An Phoblacht, October 2015

JO REFUGEES SPAIN

CRIME THRILLER WRITER

28 October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

British Ambassador launches Sinn Féin's Uncomfortable Conversations

storms the shops

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10-point plan refugee crisis

 Hundreds of thousands of refugees continue to flee regions of the Middle East and Africa where military interventions by Western states have left a bloody legacy of conflict

10-POINT PLAN

on the THE recent track record of Irish governments in supporting and protecting asylum seekers is shameful considering our unique history of emigration.

Since 2003, Ireland is the only state in the European Union to opt out of EU Directives laying down minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers.

For 15 years, the state has placed asylum seekers into the discredited Direct Provision System, condemning them to long years in limbo, living on a paltry allowance and denying them the right to work.

One third of those living in Direct Provision today are children. Over half of those living in this system have done so for over four years.

This injustice must end.

The Irish Government has a responsibility to its citizens as well as international responsibilities.

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Ireland should commit to taking one refugee per every 1,000 of our population This would see Ireland take approximately 4,500-5,000 refugees this year.

It is important to note that Sinn Féin would not put an upper limit on it. We must not only do our fair share but more than our fair share given our own emigrant history.

to work on a common approach across the island.

Sinn Féin continues to fully support the use of the Irish Naval Service in search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean and call on the Irish Government to ensure that these missions continue. We will not support the use of the Irish Naval Service or Defence Forces to take part in offensive military actions under the EUNAVFOR Med mission.

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End the Direct Provision system Direct Provision must be scrapped. It is not fit for purpose. Sinn Féin believes that there is a need to ensure that we have a system in place that respects the dignity and human rights of asylum seekers.

Call for an emergency summit of EU member states To be convened immediately to draft a comprehensive action plan to address the needs of asylum seekers and also be tasked with examining conflict resolution strategies.

Call for others to play their part on setting up safe and legal access to Europe This could be done through a UN Security Council Resolution, as well as all EU member states working together in the spirit of Article 80 of the TFEU to make this happen. This could also include the provision of the issuing of humanitarian visas for those travelling from conflict zones.

state through which the asylum seeker first entered the EU. The Dublin Regulations establish a hierarchy of criteria for identifying the member state responsible for the examination of an asylum claim in Europe. This is not practical under the present circumstances.

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Call on the European Commission and member states to activate the Temporary Protection Directive Temporary protection is an exceptional measure to provide displaced persons from non-EU countries and unable to return to their country of origin with immediate and temporary protection. It applies in particular when there is a risk that the standard asylum system is struggling to cope with demand stemming from a mass influx that risk having a negative impact on the processing of claims.

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Call on the European Commission and EU member states to stop co-operation with third countries which aim at preventing asylum seekers from reaching a safe place in Europe Also call for an end of negotiations of any such agreements with third countries that do not guarantee the protection of refugees and respect for fundamental rights, such as Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia and Egypt.

BY PÁDRAIG Mac LOCHLAINN TD Agreement, the relaxing of borders within the EU, the resultant need for agreement on the regulation of the EU’s external borders, and the gradual expansion of EU powers to create an “Area of freedom, security and justice” grounded in the Tampere Programme (1999-2004).

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Address the root cause of the crisis Call on EU member states to strengthen long-term efforts to resolve the root causes of the refugee crisis by advancing political solutions to conflict and inclusive socio-economic development across Africa and the Middle East. Military interventions by European states in Libya, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan have left a bloody legacy and continue to fuel conflicts in the region which have created this refugee crisis. EU countries need to use their influence in these regions to find inclusive political solutions rather than establishing military alliances with countries seeking to prolong and deepen these conflicts.

anphoblacht Sraith Nua Iml 38 Uimhir 10

October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

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Develop a ‘National Action Plan’ This plan should be both short-term and long-term. The Government should immediately set up a working group of immigration experts and other civil society groups to speedily identify the infrastructural requirements and other needs and logistics necessary to make our response to the crisis as successful as possible.

The Government should also engage with the Northern Executive and the British Government

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Suspend “Dublin Regulations” Ireland must suspend these regulations to ensure effective access to asylum. The regulations usually means that the responsible member state will be the

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Ireland should opt back in to the Common Euro Asylum System The Common European Asylum System (CEAS) is based on the full and inclusive application of the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees 1951 and the New York Protocol of 1967. It seeks to address needs which have arisen from, among other things, the processes flowing from the Schengen

Price €2 / £2

Six months that could redefine Ireland

CHANGE IS IN YOUR HANDS

2 October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

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Dáil no confidence motion in Enda Kenny over Garda Commissioner’s resignation following 11th-hour visit by top Department of Justice official

Taoiseach in the frame over police chief ’s dramatic departure

BY MARK MOLONEY AS AN PHOBLACHT goes to print, the Dáil is debating a motion of confidence in the Taoiseach. The debate came about after Fine Gael and Labour moved to derail attempts by both Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil to submit motions of “no confidence” in the Taoiseach amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the Fennelly interim report into the dramatic resignation of former Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan in March 2014.

The report found that the catalyst for his resignation was when Taoiseach Enda Kenny suddenly dispatched the head of the Department of Justice, Brian Purcell, to call unexpectedly to the Garda Commissioner’s home at 11pm on Monday 24 March 2014 following revelations of widespread illegal taping of phone calls to and from Garda stations by An Garda Síochána.

According to the Fennelly Report: “The Garda Commissioner interpreted the message delivered to him by Mr Purcell on behalf of the Taoiseach, with all its attendant circumstances, as an indication that he should consider his position.”

The Fennelly Report describes this as a reasonable conclusion for the Garda Commissioner to reach.

The Garda Commissioner said of the meeting: 5 The Fennelly Report found that Taoiseach Enda Kenny's actions were the immediate catalyst for the Garda Commissioner's resignation “I was left in no doubt what I had to do then that evening. I was left in absolutely no doubt.”

The next morning, he stepped down.

In the report, the Attorney General says the decades of taping phone calls was a “wholesale violation of the law by An Garda Síochána” which had been going on “the length and breadth of the country in Garda stations without any apparent authorisation under any of the legislation”.

She went on to describe this as “criminal activity” by the police service.

The report also raises concerns in relation to the destruction of the SIM card of the Garda Commissioner’s mobile phone following his resignation, the shredding of eight to ten bin bags of documents from his office, and the failure to locate a personal diary belonging to 5Brian Purcell was sent to Garda Commissioner's the Commissioner.

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams TD says the home late on the night of 24 March 2014 the Monday night meeting when Mr Purcell findings of the report make Taoiseach Enda was dispatched to the Garda Commissioner’s Sinn Féin’s motion also expressed no confiKenny’s position untenable: home. This denial is not supported by the dence in Attorney General Máire Whelan.

“No amount of spin by the Government or Deputy Leader Mary Lou McDonald TD said: statements of three other people present at clever use of words in the Fennelly Report can the same meeting,” the Sinn Féin TD said.

“The bottom line is that the Attorney disguise the fact that the Callinan debacle has General is the adviser to Government and in “It also contradicts the statement by the revealed how dysfunctional this Government that capacity has a duty to the state but also former Tánaiste, Eamon Gilmore, in giving is,” Adams said. his evidence relating to the following day to the the citizens. What we see in Fennelly is “It is clear that the Taoiseach’s deliberate a unilateral decision not to inform a minister when the Taoiseach raised the issue of actions led to the resignation of the Garda of Government, the former Justice Minisnot being in the position to express his Commissioner. In effect, Commissioner Callinan ter, on matters that the Attorney General confidence in the Garda Commissioner,” was sacked. The shameful defence of Enda Kenny regarded of the most serious nature.” he added. by the Labour Party and by Fine Gael Ministers The report notes that Gilmore’s statement Sinn Féin TD Peadar Tóibín also noted that is evidence of how far the Government parties statements given to the Fennelly Commis“provides significant corroboration for the propoare prepared to go to protect their own narrow sion by former Labour leader and Tánaiste sition that the Taoiseach did express doubts party political self-interest,” he said. about whether he could continue to express Eamon Gilmore appear to contradict stateSinn Féin had called for the reconvening of ments by the Attorney General. confidence in the [Garda] Commissioner”. the Dáil at the beginning of September to deal “The continued denial by the Attorney General “The report details the consistent denial by the with the report, but this was rejected by the Attorney General that the Taoiseach discussed the 5 Martin Callinan felt the meeting at his home was renders her position untenable,” Peadar Tóibín Government parties. said. issue of confidence in the Garda Commissioner at 'an indication he should consider his position'

The Garda Commissioner said of the meeting: ‘I was left in no doubt what I had to do then that evening.

I was left in absolutely no doubt.’ The next morning, he stepped down

October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

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Stormont talks require creativity, imagination and generosity, says Martin McGuinness

BY MICHAEL McMONAGLE TALKS are currently underway at Stormont to try and find a resolution to the current challenges facing the political institutions and to secure a workable budget for the Executive.

The talks began on Monday 22 September at Stormount House, the venue for the previous round of negotiations which led to the agreement of the same name last December.

This followed weeks of political wrangling by unionist parties and the British Government in the aftermath of the killings of Gerard ‘Jock’ Davison and Kevin McGuigan in Belfast in May and August respectively.

Peter Robinson’s Democratic Unionist Party and Mike Nesbitt’s Ulster Unionist Party cynically used those killings to provoke a political crisis as part of their increasingly bitter internecine battle for electoral supremacy.

Both unionist parties attempted to appear hardline by focusing on the non-existent IRA, ignoring public denials from the Sinn Féin leadership and others, and continued their efforts to foster a crisis.

UUP leader Mike Nesbitt acted first and announced that he was withdrawing his party’s sole minister from the Executive on 29 August.

The DUP followed suit on 10 September when party leader Peter Robinson announced that he was stepping aside as First Minister and that his ministerial team would be resigning, with the exception of Arlene Foster, who remained in place as acting First Minister and Finance Minister. She angered many nationalists further when she said she was being left in place as a “gatekeeper” to deter actions by what she called “rogue” ministers from Sinn Féin and the SDLP. In a bizarre twist, the DUP leader announced that his ministers would be reappointed and then resign almost immediately, leaving key ministries such as Health without an incumbent.

Unionists also insisted that a new

Onus on British and Irish governments as well as parties

Secretary of State Theresa Villiers, Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan and the political parties, it was agreed to hold a full talks process to address the outstanding difficulties facing the political process.

Ahead of the first day of talks, Martin McGuinness said Sinn Féin was entering the negotiations to secure a workable budget for the Executive and to resolve the outstanding issues facing the Executive.

The deputy First Minister also said the British Government is responsible for the budgetary difficulties and it therefore has a responsibility to address them.

“For these talks to be successful there is an onus on all parties to demonstrate creativity, imagination and generosity, particularly on the two governments.

“The British Government created the current budgetary crisis and must play a full and positive part in resolving this issue so that the Executive has a workable budget that will defend frontline services and protect the most vulnerable in society,” he said.

Martin McGuinness added that the Irish Government cannot shirk its responsibilities in the current talks process.

As talks got underway, Conor Murphy MLA called on the British and Irish governments to play a constructive role and live up to their responsibilities as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement.

“There was a unanimity among all 5 Sinn Féin's Mary Lou McDonald, Martin McGuinness, Michelle O'Neill and Gerry Adams speak to the media at Stormont at the Executive parties in terms of our the start of the talks approach to the British Government body be set up to monitor the activities fight, Sinn Féin repeatedly called for during this morning’s discussions. of armed groups and criminal gangs. an all-party talks process.

“All parties made it very clear that While Sinn Féin argued that such a Speaking at Stormont, Sinn Féin the ongoing impact of Tory austerity body was unnecessary and would be a President Gerry Adams TD said: policies and the prospect of further waste of resources, Martin McGuinness “Whatever reservations Sinn Féin may cuts is creating a very real difficulty in made it clear time and again that Sinn have about the role and involvement of terms of fulfilling our programme for Féin opposes criminality in all its forms. the British security agencies, these are government commitments.

“We will work with the other parties secondary to the resolution of the crisis “The British and Irish governments to tackle the issue of armed groups in the political institutions, including have a role to play in ensuring the which want to drag us back to the past, securing agreement around a workable Executive has a workable and sustainincluding active unionist paramilitaries budget, the creation of sustainable able budget and armed republican dissidents, and institutions, and the implementation “The governments need to realise organised criminals who are a blight of the Stormont House Agreement.” they have to play a constructive role in on the community,” he said.

After a series of meetings between bringing a resolution to these issues,” GERRY ADAMS Throughout the unionist sham the British Government’s representative, he said.

‘Whatever reservations Sinn Féin may have about the role and involvement of the British security agencies, these are secondary to the resolution of the crisis in the political institutions’

5 The Irish Government is a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement and other agreements with the British Government at Westminster – the Irish Government cannot shirk its responsibilities

5 Talks reps – British Secretary of State Theresa Villiers and Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan

4 October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

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anphoblacht Editorial

WHAT'S INSIDE 8

Southern media and political attacks on Sinn Féin partitionist 13

The Banking Inquiry – What have we learnt?

20

1916 rebel Thomas Kent – Remembering the Past 21

anphoblacht Eagarfhocal

anphoblacht

The next six months

THE NEXT SIX MONTHS will be crucial for the future of Ireland, North and South.

In the North, we will see if the unionists are truly committed to sharing power with their nationalist neighbours, if they will accept the concepts of equality and respect.

We shall also see if the British and Irish governments exercise their responsibilities as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement – they are not interested bystanders.

The agreements, institutions and public services are being undermined by the Tory Party and by inter-unionist rivalry.

It is a critical time for all those who support the agreements and progress to stand together, to resolve the current issues, to have the institutions up and working, and to deliver a workable budget.

Tory cuts in the North mirror the austerity doctrine of Fine Gael and Labour in the South.

The Government of Fine Gael and Labour gave itself a vote of confidence in the Dáil. If it believes it deserves the confidence of the public, it should test it by calling a general election now.

The Fine Gael/Labour Government is on its last legs and becoming more desperate in its attacks on Sinn Féin to

Contact

Layout and production: Mark Dawson production@anphoblacht.com

NEWS editor@anphoblacht.com NOTICES notices@anphoblacht.com PHOTOS photos@anphoblacht.com

Sea, Léiríonn Ceapachán Chorbyn go bhfuil Dhá Shasana Ann

the point where its leaders (and Fianna Fáil) are willing to undermine hard-won progress in the Peace Process in the North. They sought a suspension of the democratic institutions at the behest of unionists. The Fine Gael/ Labour Government has no strategy or plan to enact the international agreements the Irish Government is obligated to defend, uphold and progress.

There will be an opportunity in the next six months for the people in the South to elect a Sinn Féin-led government.

The next six months will also mark the centenary of 1916 .

The greatest tribute to the men and women of Easter week is to make good the promises made in 1916 – how, in government, North and South, we end inequality and poverty; how we end the crony politics that benefits the elites; how we establish a system of fair taxation.

How we cherish all of the children and deliver a united Ireland and a true republic.

The next six months are full of opportunities to deliver real and fundamental change.

We believe that another way is possible, that a fairer way is possible.

Sinn Féin is up for the challenge.

AN PHOBLACHT is published monthly by Sinn Féin. The views in An Phoblacht are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sinn Féin. We welcome articles, opinions and photographs from new contributors but contact the Editor first.

An Phoblacht, Kevin Barry House, 44 Parnell Square, Dublin 1, Ireland Telephone: (+353 1) 872 6 100. Email: editor@anphoblacht.com

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2015 Fete de l'Humanité, Paris

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Scotland's new left unity, pro-independence movement – RISE 30 5 Brendan 'Bik' McFarlane accompanied by Ryan Murphy of the Mairéad 5 Bik McFarlane demonstrating his solidarity with the people of Palestine Farrell Republican Youth Committee entertain the crowds

The Mandela Moment – Sport SUBSCRIBE ONLINE To get your An Phoblacht delivered direct to your mobile device or computer for just €10 per 12 issues and access to the historic The Irish Volunteer newspaper posted online weekly and An Phoblacht’s/IRIS the republican magazine archives

5 Members of the republican delegation with activists from across Europe

October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

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5

Le Trevor Ó Clochartaigh Níl i scéal Aer Árainn ach cuid d’fhadhb i bhfad níos forleithne

Polasaí Oileánda thuas san Aer

TÁ suim náisiúnta dhá chuir san agóid atá ar bun maidir leis an tseirbhís aeir go hÁrainn. Tá feachtas den scoth dhá rith ag pobal na n-oileáin agus tá daoine as chuile cheard ag cur spéis sa mhéid atá ag tarlú.

Ach, tá amhras orm, fiú má thagann siad ar réiteach ar an troid áirithe seo faoin gcóras iompar, nach bhfuil an cath ach ina thús, mar gur léiriú é ar chúlú iomlán i bpolasaithe an stáit i leith na n-oileáin.

Baineann an t-aighneas leis an bpróiséas tairisceana ar an tseirbhís aeir, atá ag moladh go mbronnfaí conradh ar sheirbhís a chur ar fáil go hÁrainn ar ‘Executive Helicopters’ a bheadh lonnaithe in Aerfort na Gaillimhe ar an gCarn Mór, seachas ar Aer Árainn – atá i mbun na seirbhíse le 45 bliain, ó Aerfort na Minna i gConamara.

Tharla rud iontach neamhgnáthach le linn an fheachtais seo. Tugadh ionadaithe tofa ó Ghaillimh amach chun cuairt a thabhairt ar thrí oileáin Árainn in aon lá amháin – rud nach bhfuil éasca le déanamh ar an gnáth bhealach.

D’fhreastal thart ar scór duine, idir baill Oireachtais, Comhairleoirí Chontae & Cathrach ar thrí chruinniú poiblí in Inis Mór, Inis Meáin agus ansin ar Inis Oírr. Bhí sluaite ag na cruinnithe ar fad agus iad ag brú go láidir an riachtanas a bhaineann le seirbhís eitleáin seachas ingearáin agus go mbeadh sé sin ar fáil ón aerfort i gConamara seachas taobh thoir de Ghaillimh.

Maidir leis an gcás ar son eitleán, tá an déanamh ‘Islander’ ag eitilt isteach is amach ó oileáin bheaga ar fud an domhain le blianta fada. Tá sé déanta go speisialta don obair seo agus é thar a bheith sábháilte. Ní thógann sé ach sé nóiméad eitilt ó Aerfort Chonamara chuig na h-oileáin, le h-ais fiche nóiméad ón gCarn Mór. Rinneadh cinneadh fiche cúig bliain

Admhaíonn gach duine – fiú ionadaithe tofa an rialtais - go bhfuil praiseach iomlán déanta den phróiséas tairisceana seo. Ach, ní ionann sin agus freagracht a ghlacadh as na botúin.

5 Cruinniú Poiblí in Inis Mór

ó shoin aerfort na Minna a thógáil go díreach don fheidhm seo.

Tá comhoibriú iontach idir an tseirbhís reatha agus na báid farantóireachta i Ros a’Mhíl chomh maith – nach bhfuil ach deich nóiméad siar an bóthar. Sa gcás agus nach féidir le duine filleadh ar an eitleán mar shampla, tugann an bád isteach iad,bailítear iad agus tugtar iad chuig an aerfort.

Má bhíonn seirbhís as an gCarn Mór i gceist déanann sé cúrsaí i bhfad níos mí-phraiticiúil don taistealaí.

Admhaíonn gach duine – fiú ionadaithe tofa an rialtais - go bhfuil praiseach iomlán déanta den phróiséas tairisceana seo. Ach, ní ionann sin agus freagracht a ghlacadh as na botúin. Tá réiteach na faidhbe i lámha an Aire Stáit Joe McHugh, ach ceannaireacht a ghlacadh.

Is iad Comhairle Cathrach agus Comhairle Chontae na Gaillimhe na comh-úinéirí nua

ar Aerfort na Gaillimhe – atá dúnta le tamall d’aerthaisteal poiblí. Tá léas ag comhlacht darb ainm Carnmore Aviation Ltd. ar an aerfort sin le h-eitiltí phríobháideacha a láimhseáil. Ritheann an léas sin amach faoi Nollaig. Mairfidh an chonradh maidir le seirbhís aeir go hÁrainn ar feadh cheithre bliana agus ní féidir le h-aon comhlacht gealladh go ndéanfar sin ó Aerfort na Gaillimhe. Dá bhrí sin, meastar gur chóir ‘Executive Helicopters’ a dhícháiliú agus dul chuig an chéad iomaitheoir eile sa chomórtas.

Tá McHugh ag iarraidh ar na h-údaráis áitiúla an cinneadh a ghlacadh ar a shon, seachas seasamh suas é féin.

Ní fheiceann aon duine ciall leis an bpróiséas seo ar fad. Ach, seans go bhfuil muid ag breathnú air ón dearcadh mícheart. Rinne Dinny McGinley iarracht an fóirdheontas seo a scrios roimhe agus cuireadh feachtas láidir ina aghaidh. Seo seift

eile ag an rialtas leis an jab céanna a dhéanamh - go h-indíreach.

Má bhronntar conradh ar chomhlacht eile seachas Aer Árainn – cuirfear deire le fírinne leis an tseirbhís reatha. Is beag seans go n-éireoidh leis an tseirbhís heileacaptar ceaptar agus taobh istigh d’achar gearr imeoidh sin agus beidh sé ró-dhéanach filleadh ar an tsean-chóras.

Dar liomsa, is léiriú é seo ar pholasaí rialtais níos leithne chun tacaíocht do na h-oileáin a ídiú. Ní gá ach breathnú ar an droch bhail atá curtha acu ar Chomhar na nOileáin, na seirbhísí leighis, an easpa maoinithe do chéibh Inis Oírr agus eile, má theastaíonn breis fianaise uait.

Ach, ní dóigh liom go dtuigeann an rialtas buansheasmhacht muintir Árainn agus an tacaíocht ollmhór ata acu ó chosmhuintir na hÉireann. Buafar cath na h-aerseirbhíse, ach caithfear an meath níos leithne, de bharr polasaithe frith-oileánda Fhine Gael agus an Lucht Oibre a chloí freisin.

6 October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

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UNCOMFORTABLE CONVERSATIONS ‘For all of us with an interest in promoting peace and reconciliation across these islands, ‘Uncomfortable Conversations’ should be required reading’ BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO IRELAND

DOMINICK CHILCOTT

British Ambassador joins Gerry Adams to launch Sinn Féin reconciliation initiative

BY JOHN HEDGES THE BRITISH AMBASSADOR sharing a platform with Gerry Adams to launch Sinn Féin’s booklet on “Uncomfortable Conversations for Reconciliation” put into perspective the crisis contrived by unionist parties exploiting the killing of Kevin McGuigan in Belfast five weeks earlier to try and exclude Sinn Féin from the Stormont Executive on the pretext that the party is linked to the murder.

The event was hosted and introduced

by Ard Mhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath (Mayor of Dublin City) Críona Ní Dhálaigh in the historic Mansion House, meeting place of the First Dáil, and also addressed

by Reverend Heather Morris (former President of the Methodist Church) and Declan Kearney (Sinn Féin’s National Chairperson and the driving force behind the Uncomfortable Conversations initiative).

British Ambassador Dominick Chilcott congratulated An Phoblacht “for prompting these Uncomfortable Conversations” in a series of articles from March 2012 which have culminated in what he described as a “remarkable” book.

The audience was packed with Ambassadors and high-ranking government representatives from Cuba, the USA, Palestine, South Africa, Spain, China, Greece, Germany, and many others.

There was also a huge number of representatives from civic society, among them numerous campaigning peace and reconciliation groups (among them Glencree, Corrymeela and Co-operation Ireland) and activists, trade unions, the churches and the media.

Notable individuals included Beirut hostage Brian Keenan, former Supreme Court Judge Catherine McGuinness, TDs and senators, Donna Cooney from the 1916 Relatives’ Association, and “Conversations” contributors Orange Order member Rev Brian Kennaway, Rev Chris Hudson and Rev Earl Storey.

LEGACY OF OUR RECENT PAST Introducing the event after a welcome by Ard Mhéara Críona Ní Dhálaigh, Declan Kearney noted: “Whilst the Good Friday Agreement drew a line under political conflict in Ireland, we have not dealt with the

5 British Ambassador Dominick Chilcott and Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams at the Mansion House event “Uncomfortable” doesn’t seem like an legacy of our most recent past. Events adequate word any more in the process such as the bombings of Dublin and of building peace.

Monaghan, at Mullaghmore, on the “Words like painful, heart-breaking, Shankill Road, and in Warrington; the frustrating feel more adequate. killings on Bloody Sunday, at Loughgall “My personal plea is that everyone and Loughlinisland; and many more, (because moves can be made by every all caused huge suffering and pain.” side) does whatever it takes to get us The Sinn Féin National Chairperson back at the table, to get conversations acknowledged that many families on started again. all sides and across Ireland and Britain “We have come too far to let peace continue to suffer and, regrettably, that slide like sand through our fingers.” pain cannot now be undone. Then, he added, without any ambiguity: Acknowledging that “commitment to “I am sorry for the hurt experienced Uncomfortable Conversations demands by members of British military forces astounding grace, especially from those and civilians during the war; the sufferwho are victims”, the recent President ing of unionist people in our society; of the Methodist Church said: and equally for the pain of the families “It has been good to see more voices of IRA Volunteers and Sinn Féin activists coming into this particular converkilled; as well as many other nationalist sation in the pages of An Phoblacht, citizens also killed and injured. even since the publication of this book.

“Unless we make reconciliation, “I hope that that will continue and healing and forgiveness our future, that the still-silent voices will be heard.” society and politics will remain trapped by the pain and resentments of the ‘WE MUST ALL RISE past.”

CHURCH LEADER’S PERSONAL PLEA Reverend Heather Morris said that

Uncomfortable Conversations IS AVAILABLE FROM SINN FÉIN OFFICES

TO THE CHALLENGE’

The British Ambassador to Ireland opened his speech with a frank admission.

“Not being a regular subscriber to Sinn Féin’s monthly newspaper, An Phoblacht,” the British Ambassador said with a smile, “I confess to not having read any of the articles in Uncomfortable Conversations before picking up the book.

“These short essays were a revelation. The reader may be surprised by how well written, astute and generous spirited the articles in this book are.

“For all of us with an interest in promoting peace and reconciliation across these islands, this book should be required reading.”

The British Ambassador quoted Declan Kearney in one of his essays reminding people that the two governments (in London and Dublin), and republicans and unionists were not bystanders to the conflict when the Sinn Féin National Chairperson wrote that, “None of us is absolved of responsibility to ensure that future generations grow up in a better place than we did.”

“He is right,” the British Ambassador declared. “We must all rise to the challenge.

“The great collective task for political leaders on these islands is to overcome the legacy of the past and to build together a better future for everyone, based on mutual respect, parity of esteem, social justice and equality of opportunity.

“The road to this better future begins with giving the other side a fair hearing.

This is not about trying to convert unionists into republicans or vice versa.

But it is about restoring the humanity of the other side; developing, as it were, a sense of empathy with them.”

The British Ambassador concluded: “We all have a strong interest in promoting reconciliation. It is the key to our common, shared future, in whatever constitutional disposition that future is lived.

“This book, Uncomfortable Conversations, like the example of successive Irish Presidents, the Queen and Prince Charles, as well as many others, can inspire all of us to be morally courageous, open-minded and generous spirited in working to make the future a much better place than was the past.”

‘ORANGE IS ONE OF OUR NATIONAL COLOURS’ Gerry Adams emphasised that victims and survivors of the conflict who are

October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

www.anphoblacht.com

5 Reverend Heather Morris

still seeking justice and truth must be given the strongest possible support and assistance.

“Whether they were bereaved by the IRA, by British state agencies, or through collusion with unionist paramilitaries or by unionist paramilitaries, the victims and their families and communities deserve justice. That is an essential ingredient in the reconciliation process.

“I know only too well from speaking directly to families of victims of the conflict, including victims of the IRA, that the past is part of their present.

“I also know from talking to these families that closure and healing is possible.”

Departing from his script to share two personal anecdotes, he continued: “For that reason, the Stormont House Agreement, which deals with these matters, must be implemented.”

The Sinn Féin leader noted that, during her historic visit to Ireland in 2011, Queen Elizabeth “made clear her desire to be part of a process of reconciliation and healing”. The subsequent meeting between Martin McGuinness and Queen Elizabeth in Belfast and the state visit by President Michael D. Higgins to Britain were widely acknowledged, quite rightly, as groundbreaking, he added.

In another departure from his script, Gerry Adams revealed that he had personally and privately approached Ambassador Chilcott ahead of the visit to Ireland by Prince Charles to Ireland in May of this year to seek a meeting.

Commending the British Ambassador, the Sinn Féin President said:

5 Declan Kearney, Ard Mhéara Críona Ní Dhálaigh, British Ambassador Dominick Chilcott and Gerry Adams TD

memories of the conflict starting in the 1960s. “It was obvious to me,” Gerry Adams said, “that he wishes to play a positive role in making conflict a thing of the past.”

CONFLICT IS NOW OVER

5 Those seeking justice and truth must be given the strongest possible support and assistance

difficult issues”, including the assassination of Prince Charles’s uncle, Lord Mountbatten, by the IRA of the coast of Sligo in August 1979.

“We acknowledged that Charles and

his family had been hurt and suffered great loss at Mullaghmore by the actions of Irish republicans.

“We spoke also of the hurt inflicted on our friends and neighbours, and

on our own communities in Derry and Ballymurphy and Springhill by the actions of the Parachute Regiment and other British Army regiments.”

Prince Charles shared his own

“He immediately saw the importance of that. I don’t know what machinations or negotiations went on in between then and the actual meeting, but he had the imagination, the wit and the wisdom to realise that this was an important initiative."

Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness and Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh met with Prince Charles in Galway. The conversation, Gerry Adams recounted, was “cordial, relaxed, it was positive despite the fact that we dealt with

7

5 Gerry Adams revealed that he had privately approached the British Ambassador to seek that meeting with Prince Charles

Although, thankfully, the conflict is now over, the Sinn Féin leader said: “The past is not another country; it shapes our lives, our politics and our present. The sense of loss remains with families and communities.”

He said he was mindful that two of ‘The Disappeared’ were buried that week, that 1916 leader Thomas Kent was to be given a state funeral the following day, and one of the British Ambassador’s predecessors, Christopher Ewart Biggs was killed by republicans in 1976.

“We cannot undo these things but we can work to ensure that they are never repeated,” the republican leader said.

“The resolve and responsibility of all political leaders now must be to ensure this; to ensure that no else suffers as a result of conflict; that no other family is bereaved; that the experience of war and of loss and injury is never repeated.

“This means all of us working together. It requires generosity and respect from all and for all.”

And, he added: “Reconciliation must go beyond the big houses and palaces. It must be felt on the streets of Belfast and Derry and elsewhere.”

Noting that “Orange is one of our national colours” and that “there will be Orange parades in a united Ireland”, the Sinn Féin leader appealed directly to the Orange Order “to begin palying its part in the Peace Process by following the example set by Queen Elizabeth”.

He said that republicans need to be “open, imaginative and accommodating” in our approach to achieving Irish reunification and listening to unionists about what they believe the Union offers them.

“We need to look at ways in which the unionist people can be comfortable and secure; ways in which they have real ownership in a new Ireland.”

8 October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

www.anphoblacht.com

Partitionism key to Southern attacks on Sinn Féin

5 Establishment parties and their allies in the media have done their damnedest to row in behind the unionists

BY EOIN Ó MURCHÚ WHILE political cynicism and a sordid grab for votes by even the foulest of means explains much of the hysterical assault on Sinn Féin by the Southern political Establishment in recent weeks, there are underlying issues that expose deeper motivations for Fianna Fáil, Labour and Fine Gael.

Fianna Fáil and Labour in particular are terrified that Sinn Féin is attracting the working-class votes that these parties once enjoyed, and that this is a long-term trend rather than any shortterm, isolated event.

They are manifestly unable to argue the political case against Sinn Féin since that political case would have to be one of justifying austerity and the unequal society that their policies have produced.

And as these assaults have less and less impact, with the contrived nature of the current crisis becoming more and more apparent, Fianna Fáil and Labour spokespeople get more and more frantic and totally ignore or disre-

Fianna Fáil and Labour are terrified that Sinn Féin is attracting the working-class votes that these parties once enjoyed

JACK LYNCH

CONOR CRUISE O’BRIEN

gard the impact of their words on the Peace Process.

It is ironic that, amongst Establishment figures, it was left to Fine Gael’s Simon Coveney to warn against going too far with the attacks on Sinn Féin, while the party of Bertie Ahern (who played a crucial part in bringing about the Good Friday and St Andrews agreements) came out openly behind the DUP’s effort to have Stormont suspended.

But the question arises as to why the Peace Process and the possibilities of democratic advance in the North are of so little concern to these parties.

MÍCHEÁL MARTIN JOAN BURTON James Connolly, of course, pointed out that the Irish working class were the only incorruptible inheritors of the 5 Fianna Fáil and Labour have ignored the impact their contrived frantic attacks have on the Peace Process fight for Irish freedom, and the reason reaction” on both sides of the Border, class might set aside sectarian differ- the Civil Rights movement exposed was that the mass of the people have no and so it has turned out. ences and build a real republican the vicious reality of Northern politics profits to defend that might be placed For the Southern propertied classes, alternative. as the old system fell apart in conflict. in jeopardy if we stood up to Britain any attempt to unite the country was Thus, up until the 1960s, the Southern Fianna Fáil Taoiseach Jack Lynch and the European Union. fraught with the danger that the war establishment was happy to indulge stood idly by while the subsequent And Connolly also pointed out that could be brought “down here” or (even in verbal aspirations for reunification Coalition Government (in which the partition would lead to a “carnival of worse for them) that a united working but got increasingly frightened when Labour Party’s Conor Cruise O’Brien

played such an ignoble part) carried collaboration to obscene levels.

The real thrust on which the Southern parties agreed was that overt discrimination should stop in the North and that there would be economic and social co-operation North and South.

For them, the Good Friday Agreement was not the stepping stone to a united Irish Republic (which Sinn Féin has championed) but an end in itself.

Sinn Féin’s success in becoming the dominant nationalist party in the North and in challenging seriously for political hegemony in the South has changed the game as far as the Southern Establishment is concerned.

The current Irish Government, despite many warnings, has ignored its responsibilities as co-guarantor of the Good Friday and St Andrews agreements. And Mícheál Martin and Joan Burton unashamedly do their damnedest to row in behind the unionists.

In particular, Sinn Féin’s refusal to meekly accept British Tory-imposed

They are unable to argue the political case against Sinn Féin since that would mean justifying austerity and the unequal society their policies have produced austerity (“taking tough decisions”, say Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil et al) exposes the willingness of both Fianna Fáil and Labour to impose Fine Gael policies.

But another question arises here: where do the Independents, and the plethora of smaller parties and groupings stand on the Peace Process and on the democratic right of national reunification?

Will they join with Sinn Féin and republicans throughout Ireland to fight for real democracy? Or will they join in the unionist attempt to bring back the old sectarian way? Or will they remain silent on the sidelines?

The test of any party’s genuine commitment to democratic principles can be found in how they respond to these questions.

Because Irish unity is not just something that would help rescue the people of the North from the deathgrips of sectarianism and of subservience to British imperialism, it is also a necessary part of the liberation of the working people of the South from a society which thrives on division and exploitation.

October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

www.anphoblacht.com

9

JEREMY CORBYN’S ELECTION

Upending British politics

BY JAYNE FISHER

The key issue now for Labour and for all of us who support the Peace Process is the defence of the Good Friday Agreement

JEREMY CORBYN’S ELECTION as British Labour Party leader was, by almost universal agreement, a political earthquake of historic proportions.

Not only did he go from rank outsider to odds-on favourite in the space of a few short months, he did it with an unparalleled majority, with almost 60% of the vote – surpassing even Tony Blair’s vote of 57% when he was elected. And in this election Jeremy Corbyn won more than a quarter of a million votes of members and supporters, with around half a million taking part, winning a majority in every section.

As Seumas Milne wrote in The Guardian: “There is no parallel for such a dramatic democratic upending of official politics in Britain.”

The campaign was also distinguished early on by the sheer numbers of people flocking to meetings in their hundreds and thousands and many joining the party. Since Corbyn’s election, some 50,000 people (and counting) have joined Labour.

The massive numbers of people mobilised by the movement, and so soon after the Tories’ election victory, clearly represents the scale of opposition to austerity and the resonance of Jeremy Corbyn’s progressive left message: for a clear alternative, for a more equal, just and peaceful society.

Despite the false assertion by many in the right-wing political and media Establishment that the general election was an acceptance of Tory policy and that Labour were too left-wing, the reality was that just 24% of the electorate actually voted Conservative – hardly a resounding mandate.

The Tories were able to steal the election precisely because Labour did not sufficiently galvanise opposition to it, with no clear alternative. Far from being too left-wing, Labour’s central premise to stay within Tory spending limits rendered it incapable of putting forward the policies needed to convince people they

would improve their living standards.

Anti-austerity is at the core of Jeremy Corbyn’s message and, for the first time since the election, people have been given an alternative – and the chance to express support for a more progressive way forward. In a nutshell, “Corbynonmics” argues for investment to stimulate growth, in particular state-led investment, to rebuild essential housing, invest in the welfare state, the National Health Service and many other measures -- as opposed to the regressive downward spiral of cuts, low wages, a race to the bottom, and attacks on the welfare state and most vulnerable. Jeremy Corbyn’s absolute rejection of racism and primacy of equality has also positively impacted the debate.

Since his election, the highly predictable rightwing attacks on Corbyn have intensified to ridiculous proportions. Again, at the heart of this is the absolute hostility to the idea that a mainstream

political party leader, with potentially growing support in the population, will pursue an anti-austerity agenda.

Since his election, Jeremy Corbyn has made clear his intention to both unite the Labour Party as much as possible and to continue with his core economic policies. He was successful in putting together a broad Shadow Cabinet and (for the first time in history) with a majority of women members. The appointment of John McDonnell as Shadow Chancellor also indicates that “Corbynomics” are here to stay.

For the Peace Process in Ireland, the economic policy is of key importance. Labour’s huge achievement of the Good Friday Agreement has been threatened by Tory mismanagement and disengagement. It has been seriously undermined over the past five years of Tory-led coalition and now Tory Government. The failure to fulfil its

co-responsibility as guarantor of the Agreement, and the imposition of damaging cuts and attempts to drive through punitive welfare reforms have created serious problems and destablilisaion.

The Tories still approach the North as if Belfast is as British as Finchley, and the Tory leadership has shown scant disregard for any advice to the contrary, intent on driving through their ideological cuts agenda.

The key issue now for Labour and for all of us who support the Peace Process is the defence of the Good Friday Agreement. Secondly, is an understanding of the devastating and dangerous impact of Tory austerity in the North and why this has to end. Advancing the Good Friday Agreement and an an alternative to austerity are the core policies which Labour should advance in relation to the North.

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10 October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

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‘BUSINESS AS USUAL’ AT STORMONT

Unionists fuel another crisis

BY PEADAR WHELAN

Ulster Unionist Party leader Jim Molyneaux on the IRA’s cessation of military operations:

‘The greatest threat to the Union in 50 years’

On the one hand, unionism needed the IRA bogeyman to deflect from the political failure of 50 years of Stormont misrule while, on the other hand, the unionist party that could convince their electorate that they had the toughest line on republicans would be seen as top dog.

Which is precisely what happened in the late 1960s in response to the Civil Rights campaign.

The Unionist Party Government at Stormont presented it as a republican conspiracy to undermine the state and ‘The Great Wrecker’ Ian Paisley attacked every unionist leader as “soft” until he

DEVOLUTION OF POWER and elections to a legislative Assembly were agreed in the Good Friday Agreement signed in 1998 yet it wasn’t until December 1999 that the IRA - the people’s army

NEXT WEEK:

Sinn Féin reaction to Budget

2004

SEE PAGE 4

ARMED STRUGGLE AND THE REPUBLICAN PEACE STRATEGY SEE PAGE 8

REPUBLICAN NEWS Sraith Nua Iml 26 Uimhir 48

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ASSEMBLY ELECTION RESULTS SPECIAL

DAYS LIKE THESE

FEBRUARY 2000 – British Secretary of State Peter Mandelson suspends the Assembly.

Gerry Adams accuses him of doing so to “save David Trimble”, who is coming under pressure from within his own party and the DUP. MAY 2000 – Devolved power restored yet David Trimble tries to ban Sinn Féin ministers from attending North/South ministerial meetings

AN ECSTATIC Philip McGuigan is carried shoulder high from the count centre in Ballymoney last week, having taken a first ever seat for Sinn Féin in North Antrim, the heartland of Paisleyism.

His election, and the tremendous success for Sinn Féin across the Six Counties, is evidence of a sea change in the North over the past decade.

There are no more second-class citizens. Republican voters and their

elected representatives are confident and moving forward together. Their message is that there can be no veto on the changes promised in the Good Friday Agreement.

The DUP may have won the bat-

tle within unionism, but the majority of people in the North and the vast majority of people in Ireland are pro-Agreement. The Agreement remains the only show in town and even the DUP cannot ignore that.

EDITORIAL COMMENT – PAGE 8 FULL ELECTION COVERAGE INSIDE

JULY 2000 – Ulster Unionist Party leader and First Minister David Trimble resigns, leading to further suspensions OCTOBER 2002 – Against a backdrop of unionist turmoil and Trimble’s position becoming more precarious, the PSNI carries out raids on Sinn Féin offices in Stormont, accusing the party of involvement in an intelligencegathering operation.

British Secretary of State imposes direct rule on 14 October.

Executive was formed. The unionists, in a sign of what was to come, had stalled the process, citing the need for “IRA decommissioning”.

NOVEMBER 2003 – Fresh Assembly elections see Sinn Féin overtaking the SDLP as the major nationalist party while the DUP eclipses the Ulster Unionist Party.

FEBRUARY 2004 – The abduction of west Belfast man Bobby Tohill sparks a political and media reaction that becomes all too familiar. Chief Constable Hugh Orde accuses the IRA of involvement and David Trimble walks away from the ongoing political review as he attempts to force British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government to exclude Sinn Féin.

DECEMBER 2004 – At the end of a year that saw intense negotiations between the Sinn Féin leadership with the British and Dublin governments as well as the DUP, the Northern Bank in Belfast city centre is robbed. Again, PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde points the finger at the IRA. The IRA denies involvement. The robbery is described as a major blow to the Peace Process.

JANUARY 2005 – The difficulties for the Peace Process are compounded when, on 30 January, Short Strand man Robert McCartney is stabbed to death during a pub brawl involving republicans.

In a statement, the IRA says: “Predictably, our opponents and enemies who have their own agendas have used this brutal killing to attack republicans and to advance their own narrow political interests.”

11 years of IRA support for process SEE PAGE 10

REPUBLICAN NEWS

IRA

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Sraith Nua Iml 28 Uimhir 29 Déardaoin 28 Lúil 2005

The Timeline

WHEN, in 1994, the then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, Jim Molyneaux responded to the news of the IRA’s cessation of military operations with the remark that the IRA decision “is the greatest threat to the Union in 50 years” and one of the most destabilising events since partition he exposed unionism’s split personality.

claimed the summit of unionism when the Ulster Unionist Party imploded in the 2005 Westminster election and Paisley’s Democratic Unionist Party became the top dog.

The killing of Kevin McGuigan in the Short Strand area of east Belfast on 12 August, just days after the largely unknown Action Against Drugs group warned it was “investigating” the shooting of former IRA activist Jock Davison and vowed to “execute” the killers, provided the main unionist parties with a pretext on which to steal a march on each other in advance of next year’s scheduled Assembly elections.

The opportunity was gifted them in the confused assessment of PSNI Detective Superintendent Kevin Geddes that “IRA members” were involved in the killing of the Short Strand man in revenge for the Davison killing in May. Geddes said in his press conference: “Action Against Drugs are a group of individuals who are criminals, violent dissident republicans and former members of the Provisional IRA . . .

“They are dangerous, they are involved in violence and extortion of the nationalist and republican communities and they have a criminal agenda . . .

JULY 2005 – IRA calls an end to the armed struggle and encourages Volunteers to pursue republican goals through peaceful and democratic means.

DECEMBER 2005 – All charges against people accused of involvement in the alleged ‘Stormont Spy Ring’ are dropped.

SEPTEMBER 2005 – Arms decommissioning body head General John de Chastelain says the IRA has put all of its weapons beyond use. It would be another nearly two years of unionist bad faith and prevarication before the Assembly would be reinstated.

MAY 2007 – Direct rule, which had been in place since 2002, ends and DUP leader Ian Paisley and Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness being sworn in as First and Deputy First Ministers and take their pledges of office at Stormont.

MARCH 2008 – Ian Paisley announces his resignation as First Minister and leader of the DUP. The McGuinness/Paisley relationship, against all predictions, proved to more stable and productive earning them the “chuckle brothers” epitaph. With Robinson as First Minister, perceived as a strong leader and strategic thinker, it was believed the progress of the past two years would be built on. Instead, we got more chaos.

October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

www.anphoblacht.com

5 The Ulster Workers' Council strike in opposition to the Sunningdale Agreement

5 Inter-unionist rivalry: The DUP's Peter Robinson and the UUP's Mike Nesbitt

5 The PSNI raids Sinn Féin offices in 2002, falsely accusing the party of being involved in a spy-ring

“My assessment is that this is a separate group from the Provisional IRA.” (My emphasis.)

It is also worth noting that the media, North and South, and the many other politicians and commentators who are citing, unquestioningly, the PSNI’s pronouncements are the same people who over the decades accepted as fact the RUC and British Army denials of collusion. ‘Republican propaganda,’ they said. The evidence uncovered since proves otherwise.

So what does this latest ‘crisis’ tell us about the state of unionist politics in the North at the minute, particularly in light of the Ulster Unionist Party’s walk-out from the North’s Executive?

This year’s Westminster general election, which saw the Ulster Unionists strengthen their hand with victories in South Antrim and Fermanagh & South Tyrone, and with strong showings for both the Ulster Unionists and the DUP in other constituencies, largely due to their electoral pact,

JANUARY 2010 – The revelation that Peter Robinson’s wife, Iris, had an affair with a 19-year-old businessman (for whom she solicited £50,000 from DUP supporters) shook Robinson personally.

However, it was revelations about the couple’s financial arrangements, earning between them over £500,000 per annum and employing their children as assistants and researchers, that undermined him politically. Robinson stood down, temporarily, as First Minster while claims he knew of his wife’s financial dealings were investigated by a Stormont Agreement. He was cleared of any wrongdoing.

DECEMBER 2012 – The decision of Belfast City Council to reduce the flying of the Union flag on 17 designated days (similar to many councils in England) leads to mob rule on the streets.

Peter Robinson, as First Minster, and the other unionist leaders refuse to confront the rioters who are being supported if not organised by the UVF. MARCH 2013 – Ironically, the DUP engages in a row with the North’s judiciary, accusing the judges of bias towards people charged with offences relating to so-called ‘flag protests’.

AUGUST 2013 – In his infamous ‘Letter from America’, Peter Robinson reneges on a deal to develop the Long Kesh site as he buckles in face of reaction fuelled by DUP defector Jim Allister’s hardline Traditional Unionist Voice.

SEPTEMBER 2013 – UVF gunmen try to kill 24-year-old Jemma McGrath in her east Belfast home.

11

there would be a rationale for the Ulster Unionists and DUP working together.

But listening to Ulster Unionist Party leader Mike Nesbitt when welcoming ex-DUP councillors Jenny and John Palmer into his party, he listed the gains his party made in the last couple of elections and clearly wants to build on that at the expense of his rival.

So it would seem that his more stringent response to the speculation around the McGuigan killing sees him playing to the hardliners.

And this is all being played out against the standoff over the welfare cuts and the Stormont House Agreement and the unionist refusal to confront the Tory Government’s austerity agenda.

If the DUP and the Ulster Unionist Party get into a race to the bottom and British Premier David Cameron suspends the Assembly, then it may be a good day for them but not for the people on whom the cuts will be inflicted – unionist as well as nationalist.

JULY 2014 – Unionists again pander to the bully boys of the Orange Order after Twelfth parade is barred going past Ardoyne.

They walk away from talks aimed at reviving the Haass process and in a show of unity join with representatives of the UVF aligned PUP and the UDA linked UPRG calling for a “graduated response” that never materialised

JANUARY 2014 – With the Ulster Unionist Party’s rejection of the Haass proposals (negotiated through the Christmas period) it becomes clear the extremes of unionism are dictating the political agenda. The DUP’s Jeffrey Donaldson admitted to briefing Willie Frazer during the talks process while Ulster Unionist Party members were keeping ‘flag protester’ Jamie Bryson up to date with developments.

Bryson later claimed fear of a “loyalist backlash” ensured the failure of the Haass process and said “it was a victory for loyalism”.

FEBRUARY 2014 – The acquittal of Donegal man John Downey on charges relating to the Hyde Park bombing in London in 1982 when his legal team produced his so-called ‘On the Run’ letter provoked a feeding frenzy within unionism as all parties struggled to outflank each other. Robinson threatened to resign and collapse the Executive. He withdrew his threat after David Cameron offered him the ‘fig leaf’ of an inquiry that fell well short of what he originally demanded.

OCTOBER 2014 – DUP reneges on an agreement to support Mitchell McLaughlin as Speaker in the Assembly.

FEBRUARY 2015 – The scene was set for this present crisis when DSD Minster Mervyn Storey supplied Sinn Féin with his draft legislation for the Welfare Bill which excluded protections for “future” claimants.

As this went against the Stormont House Agreement Sinn Féin refused to support the bill.

12 October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

www.anphoblacht.com

5 The tenacious approach of families has kept victims' issues at the forefront

5 Tabloid media has deliberately misrepresented strands of the Stormont House Agreement

The past – securing truth, accountability and acknowledgement

BY ANDRÉE MURPHY RELATIVES FOR JUSTICE

THE Stormont House Agreement is a promise to society that we will at last make a concerted effort to deal with our painful past and address outstanding matters for victims of conflict.

The four-stranded approach, along with a commitment to victims’ services, is an approach rooted in the international frameworks for transitional justice which have four pillars – truth, justice, reparations and a commitment to non-recurrence.

We have had a long journey to this place of political agreement on this form of comprehensive and strategic approach to the past. The Stormont House Agreement framework draws directly from the proposals of the Consultative Group on the Past (Eames/Bradley) and from the agreement that unionists rejected (Haass/O’Sullivan).

What has kept the issue live and made the once-deemed impossible possible is the tenacious approach of families.

Families bereaved by conflict from across the community have refused to be told to draw a line under the past and have doggedly pursued what they know to be true – that dealing with the past is a contributor to peace. The local agencies and the two governments have realised that families are not going away, that these agencies and governments will continue to be held accountable for their actions (and many times their

lack of action) in domestic and international courts.

This brings a real scrutiny to the value of our peace agreement and our transition.

That it is bereaved families, who simultaneously cope with grief and trauma, while they devise and direct legal strategies that have created this environment is a real testimony to their courage and contribution.

The mechanisms outlined in the Stormont House Agreement are undoubtedly the most positive framework to date for the majority of those bereaved by our conflict. It offers the only opportunity for thousands of families to secure truth, accountability and acknowledgement. These families live with the knowledge that there are international legal obligations for all concerned to deliver these very basic rights to them but that securing these rights has proved consistently elusive.

Not only has the failure to deal with the past to date contributed to the ongoing pain of families denied truth or accountability, the past has begun to infect our newly-built institutions. That realisation has also added to the real impetus to make the Stormont House Agreement work.

Undoubtedly the time has come to deal with the legacy of our past.

In the past few weeks, a number of tabloid media outlets have deliberately misrepresented strands of the Stormont House Agreement, in particular the Independent Commission for Information Retrieval.

Firstly, there is the lie that the private nature of this process was hidden.

Secondly, there is the misrepresentation that the Stormont House Agreement represents an amnesty for those responsible for deaths.

Neither are true.

This deliberate form of intervention to undermine the Stormont House Agreement, while intentionally exploiting the grief and horrific experiences of those bereaved, really does not serve any interest other than the vested interests of those who would rather that we never deal with these issues and leave victims to suffer.

It presents as though it is highlighting victims’ interests when actually it is working against them.

The commitment in the Stormont House Agreement to sort out the inquest system is one that is long overdue.

Families bereaved by conflict from across the community have refused to be told to draw a line under the past and have doggedly pursued what they know to be true – that dealing with the past is a contributor to peace

The under-resourcing of and deliberate non-disclosure and destruction of evidence to inquests is a deliberate and strategic British state tactic in the face of an accountable, devolved inquest system. The Stormont House Agreement will enable the Assembly to resource the coronial process, enabling it to function in an open transparent and compliant manner. Against this backdrop, that delay and prevarication by those who do not want the past addressed must be viewed.

The window for legislating on all of these matters is open right now. But it will close mid-autumn. We must all ensure that we are focused on ensuring that the measures to deal with the past are implemented. We must ensure that the independence and accountability built into it are secured. And we must ensure that victims are no longer the subject of cynical manipulation by vested interests whose only concern is cover-up and the perpetuation of pain.

October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

www.anphoblacht.com

13

BANKING INQUIRY

What have we learnt?

This begs the question as to why Fianna Fáil put forward this programme and why Fine Gael and Labour implemented such harsh structural reforms in an a bid to attain economic growth despite the fact that a country cannot cut its way to growth. It is simply impossible.

As a result of the structural reform measures in the bailout, none of the growth targets outlined for Ireland were ever reached and the austerity measures implemented caused a double-dip recession which prolonged the crisis and caused economic growth to stagnate.

The weak return to growth experienced by the South in the past 12 months comes seven years after the crisis first broke and after over a quarter of a million people have emigrated.

BY CAROL QUINLAN

THE Oireachtas Banking Inquiry has finished its public hearings and is now into its report stage. Its findings will be announced sometime in January 2016.

The main questions are: will we have learnt anything new; what was the point of it; and will it have achieved anything?

Although we think we know about the crisis, a lot of our current conclusions are not proven. The long list of books that were published on the topic have little by way of hard evidence. Tom Lyons’s books, for example, have no references, no sources, and are based on a lot of hearsay and conjecture. The problem is that his books (and books like them) have become received wisdom without ever being challenged.

One of the purposes of the inquiry is to search for and locate hard evidence that can be used to help us make sense of the events that have had such a profound influence on our lives.

An example of this can be seen in the evidence given by former IMF (International Monetary Fund) official Ajai Chopra.

He made it clear that the bailout plan put forward to the Troika was designed in the main by the Irish government.

This dispels the narrative pushed by Fianna Fáil that they were strong-armed into accepting this programme by the European Central Bank. Indeed, IMF man Chopra described the programme as ambitious and had too much focus on structural reforms, more focus than he believed was necessary.

He stated that structural reforms were not part of the problem in Ireland and that structural reforms were never front and centre in addressing this crisis.

The reasons for the emphasis on cuts and structural reforms were political and ideological.

IMF man Chopra’s evidence begs the question as to why Fianna Fáil proposed – and why Fine Gael and Labour implemented – such harsh structural reforms in a bid to attain economic growth despite the fact that a country cannot cut its way to growth

One of the things that the Banking Inquiry has uncovered so far has been the role that right-wing economic thinking played not only in the build-up to the crisis but also in the response to it.

The same ideas that framed the crisis also framed its resolution.

Rather like Homer Simpson’s ode to alcohol, neoliberal economics was put forward by successive governments as the cause of, and solution to, all of our problems.

The devastation it has left in its wake has been felt by the majority of citizens who were not lucky enough to be bailed out by the austerity measures.

This is one of the reasons why the Fine Gael/Labour Government’s talk of a return to growth rings hollow in many people’s ears as the growth weakens the further one lives from the

leafy centres of the South’s moneyed classes.

They and the government that serves them have no grasp of the housing crisis that envelops the country, of the realities of working full-time just to meet the bills, and of the social consequences of what they describe as “trickle-down economics”.

The problem facing the South today is no different from that facing it in 2008 – the political class are isolated

The weak return to growth experienced by the South in the past 12 months comes seven years after the crisis first broke and after over a quarter of a million people have emigrated and insulated from the day-to-day struggles of ordinary people.

Every measure (almost without exception) brought in to deal with the banking crisis has one overall objective: protect the way things are run.

The banks that were bailed out remain in private control despite the tens of billions of public funds injected into them. And because they are in private control their objectives are those of their private owners and not the public at large.

The Banking Inquiry gives us the evidence and insight to see where power lies, and because of this helps 5 Bank bailout: Drafted by Fianna Fáil, implemented by Fine Gael and Labour us in our efforts to challenge it.

5 One of the purposes of the Oireachtas Banking Inquiry is to search for and locate hard evidence to make sense of the series of events that have had such a profound effect on people's lives

14 October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

www.anphoblacht.com

Casement Park redevelopment

Q& A WITH

MICHAEL McMONAGLE

Carál Ní Chuilín

MLA

Sinn Féin Assembly Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure says upgrade should follow the upgrades of Ravenhill and Windsor Park What is the current status of the Casement Park redevelopment project?

The redevelopment of Casement Park is the biggest investment, not just in terms of GAA stadia but also for the wider community of west Belfast.

My department, the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, is providing £62 million while the GAA is providing £15million. That is £77million going into west Belfast.

To maximise the benefits for the local community, I have put in the strongest-ever social clauses in the history of the Executive and the Stadia Development Programme.

The GAA now has a number of things to do before a new application can be submitted. Firstly, the need to state the capacity of the new stadium, which I imagine will be 30,000-plus. It also needs an emergency evacuation plan and a robust traffic management plan.

The consultation process will last around 20 weeks, which goes beyond the statutory obligations, in order to allow everyone to have their say.

It is important that as many people as possible make their views known during the consultation process, including those who have opposed the redevelopment in the past.

Why did the project stall in the past?

Allegations had been made surrounding safety and about the practices within Sport NI. Following allegations of bullying within Sport NI, I instigated two inquiries. One looked specifically at the allegations of bullying and that was done with the Audit Office and the Department of Finance and Personnel. The other was carried out by the British Cabinet Office.

I did not take the decision to call these inquiries lightly but I did so because I had nothing to fear and was open to scrutiny.

In terms of safety, it is ludicrous to suggest that I would support anything which jeopardised people’s safety. I have attended Casement Park for many years it was shocking to hear anyone questioning my commitment to safety.

I do believe that certain elements who have tried to stall this project do so because they are anti-GAA and anti-Casement Park because it is in west Belfast.

I will not be deterred for making this significant investment, not just in the GAA but also in a deprived community in west Belfast.

Ravenhill, now known as the Kingspan Stadium, has been redeveloped and the Windor Park redevelopment is almost

GAA is committed to promoting the Irish language so it is entirely appropriate that the GAA should come on board.

This partnership with the GAA will bring Líofa all across the country with the club structure of the GAA. We have set a new target of having 20,000 people signed up to Líofa by 2020. Given the fact that we exceeded our first target of 1,000 within three months, I have no doubt we will achieve it.

5 Minister for Arts, Culture and Leisure Carál Ní Chuilín MLA

complete. It would be completely unacceptable if Casement Park was not redeveloped too.

I am determined that Gaelic Games will have a 21st Century home in Casement that is fit for purpose and makes a positive difference to the local community.

The Líofa Irish language promotion

strategy was recently launched in Croke Park. Where do you see it going in the future?

The Líofa strategy, which I set up to promote fluency in Irish, is going from strength to strength. More than 13,000 people have signed up so far.

On 2 September, I launched the Líofa strategy in Croke Park in partnership with the GAA. In its constitution the

Irish speakers in the North have long been campaigning for legislation to protect their rights.

Are you confident that will happen?

I launched a public consultation on the report on an Irish Language Act and the results have shown overwhelming support for legislation to protect the rights of Irish speakers – 95% of people have said they would be in favour of such legislation.

The report will come before the DCAL committee on 1 October and I look forward to bringing it to the Executive to get all-party support.

The consultation has shown that

support for Acht na Gaeilge comes from right across the community, including from the Protestant, unionist, loyalist communities. The Irish language belongs to everyone and threatens no one.

While I am not naive, I look forward to it receiving the support of the Executive.

What do you see as the priorities for your department?

I have transformed the way the department spends its money.

For me, spending has to promote equality, tackle deprivation and promote social inclusion.

That has been particularly challenging in the face of the British Government’s austerity agenda but those conditions also make my approach more important.

In all my decisions as a minister I make sure that deprived areas are not left out and that those from minority groups and others who have not traditionally have access to the arts are included.

For some that is seen as a challenge to the status quo but that is what I am there to do.

October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

www.anphoblacht.com

15

UNCOMFORTABLE CONVERSATIONS

Seeking out unheard voices John Loughran, from north Belfast, has been a Sinn Féin member since 1996. He is currently involved in the Uncomfortable Conversations initiative and is a member of the party working group on Legacy. He sets out some personal views on the need for republicans to seek out unheard voices and to acknowledge all hurt, all grief and lost lives.

JOHN LOUGHRAN SINN FÉIN National Chairperson Declan Kearney launched the Uncomfortable Conversations initiative in March 2012. In the foreword to a subsequent publication, Gerry Adams stated: “Republicans have to address the genuine fears and concerns of unionists in a meaningful way.”

This is the central thrust of the Uncomfortable Conversations initiative. It is also recognition that republicans must be prepared to do more if we are to meaningfully contribute to the process of healing and national reconciliation.

In the July 2015 edition of An Phoblacht, Orange Order member Reverend Brian Kennaway basically challenged republicans “to think long and hard about their words and actions if they want to be taken seriously”. It is easy to dismiss the opinions of others but that’s to miss the key focus of the Uncomfortable Conversations initiative. The opportunity to listen to others must not be squandered. For new understandings and new attitudes to take hold we must consider embracing the Kennaway baseline as a starting point.

As republicans, we should have no issues or hang-ups acknowledging all hurt, all grief and lost lives. Our challenge is to create the conditions and the public space to discuss with the broader unionist community the origins, legacy and aftermath of conflict.

Republicans must also see the Uncomfortable Conversations initiative as an opportunity to seek out the unheard voices. This is an opportunity to seek out a focused and sustained dialogue with loyalists. They too have a contribution to make to the Uncomfortable Conversations initiative. Their voices must be sought in this debate.

In March 2012, Declan Kearney wrote:

“We should recognise the healing influence of being able to say sorry for the human effects of all actions caused during the armed struggle.”

More recently, at the Derry Gasyard Féile, Declan Kearney further acknowledged “without exception” the loss and pain of the conflict and regretted that it could not be undone, stating: “I am sorry for the pain experienced by the RUC family during the war, the suffering caused to the unionist section of our community, the human tragedy of the Shankill bomb being one instance of that.”

These are big words. They are words of affirmation and acknowledgement. They are words that are offered with humility. Notwithstanding the legacy of oppression visited on the republican community, it is vital that in all engagements that republicans are acutely aware of the profound impact of the conflict on people from the unionist community.

As part of the Uncomfortable Conversations initiative, republicans must also seek to provide a context or a reference point to our conflict that does not diminish the pain, hurt and loss of others but provides a political explanation to a war situation in which choices were made that had such devastating human consequences.

While the Uncomfortable Conversations initiative will present challenges to republicans, we have no choice but to engage with the legacy of the past.

It is also true that others outside of the republican community are openly receptive to contributing to the Uncomfortable Conversations process. In recent times, the PSNI Chief Constable has shown himself to be up for the Uncomfortable Conversations. Loyalism too has just published its own truth recovery contribution. Engaging these voices too must be part of focused republican engagements.

In posing the uncomfortable questions to others, republicans too must be receptive to engaging and 6 PSNI Chief Constable answering the uncomfortable questions from those George Hamilton greets Sinn Féin's Declan Kearney bereaved and injured by republicans in the conflict.

This will require building on significant efforts by the at the Derry IRA leadership to recover the remains of “The Gasyard Féile

As republicans, we should have no issues or hang-ups acknowledging all hurt, all grief and lost lives

22

www.anphoblacht.com

July / Iúil 2015

UNCOMFO RTABLE CONVERSATIONS

RECONCILIATION?

We need genuine words of ‘abject and true remorse’ demonstrated in action

BRIAN KENNAWAY

5 Residents take part in a peaceful protest against Orange Order parades

through their community

Presbyterian minister and lifelong member of the Orange Order Author of ‘The Orange Order: A Tradition Betrayed’ IN EVERY SOCIETY there is a need for”Uncomfortable Conversations. Sometimes this need is ignored, like the proverbial ‘elephant in the room’. The issues, however, do not go away by being ignored.

Others seek to address the discordant issues by ‘constructive ambiguity’ which, as we know from experience, only leads to further confusion.

If there is one word in our modern society which is open to all sorts of interpretations and misunderstandings it is the word ‘reconciliation’. This is a word which is used in all sorts of situations but, as Humpty Dumpty, said: ”When I use a word . . . it means just what I want it to mean.” We need to unpack this word to give it greater understanding.

My understanding of reconciliation is rooted in the Biblical use of this term, so clearly expressed by the Apostle Paul: “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-18) In order to help our understanding, the cross is sometimes used to illustrate the completeness of reconciliation. The vertical illustrates our reconciliation to God; the horizontal illustrates our reconciliation to our neighbour. It is therefore obvious that the vertical comes first otherwise there is nothing to hang the horizontal on.

The historical Christian understanding is that when we are reconciled to God we are also reconciled to our neighbour. This differs from the popular understanding which is simply “friendship”.

The obvious conclusion of how to achieve reconciliation is a genuine repentance before God. In terms of that relationship to our neighbour, it also involves acknowledging the mistakes of the past and seeking the forgiveness of the offended party.

I do not hear much from republicans in terms of a genuine acknowledgement of the mistakes of the past. I do hear the repeated statements of ‘It should never have

actions of others. This was demonstrated recently when Gerry Adams made reference to Jean McConville’s murder as “these things happen in war”. If that is to be universally applied then so is Ballymurphy and

'You cannot achieve reconciliation on a human level by continually poking your opponents in the eye'

'Republicans need to think long and hard about their words and actions if they want to be taken seriously'

Bloody Sunday.

You cannot achieve reconciliation on a human level by continually poking your opponents in the eye.

Declan Kearney made a speech at Westminster on 24 October 2012 (www.sinnfein.ie/contents/24818) which began by poking unionists in the eye, in spite of a previous article in An Phoblacht in which he stated: “Republicanism needs to become more intuitive about unionist apprehensions and objections, and sensitised

5 Changes to flying the Union flag angered unionists happened’, but that is not an expression of repentance which is likely to lead to reconciliation.

If true reconciliation between communities is to be achieved we need to hear genuine words of “abject and true remorse”, clearly demonstrated in action. Unfortunately, up to the present, we have only heard vague words and seen little evidence.

You cannot achieve reconciliation by constantly bringing up the events of the past and failing to apply the statements made in defence of IRA action to the

in our response.”

It is not that unionists are immune from such behaviour (the recent ‘Curry my yoghurt’ remarks by Gregory Campbell is a typical example), but my charge is to address republicans on “Uncomfortable Conversations”.

Poking unionists in the eye by organising opposition to Orange parades (as Gerry Adams revealed in his Athboy speech), the placing of high-profile ‘ex-combatants’ within the political system, the employment of Mary McArdle as a Special Advisor at taxpayers’ expense, the naming of a children’s play-park after Raymond McCreesh, and the removal of the national flag from Belfast City Hall all contribute to poking unionists in the eye.

Republicans need to think long and hard about their words and actions if they want to be taken seriously.

Alex Kane put it succinctly: “If Sinn Féin clings to the belief that the IRA’s ‘armed struggle’ was always justified and remains justifiable then, in my opinion, there can never be a process of reconciliation between Sinn Féin and mainstream unionism.”

5 Orange Order member Reverend Brian Kennaway challenged republicans in July's edition of An Phoblacht

Disappeared” and the statements of acknowledgment on the 40th anniversary of the Claudy bomb when Martin McGuinness stated: “The deaths and injuries caused in Claudy on 31 July 1972 were wrong. The events of that day were appalling and indefensible and they should not have happened.”

While republicans have nothing to fear from engaging in legacy debates, it will mean emotionally going to places and engaging with others who also suffered in the conflict. There will, of course, be many barriers and obstacles ahead as Martin McGuinness appreciated when he acknowledged there are huge challenges ahead, not just for the police, or state forces, or the British Government – there are also huge challenges for republicans”. Significantly, he affirmed that republicans are up for the challenge, particularly around engaging with the legacy mechanisms contained within the Stormont House Agreement.

So when Brian Kennaway challenged republicans “to think long and hard about their words and actions if they want to be taken seriously”, we can tell him we are.

Loyalists also have a contribution to make to the Uncomfortable Conversations initiative. Their voices must be sought in this debate.

To see more go to – www.anphoblacht.com/uncomfortable-conversations

16 October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

www.anphoblacht.com

From writing for An Phoblacht and the Sunday World to working with Pearse Doherty TD, the new Irish murder mystery best-seller’s story

Jo Spain – ‘With Our Blessing’

The plot of ‘With Our Blessing’, which revolves around the legacy of Ireland’s Mother and Baby Homes, is not only unusual – it’s also very personal for Jo

HER JUST-RELEASED debut crime novel With Our Blessing is flying off the shelves in the shops.

An Phoblacht’s MARK MOLONEY caught up with top Irish author JO SPAIN, not just in the Top Ten in TV’s Richard & Judy “Search for a Bestseller” but a former Sinn Féin Dáil election candidate – and An Phoblacht journalist! ap032-001.qxd

DUBLIN, and it’s a sunny afternoon in September. Jo has just finished an interview with the Irish Examiner at the Merrion Hotel.

“I’m knackered, I might just grab a taxi out to Sunshine FM,” she tells me. “I didn’t expect to be so long. The interviewer kept me talking for two hours but I didn’t mind because she loved the book,” laughs Jo. Critic Sue Leonard is the latest in a long line to praise Jo’s debut novel, which is in the Irish bestsellers chart.

It’s the first day in a week she has taken off from her other full-time job, as Senior Economic Adviser to Sinn Féin in Leinster House. For the next

‘You clearly haven’t studied this topic whatsoever, but your essay is brilliant’ five days she will be appearing on radio stations, speaking to journalists and doing book signings as part of a publicity drive.

Her crime-thriller, With Our Blessing, follows Garda Detective Tom Reynolds as he tries to catch the killer of a woman in Dublin’s Phoenix Park, a crime he is convinced is linked to historical events at the notorious Magdalene Laundries 35 years previously.

Joanne admits she is more comfortable and used to being the interviewer than the interviewee.

28/08/2013

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IS IT TRUE WE CAN’T AFFORD IT?

A UNITED IRELAND

anphoblacht

Sraith Nua Iml 36 Uimhir 9

PRICE €2/£2

September/Meán Fómhair 2013

'Being a pregnant, unwed woman was almost a crime' CHURCH-RUN HOMES PROFITED FROM

STOLEN BABIES The Great Escape

H-BLOCKS SEPTEMBER 1983

GAA: Tackling the question

Photo: DTL

JACKIE CLARKE COLLECTION

TREASURE TROVE OF HISTORY

5 Jo wrote for An Phoblacht about her father Ray's sdoption from a Mother and Baby Home

Indeed, she was a long-time journalist writing for papers ranging from An Phoblacht to the Sunday World.

“When I used to write in school, every teacher I had used to tell me I was going to be a writer. I remember in college one lecturer told me: ‘You clearly haven’t studied this topic whatsoever, but your essay is brilliant’.”

She recalls that she was not keen on continuing with writing for mainstream tabloid newspapers, saying she wanted to do something a bit more serious and meaningful. The day after her college exams, she started writing for An Phoblacht: “Mícheál Mac Donncha said to me, ‘An Phoblacht is looking for journalists, I don’t know what the pay is like.’ So I phoned up the editor, Martin, and went for an interview and started working (unpaid) the day after my last exam in college.”

This was the first time Joanne met Martin. He’s now her husband but it wasn’t a Mills & Boon tale of love at first sight.

“At first I couldn’t stand him,” she laughs uproariously. “He was a horrible editor – he still is; he edits the books for me. He never learned that teaching thing of ‘for every negative you give a positive’. So he’d scroll past loads of great writing and stop on a negative and go ‘This is shit’. He was like that then – and he’s like that now,” she reveals, still laughing. “So I was planning on leaving An Phoblacht after six months and at the Christmas party I had a go at him, saying: ‘It wouldn’t kill you to compliment a good piece of work.’ So I put manners on him, and since then our love blossomed.”

She describes An Phoblacht as her “stomping ground”.

“It was where I got politicised. They would have me writing pieces on Britain’s shoot-to-kill policy in the North, which at the time I wouldn’t have known much about. So it was an education in itself being there.”

Jo says that, despite her love of journalism, she has always wanted to write a book but only took the decision to make it a reality two years ago.

“I decided to write it in 2013. I always wanted to write a book but so does everybody and every-

‘I started working (unpaid) at An Phoblacht the day after my last exam in college’ body has a book in them. I decided I had to be diligent about it.”

She quickly made the point of telling friends and work colleagues (including Donegal Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty, who shares a love for crime fiction) that she was going to writea best-seller.

“I knew if I told people I was writing a book, then I’d have to do it. That was my cunning plan,” she smiles.

The plot of With Our Blessing, which revolves around the legacy of Ireland’s “Mother and Baby

October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

www.anphoblacht.com

17

5 Jo Spain with husband Martin at a book signing for With Our Blessing in Dublin 5 Josie O'Rourke, Gerry Adams, Jo Spain and Peggy Joyce at the launch of 'With Our Blessing' at Eason's in the Stephen's Green Centre in Dublin

5 Jo Spain stood as a candidate for Sinn Féin in the 2007 general election in Dublin Mid-West, where she polled an impressive 9.3% of the vote

5 Jo Spain is a senior economic adviser to Sinn Féin in the Oireachtas

Homes”, is not only unusual – it’s also very personal for Jo. “I was aware of the Magdalene Laundries because it was all over the news in the last few years and I’d known my dad had been adopted but I never made the link that he must have came from a Mother and Baby Home. When I was doing all the research it dawned on me that he had to have come from one because he was born in 1951.”

In 2013, she had found the circumstances of her late father’s adoption after contacting the Health Service Executive. It was at this time she wrote her feature for An Phoblacht, “Stolen Babies – The next campaign for justice” (available online).

Her father, Raymond, had been adopted from St Patrick’s Mother and Baby Home in 1955. Joanne wrote how her own birth had led to her father becoming “angry, confused and saddened” as to how his own mother could give up her child for adoption. He died tragically in 1995, never knowing the full story.

Joanne took it upon herself to find out what she could. It turned out her grandmother had come from a desperately poor Leitrim family. The youngest of eleven, her parents both died when she was very young and she was taken in by the nuns. Later, single and pregnant, she ended up in a Mother and Baby Home.

“She defied the odds, for a little while at least.

After my father was born, she stayed with him until he was 18 months old, at which point she left St Pat’s and got a job. The records show she visited him every day and at the end of 1953 she took him out. At the end of 1954 – impoverished, alone and unable to cope – she brought my dad back to the orphanage and allowed him to be placed for adoption. She saw him until he was adopted in late 1955, aged four. All he ever remembered was being given a snow globe by a lady and told it was very important he keep the small gift.”

She says the revelations about her father’s adoption from such a home made the whole novel-writing process very important.

“It brought a weight to the book. I just had a plot on this fascinating time period but it’s like studying the Titanic or the Holocaust; they are fascinating but when you look in detail it’s very traumatic. So then when I realised I had a family member who had been through this it was quite distressing. It weighed on me and it made the task a lot more difficult – but it also meant I had to do a better job.

“The best tip I read was to write a book that you would like to read. I wanted to make the lead detective somebody I could relate to.”

She says she felt more comfortable writing the protagonist Tom Reynolds as a man and that some of his traits were certainly inspired by her husband, Martin.

“I think if the main character was a female detective there would have been a bit too much of me in it. I also didn’t want him to be some stereotypical embattled alcoholic. Those kind of characters

seem a bit ridiculous so I wanted a person who would be realisitic. I did take some of his qualities from my husband. His love of coffee, cigars and staying up late are all Martin’s traits – which probably makes them much more authentic.”

She had entered TV presenters Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan’s “Search for a Bestseller” competition. There were thousands of entries and she admits she had forgotten all about it.

“I was in a Sinn Féin meeting in Leinster House about the European and local elections last year and I got an email saying I had been short-listed, that my book was in the top seven. I just started crying and everyone in the meeting was clapping and cheering.”

Although she didn’t win, her book was immediately snapped up by Quercus, the publishing house

‘I was in a Sinn Féin meeting in Leinster House about the European and local elections last year and I got an email saying I had been shortlisted in Richard & Judy’s Search for a Bestseller competition – I just started crying’ well-known for books such as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson.

So how has she managed working as an economic adviser, writing a book and raising four children?

“I’m just really tired. But the one thing about writing a book is that it’s not work. It wasn’t stressful. I just wrote it at night-time after the kids were in bed, and at weekends. I didn’t do much else. I had to go clothes shopping for the book launches and I just realised ‘Oh, my God, I haven’t done this in ages,’”she says.

So what next for Jo? Her next book is in the proofing stage and Detective Tom Reynolds will be back.

“I’ve already done religion, so my next one is on politics.” Though she isn’t giving too much away, she reveals it will deal with a murder inside Leinster House.

Pointing to the Sinn Féin landing, she chuckles: “Our people are going to love it.”

18 October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

PARADES BY NUMBERS

Between 2004 and 2014, some 26,000 parades by unionists, including the loyal orders, were held across the North – a huge 93% went ahead without restrictions

www.anphoblacht.com

UNIONISTS AND LOYALISTS

TRADE UNIONS OR CHARITABLE/SOCIAL EVENTS

66%

REPUBLICANS AND NATIONALISTS

30%

4%

The phony ‘war on unionist culture’

since then, thousands of parades went ahead unhindered.

“It is also worth noting,” McCaffery points out, “that of the fraction of marches that were restricted, only a portion of those were rerouted. Restrictions are often limited to conditions such as the timing of a march or the music played.”

The wider issue for the PUL community is that they elevate the different aspects of their behaviour into the realm of culture and so argue that events such as the ‘traditional Eleventh Night bonfire’ are “cultural” and must be respected.

What exactly are we being asked to respect?

BY PEADAR WHELAN WRITING on news investigative website The Detail in April of this year, Steven McCaffery argued that progress in the North’s Peace Process has been delayed “by rows over what is arguably a phony culture war” with “the recurring battles over loyal order parades and around the Irish language” as good examples of this phoney culture war.

Opposition to triumphalist Orange parades through or past nationalist neighbourhoods and the promotion of the Irish language are portrayed by hostile and militant unionism as just that – a cultural war waged by republicans against their unionist/ British way of life.

It’s an idea that has gained currency in the unionist narrative over recent decades. It’s one echoed by unionist politicians such as the DUP’s Nelson McCausland, who reckons that republicans want to “convince unionists that they are really Irish and Gaelic”.

This is especially so in the aftermath of Belfast City Council’s decision in December 2012 to reduce the days when the Union flag would be flown on City Hall.

Responsibility for the street violence by unionists as part of the protests against the democratic decision of the council was not that of the petrol bombers who attacked party offices and homes, or the masked mobs who tried to smash their way into the City Hall chamber and clashed with police and intimidated commuters and shoppers, but the city councillors who voted to ‘tear down the flag’. (Coincidentally, unionist cheerleaders and ‘respectable’ politicians seemed largely indifferent to the fact that the majority of rioters were working-class Protestant teenagers and young adults whose limited prospects were narrowed down even further as many of them ended up with a prison record or criminal convictions.)

BURNING EFFIGIES, FLYING CONFEDERATE FLAGS

erosion at heart of loyalist discontent”, Patricia McCarthy and Mick Rafferty (researchers from Dublin who were based in north Belfast at the time) maintained that the ‘flag protests’ with their violence “began when Belfast City Council voted that the British flag, the essential symbol of Ulster unionism” be restricted.

They reinforced their view that the nationalist demand for equality equates with an attack on ‘PUL culture’ when they verged on justifying the attack on then Mayor Máirtín Ó Muilleoir of Sinn Féin by loyalists when he tried to carry out an engagement in the Woodvale area of Belfast.

Astonishingly, they pointed the finger

at “Sinn Féin . . . as the principal source of the erosion of their [PUL] culture” before accusing Ó Muilleoir (with more commentary than factual findings) of “delusionary arrogance” – presumably for thinking he could carry out his mayoral duties in the city?

They then conclude that the “protesters [including the attackers whose violence hospitalised Ó Muilleoir and a number of PSNI officers] were saying there will be no shared space if there is no respect for their culture”.

So what is the reality?

9 OUT OF 10 PARADES HAVE NO RESTRICTIONS When we look at the facts,

particularly around unionist marches, the figures published by McCaffery in The Detail show that 4,000 parades of various types took place in the North every year over the past decade with two thirds organised by the loyal orders or groups from the broad unionist tradition.

The vast majority of these parades (93%) went ahead without any restrictions placed on them.

If we take the dispute over the parade at Drumcree and the ‘Siege of Garvaghy Road’ through the mid-1990s as the high point of ‘marching season tension’, when unionist culture was allegedly under severe threat, the figures tell us that,

VICTIMS ARE TO BLAME Media commentators employ the word ‘perception’ as they shy away from naming the beast of sectarian intolerance.

The perception of a republican threat trumps reality and unionists become victims or, in the views of some observers, reactive victims whose behaviour is triggered by (and therefore the fault of) republicans.

Writing in The Irish Times in August 2013 under the headline “Fear of cultural 5 Unionists claim that nationalist demands for equality equate with an attack on 'PUL culture'

As a snapshot of the ‘phony’ culture from this year alone we saw pyres of rubbish, wooden pallets and hundreds of tyres built for the ‘celebration’. Many of these were adorned with the Irish national flag and those of Palestine.

Some included Papal flags.

Election posters with the images of nationalist politicians in the main, but others such as Alliance Party figures (with Naomi Long in particular being singled out) were plastered onto these infernos.

And the most sinister message to be sent out was the burning of effigies of Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness and Michelle Gildernew as they hung from a makeshift gallows, as well as a mock coffin with an image of Bobby Sands.

The added ingredient to this year’s ‘festivities’ was racism with the flying of Confederate flags, Zionist flags (and Nazi flags in at least one instance!) and the epitaph on the Ballycraigy, County Antrim, fire: “We’re not racist, we just hate cotton pickin’ niggers.”

Somehow, in the land of perception, we are expected to see this nihilistic behaviour as ‘the kids having a bit of fun’.

These events, remember, are the build-up to The Twelfth, which unionist leaders and the Orange Order profess is a reflection not just of their British culture but their Christian values. (If the vast majority of people in Britain see this in the same way is another matter.)

For most people it is unbelievable that spokespersons and representatives of the PUL community rather than challenge the bigotry and anti-nationalist sentiment behind these displays instead accuse their critics of denigrating their culture.

October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

www.anphoblacht.com

19

5 What exactly is the 'PUL culture' we are being asked to respect?

5 The torching of election posters and effigies on Eleventh Night bonfires

5 Between 2004 and 2014 there were 26,000 unionist parades across the North

And while all this goes on, the respect they demand for their culture is not reciprocated.

ATTACKING THE GAA In recent years, Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister has been to the fore in attacking the GAA. In a particularly bizarre episode, in April of last year, he called for GAA shirts to be banned from the North’s university campuses, saying that the “proliferation” of GAA tops was “creating a substantial chill factor”, especially at the University of Ulster’s Jordanstown campus.

It transpired that between the University of Ulster and Queen’s, just four complaints were recorded over a five-year period!

Unionist opposition to an Irish Language Act encapsulates the contempt they have for anything Irish while they call for recognition for Ulster Scots.

In November 2014, during the DUP’s annual conference, Gregory Campbell had the delegates laughing along with a routine that would have made Jim Davidson proud.

The Derry MLA said he would use an Irish Language Act as “toilet paper”.

Producing a pot of yoghurt, he again 5 TUV Councillor Jolene Bunting – who posted online that she was "sick of the poor Catholic bastards … I wish they would mocked Gaeilgeóirí by repeating his go down to Ireland and fly their flags and change the street signs down there" – walking with ex-UVF prisoner and PUP leader puerile “curry my yoghurt” remarks made earlier in the Assembly.

Councillor Billy Hutchinson (centre) and Nigel Dodds MP (left) of the DUP on the Springfield Road this year

While Campbell plays the clown prince to the DUP gallery, his party colleague Nelson McCausland adds a far more sinister twist to the DUP’s anti-Irish campaign.

In February, the Orange Order member accused Sinn Féin of “stepping up its cultural war” after Sinn Féin Education Minister John O’Dowd proposed a scheme to promote Irish in schools.

McCausland, an Ulster-Scots enthusiast, then said republicans have “weaponised” the language with “Sinn Féin placing more emphasis on their cultural war and the Irish language is the main weapon in their armoury”.

If we are to make the progress we want and need to make in the “peace process” rather than focus on a “phony culture war” we need the PUL community to address their issues around bonfires and the small number of marches in contentious areas that bring trouble onto the streets, including the Orange Order not turning a blind eye to bands on their parades pounding out their thinly-disguised sectarianism by disingenuously claiming they are playing the Beach Boys number rather than the anti-Irish Famine Song that is sung to the same tune.

And if unionists and the Orange Order embraced equality and recognised the rights of Irish speakers by supporting an Irish Language Act, we would be off to a good start.

20 October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

www.anphoblacht.com

THOMAS KENT ONE SUNDAY in October 1915, the British Army was attempting to hold a recruitment meeting after Mass in the east Cork village of Dungourney.

On hearing of it, Thomas and David Kent arranged for a group of Volunteers to march through the meeting.

When they reached the end of the village, the Volunteers tuned to march through again but the meeting hurriedly dispersed.

This was just one incident in a war of attrition between the Irish Volunteers and the British authorities. Volunteers in the east Cork area were led by Thomas Kent and Terence MacSwiney.

The Kent family from the Castlelyons area had long been active in agitation against British rule. Thomas’s brothers had been very active in the Land League and a cousin was involved in the Fenian dynamite campaign in Britain.

The Kent brothers formed the core of the local Volunteer force in the area.

Thomas Kent was imprisoned for two months in February 1916 for agitation.

A fierce firefight ensued in which the brothers were supported by their 84-year-old mother

and Head Constable Rowe was shot dead.

The Kents were all captured when they ran out of ammunition. The RIC lined them up against the farmhouse wall. A medical officer intervened and

prevented their immediate execution. As they were being led away, Richard Kent attempted to escape across the fields but was fatally shot in the back. David was taken to the Fermoy hospital. Thomas was taken

5 Richard Kent was fatally shot as he attempted to escape

Immediately on his release, he resumed his activities.

Arms were being procured in preparation for a rising. Eoin MacNeill’s order to the Irish Volunteers not to rise at Easter caused great confusion amongst their ranks outside Dublin. Roger Casement’s failure to get through also meant there was a chronic lack of arms.

The Kents and their local company decided to secure what arms they had and to go into hiding.

When they heard that the Rising in Dublin was over, the brothers decided to return home on the night of 1 May. Early the next morning, the house was surrounded by a party of police who demanded their surrender. Despite being armed with only one rifle and three shotguns, the brothers gave no consideration to surrender. A fierce firefight ensued in which the brothers were supported by their 84-year-old mother. One brother, David, was injured,

5 Thomas Kent (left) and his brother William being taken under escort to Fermoy British military barracks

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to Cork Detention Barracks where he was strictly isolated from the other prisoners. He was quickly court-martialled and sentenced to death.

The authorities at the same time began executing the leaders of the 1916 Rising. On Wednesday 3 May, Pearse, MacDonagh and Clarke were shot. On Thursday, Plunkett, Daly and Hanrahan were shot. On Friday, John McBride was executed. Amidst profound shock and rising anger, the executions went remorselessly on. The following Monday, Ceannt, Colbert and Mallin were shot. On Tuesday 9 May, Thomas Kent was executed in Victoria Barracks (now Cork City Prison) by a Royal Navy detachment from Cobh. He died, in the words of the officer in charge, “very bravely, not a feather out of him”.

Reaction was summed up by George Bernard Shaw in a letter to the Daily News: “My own view . . . is that the men who were shot in cold blood after capture or surrender were prisoners of war and that it was, therefore, entirely incorrect to slaughter them.

“The shot Irishmen will now take their places beside Emmet and the Manchester Martyrs in Ireland and beside the heroes of Poland and Serbia and Belgium in Europe; and nothing in heaven and earth can prevent it.”

• A state funeral with full military honours was finally granted to Thomas Kent from Cork Prison (the former British Army Victoria Barracks, where Kent was executed) to the family plot in Castlelyons in north Cork on 18 September 2015.

October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

www.anphoblacht.com

21

Sea, Léiríonn Ceapachán Chorbyn go bhfuil Dhá Shasana Ann DÚINNE, Éireannaigh a rugadh is a tóigeadh i Sasana, níl sa tír sin ach tír chiníoch, tir impireachta is tir a chuireann bac roimh fhorbairt an chine dhaonna ar fud na cruinne.

Ach cuireann ceapachán Jeremy Corbyn mar cheannaire ar Pháirtí an Lucht Oibre thall go bhfuil dhá Shasana ann: Sasana na himpireachta is na crúáltachta, ach – ar an taobh thíos – Sasana na daonnachta, Sasana den dlúthpháirtíocht is den chur le chéile.

Go minic iarrann Seoiníní abhus orainn dearmad a dheanamh den stair is sean-choinbhliocht a chur ar leataoibh, ach d’fhulaing lucht saothair Shasana an dú-shaothrú is an cur faoi chois freisin.

Sea, neartaigh an aicme rialaithe ciníochas ar mhaith le scoilt a choinneáil idir náisiúin na n-oileán angla-ceilteacha seo.

Agus sin cúis eile le fáilte mhor a chur roimh cheapachán Chorbyn, mar is fear é a sheas ar fadh a shaoil in éadan an dúshaothrú, in éadan an chiníochais, in éadan beag a dheanamh dena naisiúin imeallacha ar Shasana nó ar na pobail ón domhan ar fad a thainig (nó, inár gcás, a díbríodh) go Sasana.

Cara mór le hEirinn is éa é gan dabht: fear a sheas linne nuair nach raibh mórán ann a dhéanfadh, is fear a thuill cáineadh is géarleanúint mar gheall ar an seasamh dlúthpháirtíochta sin.

Ba chúis ghaire mar sin gur ghabh Joan Burton, ceannaire Pháirtí fhealltach Lucht Oibre na hÉireann, cómhgháirdeachas – mar dhea – le Corbyn. Tá dúthracht agus díogras caite ag Joan

EOIN Ó MURCHÚ ag cur go nimhneach in aghaidh na bpolasaithe a mholann Corbyn, agus is sampla eile den fhimínteacht chladhaireach a chleachtann polaiteóirí na heite deise anseo.

Ní bheidh sé éasca ag Corbyn ar ndóigh. Níl gach cumhacht ag ceannaire phairtí aon ait, agus cheana fein tá sé léirithe go mbeidh cuid mhaith dá phairtí ag obair as lámha a cheile leis an eite dheis, leis na meáin, le lucht na himpireacht le cur ina choinne.

Ach is é an feachtas a raibh sé de thoradh air gur toghadh é an rud a thuiganns ábhar dóchais is gliondair dúinn. Mar na mílte a thainig amach chun é a roghnú, dhein siad é toisc go gcreideann siad san sóisialachas is go bhfuil siad dóite ag an síor-chur i gcéill a mhilleann an pholaitíocht.

Sea, tá sampla Tsipras is SYRIZA rómhainn, a mhúscail an dóchas céanna ach a ghéill don déine toisc nach raibh siad in ann smaoineamh taobh amuigh de bhosca na hEorpa.

Ach bhí Corbyn riamh orthu siúd a thuig an tAontas Eorpach, is ta bunús maith dó seasamh go fírinneach leis an prionsabail a thug sa gceannaireacht é.

IN PICTURES

5 Sinn Féin elected representatives hold a vigil in Belfast in solidarity with refugees

photos@anphoblacht.com

5 Citizens demonstrate in Dublin to tell the Government that refugees are welcome in Ireland and calling for more to be done to help those fleeing from war and persecution

5 An estimated 80,000 people march through Dublin City as part of the Right2Water campaign in opposition to the introduction of Domestic Water Charges

22 October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

www.anphoblacht.com

t with the labour en em olv inv of , nt se dis of ion The radical Protestant tradit progressive potential contained e th g kin loc un to y ke is s, nt me and republican move at is the Six Counties within the sectarian quagmire th

DR SEÁN BYERS & DR STEVIE NOLAN Trademark Belfast – Social justice co-operative dedicated to tackling sectarianism and inequality

Building a progressive alternative FOR THE FIRST TIME in the history of the 26 Counties, the political establishment (the two Civil War parties plus Labour) has been shaken to its core by a mass mobilisation of the citizenry. That the three main parties can no longer rely upon the acquiescence of the majority is clear from a series of opinion polls that put their combined support below 50%, roughly half of what they received 30, 20 or even 10 years ago.

Central to this transformation has been the emergence of Right2Water, an unprecedented extra-parliamentary campaign supported by six trade unions but which, crucially, derives its power from the working-class communities of Ireland. This campaign has in turn spawned Right2Change, a Left progressive political campaign which aims to eschew the vanguardism of party politics and instead engage the public in a debate around its Policy Principles for a Progressive Government and other policies that are brought to the table as part of that process of engagement.

Whatever shape a progressive political alternative takes, it will only be as strong as the movement that supports it, ensuring that the progressive programme on which it is based does not give way to the trappings of power, prestige or populism. The continued strength of an extra-parliamentary citizens’ movement, rooted in communities and the progressive labour movement, is therefore crucial to advancing wider forms of democratic participation.

Meanwhile, the labour movement itself must be rooted in struggle and be guided by the understanding that we are in the midst of a class war. In other words, labour’s role is not to be a partner of neoliberalism of capital, but an active opponent of the very forces that have brought the global economy to the brink of collapse whilst feathering the nests of the few and attacking the basic living standards of the many.

A renewal of social partnership and other forms of co-option into the neoliberal project must be rejected outright by a progressive trade union movement whose envisaged role in building a progressive alternative must both promote economic democracy inside and outside the workplace.

People develop the capacity to understand and change the world through active participation in practical life and through everyday struggle. Class consciousness does not materialise spontaneously or as a result of some natural evolution but is built and developed in conjunction with a critique of the dominant ideology – in this instance neoliberalism, austerity and the narrative of TINA (“There Is No Alternative”).

Nor is this a mere abstraction. It is our experience from delivering political economy schools across the island that local Right2Water community groups, lay trade union members and indeed grassroots political activists are starting to become acutely aware of their place in the

d extra-parliamentary Right2Water is an unprecedente s but which, crucially, ion un de tra by d te or pp su n aig camp -class communities derives its power from working

4 The radical Protestant tradition: A contingent from Shankill Road march at Bodenstown in the 1930s

world, finding common cause with other marginalised groups in the process.

Success at home will also depend on international alliances, not just in the far-flung corners of Europe but in Britain. The mobilisation of Labour’s traditional support base under Jeremy Corbyn’s radical vision for Britain presents one natural ally with which a progressive Irish formation should establish close links. UNITE, Unison and

the Communications Workers’ Union’s endorsement of Corbyn gives us a running start in that respect.

Likewise, in Scotland, the Radical Independence Campaign, its offshoot RISE [see opposite page], and progressives within and on the fringes of the Scottish National Party, all offer potential for radical change across these islands.

Closer to home, progressives of all shades must recognise the need for honest engagement with the Protestant working class, for it is only with the active support of this constituency that a progressive alternative can breach the Border in any meaningful way.

The radical Protestant tradition of dissent, of involvement with the labour and republican movements, is key to unlocking the progressive potential contained within the sectarian quagmire that is the Six Counties. It is our duty, therefore, to facilitate and encourage modern expressions of this tradition, whether they are found within the trade union movement or the Progressive Unionist Party.

The progressive Left must also begin to talk about the EU in stronger language than critical or sceptical. The Left needs to win back the ground given up to the loony and fascist Right and understand the EU as a profoundly anti-democratic formation. To all but the most ideologically blind, the treatment of Greece is proof enough of the EU’s intent and purpose.

October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

www.anphoblacht.com

JENNI GUNN Author of the just-published 'Deepening Neoliberalism, Austerity, and Crisis: Europe’s Treasure Ireland'

23

s RISE: Scotland’s Left Alliance wa st ‘and launched in Glasgow on 29 Augu and represents the most ambitious exciting Left unity project that

ation Scotland has seen since the form e of the Scottish Socialist Allianc over 18 years ago’

Scotland’s RISE – Respect, Independence, Socialism and Environmentalism A YEAR ON from Scotland’s independence referendum and the Scottish political landscape looks entirely transformed – both in terms of parliamentary representation and in the awakening of a nation.

The maelstrom of human energy and creativity unleashed in the two years leading up to last September’s historic vote show no signs of abating.

In May’s Westminster general election, those of us who campaigned for a ‘Yes’ vote celebrated more in the defeat of Scottish Labour than in the victory of the Scottish National Party. Scotland rejected a Labour Party that had actively played a role in a campaign of fear and intimidation in “Better Together”; a party that embodied austerity policies, abandoning its traditional voter base and its founding principles.

The rejection of the politics of austerity sends a clear message to the Westminster elite that Scotland is changing.

For too long, Labour has relied upon the Scottish electorate to send a troop of weak-willed backbench Labour MPs to the halls of power in London only to capitulate to the Tory austerity agenda. The SNP now has 56 MPs at Westminster and the party is very likely to make a clean sweep of the constituency seats in the Holyrood elections next year.

Whilst the SNP has adopted the mantle of the party of the working class, their track record in government does not always tally with their rhetoric. The challenge for those of us on the left of the independence movement is to capitalise on this new political landscape and to inhabit the space to the left of the SNP. The independence movement should seek to create a rainbow parliament of pro-independence forces, where the main opposition to the SNP is a socialist, pro-independence, anti-austerity force. This is what RISE seeks to achieve.

RISE: Scotland’s Left Alliance was launched in Glasgow on 29 August and represents the most ambitious and exciting Left unity project that Scotland has seen since the formation of the Scottish Socialist Alliance over 18 years ago.

The event itself was incredibly well attended, with around 600 activists from across the country coming together to hear speakers from Scotland and across the world, including Die Linke, SYRIZA, Quebec Solidaire, Partia Razem (Poland), and anti-racism group Black Lives Matter.

RISE stands for “Respect, Independence, Socialism and Environmentalism” and will stand on an anti-austerity, pro-independence ticket on the regional list.

RISE’S launch event in Glasgow was attended by hundreds of community activists, trade unionists,

non-aligned socialists and environmentalists, as well as anti-Trident campaigners, disability rights activists, Radical Independence campaigners and members of the Scottish Socialist Party.

These forces of the Left will come under one banner not only to gain socialist representation in parliament but to create effective community networks where people help to create policy that will effect real change in our lives. We seek to embody the slogan made famous

by Spain’s Podemos: “One foot in the parliament, one hundred in the streets.”

The presence of socialists in Holyrood is more important than ever. Despite Scotland’s rejection of austerity politics, we are still ruled by the most radically right-wing Conservative government that has been seen in a generation, and so socialist representation is essential.

However, it is equally as important to root our movement in our communities.

There have been several policy platforms organised

by RISE activists across the country, from the Isles to the urban centres of Scotland’s bustling cities. Not only will these platforms help to inform the policies of RISE but will serve as an effective activist network, where forces of the Left can come together to campaign on issues that are important: from fracking, to Trident; from zero-hour contracts to welcoming refugees.

The future of the Left in Scotland looks incredibly

body the slogan made famous by

We seek to em e parliament, Spain’s Podemos: “One foot in th one hundred in the streets”

4 The Scottish political landscape has been entirely transformed

4 RISE was launched in Glasgow in August

exciting. In the coming months, RISE will be organising local branches and groups (called “Circles”) around issues that matter to local people and to build an effective activist base so that we can campaign in the 2016 Scottish elections on issues of both local and national importance.

Most importantly, the policies of RISE will be shaped by its members, by the people living and working in these communities – the term grassroots will not be a buzzword, but a reality of how we intend to shape our movement.

RISE will hold a democratic conference at the end of 2015 in which policy, structures and strategy will be decided. Activists on the left in Scotland are invited to take part in this process – help shape a movement that seeks to change Scotland.

Because another Scotland is possible.

24 October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

www.anphoblacht.com

www.guengl.eu IN BRIEF

Martina Anderson MEP

Overwhelming support for Palestine peace process

CHAIR of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Palestine, Martina Anderson, has welcomed the overwhelming support for the resolution on 8 September which addresses some of the primary concerns surrounding the stalled peace process between Palestine and Israel.

During the plenary session in Strasbourg, the European Conservatives and Reformists group proposed an amendment calling for the creation of “two states for two peoples”.

Martina Anderson responded: “Sinn Féin robustly opposed this racist and odious amendment which was a naked attempt to sectarianise the conflict. We were successful in voting down this amendment.”

She also welcomed a vote the following day to formally change the name of the Delegation she chairs from ‘Delegation for Relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council’ to ‘Delegation for Relations with Palestine’.

Aontas Clé na hEorpa/Na Glasaigh Chlé Nordacha Crúpa Paliminta – Parlaimimt na h Eorpa

Passage of Right2Water report a blow to Irish Government THE Right2Water report authored by Dublin MEP Lynn Boylan (Sinn Féin) was passed by the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 8 September in a major victory for water campaigners. Fine Gael MEPs voted against the report, the only Irish MEPs to do so.

Addressing the European Parliament on 8 September, Lynn Boylan said: “Ownership and management of water services are clearly key concerns for citizens and cannot be ignored. In my home country, Ireland, the

‘I am extremely happy that water is finally recognised in an EU document as a public good and not a commodity’ introduction of flat-rate regressive charges has resulted in some of the largest protests the country has ever seen.

“My report has recognised that the provision of water services is a natural monopoly where competition amongst private operators hasn’t worked, doesn’t work, and will never work. Water is a public good and should never be commodified.”

Lynn Boylan thanked the Right2Water campaign

Lynn Boylan MEP

for its support for her report and slammed Fine Gael MEPs who, along with other conservatives, produced an alternative resolution which undermined the progressive aspects in her report.

Speaking after her report was passed, Lynn Boylan said: “This report is a significant achievement and amounts to a huge victory for the citizens and a major wake-up call for the Commission and certain member states.

ECB dialogue no substitute for failure to engage with Oireachtas Banking Inquiry

Matt Carthy MEP

Funded by the European United Left/ Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL)

PRESIDENT of the European Central Bank (ECB) Mario Draghi, will appear before the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in November. Sinn Féin MEP for Midland North West Matt Carthy, a member of the Committee, has said he will engage with the ECB President during his appearance and aim to ensure the dialogue is useful for the Irish people.

But he said that the planned talks were no substitue for the failure of the ECB to engage with the Oireachtas Banking Inquiry.

“I will, of course, participate in the proposed dialogue with Mario Draghi and attempt to ensure that all relevant ECB information regarding its role in the Irish banking crisis is forthcoming.

Since my election to the European Parliament

last year, I have engaged with the ECB through dialogues and written correspondence in this vein.

“I do fear that the proposed exchange will be minimalistic with a prepared statement by the ECB President to be followed by an extremely limited opportunity for MEPs to actually put questions and receive responses. I will be working with the Economic & Monetary Affairs Committee secretariat and members to ensure that the engagement is more substantive that this.

“Regardless of the outcomes of the November dialogue, which I do hope will prove worthwhile, it cannot mask the absolute scandalous failure of the ECB to formally engage with the Oireachtas Banking Inquiry.”

“This report calls on the Commission to come forward with a legislative proposal to enshrine the human right to water, to not promote the privatisation of water services, and to exclude water services from the internal market and any trade agreements, including TTIP. “I am extremely happy that water is finally recognised as a public good in an EU document and not a commodity.”

IN BRIEF Waterford summit on fishing industry

LIADH NÍ RIADA MEP will host a major conference on fisheries in Dungarvan, County Waterford, on 24 October, bringing together stakeholders from across the island to discuss a comprehensive policy to rescue the Irish fishing industry.

Amember of the European Fisheries Committee, Liadh said: “Earlier this year I hosted a group of fishermen in Brussels where they got to challenge the Commission on the harsh and often absurd regulations that hamper them in trying to make a living from the sea. This conference will follow up on those issues, with fishermen and policy experts having their say on the future direction of fishing in Ireland.”

The conference is supported by GUE/NGL. Visit www.liadhniriada.ie for more information.

October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

www.anphoblacht.com

25

Another Europe is possible Treo eile don Eoraip REPORTS BY EMMA CLANCY AT THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

MEP Martina Anderson visits Syrian refugees in Jordan

IN BRIEF

Farmers need more support

THE European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) group in the European Parliament has sent a delegation of MEPs, including Sinn Féin’s Martina Anderson, to Jordan to visit refugees fleeing the war in Syria as An Phoblacht goes to press.

‘The scale of the refugee crisis across Europe and the Mediterranean is unprecedented in modern times’ The fact-finding mission in September visited some of the United Nations camps in Jordan where more than 600,000 Syrian refugees have sought shelter. Anderson, MEP for Ireland North, joined MEPs from the Basque Country, Catalonia and Germany.

Zaatari refugee camp

The MEPs visited the Zaatari refugee camp, which close to half a million Syrian refugees have passed through. It currently holds more than 80,000 refugees. Martina Anderson was to speak with refugees as well as the UN representatives and agencies responsible for providing vital services to the residents.

Martina Anderson said: “The scale of the refugee crisis across Europe and the Mediterranean is unprecedented in modern times, with millions of people displaced from their homes as a result of wars.

IN BRIEF

Matt Carthy

Martina Anderson

‘Super-trawlers should be banned from Irish waters’

Youth unemployment rate masked

DUBLIN MEP Lynn Boylan has called on the Irish Government to ‘come clean’ about the rate of youth unemployment in Ireland. A member of the European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee, Lynn was speaking on 2 September.

“CSO figures clearly indicate that the level of youth unemployment has stagnated at 20.7%, holding here for the past three months,” she said.

“This stagnation has been caused by several factors. Government has yet to implement many of the recommendations put forward in various reports relating to the Youth Guarantee Scheme. There has also been a dramatic fall in those taking up place on the exploitative JobBridge scheme.

“To me this is a clear indication that this Government has relied on JobBridge and similar schemes not as a method of up-skilling but as a cynical mechanism to reduce live register figures. In doing so, Minister Joan Burton has failed to address the underlying issues facing young people attempting to access the labour market.”

“The harrowing images of suffering and death we have seen have sparked emotion across the world with people asking what they can do to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis.

“The international community and the EU in particular have a responsibility to address the growing humanitarian crisis but closer to home we can also help.”

The Ireland North MEP met with deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and the Sinn Féin ministerial team in Stormont on 17 September to discuss ways to boost the Irish response to the refugee crisis.

MATT CARTHY MEP, a member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, has called on EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan to do more for Irish farmers suffering as a result of the fall in milk prices. Sinn Féin MEPs and Stormont Agriculture Minister Michelle O’Neill met with the Commissioner in Brussels on 1 September.

The Commissioner then announced a support package on 8 September following a Council of Agriculture Ministers meeting in Brussels. Matt Carthy expressed his disappointment at the package, saying: “While I am relieved that the Commissioner has finally intervened in the ongoing crisis, the package is insufficient.

The dairy industry is one of Ireland’s most important indigenous industries and is heavily reliant on export markets. Urgent action is needed at EU level, because farmers need help now before it is too late for their businesses to recover.”

Liadh Ní Riada

Liadh Ní Riada MEP

LIADH NÍ RIADA, Sinn Féin MEP for Ireland South, has called for international super-trawlers and factory ships to be banned from Irish waters. Earlier this year, the 143-metre long Margiris super-trawler, which had been banned from Australian waters, was involved in fishing along the Irish coast off Mayo, processing as much as 250 tonnes of fish per day.

Speaking from Strasbourg on 9 September, Liadh Ní Riada said: “Irish fishermen and small-scale fisheries cannot cope with, compete with or sustain operators of foreign industrial super-trawlers and factory ships who have no concern for sustainable fisheries and over-exploited stocks. Anywhere these gigantic vessels go, stocks go into significant decline, the marine environment is devastated and local fishermen and communities are left to pick up the pieces.

“Recently we have seen some of the largest trawlers in the world enter Irish waters, trawlers that have been banned elsewhere. This year, for example, the second largest trawler in the world was

allowed to enter and commercially fish in Irish waters.

“The capacity of these trawlers is more than dozens of small trawlers combined.

They have consistently flaunted regulation, as seen last year when a super-trawler’s

‘Irish fishermen cannot compete with foreign industrial super-trawlers and factory ships’ skipper was charged with violating regulations for failing to record discards, along with having illegal equipment on-board to maximise catch – and profit.

“To put this further into perspective, these vessels can process tens of tonnes of fish per day, some as much as 250 tonnes per day. Super-trawlers and factory ships need to be banned from Irish waters.”

Lynn Boylan

are MEPs and members of the GUE/NGL Group in the European Parliament

26 October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

www.anphoblacht.com

QUESTION: What do Ballymena, Bangor, Belfast, Carrickfergus, Derry, Dundonald, Enniskillen, Lisnaskea, Lisburn and Strabane have in common?

ANSWER: They are among over 25 locations across the North where food banks are now supplying food parcels to people in distress as a result of austerity but what in reality amounts to the

TORY WAR ON THE WELFARE STATE

WITH A THIRD (33%) of those using the food banks working in low-paid jobs and dependent on family tax credit, Tory claims that only ‘the feckless’ and those who don’t want to work need these charities is exposed for the anti-working-class rhetoric that it is.

Almost one in five (18%) of those who use food banks are forced to do so due to delays in receiving social security payments.

One woman, Lynda Clements, diagnosed with bone cancer, had to wait months for her Disability Living Allowance to come through and was forced “as literally a last resort or starve” situation to go to a food bank.

Figures from last Christmas compiled by Christian charity The Trussell Trust reveal that 11,000 people see themselves as having no alternative but go to their food banks “to seek three-day emergency food parcels for both themselves and their families” – an increase over the previous financial year of 489%!

The Trussell Trust blames the spiralling cost of living, static incomes and changes to benefits for the dramatic rise in the number of people in need of emergency food.

The British Government’s Department for Work and Pensions, (whose minister Iain Duncan Smith is worth £1.7million and lives rent free in a £2million mansion) has previously argued that there is “no robust evidence to suggest that welfare reforms or benefit administration are linked to increased food banks”.

This Tory cynicism is underscored by arch-Thatcherite Norman Tebbit, who criticises those setting up food banks as offering free food which only creates more demand.

Tebbit maintains “there is always a near-infinite demand for valuable goods that are given away free”.

During a debate in the British House of Lords

in March 2014, Tebbit also implied that those relying for their basic foods on food banks were spending their money on junk food.

In the same debate, the then Tory Environment Minister, Lord de Mauley, asserted

that food banks are not a scandal but a sign of Britain’s charity and ministers should not seek to “interfere” in their use.

Those opening up new food banks, however, say they are responding to

a need that has always existed but that welfare cuts have exacerbated.

With the Tory Government led by multimillionaire and right-wing ideologue Prime Minister David Cameron set on a course to destroy the British welfare system, it has largely been left to Sinn Féin in the North to politically challenge and confront the Tory cuts agenda.

The current crisis at Stormont stems largely from the unwillingness of both main unionist parties, the Democratic Unionist Party and the

‘The Tories are intent on creating a spiral of poverty that is slowly dragging people and communities down’ Sinn Féin MLA

Jennifer McCann Ulster Unionist Party, to face down the Tories. It’s an unwillingness that comes from the fact that both parties share the Conservatives’ right-wing ideology. Their faux outrage over the killing of east Belfast man Kevin McGuigan is just a smokescreen behind which they have retreated rather than “do business”, as Martin McGuinness has urged.

The map accompanying this article illustrates the areas where food banks exist and shows that many are in unionist areas yet the DUP and UUP refuse to defend their electorate against a cuts regime that will impact more brutally on the North than throughout Britain.

According to west Belfast Sinn Féin MLA Jennifer McCann: “We have lower wages here compared to

5 West Belfast Sinn Féin MLA Jennifer McCann

The Tory millionaires demanding welfare cuts Prime Minister

Chancellor

Work and Pensions Secretary

His father ran a network of offshore investment funds to help build the family fortune that paid for the Tory leader’s inheritance.

He and his wife are estimated by the wealth watchdog and compiler of The Sunday Times Rich List to be worth £30million.

The “conspiculously privileged” heir to the Anglo-Irish baronetcy of Ballintaylor and Ballylemon holds a 15% stake in the upmarket wallpaper family firm Osborne & Little, a company worth up to £30million. He is the son-in-law of Tory peer Lord Howell.

The man behind the controversial Bedroom Tax lives rent-free in a £2million aristocratic country house . . . with at least FOUR spare bedrooms. His personal fortune is estimated at £1.7million.

David Cameron

George Osborne

Iain Duncan Smith

October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

www.anphoblacht.com

Christian charity Trussell Trust say that 11,000 people see themselves as having no alternative but go to their food banks – an increase over the previous financial year of 489%

COLERAINE BALLYMONEY DERRY CITY BALLYMENA

STRABANE

LARNE

COOKSTOWN X 2

CARRICKFERGUS BELFAST CITY X 6

CRAIGAVON ENNISKILLEN LISNASKEA

27

BANGOR X 2 DUNDONALD LISBURN

BALLYNAHINCH

FOODBANKS NEWRY

5 Sinn Féin has politically challenged and confronted the Tory cuts agenda

Britain, we pay more for food, and energy costs are a lot higher than in Britain.

“Poverty, especially child poverty, is at higher levels in the North than in Britain and it has risen by 3% in the past year.

“And, needless to say, the rates of unemployment here are also higher.

Many food banks are in unionist areas yet the DUP and UUP refuse to defend their electorate against a cuts regime that will impact more brutally on the North than throughout Britain “Also, one in four young people are classed as NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training).”

Jennifer, who is also a Junior Minister at the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, took time out of her heavy schedule (not least the on-off talks process) to talk to An Phoblacht.

Sitting in the party’s Mairéad Farrell House in

Twinbrook, one of the most disadvantaged areas of the North, she outlined the party’s strategy for opposing the Tories, including “mobilising as broad a section of civil society”, including politics, the churches, the community sector, academia, the trade union movement and the business sector.

“There are two myths we, as a party need to dispel,” Jennifer McCann said.

“One is the fallacy that Stormont cannot function because ‘the parties can’t get on with each other’.

Notwithstanding the political difficulties that do exist, the real stumbling block to the Executive’s and the Assembly’s ability to function is the constant raids on the block grant that the Tories have made.

“We have already seen £1.5billion taken out of the budget with more to come given that George Osborne is set on cutting welfare by a further £12billion added to £13billion cuts to public services.

“And in his July statement Osborne has taken a further £38million directly out of departmental budgets which will make it more difficult for the delivery of services.

“The Tories are intent on creating a spiral of poverty that is slowly dragging people and communities down.

“Only last night [15 September],” said McCann, “the Tories voted through cuts to tax credits. This is a further assault on the living standards of low-paid workers and as tax credits are one of the benefits that the Executive does not control, the effect will hit thousands of local workers, forcing

women in particular to give up work and push many more children into poverty.

“The other nonsense that we need to challenge is the notion that ‘there is no money left in the pot’.

“Barry McElduff exposed this fallacy when he put it up to the Tories over their pledge to spend £500million to update the Royal Navy Trident nuclear submarine base at Faslane in Scotland

‘We want the unionist parties to work with us, especially as the Tory austerity agenda cuts across all sectors of the community’ rather than invest in health or education.

“More importantly, those commentators who ridicule people like new British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn when they raise the issue of unpaid tax across Britain, ignore the research

by Richard Murphy for the Public and Commercial Services Union which found that the gap between taxes raised and what could be taken in is £119.4billion”. (Murphy maintains that only £20billion of this is now recoverable.)

Quoting Murphy’s findings where he says “the [British] Government claims there is no alternative to the austerity agenda. Jobs and pay are being cut, benefits slashed and public services closed. A simple part of the alternative is to close the tax gap, which involves two things: making those most able pay their fair share of taxes and beating tax cheats.”

Jennifer McCann adds: “Sinn Féin has always argued for a progressive tax system that ensures the wealthy and those corporations that don’t pay their taxes are made to do so.

“Our objective is to get a workable budget that allows us to protect the vulnerable and ensure that frontline services are safeguarded.

“We want the other parties, including the unionists, to work with us, not pull against us, especially as the Tory austerity agenda cuts across all sectors of the community.”

Prime Minister David Cameron, in his first speech to the Conservative Party Conference in October 2010, uttered his now infamous “We’re all in this together” slogan.

Now, after almost five years of savage cuts and with more to come, it is clear that the less-well-off in society are paying the price of the ‘Tory Dream’ – the systematic dismantling of the welfare state.

Those right-wing ideologues behind the austerity agenda are most certainly not “in it together” with the rest of us.

Northern Secretary of State

Health Secretary

Defence Secretary

Descended from the Dukes of Clarendon, her personal wealth is rumoured to be over €31million and she owns two houses worth almost £700,000.

In line for a £17million windfall from the imminent sale of his own company, Hotcourses.

Will spend approximately £38billion on Britain’s armed forces per annum, keeping Britain as fifth in the list of top military spenders in the world.

Theresa Villiers

Jeremy Hunt

Michael Fallon

28 October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

www.anphoblacht.com

10-point plan refugee crisis

5 Hundreds of thousands of refugees continue to flee regions of the Middle East and Africa where military interventions by Western states have left a bloody legacy of conflict

on the THE recent track record of Irish governments in supporting and protecting asylum seekers is shameful considering our unique history of emigration.

Since 2003, Ireland is the only state in the European Union to opt out of EU Directives laying down minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers.

For 15 years, the state has placed asylum seekers into the discredited Direct Provision System, condemning them to long years in limbo, living on a paltry allowance and denying them the right to work.

One third of those living in Direct Provision today are children. Over half of those living in this system have done so for over four years.

This injustice must end.

The Irish Government has a responsibility to its citizens as well as international responsibilities.

1

Ireland should commit to taking one refugee per every 1,000 of our population This would see Ireland take approximately 4,500-5,000 refugees this year.

It is important to note that Sinn Féin would not put an upper limit on it. We must not only do our fair share but more than our fair share given our own emigrant history.

2

Develop a ‘National Action Plan’ This plan should be both short-term and long-term. The Government should immediately set up a working group of immigration experts and other civil society groups to speedily identify the infrastructural requirements and other needs and logistics necessary to make our response to the crisis as successful as possible.

The Government should also engage with the Northern Executive and the British Government

to work on a common approach across the island.

Sinn Féin continues to fully support the use of the Irish Naval Service in search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean and call on the Irish Government to ensure that these missions continue. We will not support the use of the Irish Naval Service or Defence Forces to take part in offensive military actions under the EUNAVFOR Med mission.

3 4 5

End the Direct Provision system Direct Provision must be scrapped. It is not fit for purpose. Sinn Féin believes that there is a need to ensure that we have a system in place that respects the dignity and human rights of asylum seekers.

Call for an emergency summit of EU member states To be convened immediately to draft a comprehensive action plan to address the needs of asylum seekers and also be tasked with examining conflict resolution strategies.

Call for others to play their part on setting up safe and legal access to Europe This could be done through a UN Security Council Resolution, as well as all EU member states working together in the spirit of Article 80 of the TFEU to make this happen. This could also include the provision of the issuing of humanitarian visas for those travelling from conflict zones.

6

Suspend “Dublin Regulations” Ireland must suspend these regulations to ensure effective access to asylum. The regulations usually means that the responsible member state will be the

state through which the asylum seeker first entered the EU. The Dublin Regulations establish a hierarchy of criteria for identifying the member state responsible for the examination of an asylum claim in Europe. This is not practical under the present circumstances.

7

Call on the European Commission and member states to activate the Temporary Protection Directive Temporary protection is an exceptional measure to provide displaced persons from non-EU countries and unable to return to their country of origin with immediate and temporary protection. It applies in particular when there is a risk that the standard asylum system is struggling to cope with demand stemming from a mass influx that risk having a negative impact on the processing of claims.

8

Call on the European Commission and EU member states to stop co-operation with third countries which aim at preventing asylum seekers from reaching a safe place in Europe Also call for an end of negotiations of any such agreements with third countries that do not guarantee the protection of refugees and respect for fundamental rights, such as Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia and Egypt.

9

Ireland should opt back in to the Common Euro Asylum System The Common European Asylum System (CEAS) is based on the full and inclusive application of the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees 1951 and the New York Protocol of 1967. It seeks to address needs which have arisen from, among other things, the processes flowing from the Schengen

BY PÁDRAIG Mac LOCHLAINN TD Agreement, the relaxing of borders within the EU, the resultant need for agreement on the regulation of the EU’s external borders, and the gradual expansion of EU powers to create an “Area of freedom, security and justice” grounded in the Tampere Programme (1999-2004).

10

Address the root cause of the crisis Call on EU member states to strengthen long-term efforts to resolve the root causes of the refugee crisis by advancing political solutions to conflict and inclusive socio-economic development across Africa and the Middle East. Military interventions by European states in Libya, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan have left a bloody legacy and continue to fuel conflicts in the region which have created this refugee crisis. EU countries need to use their influence in these regions to find inclusive political solutions rather than establishing military alliances with countries seeking to prolong and deepen these conflicts.

October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

www.anphoblacht.com

I nDíl Chuimhne 1 October 1977: Seán Ó CONAILL, Sinn Féin (Parkhurst Prison) 1 October 1996: Pat McGEOWN, Sinn Féin 2 October 1971: Volunteer Terence McDERMOTT, Belfast Brigade, 1st Battalion 2 October 1978: Volunteer Pat HARKIN, Derry Brigade 6 October 1972: Volunteer Daniel McAREAVEY, Belfast Brigade, 2nd Battalion 9 October 1976: Noel JENKINSON, Sinn Féin (Leicester Prison) 9 October 1990: Volunteer Dessie GREW, Martin McCAUGHEY, Tyrone Brigade 10 October 1972: Volunteer John DONAGHY, Volunteer Patrick MAGUIRE, Volunteer Joseph McKINNEY, Belfast Brigade, 2nd Battalion 16 October 1972: Volunteer Hugh HERON, Volunteer John Patrick MULLAN, Tyrone Brigade 16 October 1976: Volunteer Paul MARLOWE, Belfast Brigade, 2nd Battalion; Volunteer Frank

29

All notices and obituaries should be sent to notices@anphoblacht.com by Friday 16 October 2015

Life springs from death and from the graves of patriot men and women spring living nations PÁDRAIG PEARSE FITZSIMMONS, Volunteer Joseph SURGENOR, Belfast Brigade, 3rd Battalion 16 October 1992: Sheena CAMPBELL, Sinn Féin 18 October 1974: Volunteer Michael HUGHES, Newry Brigade 23 October 1971: Volunteer Dorothy MAGUIRE, Volunteer Maura MEEHAN, Cumann na mBan, Belfast 23 October 1979: Volunteer Martin McKENNA, Belfast Brigade, 3rd Battalion 23 October 1993: Volunteer Thomas BEGLEY, Belfast Brigade, 3rd Battalion 24 October 1971: Volunteer Martin FORSYTHE, Belfast Brigade, 1st Battalion 25 October 1982: Peter CORRIGAN, Sinn Féin 26 October 1990: Tommy CASEY, Sinn Féin 27 October 1970: Volunteer

Peter BLAKE, Volunteer Tom McGOLDRICK, Belfast Brigade, 2nd Battalion 28 October 1976: Máire DRUMM, Sinn Féin 28 October 1987: Volunteer Paddy DEERY, Volunteer Eddie McSHEFFREY, Derry Brigade 30 October 1974: Volunteer Michael MEENAN, Derry Brigade 31 October 1975: Volunteer Seamus McCUSKER, Belfast Brigade, 3rd Battalion.

Always remembered by the Republican Movement.

ADAMS, Annie. In loving memory of my Granny, who died 4 September 1992. I lost a granny with a heart of gold. How much I miss you, you can never be told, you shared my troubles and helped me along. If I follow your footsteps I will never go wrong. I miss you from your fireside chair,

your loving smile and gentle air, your vacant place no one can fill, I miss you, Granny, and always will. From your grandson Patrick, daughterin-law Bridgeen and grandchildren Pádraic, Clíodhna, Deirbhile and Máirtín.

MULVENNA, Patrick. In proud and loving memory of our dear son Volunteer Patrick Mulvenna, who died 31 August 1973. Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for him. Be green upon their grasses, oh happy spring, for they were young and eager who are dead. The ballad singers long have cried the shining names of far away.

Now let them rhyme out those died with the three colours yesterday.

Loved and sadly missed by your mother, father, brothers and sisters.

MULVENNA, Patrick. In proud and loving memory of my father Volunteer Patrick Mulvenna, B Company, 2nd Battalion, Belfast Brigade, Óglaigh

na hÉireann, who died 31 August 1973. I am thinking of you today but that is nothing new, I thought of you yesterday and the day before that too. I will think of you tomorrow, as I will my whole life through, for the day I fail to think of you is the day God takes me too. From your son Patrick, daughter-in-law Bridgeen and grandchildren Pádraic, Cliodhna, Deirbhile and Máirtín.

O’NEILL, Diarmuid. Murdered by the London Metropolitan Police, September 1996. Always remembered by friends and comrades in the West London Republican Support Group, Hammersmith.

TREACY, Seán. In memory of Seán Treacy, The Heath, Portlaoise, a great friend and comrade. Always remembered by Councillor Noel Harrington, Kinsale.

TREANOR, Tommy. Acton, London; and Fintona, Tyrone. Died 1996.

Always remembered by his comrades in the West London Republican Support Group.

IMEACHTAÍ | EVENTS

ANNUAL JAMES CONNOLLY SCHOOL

TIPPERARY

Commemoration

Annual Seán Treacy Commemoration, Kilfeacle, County Tipperary. 2:30pm Sunday 11 October.

Speaker Senator David Cullinane; Chair Sinn Féin Councillor Séamie Morris.

Music by Carrick-on-Suir Republican Flute Band.

Everyone welcome.

» Notices All notices should be sent to: notices@anphoblacht.com at least 14 days in advance of publication date. There is no charge for I nDíl Chuimhne, Comhbhrón etc. » Imeachtaí There is a charge of €10 for inserts printed in our Imeachtaí/Events column. You can also get a small or large box advert. Contact: sales@anphoblacht.com for details.

CHARLIE McGLADE REMEMBERED

5Trade unionist and Sinn Féin Fingal candidate Louise O'Reilly speaks on the issue of 'TTIP, Jobs and Workers' Rights'

5Dublin Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan

5Unite Union Research Officer Michael Taft

5Mandate General Secretary John Douglas

5Aengus Ó Snodaigh, Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South Central, delivers the main speech at the Volunteer Charlie McGlade Commemoration in Drimnagh, Dublin

30 October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

www.anphoblacht.com

BETWEEN THE POSTS

BY CIARÁN KEARNEY

THE MANDELA MOMENT

IN THE HISTORY of South Africa, Johannesburg competes for profile with the townlands and townships which encircle its urban mass. Places like Soweto, Alexandria, Rivonia, Sharpeville. Each a household name among those who stood up to the immorality and injustice of apartheid in South Africa.

Even the city’s biggest sporting venue is linked with the political transformation of the country.

When he was released from prison to lead the African National Congress in political negotiations, Nelson Mandela went to the Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg. A year after the first democratic elections and the post-apartheid era began, Mandela was back in Ellis Park; this time it was the venue for a sporting event – the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final.

Last summer, the South African international rugby team of that era reunited to celebrate that historic event.

They watched a replay of the match and spoke about their recollections.

Captain of the Springboks, Francois Pienaar, remarked this was the first time he had ever watched the match. That may seem a remarkable admission.

Nowadays, players routinely receive video feedback and analysis of matches.

The latest software even tags individuals in games to enable them to review their individual performance across several matches. Back then, there were no DVD copies of the match tucked into the kitbag to take home when the game was over.

Yet the Springboks knew that the

IN PICTURES

1995 Rugby World Cup Final meant more than sporting glory.

Posing at the reunion for a group photograph, they stood behind the banner “Still One Team – Still One Country”. The words echoed the slogan of the era which captured what this event meant for South Africa.

Nelson Mandela planned for the Rugby World Cup of 1995 as much more than a summer spree or sporting spectacle.

He strategised that reconciliation would have to be visible. It would have to be made tangible. It needed actions, not mere words Stumbling tentatively from underneath the yoke of an apartheid regime, South Africa had held its first democratic elections only a year beforehand. At that moment, the country’s most famous political prisoner became the country’s President.

His 27-year imprisonment had helped

to inspire the sporting boycott which hurt the Springboks attempts to compete internationally. He had learned about the pride of his white prison warders in the green and gold colours of the national rugby team. He also witnessed the glee with which his fellow inmates on Robben Island would cheer for any defeat inflicted on the Springboks.

Antagonisms evoked by apartheid had saturated sporting culture as with every other facet of society. Therefore, Nelson Mandela planned for the Rugby World Cup of 1995 as much more than a summer spree or sporting spectacle.

He strategised that reconciliation would have to be visible. It would have to be made tangible. It needed actions, not mere words.

For a man who loved sport, who relished training, Mandela had a clear and strategic philosophy on sport: “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite people in a way that little else does” Some have branded Mandela’s outreach to the Springboks and their captain, Francois Pienaar, as mere ‘political seduction’. But that denies the magnitude of what took place. As Mandela is reported to have once said: this was not a political calculation, it was a human calculation, one which had its price for Madiba as he later admitted: “My own people, they booed me when I stood before them, urging them to support the Springboks.”

What happened next has already been retold in a book by John Carlin and in the

5 Nelson Mandela meets the Springboks at the 1995 Rugby World Cup

Hollywood movie Invictus (directed by Clint Eastwood). For cynics, references to book sales and box office numbers hint at merchandising and glamourising the South African struggle. With scandals like the Nkandla compound and the Marikana massacre, it’s easy to find fault-lines in post-apartheid South Africa. The context in which the 1995 Rugby World Cup was held was more unstable.

As the 2015 Rugby World Cup is played in England, it’s hard to envisage how the event could reach the zenith of 20 years ago. Yet, given the refugee crisis in the Middle East and political combustion in

Ireland, a genuine ‘Mandela moment’ is something needed now more than ever.

But where is the evidence that such a thing is possible?

Perhaps in the flags carried by Ireland’s rugby team. Or in the cohesion of players, North and South, regardless of creed or background. Maybe sport offers more to peace-building and national reconciliation in Ireland then we have yet to grasp. As Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a lifelong rugby fan, said of that Mandela moment in 1995: “The lesson is wonderfully simple and encouraging. If it happened once, it can happen again.”

photos@anphoblacht.com

5 Dublin GAA footballer Alan Brogan raising awareness for GOAL Jersey Day, urging schools and offices all over the country 5 Sinn Féin Ard Mhéara of Dublin City Críona Ní Dhálaigh at the 5 Sinn Féin MLAs Phil Flanagan, Carál Ní Chuilín and Seán Lynch with the to bring hope to the children of Syria by signing up to the charity Fermanagh GAA Lory Meagher Cup winning hurling team at Stormont event launch of the Dublin City Council Liffey Swim 2015

October / Deireadh Fómhair 2015

www.anphoblacht.com

INTERNATIONAL TOP TEN

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised GIL SCOTT HERON

Joe Hill PAUL ROBESON

Strange Fruit BILLIE HOLIDAY

Free Nelson Mandela SPECIAL AKA

Never mind Spotify Here’s my best political songs A CONFESSION. It took The Special AKA on Top of The Pops in 1984 to fully acquaint me with the plight of Nelson Mandela.

Political songs can change your life; political pop can change a whole generation. The message of a political song can have a huge audience impact, though in this era of smartphones the power of Spotify and its competitor clones to stunt musical choice has diminished the impact of music compared to the 20th century world of mass radio with record players and TVs in every home.

The power of music explains why so many songs have been banned, whether it was the Sex Pistols in 1976 or the video for the Police’s Invisible Sun in 1981 (it showed images of the H-Blocks of Long Kesh). The BBC created a “Do Not Play” list during the first Gulf War in 1991, and Clear Channel did something similar across their 1,200 US stations in 2001 after the 9/11 tragedy.

Great political songs are timeless and have meaning to every generation. Who could listen to Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’ or Masters of War and not think it had relevance to the present day? Bob Marley’s Redemption Song or Get Up, Stand Up are similar anthems.

What makes a good political song? A rousing chorus, a theme we can all rally around, a simple message? You could claim that there is a formula but that doesn’t explain Billie Holiday’s Strange Fruit or the many attempted political songs that fail, some miserably.

In the not so great (okay, pretty crap) camp would be Simple Mind’s Belfast Child, the 1986 Self Aid Let’s Make It Work (a rare blunder for Christy Moore). Then there are the endless reboots of Feed the World. It worked once, just. There were real stars with a musical pedigree. It was a unique moment that has been tarnished now.

Dylan, Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, Jackson Browne and Christy Moore could all have multiple entries on any top list of political songs though I have left out Browne’s Before the Deluge, brilliantly covered by Moving Hearts. In the case of Dylan you can easily hit double figures when you count songs like The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll, A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall, and The Hurricane.

THE INTERNATIONAL LIST

This Land Is Your Land WOODY GUTHRIE

So picking a ‘Top Ten’ was not easy, and there were a lot of songs that don’t make the cut.

Yes, I know the list is Anglo dominated but the An Phoblacht Editor won’t fund my Spanish/ French/Farsi lessons!

Not making the 10 were Neil Young’s Rockin’ in the Free World. Two Elvis Costello songs were considered, but Oliver’s Army and Shipbuilding didn’t make it. Billy Bragg’s Between the Wars was considered.

In the ten, Gil Scott Heron’s The Revolution

INTERNATIONAL TOP TEN

Bourgeois Blues LEADBELLY

Get Up, Stand Up BOB MARLEY

BY ROBBIE SMYTH Will Not Be Televised is still a stand-out tune. It should be on the school curriculum and shows up the weaknesses of contemporary rappers and their monologues about guns, pimps and drugs as the paltry dishwater they are. Public Enemy just missed the cut, though they would be in a top 20.

The Dubliners popularised Joe Hill but listen to Paul Robeson own it and you will understand why he is on the list. Billie Holiday’s version of Strange Fruit took the three-minute song to a new level in the intensity of the understated delivery and the sheer power of simple language that exposed the rotten reality of racism in the post-World War Two United States.

The Special AKA’s Free Nelson Mandela is politics you can dance to.

There were so many Woody Guthrie tunes to pick from but, in the decades since it was written, This Land Is Your Land is perhaps the most enduring. His sometime musical road partner, Leadbelly, also wrote many tunes that could be included here but Bourgeois Blues is the one for me.

Tracey Chapman’s emergence in the 1980s showed the enduring impact of a powerful singer on stage with just a guitar. Lucky for us, Ronan Keating hasn’t covered Talkin’ Bout a Revolution as he did with Baby, Can I Hold You? We couldn’t leave out John Lennon’s Imagine.

It just says it all, and maybe now more than ever.

Finally, it was hard to decide which Bob Dylan song to pick. There had to be at least one entry of his in the Top Ten. This gets in on account of the song being covered so many times, and Neil Young’s 1991 live version with Crazy Horse a stand out for me.

All of these tracks can be found online. So get listening before ‘The Man’ decides to ban them there too.

COMING SOON:

THE TOP TEN IRISH POLITICAL SONGS

31

Talkin’ Bout a Revolution TRACY CHAPMAN

Imagine JOHN LENNON

Blowin’ in the Wind BOB DYLAN

anphoblacht NEXT ISSUE OUT – Thursday 29th October 2015

32

IN PICTURES

photos@anphoblacht.com

5 Martina Anderson MEP meets Syrian refugees in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan – see page 27

5 Sinn Féin West Belfast MP Paul Maskey speaks at a proindependence rally in Barcelona on Catalonia National Day

5 Clerys department store workers demand a meeting with the store's new owners to discuss the purchase and its consequences

5 Sinn Féin reps and staff at the party's 'think-in' in Meath ahead of the return of the institutions

5 Máirtín Ó Muilleoir MLA addresses a commemoration at the spot where Fian Jim Templeton was gunned down by the UVF in 1975

5 Thomas Kent's coffin is brought into the church ahead of his reinterment in Castlelyons – see page 20

5 Mid-Ulster MP Francie Molloy, Minister for Agriculture Michelle O'Neill MLA and Dáil Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD with a group 5 TV star 'Judge Judy' Sheindlin drops into the Mansion House in of Tyrone MLAs and councillors following the Tyrone Volunteers Commemoration at Pomeroy Dublin to meet Sinn Féin Ard Mhéara Críona Ní Dhálaigh

5 Flowers outside Store Street Garda Station in Dublin mark the 10th anniversary of the death in custody of 20-year-old Terence Wheelock.

His family are still campaigning for an independent public inquiry into his death