/herself 'Dunlo' (not Tom Dunloe,I hope?) , representing the 'Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign' dismissed RSF's objection to the 'Boiler Suit Stunt' as an objection showing "the ugly, aggressive, racist presence of RSF....these troglodytes, these Spinal Taps of republicanism... " etc etc. I can only hope that this 'Dunlo' character will be pulled-up - at the very least - by his own people , for his politically ignorant comments . 'Dunlo' and Mr Farrell share at least one common trait that most organism's of that nature possess : the further away the war and the injustices that flow from that war , the more likely they are to campaign for a just solution . However - the equally important injustice 90 miles up the road is dismissed as 'a terrorist campaign'.
Wrap yourselves in an orange boiler suit , 'Dunlo' and Farrell . But check the garment twice - it might contain a green and white stripe and thus render itself unwearable to both of you.
Sharon.
