An Phoblacht, Issue 2 - 2019 edition

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ANOTHER EUROPE IS POSSIBLE |TREO EILE DON EORAIP FUNDED BY THE EUROPEAN UNITED LEFT/NORDIC GREEN LEFT (GUE/NGL)

• Sinn Féin MEPs Martina Anderson, Matt Carthy, Lynn Boylan and Liadh Ní Riada

GUE/NGL in the European Parliament Martina Anderson MEP, the leader of the Sinn Féin group in the European Parliament, is continuing her work on Brexit, lobbying across the Parliament to make MEPs aware of the need to protect the Good Friday Agreement, the peace process and avoid a hard border.

She has also been building support for Irish unity across the parliament, hosting delegations from across the north involving people who will be impacted by Brexit.

Anderson has also hosted GUE/NGL events across the north to provide the public with updates on what is happening with Brexit and also on how the EU can help Irish reunification.

Anderson said, “The Tory Brexiteers are again attempting to seek to limit the backstop and the role of the ECJ. That is unacceptable. The EU and the Irish government need to stand firm on what has already been agreed. Sinn Féin will be intensifying our diplomatic efforts in Europe to ensure the backstop is protected and building support for a referendum on Irish unity.”

Lynn Boylan MEP has been consistently raising environmental issues calling on the EU to take more action. The Dublin MEP said specific action was needed to tackle the influence of energy companies.

“Big Oil is the new Big Tobacco. The fossil fuel industry’s tactics have been extremely effective across the world for decades, funding climate denialism and perpetuating climate inaction.

“I am calling for Exxon and their allies to be stripped of their access badges to the European Institutions.

“This should be done immediately as a first step in kicking the fossil fuel industry completely out of the decision making process,” Boylan said.

Standing up for Ireland on Brexit, the environment, big oil, neutrality and tax Lynn Boylan also said Europe needs to take action on climate change. Discussing her work on the issue, she said, “I addressed the Parliament during the climate change debate calling out the groups that have been consistently weakening climate ambition at EU level. I am glad that the progressive forces in the Parliament have been able to overcome the climate laggards and reassert that the European Parliament wants the EU to take much more radical action on climate”.

Grúpa Cónasctha den Chlé Aontaithe Eorpach • den Chlé Ghlas Nordach

GRÚPA PARLAIMINTEACH EORPACH

www.guengl.eu Liadh Ní Riada has again expressed her concern over the increasing militarisation of the EU and warned of the threat it poses to Irish neutrality. The Ireland South MEP has continually campaigned against Permanent Structured Cooperation in the European Parliament, claiming it will lead to a militarised EU. Ní Riada said, “The militarisation agenda is already well underway. Fine Gael are actively undermining Irish neutrality at an EU level while Fianna Fáil, as we saw with PESCO, are happy to support their coalition partners when it comes to undermining it at home.

“Funding of €500 million will be reallocated from other programmes in 2019 and 2020 to fund

the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP). Worse still, the EDIDP is only the precursor to the much larger European Defence Fund, a €13 billion military funding scheme.

“It is crucial that we defend our neutrality.

Ireland’s position of neutrality not only defends us but can act as bulwark in Europe against the insidious militarisation of the EU. It can be an example and a starting point for how we work towards disarmament, conflict resolution, and the promotion of peace and stability,” she said.

Matt Carthy MEP is continuing with his campaign to clean up the finances of the EU, tackling tax avoidance and tougher regulation of the EU system.

Specifically, he said the EU needs to take action on global companies based in Ireland who are exploiting loopholes to pay less tax.

“Once again, international newspaper headlines will be characterising Ireland as a tax haven. This is doing serious damage to our reputation as a destination for investment, and it is causing anger among the leaders and the ordinary people of countries around the world who see us as siphoning off the funds that they want to see collected by their public revenue agencies.

“GUE/NGL in the Parliament has also investigated Apple’s new tax arrangements following the state aid investigation, and found that with the help of the Irish government, Apple has created a new structure that has allowed it to gain a tax write-off against almost all of its non-US sales profits. This has allowed it to pay as little as one per cent tax on its profits in the EU,” he said.

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#Yes4Unity ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2019 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2

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Egalitarian principles

Workers’ rights All-island home building plan Good Friday Agreement Border poll

Economic dignity

Muintir na hEireann

What kind of freedom

Tackling poverty

Forbairt na tuaithe Education

Resource democracy Social investment

Citizens at the heart of decision-making

Growth

New challenges Transforming north and South

Cherishing all the children

All Ireland health service

Díospóireacht ionraic United Ireland economy

Justice Wages Cearta teanga Inclusion Build a new Ireland Honest debate Respect for all Ceartas sóisialta Green New Deal A new constitution Aontacht na hEireann Saoirse pholaitiúil Ending partition Free health care A shared Ireland Social housing strategy Minority rights Rural development Demand for Irish unity is growing Reifreann Gender rights Language rights Reform local democracy People Comhionannas Rent controls

A vision for a new Ireland

Time for

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rights

Public transport

Saoirse cainte

Democratic people centred

Civic forum

Productivity Democracy Jobs

Safeguarding rights Dignified standard of living

contents clár

UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2019 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

LEADING hÉireann THE STRUGGLE FOR RURAL IRELAND Aontacht na

Luke Callinan defines the fault lines in the battle for survival of rural Ireland and the fundamental economic change needed to save it.

Published by Sinn Féin, 44 Parnell Square, Dublin 1. Printed by Masterphoto, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.

Aontacht na hÉireann AN PHOBLACHT Editor: Robbie Smyth An Phoblacht is published

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 www.anphoblacht.com

We can fix the legacy of partition Pearse Doherty dispels the myths and misconceptions of a united Ireland economy.

A transformed Ireland is the constitutional prize

Pearse Doherty Colin Harvey

Dr Thomas Paul Burgess Micheál Mac Donncha Pat Sheehan

David Gibney

Conor D McGuinness Robbie Smyth

Johnny McGibbon Sinéad Ní Bhroin Megan Fearon Brian Carty

Maurice Quinlivan Conor Kostick

Martina Anderson

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Colin Harvey believes that it possible to establish a new Ireland where all feel respected and welcome.

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In a world where, ‘the Union is terminally ill’, Dr Thomas Paul Burgess agues that ‘In short, nothing less than a bold ‘reimagining’ of the national question is required’.

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Micheal Mac Donncha offers a first response to the Burgess article.

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Imagining a New Ireland from the tradition of Protestant dissent Getting to the new Ireland

An all-Ireland national health service

Pat Sheehan makes the case for linking health services on the island. A free quality universal healthcare system is within reach.

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We need a new country

‘Developing principles and building independent structures that put people at the heart of a new Ireland is the best way to achieve unity’, writes MANDATE’s David Gibney.

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Conor McGuinness: an féidir an Ghaeilge a athbheochan in Éirinn nua

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Robbie Smyth outlines the history of the Irish news media’s united Ireland fixation in opinion poll surveys.

29

Johnny McGibbon ar chuid de na mórdhúshláin roimh an náisiúnachas

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Sinn Féin lead the campaign to readmit Britain to the EU post the economic collapse that Brexit wreaks on the British economy. All from the mind of Sinead Ni Bhroin.

36

Megan Fearon spells out why, “We can’t be “a bit equal”, equality is an all or nothing concept”.

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Ceist teanga in Éirinn Aontaithe The united Ireland question

CONTRIBUTORS

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SEE PAGE

Ar thairseach an athraithe

Postcards from a New Republic

Why International Women’s day mattes more than ever

Partition has become an International issue

Luke Callinan

Writing from Brussels, Brian Carty explains the behind the scenes manoeuvres around the Brexit negotiations.

39

‘No element of life on earth will be untouched by climate change’.

Megan Fearon makes the case for an all-Ireland Green New Deal.

41

Maurice Quinlivan writes on how remembering the Limerick Soviet and the Democratic Programme affords an opportunity today to reclaim a vision of a better Ireland.

43

A ‘Green New Deal’ for Ireland?

The Limerick Soviet remembered

Ireland 1918-22: The people’s revolution

The battle for survival of rural Ireland is underway.

Let’s not just be on the right side of that struggle, let’s lead it

“The start of an avalanche of acts of popular rebellion”. Historian Conor Kostick explores a critical period in Ireland’s revolutionary history. 45

We cannot turn a blind eye to the Mediterranean migrant crisis

311 migrants had died at sea in the Mediterranean by the end of March. Martina Anderson explains how we are all complicit.

anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2019 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

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EDITORIAL

anphoblacht EAGARTHÓIREACHT

A united Ireland in our lifetime

T

his is the goal for all Irish republicans. But let’s be clear what this united Ireland is not. It is not some utopian dream of a magical mystical green island, where political unity magically wipes the slate

clean of the many inequalities, injustices, problems and issues undermining

ROBBIE SMYTH editor@anphoblacht.com

society north and south. Creating a better Ireland is going to be a difficult task.

The republican united Ireland is not a Dáil takeover. It is not a question of the North joining the south. There will be no ‘Super Dáil’. However, what if there was a transition to a genuinely representative consensual Irish parliament or assembly? How would we structure that assembly? What if there was a local government system that put power and resources back into the

The republican united Ireland is not a Dáil takeover. It is not a question of the North joining the south.

There will be no ‘Super Dáil’.

However, what if there was a transition to a genuinely representative consensual Irish parliament or assembly?

hands of communities? Luke Callinan takes on this issue and the imbalances in economic development that have neglected rural Ireland in his article.

What if there was a national health service for the island, where quality medical care would be delivered free to all? What if there was a housing strategy that bypassed the banks in league with vulture funds and profiteering vested interests? What if planning was truly in the hands of communities best equipped to take these decisions. Pearse Doherty outlines a vision for an allIreland economic policy, which has at its heart a commitment to job creation and a guarantee of economic dignity for all.

The ‘to do’ list for this new Ireland is vast. There is so much to be done.

There is unfinished business on a range of equality issues beginning with gender, but encompassing many other areas.

There are whole communities, families, children, who have been written off by the failed institutions that govern this island north and south. A republican united Ireland would be the sum of all the people of Ireland. It would prioritise a campaign to finally tackle the poverty that has blighted this island for centuries.

Finally, there is a climate change crisis to be faced up to. What better example than this of a need for a united Ireland strategy. This edition includes a range of voices and opinions on a united Ireland, including Colin Harvey, Paul Burgess, Mícheál Mac Donncha, Dave Gibney, John McGibbon and Brian Carty. I hope you find views that interest and challenge you.

Let’s get to work on promoting the idea, starting the conversation on what that better Ireland could be. 

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ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2019 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

THE BATTLE FOR

SURVIVAL

OF RURAL IRELAND

BY LUKE CALLINAN No One Shouted Stop: Death of an Irish Town was the 1988 title of Irish Times journalist John Healy’s seminal book dealing with the decline of Charlestown, a town in East Mayo familiar to anyone who has travelled the N17 from Sligo to Galway. The book was particularly concerned with this case study of social and economic degeneration in the west, but also the destructive impact of emigration on the vitality of rural communities more generally.

Anyone who lives in rural Ireland will tell you that the sentiment expressed here can be felt in towns and villages all over the country, but it is particularly pronounced in the west.

The Democratic Programme of the first Dáil provided the ideological basis for a truly all-Ireland and radical egalitarian agenda that would deal with the legacy of British rule. Since partition, however, the economic development of the 26 counties has been dictated by successive conservative and sycophantic administrations

The battle for survival of Rural Ireland is underway. Let’s not just be on the right side of that struggle, let’s lead it that quickly abandoned the political aspirations of the revolutionary period when in power. The past half century or so has been particularly marred by a post-colonial and reactionary approach to economic policy.

The nature of industrial development over the past 50 years, but particularly since the 1980s has only served to widen the gap in this state between east and west, urban and rural.

An ERSI report published in January 2018 attests to this. It argues that excessive concentration of economic activity in Dublin is having a negative effect on the economic performance of the state as a whole.

It also predicts that, without intervention, Dublin itself will actually anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2019 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

• Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy standing up against evictions in Roscommon last December

increase its share of jobs between now and 2040, widening the gap further.

This spatial concentration of economic activity in the urban east coincides with a recent intensification of stripping back funding for public services and transferring decision-making powers further away from rural communities. People have witnessed post offices, Garda stations, schools and A&E units close in their communities.

Many public service responsibilities once under the control of the local authorities such as waste collection, general maintenance, water services and aspects of planning, have been centralised, privatised or both.

Central government in the 26 counties now accounts for a higher 3

proportion of total government spending than almost any other EU country. Economist Michael Taft has shown how in the EU-15, central government constitutes approximately 54% of all government spending while in Ireland it accounts for 95%.

Funding from central government to local authorities in 2018 totalled around €1.7 billion. This compares with €5.8 billion in 2008 – a 71% drop in 10 years. From 2011–2018, five local authorities have had funding cuts of over 50% - Roscommon, Donegal, Galway, Sligo and Offaly.

This reduction has resulted in extremely poor road surfaces, an inability to meet critical housing and maintenance requirements as well as an inability to invest in community services such as men’s sheds, youth services and care for the elderly. The fact that during this period the funding for Dublin City Council and South Dublin County Council increased by 12% and 28% respectively makes these cut backs an even more bitter pill to swallow.

It’s not just availability of local funding that’s lacking in rural areas, but also local powers. A 2014 study carried out by the University

In the EU-15, central government constitutes approximately 54% of all government spending while in Ireland it accounts for 95% of Lausanne which aimed at measuring the autonomy of local government across Europe found that Ireland had the least. Moldova was second worst. The strongest local authorities were found in Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden, and Norway.

Theresa Reidy of UCC found in her study of local democracy that Ireland has some of the highest ratios of people to councillors, with one councillor for every 5,000 people. This compares to one councillor per 1,700 people in the Netherlands, one per 1,200 in Denmark, one per 800 in Belgium, and one for every 410 in Finland.

The scrapping of public elections to the board of Údarás na Gaeltachta in 2012 was an undemocratic step that broke the link between that organisation and the public it is responsible to.

Established in 1980, Údarás na Gaeltachta is the regional authority responsible for the economic, social and cultural development of the Gaeltacht. There has been an overall cut of 75% in funding to that body since 2008, which tells its own tale.

But people who live and work in rural Ireland don’t need empirical research to know this. The daily lived impact is unmistakeable. When someone in a rural community leaves full time

Recent trends | 25

EMPLOYMENT BY REGION 1988-2016

FIGURE 3.10 EMPLOYMENT BY REGION, 1988 - 2016 700

'000s

600

Border

500

Midland

400

West

300

Dublin Mid-East

200

Mid-West

100

South-East

0

South-West

Source: CSO Quarterly National Household Survey and CSO Labour Force Survey.

4

Source: Note:

CSO Quarterly National Household Survey and CSO Labour Force Survey.

Data refer to the second quarter of each year. The data are defined using the2ILO definition.

Employment to the resident ISSUE NUMBER – 2019 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 relates anphoblacht population in employment.

Projections | 57 family brutally evicted from their home in Co Roscommon late last year, the campaign against septic tank charges in 2012, the protests TABLE 4.6B EMPLOYMENT AND PROJECTEDagainst EMPLOYMENT

BY SECTOR AND REGIONAL a ban on domestic turf-cutting and a range of localised ASSEMBLY, 2016 AND 2040 (‘000S)campaigns demanding investment in public infrastructure and the retention of local services point to a people aware of the threat faced communities Northern andby theirEastern andand who are prepared to struggle for their survival.

Sector Southern State Western Midland All of this raises a fundamental challenge for anyone seeking a alternative on this island.

Traded Sector 2016 89.8 radical, republican 338.6 193.8If the genuine desire 622.2 exists for a solution to the deepening regional imbalance in this 2040 108.8 state, this requires 427.9 247.0 policy approach783.6 a far-reaching and nuanced not only grounded in a proper understanding of rural communities but Non-Traded Sector 2016 158.9 425.8 301.4 886.1 offering a practical plan for economic progress in Ireland outside the 2040 223.2 M50.

594.9 424.3 1,242.4 We are not short of expert recommendations. Shucksmith and Government Sector 2016 85.7 Rønningen have259.4 161.6 506.7 argued, for example, that small farms’ role in rural 2040 118.4 sustainability should 321.4be universally recognised 207.8 as a progressive, 647.6 post neoliberal alternative rather than as a pre-modern obstacle to • Local against evictions in 334.4 rural TotalSinn Féin representatives protesting 2016 1023.8 2,015.0 economic efficiency and productivism.656.8 Ireland Sinn Féin has continually called for rural proofing legislation. The 2040 450.3 1344.2 879.1 2,673.7 education, it is expected that they will go to Dublin in search of work party’s New Deal for the West plan outlines recommendations such – but it could just as easily be London, New York, Toronto or Sydney. the bottom-up co-operative and Labour Force 2016 363.9 as expansion of 1116.4 718.0sector; retention 2,198.2 If their car breaks down, it’s more likely than not that there will be no extention of the services provided by An Post; investing in key pieces 482.4 of infrastructure 1468.9 958.7 2,910.0 bus or train to get them to work or school.2040 If an elderly family member for the west such as airports, deep-sea ports and needs to get to hospital urgently, there’s no guarantee that an upgraded roads; introducing a returning emigrants/diaspora rural ambulance will come on time. If there’s a serious crime committed in resettlement scheme; and the retention in public ownership of all key Source: Author’s calculations. their community, the Garda response will be delayed due to closure public service provision so that these are not at the whim of a private Note: Employment relates to the resident population in employment. of the station in their village. enterprise’s profit margins.

An innate sense of social and emotional freedom in rural Ireland The work before us in the battle for survival of rural Ireland is is also obscured by an official narrative of one-dimensional socially considerable. To bring about these changes is not only to reject conservative communities. thethe fundamental model in inherent in any state adhering to The labour force projections arising out of modeleconomic are shown Figure 4.7 and Historically, rural Ireland has been the backbone of many the fiscal rules of the European Union, it is to directly contradict the revolutionary movements and has moulded countless a progressive Table 4.6.

These indicate growing labour but that growth slowsforces after deeply force, embedded reactionary and conservative that have thinkers. Over the past 200 years rural communities have produced dictated public policy in this state since its inception.

2030.

The republican population projections imply aNostronger surge in the labour force in some of Ireland’s most radical activists and writers such one should have to ask who the political custodians of Rural as Michael Davitt, Mairtín Ó Cadhain, Peadar O’Donnell, Liam Ó Ireland Irish republicans and revolutionaries have full stood with the Dublin than in other regions initially, but thisare.levels off gradually.

Over the Flaithearta and Jimmy Gralton. downtrodden, the marginalised and the mass of the people against Today there are many signs of hope for the rural participation projection horizon theawakening labourofforce rates behind the projection are The battle colonialism, and oppression of all kinds throughout history.

Ireland to the destructive nature of the economic and political for survival of Rural Ireland is underway. Let’s not just be on the right expected converge. systems in which we live. The to mobilisation in support of a farming side of that struggle, let’s lead it. 

ACTUAL AND PROJECTED LABOUR FORCE BY REGION 1914-2040 FIGURE 4.7 ACTUAL AND PROJECTED LABOUR FORCE BY REGION, 1994 - 2040 Labour Force 900

Border

'000s

800 700

Midland

600

West

500

Dublin

400

Mid-East

300

Mid-West

200

South-East

100

South-West

1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026 2028 2030 2032 2034 2036 2038 2040

0

Source: CSO Quarterly National Household Survey and author’s calculations.

Source:

CSO Quarterly National Household Survey and author’s calculations.

anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2019 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

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PEARSE DOHERTY, the Sinn Féin spokesperson on Finance and Public Expenditure outlines the economic challenges facing the island economy as a result of Brexit. Pearse makes the case for a referendum on Irish unity with the prize of a transformation in economic policy across the island, and a democratic people centred united Ireland economy the centrepiece of a new Ireland.

IRISH UNITY IS FRONT AND CENTRE IN POLITICAL DEBATE In recent months, we have witnessed a farcical political drama unfold at Westminster. In this production, the people of this island are expected to play the part of the bumbling fool, patiently waiting for the British government and MPs across Westminster to agree a clear and realistic path forward.

It will be no surprise to Irish people absorbed in this drama that, though they may feel like mere spectators, their lives and livelihoods are completely intertwined in whatever Britain decides to do.

This is the case today, as it was on 23rd June 2016 when millions of British voters made a judgement that was completely contrary to the wishes of the people of Ireland.

And yet, unless something drastic changes, Brexit will profoundly alter the lives of citizens on this island, especially those living in the north of Ireland.

It is unsurprising, then, that the issue of Irish unity has been placed front and centre in the political mainstream. As both a protection of the identity and democratic wishes of northern citizens, and a logical solution to the Brexit impasse, the prospect of Irish reunification has found many new, and sometimes unlikely, plaudits.

Central to this discourse are the economics of a united Ireland – who would be better off and why, what would communities stand to gain?

This is a discussion that should fill every home in Ireland. It is urgent, it is real, and now more than ever it requires people to understand the facts around the economics of unity, and dispel the myths and misconceptions.

This piece should be taken as a small, but hopefully convincing, contribution to that debate.

THE NORTH OF IRELAND – A STORY OF MISMANAGEMENT AND DECLINE Perhaps those most in need of convincing are those of a unionist background from the north of Ireland.

Put simply, the partition of Ireland and the maintenance of the union with Britain have been calamitous for those on the northern side of the border, regardless of their background.

Pre-partition, Belfast was the beating industrial and productive heart of the island. The city’s renowned shipbuilding and

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• Shipbuilding was the engine of industry on the island of Ireland

manufacturing prowess was the engine of industry on the island of Ireland – fully 70% of Ireland’s productive output was from the six counties that would soon be partitioned.

Today, this booming industrial hub is little more than a spectre of centuries past. For decades the economy in the north of Ireland was managed and directed in the interests of a few. A small class of wealthy men, whose personal fortunes were tied with the British Empire, ensured that Catholics and working-class Protestants would serve them.

Belfast fell into a long decline. Discrimination, exclusion, and mismanagement saw the northern economy fall well short of its potential, never a fully integrated part of the British economy, and divorced entirely from the burgeoning economy in the south.

The 26-Counties emerged as a sovereign state endowed with the ability to fully determine its own economic affairs, and chart ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2019 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

The economics of a

UNITED IRELAND ECONOMY an independent economic course. Despite the overwhelming challenges facing the 26-County Irish economy, and though many of these challenges were caused by successive Cumann na nGaedheal and Fianna Fáil governments, the state was still able to formulate an independent economic strategy. No one can credibly claim that the overarching macroeconomic decisions made in London were made in any form of consultation with the people of the north of Ireland.

Citizens in north were an afterthought, if they were spared any thought at all. Their interests were spurned and rejected, and the denial of full autonomy to create economic policy in the sole • Citizens in the north were an afterthought, if they were spared any thought at all

interests of the north of Ireland rendered its citizens vassal onlookers beholden to the whims of Westminster – in the present Brexit context, I wonder does any of this sound familiar?

FIXING THE LEGACY OF PARTITION All of this is important, because it places the impact of partition squarely in a long history of neglect, waste and economic mismanagement imposed on the north by Britain.

Proponents of the Union with Britain must answer why the former economic engine of Ireland, its north-eastern most six counties, now bears some of the highest rates of poverty and deprivation anywhere on these islands.

They must explain why a century of division and partition has produced such shockingly poor economic outcomes. They must contend with the fact that wages, economic growth, and productivity in the north of Ireland are lower than in any region in Ireland or Britain – even before the full impact of Brexit is truly felt.

Deployed as if it serves the purpose of a logical argument, opponents of Irish unity will point to a fiscal deficit in the north, without asking why or how this deficit has developed in what was once the wealthiest portion of Ireland.

Do they expect that the deficit will improve when the north of Ireland is dragged out of the EU against its will, loses access to huge tariff-free export markets, suffers job losses and a huge loss of

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anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2019 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

# Tá3 2

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potential economic growth? The British government’s own analysis confirms a no-deal will result in a loss of 12% of GDP. As we face into a chaotic Brexit the facts of the north’s economic history since partition are often overlooked. The essence of the pro union argument is that: the northern economy has been forced into a decline so significant that it is now in fiscal deficit, and it should therefore stay hooked to one of the slowest growing economies in the world. It must plod on with no real fiscal or monetary powers, and with major economic policy forever set in Britain in the interests of Britain. Indeed, the north must now also continue to endure all of this outside of the EU. I’ll let you as informed readers assess the credibility of this argument now in 2019.

THE IRISH ECONOMY In utter contrast, the economy in the south of Ireland has been completely transformed since partition. The population in the south of Ireland is the youngest in Europe. There is a higher proportion of people in the south of Ireland with a 3rd level qualification than in most other countries in the world. Irish citizens have reimagined their island as a liberal, tolerant and outward looking society, attracting talent and ideas from around the world.

These are among many reasons why the Irish economy is the fastest growing in Europe, at 6.7% of GDP, and one of the fastest

Wages, economic growth, and productivity in the north of Ireland are lower than in any region in Ireland or Britain – even before the full impact of Brexit is truly felt growing in the developed world. The British economy meanwhile remains mired in a state of stagnant productivity and rock-bottom growth of just over 1%. It is fundamentally imbalanced and unequal, with bankers in the City of London exacting more influence over economic policy in Westminster than all of the people in the north of Ireland.

As a republican, however, I do not believe the Irish economy is without fault. I passionately believe in building an island where economic growth involves all citizens, guarantees a living wage and a dignified standard of living, protects the environment, and funds world-class public services such as a universal health service, low-

carbon transport and a cutting-edge education system.

Successive Irish governments have singularly failed to manage economic growth in a way that creates this type of society.

The point, however, is that the Irish economy is one of the wealthiest on the planet per capita, and growing. If the political will existed, if a Sinn Féin government could direct economic policy, it has the capacity and available resources to invest in the creation of a modern, equal, and prosperous all-Ireland republic, capable of unlocking the full potential of every community on the island.

Moreover, as members of the EU, a united Ireland would be more than able to draw upon hundreds of billions of euros from European investment funds to develop the northern economy by investing in infrastructure and improved productivity.

This is urgently needed, of course, to reverse the Westminster imposed path of decline. However, the ranks of the British establishment remain gripped by a Thatcherite obsession that has seen relentless attacks on the vulnerable and on basic public services, with citizens in the north paying a heavy price for constant austerity. This is a course set to continue post-Brexit, when assistance and investment for people in the north will be needed most.

With this in mind, the question before voters in the north of Ireland, especially those considering the future viability of the maintenance of the union with Britain, is whether they can afford to maintain this union for much longer?

FACING CHALLENGES TOGETHER Because Brexit is just one of many significant challenges we must tackle, and that Ireland must confront together. Sinn Féin is cognisant of the rapidly changing global economic landscape, and we insist that only an Ireland united can put itself at the forefront of that change.

Economies around the world will have to tackle profound challenges to how we perceive work, and how we take part in economic activity. Automation is set to replace two in every five jobs in the medium term, climate change is forcing us to invest to rapidly decarbonise our economies, and Ireland must navigate an age of rising global giants such as China, India, and the African continent.

Not only does Westminster create policy in the sole interest of Britain, they also continue to deny basic economic levers that would allow the north to flexibly and creatively respond to these huge challenges.

With strong economic prospects and with citizens in democratic control of their economy, the south of Ireland, under real and progressive political leadership, would be primed to not only react to these changes, but to have a place in shaping them. In this

Voices for Irish Unity ... Guthanna son Aontú na hÉireann ... Voices for Irish Unity ... Gut

“The time for a United Ireland is among us.

Republicans are more willing, able and determined to deliver on that front. Join Sinn Féin to bring about a United Ireland.”

I suppOrt a

United

Ireland Aontacht na

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hÉireann #Yes4Unity #Time4Unity

“Tá muid ag dul i mbun Éire nua cothrom cuimsitheach a chruthú. Tógaimis Éire nua le chéile.”

Máiread Farrell, Galway

Pádraig Ó hÉigeartaigh, Westmeath

“It’s up to our generation to finish the task to create a new and united Ireland – one which protects citizens, communities and culture and respects neutrality. An Ireland for all. It’s time for Irish unity!”

Collette McAllister, Antrim

ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2019 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

block grants and economic policies formed in Britain.

This is especially true for the border corridor, where, for almost a century, once heavily integrated communities have been incentivised to compete instead of cooperate. For almost a generation, they have used different currencies, and see a loss of income across either side of the border depending on the strength of either currency at a particular point in time.

Back-to-back development of services and infrastructure has led waste and inefficiency. Real sovereignty for workers and decisionmakers in the north would transform their ability to manage and intervene in the economy in a manner of their choosing.

THE GROWING CONSENSUS

• With Brexit looming – Sinn Féin is calling for a referendum on the reunification of Ireland

context, there are huge opportunities for the north of Ireland in this uncertain future, but not while we remain passive recipients of decisions made in London.

Elected-representatives in Belfast cannot borrow to invest, like all other successful economies on earth. It has effectively no control over its levers of taxation. Stormont is effectively handed an everdwindling piggy bank year on year in the form of a block grant, and is expected to create inclusive and sustainable economic growth with no meaningful powers.

It is simply illogical to assume that without real control over the economy, citizens in the north stand to gain from these global shifts, from a Brexit imposed upon them, or being forced to comply with

Central to all of this growing debate, however, is the clear acceptance of these myriad arguments by a growing number of influential mainstream economists, academics, commentators and financial journalists. Foremost among them are Kurt Hubner, whose economic modelling projects a massive €38bn boost for the island economy in the event of Irish unity. Paul Gosling, David McWilliams and others have outlined their straightforward and evidence-based case for how we can all prosper from Irish reunification. A large body of publicly accessible work has also dismantled false claims about the nature of the subvention in the north.

The fact is that as the debate around the economics of Irish unity becomes more fact-based, it swings decisively against the narrow and ill-informed economic miscalculations of opponents of this project.

Quite simply, with Brexit looming, and a host of existential challenges confronting Ireland and the global economy, there are really two likely and drastically conflicting futures for Ireland and our island economy.

One sees the north of Ireland linked to the fortunes of postBrexit Britain with next to no control over its economic affairs. The other, sees the north reaching its full potential as a wholesome and essential part of a united Irish economy, with more available economic powers and immediate control over how to use those powers.

Sinn Féin is calling for a referendum on the reunification of Ireland, a border poll, to put these two choices before the people of Ireland, one of potential and ambition, and the other of objective squander and wasted opportunity.

The time has come for a serious embrace of the economic benefits of Irish unity, and for an inclusive, mature and rational debate about how we can deliver them.   Pearse Doherty is a Sinn Féin TD for the Donegal constituency

thanna son Aontú na hÉireann ... Voices for Irish Unity ... Guthanna son Aontú na hÉireann ...

“In our time we now have an opportunity that has been denied to previous generations – a peaceful and democratic route to a United Ireland.”

“Together, Ireland has a brighter future. Where all our communities can be united today, for a better tomorrow.”

“I want to see a United Ireland that cherishes all of its citizens equally. A republic that stands for its most vulnerable and protects its workers.”

Néamh Ní Dhonnchadha, Cavan

Aaron O’Rourke, Dublin

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Caoimhe Ní Shluáin, Meath

“The opportunities for the North West City Region in a United #Y es4U ty Ireland areni limitless.

It’s time for unity.”

#Time4Aidy UnGlackin, ity Donegal

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A NEW IRELAND WHERE ALL FEEL RESPECTED AND WELCOME

T

BY COLIN HARVEY

here is nothing inevitable about Irish unity. How many movements in history have wrongly predicted the obviousness of their desired outcome?

How many political struggles end in failure?

Achieving the unity of this island remains a formidable challenge; the obstacles are still huge.

Brexit changes the context radically. Think about it. Arguably the most dramatic legal/ political transition since partition is occurring without agreement in the north. We know that the north does not want this; we know that the number of people who want to ‘remain’ has risen since the 2016 referendum. That the region is being removed from the EU against the wishes of a majority of its people is a striking and undeniable fact. The Brexit debacle includes the intriguing sight of the DUP pitched against leading voices in, for example, the business community.

This brings into focus the other fact: that the DUP does not speak for the north across a range of matters, including on rights and equality. Again, on this, people have been willing to make their opposition public; it will be worth watching the long-term consequences of these trends. It feels like a new era has arrived.

On Brexit, after some prompting, the three main objectives of the Irish state quickly crystallised: avoidance of a hard border; the defence of the Good Friday Agreement; and the protection of North-South co-operation.

The energy unleashed around the initial insult

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of forced removal was channelled effectively into work on a special arrangement, with views varying on interpretation and meaning.

The mobilisation around Brexit on this island has novel dimensions, with collaborations that were remarkably effective in bringing Irish concerns to the heart of the EU-UK negotiations. That should not disguise the residual feeling of an official attempt in Ireland to impose order on the chaos, by bundling the north out with a set of bespoke protections in place. As welcome as these no doubt are, for many it will not displace the profound sense that Brexit has broken something foundational about the constitutional compromises of the last few decades.

A

The DUP does not speak for the north across a range of matters, including on rights and equality

s a result, more people are now highlighting what is a reasonable point: the Good Friday Agreement already contains a mechanism for potentially dealing with many of the strategic objectives of the Irish state (just look at that list again).

But to mention this fact was to invite derision and worse (things seem to have improved on that) – the north’s part in this drama was already written, and pointing to the constitutionally obvious clearly upset some.

That includes those who are otherwise fully committed to the Agreement ‘in all its parts’.

The response should be instructive and worrying to us all. If calling for referendums on this island is cast as ‘inflammatory’ and ‘toxic’ then a central pillar of the Agreement (the ‘consent principle’) begins to look like an elaborate trick devised to lock Irish citizens

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and ‘toxic’ then y’ or at mm la ‘inf as st ca is d an isl is th on s um If calling for referend e’) begins to look like an ipl nc pri ent ns ‘co e (th nt me ree Ag e th of r la a central pil l region forever na tio nc sfu dy a o int ns ize cit h Iris k loc to d elaborate trick devise into a dysfunctional region forever. This dismissive narrative needs to be confronted for the sake of those who genuinely care about the future of the Agreement. No one on this island, or elsewhere, should be pouring scorn on the agreed vehicle to test the current status of the ‘consent principle’.

The North has a way back to the EU. This is an opportunity for an ambitious new conversation about how we share this island and what we want the future shape of the EU to be. It is welcome precisely because it will shake everyone on this island out of complacency about the existing arrangements north and south; that is a good thing. It will expose embedded vested interests across this island, and provoke establishments that will be mightily resistant to change. The opportunity is therefore a transformative discussion that energises politics across the island, with the chance of advancing a hopeful vision of a shared island within the EU that respects the human rights of all.

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to be a focused conversation within a defined timeframe. It must be preparation with determination and purpose, and the endpoint must be an agreed date for concurrent referendums on this island.

So, there is nothing preordained about the outcome; Irish unity is not necessarily inevitable. But the unity of our transformed country is the constitutional prize. Let this be the generation that finally brings the division of our island to an end; let this be the generation that establishes a New Ireland where all feel respected and welcome. 

#Yes4Unity

 Colin Harvey is Professor of Human Rights Law in the School of Law, Queen’s University Belfast.

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IMAGINING A NEW IRELAND DR THOMAS PAUL BURGESS Let us be clear from the beginning.

I was brought up on Belfast’s Shankill Road throughout the worst of the troubles. My cultural and political reference points – neither monarchist nor Loyalist – draw from the Labour movement and British working-class values.

However, be in no doubt. I am an Irishman. And I defy any nationalist or Republican to tell me otherwise.

For mine is a Dissenter creed. That of Henry Joy McCracken and James Orr. And whilst like them, I harbour an aspiration for an agreed 32-county unitary state, I do not envisage the DUP or Sinn Féin as the likely midwives to such a happy event.

To be sure, something is moribund in the body politic of the United Kingdom.

The Union is terminally ill.

Yes, there may yet be periods of remission. Even some good days when self-delusion wins out over existential inevitability.

But undeniably, Brexit and Scottish, English and Irish Nationalism are all eating away at the very fabric of the Act of Union itself.

We live in very different times from previous 20th century certainties and everything from portentous national and international events to unremitting demographic change, have ensured that Irish history marches relentlessly on.

• Protestant/Unionist/Loyalist communities are feeling the winds of change

Those who feel the winds of change most of course are the Protestant/Unionist/Loyalist communities of Northern Ireland. For more than any other community within the union, they have (or perceive that they have) most to lose.

This community have been at war to protect and preserve their constitutional and cultural status. A community who feel that the very ground beneath their feet is coveted by many of their fellow citizens who walk amongst them. And by another jurisdiction to the south, where senior politicians speak publicly of aspiration, inevitability and the fielding of candidates in their elections.

Where the Brexit vote has rendered the nationalist community

Voices for Irish Unity ... Guthanna son Aontú na hÉireann ... Voices for Irish Unity ... Gut

“A United Ireland offers us an opportunity to build a real Irish Republic.”

“The Good Friday Agreement allows for a referendum on Irish Unity. Let’s get the wheel turning and let’s have that conversation.”

Carey, nity UTipperary Yes4 #Catherine 12

#Time4Unity

“An Irish Unity Poll is the best way to ensure that no hard border will return to our country.”

Joe Kearney, Limerick

Claire Kerrane, Roscommon

“A new Ireland would give a voice to nationalists and unionists in an allIreland parliament.

Now is the time to get the conversation started.”

Ciarán Dooley, Carlow

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AN APPEAL FROM THE TRADITION OF PROTESTANT DISSENT in Northern Ireland for many, a sort of Europhile 5th column, asserting again that England’s misfortune is Ireland’s opportunity.

It is an axiom that democratically elected structures have failed both of these communities. Shared civic values and a common desire for stable, effective, devolved government have fallen foul of questionable ethics, conservative social mores and a relentless pre-occupation with identity politics and partition.

Whilst internationally, shibboleths and previous certainties come under review and revision, the immovable object of unionist intractability continues to be vexed by the irresistible force of aspirant nationalism.

We live in an age where identity politics have increasingly come to influence – even define perhaps – affairs of state, nationally and internationally.

Remainers and Brexiteers; The Alt-Right and Antifa; The ‘MeToo’ movement; The LGBT movement; ‘Black Lives Matter’; Everywhere it seems, we see struggle between the socially liberal and the socially conservative.

It would appear that western societies are more divided now than they have been in decades. There is growing extremism at both ends of the political spectrum. Politics, it seems, is no longer about what you think… but who you are.

This lining up of identities dramatically changes the democratic stakes: previously if your political party lost, other parts of your identity were not threatened, but today losing

is also often a blow to your racial, religious, regional and ideological sense of self.

Once the other party becomes an enemy rather than an opponent, winning becomes more important than the common good and compromise becomes an anathema. Such situations

It would appear that western societies are more divided now than they have been in decades.

There is growing extremism at both ends of the political spectrum.

Politics, it seems, is no longer about what you think… but who you are also promote emotional rather than rational evaluations of policies and evidence.

Making matters worse, social scientists consistently find that the most committed partisans – those who are the angriest and have the most negative feelings towards out-groups – are also the most politically engaged.

thanna son Aontú na hÉireann ... Voices for Irish Unity ... Guthanna son Aontú na hÉireann ...

“We owe it to our past generation and to our future generation to build a fairer, equal society. A better Ireland for everybody, and we can only do that through unity.”

Tara Bleeks, Mayo

“We have never had such a chance to have Ireland for the people of Ireland, and for Ireland to serve the people of Ireland. It is time to unite our country.”

“We believe that our economy, our services and our people would be best #Y esserved 4Uniintya 32-County Ireland.”

“Ireland is changing and a new future is being written. It’s our generations chance to shape our future in a new and united Ireland.”

Dáire Lamberton, Co Derry

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Pete Doherty, Monaghan

#Time4Séadhna UnLogan, ity Leitrim

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• Despite concerted attempts – clashing cultural identities remain stubbornly intractable

This inclination for groups of specific religion, race, gender or ethnicity to mobilise politically in order to advance a specific set of interests or goals – without due deference or regard to wider societal concerns – is not something new to Northern Ireland of course.

In most facets of political and civil society, Northern Ireland is still dogged by recourse to identity politics and segregated communal identification.

In that virtually unique manner in which Northern Irish politics can reduce the most complex and nuanced issues to a simple binary sectarian electoral outcome, both communities there find themselves signed up to the respective Brexit positions of the DUP and Sinn Féin. If dissent does occur within the virtually ‘Balkanised’ system of Northern Ireland, there exists no viable alternative political vehicle by which to mobilise or express it.

And despite concerted attempts by policy makers, academics and well-intentioned community activists, efforts to accommodate often clashing cultural identities in helping to define a shared future, remain stubbornly intractable.

All this of course, feeds into the wider debate fuelling the so-called ‘culture wars’ being fought for hearts, minds and the collective psyche, in establishing an acceptable post-conflict narrative. Not only for the citizens of Northern Ireland it seems, but also for interested parties from further afield, who have invested heavily in a peace process that can be used as an exemplar by others.

Faced with this scenario, the political representatives of Ulster Unionism have shown little or no capacity for adroit or imaginative responses to the unfolding dilemma. Rather, the duopoly of power sharing that passes for (sometime) governance in Northern Ireland continues to lock them into a ‘no surrender’ mind-set that is simply no longer fit for purpose.

It may now be necessary to admit that until the ‘national question’ is adequately resolved, no durable and lasting solution to governance in the region is possible. We can no longer put the ‘cart before the horse’ so to speak. Former DUP Leader, Peter Robinson has acknowledged as much.

But how to begin to do this?

In short, nothing less than a bold ‘reimagining’ of the national question is required.

In the first instance, both communities (and political parties) in Northern Ireland should be encouraged to reflect upon the changing nature of their relationships with their respective ‘Motherlands’.

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Ulster Unionists have for some time feared that British citizens generally (and the metropolitan elite in particular) show a practiced indifference to their status. Furthermore, whilst the DUP may briefly enjoy a position of influence with the British Government, they should be in no doubt that the Tory party, civil service mandarins and a considerable number of the British public, are holding their noses whilst doing business with them.

Similarly, Northern Nationalists surely (if begrudgingly) must now accept that their ‘Irishness’ is viewed in somewhat different terms to/by those citizens residing in Munster, Connaught and Leinster.

Archaic appeals to outdated notions of exclusive affinity with both British and Irish states, needs to be re-cast in terms of a common, shared agency, dictated by the uniquely historical, cultural and socio-political factors pertaining to those who live within the state of Northern Ireland.

One that adequately accommodates the complex and unique identity forged by Irish, British and regional/provincial associations. And whilst it has been the tradition of liberal left thinkers to assert that this must begin with the Protestant/ Unionist/ Loyalist community loosening their grip on the Union, the real challenge to resolving the national question in perpetuity,

Ulster Unionists have for some time feared that British citizens generally (and the metropolitan elite in particular) show a practiced indifference to their status.

Furthermore, whilst the DUP may briefly enjoy a position of influence with the British Government, they should be in no doubt that the Tory party, civil service mandarins and a considerable number of the British public, are holding their noses whilst doing business with them lies with the Catholic / Nationalist/Republican communities in Ireland, North and South.

Until recently, the attitude of respective British and Irish governments has been to consign the Irish border question to the middle or distant future, remembering no doubt, the horrors of the near past and concerned that any such re-emerging narrative would risk dangerous destabilisation.

Calls for an Irish border poll on the national question further risk reinforcing both division and democratic frustrations, by again reducing a complex and multi-faceted conundrum to a simple ‘Yes/No’ designation. (Have we learned nothing from David Cameron’s folly?)

Similarly, proponents of the ‘demographic inevitability theory’ which reduces the question of national sovereignty to a sectarian head-count, make unfounded presumptions on the preference that the nationalist community will express when (eventually) in a majority.

It is an oft-stated maxim in the Republic of Ireland – spoken from bar room to boardroom – that ironically, the biggest impediment to Irish unity, is in fact… Sinn Féin themselves.

Sectarian infused interpretations and ownership of the concept of ‘Irishness’ – where the term is given to be synonymous

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• Mary Lou McDonald addressed a civic unionism forum at Queen’s University Belfast

with ‘Catholic, nationalist, Republican’ – has done much to alienate Irish (and British) Protestants (who otherwise might be encouraged to find common cause with shared affiliations).

Therefore, central to the premise of nurturing political courage and creativity, is the rejection of the perceived dichotomy of the designations, ‘British’ and ‘Irish’. That is to say, that the two are not mutually exclusive and – in keeping with the tenets of the Good Friday Agreement – duel / joint nationality should be the accepted status of all citizens in the Province. However, perhaps a third designation – that of Northern Irish – could usefully sit alongside these fixed affiliations and be actively promoted by legislators in all civic arenas.

Writing over 45 years ago, Michael Sweetman stated plainly, what was required.

“We [in the Republic] have got to go back to 1912 and relinquish a great deal of what has happened since, in order that both parts of the country can make a new start.

He cited, “…consistent attempts to impose a narrow concept of Irishness, involving the primacy of Gaelic culture, the rejection of British strands in Irish traditions, and a particular view of history which made a virtue of fighting against Britain and a vice of defending British rule”.

We are now in a new, pending – Brexit dispensation. One that has disorientated unionists (despite their bluster) and undermined the very Union itself. Furthermore, the prospect of a far left labour party in power – with traditional ties to Sinn Féincertainly focuses the mind.

There have previously been periods when Unionism has been presented with opportunities to ‘recalibrate’ their locus on the island of Ireland, largely on their own terms and from an advantageous position of strength.

Now is another such opportunity.

History may yet judge that their interests were more threatened by the UK’s determination to do a deal with Sinn Féin/IRA than by a negotiated future with Dublin to unite Ireland under a federal arrangement.

Unionists must realise that they have a far more productive and safeguarded future with an increasingly self-confident and affluent Irish Republic, than they do with a power-sharing Sinn Féin party, who have often been antagonistic toward them, their state and their legitimate place on the island of Ireland.

To underwrite this, Irish nationalists – north and south – must

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also be prepared to re-examine and compromise treasured shibboleths established from the formation of the Irish state and before.

In doing so, a new Ireland can move forward with the imagination and courage of a state no longer mired in the politically infantile legacies of the 20th Century. Revolution and rebellion, church-state controls and post-colonial inferiority complexes must be consigned to the dustbin of history.

And what of Sinn Féin’s place in bringing about Irish unity?

While in attendance at a recent address by Mary Lou McDonald at a civic unionism forum at Queen’s University Belfast, I was struck by the president’s comments regarding the party’s lack of any unilateral ownership of a “blueprint for a unitary state”.

I wonder if she might go further? In the event of some future dispensation where political unionism tentatively discussed the parameters of a “new Ireland” with the sitting government of the day in the Republic, might Sinn Féin remove themselves from these negotiations due to the emotional and historical baggage that their party carries for that community? And instead, focus their efforts on making any new Ireland a truly inclusive and just socialist Republic for all.

In short, might she put country before party? 

 Dr Thomas Paul Burgess is Director of Youth & Community Work in The School of Applied Social Studies, University College Cork. His book, ‘The Contested Identities of Ulster Catholics’ is published by Palgrave Macmillan and his latest novel, ‘Through Hollow Lands’ by Urbane Books.

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A RESPONSE TO DR THOMAS PAUL BURGESS

IMAGINING A MAKING THE NEW IRELAND VISION A REALITY

BY MÍCHEÁL MAC DONNCHA Brought up on the Shankill, an Irishman, neither monarchist nor loyalist, aspiring to an agreed 32-county unitary state and urging Sinn Féin to focus our efforts on making any new Ireland a truly inclusive and just socialist Republic for all.

As for values drawn from the labour movement and the British working class, there is much that Sinn Féin policy has in common with the best of these – for example healthcare as a basic right, provided by the State in a national health service.

Clearly, there is a lot of common ground!

I defy anyone describing himself or herself as a nationalist or republican to say that Dr Burgess is not Irish. No true republican would ever utter such a denial.

So how do we get from our jointly held aspiration and vision to the new Ireland?

Dr Burgess has identified many of the obstacles, old and new, that stand in our way. He has described the feeling among Unionists that the ground beneath their feet is coveted, that the nationalist community in the North is a 5th column, that aspirant nationalism is an irresistible force.

His discussion of ‘identity politics’ raises much wider and largely international questions, in my view. Suffice to say here that while the modern phenomenon of so-called identity

politics is an identifiable problem, greatly amplified by social media, the ‘identity’ issues in Ireland are far from new and it is their specific historic and contemporary nature that we have to address if we are to move forward.

Interestingly, Dr Burgess argues that the duopoly of power-sharing locks Unionists into a ‘no surrender’ mind-set that is no longer fit for purpose. If this is the case then it has resulted in the DUP locking themselves – and Sinn Féin – out of power-sharing. Surely the problem is that the ‘no surrender’ mindset was there before the Good Friday Agreement and the establishment of its institutions? For all its flaws, the Agreement set up mechanisms to make co-operation possible, based on equality. The DUP stuck it for a good while but have since bailed out. To put it plainly, they can’t deal with equality.

Dr Burgess takes his argument further by stating that Unionists must realise they have a more productive and safeguarded future “with an increasingly self-confident and affluent Irish Republic, than they do with a power-sharing Sinn Féin party”.

A few things need to be said here. First, back to the obstacles to progress. Dr Burgess seems to be saying that Sinn Féin is one of the obstacles – perhaps even the biggest one - to Irish unity! His appeal to Unionists seems to be – negotiate with the Dublin government for a united Ireland so you don’t have

#Yes4Unity

• The DUP’s ‘no surrender’ mindset was there before the Good Friday Agreement and the establishment of its institutions

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ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2019 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

• Mary Lou McDonald: “It is time for an all-Ireland conversation and forum to look to the future. To plan for all possible outcomes. To define a new and united Ireland.”

to work with the nasty Shinners! That is hardly a realistic basis on which to persuade a significant enough section of Unionism to take a new approach.

Agreement to live in a new Ireland must surely begin with agreement to live with your neighbours. And that cuts both ways. Many in the unionist community do indeed work with their Sinn Féin neighbours in all walks of life, including even in political forums. Perhaps this is what the DUP fears the most.

While no community has been totally immune from the taint of

Dr Burgess seems to be saying that Sinn Féin is one of the obstacles – perhaps even the biggest one - to Irish unity! sectarianism, it has never been Sinn Féin’s position to interpret Irishness as synonymous with ‘Catholic, nationalist, Republican’.

For us, Irishness embraces all who share this island. And we have always been emphatic that the new Ireland we seek would not be simply a 32-County extension of the 26-County state.

Dr Burgess’s call for negotiations for a new Ireland is

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welcome. But to suggest that any party should exclude itself from such negotiations on the basis of how others perceive that party is pure fantasy. What if Sinn Féin called for the DUP to be excluded because of the emotional and historical baggage that party carries for the nationalist community?

Again, pure fantasy.

Working towards Irish unity is about more than simply calling for a referendum. For years, we in Sinn Féin have been calling for preparation for Irish unity, for dialogue on an all-Ireland basis, for the Irish Government to publish a Green Paper on Irish Unity, for an Oireachtas committee on the subject.

Unfortunately, successive Irish governments refused to act.

We would be much further ahead today if they had done so.

But as Dr Burgess acknowledges, Brexit has created a new reality, the Union with Britain is terminally ill. It is time for a new Union of all the people who share the island of Ireland. The call made by Mary Lou McDonald at the All-Ireland Civic Dialogue on Brexit in Dublin Castle in February is urgent: “It is time to look beyond Brexit and beyond partition. If the border cannot be mitigated, it must be removed. The demand for Irish unity is growing. Ireland north and south is changing.

Now is the time to look the future. It is time for an all-Ireland conversation and forum to look to the future. To plan for all possible outcomes. To define a new and united Ireland.” 

#Yes4Unity

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We are on the path to a free

ALL-IRELAND NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE Sinn Féin MLA and party Assembly spokesperson on Health PAT SHEEHAN outlines the shared challenges and opportunities facing the providers of health care services across the island.

“A state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity”; that is how the World Health Organisation defines health.

It is of little surprise then that the future of our health and social care system is, and will continue to be, a major talking point in the debate around a New Ireland. Unfortunately the discussion around health tends to focus on the differences between the two systems that exist on the island ie the universal public health and social care model in the north and the 2-tier public/private health system in the south. This is understandable given the importance of protecting the universal healthcare we enjoy in the north.

Sinn Féin’s position is clear, healthcare needs to be universal, free at the point of delivery, and based on need, not one’s ability to pay. We don’t want a twotier health system anywhere on the island-we want a universal healthcare system for all the people on this island. We want an all-Ireland National Health Service.

While both systems are different they share a host of

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challenges similar in nature and scale. Michelle O’Neill’s transformation plan for the health and social care system in the north Delivering Together-published in October 2016 – and the Fine Gael coalition government Sláintecare report into health in the south-published in May 2017 – when taken together clearly demonstrate the extent to which challenges facing health and social care on the island are shared.

Increasing waiting times, persistent health inequality, a growing aging population, mounting pressures on GP services, lack of care packages in the community, recruitment and retention difficulties in the health workforce and the lack of provision of mental health services, are all issues that will sound as familiar to those in Ennis as they do to those in Enniskillen.

There are strong similarities between the solutions put forward by Delivering Together and the Sláintecare strategy. Both reports advocate the need to increase prevention efforts, build capacity in primary care, provide more services in the community, improve access to health and social care, and tackle health inequalities.

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Importantly, in both cases cross-party political consensus was secured in support of the way forward.

Most significantly in the context of our goal for an allIreland NHS is the fact that Sláintecare recognises “the need to establish a universal single tier service where patients are treated on the basis of health need rather than on ability to pay” in the south. It also identifies integrated care, specifically “timely access to all health and social care according to medical need” as one of its eight fundamental principles.

The direction of travel for the health system in the south therefore is towards integrated universal health and social care system.

Michelle O’Neill’s transformation plan is about ensuring universal integrated health and social care in the north is protected and delivers better outcomes to people into the future. We are on the same path.

While the direction of travel suggests the health service in the south is moving closer towards the universal service we want to protect in the north it should be recognised that some all-Ireland and crossanphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2019 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

border health services are already in place dealing with challenges already facing services and providing better health outcomes of people on the island. The reality of these services having developed over the years, with health ministers on either side of the border that were less than enthusiastic about the development of crossborder or all-Ireland health services, is testament to the practical need for them.

The All-Ireland Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) Network is one of the best known services. A service review in 2012 concluded that heart surgery at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children was no longer sustainable because the population of the north meant that numbers of procedures carried out each year fell short of what was required of a sustainable service.

Were it not for the all-Ireland service children requiring heart surgery in the north would have had to go to Birmingham.

The issue of lack of sustainability of specialist services, whether due to a lack of patient demand or qualified staff, applies to many other services. Recently we have

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seen the loss of paediatric pathology services in the north. Those in the north who want to access this service now need to go to Liverpool. I have met with the Health and Social Care Board and they agree that an all-Ireland

We don’t want a two-tier health system anywhere on the island-we want a universal healthcare system for all the people on this island network in Paediatric Pathology is the way forward, not only to make the service available on the island for people in the north but also for the service to be more resilient and sustainable nationally.

There are many other examples of cross-border

services currently being delivered such as the radiotherapy unit in the North West or the Memorandum of Understanding between ambulance services in covering the border region. And much more potential for providing specialised services for everyone on the island such as Deep Brain Stimulation where patients requiring it in the north are referred to Britain.

What needs to be recognised is that an All-Ireland service is not an un-realistic aspiration. On the contrary, health and social care sectors recognise the need for more cross-border and all-Ireland services and moves are afoot in the south towards integrated and universal care. So in principle an All-Ireland service makes clear sense.

Realising an all-Ireland universal health and social care service to its full potential can only be done in the context of a New Ireland delivering a truly National Health Service for the island.  Pat Sheehan is a Sinn Féin MLA for the West Belfast constituency

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ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2019 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

A NATIONAL HEALTHCARE STRATEGY FOR IRELAND

SINN FÉIN’S PROPOSALS STRENGTHEN COOPERATION AS A FOUNDATION FOR IRISH UNITY

SUPPORTING THE TRANSITION TO A UNITED IRELAND



Introduce a single, integrated hospital waiting list management system for the island of Ireland where people can move from one hospital to another to reduce waiting times.

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An all-Ireland Integration Committee to make preparations for the establishment of a National Health Service body, subsuming the functions currently carried out by the HSE in the South and the NHS in the North

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Introduce a new IT system across the island based on the one in use in the Portuguese NHS which would generate new maximum waiting times by transferring those on the list from hospitals that are struggling to meet demand to those that are in a better position to perform the procedure more timely.

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An all-Ireland Integration Committee to make preparations for the establishment of an all-Ireland Department of Health under the auspices of an all-Ireland parliament which would have direct responsibility for the delivery of health services through the new NHS body

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An all-Ireland National Health Service to put in place a definitive plan to complete the process of combining all services into the new all-Ireland model. The Strengths of a United Ireland for Healthcare

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Continued access to citizens in North to the European Health Insurance Scheme.

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Widen the individual areas of cooperation between the jurisdictions both in border areas and in areas of specialist medical practice.

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Prioritise the establishment of an Implementation Body in the areas of health promotion and healthcare provision.

Ensure all-Ireland recognition of health qualifications and standards.

THE STRENGTHS OF A UNITED IRELAND FOR HEALTHCARE 

Universal provision of healthcare, accessed when needed, free at the point of delivery and funded through general taxation for all citizens across the entire island



Better services at local and national level



Greater critical mass leading to more viable specialist services

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Writing in a personal capacity MANDATE Communications Officer DAVID GIBNEY, outlines the economic and social foundations that need to be built for a truly just, equal and democratic Ireland to be become possible.

A united Ireland is “inevitable,” apparently.

Supposedly Brexit has seen to that. But if there’s a lesson to be drawn from the Brexit referendum, whether you’re a remain or a leave supporter, it’s that a comprehensive discussion needs to take place about what a united Ireland would look like post-ballot.

Having a border poll which asks whether you’d like a united Ireland, irrespective of what that united Ireland would look like, is dangerous and pointless in equal measure.

What we don’t need is a merging of two failed states. What we do need, north and south, is the creation of a brand new Ireland based on egalitarian principles.

That means a brand new constitution that’s built from the ground up. It must be truly secular, respect all ethnicities, cultures, religions and put the rights of people ahead of the rights of property.

In 2016, I met the authors of the Modeling Irish Unification report — undertaken by Canadian consultancy KLC and University of British Columbia academics. They presented their report which stated that “Irish unification could boost all-island GDP in the first eight years by as much as €35.6bn.”

The report, of course, was predicated on the adoption of a 12.5% corporation tax rate across the whole island. So I asked: “did you look at any models of adopting the 20%

We need more than a border poll – we need a new country

BY DAVID GIBNEY

corporation rate which applies to the north.”

“No”, was the unequivocal answer.

As usual, it is assumed a united Ireland is about adopting the Republic’s economic system, including taxation measures.

Logically this must include the social implications that come with those measures: massive homelessness; elongated healthcare waiting lists; expensive medical fees, large classrooms, low-paid jobs and devastating economic inequality.

The two failed entities that emerged following partition are products of deliberate division by elites for their own benefit.

The divisions are a convenient distraction from the real issues we should be tackling, particularly economic inequality.

The Institute for Public Health in Ireland (IPH) in an all-island report stated that the reason 5,400 people die from preventable deaths on this island every year is due to economic inequality.

For example, if you’re born into a wealthy household who can afford to send you to a private school with low numbers of students in your class, this can ensure you have a greater chance of making it to university.

Once there, your life expectancy goes up to 81.3 years while those with a primary education would live to 73.3, eight years less.

You often hear people say they would give

Voices for Irish Unity ... Guthanna son Aontú na hÉireann ... Voices for Irish Unity ... Gut

“Irish Unity makes sense - economically, socially & politically.

Partition fails everybody.”

ty UniLouth Ruairís4 Ó Murchú, #Ye 22

#Time4Unity

“We are now closer than ever to our ultimate political goal – a United Ireland. Men, women and children from all over Ireland, all 32 counties, have a part to play.”

“As a teacher, I can see the negative impact partition has had on our education system, not to mention our health system, our justice system and our transport system. It’s time for unity!”

Fionnuala Leonard, Fermanagh

Lorcán Mac Eoin, Longford

“It is about much more than simply uniting the north and south together – it is about making sure every citizen has a place, regardless of their race, religion, gender or sexuality. Equal rights and equal opportunities for all.”

Chris McManus, Sligo

ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2019 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

Talks about what a UI should look like in order to work, and different sectors in a UI such as housing, education and prioritisation of water, oil & gas reserves.

up everything just to have one more day with their parents or a loved one. In reality, many of us have been denied almost 10 years with a loved one due to the present system of economic inequality.

WHAT SHOULD A UNITED IRELAND LOOK LIKE?

Winning a united Ireland isn’t a foregone conclusion. Convincing the people of the north to sacrifice their NHS for the southern healthcare system will fail. Trying to convince people in the south that they should pay €9bn per year to subsidise the north will also fail. Only a unifying campaign with objectives that benefit working people will succeed.

In this respect, focus should be given to a number of key policy areas: jobs and decent work; health; housing; education, national resources and democracy.

What we don’t need is a merging of two failed states. What we do need, north and south, is the creation of a brand new Ireland based on egalitarian principles

JOBS AND DECENT WORK

The new ‘Banded Hour Contracts’ legislation applied in the south – following much good

work from Sinn Féin TD David Cullinane TD – must be applied in a united Ireland. It outlaws zero-hour contracts and provides workers with secure hours and incomes allowing them to plan their lives better.

Workers should be afforded the right to representation by a trade union of their choice as part of an expansion of democracy into the workplace. Trade unions should also have a right to access workplaces to discuss issues affecting workers, similar to laws in place in Australia and New Zealand.

We also need to incentivise worker-owned cooperatives and alternative business ownership models. In order to ensure equal access to the workplace, a united Ireland should provide full access to childcare facilities.

HEALTH

Access to adequate healthcare should not be dependent on income. A united Ireland health policy should encompass the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of all, with

thanna son Aontú na hÉireann ... Voices for Irish Unity ... Guthanna son Aontú na hÉireann ...

“A Referendum on Irish Unity is no longer a matter of if but when – it’s in our grasp!”

Kevin McColgan, Co Tyrone

“A United Ireland is the only way forward for the people on this island. It is now time for the people of Ireland to start engaging to make this a reality.”

“The Good Friday Agreement is a peaceful and democratic pathway to Irish Unity. Without unity, our people in the north are at risk of being left behind”

Donna Dee McGettigan, Clare

anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2019 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

“To unite Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter. Reconciling the orange and green is our duty. An inclusive, progressive and united Ireland is getting closer every day.”

#Yes4Unity

Seán Maher, Offaly

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Education is a route out of poverty and fees-based access can lock out working class people, leading to reduced life expectancies and other social problems. A united Ireland should aim to have the lowest teacher to student ratio in Europe.

special focus on care of children and elders.

Incentives to the private healthcare industry should be ceased in favour of investment in a universal healthcare system. A service, free at the point of use, would provide the highest possible level of care for all citizens, irrespective of social or economic factors.

NATIONAL OWNERSHIP

HOUSING

Homelessness across all parts of Ireland has been increasing having doubled since 2000 in the North. It is obscene that while 10,000 people are homeless in the south, successive governments prioritised tax cuts for corporations and high-income households worth a cumulative €10 billion.

This could have built 50,000 public houses.

The increased commodification of housing must be reversed and the provision of adequate shelter for all should be seen as an investment in our people and our economy.

A united Ireland should impose rent controls, ban economic evictions, implement income-based accommodation options and commence an all-island home building plan.

EDUCATION

The counterrevolutionaries who won out after southern independence haven’t gone away, you know

The provision of education should be truly free – without the necessity for ‘voluntary contributions’ – up to at least primary degree level. It should also be secular and free from interference by religious institutions.

The provision of professional and technical education should be affordable and available to all and should be equally accessible.

Every country benefits from their resources.

Norwegians benefit from their oil. Australians benefit from their minerals. Irish people too should benefit from their resources.

It is absurd that corporations pay nothing from the extraction of water or oil in Ireland.

A united Ireland should prioritise our water; oil and gas reserves; fisheries; woodlands; clean seas; archaeological and heritage sites; and energy in the hands of the public as part of ‘resource democracy’.

In order to ensure genuine benefit to the Irish people, a minimum entitlement for all natural resources should be legislated for, and if companies are not happy paying that fair share, they can leave the resources in the ground so that future generations can benefit. And a united Ireland should take radical steps towards tackling climate change with a just transition and renewable energy.

DEMOCRACY

A new and united Ireland should reform our local and national democratic processes, putting citizens at the heart of decisionmaking.

Popular initiation of constitutional

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• In order to ensure genuine benefit to the Irish people, a minimum entitlement for all natural resources should be legislated for

referenda and parliamentary legislation should be facilitated. There should be a right to recall representatives who break electoral promises. There must be direct elections to the all houses of the parliament. Overseas and mandatory voting should also be investigated and instigated where suitable.

Developing a truly representative democratic system is essential in winning the unionist community over to the benefits of a new and united Ireland.

IS THERE SUPPORT FOR THESE POLICIES?

The rise in support for socialist policies in anglo-speaking countries is indicative of what could bring people together in Ireland.

Jeremy Corbyn’s Manifesto – For the Many, Not The Few – saw the emergence of a mass movement of all creeds across the UK in support of policies such as taxing the wealthy, re-nationalising public services, improved workers’ rights, an enhanced NHS and a national home building plan.

Bernie Sanders ignited a debate about ‘Democratic Socialism’ in the US, with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez continuing that discussion, advocating for a Green New Deal and tax rates of up to 70 percent for the wealthy.

Both campaigns have huge public support, but have faced an organised backlash from the corporate-owned media.

That is why building structures to achieve an equitable united Ireland is essential.

The counter-revolutionaries who won out after southern independence haven’t gone away, you know.

The first step should be a forum for trade unionists, political parties and community representatives to debate a united Ireland.

Luckily, we aren’t starting from scratch.

The Right2Change campaign provides a template for moving this debate on. Sinn Féin, Independents4Change, People Before Profit and a range of other Independent representatives have already expressed their support for the above policies, while

A tricolour flying above Stormont and Leinster House with 12.5% emblazoned in the centre, while recently evicted homeless families sleep at the gates, shouldn’t be the ambition of any self-respecting Republican or Socialist

anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2019 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

Mandate, Unite, the CWU, OPATSI and many community groups have also expressed support. To ensure buy-in from as large a proportion of the public as possible, particularly the unionist community, this forum should be driven by politically independent representatives.

Developing principles and building independent structures that put people at the heart of a new Ireland is the best way to achieve unity. We need to have an honest debate about the European Union and whether an egalitarian Republic is possible under the restrictive rules of the EU, including the fiscal constraints, proprivatisation rules and the absence of control over our own currency.

Cissie Cahalan, the first female President of the Irish Union of Distributive Workers and Clerks (now Mandate) in 1921 asked “what kind of freedom” was being achieved in southern Ireland?

“Labour leaders have avowed their allegiance to the doctrines of Pearse and Connolly. On them rests the responsibility (and it is no light one) of showing the way of ensuring that whatever form of native government we may be living under in the future, or whatever kind of a new social order may be founded, that the ‘rights of man’, not the rights of ‘private property’, shall be its cornerstone.”

Unfortunately, the opposite Ireland was delivered.

A tricolour flying above Stormont and Leinster House with 12.5% emblazoned in the centre, while recently evicted homeless families sleep at the gates, shouldn’t be the ambition of any self-respecting Republican or Socialist.

If we are to achieve a united Ireland, we only get one chance to do so, and therefore we must get it right first time. We have a responsibility to ensure working people win a united and equitable Ireland that we can all be truly proud of before the counter revolutionaries impose their united Ireland on the rest of us. 

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Ceist

n i a g n a Te Éirinn e h t i a t n o A Tá dlúthcheangal ann idir polasaithe teanga agus polaitíocht na cumhachta ó thús an tsaoil. De réir mar a mhéadaigh an chumhacht pholaitiúil, mhéadaigh réimse labhartha teanga lucht na cumhachta leis.

I ngach sainré stairiúl thuig na hImpireachtaí go bhféadfadh teanga ról tábhachtach a bheith aici ina dtóraíocht ar son ceannais agus an fhorlámhais.

Ní trí thimpiste a tharla sé go bhfuil na teangacha comhaimseartha a labhraítear sa chuid is mó de Dheisceart agus Iarthar na hEorpa bunaithe ar an teanga a labhair na Rómhánaigh a bhí i gceannas ar an gcríoch sin fadó.

Ní haon ionadh ach oiread é go bhfuil an Béarla agus an Fhraincis mar theangacha buaine polaitíochta agus tráchtála sa chuid is mó den Afraic fho-Shahárach, nó go ndearna Spáinnis agus Portaingéilis na mílte teanga dhúchais i Meiriceá Láir agus i Meiriceá Theas a dhíláithriú.

In Éirinn táimid eolach ar na péindlíthe a chuir na Sasanaigh i bhfeidhm agus a chuir cosc ​agus pion​óis mhóra ar chultúr agus ar

CONOR D McGUINNESS

theanga na nGael. Tá a fhios againn chomh maith an tslí gur féidir leo siúd atá faoi chois ag an gcoilíneachas an leatrom a dheineadh orthu a inmheánú. Feictear é sa tslí a dtréig glúinte tuismitheoirí Éireannacha a dteanga dhúchais agus a chinntigh siad go mbeadh a gcuid páistí tógtha le Béarla.

Tá teanga nasctha go dlúth le féiniúlacht agus leis an tslí a bhfeicimid an domhan.

Labhraímid faoi mháthairtheanga, agus is ónár ngaolta is gaire a fhoghlaimid teanga ar dtús. Tá blas cainte fós mar chinntitheach láidir in Éirinn ar an áit agus ar an bpobal lena bhaineann duine agus insíonn an tslí a labhraíonn sé agus na focail a úsáideann sé, gan trácht ar an teanga a fhostaítear, go leor mar gheall ar duine inar sochaí. I ndomhan an lae inniu tá teanga, agus an tslí ina labhraítear é, ina suaitheantas láidir ar fhéiniúlacht náisiúnta.

Más rud é, de réir mar a chuireann na hannála síos uirthi, gur stair ionradh í stair na hÉireann, is stair chomhshamhlaithe agus chomhtháthaithe í chomh maith. Tá craiceann na fírinne ar an sean nath cainte ‘níos Gaelaí

Voices for Irish Unity ... Guthanna son Aontú na hÉireann ... Voices for Irish Unity ... Gut

“I want to build a new Ireland, one which is at at the heart of Europe.”

“A United Ireland is our chance to build a new Ireland. One where all citizens are equal and where everyone’s rights are safeguarded.”

Cathy Mason, Down

Maria Doyle, Wexford

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“It is time to remove any form of border on this island and unite our people. A United Ireland is inevitable and achievable.”

Daithí Fitzgerald, Kerry

“Tugaim tacaíocht d’Éirinn Aontaithe fud fad na tíre seo. Tá sé níos fearr ar son seirbhísí poiblí, i sláinte agus in oideachas ach go háirithe.”

Bróna Haughey, Ard Mhacha

ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2019 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

• Tá fás na Gaeilge le sonrú ach go háirithe i gceantair uirbeacha

ná na Gaeil iad féin’ a úsaidtear go minic in aon insint ar stair na hÉireann. Theip ar iarrachtaí coilíniú buan a bhaint amach in Éirinn nuair a thosaigh na lonnaitheoirí ag glacadh leis an nGaeilge, agus le dearcadh cultúrtha na ndaoine dúchasacha.

Tugadh isteach na péindlíthe d’aon ghnó.

Tar éis dóibh na teipeanna a tharla roimhe a fheiscint, thuig na Sasanaigh gur ghá dóibh an Ghaeilge a dhíláithriú agus iad ag cur cos ar bholg in Éirinn. B’uirlis troda maraon le targaid í an teanga in iarrachtaí Éire a choilíniú. Léiríonn sracfhéachaint ar léarscáil teanga na hÉireann comhaimseartha an rath a bhí ar a bhfiontar, agus is cosúil gur díbríodh an Ghaeilge chuig pobail

imeallacha ar chósta an Iarthair go príomha.

Léireodh scrúdú níos dlúithe ar tírdhreach teanga reatha na tíre fás na Gaeilge i gceantair uirbeacha mar Bhaile Átha Cliath, Corcaigh agus Béal Feirste. Tharla an fás seo, go príomha, i gceantair lucht saothair a bhí agus atá ar thús cadhnaíochta ag streachailtí sóisialta agus polaitiúla le glúnta agus le blianta beaga anuas. Mar a thug Ó Conghaile uirthi in ‘Athghabháil na hÉireann’, is arm arís í an teanga.

Fógraíodh 2019 mar Bhliain na dTeangacha Dúchasacha agus an tEarrach seo déanadh céíliúrtha ar fud an domhain ar Lá Idirnáisiúnta Máithreachais. Is bunús an lá úd é an sléacht a dhein arm na Pacastáine ar

chainteoirí Bangla in Oirthear na Pacastáine (An Bhanglaidéis anois) a bhí i mbun agóide i gcoinne chur i bhfeidhm Urdu mar an aon teanga oideachais agus riaracháin sa tír.

Bhain an streachailt cothromas dá dteanga agus ba é an ghluaiseacht a chruthaigh siad le linn na hagóide a bhain neamhspleáchas amach dá dtír i 1971.

Ar an mbealach céanna, thosaigh an Soweto Uprising san Afraic Theas i Meitheamh 1976 nuair a chuir an réimeas apartheid i bhfeidhm nach raibh cead ach an Ollainnis agus an Béarla a theagaisc sna scoileanna. Lámhadh agus maraíodh mic léinn a bhí i mbun agóide, rud a spreag coimhlint ní amháin i Soweto ach ar fud na

thanna son Aontú na hÉireann ... Voices for Irish Unity ... Guthanna son Aontú na hÉireann ...

“Removing barriers to trade would double our exports over the next 10 years and create thousands of jobs island wide”

“100 years ago Cathal Brugha TD stood for a United Ireland based on fairness, social justice and equality.

100 years later, the people of Waterford want and need this United Ireland” “As a young person, especially with the threat of a hard Brexit, talk of reunification is sensible and pragmatic.

Ireland’s economy would benefit massively and continue to grow if a border poll was to be won” Michael Doyle, Waterford

Jack Keogh, Cork

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“All over the world, borders and divisions are being reinforced.

Letes us be leaders and #Y 4U ni ty let’s unite.”

Doireann Doyle, Kilkenny

McManus and #TimDermot e4Grace Un ityWicklow O’Brien,

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tíre. D’eascair an t-éirí amach agus a toradh sin ról ceannródaíoch an ANC sa streachailt in aghaidh apartheid agus in aghaidh na mionrialtachta san Afraic Theas, rud a chuir deireadh leis an réimeas agus a chuir an Rainbow Nation i mbláth lena 11 teanga oifigiúil.

Is cuid láidir í an teanga d’armlann iad siúd atá ag streachailt in aghaidh na coilíneachta ar fud an domhain, Éire san áireamh. Áiríodh lucht athbheochana na Gaeilge taobh le sóisialaithe, feiminigh agus poblachtánaigh sa milieu réabhlóideach Éireannach ag deireadh an chéid seo caite. Tá a fhios againn go raibh forluí ollmhór sa phearsanra idir Conradh na Gaeilge, an Cumann Lúthchleas Gael agus eagraíochtaí polaitiúla agus armtha na gluaiseachta náisiúnta.

Chonacthas do go leor réabhlóidithe go raibh athéileamh agus athbheochan ár dteanga agus ár gcultúr mar réamhriachtanas chun neamhspleáchas polaitiúil agus aontacht ár ndaoine a bhaint amach.

Tá an-chuid tar éis athrú le céad bliain anuas. Tá sean-Impireachtaí na 19ú agus an 20ú haois tar éis titim agus caitheann an impiriúlacht éadaí nua. Tá pobail shaora, bhródúla agus diongbháilte ar fud an domhain tar éis a gcuid tíortha a athghabháil agus a gcuid teangacha a athéileamh. Tá an náisiúnstát tar éis an Impireacht a easáitiú mar bhunaonad sa chóras idirnáisiúnta.

Tá dlíthe i leith Chearta an Duine agus córais dlíthiúla daonnúla idirnáisiúnta

ann anois chun cosc a ​​ chur ar dhíothú daoine, lena n-áirítear iarracht a gcultúr agus a bhféiniúlacht a scriosadh. Tá na seandhúshláin fós ann, áfach, agus tagann cinn nua chun tosaigh i gconaí.

Laghdaíonn an domhandú an rud atá áitiúil agus tugann sé tuilleadh cumhachta do rudaí ceannasacha, teangacha san áireamh. Tugann teacht an ré ollfháisnéise dushláin lena buntáistí. Is léir go méadaíonn agus néartaíonn a teacht cumhacht agus réimse an Béarla mar Lingua Franca an domhain. Sa chomhthéacs seo is náireach an teip atá deánta ag an stát ó dheas i dtaobh polasaithe láidre a chur i bhfeidhm don Ghaeilge agus don Ghaeltacht. Sna sé chontae, leanann neamhchlaontacht pholaitiúil na hAontachtaithe go mór le laethanta a mórcheannais.

Tá Éire nua tagtha chun cinn le dhá scór bliain anuas. Tá seanchinntí an am atá caite imithe agus tá níos mó cumhachta nasctha ag daoine óga ná riamh. Sna 26 contae tá comhionannas pósta bainte amach againn agus dul chun cinn suntasach déanta againn maidir le comhionannas inscne. Tá ár sochaí comhdhéanta de dhaoine ó éagsúlacht mhór de bhunús agus eitneachas éagsúil, agus tá stádas an Lucht Siúil mar dhaoine dearbhaithe againn le déanaí. Fáiltímid roimh an dul chun cinn seo mar phoblachtánaigh, agus táimíd meáite leis na cearta agus na haitheantas sin a leathnú chuig an oileán ar fad.

An dtagann an Éire nua seo, ilghnéitheach

agus ilchineálach, salach ar an bhfís d’Éirinn Gaelach? An bhfuil codarsnacht ann idir an fonn chun ár n-éagsúlacht ghlórmhar a cheiliúradh ar thaobh amháin, agus ag iarraidh athéileamh agus athbheochan ár dteanga náisiúnta a bhaint amach ar an lámh eile? An féidir athbheochan na Gaeilge a bhaint amach mar an teanga labhartha náisiúnta, laethúil? Cén stádas a bheidh ag an Ultais, Shelta, Cant agus teangacha agus canúintí dúchasacha eile?

Conas a dhéanfaimid cearta na bpobal nua a dhearbhú chun a n-oidhreacht chultúrtha agus teanga a chaomhnú agus a cheiliúradh?

Anois, agus sinn ag teacht níos dlúithe ná riamh le neamhspleáchas agus le haontacht náisiúnta a bhuachaint, tá sé ríthábhachtach go ndéanfaimis plé, díospóireacht agus samhlú ar an tslí a mbreathnóidh ár ndearcadh agus ár bpolasaithe ar theanga in Éirinn aontaithe agus saor. Is sinne na daoine atá ag stiúradh gluaiseacht na haontachta náisiúnta, agus mar sin tá freagracht orainn mar phoblachtánaigh aghaidh a thabhairt ar na ceisteanna seo agus díospóireacht leathan agus cuimsitheach a stiúradh.   Is gníomhaí poblachtach i gCo Phort Lairge agus comhalta boird de chuid Fhoras na Gaeilge é Conor D McGuinness. Tá cónaí air i nGaeltacht na nDéise agus tá sé fostaithe mar bhainisteoir toghcheantair leis an bhFeisire Eorpach Liadh Ní Riada.

#Yes4Unity

•Agóidithe i Soweto san Afraic Theas siar sna ‘70í. Tá 11 teanga oifigiúil anois ann 28

#Time4Unity

ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2019 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

It’s the border stupid!

t a h w Now s the wa ? n o i t s que

BY ROBBIE SMYTH Apart from the, ‘if there was an election tomorrow, which of the following parties would you vote for’, the most enduring opinion poll question in Irish politics is about support for a United Ireland. Yet, despite being a survey question in various forms for over 50 years, we still have yet another Irish and British Government unwilling to put the question to voters on this island.

Instead, much of the news media, political commentators and an endless parade of Taoisigh and cabinet ministers have over the years danced their way around the ‘not yet, ‘not the right time’, ‘not the right question’, and on and on.

For a political issue whose time has not yet come, there is an insatiable news media willing to put the question to voters in opinion poll surveys as a flawed platform for discussion of partition and the need for a united Ireland. The platform is flawed because no matter what the opinion poll result is, many news media voices and opinion writers are firmly in the ‘not yet’ camp and this biases their reporting.

Since the constitution was ratified by a referendum in 1937, 26-County voters have had a total of 48 referenda, 37 of which have resulted in constitutional change, eight of these referenda were on the European Union.

Yet we still don’t have time for a border poll.

Two of the EU-related votes were reruns, which puts the lie to one of the reasons for not having a border poll that there might

anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2019 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

be a ‘wrong result’. Governments can rerun referendums when there is a political will to do so.

There have been two referenda on divorce in Ireland and there will be a third in May on the length of time separated couples have to wait to divorce. The state’s position on abortion has been put to six separate constitutional amendments since 1983. So we can as a society have long ongoing national discussions on an issue, and test this through referenda.

We should though recognise the downside of referendum debates. This includes the distorted nature of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum and the cycle of lies and untruths surrounding the 2016 Brexit referendum. In both cases the media coverage and fairness of the conditions that the referendum debates were held was questionable. But so far in Ireland there has been a better political environment when it comes to referendum campaigns. This is partially as a result of the 1995 McKenna judgment, which prevents governments from using public money in a referendum campaign.

With no border poll referendum in sight there is still a supply of news editors determined to put the question. For some reason the establishment media and the opinion poll companies they hire to survey voters often either cannot ask the question directly or have to caution the answer with caveats that seek to reinterpret what is an ongoing desire for significant change in the island’s political structures.

#Yes4Unity

#Time4Unity

# Tá3 2

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The most recent entrant here was the Irish Times in March. Ipsos MRBI polled voters on both sides of the border. Their result showed 32% of northern voters in support of “unity with the republic”, 45 % against. In the 26 Counties, 62% of those polled in favour of “unity with Northern Ireland”.

An interesting result, but what would be more enlightening would have been a series

The need to let the Irish people decide on a border poll is a necessity.

The need for a fair conditions for how that poll is debated and discussed in the media and the public sphere is an imperative of questions on how politics on the island of Ireland could transition from the two flawed states model it is currently locked in onto something that would have widespread enduring support. Colin Harvey teases out some of these issues in his article in this edition of the magazine

A Deltapoll survey conducted in September 2018 found that 52% of voters would favour a United Ireland post Brexit, with 39% wanting Britain to remain part of Britain. A RED C Paddy Power Poll in September 2018 of 26-County voters found that 61% would like to see Irish Unification out of the Brexit negotiations. A similar 2016 poll by RED C for Paddy Power found that two thirds of voters would back a United Ireland if a border poll was held.

A RED C poll for the Sunday Business Post in February of this year found that 43% of voters believe that Brexit makes a United Ireland more likely, with 45% disagreeing with this proposition. It comes down repeatedly to the question put, and this is why a border poll is needed. There clearly is sizable amount of voters throughout the island who have strong opinions on partition, but the government refuses to engage and the media recycle the poll questions without the necessary consistency on asking questions that can stimulate relevant debate.

Independent News and Media have been putting united Ireland related questions to voters now for decades. The Irish Independent on December 18 1967, reports of an opinion poll conducted in Northern Ireland after a meeting of Sean Lemass and Terence O’Neill.

The paper reported that 97% of nationalists favoured the meeting. 38% of unionists favoured a united Ireland linked with Britain.

41% of unionists believed that ‘the border will eventually disappear. 38% of nationalists favoured an independent united Ireland. 47% favoured a united Ireland linked with Britain.

The paper doesn’t tell who conducted the poll,

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ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2019 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

or anything of the methodology used.

In the weeks before the Anglo Irish Agreement was signed on November 15th 1985, the Irish Independent published a Lansdowne poll. The survey had been conducted over a month, between October 3rd and November 3rd. One question asked was on the “only way to solve the Northern Ireland problem”. Respondents were give the options of a “united Ireland only way”, “don’t know” or “other options could work as well or better”.

57% of respondents took the ‘other options choice’, 12% don’t know and 31% took the united Ireland ‘only way’ choice.

Compare this to the same paper’ front page on June 1984, “United Ireland backed by 75%”.

This poll was conducted by British company MORI, who asked 26-County voters their opinions on a simple yes or no to a united Ireland.

In November 1980, another Irish Independent headline proclaimed, “Most people want a United Ireland”. The paper was reporting on a poll commissioned by RTE. It found that 56% “favour a united Ireland as the best long-term solution”. The other options were, “supporting an independent Northern Ireland” (13%) or a power sharing assembly (9%), a joint Dublin London administration (10%), or direct rule (3%).

In April 1991, an MRBI survey reported on the front page of the Irish Independent found that 82% of 26-County respondents ‘favoured the ideal of a United Ireland’. But more on this later.

“Majority still want United Ireland” was an Irish Independent front page headline in January 1994. The article reports on two anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2019 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

surveys, one conducted for the Independent and the second for UTVs Counterpoint programme found that in the North, 61% wanted to ‘stay in the UK’, 25% want to ‘join a United Ireland’.

“Majority want unity but won’t pay” was an Irish Independent front page poll in December 1999. 86% of those polled wanted to see unity “at some stage”. In 2003, a Belfast Telegraph poll conducted by Millward Brown found that 26% of those polled supported a United Ireland. 61% wanted to maintain the link with Britain.

An example of the Irish Times approach is shown in a 1987 MRBI poll. Here the question put was about “expectations of unity”. Two thirds of voters had an “aspiration” of Irish unity, compared with 75% of voters when a similar question had been asked four years previously. This “aspiration to unity” had risen to 82% when a similar poll was conducted again in 1991.

This 1991 poll prompted then Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams to write to the Irish Times, regarding a question which asked those surveyed would they put off unity if the then Brooke talks on an internal settlement progressed. This was “a play on emotions” according to Adams, who wrote that, “that there was an obvious natural desire on the part of many people for peace In Ireland. What it is not is a blank cheque for Dublin and the SDLP to concede the Irish people’s right to independence and unity”.

The need to let the Irish people decide on a border poll is a necessity. The need for a fair conditions for how that poll is debated and discussed in the media and the public sphere is an imperative. 

#Yes4Unity

#Time4Unity

# Tá3 2

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De réir mar a bhaineann sé leis an idirghníomhaíocht agus leis an chomhfhreagracht, cíorann an scríbhneoir cuid de na mórdhúshláin atá roimh an náisiúnachas agus an aontachtas i ré reatha an athraithe pholaitiúil.

AR THAIRSEACH AN ATHRAITHE

1919 agus 2019: Ar thairseach an athraithe

Céad bliain ó shin, in Eanáir 1919, tionóladh An Chéad Dáil i dTeach an Ard-Mhéara i mBaile Átha Cliath. Ba í buaicphointe na ré réabhlóidí í, gan amhras. Mar a thaispeáin Mícheál Mac Donncha (An Phoblacht, Eanáir 2019) ina alt spéisiúil san eagrán dheireanach den irisleabhar seo, ní hamháin gur thoradh ar olltoghchán cinniúnach na míosa roimhe sin í – ‘the Sinn Féin Election’ – ach ba léiriú an Chéad Dáil ar an mheon náisiúnta fhorásach dhóchasach san am.

Is cinnte go dtugtar an meon sin slán sna forógraí stairiúla a tháinig amach as an ócáid; forógraí a bhfuil a rian le fáil fós i sícé agus in idé-eolaíocht an phoblachtaigh: An Fhaisnéis Neamhspleáchais; Scéal ó Dháil Éireann chum Saor-Náisiún an Domhain; agus Clár Oibre Poblacánaighe. Cuimsítear go beacht an meon dóchasach céanna sa tsliocht a chuireann Mac Donncha ar fáil ó leabhar Mháire Comerford (The First Dáil, 1969) a bhí i láthair ag an tseisiún fhíseach sin: “People waiting asked one another ‘Did you ever think you and I would live to see this day?’ I was with the Wexford contingent. Never was the past so near, or the present so brave, or the future so full of hope.”

Ní miste an sampla sin a athspionnadh, ní hamháin mar léiriú ar dhóchas thréimhse sin na Chéad Dála, ach mar nasc úsáideach trasaoise. Céad bliain anonn, bíonn Poblachtaigh agus daoine forásacha eile ag cur na ceiste céanna ar a chéile: ar shíl tú go bhfeicfeá…?

Ar shíl tú go bhfeicfeá Sinn Féin sa rialtas ó thuaidh; ar shíl tú go bhfeicfeá deireadh leis an tromlach bhuan aontachtach; ar shíl tú go

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LE JOHNNY McGIBBON

bhfeicfeá an Bhreatain ag imeacht ón Aontas Eorpach agus formhór na muintire sa tuaisceart ag cur ina éadan? Ar shíl tú go bhfeicfeá a leithéid d’athrú sa tsochaí agus sa pholaitíocht?

Féadtar a thuilleadh cosúlachtaí a tharraingt idir an dá thréimhse, ar ndóigh. Cuirtear san áireamh an borradh gnímh agus suime faoin Ghaeilge in am na hAthbheochana agus i ré seo cheist an Achta Gaeilge. Is féidir roinnt samplaí suntasacha eile a bhaint as alt Mhic Dhonncha féin; an chomhdháil a d’éascaigh Ard Mhéara Bhaile Átha Cliatha, Lawrence O’Neill, in Aibreán 1918, cuir i gcás, nuair a tháinig ceannairí Shinn Féin, ceannairí an Pháirtí Pharlaimintigh agus gluaiseacht na gceardchumann, nuair a tháinig siad le chéile chun an fód a sheasamh i gcoinne an choinscríofa. Déantar cosúlacht leis an ollchomhdháil ‘Beyond Brexit’ i Halla Cois Cuain, Béal Feirste in Eanáir 2019. Tháinig tuairim agus 1,500 saoránach náisiúnach ó réimse leathan den tsochaí – ón earnáil oideachais, gnó, spóirt, dlí, polaitíochta agus pobail – tháinig siad le chéile chun todhchaí na hÉireann a phlé i gcomhthéacs an Bhreatimeachta. Bhí neamhspleáchas polaitiúil agus cearta saoránach i lár an aonaigh.

Dúirt an colúnaí poblachtach Jim Gibney ar an Irish News (30 Eanáir, 2019) nach bhfaca sé lena sholas “a leithéid de scaifte ag plé a leithéid d’ábhair”.

Cosúlacht eile nach mór a lua is ea an ceangal idir an rialtas i Sasana agus na haontachtóirí in Éirinn. Deir Mac

ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2019 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

Donncha go raibh an dá dhream istigh le chéile in 1919 chun cur in aghaidh an éilimh go mbeadh Rialtas Dúchais in Éirinn. Ní móide go bhféadfaí neamhaird a dhéanamh de na hiarmhairtí ceannais agus polaitíochta a bhain leis sin, agus muid ag tarraingt ar chéad bliain na críochdheighilte.

Cúig scór bliain ina dhiaidh sin, fulaingíonn muid an chomhpháirtíocht chéanna mar a bhfuil an DUP agus an rialtas Tóraithe sa Bhreatain ag imirt drochthionchair ar chúrsaí in Éirinn agus an tuaisceart á tharraingt amach as an Aontas Eorpach.

Dúshlain Aontachtais: Casann an roth Ní áitítear anseo gurb ionann comhthéacs na bliana 1919 agus staid reatha an lae inniu. Mar sin féin, casann an roth. Go díreach mar a bhain impleachtaí le cúrsa na staire céad bliain ó shin, bainfidh impleachtaí eile leis na himeachtaí atá titim amach sa lá atá inniu ann. Tá sé ríthábhachtach go ndéana muid réidh chun na himpleachtaí sin a phlé anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2019 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

agus a bhainistiú. Mar a dúirt Uachtarán Shinn Féin, Mary Lou McDonald, le dream ón phobal aontachtach in Ollscoil na Banríona i mí na Feabhra, “tá dualgas cúraim orainn”.

Aontaím lena raibh le rá ag Mary Lou go bhfuil dualgas ar cheannairí náisiúnacha, sa phobal agus sa pholaitíocht, an bealach chun tosaigh a dhéanamh ar bhonn ionchuimsitheach – ar son leas gach saoránaigh beag beann ar a chúlra ná ar a dhearcadh polaitiúil. Is Éire nua, aontaithe agus chomhaontaithe atá de dhíth; sochaí ina mbeidh an comhionannas agus an éagsúlacht ina croílár.

Tá an ceart aici, fosta, go bhfuil “dualgas cneastachta” ar náisiúnaithe agus ar phoblachtaigh bheith ag éisteacht lenár gcomharsana aontachtacha. Ba chóir na haontachtóirí sin a bhfuil a nguthanna á n-ardú mar chuid den dioscúrsa reatha, trí fhreastal ar an ócáid in Ollscoil na Banríona nó trí thuairimíocht sna meáin, ba chóir na haontachtóirí sin a mholadh. Is beag an slua iad fós. Ní rud furasta acu é dul i mbun comhrá le poblachtaigh faoin todhchaí. Is fada buan tionchar an fhealltóra sa phobal aontachtach – “the legacy of Lundy” mar a thug Declan Kearney air (AnPhoblacht.com, 1 Feabhra).

Tá rogha chinniúnach le déanamh ag an chuid sin den phobal; an t-aontachtas cathartha: an gcuirfidh siad in aghaidh an tseanchaidre sa phobal aontachtach chun todhchaí nua a bheartú i gcomhar le saoránaigh 33

náisiúnacha; nó an ligfidh siad don tseanchaidre a smacht a choinneáil.

Ní haon dóithín é an tásc atá rompu. I ndáiríre, is fírinne nua do roinnt mhaith daoine go bhféadfadh athrú bunreachtúil teacht ar stádas an tuaiscirt lena ré féin. Beidh obair acu a seasamh féin a dhéanamh amach ar bhonn réasúntachta saor ó ualach na staire agus ó smacht an tseanchaidre. Mar bharr ar an donas, beidh orthu plé leis an náisiúnachas thógtha chomhaimseartha atá oscailte agus ag éisteacht, ach atá ag caint agus ag éileamh athruithe fosta.

Ní comhrá aontaobhach atá i ndán feasta.

Beidh ar an aontachtas chathartha a chuid féin den fhreagracht dioscúrsa a chomhlíonadh. I gcomhthéacs athraithe dhéimeagracfaigh agus an Bhreatimeachta, tá ceist na teorann anois chun tosaigh maidir le reifreann; ar luas nach rabhthas ag dúil leis. Tá claochlú ar chomhthéacs na díospóireachta. Ní hamháin go bhfuil dualgas ar náisiúnaithe agus ar phoblachtaigh an cás ar son Éire Aontaithe a chruthú – ach tá dualgas fosta ar aontachtóirí an cás ar son an Aontais a dhéanamh. Fágann sé sin go bhfuil an fhreagracht mhorálta chéanna ar an aontachtas agus ar an náisiúnachas araon dul i dteagmháil lena chéile.

Más féidir glacadh leis gur comhfhreagracht atá ann, b’fhéidir go mbeifí in ann tabhairt faoinár ndúshláin chomhchoiteanna: i leith an athmhuintearais, an fhrith-sheicteachais agus an chomhionannais, cuir i gcás.

Ní hionann sin agus go mbeidh aontú ann faoin uile ábhar. Ní dócha gur féidir fáil réidh leis an “choimhlint idé-eolaíoch” mar atá luaite ag an tseanfhondúir aontachtach Terry Wright ar EamonnMallie.com (22 Eanáir, 2019) le déanaí. De réir na n-athruithe reatha inár tsochaí, luíonn sé le

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réasún go dtosófar ar réimsí nua dioscúrsa agus plé; agus go nglacfaidh an náisiúnachas agus an t-aontachtas seasaimh dhifriúla chucu féin. Is é an cleas atá ann na difríochtaí sin a bhainistiú i dteannta a chéile.

Ní foláir don phobal aontachtach guth nua daonlathach a mhúnlú dóibh féin; guth a bheidh saor ó shrathair an tseicteachais a chuir taca faoin aontachtas pholaitiúil sna 6 chontae go stairiúil. In Éirinn nua na todhchaí, beidh ról lárnach daonlathach agus toghchánach acu ach iad an páirt a ghlacadh.

Dúshláin Náisiúnachais: Bearna a chúngú Tá an pholaitíocht ar chontanam athraithe; go háirithe sa tuaisceart. Tá an tsochaí ag athrú.

Tá an pobal náisiúnach tógtha.

Tá dúshlán nach beag roimh an náisiúnachas thógtha chéanna. Tá air dul i ngleic leis an neamhionannas atá á bhuanú ag an aontachtas pholaitiúil gan na guthanna eile aontachtacha sa phobal a scoitheadh amach ón phlé faoin todhchaí. Caithfidh poblachtaigh cloí leis an “dualgas cneastachta” agus leis an mheon oscailte i dtaobh comhráite agus an phobail aontachtaigh.

Tá cothromaíocht leochaileach le haimsiú, ámh. Is den riachtanas sin a dhéanamh ar bhonn díreach agus ionraic. Is é sin an t-aon dóigh leis an phlé a chothú ar bhonn inmharthana agus ar bhonn réasúntachta.

Chuige sin, ní cuidiú ar bith é cor gan bhunús a chur sa scéal. Más féidir dialóg leanúnach macánta a thógáil idir an náisiúnachas agus an aontachtas, ní ceart an t-aineolas a scaipeadh ná an mearbhall a ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2019 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

• Bhí an imeacht Beyond Brexit ‘The Future of Ireland’ ar an teacht le chéile is mó de náisiúntóirí le blianta fada

chothú; go háirithe maidir le forálacha atá aontaithe cheana. Ba chúis imní tráchtaireacht den tsaghas seo a leanas le Leo Varadkar i nDeireadh Fómhair 2017: “I wouldn’t like us to get to the point whereby we are changing the constitutional position here in Northern Ireland on a 50 per cent plus one basis… One of the best things about the Good Friday Agreement is that it did get very strong cross-border support – that’s why there was a 70 per cent vote for it.” (luaite ag John Manley, The Irish News, 18 Deireadh Fómhair 2017).

Luíonn an ráiteas seo go compordach leis an teachtaireacht a thagann ón rialtas ó dheas agus ó pháirtithe eile, ar nós Fhianna Fáil agus an SDLP, nach é seo an t-am ceart do reifreann ar cheist na teorann. Nochtann sin deighilt shuntasach sa náisiúnachas pholaitiúil maidir leis an ‘am cheart’.

Ba é an sampla ba shuntasaí den chás sin, is dócha, an racht a chuir ceannaire an SDLP Colum Eastwood de ag Ard Fheis Fhianna Fáil i mí Feabhra. D’fheall sé ar a cheannaireacht agus ar a chás féin leis an mhaíomh go mbeadh “áit speisialta in ifreann” dóibh siúd a iarrann reifreann ar cheist na teorann gan plean a bheith acu. Is é an tuiscint atá le bhaint as an ráiteas sin go bhfuil rud éigin contráilte leis an fheachtasaíocht reatha ar son reifrinn. Chuir sé fianaise, mar dhea, lena chás nuair a dúirt sé “nach ndéanfadh an agóidíocht an bealach d’Éirinn nua”.

Ní chuirfidh an coimeádachas seo iontas ar phoblachtaigh ná ar dhaoine forásacha eile, ar ndóigh; ach is contúirteach an chaint í. Ní ritheann sé ar dhóigh ar bith le meon ná le foclaíocht Chomhaontú Aoine an Chéasta (1998); chomhaontú a chinntíonn “an ceart toilmhianta náisiúnta agus polaitiúla a shaothrú go daonlathach” agus “an ceart athrú bunreachtúil a lorg ar bhealaí síochánta dlisteanacha”.

Tógann sé seo ceisteanna tromchúiseacha ó thaobh saoránacht chomhionann de sa chuid choimeádach sin den smaointeoireacht anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2019 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

náisiúnachais. Níor chóir do cheannaire polaitiúil ar bith, go háirithe ceannaire náisiúnach, an bonn a bhaint den phróiseas dhaonlathach atá aontaithe cheana.

Uirlisí daonlathacha is ea reifreann agus agóidíocht araon.

Tá an plé agus an pleanáil anois ar bun ag fóraim ar nós na comhdhála i Halla Cois Cuain, Béal Feirste; agus ag grúpaí ceart agus feachtasaíochta eile. Is ábhar mór buartha é mura n-aithníonn ceannaire polaitiúil sin.

Is gá an bhearna sa náisiúnachas pholaitiúil a chúngú. Tá sé in am an cheist bhunreachtúil agus todhchaí bunaithe ar chomhionannas agus cearta a chur chun tosaigh; beag beann ar rath aon pháirtí polaitiúil ar leith.  LEABHARLIOSTA/TAGAIRTÍ

• Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta (1998) Available: https://www.dfa.ie/ie/ar-rol-ar-mbeartais/ tuaisceart-eireann/comhaontu-aoine-an-cheasta-agus-inniu/ • Dornan, J. (2019) “Brexit and Beyond”…a tad premature, but…. EamonnMallie.com, 16 February. Available: http://eamonnmallie.com/2019/02/brexit-and-beyond-a-tad-prematurebut-by-jim-dornan/ • Eastwood, C. (2019) Speaking at Ard Fheis Fhianna Fáil, 23 February 2019. Dublin.

Available: https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/republic-of-ireland/sdlp-leader-columeastwood-addresses-fianna-fail-ard-fheis-full-text-37845898.html • Gibney, J. (2019) Nationalism conference shows how Brexit has fundamentally altered the political situation. The Irish News, 30 January 2019.

• Kearney, D. (2019) Generosity and open minds will shape Ireland’s future. An Phoblacht [online], 1 February 2019. Available: https://www.anphoblacht.com/contents/27544 • Mac Donncha, M. (2019) Centenary of the first dáil: the future so full of hope. An Phoblacht, 1, 15-23.

• Mary Lou McDonald calls for reconciliation and and compassionate approach to the past (2019) Belfast Telegraph [Online], 19 February 2019. Available: https://www.belfasttelegraph. co.uk/video-news/mary-lou-mcdonald-calls-for-reconciliation-and-and-compassionateapproach-to-the-past-37829070.html • Wright, T. (2019) Requiem for reconciliation. EamonnMallie.com, 22 January 2019.

Available: http://eamonnmallie.com/2019/01/requiem-for-reconciliation-by-terry-wright/

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the New Republic’ The ‘Postcards from t, British designer, artis series is a hat tip to ’s cialist William Morris entrepreneur and So m series of articles fro News from Nowhere e Commonweal, the 1890 published in th t cialist League and se newspaper of the So ere Morris’s socialist, in a distant future wh r has been secured. Ou and romantic, utopia ir are Willa Ní Chuairteo story’s protagonists ur mpanied by their fo and Lucy Byrne acco o wh , Banba and Alroy children James, Afric d endure the equity an together enjoy and re’s New Republic.’ exigency of the futu mtheNewRepublic  fb.me/Postcardsfro

Eileen Byrne is about to let herself in when she stops as young Alroy pulls open the door roaring ‘Nana, Nana look what Mr Duffy gave me’. It is a mechanical trainset.

Eileen’s eyes light up. Decades of energy restrictions have had their upside she reckons. There used to be a time when chubby kids were glued to their computer games from morning to night. Nowadays the kids are all engineers, agriculturists and social entrepreneurs. James is never out of the community garden and Afric runs a great upcycling business out of the family garage.

Lucy walks Eileen into the sitting room and yells at Afric to make a cup of tea.

‘Thanks again Mam, we really appreciate you minding the kids for us. Willa’s still sorting out the electricity supply at the office after last week’s storms’.

Willa is the Editor at Dublin’s oldest Magazine, The Voice. ‘I hope they won’t be too much for you’.

‘Ah Ma, will you relax. We’re always as good as gold, isn’t that right Nana’, Afric says winking at Eileen tea in hand.

‘What time do you have to be in Edinburgh love’, Eileen asks?

‘Not till eight Mam. It’s just the welcome reception tonight, and then meetings for the rest of the week’. Lucy is Ireland’s Minister for Economic Sustainability and is addressing the annual on-site meeting of the European Parliament in Scotland, whose turn it is to host. Outside of the onsite meeting, the parliament has been meeting virtually once a month for some time now. Fuel restrictions and technology have radically changed how European institutions operate.

Banba suddenly bursts into the room, plonks herself down beside Eileen and asks, ‘did you know that the European Parliament used to have 750 members’ and meet in 36

POSTCARDS FROM A

BY SINÉAD NÍ BHROIN

NEW REPUBLIC

Brussels every single week Nana’.

Banba is the historian of the family and loves politics as much as her Ma. ‘I did love, but I bet you don’t know that Britain once left the European Union?’

‘That’s mad Nana; we were just talking about that in school last week. They had some funny name for it.’

‘Brexit,’ Eileen reminds her.

‘Yeah, that’s it. They spent ten years fighting about how to leave the EU and then joined again ten years later.

Our history book says that by the time they left their economy was totally broken. The cost of food increased and unemployment was through the roof. Then people started blockading Westminster. Our teacher says the whole political system just shut down.’

‘That’s when Scotland and Wales secured independence’, Lucy shouts in from the kitchen, ‘not too long after Irish unity. Did you know that smarty pants?’

‘Of course Ma, unlike my brothers and sister I actually read my school books!’ Lucy has her case packed and is ready to go.

‘Before you go Ma, there’s just one thing. I don’t understand. If Britain was such a basket

case why did the EU let them back in?’

‘Well love a lot changed in the EU during those two decades. Politics had become really fragmented in most developed countries.

‘Fascism was on the rise, governments didn’t care about climate change and Facebook and Twitter hadn’t been nationalised.

‘When we look back we can see those were the dying days of neoliberalism. Back then the EU was part of the problem. The institutions pursued terrible economic policies that worked against the interests of the environment, the people and the sustainable economy.

‘When Britain looked to come back, progressive MEPs and European leaders got behind them as part of a wider movement for what we take for granted now, a social and economically sustainable Europe.

‘In fact if it wasn’t for Scotland, Wales and Ireland they mightn’t have been let them back in at all. Sinn Féin was in government at that time and fought hard for British membership.

‘We had the political weight after Irish unity and the successful establishment of the shared parliament in Dublin and Belfast. There were huge celebrations across the two islands when Britain re-joined, progressives across Europe thought their day had come. They didn’t know the Great Struggle was yet to come.’

Just as Lucy finishes her sentence there’s a honk from down the road.

‘It’s the bus to the airport. I bet there’s one thing your history books don’t tell you love.

Back in the day government Ministers used to have their own car, and a driver.’

‘Shut up’, Banba says with a wide eyed look of disbelief on her face. 

ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2019 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

8

Why we still need

l a n o i t a Intern s ’ n e m o W H C R MA Day

BY MEGAN FEARON

I am a proud republican woman. I am a proud feminist. I am proud to follow in the footsteps of women who struggled - for freedom, for equality, for recognition.

The old cliché rings true, we have come a long way, but we have much further to go.

Much like climbing a mountain, it’s important to stop, breathe and reflect on how far we have come. I appreciate the women and men who got us to this point, but I don’t feel gratitude. I feel anger of what was required and taken from them to get us here. I feel a sense of duty to keep going.

Much like climbing a mountain, the views at the top are glorious, but it is a steep and fast descent. It’s never been more important to hold what we have and keep going.

Every year, I hear people ask ‘Do we still need International Women’s Day?” or “Why is it important?”  It is important because a child born today will be drawing her pension before she is equally represented in most of the world’s parliaments.  Because our contribution to the economy is disregarded. The value of women’s unpaid labour is greater than the GDP of China.  Because across the world women’s rights and agency are under attack in the most vindictive of ways.  Because women still don’t have equal pay or equal representation.  Because we still don’t have bodily autonomy or access to safe and appropriate healthcare.  Because 1 in 3 women will be beaten, sexually assaulted or raped in her lifetime and people still ask what the victim was wearing.  And because ALL of these issues are further compounded for lesbian, bisexual and transgender women, for women with disabilities and for working class women.

I could go on but you get the picture…

We live in a world that tells women we aren’t good enough as we are or to limit our ambitions. anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2019 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

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• International Women’s Day 2019 - ‘Balance for Better’ driving gender balance across the world

At an early age, girls are conditioned to believe that their value as a human being is inextricably linked to their appearance.

On 8th March, I woke up to an inbox full of emails from companies ‘celebrating’ International Women’s Day, offering discounts on products because ‘I deserve it’. These emails came from the same companies that make billions in profits, of the insecurities they manufactured.

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Studies show that the average woman has a negative thought about their appearance every 15 minutes. But if we woke up tomorrow and decided to be happy with ourselves, entire industries would collapse.

None of this is accidental. Objectifying women is ingrained into our collective psyche by design. When we are thought of, no matter how subconsciously, as objects, we are easier to dismiss, or worse, harm.

We can change that by having more women and importantly men standing up for what’s right, when and where it matters.

We need a step-change in how society views and treats women.

To achieve this, our policy priorities must address tackling domestic and sexual violence, access to justice, safe access to healthcare, accessible child care, improved relationship and sex education as well as introducing gender budgeting to really impact legislation and decision making.

What is key to acknowledge, is that these issues are not isolated, they are all inter-connected. The current global structures of power rely on these inequalities.

We need to value every part of society to be successful. We need to involve more women in politics, media, business, sport.

As chair of the Assembly Women’s caucus, I welcomed 120 young women to Stormont to debate these issues. Their knowledge and passion made me more hopeful than ever that we have reached a tipping point.

That enough really is enough. We can’t be “a bit equal”, equality is an all or nothing concept.

One thing is for sure, those young women won’t accept anything less and nor should they.   Megan Fearon is a Sinn Féin Assembly member in the Newry Armagh constituency

ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2019 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

Brexit has internationalised the issue of partition

BY BRIAN CARTY Governments in Dublin have always been keen to downplay the issue of the border for fear that it might put the whole notion of partition in question. The immediate aftermath of the Brexit referendum was no exception. For all the spin about what a fantastic job has been done by the government in Dublin, we shouldn’t forget that at the European Council meeting immediately following the referendum the then Taoiseach spoke about the situation of Scotland.

Enda Kenny didn’t use the opportunity to place the issue of the border in Ireland centre-stage. Subsequent

anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2019 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

government actions, such as seeking locations for customs posts, indicate the very limited approach that they had with regard to the Brexit negotiations, as well as a fundamental misreading of the mood in border communities.

The Irish government have always tended to downplay the importance of the Good Friday Agreement. They tended to accept the London government narrative that the Agreement was a oneoff event in a particular time and place - the end of a conflict rather than the beginning of a process. They

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• Some EU officials and politicians don’t want to be seen as being “antagonistic” to the British government, echoing the “not the right time” line of the Dublin government

ignored the fact that the GFA is a dynamic document that underpins a political process towards increasing north-south cooperation and eventual Irish unity.

The London/Dublin consensus on this issue made it difficult throughout the years to internationalise the issue of the border. In general the EU is reluctant to challenge the governments sitting around the table about issues considered to be their “internal” affairs. And when the two governments most directly affected signal their acceptance of the status quo then they remain silent.

When the British people voted to leave the EU, the mood within the EU changed. The European Parliament, often overlooked by commentators, insisted that the negotiating mandate of the EU was to uphold the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts.

The Irish government have always tended to downplay the importance of the Good Friday Agreement

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This was a significant victory for the Sinn Féin team in the European Parliament, and in particular Martina Anderson as negotiator for the GUE/NGL Group.

The EU - and in particular the European Parliament - took this seriously and started to look at the reality of north-south cooperation, the need for the north to remain in the customs union and single market, the implications for rights and the situation of Irish citizens in the north of Ireland.

The outworking of this was the Joint Report agreed

by British and EU negotiators on 8 December 2017, a report that the DUP tried to sabotage. It did not contain the “special status” that Sinn Féin had been seeking, but was clearly based on a similar analysis of how to square the Good Friday Agreement with EU Treaties. This position has been somewhat watered down in the negotiations on the legal text of the Withdrawal Agreement, but the key provisions to avoid border infrastructure in Ireland remains clearly in place in the form of the backstop.

The one provision of the GFA that EU officials and politicians have been reluctant to speak about publicly is that of the provision for a border poll. They don’t want to be seen as being “antagonistic” to the British government, echoing the “not the right time” line of the Dublin government. The priority remains getting a Withdrawal Agreement which protects the essential interests of the EU, including the backstop.

The preference of the EU is for a backstop specific to the north of Ireland, but they have reluctantly accepted the British government proposal to extend it to Britain.

Informal discussions about Brexit in Brussels invariably turn to the issue of the border in Ireland. It’s a rare discussion in which somebody, and sometimes the most surprising people, doesn’t observe that things would be so much easier if there was no border. Brexit has internationalised the issue of partition.

Regardless of how the Brexit saga plays out over the coming days, weeks and months, the issue of Irish unity is in the Brussels air. If the Withdrawal Agreement is accepted in Westminster, unity is still the only long-term solution compatible with the GFA and with EU Treaties.

If there is no Withdrawal Agreement then physical infrastructure on the border is not an option. It would risk a remilitarisation of the border.

Some have spoken of “moving controls away from the border”. To where? To the sea between Ireland and the rest of the EU? This would amount to removing Ireland from the Single Market and punishing Ireland for a mess created by Britain.

Again, the only way forward which would be compatible with the Good Friday Agreement and with EU Treaties is Irish unity. This is increasingly recognised in EU circles. The discussion has begun on the EU level.

And when the current phase of Brexit plays itself out that discussion will only get louder.   Brian Carty is a Special Advisor on Brexit for the GUE/NGL group in the EU Parliament

ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2019 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

AN ALL ISLAND 'GREEN NEW DEAL' ON CLIMATE CHANGE IS POSSIBLE

IT’S TIME TO ACT ON CLIMATE CHANGE

BY MEGAN FEARON THE YEAR IS 2050.

Climate change has caused at least an additional 250,000 deaths per year. Parts of the world have experienced multiple simultaneous natural disasters. In some Indian cities, going outside means being cooked alive. Parts of the Middle East are unliveable. Some ice sheets are in permanent collapse, resulting in sea levels rising by up to 260ft.

Many of our most beautiful creatures are facing extinction, if not already gone. Fertile soil is a rarity, famine and airborne diseases are increasingly regular and up to 1 billion fellow human beings have been made “climate refugees”.

No element of life on earth has been untouched by climate change.

Complacency, greed and political cowardice have led us here.

This is what we are facing if serious action is not taken. Of course, it is now 2019 and some, though not all, of this is avoidable, but the science paints a bleak picture.

We are now at 1.1°C of global warming, realistically, there is now almost no way to avoid 2°C of warming, which the UN calls “catastrophic” and the island nations of the world call “genocide”.

Unless major changes are made, we are on track for 4°C of warming. To put this in the only language seemingly understood by those with the power to stop

it; those levels would mean $600 trillion in climate damages by the end of the century. That is twice as much wealth as exists in the world today.

I was so inspired last month by young people, around the world, who took to the streets to demand action on an issue that transcends borders.

They showed more leadership than any government in the world on this issue. The Climate Strike has potential to be a tipping point.

So what needs to happen? To avoid irreversible damage, carbon emissions must fall to zero in every country by 2050. For the most part, the solutions are right in front of us and very manageable if the political will exists.

I believe it is time for our own “Green New Deal” but on an allisland basis.

We can tackle climate change while stimulating the economy and addressing the huge inequalities in our society.

We must transition to 100% renewable energy.

We can upgrade our infrastructure. We can improve, modernise and incentivise public transport. We can increase energy efficiency and work with farmers to decrease our use of carbon in agriculture.

We should aim to create a carbon free economy. Not only is it the right thing to do, it could lead to sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

Making sure this programme of environmental

We should aim to create a carbon free economy, not only is it the right thing to do, it could lead to sustainable and inclusive economic growth

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reforms is fairly implemented is key. We cannot see this responsibility loaded on to “ordinary people”.

Yes, personal responsibility and education are hugely important, but governments need to drive change and overhaul our currently unviable way of life.

Alongside these measures we need a living wage, universal access to public services, strengthened workers’ rights and an end to consumerism to improve the wellbeing of our society.

Of course, these solutions are just a few of many.

Carbon capture technology has been widely mooted as a possible remedy but has not yet been thoroughly explored, and as with all technology it has its environmental and economic constraints. Emerging technologies could potentially counteract the problem, but do we have time to rely on their development?

At the end of the century, if we don’t rapidly change course, economists predict global GDP could be 30% smaller than it is now.

So in 2050, when we are living in an all too vivid dystopian society, we will regret our inaction, our lack of ambition and that we allowed governments around the world to place short-term profits over our future.

This is not a dramatic fantasy, the science is real and the projections are based in fact.

This future is hurtling towards us. So do we buckle and up brace for impact? Or do we take our lead from school children around the world and demand action?

The good news is, it’s not too late, but we have to act, now.   Megan Fearon is a Sinn Féin Assembly member in the Newry Armagh constituency

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ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2019 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

• The funeral of Limerick Trade Unionist and IRA leader Robert ‘Bobby’ Byrnes (inset)

BY MAURICE QUINLIVAN Firstly, I want to congratulate the Limerick Council of Trade Unions, SIPTU and the Limerick Soviet 100 Committee for putting together a very comprehensive programme of events to mark the one-hundredth anniversary of the Limerick Soviet.

The centenaries of the April 15th to 27th general strike against British military power in Limerick, and

On a personal level, I am particularly proud of the role played by my own forebears in these events.

Both my great grandfather Stephen Kennedy and my great gran uncle Dominick Kennedy were involved in the General Strike. Dominick was also involved in the attempted rescue of Robert Byrne, the Limerick Trade Unionist and IRA leader.

, t e i v o S k c i r e The Lim e m m a r g o r P c i t the Democra d n a l e r I w e n a g n and buildi the ratification of the Democratic Programme by the first Dáil weeks earlier affords an opportunity today to reclaim a vision of a better Ireland.

It is a vision that does not view everything as a commodity to be traded for profit; does not see people merely as labour units or consumers and does not sacrifice social needs to the workings of a financialised economy within which the dictates and whims of the bond markets reign supreme. anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2019 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

Unfortunately, Bobby Byrne was shot by the RIC in the rescue attempt at the Workhouse Hospital, now Saint Camillus Hospital. He died later that night from his wounds in a cottage in nearby Meelick.

In boldly confronting an arrogant, contemptuous and battle-hardened British military, the workers of Limerick, led by the Limerick United Trades and Labour Council, were putting themselves at considerable risk. On April 13th, two days before 43

the strike began, British Indian Army troops had carried out the infamous Amritsar Massacre in which at least 379 people were killed and another 1,200 wounded while engaged in a peaceful festive assembly.

In the following years, the British Government unleashed a campaign of terror against the Irish people in a frantic effort to suppress the republican struggle for Irish independence. On the night of March 7th 1921, the then Mayor of Limerick, George Clancy, his predecessor Michael O’Callaghan and a young man called Joseph O’Donoghue fell victim to the British death squads, like so many others throughout our country.

The ideals and vision that inspired the people of Ireland in their seemingly unequal struggle against the then mighty British Empire are succinctly and unforgettably set out in the Democratic Programme adopted at the inaugural meeting of the first Dáil Éireann on 21st January 1919.

This programme, heavily influenced by the labour movement, took its cue from the 1916 Proclamation. It envisioned an Ireland in which the “first duty of the Government of the Republic” would be “to make provision for the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of the children, to secure that no child shall suffer hunger or cold from lack of food, clothing or shelter”. The programme also pointed to the necessity of abolishing the “odious, degrading” British Poor Law System and its replacement with one that was caring, compassionate and mindful of human dignity.

It specifically referenced the duty of the state to take measures “as will safeguard the health of the people”. The programme also set forth as a further duty the development of the country’s natural resources “in the interests and for the benefit of the Irish people”. Had this progressive and humane document been taken in any way

seriously by those who assumed power in Ireland then the country may very well have turned out a much better place than was the case.

The 26-County Irish state that came into being in 1922 has fallen well short of the vision of the Democratic Programme. For decades, a huge proportion of its people endured the rigours of poverty, mass unemployment and emigration, bad housing, poor health and social services and a grossly imbalanced system of regional development. Even when wealth and affluence did eventually become a reality, much of it was frittered away in an orgy of profiteering, speculation and corruption.

While it is often boasted that Ireland is now one of the richest countries in the world, this clearly is not reflected in the lives of a great many of its people. Rather, what stands out is a chronic crisis in housing and health, poorly paid and precarious employment, the hollowing out of public services and heightened levels of disillusionment, despair and social alienation.

While the political and economic elite at the top of Irish society – aided and abetted by much of the mass media – worship at the altar of a neo-liberal economic orthodoxy that champions the creation of great wealth for the few, many others yearn for a secure home, a reasonably paid job and some security and dignity in their everyday lives. This was the vision of those who heroically struggled against the British Empire.

The greatest tribute that could be paid to the memory of the Limerick workers of 1919 and the framers of the Democratic Programme is to strive to build a broad movement to bring about, in the words of James Connolly, the re-conquest of Ireland for its people and the building of a fairer and more equitable society within a free, democratic All-Ireland state. 

• Limerick United Trades and Labour Council, 1919 44

ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2019 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

Ireland 1918 – 1922: a People’s Revolution

• British Army barricade at Sarsfield Bridge, Limerick, 1919

REMEMBERING THE 1919 LIMERICK SOVIET

BY CONOR KOSTICK The story that is being told around the commemoration of the centenary since the War of Independence is largely focused on the actions and decisions of a small number of – predominantly male – political figures. What is typically missing from story is the contribution of a risen people and especially the Irish working class.

All across Ireland from late 1918 onwards, the empire was met with mass resistance to repression. Barracks housing the military and especially the Black and Tans were boycotted. No butter or milk came their way. Post was not delivered and it went missing. No troops could be moved by train. Attendance at the British courts collapsed: a summons meant nothing unless it was to a Dáil court. The payment of taxes to the empire broke down. And against this backdrop of crumbling authority, pressure on the British administration surged up with hundreds of strikes, including huge general strikes.

The awakening of the Irish people and the start of an avalanche of acts of popular rebellion had a very distinct moment: the successful campaign to stop conscription. Early in 1918, the British Cabinet were desperate to get more men into uniform and into the trenches. It was time to march Irishmen, young and old, out of their homes and into

the fight for Empire. So on 16 April 1918, the Military Service Bill was passed.

Immediately, the leaders of Irish nationalism gathered to protest.

At the Mansion House a large gathering of politicians of all parties declared their opposition to conscription. A general strike took place on 23 April 1918 and to the amazement of the participants themselves was

It was the determination of the Irish people to oppose the establishment through boycotts, strikes, demonstrations and individual acts that obliged the Cabinet choose the path of negotiation an incredible success. All over the country, Ireland came to a complete standstill. Nothing moved. No business was open. And shocked by this display, the British administrators in Ireland retreated: not one Irish male was ever dragooned into the British army.

Wonderful success though this was, it was a missed opportunity to

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address the issue of partition. The leaders of the movement in the south did little to reach out to those in the north who were equally opposed to conscription. A unit of the UVF in Tyrone, for example, contacted the local IRA in the hope of a joint campaign to stop conscription. By emphasising the Catholic Church’s approval for resistance to conscription, the campaign gained respectability in the south but at the cost of leaving a potentially eager community of northern Protestants outside of the movement.

Another deep split in Unionism emerged on 25 January 1919, when the workers of Belfast entered into a bitter dispute with the employers of the city over the length of the working week. The strikers elected a

With ‘unparalleled ignominy and painful humiliation’ as the London Morning Post put it, the British authorities caved in and released the hunger strikers. It was a tremendous victory and one that showed the power of the risen people Catholic leader and announced that religion would not divide them. For two weeks they ran the city, with the strike committee being called a ‘soviet’. The deployment of British troops against them saw a retreat by the workers and a sense of defeat in the aftermath of the strike.

The absence of a socialist figure like James Connolly was sorely felt at this time, especially by Belfast trade union activists like his friend Sam Kyle, who stood in the Shankill Road district in the local government elections of 1920 on a socialist and Home Rule platform.

He topped the poll. Yet within a year his party was smashed and his colleagues were driven out of the workforce in the same pogroms that forced Catholics out of the shipyard. When the national movement put

the breaks on socialist radicalism in the south, they isolated these potential allies in the north.

A similar sense of lost opportunity arose around the Limerick Soviet.

On 13 April 1919 in Limerick, to defy the imposition of a new military pass system, the trades council called a general strike and adopted the term ‘soviet’ for their action. The strike was greeted with widespread enthusiasm and although the British authorities tried to scare the people of Limerick with the threat of an interruption to the food supply, the soviet quickly secured grain, milk and other foods to ensure the population was well fed.

Transport too came under soviet control. The soviet issued its own newspaper and perhaps most daring of all, its own currency to deal with the decline in circulating notes.

Here was a great opportunity to rally behind the people of Limerick and force a humiliating climb-down on General Griffin. The Dáil politicians decided not to call for solidarity with Limerick. The problem for the more conservative figures in the Cabinet was the fact that it was a group of trade unionists who were leading the battle and some commen46

tators were talking about a soviet-style revolution being a possibility in Ireland. Limerick’s general strike, therefore, was contained and the British authorities rode out the crisis.

They utterly failed to cope, however, with the next outbreak of popular, radical action. As a result of the introduction of internment, a large number of men were being held in the Mountjoy Prison without trial.

A hunger strike began among these men and by 10 April 1920, 91 men were refusing food.

Learning of their protest, huge crowds gathered at the jail and a general strike began on 13 April 1920. All over the country, workers stuck and declared soviets in order to control their towns. Typical was the scene at Kilmallock, East Limerick: ‘a visit to the local Town Hall commandeered for the purpose of issuing permits – and one was struck by the absolute recognition of the soviet system – in deed if not in name.

At one table sat a school teacher dispensing bread permits, at another a trade union official controlling the flour supply – at a third a railwayman controlling coal, at a fourth a creamery clerk distributing butter tickets… all working smoothly.’

With ‘unparalleled ignominy and painful humiliation’ as the London Morning Post put it, the British authorities caved in and released the hunger strikers. It was a tremendous victory and one that showed the power of the risen people.

That power was evident again within the month. In May 1920, Dublin dockers refused to unload two ships, believing them to be carrying military materials. The idea of boycotting the military spread to rail workers, who despite being threatened at gunpoint, refused to move trains that had soldiers on them. In Ireland, the belief was that concessions would have to be made, but the British Cabinet preferred to punish the whole country and the rail workers in particular, by ‘throttling’ the rail service. Train drivers were sacked for not moving their trains. It was a costly but effective protest, leading to ‘a serious set-back for military activities during the best season of the year’, as commander-in-chief

General Macready put it.

By mid-1921, the only way that Britain could regain control in Ireland was to deploy 100,000 troops. That was the opinion of General Macready and it was an unpalatable one for Lloyd George: the risks, including protests in England, were too great. Although the prime minister had entered conflict with the leaders of the Dáil determined not to make any concessions, two years on he was forced to reappraise the situation.

It was not the loss of troops that swayed Cabinet thinking, around 160 British military men were killed in Ireland 1919 – 1921, a negligible figure in the minds of politicians willing to send millions to their deaths to achieve the goals of empire. Rather, it was the determination of the Irish people to oppose the establishment through boycotts, strikes, demonstrations and individual acts that obliged the Cabinet choose the path of negotiation rather than repression. Irish workers in this era were full participants and not simply passive onlookers to the struggle for independence.   Conor Kostick is an historian and novelist living in Dublin

ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2019 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

WITH 311 DEAD SO FAR IN 2019

the EU’s response to migration has been utterly harrowing

BY MARTINA ANDERSON

Refugees, asylum seekers and migrants are being cut adrift in the Mediterranean. Men women and children, already incredibly isolated, scared and vulnerable are being completely abandoned by those who claim to be EU leaders.

Under international law, people in distress at sea must be promptly rescued and taken to a sanctuary of safety and shelter.

Instead, we are witnessing European governments criminalising search and rescue organisations, denying ships the right to dock and preventing persons onboard vessels the right to disembark.

Shame on them!

We have seen the case of Seán Binder from Cork and his colleagues, who were held for 107 days in pre-trial detention, for volunteering with Emergency Response Centre International (ECRI). He was in Lesbos assisting refugees in a humanitarian capacity, and now faces up to 20 years of imprisonment. Sean is being criminalised for trying to save the lives of persons in distress at sea.

Such a response is part of an array of disgraceful attempts to block migration across the EU – and we must not be silent in the face of it all.

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• Seán Binder

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Refugee Agency, have stated that they are troubled by the Further to this, European Member States Coast Guards’ in reports of the torture and abuse of refugees in Libya currently, association with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency who were protesting their prolonged detention in dire (Frontex) continue their efforts to intercept people at sea, in an attempt to return them to unsafe third countries of origin, such as conditions. They have been held for months already, with no prospect of solution. Some have been transferred to hospital as Libya. This is a clear breach of the principle of non-refoulement. a result of the injuries inflicted upon them.

A fundamental principle under international Refugee Law, Amnesty have noted that torture and it provides that “No Contracting State shall abuse are rife in Libyan detention centres. expel or return a refugee in any manner The approach of the “The fact that [those] returned to Libya are whatsoever to the frontiers of territories arbitrarily detained, tortured, raped and where her or his life or freedom would be EU is more about exploited seems to be of little consequence threatened”. to European leaders.”

The EU Council is enabling the crushing keeping people As if all of this is not enough, those of the cornerstone of international refugee out, than keeping honourable ship captains who will not protection, by bringing forward proposals dock in unsafe third countries, who remain for “regional disembarkation platforms” and people safe. We dedicated to their duty and obligation to “controlled centres”. The EU Council believe rescue people in peril at sea and get them that officials could “quickly differentiate need an approach to safety – are being left stranded at sea between refugees in need of protection and based on upholding for days on end without a port in which to economic migrants who would potentially disembark. face return to their countries of origin”. These human rights law, At the start of this year for one example, are nothing more than de facto detention two migrant rescue ships, Sea-Watch-3 centres. with the specific and Sea-Eye, carrying 49 people, including Under the veil of “managing migration”, objective of shared- children, were stuck for 19 and 12 days EU leaders will try to enact these plans into respectively at sea, while several EU legislation. We cannot afford to turn a blind responsibility, in countries were in negotiations over who eye to what is currently happening! Libya is would take them in. not safe, nor does it have the structures in an effort to ensure The people on the boats spoke of place for which people can claim asylum. full and proper violence and war, alongside hunger and Many of us listened to the horrifying desperate poverty as their reasons for recordings shared from detention centres in resettlement, leaving home. The reality is that no-one Tripoli at the end of last year, where people leaves home, unless their home is in the were being held in squalid conditions with no integration and mouth of a shark. Yet, we do not look to access to food or water. protection those at whose hands the wars are created Again, this month, UNHCR, the UN

• The approach of the EU is more about keeping people out, than keeping people safe

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Have a look at: http://missingmigrants.iom.int/ region/mediterranean and persons displaced, the occupiers and colonisers – instead, we seek to blame those forced to flee. To the glee of those, who for their own political gain, distort the debate on migration.

311 migrants have died in the Mediterranean in the first three months of 2019. The deaths are recorded by the UN International Organisation for Migration (IOM). What they term as ‘Missing Migrants’, totalled 311 people from 1 January to 28 March 2019. Have a look at: http://missingmigrants.iom.int/ region/mediterranean These 311 lives were lost in just three months, in a search for safety and shelter. The Mediterranean is a floating cemetery of unmarked graves, with NGO organisations like the IOM struggling to collate information about these people and what happened to them.

In terms of the legislative aspect, although far from perfect, anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2019 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

the updated Asylum Migration Integration Fund file, which we managed to pass in the European Parliament in Strasbourg this month, is an improvement on the current AMIF. The approach of the EU is more about keeping people out, than keeping people safe. We need an approach based on upholding human rights law, with the specific objective of shared-responsibility, in an effort to ensure full and proper resettlement, integration and protection. Instead of funding Frontex and third countries; sanctioning arbitrary detention, refoulement and return – we need to provide safe and legal pathways and opportunities for persons seeking asylum.

There is no time for complacency. Currently, we are all complicit.   Martina Anderson is a Sinn Féin MEP 49

50 YEARS OF

FREE DERRY WALL Free Derry Wall marks a 50th birthday as a symbol of civil rights in Ireland and internationally. As a witness and participant in the conflict and peace process in Ireland, Free Derry wall’s changing themes have demonstrated the universal elements in freedom struggles all over the world from Gay Pride to Gaza.

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ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2019 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht