1169 And Counting.....

Saturday, March 17, 2007

St Patrick , Bertie , Bush and (political) reptiles .......

Bertie 'to be sure to be sure..' Ahern who, yesterday (Friday 16 March 2007) speaking in Washington in relation to the 'Irish situation' , stated , amongst other things - "Everything along the way, every single demand, every single issue that has been put on the table has been delivered. There is only one thing left: powersharing."
And....
- " Mr. President, I'm glad to be able to say on this St. Patrick's Day, 2007, that peace in Ireland is a reality....."
What a political imbecile that man is !
The continuing demand , from Irish Republicans, for a complete British military and political withdrawal from this island has not yet "...been delivered.." on : that issue has been "...on the table.." for longer than 'Blank Cheque Bertie' (see 'Cheque Mate' , here) has been in Leinster House but , in the grand tradition of said institution , he has done nothing positive about the Six County issue . Nor will he . He will , however , as, indeed , will the rest of the political morons in that dirty toilet , continue to do everything in his power to prop-up the illegal and immoral claim over , and occupation of , those six Irish counties , thus ensuring that the issue will remain a 'live' problem for future generations of Irish people . And that is the 'legacy' which political self-serving time-wasters like Ahern will leave in their wake : the potential for future conflict . 'Happy St. Patricks Day' indeed.......

MEANWHILE.....

....... George Bush Junior yesterday congratulated Bertie Ahern for his "...strong leadership in resolving the issues of Northern Ireland(sic).. " !
The only two things Ahern ever 'resolved' in his political life was to obtain a State pension in order that he be kept in the style to which he has become accustomed and to bury 'The Boss' before 'the boss' could bury him !
Come back , St. Patrick - there are still (political) snakes around the shores of Ireland ....

Friday, March 16, 2007

THE ACCUSING FINGER OF RAYMOND GILMOUR.......
By NEIL McCAFFERTY.
From 'MAGILL' magazine, August 1983 .

Raymond Gilmour was an informer when he joined the IRA "...to avenge the death of my best friend , Colm McNutt, who was shot by British soldiers.." , Gilmour said in court . Who set Colm McNutt up ? , some relatives ask : McNutt had tried to hijack a car in the Bogside , and the four occupants , members of the SAS in civilian dress , shot him dead . Colm McNutt had not suddenly appeared with a revolver : it takes time to set up a hijacking and he would have had to tell his unit beforehand . Or maybe remarked on it to a friend .

"That woman there , " Mrs Gilmour said , indicating a woman who had frozen her with a glance , " is very cold to me ." You have to understand her feelings , mammy , a daughter explained , her man might be jailed for years and she has a family to raise . But it's not my fault , Mrs Gilmour said , as she burst again into tears - my man's gone , too . Her Sinn Fein minders tried to console her . For months they have defended her against the outrage of others in the community . Raymond Gilmour's returned wife Lorraine had already been thumped by the wife of a prisoner as she sat in a Derry cafe having a cup of tea .

Martin McGuinness had gone to the wife to explain that this was not good - having tea in Derry , living it up in a Cyprus hotel while my husband is in jail , the wife had spluttered . The Gilmour family has to be protected , Sinn Fein explained - they are the emotional link with Raymond , and if that link is broken there is no hope of him recanting . It is common knowledge that some of the prisoner's relatives are insisting that Raymond Gilmour's father be shot dead.......
(MORE LATER).

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' .)

DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST PARTY: formed in 1982 as an amalgamation of 'The Socialist Party' and the 'Limerick Socialist Organisation', together with members of the 'British And Irish Communist Organisation'. With Jim Kemmy's defeat in 1982 it lost it's only seat in Leinster House.

DUBLIN ANARCHIST GROUP: formed in 1978 , ceased to function in 1979 . Most of its members were later involved in the 'Anarchist Bookshop Collective'.

INDEPENDENT SOCIALIST PARTY: formed in 1976 as a replacement for the 'Irish Committee For A Socialist Programme'. The 'ISP' was known for the membership of Bernadette McAliskey, but it was never more than a small group and ceased to function around 1978 .
(MORE LATER).

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

(Apologises for late posting : issues with the Blogger server.)

THE ACCUSING FINGER OF RAYMOND GILMOUR.......
By NEIL McCAFFERTY.
From 'MAGILL' magazine, August 1983 .

Mrs Gilmour stood in the roadway outside the courthouse pleading for absolution , surrounded by her children , and some of the relatives of the prisoners moved stiffly by her , not speaking to her . The Gilmour family is tainted - they have not disowned Raymond , have they ? But if they did disown him , he'd be beyond all emotional bidding : he's beyond bidding now anyway , comes the reply . He doesn't care about his father , did not break down even when his wife and children left him in exile and returned to the Creggan.

But he has been breaking , runs the counter-argument : look what his wife said about the time he tried to kill himself in that hotel in Cyprus, overdosing on her tranquillisers as well as his own . Didn't she say he was drinking heavily and bewildered ? " He rang me on Mother's Day , " Mrs Gilmour said on the roadway . He rang every member of his family that night , Martin McGuinness confirmed , and he seemed incoherent and emotional , saying he'd be killed if he returned to Derry : " Then he wrote me a letter thanking me for rearing him ," said Mrs Gilmour , " ...but I didn't rear him for this , did I , Martin ..? " She turned for consolation to the two representatives of Sinn Fein , McGuinness and Mitchell McLaughlin who have become her own minders .

How come she never noticed , some relatives wondered bitterly as they left her on the roadway , crying and pleading . Hasn't the prosecution confirmed in writing to the defence solicitors that Raymond Gilmour was a paid RUC teenage tout long before he joined the IRA ? Gilmour himself addressed this issue in court.......
(MORE LATER).

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' .)

COMMUNIST PARTY OF IRELAND (MARXIST-LENINIST): Maoist organisation which changed its name from the 'Irish Communist Movement (Marxist-Leninist)' in 1972 .

COMMUNIST PARTY OF NORTHERN IRELAND: Formed in 1941 when the then Communist Party of Ireland divided between North and South due to their differing situations with regard to the Struggle . Despite a surge of support at the end of the Struggle , it never made a large impact except within the trade union movement . It merged into the Communist Party of Ireland in 1970 .

CONNOLLY YOUTH MOVEMENT: Formed in 1965 , it has always been dominated by the Communist Party Of Ireland (originally 'Irish Workers' Party').
(MORE LATER).

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

EASTER 1916 COMMEMORATION , SUNDAY 8 APRIL 2007, Dublin .

'The Mother'.

" I do not grudge them : Lord , I do not grudge
my two strong sons that I have seen go out
to break their strength and die , they and a few ,
in bloody protest for a glorious thing ,
they shall be spoken of among their people ,
the generation shall remember them
and call them Blessed :

But I will speak their names to my own heart
in the long nights ;
the little names that were familiar once
round my dead hearth .

Lord , thou art hard on mothers ;
we suffer in their coming and their going :
and tho' I grudge them not , I weary , weary ,
of the long sorrow .
And yet I have my joy ; my sons were faithful , and they fought . "

- PH Pearse, written hours before his execution , May 3 , 1916 .

It is in memory of , and to pay respectable homage to , the men and women of that era and , indeed , the men and women of today and of each generation over more than the last eight centuries , that the Republican Movement has organised , in Dublin , an Easter Sunday Commemoration (8 April 2007) : those wishing to attend should assemble outside the Garden Of Remembrance in Parnell Square at 12.45pm , for a Parade to the GPO.
All Welcome!

Monday, March 12, 2007

THE ACCUSING FINGER OF RAYMOND GILMOUR.......
By NEIL McCAFFERTY.
From 'MAGILL' magazine, August 1983 .

Then there was the young man that Raymond Gilmour could not find at all : back and forth he looked around the courtroom , peering , craning his head , then looking again , back and forth . Finally Gilmour smiled , as in fond remembrance of a joke - '...of course , there you are ...' , he almost thought aloud . Some of the prisoners turned smiles on the man that the informer Gilmour had finally located , because this man was quite small , and you wouldn't hardly see him in a crowd , and his size was the butt of fond jokes .

This 'communal link' snapped suddenly as another prisoner rose to his feet and snarled in fury - " Gilmour you yellow bastard ... " and then the prison guards and the RUC were on top of him , but he had turned already to go down to the cell below because he knew the procedure once composure had snapped . " I hope your da gets stiffed ... " (Link here - see near end of page) , the man yelled , and this time the Crown Forces around him pushed him harder - a clatter of feet , a muffled call ... and 'the waters' closed again . Raymond Gilmour continued to point at people , and did so until the court rose for lunch .

On the road outside , Mrs Gilmour , surrounded by her three daughters and son John , stood waiting . " I'm sorry ... " , she said , to anyone , to everyone , "....I just couldn't bear it... " The plan had been for her to wait until it came time for her son to point at people , then she was supposed to stand up and say ' Raymond , can you identify me...? ' That surely would have brought him to his senses , for was he not out of his senses that he could do what he was doing ? Was he not brainwashed , he was not himself , couldn't everybody see that her son had been programmed completely , completely taken over by the RUC....... ?
(MORE LATER).

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' .)

BRITISH AND IRISH COMMUNIST ORGANISATION: Changed its name from 'Irish Communist Organisation' in 1971 . Initially made an impact with its 'two nations theory' , but support declined after it adopted other 'uncommon' positions . Members participated in the 'Campaign for Labour Representation in the North' and supported the 'Democratic Socialist Party' in the South .

CAMPAIGN FOR LABOUR REPRESENTATION: Formed around 1978 with the participation of members of the 'British and Irish Communist Organisation' to campaign for the extension of the British Labour Party to the North of Ireland .

COMMUNIST PARTY OF IRELAND: Reformed in 1970 with the amalgamation of 'The Communist Party of Northern Ireland' and 'The Irish Workers' Party'. Although it fared miserably in every election contested , it did have some influence within the trade union movement . Ideologically , it remained friendly to Moscow .
(MORE LATER).

Sunday, March 11, 2007

EASTER 1916 COMMEMORATION , SUNDAY 8 APRIL 2007, Dublin .

'The Mother.'

" I do not grudge them : Lord , I do not grudge
my two strong sons that I have seen go out
to break their strength and die , they and a few ,
in bloody protest for a glorious thing ,
they shall be spoken of among their people ,
the generation shall remember them
and call them Blessed :

But I will speak their names to my own heart
in the long nights ;
the little names that were familiar once
round my dead hearth .

Lord , thou art hard on mothers ;
we suffer in their coming and their going :
and tho' I grudge them not , I weary , weary ,
of the long sorrow .
And yet I have my joy ; my sons were faithful , and they fought . "

- PH Pearse , written hours before his execution , May 3 , 1916 .

It is in memory of , and to pay respectable homage to , the men and women of that era and , indeed , the men and women of today and of each generation over more than the last eight centuries , that the Republican Movement has organised , in Dublin , an Easter Sunday Commemoration (8 April 2007) : those wishing to attend should assemble outside the Garden Of Remembrance in Parnell Square at 12.45pm , for a Parade to the GPO.
All Welcome!

Saturday, March 10, 2007

EASTER SUNDAY COMMEMORATION , DUBLIN , 2007 :

" The people were tired of the RIC and their overbearing , strutting tyranny . The 'Law' and the 'Force' . Yes , and the Crowbar and the Battering Ram . The Torch and the Buckshot . The Bayonet and the Bullet and the Baton . These tools had been always associated with the 'Law' . The 'Force' was the eyes and the ears and the power behind the 'Law' . This is how my mother taught me the English alphabet :
A for the Army that covers the ground ,
B for the Buckshot we're getting all round .
C for the Crowbar of cruel ill-fame ,
D for Davitt , a right glorious name...... "

...an extract from Micheal O'Suilleabhain's book , 'Where Mountainy Men Have Sown', (Anvil Books , 1965).

It is in memory of , and to pay respectable homage to , the men and women of that era and , indeed , the men and women of today and of each generation over more than the last eight centuries , that the Republican Movement has organised , in Dublin , an Easter Sunday Commemoration (8 April 2007) : those wishing to attend should assemble outside the Garden Of Remembrance in Parnell Square at 12.45pm , for a Parade to the GPO.
All Welcome!

Friday, March 09, 2007

THE ACCUSING FINGER OF RAYMOND GILMOUR.......
By NEIL McCAFFERTY.
From 'MAGILL' magazine, August 1983 .

Raymond Gilmour's Special Branch minders drew aside , like a curtain , and Gilmour turned to face the people he had grown up with : if the British magistrate were to believe his 'evidence' , and return them all for formal trial , and if they were subsequently convicted , they would go to jail for life for murder of RUC members , or fifteen years , or ten years , or five years if the charge was relatively minor , like membership of the IRA . He would have to point them out of course , point his finger at them - " That man there ," he said , conversationally , pointing : "...the man on the left , with the yellow tee-shirt .... that girl there , sitting in the second row , between the RUC men..."

Others he could not spot quite so easily , for they were in the second row of the dock , behind the first crowded row . Besides which , he would not know them all intimately , if his evidence was correct , because they operated in separate secret units and he might only meet a person from another IRA unit once , on a joint operation . One man would not wait to be pointed out , and stood up - " Is it me you're looking for , Gilmour ? " " Yes , that's you , " he replied , and then moved on to the next person . And the next ....

A further name was mentioned and as Gilmour's expressionless gaze travelled their faces slowly from far left to middle , the named man on the far right was already on his feet , himself pointing at Gilmour , whose glance arrived at him finally , and the informer pointed his finger at this man , so that they were pointing at each other , but the named man stayed accusingly silent , and Raymond Gilmour had to say his name.......
(MORE LATER).

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' .)

ANARCHIST BOOKSHOP COLLECTIVE: A shortlived group in 1980 who can be regarded as successors to Dublin Anarchist Group and predecessors of Dublin Anarchist Collective.

ANARCHIST WORKERS' ALLIANCE: Formed in 1978 , A Libertarian Marxist organisation formed by ex-members of the Dublin and Belfast anarchist groups . Ceased to function in 1982 .

BELFAST ANARCHIST COLLECTIVE: Formed in 1978 , and disbanded as an organisation in 1983 .
(MORE LATER).

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

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 : " Leaving aside the morality of killing people , do you think the IRA campaign against the 'Crown forces of occupation' , as An Phoblacht calls them , will be effective ? Within the limits of your main aims - will it make the British leave ? "

GERRY ADAMS : " Well , not on its own . I mean first of all under the heading of tactic . The British have cut their regular force from about twenty-two thousand to about eight thousand but replaced them with the RUC and the UDR, and the reason there are more RUC men and UDR men being killed is because they are being pushed into the front line . If the IRA wasn't there , it wouldn't even be an issue . The IRA are the cutting edge, in that they are the people who make the whole business go , there wouldn't have been a Forum Report, for what it was worth , without the IRA . Having said that , not on its own : the IRA is only a small force which is facing a very powerful force in terms of military strength , and also a very powerful government .

The IRA does what it does as discriminately and intelligently as possible . I think it can bring about a situation where British withdrawal becomes inevitable . The British are here for a number of strategic reasons and we keep getting back to what Birkenhead said when he justified the British withdrawal from the twenty-six counties , by saying it was to defend British interests with an economy of British lives . The proof of that is in the existence of the twenty-six-county State . But I don't think that the bloody struggle for the past fifteen (sic) years would be worth it if the new united Ireland had a twenty-six-county ethos or economic philosophy . "
(MORE LATER).

THE ACCUSING FINGER OF RAYMOND GILMOUR.......
By NEIL McCAFFERTY.
From 'MAGILL' magazine, August 1983 .

Proud Derry memories of civil rights resistance to the RUC left the British courtroom with the Gilmours : a few involuntary shouts from the public gallery and the docks , a few bodies jerked inexorably to their feet , a few faces streaming with silent tears , had marked the removal of the Gilmours by the RUC , but no one had gone to their help .

If the court had been emptied , Raymond Gilmour would have been under no pressure at all while giving evidence - the Republican prisoners and their relatives have been instructed for months now to hold themselves in check , to suffer any and all indignity in order that they might remain in court to pressurise the informer Raymond Gilmour . The press , too , is trained to go against human nature and stand aside in the interests of maintaining the written record thus , denatured , the court resumed amid the silence . The door in the wall opened and the two Special Branch minders and Raymond Gilmour entered and resumed their positions : he did not look up into the gallery and took up at once , without prompting , where he had left off , and the typewriter went '...clack...clack...' and the sun shone in through the windows . It was as though the waters had heaved and erupted and then closed calmly again over some monstrous thing .

Raymond Gilmour was in the High Flats , in Derry's Bogside now , trying , with his IRA unit , he said , to plant a bomb beside the British Army lookout post on the roof of the flats: he pretended to court a female member of the IRA unit , in the stairwell of the flats, while keeping an eye out for British troops : the rest of the unit came back to report that the trapdoor onto the roof was beyond their reach , so they despatched a man to the nearby 'Rocking Chair Bar', run co-operatively by ex-prisoners , for a tall stool . The stool arrived , was mounted , and the bomb was planted . They returned the stool and retired from the eight floor to a flat in the fifth floor and waited for it to go off . They waited for hours . It did not go off . Back up to the bar for the stool , back up onto the roof for the bomb , recover the bomb , return the stool , and away home , to their various homes . It was almost funny listening to Gilmour , if it wasn't so serious .

That part of the 'evidence' was now concluded , the British prosecuter said , and he must now ask Raymond Gilmour to identify the people he had named , if they were present in court . All eyes fixed on the informer.......
(MORE LATER).

Monday, March 05, 2007

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 : " It's ok talking about the rest of the world , but what about Ireland in particular , or even Dublin ? What about the young , the unemployed , living in the suburbs ? "

GERRY ADAMS : " Look . I'll just explain what happened in my own area . Ballymurphy is a housing estate which was built for ex-British servicemen . There was no national consciousness - it was a soccer-playing area . They probably knew they were nationalist but they were more Catholic than nationalist . All of a sudden , on the backs of the civil rights struggle, which was about the right to vote , the right to have a house , OK ? All of a sudden this strange group of people came in , took over the GAA pitch and the local church , and built a gigantic fort on the local industrial estate , Whiterock Enterprises . They then proceeded to go around at gunpoint to question people and to raid homes and arrest people .

Now if that happened in Cork tomorrow or even Dublin 4, there would be reprisals . I mean if I exploit you and subdue and repress you , all in the name of a foreign power .... these are the reasons people have the right to use force if they wish . And what happens in some districts is , say a lad goes out for a cup of coffee or a pint , he gets stopped by a British soldier who knows him , a lad about his own age . And say the Brits are out in a one-hundred-strong patrol , he gets stopped on this street by the first member of the patrol , on the next street by the tenth soldier and so on .

And what I'd say is that if anybody from Dublin wants to come to Belfast , all they need is their train fare . We'll find a house to put them up in and they won't have to listen to any republican propaganda , right ? They can go out and have a pint and come back in a month then they will be able to say that they understand what's going on . And if you want to make that the last prize in a competition , you can do so . "
(MORE LATER).

THE ACCUSING FINGER OF RAYMOND GILMOUR.......
By NEIL McCAFFERTY.
From 'MAGILL' magazine, August 1983 .

John Gilmour , eldest boy in the family , had meanwhile risen to his feet away up near the back of the courtroom : his mouth was wide open , but no sound came from him . His fists were clenched to his side , his whole frame was still and taut and straining , but he said nothing and did not move , because if he moved or spoke - even as the RUC beat his three sisters - he would be removed from the court and there would be no family member present to recall his brother , Raymond , however silently , back to his house . The court was suddenly quiet again , the sisters gone but he was still on his feet , agony in his features . The RUC gathered below him , not touching him .

" What are you looking at ? I'm not doing anything , I'm not saying anything , " he said , trembling visibly from the strain of doing and saying nothing . The RUC looked at him , and took a step towards him , because he was not seated as one should be seated in an 'orderly' courtroom , and then they halted , and we all - magistrate , press , defendants , relatives , Special Branch , prison guards - gazed frozen upon this spectacle : John Gilmour looked like a man at bay , a rabbit in headlights , both these things ; then the door swung open again and the yells and screams of his sisters and 'knockabout' noises came from the passageway beyond . There issued then from the mouth of John Gilmour a sound that bore no resemblance to the spoken word . It was a loud long bellow , and as it came forth he launched himself headlong into the scrum of RUC members below him .

They caught him and 'passed' him over to the aisle , but he regained his feet there and stood bursting against them , resisting their downward pull , and there were seven RUC men draped somehow , anyhow , about his person , two on their knees clasping his legs , two around his waist , two on his arms , and one behind him pulling his neck back in a fore-arm lock . The eight men tumbled , punching each other , down the stairs and out the door . All the Gilmours were then gone.......
(MORE LATER).

Sunday, March 04, 2007

THE IRISH BLOG AWARDS WERE HELD ON SATURDAY MARCH 3 , 2007.......

Congratulations to all those who attended the Award Ceremony in The Alexander Hotel in Dublin and 'Well Done' to those who left with a little more than some of us did !

We were almost there ourselves but were fouled by the opposition (ie they got more votes than we did!) but have used the enforced non-award time in the best possible way - by working on Monday's blog ! In the words of a favourite author of mine - " Anybody can sympathise with the sufferings of a friend , but it requires a very fine nature - it requires , in fact , the nature of a true individualist - to sympathise with a friend's success ."

Once again , Bloggers - 'winners' and 'losers' - well done on doing what you do best : getting your point of view 'out there'
And 'Thank You' , Damien , for the time and effort you put in to get the show on the road . No doubt I'll catch ya around the airwaves again.... !

Sharon .

Saturday, March 03, 2007

IRISH BLOG AWARDS , SATURDAY MARCH 3 , 2007.

Congratulations to all those attending the Award Ceremony in The Alexander Hotel in Dublin today !

We were almost there ourselves but were fouled by the opposition (ie they got more votes than we did!) but intend to use this non-award time in the best possible way - by working on Monday's blog ! In the words of a favourite author of mine - " Anybody can sympathise with the sufferings of a friend , but it requires a very fine nature - it requires , in fact , the nature of a true individualist - to sympathise with a friend's success ."

Once again , Bloggers - enjoy your day !

Sharon .

Friday, March 02, 2007

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 : " On that point , how can you justify supporting the IRA's violence ? "

GERRY ADAMS : " Well , first of all , Sinn Fein's position is much more honest and logical than Fianna Fail's position . If Charlie Haughey says to you - ' The six county state is not a viable social or economic entity , the British government have no right to be there and British troops should leave ...' , the honest and logical conclusion to that is : ' If you live there * and you want to have a clatter at them , I wouldn't object ' . ('1169...' Comment - why confine "having a clatter at them" to those that live in the Six Counties ? It's an issue which effects everyone on the isle .) Now we take the view that the Irish people have the right to national self-determination . We think that people around the world , which includes the Irish , have the right to decide their own tactics (....once Messers. Ahern , Blair , Bush and Paisley approve , of course..) and to use armed struggle if need be. Other parties say its all right to do it in El Salvador , Nicaragua , Palestine or South Africa , but 'you can't do it in Ireland' . We say it's not only ok for all those people , but it's also ok for Irish people. "
(MORE LATER).

THE ACCUSING FINGER OF RAYMOND GILMOUR.......
By NEIL McCAFFERTY.
From 'MAGILL' magazine, August 1983 .

Raymond Gilmour's sister stood up in the court : " Your honour , can my mother not speak to Raymond ? She hasn't seen him for a year . " The RUC moved quickly to where she was standing : " Your honour " , she repeated , clearly and not shouting , " can my mother not speak to Raymond ?" The RUC were on top of her by now , grabbing her , pulling her , pushing her , and she shouted in protest and one of them lifted her bodily off the bench and stumbled with her down the aisle , and she was pulling his hair and his cap was falling to the ground and her splayed body was horizontally blocking the doorway but RUC reinforcements pushed and shoved and punched her through the doorway , with great noise .

The second sister was by now on her feet , pleading that her younger sister be left alone , the plea turning into shouted fear and anger , and even as she shouted the RUC were rushing towards her , descending on her , coming at her from both sides , pushing and punching , not able to grab her whole body because she was in the middle of the row , with friends on either side , but for one long dreadful moment her arms were tugged out on either side of her , like a crucifixion without a cross or nails and then she was pulled head first over the benches and down , over the head of the third sister who had by now risen to her feet too , and was trying to stop the passage of her sister's body above her , but she was also grabbed by the RUC and the two of them were beaten in a melee of RUC uniforms out of the door.

Meanwhile , John Gilmour , the eldest boy in the family , was on his feet in the courtroom.......
(MORE LATER).

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

THE ACCUSING FINGER OF RAYMOND GILMOUR.......
By NEIL McCAFFERTY.
From 'MAGILL' magazine, August 1983 .

Martin McGuinness, elected (abstentionist) Sinn Fein Assembly member for Derry , had earlier escorted Mrs Gilmour to a seat which afforded a relatively central view of her son , whom she had not seen for twelve months . Everybody else including her other son and three daughters was herded into a section against the wall , well to the blind side of , and behind , the witness box . The RUC had been posted one to each end of the vacant rows , in the other section , like recalcitrant theatre-goers refusing to let people pass once the show has started . McGuinness and Mrs. Gilmour , though excepted , were immediately marooned in a sea of green uniforms . ('1169...' Comment - .....and , once again , McGuinness finds himself 'marooned' with the RUC for company . But this time he's on their side .)

Mrs. Gilmour rose now as her son spoke , stepped past McGuinness , past the RUC , out into the ailse , down the stairs and then turned left to the exit door . Her son was gazing at a spot below the magistrate's bench . She was gazing at the door , their backs to each other . " Raymond , " she called softly over her shoulder , but not looking over her shoulder , " Raymond , son , you know I'm here . I can't listen anymore to you saying them things about your friends . " Her head drooped , but even as it drooped and the door opened before her , he was on his feet , on his way out without a backward glance , out by his own 'special door' , which had also opened , accompanied by his two Special Branch minders , the three of them moving in perfect stepped unison , like men who had practised barracks 'square drilling' , and Raymond Gilmour was gone from the courtroom in perfect timed tandem with his mother , though in an opposite direction .

The British magistrate sat as unregarded as any priest on the altar who has watched the congregation walk out before he had given 'permission' . But then Raymond Gilmour's sister stood up and broke that silence.......
(MORE LATER).

NEW DEPARTURES FOR SINN FEIN....... ?
Sinn Fein's recent election success in the North of Ireland have focussed attention on the Provisionals' new turn to political activity at local level . There have been parallel developments in the organisation in the 26 counties .
'GRALTON' magazine spoke to Paddy Bolger , Ard Comhairle member and National Organiser for Sinn Fein ,with special responsibility for Dublin , about the changed perspective .
From 'GRALTON' magazine , August/September 1983 .

'GRALTON' magazine : " You referred earlier to the need to take steps to prevent the rapid influx of people with political expectations you couldn't meet , perhaps looking for some instant success (? ? ?) . Has Sinn Fein had a problem with the turnover of members since those periods , notably during the hunger strike, when it was the focus for young people in Dublin who were looking for action ? Are you now consciously looking for a different kind of recruit ? "

PADDY BOLGER : " Particularly after Francis Hughes died on hunger strike (....even in death the British RUC/PSNI would not let the man rest) there was a lot of young people , particularly from the poorer districts of Dublin , coming on to the demonstrations . Most of them accepted the republican position about keeping the demonstrations peaceful , about keeping militancy controlled . Most of them then went away again when the hunger strike ended . It wasn't all that different from the North , except that up there we have been able to give that support a political focus - because of our dominance in so many areas , to turn it into the beginning of a mass political movement .

The problem in the South is that we haven't been able to provide that focus . A lot of young people who did join the campaign as activists , and not just for the demonstrations , were driven away by the police . We suffer greatly from police harassment. Most of the people we have now as activists are essential activists , the same people as we had in 1977 who weren't scared away by the repression under the Coalition Leinster House administration. Many of the H-Block action groups which might have developed into Sinn Fein cumainn - and that would have been a natural progression - were broken up by police action . Since the successes in the North and since the realisation that we might become a serious political force down here , some of the best of those people have started to come back .

We are quite convinced that if we could make ourselves credible electorally - well , at least initially , electorally - a lot of the support the hunger strike had in Dublin would come to us . The next local government elections are our immediate targets in that regard . "
(MORE LATER).

Monday, February 26, 2007

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 .

The medium doesn't match the message at Sinn Fein's offices in Dublin but , having survived the rough and tumble of republican politics in Belfast , this is no bespectacled revolutionary in front of you .

Thirty-three year-old Gerry Adams was born in Leeson Street in the Falls but grew up in Ballymurphy - " That's a large housing estate on the outskirts which would roughly correspond to Tallaght in Dublin, with even fewer facilities , if that's possible " , he says with a wry smile . Aside from politics , his main interests are music and sport : " I'm still waiting for Antrim to win a football All-Ireland, " he says .

Gerry Adams was involved in the civil rights campaign ('1169...' Comment .........and obviously believed that that was what it was all about!) and was interned during the early 1970's. Now President of Sinn Fein ('1169...' Comment .....up until 1986 , when he helped to lead a group of dissident nationalists out of the Movement and in to Leinster House..) , he gave the following interview to 'IN DUBLIN' magazine last month . His growing up in his early years in the West Belfast area are chronicled along with local history in his book 'Falls Memories' (Brandon 1983).

The Sinn Fein vote hovers at around ten per cent in the Six Counties but was under five per cent in Dublin in the local elections in June this year (1985), one of the issues we discussed in the following interview.......
(MORE LATER).

THE ACCUSING FINGER OF RAYMOND GILMOUR.......
By NEIL McCAFFERTY.
From 'MAGILL' magazine, August 1983 .

A defence solicitor comes to his feet and says that he cannot hear the witness . He can't see him either ! The same solicitor had made the same point two weeks previously about Michael Quigley , another Derryman , who had also informed on Derrymen , many of whom were now in the dock once more , accused by Raymond Gilmour . On that past occasion , British Magistrate John Petrie had disallowed the plea , and Quigley had remained hidden behind his Special Branch 'minders', for " ...reasons of security.." .

Michael Quigley , fully visible only to the press , had given evidence from eleven in the morning until five in the afternoon , and he had kept his eyes trained on a spot below the magistrate , never deviating , and had kept his arms folded , sitting well back in his chair , only unfolding his arms four times during those six hours . The informer Michael Quigley had been under fierce taunting during cross examination and his face had been as immobile as an identikit picture . Raymond Gilmour , though not now under cross examination , sat forward when the solicitor protested and looked at him , and one of his 'minders' moved back into the aisle whilst the other stepped slightly aside so that everybody in the court could see him clearly , if only in profile .

Gilmour did not look beyond or around the protesting solicitor : he said something , his face turned back to the magistrate , so it is certain that he did not see his mother stand up from her seat.......
(MORE LATER).

NEW DEPARTURES FOR SINN FEIN....... ?
Sinn Fein's recent election success in the North of Ireland have focussed attention on the Provisionals' new turn to political activity at local level . There have been parallel developments in the organisation in the 26 counties .
'GRALTON' magazine spoke to Paddy Bolger , Ard Comhairle member and National Organiser for Sinn Fein ,with special responsibility for Dublin , about the changed perspective .
From 'GRALTON' magazine , August/September 1983 .

'GRALTON' magazine : " Were you influenced at all by the fact that Ranks is a multi-national and that there was an implicit issue of sovereignty in the dispute ? Would your response have been the same if it had been a local company ? "

PADDY BOLGER : " Local companies don't exist on the same scale , at least not with the same relationship to distribution and to imports and exports . I think our response would have been the same if it had been an Irish-owned company . Ranks symbolises what is wrong with the economic strategy in the 26 Counties and there are political lessons to be learned from the dispute . What's happening there is an indication of the insecurity of the current economic structures , with foreign companies being invited in with bigger concessions than they would get over in Sri Lanka or Mexicio and without any concept of state planning in relatuion to them . We're opposed to multi-nationals in principle as a pattern of development , because of their threat to sovereignty .

Even in a purely capitalist sense they have nothing to offer in terms of economic development . But we should be careful not to exaggerate our role in this area - we have a lot of militants who are republican in their political work and republican in their trade union work . They're not 'zany' , but are as thoughtful as any decent trade unionist . They introduce the republican questions when it's appropriate and when the opposition doesn't block it . They're now getting some general direction from the organisation . But our work as Sinn Fein is still largely limited to individual , specific actions , for instance in support of strikes . We believe that industrial work is not of itself enough to change working class consciousness . We have to carry out the local work as well . "
(MORE LATER).

Saturday, February 24, 2007

BRIEF REPORT ON THE TWO DUBLIN PROTEST MARCHES HELD ON SATURDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2007 :

One of the placards carried by an RSF protestor outside Croke Park on Saturday , February 24 , 2007 .
Incidentally - and apparently , under "...Section Eight of the Criminal Justice Bill 2004..." (which was quoted and used by the Gardai against the protestors outside Croke Park) a member of the State Gardai can deem it an 'offence' to put the hood of your jacket up and can not only request , demand and/or insist that you remove your hood , but can - and did at the protest , a number of times - actually physically pull your hood down . The rain on Saturday , February 24 , at Croke Park was heavy and prolonged and the Gardai took great delight in pulling down the jacket hoods of the protestors and telling them that , should they put the hood back up , they would be arrested immediately . However , those with umbrellas were left unmolested.......

John Horan , Republican Sinn Fein , Dublin , photographed today outside the Garden Of Remembrance, Parnell Square , Dublin .

At approximately 12.15pm , RSF members and supporters gathered at the Parnell Monument in O'Connell Street (near Parnell Square) holding banners in support of the 'Shell 2 Sea' campaign , whose protest march was due to leave from outside the Garden of Remembrance at 2pm . There was about one dozen RSF people at the Parnell Monument when , at approximately 1.20pm , a Garda Superintendent and nine of his fellow uniformed colleagues bustled their way into the centre of the RSF people and announced that they were all under arrest for breaching the 'Public Order Act' !

The Gardai were immediately challenged on their assertion , and replied that this particular RSF gathering "....was an illegal street meeting held without notification to the proper authorities.." . 'Verbals' ensued between both groups , with the RSF people insisting that they would not be detered from showing their support for the 'S2S' campaigners , and the Superintendent and his colleagues demanding that the RSF group should proceed to the white Garda 'Transit'-type van (parked outside the Parnell Mooney pub a few metres away) or else they would be man-handled to the vehicle . It should be noted here that no traffic was being blocked by the RSF people , nor was there trouble of any kind , before the Gardai arrived on the scene .
Eventually - after more brief discussion - a compromise was reached : the dozen or so RSF team were 'allowed' by the Gardai to continue with their peaceful picket on a spot which was practically just across the road (nearer to the Ambassador Cinema site than they had originally been) and the Superintendent and his colleagues 'escorted' the RSF people to their 'new' position ! The combined group had barely taken a few steps when the Gardai stood in front of one of the RSF supporters and accused him , amongst other things , of being "cheeky" . The young lad in question was surrounded by the Gardai , roughly searched and told he would be immediately arrested if he was seen in the city centre anytime that day !

In the event , the RSF people decided to add their presence to the numbers already gathered a few metres up the road , nearer to the Garden Of Remembrance . The Superintendent and his men did not object.....

Republican Sinn Fein had approximately fifty members and supporters on the 'S2S' protest march , but left said march early to make their way to Croke Park for the picket which they were holding there to highlight - for one thing - the fact that the visiting team were representative of a country which continues to claim jurisdiction over Irish territory . Again , an 'escort' was provided by about one-hundred Gardai : on arrival at the protest site - by which time the RSF contingent now numbered approximately 100 people - a group of RSF members and supporters , who had travelled separately to that area , brought the number of protestors to between 100 and 150 people . The protest was lively , colourful , loud - and peaceful , despite the predictions of doom announced and forecast by the majority of media commentators . Dozens of flags , banners and posters were held aloft by the protestors in the , by now , heavy rainfall . A letter explaining the reasons for the protest was (as near as possible!) handed in to the GAA Office , and Ruairi Mor O Bradaigh and Des Dalton delivered a fine principled speech and/or interviews to the dozen or so media representatives present .
Also , it was particularly heartening to see a group from the IRSP standing , with their own banner , shoulder-to-shoulder with other Irish Republicans at this protest.
The Garda Riot Squad and their 'ordinary' uniformed colleagues , and their 'betters' in the Special Branch (political police) 'provided' an 'escort' out of the area for the protestors , when the latter had decided that they had made their point .
All in all - apart from the weather (!) it was a day well spent , in putting across a message that needs to be put across : that , as long as any foreign entity claims jurisdiction over any part of this island , there will be those amongst us who will object . No amount of 'sporting fixtures' or other such 'niceties' will change that fact , and no amount of State harassment will prevent us from doing so !

Sharon.