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Interview with new Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald

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THE STORY IN PICTURES

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ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2020 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2

WE CAN HAVE A BETTER, FAIRER, UNITED IRELAND Covid-19 emergency has strengthened demand for change THE

BATTLE OF ST MATTHEWS

UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2020 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

Potential of

post Covid

CONNAUGHT RANGERS MUTINY REMEMBERED Ireland

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 PRODUCTION: MARK DAWSON

CONTRIBUTORS

Mary Lou McDonald Ruairi Creaney Roy Greenslade Chris McManus Gerry Adams Michael Taft Caoimhe Archibald Caoilfhionn Ní Dhonnabháin Erin Ní Bhroin Andy McGibbon Grace McManus Conor Foley Sinéad Ní Bhroin Cónall Ó Corra Conor Kostick Jim Gibney

Mairead Farrell

Kathleen Lynn

Liam Mellows

The socialism of Liam Mellows, as Ó Broin points out, “did not come from an understanding of the relationship between capitalism and Empire, from readings of socialist literature or involvement in working-class struggle, but from the disappointment at the outcome of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. What became clear to Mellows, while in jail, was that when the independence movement split, it split as much on class lines as anything else. His response was to encourage the mobilisation of the country’s dispossessed to the cause of the republic. For Mellows, socialism was a means to an end, namely nationalist revolution.” It’s important to point out that socialism is not about taxing the rich and redistributing wealth, as welcome as that is. It is about the democratic ownership and control of major industry and wealth. It is about democracy in the workplace, not just having elections every five years. It is about making investment decisions in a democratic way and focused on meeting human needs rather than seeking profit for private individuals. In the era of climate breakdown, the deterioration of working conditions and rising fascist movements across the world, we can no longer afford a hierarchy of aims. The struggle for national liberation needs to be a struggle against capitalism.

James Connolly

Markievicz. Women’s organisations were always among the more radical sections of our movement, and it is no surprise that every single female TD in the Second Dáil voted against the Treaty in 1922, foreseeing the reactionary and counter-revo lutionary State that would arise from it. They were unfortunatel y proven right when women became the most marginalised and oppressed section of our people under the Free State.

Constance Markievicz

Republican political ideas vital in this age of change Of all the republican formations, the modern Sinn Féin has arguably been the strongest on women’s rights. Although we were slow to address the question of abortion and triangulated on the issue for years, we played a significant role in winning the referendum to repeal the eighth amendment. We need to

Ruairí Creaney discusses the key components of Irish republicanism today.

SEE PAGE

A conversation about what it means to be an Irish republican in the 21st Century is essential Feminism

It is difficult not to draw similarities in both women’s struggle for equality and freedom and our demands for national sovereignty. Republican women have always seen the two as intertwined. As Mairéad Farrell said: “I am oppressed as a woman but I am also oppressed because I’m Irish. Everyone in this country is oppressed and we can’t successfully end our oppression as women until we first end the oppression of our country.” Many of the Irish suffragettes are familiar names in republican iconography through their involvement in Cumann na mBan and the Irish Citizen Army, such as Kathleen Lynn and Constance

Let us keep believing in a new Ireland

Mary Lou McDonald writes exclusively on post Covid Ireland and how Sinn Féin will keep working to deliver change.

Press freedom predators must be challenged

The challenge of EU reform

Referendum on Irish Unity is achievable and winnable

An economic vision for post Covid Ireland

We must have a recovery that builds a fairer society

From Spanish Flu to Covid-19 – lessons from history

Ní amháin Gaelach ach saor - Ní amháin saor ach Gaelach

A new wave of protest music is here

Compassion connects us to our people

Brazilian democracy under attack

Post Cards from a New Republic

Réabhlóid Gaeilge Shinn Féin

Celebrating the Connaught Rangers mutiny of 1920

The Battle of St Matthews

Roy Greenslade catalogues the growing challenges to press freedom around the world.

New Sinn Féin MEP Chris MacManus takes on the EU.

Gerry Adams outlines the road to the referendum for a United Ireland. SIPTU researcher Michael Taft considers the economic transformation possible post Covid-19. Caoimhe Archibald plans a post-Covid recovery that builds a fairer economy and society.

Caoilfhionn Ní Dhonnabháin compares the pandemic of 1918 to 2020.

Scríobhann Erin Ní Bhroin faoi an-chuid staire a bhfuil bainteach le Shleacht Néill, agus ról an baile ó thaobh gníomhaíochas sa phobail agus i stair na hÉireann. Musician Andy McGibbon spells out the potential of protest music in these changing times.

From the doorstep canvas to the council chamber, Councillor Grace McManus makes the case for compassion. Human Rights activist and academic Conor Foley explains the crisis in Brazilian democracy. A Public Health Service for Ireland is just one of the possibilities, Sinéad Ní Bhroin sees in a future republic. Scríobhann Cónall Ó Córra faoin réabhlóid Gaeilge atá i mbun i Sinn Féin, agus an rath do ranganna Gaeilge an páirtí i rith Covid-19

100 years on, Conor Kostick remembers this overlooked centenary event.

Jim Gibney remembers a turning point in the struggle.

anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2020 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

EDITORIAL

anphoblacht EAGARFHOCAL

There is a better Ireland for us all

he Coronavirus pandemic created a vocabulary of its own. Terms like ‘flattening the curve’, ‘social distancing’, ‘lock down’, ‘face masks’ and ‘the new normal’ filled our conversations. One term

stood out. It was the fact that when it comes to tackling Covid-19, Ireland is one ‘epidemiological unit’. Partition is meaningless when confronting the Coronavirus, as it is for creating an environmental strategy, as it should be when it comes to planning for health, education, agriculture, housing and infrastructural development.

ROBBIE SMYTH editor@anphoblacht.com

A second impact of the Coronavirus was a demonstration of how important accountable government is, and how critical a combined strategy is now on the island of Ireland. It also showed what is possible when political will exists. Within a matter of weeks across Ireland, the healthcare system was nationalised, and a basic income was established for hundreds of thousands of people. Rent control has become possible as price hikes and evictions were

Ireland has been transformed amid the tragedies of the past months. We can see what a better more inclusive Ireland could be. We must not let that vision go

banned. Critically, the austerity myth was shattered. Imagine what could have been possible if this was the response of governments in the 2008-09 great recession. In one sense Ireland has been transformed amid the tragedies of the past months. We can see what a better, more inclusive Ireland could be. We must not let that vision go. The people of Ireland have also shown an ongoing example of social solidarity, which has demonstrated once again, the support citizens can give government policies when they are perceived as legitimate and worthwhile. As government formation talks plod on in the 26 Counties it is something the participants in these negotiations should recognise. If there is a new normal, it cannot involve the same old politics of protecting the vested interests of the golden circle that has been a blight on Irish society for too long. Finally, in the months since the lockdown began, a number of republican activists have sadly died. Included in this list is Jim Scullion who was a leader of republican prisoners in Long Kesh, Jim Neeson who was a key figure in economic regeneration in the Lower Falls and a former Chairperson of the West Belfast Taxi Association. Johnny Burns was a former republican prisoner who died of Covid-19 and finally Paddy McIntyre, a former republican prisoner and H-Block escapee died after a long illness. Each played an important role in struggle, and our thoughts are with their families and friends. 

ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2020 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

Let us keep believing in a new Ireland The Covid-19 emergency has strengthened the desire for change that unites so many of us BY MARY LOU McDONALD The General Election of 2020 took place on February 8th, when we could still go to our jobs without fear, we could embrace our families, we could go to the pub to watch a match with our friends. The Covid-19 emergency has dramatically altered our world. Yet the political change needed to improve the daily lives of workers and families still

anphoblacht ď&#x201E;¸ UIMHIR EISIĂ&#x161;NA 2 - 2020 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

needs to be achieved. February produced the most seismic election result in over a century. Large numbers of people used their vote to stand up for the basic principle of fairness. After a decade lost to ruinous austerity, an overwhelming appetite for fairness and change won out at the ballot box.

• Covid-19 has dramatically altered our world - we need political change to improve the daily lives of workers and families

It was without a doubt “The Change Election”. It was the people who decided what change looks like. The people decided what is important for their present and their future.

The pandemic has held a magnifying glass over the chronic unfairness visited by successive Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil governments on ordinary people A roof over your head that you can afford. The right to see a doctor when you are sick. Decent jobs defined by a fair day’s pay for a days’ work. The belief that families should

have childcare that doesn’t cost the equivalent of a second mortgage. The modest aspiration of having some money left over after paying the bills to plan for the future and yes, heaven forbid, even enjoy some time with the family. The electorate was drawn to the idea of a society, an economy and a government that would put workers and families first. More than half a million people expressed that desire by voting for Sinn Féin. They chose Sinn Féin to represent them, to stand up for them, to protect their interests. The spirit of togetherness and social solidarity so evident in the election has blossomed during our country’s battle with Covid-19. North and South, our people have lived the meaning of “Ní neart go cur le chéile”. Generosity, decency, concern for others and the commitment to being a good neighbour are the values that have kept us safe. Far from the Covid-19 emergency weakening the desire for change, it has strengthened it. More people have realised that unequal societies are vulnerable societies. The pandemic has held a magnifying glass over the chronic unfairness

ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2020 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

visited by successive Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil governments on ordinary people. Perhaps this is best illuminated by the fact that many of today’s essential workers are low-paid workers who are unfairly treated, such as our nurses. They have always been essential and it is time their pay and conditions reflected this truth. The crisis has made all the more important the need to reimagine and reshape our society and our economy. It has made all the more urgent the need to finally place fairness, well-being and compassion at the heart of government decisions. In order to ensure that we have a fair recovery from this pandemic, to ensure that there is no return to austerity, we need a government for change. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have come together to exclude Sinn Féin from government and to resist change. In fact, it is now very hard to tell what Micheál Martin stands for other than his refusal to talk to Sinn Féin. The political old guard is clinging to power. They are the reason why governments come and governments go but nothing ever changes for ordinary people. Tellingly, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, rather than embracing change, have pushed back against it. This is a forewarning of the type of government they plan to form. These parties have found it difficult to hide their aversion to fairness even during the pandemic. We have glimpsed this in the failure to produce a childcare plan that works for parents in line with the reopening of the economy, in the

reluctance to end the exclusion of women returning from maternity leave from the Wage Subsidy Scheme and we see it now in the plan to cut the Pandemic Unemployment Payment. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil always try to shortchange those who most need government to deliver for them. Clearly, no government that excludes Sinn Féin can claim to be a ‘Government for change’. It will be a government for

The crisis has made all the more important the need to reimagine and reshape our society and our economy more of the same. This is the last thing we need as we try to adapt to a world in which collective safety and well-being have never been more important. What we do need is the biggest public and affordable housing programme in the history of the State. We need a single-tier national health service for Ireland. We need to begin the work of delivering childcare as public service. We need to return the State pension age to sixty-five. We need to

• The General Election of 2020 produced the most seismic election result in over a century

anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2020 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

build an economy that isn’t rigged against workers. As with Brexit, Covid-19 has underscored why we most definitely need a plan for Irish Unity. As an island, we are stronger and safer as one. It makes sense that our response to the pandemic - medically, politically and economically - must be an all-island response. We need a government that will work to achieve these ambitions rather than a government that will spend the next five years telling us that it isn’t possible. The position that fairness is impossible has been exposed by some of the emergency actions taken by the government in the last three months. If the will exists, extortionate rents can be frozen and tackled, equality of access can be introduced into our health system, we can have strong social protections. We can do much better. Sinn Féin will keep working for the change that will put you, your family and your community first. We will work for

Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil always try to short-change those who most need government to deliver for them a recovery from the Covid-19 crisis that will protect your income and to reboot the economy in a way that delivers for you and supports SMEs instead of prioritising the profits of big insurance companies, banks and vulture funds. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil may be able to delay change but they cannot stop it. I am not giving up. So many of us are united by the desire for change expressed during the election and by the togetherness that has sustained our people during the Covid-19 crisis. We can have a better, fairer, united Ireland and a government that will truly pursue this goal. The story is far from over. How it unfolds from this point is down to each and every one of us. This decade must belong to workers and families. It must be a decade defined by opportunity, by investment in people and by hope. The Covid-19 crisis cannot be used as a justification for a return to austerity. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael want to drag us backward. No matter what they do in the coming weeks, let us keep believing in a new Ireland. Let us keep working to deliver the change that our people so badly want and need. 

Mary Lou McDonald TD is President of Sinn Féin. • Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil may be able to delay change but they cannot stop it

ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2020 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

REPUBLICAN POLITICAL IDEAS VITAL IN THIS AGE OF CHANGE BY RUAIRÍ CREANEY Sinn Féin is now the most popular political party in Ireland and the voice of the discontented working class of this country. We are the biggest threat to the conservative establishment that has controlled the 26-County State for a century. As such, the party has a responsibility to provide ideological guidance to our activists and wider support base. In his 2009 book, Sinn Féin and the Politics of Left Republicanism, Eoin Ó Broin explored the history of our movement and critically examined the failures of past struggles and the shortcomings of our ideology. This was one of the first books by a proponent of Irish republicanism to critically examine the historical development of left republicanism and attempted to put forward a theory of the ideology since Gerry Adams wrote The Politics of Irish Freedom in 1986. Ó Broin’s book is a challenging one that dispels some of the myths surrounding Irish republicanism – both by its supporters as well as its opponents – and is one that deserves to be revisited today. One of Ó Broin’s key observations was that left republicanism has been “confused and under-theorised”. • Sinn Féin is now the most He wrote: “Despite having a popular political party in significant body of political Ireland writings left by Connolly, twentieth century republicans, in contrast with socialist and communist movements across Europe, by and large avoided ideological discussion or critique.” Indeed, it is notable that no other major book by a proponent of Irish republicanism has been published examining the theory of our ideology since Eoin Ó Broin’s over a decade ago. Since then, we have experienced the EU/IMF bailout, harsh austerity, Brexit, the skyrocketing cost of living, the vandalism of our health service, the collapse and restoration of the institutions in the 6 Counties and, most recently, Covid-19. While it may seem to be a mere exercise in academia, this failure to properly devote time and energy into developing a anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2020 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

coherent political theory has real world consequences. Without ideological theory and the popular political education that should come with it, we are vulnerable to being caught out by unpredicted events. Theory helps guide our action. As Lenin stated in his famous pamphlet, What Is To Be Done?: “Without revolutionary theory, there can be no revolutionary movement”.

Component parts of Irish Republicanism The brand of republicanism that Sinn Féin advocates is firmly on the left. In my view, there are five basic components of modern left republicanism: national sovereignty, socialism, feminism, internationalism and anti-racism.

National Sovereignty The first component part, national sovereignty, is an obvious one for Irish republicans. The idea of national sovereignty holds that the people of any given country have the right to determine their own affairs, free from the interference of more powerful States. This right is one that has been denied to Ireland through centuries of occupation and partition. In recent years, national sovereignty is a concept that has resonated among many people dissatisfied with establishment politics. Unfortunately, as seen with the election of Donald Trump, much of the rhetoric surrounding Brexit and the rise of fascist parties across Europe, this ground has been monopolised by the populist right. However, as William Mitchel and Thomas Fazi point out in their 2018 book, Reclaiming the State, the left need to reassert the value in using the nation state to bring 7

Mairead Farrell about progressive change and not concede this ground to the far right. Given our history of anti-imperialist struggle and exerting Ireland’s right to self-determination, Sinn Féin is in a unique position to do this. Our commitment to national sovereignty determines how we act politically. It is obvious British rule in the North is anti-democratic and violates our right to national sovereignty.

Women’s organisations were always among the more radical sections of our movement, and it is no surprise that every single female TD in the Second Dáil voted against the Treaty in 1922 However, in the present era, our commitment to national sovereignty should pose a series of questions regarding the nature of our relationship with the European Union. Can we be truly sovereign if we don’t even have our own currency? How much independence would we really have in a United Ireland if we are forced to make our economic decisions based on the

Kathleen Lynn

Liam Mellows

EU’s fanatical devotion to neoliberal dogma? Are we really independent if the EU prohibits Keynesian economics, let alone socialism? And is there a realistic strategy by the European left, of which we are part, to reform the EU from within?

Socialism The second strand of modern Irish republicanism should incorporate socialism, the idea that working people should have maximum control over their workplaces and the economy is planned according to human need rather than profit. As Gerry Adams once said: “In Ireland until partition is got rid of and a United Ireland established, being genuinely left-wing is to be an out-and-out republican. This was the key lesson of James Connolly for socialists in Ireland. That is why he was led, as a socialist, to join Pearse and the other radical republicans and democrats in a fight to establish an Irish Republic. If that fight had been successful, Connolly and the socialists would then have been in the best position to advocate the economic and social changes which constitute socialism. They would have proved themselves by their leadership of the independence struggle. That is why it is a political mistake to counterpoise republicanism and socialism in Ireland as if they were opposites or antagonistic” Socialism has always been an important strand of Sinn Féin’s politics but, as Eoin Ó Broin pointed out, “The party’s socialism has been ambiguous, underdeveloped and at times contradictory”. He was also right to suggest that many republicans invoked socialism only in so far as it benefited the struggle for national independence rather than being an aim in itself. ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2020 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

James Connolly The socialism of Liam Mellows, as Ó Broin points out, “did not come from an understanding of the relationship between capitalism and Empire, from readings of socialist literature or involvement in working-class struggle, but from the disappointment at the outcome of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. What became clear to Mellows, while in jail, was that when the independence movement split, it split as much on class lines as anything else. His response was to encourage the mobilisation of the country’s dispossessed to the cause of the republic. For Mellows, socialism was a means to an end, namely nationalist revolution.” It’s important to point out that socialism is not about taxing the rich and redistributing wealth, as welcome as that is. It is about the democratic ownership and control of major industry and wealth. It is about democracy in the workplace, not just having elections every five years. It is about making investment decisions in a democratic way and focused on meeting human needs rather than seeking profit for private individuals. In the era of climate breakdown, the deterioration of working conditions and rising fascist movements across the world, we can no longer afford a hierarchy of aims. The struggle for national liberation needs to be a struggle against capitalism.

Feminism It is difficult not to draw similarities in both women’s struggle for equality and freedom and our demands for national sovereignty. Republican women have always seen the two as intertwined.

anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2020 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

Constance Markievicz

As Mairéad Farrell said: “I am oppressed as a woman but I am also oppressed because I’m Irish. Everyone in this country is oppressed and we can’t successfully end our oppression as women until we first end the oppression of our country.” Many of the Irish suffragettes are familiar names in republican iconography through their involvement in Cumann na mBan and the Irish Citizen Army, such as Kathleen Lynn and Constance Markievicz. Women’s organisations were always among the more

Is there a realistic strategy by the European left, of which we are part, to reform the EU from within? radical sections of our movement, and it is no surprise that every single female TD in the Second Dáil voted against the Treaty in 1922, foreseeing the reactionary and counter-revolutionary State that would arise from it. They were unfortunately proven right when women became the most marginalised and oppressed section of our people under the Free State. Of all the republican formations, the modern Sinn Féin has arguably been the strongest on women’s rights. Although we were slow to address the question of abortion and triangulated on the issue for years, we played a significant role in winning the referendum to repeal the eighth amendment. We need to

Sinn Féin played a significant role in the referendum to repeal the 8th amendment - but do we still need to question our relationship with feminism and questions of gender? acknowledge our movement’s problematic relationship with feminism and questions of gender. As Ó Broin observed, women’s roles were “clearly marginal” in movements like the Young Irelanders and the United Irishmen, while Fenian journals “The Nation and The United Irishman appear silent on the question of women’s rights”. It also needs to be acknowledged that the failure to fully embrace the struggle for women’s emancipation empowered the bourgeois reactionaries within the national movement such as Kevin O’Higgins and William T. Cosgrave who would later spearhead the counter-revolution. Indeed, P.S. O’Hegarty, a leading ideologue for the Free State regime, complained that the revolutionary period “encouraged women to forget their sex and play at gunmen”. More recently, in the aftermath of the 2019 European and local elections, some members opined that Sinn Féin’s poor performance was due to the party being too vocal about reproductive rights. Even if it was true (which it absolutely is not), we should not be subjugating human rights to short-term electoral success. It is more important to stand up for human rights such as abortion access particularly when it is not popular. It is obvious that some republicans on some level still see women’s liberation as an optional add on, rather than an intrinsic part of our struggle, and is something that needs to be faced up to. On a broader level, women’s work – both in the workplace and in the home – is vastly undervalued. The Coronavirus pandemic has shown us which jobs are actually important in society. It’s not the advertisers, the stockbrokers, the entrepreneurs, the tax lawyers or those running the insurance cartels. All these jobs are highly paid yet, as the lockdown has shown, all are either completely socially useless or actively harmful to the rest of us. The jobs we actually rely on – the shop assistants, the care assistants, the nurses – are all under-paid and mostly done by women. In addition, the capitalist system we live under refuses to account for the countless hours of labour – again, mostly done by

women – in the domestic sphere: child minding, child rearing, cooking, washing, helping kids with homework, care for elderly and sick relatives; None of these vital activities are counted as part of GDP. None of it is paid, despite the fact that the entire global economy relies on this social reproduction for its very survival. This is something that Sinn Féin – and the global left for that matter – needs to recognise. As the great communist revolutionary and feminist Alexandra Kollontai said: “Capitalism has placed a crushing burden on the shoulders of working women; it makes her a wage worker, but does not lessen her duties at home as a mother and as a housekeeper.” Too often women’s issues are relegated to matters of identity and Clintonite symbolism of “breaking the glass ceiling” which seeks to increase female representation in corporate boards and imperialist armies. Advancing the cause of feminism means confronting the injustice that disproportionately affect women, but also affect working class men: low pay, anti-trade union employers, rip-off rents and the vandalism of our public health system.

Internationalism Every Irish republican struggle has occurred in the context of wider global upheavals and struggles. The United Irishmen were inspired by revolutions in France and America. In the 19th Century, Fenians such as James Stephens and John Devoy were involved in the International Workingmen’s Association, which famously boasted Karl Marx as a leading member. Indeed, the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution inspired many involved in our own revolution at the time. Thousands attended an event in the Mansion House in Dublin celebrating the victory of Lenin’s Bolsheviks. In 1916, the Easter Rising happened in the context of the First World War. James Connolly was one of the few socialist leaders in the world to oppose the war, declaring it “War for which all the jingoes are howling, war to which all the hopes of the world are ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2020 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

A conversation about what it means to be an Irish republican in the 21st Century is essential. We need to ensure that the development of our ideology is carried out in direct dialogue with our members, who can bring their lived experiences to the discussion being sacrificed, war to which a mad ruling class would plunge a mad world”. More recently, the armed struggle against British rule in the Six Counties was part of a global anti-colonial struggle that saw insurrections in Palestine, South Africa, Vietnam, Angola and many other oppressed nations. Our struggle has always been international in character.

Anti-racism Because of our history of being a colonised and oppressed nation, Ireland is unique in Europe in that our nationalism is not synonymous with white supremacy and immigrant baiting. Sinn Féin deserves significant credit in ensuring that the organised far-right have never been able to get a foothold in Ireland. We have channeled discontented working-class nationalism in a progressive and anti-imperialist direction, and have denied fascists the political ground on which they can grow. Unlike most other parties of the centre-left in Europe, Sinn Féin have never capitulated to racism or anti-immigrant sentiment. anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2020 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

In countries where the centre left tried to placate racism by appearing “tough on immigration”, this approach served only to legitimise their arguments of the far right and their support subsequently grew. Sinn Féin has proven that sticking to an uncompromising anti-racist position is the correct one both morally and strategically.

Political education, popular power and social change A key objective of our party is to popularise republicanism, and an important way of doing this is through political education, not only of our activists, but our wider support base in our communities and workplaces. Sinn Féin began doing this with the series of public rallies that took place after the election but were cut short as a result of the lockdown. When the lockdown is lifted, this is the type of political activity Sinn Féin should pursue. We need to invoke the tradition of the United Irishmen who sought to “make everyman a politician”. We need to popularise political and economic ideas and give people ownership of the struggle against Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. We need to remind people that politics is not just what happens in Leinster House, but also takes place in every community, household and workplace. We have to remind people that collectively they have the power, through strikes, street demonstrations and community organising, to challenge the right-wing establishment that have decimated our living conditions and public services. A conversation about what it means to be an Irish republican in the 21st Century is essential. We need to ensure that the development of our ideology is carried out in direct dialogue with our members, who can bring their lived experiences to the discussion, which in turn will ensure that our ideology remains not only radical, but relevant to the lives of ordinary people.  Ruairí Creaney is the Sinn Féin organiser for Kildare and a founding member of Trade Unionists for a United Ireland. 11

PRESS FREEDOM PREDATORS

MUST BE CHALLENGED

Covid-19 crisis is being used to erode press freedom around the world BY ROY GREENSLADE With thousands dying around the globe and many thousands more suffering from the deleterious effects of coronavirus, it may seem as though press freedom is a relatively minor matter. Nothing could be further from the truth. The reason for the contagion’s rapid and uncontrolled spread is itself a manifestation of the lack of press freedom in the country where it began. The Chinese Communist Party attempted to keep Covid-19 a secret and thereby denied the rest of the world the chance to prepare its defences weeks ahead of the news about the Wuhan outbreak finally breaking. In its bid to suppress the truth, the party’s police force arrested Li Wenliang, the doctor who warned his colleagues of the contagion, and infamously accused him of “spreading false rumours.” Keep that malevolent, trumped-up, catchall offence in mind because it has since proved to be the template for authoritarian governments across the world. Consider also the insidious effect of the President of the USA, who has turned reality on its head by labelling the truth as “fake news.” Together, America’s Donald Trump, in the land of the free, and China’s Xi Jinping, in the land of the unfree, have become the world’s most powerful press freedom predators. They have provided a repressive blueprint for political leaders elsewhere, be they dictators, the nervous holders of office in fragile, developing democracies or even the ruling elites in settled democracies. As a result, journalists seeking to tell the truth have been persecuted. They have been threatened, intimidated, arrested and beaten up. Newspapers have been banned. Websites have been blocked. Censorship has been granted a spurious legitimacy. By using Covid-19 as a cover, governments have instituted a range of actions which reveal their underlying hostility towards the exercise of press freedom. Lest you think I exaggerate, what follows is but a snapshot of dishonourable actions against journalists and their outlets. At first glance, some incidents appear to be relatively minor 12

clashes between individual reporters and members of the security forces and police. Together, however, they reveal an anti-press freedom paradigm which has seen journalists subject to highhanded treatment along with instances of almost casual brutality. These reinforce a disturbing trend of increasing antagonism towards those who work for mainstream media. In too many countries, the authorities now feel confident they can abuse journalists, even to the extent of denying them the right to life, because those who attack them enjoy the shield of impunity. Let’s begin with Russia – serial killer of journalists – and its former satellite states. When Covid-19 arrived Vladimir Putin’s administration was quick to enact legislation which sought to prevent journalistic inquiries. A new law prohibits the spreading of supposed “false information” with punishments ranging from fiveyear prison terms to £20,000 fines. Media outlets found guilty of disseminating disinformation face fines up to £100,000. On 15 April, Russia’s media control agency, Roskomnadzor, ordered the Moscow newspaper Novaya Gazeta to delete an article by investigative journalist Elena Milashina because she criticised the lack of preparedness for coronavirus at hospitals in the autonomous republic of Chechnya. During a visit to the capital, Grozny, in February Milashina was assaulted in a hotel lobby by a group of about 15 people. The attack, in which she suffered soft tissue injuries to her head, bruises and scratches to her shoulders and neck, was reported to the authorities but not investigated. In Azerbaijan, freelancer Natig Izbatov was arrested by security forces for reporting on the challenges faced by people during the Covid-19 quarantine. Two journalists, Ibrahim Vazirov and Mirsahib Rahiloghlu, were detained for similar reporting and placed under “administrative arrest” for 25 and 20 days respectively. In Moldova, the health ministry refused to answer journalistic questions and arbitrarily lengthened the amount of time for formal responses to freedom of information requests from 30 days to 90. In Serbia, journalists were banned from attending daily Covid-19 press briefings by the Health Minister on the disputed grounds of the virus having entered “some newsrooms.” An ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2020 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

Donald Trump, in the land of the free, and China’s Xi Jinping, in the land of the unfree, have become the world’s most powerful press freedom predators. They have provided a repressive blueprint for political leaders elsewhere anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2020 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

online journalist, Ana Lalic, was detained overnight for “spreading panic” and damaging the reputation of a hospital by writing about its workers’ lack of personal protective equipment. Leaders of Serbia’s journalists’ union accused their government of “covert censorship”. There were reports of similar crackdowns in Rumania and Moldova. Many African countries with poor press freedom records added to their litany of authoritarianism and misconduct towards journalists. In Zimbabwe, freelance journalist Panashe Makufa was beaten up by the police and forced to delete video footage on his camera after filming a police operation to disperse people during the lockdown in the capital, Harare. His experience was mirrored in incidents recorded by international press freedom watchdogs in Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Somalia, Zambia, and Uganda, where a TV journalist was taken to hospital with serious injuries after being assaulted by police officers. In Sierra Leone, Fayia Amara Fayia, a reporter with the Standard Times, ended up in a wheelchair following an assault by a group of 13

• Vladimir Putin’s administration in Russia are serial killers of journalists

• Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary

• Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan 14

soldiers, who hit him with guns and kicked him, because he photographed a quarantine centre. In India, the government sought to introduce censorship by urging the country’s Supreme Court to issue an order that media outlets should not report on Covid-19 without ascertaining “the factual position” from the government. The court rejected the request, but officials in various states tried other routes to suppress news about coronavirus. The chief minister of Maharashtra banned the distribution of newspapers on the fallacious grounds that it could spread the virus. In Tamil Nadu, the founder of a news website was arrested for publishing an item about problems faced by healthcare workers. India was also one of the first countries to use the contagion as an excuse to restrict online access to its citizens. In company with Egypt, Iran and Ethiopia, it prevented the normal operation of the internet, effectively obstructing or denying news websites the capability to report on behalf of their audiences. Three south-east Asian countries, under the guise of crisis measures linked to the pandemic, passed laws that give their rulers censorship powers. Vietnam’s autocratic regime can now fine social media users for publishing or sharing what it deems to be “fake news”. Cambodia’s emergency legislation allows its government to monitor communications, control media output, and prohibit the distribution of any information which could generate public fear or damage national security. In Indonesia, journalists face an 18-month sentence if they are found responsible for publishing not only incorrect information about Covid-19 but also “hostile information about the president and government.” Governments in several Middle Eastern countries, where journalism is barely tolerated anyway, decided to tighten their grip still further. Iraq suspended the licence of the Reuters news agency for a story claiming the number of Covid-19 cases in the country was higher than officially reported. In Iraqi Kurdistan, four journalists were arrested for a range of stories critical of the autonomous government’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis. The United Arab Emirates introduced a series of fines should journalists publish medical information that contradicts official statements. In Jordan, security forces arrested the owner of Roya TV and its news director for airing a segment in which people from the poor districts of the capital, Amman, criticised the nature of the Covid-19 lockdown. They were sentenced to 14-day detentions. Then there is Turkey, which had the dubious distinction for four years of being the world’s leading jailer of journalists, a title regained by China last year. It added to its prison population by arresting the veteran Turkish journalist Hakan Aygun for posting an item on social media that belittled the campaign by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to raise funds for Covid-19 victims. Days later, the country’s broadcasting regulator banned Fox TV from airing its prime time news show for three consecutive days because presenter Fatih Portakal had the temerity to criticise the State’s coronavirus policies. Within Europe, there is not much doubt about press freedom’s greatest menace. Step forward Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary. In a country where he and his oligarch cronies control some 80% of the print and broadcasting outlets, he was not prepared to allow any criticism of his handling of the pandemic by independent media which, according to him, were guilty of publishing disinformation. At the end of March, Orbán oversaw the passing of a special “coronavirus” law which allowed him rule by decree for an indefinite period. Anyone found guilty of publishing what his government holds to be “fake news” faces a prison sentences of up to five years. A Reporters Without Borders spokesman referred to it as an “Orwellian law which introduces a full-blown information police state in the heart of Europe.” The law runs counter to the European Union’s ethos and contravenes the rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights. But, Orbán has admirers, notably in Poland where a similar form of “media capture” has occurred. Its main public broadcaster, TVP, ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2020 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

• Investigative journalists Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney

is controlled by the ruling Law and Justice party and has been a slavish cheerleader for the government throughout the Covid-19 crisis while denigrating political opponents. Independent Polish journalists were alarmed at the end of last year when prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into the reporting by Gazeta Wyborcza journalist Katarzyna Wlodkowska of the January 2019 assassination of Pawel Adamowicz, mayor of Gdansk. She faces the possibility of a two-year jail sentence for allegedly “divulging confidential information.” anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2020 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

The pattern could not be more obvious. Unprincipled governments without any regard for press freedom before the outbreak of coronavirus have used it as a way of constraining press freedom still further. Nor should we overlook the fact that in democratic states in the European Union, where freedom of the press is often taken for granted, specific Covid-19 pandemic measures challenged journalists’ ability to work freely. According to a paper published in late April by the International Press Institute (IPI), its researchers found examples of excessive regulation, unnecessary restrictions on information and inappropriate surveillance of journalists. Some reporters and photographers also told of being verbally and physically attacked. In lamenting some 52 recorded press freedom “violations”, IPI’s deputy director, Scott Griffen said: “Attacks on the media should not become the new normal.” His view is shared by the other leading press freedom organisations. “The coronavirus crisis provides irrefutable proof of the relevance of our fight,” said Christophe Deloire, general secretary of Reporters San Frontières (RSF). Adding that, “Censorship cannot be regarded as a country’s internal matter. Information control in a given country can have consequences all over the planet.” Rachael Jolley, editor-in-chief of Index of Censorship, is similarly alarmed by the current situation: “In times of extraordinary crisis, governments often take the opportunity to roll back on personal freedoms and media freedom,” she said. “The public’s right to know can be severely reduced with the little democratic process.” All three bodies stress that 2019, prior to the contagion, was anything but a good year for press freedom. Coronavirus merely amplified the underlying dangers. In the introduction to RSF’s 2020 world press freedom index, five themes were identified as being pivotal for press freedom in the coming decade: a geopolitical crisis (due to the aggressiveness of authoritarian regimes); a technological crisis (due to a lack of democratic guarantees); a democratic crisis (due to polarisation and repressive policies); a crisis of trust (due to suspicion and even hatred of the media); and an economic crisis (the impoverishment of quality journalism). Of the 180 countries surveyed, Ireland was ranked in 13th place while the UK was 35th. Why was Britain so low when it is in the forefront of promoting global media freedom? Because it has at least three big black marks against it: the murder of freelance reporter Lyra McKee in Derry in April 2019; the clumsy attempt to prosecute investigative journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey, for their revelatory film about the Loughinisland massacre; and the jailing of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, and the decision to green light his extradition to the US. Put aside Covid-19 for a moment and think instead of the virus infecting ruling elites across the world, the virus which convinces those in power that press freedom is their enemy. To preserve that freedom, the only antidote is – to quote the colourful 18th century Irish lawyer, John Curran – “eternal vigilance”.  Roy Greenslade is an Honorary Visiting Professor at City, University of London, and a member of the UK board of Reporters Sans Frontières 15

The challenge of EU reform Ireland’s new MEP talks about bringing Sinn Féin’s vision for a Citizen Centred Europe to the next level

BY CHRIS MacMANUS Reforming all that is wrong with the EU project is a slow process, but it will never happen if we don’t make tangible efforts to change it now. To find common ground across the political spectrum on the aspects that require a system overhaul is the first and probably the most difficult task to achieve. To put it mildly, we in Sinn Féin never made it a secret that we have a radically different outlook on the European institutions. For obvious reasons, the idea of any kind of foreign governance doesn’t rest easy with Republicans. That said, critically engaging with the EU shouldn’t imply just ‘hurling from the ditch’. It should mean that we acknowledge what is right with the EU and work to remedy what is wrong with it. We must forge bold but reasonable plans to address the EU’s inadequacies and protect those elements of the project that work well for all its member states, not just the select few geographically closest to the EU parliament buildings or with a federalist outlook like Germany and her neighbours. It was the German statesman Otto von Bismarck who once stated “If you like laws and sausages, you should never watch either one being made”. I’m not sure about the latter but, after only a few weeks as an MEP, I can already attest that the former rings true. Every single decision moves at a glacial pace. The sheer size of the European Union means every meeting, plenary, committee or parliamentary sitting is noted, minuted and entails an excessive paper trail as does every amendment or rejection faced by legislation on its way to fruition. Not to mention the questionable outlay of time and money (€114M per annum) that is the monthly trek to Strasbourg. I could also dedicate a separate article to the EU’s fixation on a onesize-fits-all pan-European policy that hasn’t and will never work. For example, the definition of a ‘small farmer’ in Sligo is quite a different concept to the one considered in Bavaria or the Po Valley in Italy. The EU’s steady march towards militarisation is another major cause for concern in recent years. Ethics aside, this is an increasingly dangerous funnelling of funds that could be put to better use elsewhere. Surely this is not the European Union that was envisaged by its earliest pioneering dreamers. My concern is that the longer you stay in European politics the

The definition of a ‘small farmer’ in Sligo is quite a different concept to the one considered in Bavaria or the Po Valley in Italy

• When a border poll materialises and reunification talks are in process, it’s better to have the EU to be working with us

more acclimatised and accepting you become to the EU ’bubble’ and maybe that’s the problem. As Ireland has become so enthralled with the system, it’s lost the ability to critically engage with it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no Irexit cheerleader. I, for the most part, consider the EU to be a worthy notion. There is no doubting the positive impacts it has had since its formative decades post-WWII. As a peace project and as a framework for inter-European trade, it has been largely successful. We should never forget the fragility and simmering tensions that existed across our continent prior to its inception. Likewise, from a more selfish, domestic viewpoint our major road infrastructures have benefited massively in recent decades through EU funding. Some of you will be able to recall car journeys from Belfast to Cork taking upwards of seven or eight hours. If you didn’t complete that same journey now in under four hours, you’d be disappointed with yourself. The same applies east-west, with a Dublin to Galway venture taking less than half the time it took in the ‘80s. These infrastructural improvements have been greatly beneficial to the economy across the island but it has also brought Irish society in our four provinces closer together. Post-Good Friday Agreement, the EU put its money where its mouth was. Many cross border projects benefited greatly from funding in the past twenty or so years. I worked for over a decade with the former political prisoner community, primarily funded by EU special funding, and there’s no doubting that many such projects helped bolster the peaceful times we now live in. And when, indeed, a border poll materialises and reunification talks are in process, I’d much rather the EU to be working with us, similar to German unification in the early ‘90s. ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2020 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

• EU funded infrastructure has been greatly beneficial to the economy across the island but it has also brought Irish society in our four provinces closer together

So, in short, there’s plenty to like about a Europe working together, but that one negative you’ll always hear being bounced around, though, is ‘bureaucracy’. There’s simply no getting away from it. Ask anyone who was involved in any of the admin and paper reports in those EU funded Peace projects I mentioned and they would all think twice before embarking on similar schemes again due to the chronic officialdom attached to funding. I recall my predecessor, Matt Carthy, making efforts to simplify the red tape around CAP payment system to make life easier for family farmers. Ironically, it was the red tape that strangled that initiative. I’m sure my former EU colleagues Lynn Boylan, Liadh Ní Riada and Martina Anderson would attest to similar tribulations. So how does one change the direction of an oil tanker like the European Union? Firstly, we acknowledge the need for change. As misjudged as Brexit was, it needs to be the EU’s wake up call. The European Union is by no means perfect, and we shouldn’t be so surprised when apparent deficiencies are left bare by the likes of Brexit. That can be difficult to accept in the parliamentary presence of jingoistic Farage types, but whether we like it or not we should learn from the issues Brexit raised. The current Covid-19 crisis should amplify that wake-up call. In my opinion, to see tangible EU reform we need a cohesive strategy that works at the problematic issues from a number of angles. Later this year, depending on the lifting of Covid restrictions, we’re likely to see the Conference on the Future of Europe taking place. This event will host TDs, MPs and MEPs from across the continent. In theory this is a forum to discuss and implement reform of the EU project. In reality, it will be a media exercise where the closest thing to reform we’re likely to see is a mere fine-tuning of an already agreed federalist ‘vision’ that further cements our wayward trajectory. There is an overwhelmingly neoliberal slant in European politics today and it is unlikely a conference like this can or will address the major issues. The best we can hope is that the representatives present,

I will fight every day to make the EU work better for us

anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2020 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

from each member state, may seek to protect their own sovereignty. This might look like the obvious place to present our agenda for change, but the reality is that even if we had consensus among our thirteen Irish MEPs, it would be difficult to have any real sway when you consider the influence of countries with far more MEPs e.g. Germany with ninety-six. Perhaps the only way of achieving any kind of substantive reform is to take the debate out of the EU institutions themselves. Not like we’ve done previously through managed consultations, but through meaningful domestic processes. The Oireachtas for example should rigorously scrutinise what’s going on in the EU, as happens in other member states. MEPs should be more closely tied into Oireachtas deliberations and to national interests and priorities, rather than uncritically supporting everything the EU does. The public should be involved in this process, so that we can have a real discussion about what powers should be specifically allocated at EU, National, Regional or Local levels. In addition to this, we need a national consensus to refuse EU reforms which would further damage our national democracy and take decision making and accountability further away from citizens. The reality is that we are not unique in wanting change. It is vital we build alliances across the EU with those who want to see similar reform. We must begin conversations with the broad left and others to get things moving. The majority of us want to see the same improvements and we should be working together to achieve those goals. As a new Sinn Féin MEP, my priority is that I will fight every day to make the EU work better for us. Taking inspiration from the Proclamation, it must be about economic and social equality for all citizens. I will endeavour to seek reform and change within those institutions that hold us back. I will work with long-standing friends of Irish Republicanism and seek new allies with those who share common policy platforms with ourselves. Most importantly, I will always keep the republican message at the forefront of all my dealings as an MEP. So begins the challenge.  Chris MacManus is Sinn Féin’s MEP for Midlands Northwest 17

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

Solidarity is the cure for post pandemic Europe As Europe slowly reopens after the devastating impact of the Coronavirus, the GUE/NGL group of which Sinn Féin is a part of in the EU Parliament has been actively campaigning in the EU on a range of fronts. Sinn Féin MEP Chris McManus has won support from the powerful Economics and Monetary Affairs Committee for a key Brexit amendment on workers’ rights.

A plan for post pandemic Europe In early May, the GUE/NGL group launched proposals for “a Sustainable Development and Employment Pact and an ECB that works for people and the planet”. Titled ‘Solidarity is the Cure’, the plan “recognises the unprecedented nature of the health, economic and social crises facing the EU today while taking stock of the mistakes committed during the 2008 financial crisis to offer a progressive vision for Europe where people and planet come before profit and greed”. Highlighting the difficulties and challenges frontline workers have faced in this crisis, GUE/NGL Co-President Manon Aubry called for an urgent reassessment of how their labour is recognised: “The pandemic has laid bare the disastrous consequences of austerity in our public services, especially in the health sector. It has revealed the catastrophic impact of free trade and the loss of our industrial sovereignty as we’re seeing in the pharmaceutical sector. And it demonstrates the total absence of coordination and solidarity between member states. “Health must come before profit. We need massive investment in the development of our health and social care systems to give its workers, mostly low-paid women, the social and financial recognition they deserve. The people must not be made to pay for the crisis. ‘Frugal’ member states need to accept the mutualisation of costs: the ECB has a key part to play, cancelling debts, and acting as a lender of last resort.” For Co-President Martin Schirdewan this is a seminal opportunity to reimagine a more socially and ecologically just Europe, with solidarity as its backbone: “The decisions we make at this critical

Grúpa Cónasctha den Chlé Aontaithe Eorpach • den Chlé Ghlas Nordach

GRÚPA PARLAIMINTEACH EORPACH

www.guengl.eu moment will determine the nature of the world we live in for decades to come. Do we allow a return to the policies of the past that have impoverished and disenfranchised people, and devastated public services and communities? Do we use public funds to prop up corporations and banks and allow them to continue exploitative practices? “Or, instead, do we turn away from the failures of the past and build a better society based on meeting the needs of all, saving the climate and ending inequality? The Left is putting forward concrete proposals that outline how we can reach these goals, and what we need to do to get there.”

Sinn Féin in the European Parliament Sinn Féin MEP Chris MacManus has won support from the powerful Economics and Monetary Affairs Committee for a key amendment which will help protect workers’ rights and the free movement of services in Ireland after Brexit. The accepted amendment means the Committee, which will feed into the Parliament’s position, has now adopted a position that these issues should be covered in a future agreement with a post-Brexit Britain. MacManus said: “The Irish protocol covers Irish workers working cross-border but other EU workers in this situation were not dealt with. Their issue is now firmly on the table thanks to Sinn Féin. Those who did not cause Brexit should not pay the price and the all-Ireland economy must not be a victim of a Tory Brexit. Once again, Sinn Féin have won widespread support for this position from the EU. “We will pursue this victory at all levels to ensure that the rights of workers on the island and the all-Ireland economy are protected. Sinn Féin are fighting for and winning victories for Ireland where it matters.”

ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2020 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

In the wake of the Coronavirus crisis that highlighted yet again the linked day-to-day reality of life on the island of Ireland, Gerry Adams considers how the pandemic threw into sharp relief the need to stay focused on the campaign for a United Ireland. In this ‘decade of opportunity’ Adams tracks the actions and planning that brought us to this point, from ‘A Scenario for Peace’ in 1987, the 1998 Good Friday Agreement to Sinn Féin’s 2005 ‘Green Paper on Irish Unity’, so that now the issue of a referendum on unity is centre stage.

Referendum on Irish Unity is achievable and winnable BY GERRY ADAMS Republicans understand the challenges and difficulties created by Brexit and Covid-19. Each of these issues have dire consequences for the people of the island of Ireland. We are very aware in particular, at this terrible time, of the destructive power of the global pandemic. And as Brexit comes back to centre stage, all of us need to be very alert to the real dangers posed to Ireland, North and South, by the Little Englander approach of Boris Johnson and the myopic view of some in the DUP. We are also very conscious of the injustice of Partition and of its damaging dynamic, historically and currently, for all of us. But despite all this, we also need to appreciate the opportunities for positive change which have opened up before the pandemic and which will continue to open up in the time ahead. With the understandable focus on the pandemic this may at times be slightly below the radar. But it is there nonetheless. Mary Lou McDonald in her Presidential Ard Fheis address in Derry last November described this period as a “decade of opportunity.” She was right. This means that our strategic objectives must continue to guide all Sinn Féin’s endeavours in the time ahead. This is especially true of our primary strategic objective - Irish unity - and the winning of

a referendum on unity as set out in the Good Friday Agreement. We must continue to battle daily for peoples’ social and economic rights. They cannot wait. But without national freedom the 32 county Republic – The New Republic envisaged in the 1916 Proclamation, cannot be delivered. This has

anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2020 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

been a constant mantra of republicans. In more recent decades and especially during countless negotiations around the Peace Process it was a central tenet of our political strategy. We have been consistent on this. It is not a new position. For example, in my first meeting with John Hume in September 1986, I put it to him that we needed to cooperate to get the British Government to set aside the Government of Ireland Act. This was the Act by which Britain claimed sovereignty in Ireland. In 1987 Sinn Féin published ‘A Scenario for Peace’. Among other initiatives it called for an all-Ireland Constitutional Conference that would seek agreement on a new constitution and system of government. We called for the British government to repeal The Government of Ireland Act. In February 1992 Sinn Féin published ‘Towards a Lasting Peace’ in Ireland. At a time when no one else was discussing the possibility of peace, Sinn Féin called for a Peace Process and spelled out a strategy to achieve it. In a very significant shift, we placed the onus for progress on the two governments. Six years later, on March 9th 1998, a few • Without national freedom the 32 county Republic – The New Republic - envisaged in the 1916 Proclamation cannot be delivered 19

weeks before the Good Friday Agreement was achieved, I said that nationalists want an “effective, peaceful, political strategy” to achieve a United Ireland. This means an alliance of Irish political parties, with the “Irish government playing a leadership role”, and with a “common position worked out between Dublin, the SDLP and Sinn Féin”. During this time, Sinn Féin consistently pressed both governments to end the Government of Ireland Act. In our first meeting in Downing Street in 1997 the Sinn Féin team told the British PM Tony Blair that a new Act was needed to allow for an end to British rule in a manner that was least disruptive and most beneficial to all the people who live on the island of Ireland. We again called for the Government of Ireland Act to be scrapped. Our hard work paid off when in the Good Friday Agreement negotiations the Government of Ireland Act was replaced by legislation which declared “that if there were majority consent for a united Ireland that wish should be given effect.” Sinn Féin’s view was that the unionist veto had to end; consent had to apply both ways. It is not just unionist consent but nationalist and republican consent as well.

In 2017, I said: “There is an onus on the Irish government to prepare a real plan for unity. A first step in this would be the development of an all-party group to bring forward a Green Paper for Unity. In addition, plans should be developed for an all-island National Health Service and for all-island public services through a United Ireland Investment and Prosperity Plan.” These are just a few of the many occasions on which Sinn Féin set out the next steps that should be part of any process toward Irish Unity. It’s all about planning. The Irish government and all those parties which claim to aspire to Unity have to plan and plan and plan again for the ending of Partition and the creation of The New Republic. We must hold the widest possible discourse to ensure the strongest ownership by the maximum

We must – and we do this daily- battle for peoples social and economic rights. They cannot wait

In the two decades since then – while engaged in peace-making, multiple elections, taking our places in the political institutions and all that this involves in terms of energy, capacity building and so on, we have pressed the Irish government to seek the referendum on unity set out in the Good Friday Agreement and for it to plan for unity. In 2005, Sinn Féin published ‘A Green Paper on Irish Unity’ in which we called on the Irish government to publish its own Green Paper “and to begin the practical planning for Irish unity now.”

number of citizens to the changes that are coming. Sinn Féin activists especially need to remind ourselves that we are in the national liberation stage of our struggle. This is the context for our strategies and the development of policy. Without national freedom and an end to British rule we cannot attain the core commitment in the Proclamation, which “guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts, cherishing all the children of the nation equally”. Without these we will not build The New Republic. So, the issue of a referendum on unity is now centre stage. No other generation of Irish republicans has had this peaceful opportunity to end the Union with Britain

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• Former SDLP Leader, John Hume

• At the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis in Derry, Mary Lou McDonald described this period as a ‘decade of opportunity’ and she was right

and Partition. The men and women from 1798 to 1916 had no such mechanism. Neither did Bobby Sands or Mairéad Farrell and their contemporaries. Despite resistance from both governments and the main unionist parties, a referendum WILL be held in the next few years. The drivers for this are the failure of Partition; the social and demographic changes in the six counties; the politicisation of sections of the community there; the focus on rights, and the threat Brexit poses to our economies and to the Good Friday Agreement. Irish Unity is no longer an aspiration. It is achievable. The unity referendum by which it can be achieved is now a daily topic of political debate. The Irish Government has a duty and a constitutional obligation to make preparations for Unity. It needs to encourage the debate through a process of inclusive dialogue and to persuade those – unionists, nationalists and others – who have reservations about unity - that Irish unity makes sense for them, their families and for the future. Of course the leaderships of Fianna Fáil

• British Prime Minister in 1997, Tony Blair

and Fine Gael and the Irish establishment are deeply Partitionist. They enjoy the power which a Partitioned Ireland has given them since the establishment of the 26 county State. As we have seen they will not

Sinn Féin’s view was that the unionist veto had to end; consent had to apply both ways. It is not just unionist consent but nationalist and republican consent as well easily give up that power. If they succeed in forming a government at this time it is certain that they will pay only lip service to their constitutional obligation to promote the unity of the people of this island and to uphold and implement the Good Friday Agreement.

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That’s where we – and all the other United Irelanders - come in. We need to campaign for the Irish government to: • Ensure the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, including the all-island institutions. • Establish a Joint Oireachtas Committee on Irish Unity. • Set up an all-island representative Citizens’ Assembly or appropriate forum to discuss and plan for Irish Unity. • Publish a White Paper on Irish Unity. • And it must secure a referendum, north and south, on Irish Unity as permitted under the Good Friday Agreement. Planning for Irish Unity is primarily, though not exclusively, the responsibility of the Irish Government. That process should begin now. I believe a referendum on Irish Unity is achievable and winnable. It is time to set a date for the referendum and to let the people have their say. The unity of the people of the island of Ireland and an end to the Union with Britain is now a do-able project. 

AN ECONOMIC VISION FOR POST COVID IRELAND A new business model involving workplace democracy, green programmes, public housing initiatives, increased supports for families and workers and a climate friendly agriculture initiative are just some of the possibilities outlined by SIPTU researcher MICHAEL TAFT, as he considers the post-Covid ‘new normal’. Where does one start? We are witnessing the socialisation of the private sector, whereby the State has become the income provider of last resort. The government has provided massive subsidies to households, and we have seen what can happen when the public sector is given the tools to mobilise resources in order to deliver services. The optimists among us see the potential for a new normal. However, without a programme capable of generating majority support, without the ideas to combat the orthodoxy, we are in danger of slipping back into the ‘old normal’, if only because of inertia. So where do we start our way forward? We start where all economies start – with the productive sectors and the producers (aka workers). Without a strong productive economy, travelling the high road of value-added, skills, wages and investment, our hopes for strong public services, social protection and living standards will be disappointed. Of necessity, the State has had to close down huge swathes of productive activity. As there is no permanent exit strategy without a vaccine, we need considerable investment in the WHO’s protocol: test, trace, isolate and support. During this period, and the phasing out of the lockdown, we need to protect businesses to ensure they are in some sort of shape to return to activity and employment. The government’s package of business supports puts up so many barriers businesses will only be able to access them with great difficulty, if at all. More fatal to the government’s package is its reliance on loans. 22

Businesses are piling up debts during closure as they struggle with fixed costs without compensating revenue. So what does the government offer? More debt. A progressive programme would remove the myriad of barriers, increase access and provide subsidies debt-free while minimising the cost to the Exchequer. This can be done by: Taking equity shares whereby the state becomes part-owner of an enterprise in exchange for ‘investment’. Grant-and-tax subsidies whereby direct grants are provided, especially for SMEs and repaid by a small surcharge (e.g. 5 percent) on profits at 0 percent interest. In both cases, firms only repay when they have the means and, in the case of grant-and-tax subsidies, a zero or fractional percent interest rate would effectively write-down tax repayments. Second, to facilitate firm survival, we need to move quickly to a system of collective bargaining both at firm and sectoral level. This can maximise the benefits for all stakeholders in the enterprise and, so, the economy. The hospitality VAT reductions in the last crisis resulted in higher profits but lagging wages and working conditions. But, even more important it is a matter of driving firm performance. The jury is not out. It came in a long time ago. Collective bargaining and enhanced employee participation increases productivity, which in turn drives high-end economic growth. Also, the establishment of sectoral collective bargaining ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2020 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

bodies can prevent debilitating race-to-the-bottom wage-competition. While many pose collective bargaining as a labour ‘right’ - and it is that - this can be too easily dismissed as welfarist; making it conditional on firm efficiency. The fact is that collective bargaining and enhanced employee participation are drivers of

Without a strong productive economy, travelling the high road of value-added, skills, wages and investment, our hopes for strong public services, social protection and living standards will be disappointed efficiency. Employer and ideological opposition to labour participation is willing to undermine optimal outcomes for enterprises and the economy in order to remain wedded to out-of-date and low-road theories of management and ownership. The recovery phase will require short and longterm stimulus programmes. A good starting point is the study by the Oxford School of Enterprise and Environment which found that among the possible anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2020 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

stimulus programmes those with the highest benefit were also the most green: • Green physical infrastructure investment - renewable energy assets, and carbon capture and storage technology • Building renovations and retrofits • Investment in education and training to address Covid-19 unemployment and structural shifts due to decarbonisation (i.e. Just Transition) • Natural capital investment for ecosystem resilience and regeneration - restoration of carbon-rich habitats and climatefriendly agriculture • Green R&D spending Such stimulus programmes require a progressive design to ensure accessibility and affordability. For instance, we could provide free, up-front house retrofitting with repayments made according to income level through the tax system. This would provide an environmental good on the basis of need with repayments based on means. Other stimulus measures will be necessary to kick-start and maintain recovery - temporary VAT reductions, liquidity supports, tax deferrals, reskilling programmes, etc. Again, the participation of employees with their on-the-ground knowledge of business operations can be leveraged to wider economic and social benefit. This can be done through the sectoral bodies mentioned above.

• It’s time for green physical infrastructure investment

We need to re-launch a truly public housing programme. As long as social housing is seen as ‘housing for the poor’, it will be difficult to mobilise public support, never mind boost the productive economy. In the rental sector we need to abolish the divide between public and private sectors through providing public housing at cost (not-for-profit) for all in need regardless of income or employment status. This means abolishing the means test for costrental public housing and letting it into the market. Substantially reducing rents for low and average earners would be a substantial stimulus to the productive economy. Progressive supports, workplace democracy, green programmes– the totality of all these can help generate a new business model. Such a model would comprise a plurality of enterprise types – public enterprises, hybrid public-private ventures, civil society and labour managed enterprises. While current public enterprises could be mobilised to expand into new markets, start-up new businesses and enter joint ventures with private companies, a new business model would give special focus on local and regional initiatives through the public and private sector. This will require new governmental 24

institutions; in particular, enhanced local and regional government. In the Eurozone, local and regional governments drive 40 percent of support for enterprises and economic activity; in Ireland it is less than 5 percent. While there isn’t enough space here to review other key policy areas, we should be aware that the introduction of universal basic services and an enhanced social protection system also bring us back to the producers in the productive economy. Some commentators have called for a new spending review to drive efficiencies in the public sector. During the last crisis, public sector reform amounted to little more than ‘cut wages, cut jobs’. An alternative, participatory spending review would put employees at the heart of the reform process through employee-driven innovation. This is a process whereby employees propose and implement the reform process through new structures that bring out the ideas and experiences of those who actually produce the services – whether in health, education, social services, and all the services provided to the public. This is the most sustainable path to public sector efficiencies. And how do other high-income countries afford ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2020 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

• We need to re-launch a truly public housing programme

such generous in-work benefits – such as sick pay or maternity benefit on full pay, or unemployment benefit paid out at 50 to 70 percent of the previous wage? Through a strong social wage; that is,

The crisis gives us an opportunity to rewrite the rules: rewarding productive businesses, democratising the workplace, underwriting a green new deal, public housing for all, employee-driven innovation and guaranteeing a social wage employers’ social insurance. Employers’ PRSI would have to double to reach the EU average. Incremental, long-term increases in employers’ PRSI to fund new pay-related social protection payment would have to wait until the crisis is behind anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2020 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

us. It would then be integrated into new collective bargaining institutions and practices (it is, after all, part of the wage process). This is the pathway to a new social protection system that truly protects the social, benefitting all workers. In these two ways, public services and social protection can become active and positive contributors to the productive economy, driving efficiencies and living standards. The crisis gives us an opportunity to rewrite the rules; rewarding productive businesses, democratising the workplace, underwriting a green new deal, public housing for all, employee-driven innovation and guaranteeing a social wage. This is the new normal that can await us – if we have the imagination and the programme that can win over the majority of people. This is a collective process. So the sooner progressives start working together, the sooner we will be in a position of democratic power to implement it.  Michael Taft is a researcher for SIPTU and author of the political economy blog ‘Notes on the Front’, 25

WE MUST HAVE A

RECOVERY THAT BUILDS A

FAIRER SOCIETY

BY CAOIMHE ARCHIBALD The coronavirus pandemic has been a devastating public health emergency which has resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands across the world. States across the globe put the necessary measures in place to control the spread of the virus; businesses and schools have closed and restrictions have been put on travel. As all this has unfolded so too has the growing economic crisis. All the forecasts to date have indicated that this economic crisis will dwarf the crash of 2008. The lasting effects of that economic crisis are still being felt across this island. A

This pandemic has highlighted the unequal nature of our economy and it has also shown who the essential workers are

decade of austerity North and South stripped our public services bare and left our health services struggling to cope with this crisis. In the 6 counties the British Tory government cuts agenda has diminished the welfare state to the bare minimum. The responses from conservative governments north and south to the 2008 economic crisis were to impose austerity measures, which resulted in the housing crisis, the spiralling waiting lists in our health 26

• Health services were badly hit by the last austerity cuts

services, and a culture of precarious work, with part-time workers and young people in particular forced on to zero hour contracts with limited protections. The response to the crisis caused by this pandemic so far has been unprecedented. Government interventions have seen billions of pounds and euros directed towards individuals and businesses; revealing the fact that austerity has always been a political choice, and it has always been possible to adequately invest in public services. North and South, plans to incrementally ease the lockdown are being implemented. It is vital that we maximise our geographic advantage and that this island works as a

single epidemiological unit. In re-opening our economy and society, we must continue to be guided by best scientific evidence, best practice and the World Health Organisation guidance. This pandemic has highlighted the unequal nature of our economy and it has also shown who the essential workers are. These people are in our health service, in retail and other frontline services. Doctors, nurses, utility providers, our carers, our cleaners; it is shameful that some of these are among the lowest paid jobs. We must learn lessons from the crisis and build a better society coming out of it. We must recognise the contributions of those

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seek to develop these sectors as we support the other sectors to recover, to enable further remote working and build resilience against COVID-19 and future pandemics. Enabling these new ways of working will require investing in our digital infrastructure, it will also lead to conversations about the type of workplaces we need into the future and the type of cities, towns and rural societies we want to create. The recovery from this crisis should be one that

who stepped up to the mark to look after our loved ones, to ensure we had food in our cupboards and that our essential services continued to be delivered. We must have a recovery that builds a fairer economy and society. Workers as the backbone of our economy must have their rights enshrined and recognised. Families must be able to afford to put food on the table and pay their bills. Students and young people must be able to study and gain skills and not be faced with huge debts. People of all ages must have the opportunity to reskill. Over the course of this crisis as businesses and workplaces shut down, many of us have

had to change our way of working with online and remote working becoming the norm in a few short weeks. These new ways of working have real benefits; more flexible working arrangements that are more harmonious with family life and better work-life balance. The reduction in the traffic on our roads has environmental benefits as well as reducing the stress of commutes. There are real opportunities to harness these new ways of working and continue to use them as our economy reopens. Some sectors have rapidly expanded to support these new ways of working: the digital economy, software development, cybersecurity, delivery services. We should

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Workers as the backbone of our economy must have their rights enshrined and recognised. Families must be able to afford to put food on the table and pay their bills sees investment in infrastructure. Major government capital projects should move forward as a stimulus to job creation in the construction and other sectors. But this recovery must also be one that mainstreams decarbonisation and gets to grips with tackling the climate and biodiversity crises. We need a Just Transition to a fairer, greener, and safer economy. There is a real opportunity through a Green New Deal model to direct the much-needed investment in infrastructure and skills 27

• The reduction in the traffic on our roads has environmental benefits as well as reducing the stress of commutes

development towards cutting our carbon emissions. We can harness the potential from our natural resources as an island in renewable energy, creating high-skilled jobs and also benefitting local communities by giving them ownership of the projects. We must look at the transport network we will require, including investment in public transport and encouraging active transport. New builds of homes and offices should be carbon neutral. A major retrofit programme of housing stock will make homes more energy efficient, cutting fuel poverty while creating jobs and opportunities for skills development through apprenticeship programmes. It is vital that we put a particular focus on ensuring young people are looked after in planning the recovery. Many in their late 20s and 30s, risk bearing the brunt of the second economic crisis in a decade. Some predictions put youth

There are real opportunities to harness these new ways of working and continue to use them as our economy reopens unemployment coming out of the crisis as high as 25%. The jobs that many young people rely on while studying and while they develop their careers are in the very sectors suffering most, such as hospitality and retail. It is vital they have opportunities to develop through affordable training and reskilling programmes. We will need to think creatively about how this can be supported.

At the same time we must tackle the burden of living costs for them and everyone else in society. We need to be imaginative and think big about what we want to achieve as a society coming out of this crisis. We must give people hope of a brighter future to look forward to. It must be a recovery that delivers for all in society and not just those who can weather the storm. It must provide affordable housing, a clean environment, adequate physical and mental health services, public transport and educational opportunities for all. If we are all ‘in it together’ during the crisis, we must all be ‘in it together’ coming out of the crisis.  Caoimhe Archibald is a Sinn Féin Assembly member for East Derry and Chair of the Assembly’s Economy Committee

• There is a real opportunity through a Green New Deal model to direct the much-needed investment in infrastructure and skills development towards cutting our carbon emissions 28

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FROM SPANISH FLU TO COVID-19

LESSONS FROM HISTORY BY CAOILFHIONN NÍ DHONNABHÁIN Under British rule but in the midst of the struggle for independence, Ireland, like many other countries, was caught unprepared when the flu pandemic of 1918 hit. The 1918 pandemic was a catalyst for the development of public health systems in many countries. As that pandemic and epidemics of infectious diseases drifted from our living memories, health systems in Ireland and elsewhere came under pressure to be privatised. For example, the EU Commission demanded cuts to public healthcare in Ireland 63 times from 2011 to 2018. The Irish health service, with its mix of public and private and lack of capacity, was neither prepared nor fit for the Covid-19 pandemic. The Spanish Flu, as it was commonly known, hit Ireland in three waves from the summer of 1918 to the spring of 1919. It was a

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tumultuous period in Irish history, taking in the General Election of 1918, the rise of Sinn Féin and the establishment of the First Dáil Éireann in January 1919. Volunteer Richard Coleman who had taken part in the 1916 Rising and newly elected as the Sinn Féin TD for Tipperary Pierce McCann both died from the flu in prison, increasing public pressure for the release of republican prisoners. Dr Kathleen Lynn of the Irish Citizen Army was released from prison to help tackle the outbreak. It is estimated that the ‘Spanish Flu’ claimed 23,000 lives and infected 800,000 people in Ireland. Despite the significant loss of life, the impact of the ‘Spanish Flu’ in Ireland got little attention until recently. Two books

• Dublin’s overcrowded tenements were already in a dire situation and had high child mortality rates

published in recent years ‘Stacking the Coffins: Influenza, War and Revolution in Ireland 1918-1919’ by Ida Milne, and ‘The Last Irish Plague’ by Catriona Foley have addressed this deficit. ‘Stacking the Coffins’ includes interviews with people who had lived through the pandemic as children recounting the trauma and fear caused by the pandemic. It concludes that, “the absence of a national influenza narrative of any sort, written or oral, elongated their trauma”. The first wave of the flu which arrived in Ireland in the early summer of 1918 was generally mild with those who fell ill experiencing typical flu symptoms, sore throat, headache, fever,

The EU commission demanded cuts to public healthcare in Ireland 63 times from 2011 to 2018 chills and fatigue. However, the second wave which arrived in the autumn was the deadliest – victims died within hours or days of developing symptoms, their skin turning blue or black and their lungs filling with fluid that caused them to suffocate. Because of the blackening of the skin of those infected, it was sometimes referred to as ‘the black flu’. There was no test to diagnose the infection, no effective vaccine, no antiviral drugs and no antibiotics to treat the bacterial complications of the flu. The fear of the flu was accentuated by the fact that it was not just killing the old and the vulnerable there was a particularly high death rate amongst young healthy adults aged in their twenties and thirties. There were calls for soldiers returning from the battlefields of the First World War to be quarantined as it became clear they were bringing the flu back with them. Dr Kathleen Lynn described the front at Flanders as a ‘factory of fever’. There was little agreement within the medical profession on the most effective way to treat the flu. Whiskey was widely

used while tonics, cough medicines and poultices were sold by pharmacies. While bed rest was seen as the most effective response, all kinds of other ‘cures’ including the use of snuff were promoted. Belfast and Dublin were badly impacted and were the first to experience outbreaks. Leinster and Ulster were worst affected; particularly the counties of Kildare, Dublin, Wicklow, Wexford, Carlow Antrim, Down, Armagh, Monaghan and Donegal. The ports of Dublin, Dundalk and Wexford which connected Ireland to Britain are thought to have played a major part in Leinster’s high death rate. In Belfast high levels of urbanisation with factory workers in close contact was a factor. Seasonal migration was associated with outbreaks in Donegal and Mayo. Postmen, shop workers, medical workers, priests and those whose jobs brought them into contact with large numbers of people were more likely to catch the disease and die. While Milne in ‘Stacking the Coffins’ notes that it was

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job rather than class that made you more likely to catch the flu, she does point out that in the two deadlier waves in Dublin there was a class element for mortality from the flu with the working classes experiencing a higher death rate. The pandemic added to an already dire situation in Dublin with overcrowded tenements and high child mortality rates. Across the country children were orphaned, families were left without a bread winner, and family and economic circumstances altered. There were cases where families lost all of their children to the flu. Business and shops closed as workers fell ill. Now looking back, we see many similarities to the Covid-19 pandemic. We see that, now as then, the essential workers at the frontline, from health workers to retail workers are the most exposed. We see that factories without social distancing

are at particular risk form outbreaks. We see that overcrowded and congregated accommodation are a health risk as social distancing is not possible. We now see clearly that the absence of strong public health systems impedes the ability of Governments to respond to epidemics such as Covid-19. Neoliberal advocates of private healthcare sought to make us individually responsible for our healthcare but when a pandemic strikes, to protect the health of one we must protect the

We must emerge from this crisis taking the sense of solidarity demonstrated by communities across Ireland and build a national public health system free and accessible to all health of all. We must emerge from this crisis taking the sense of solidarity demonstrated by communities across Ireland and build a national public health system free and accessible to all. Healthcare, childcare and eldercare are essential public services and must be removed from the realm of private profit. There are also other lessons which we must learn from this pandemic. We must make it a turning point in the battle for improved workers’ rights, for greater equality and for wealth distribution. If we don’t fight for stronger trade union rights, we risk a dystopian future where blue collar workers go to work during pandemics while the better off remain cosseted and safe. The plight of Amazon warehouse workers while Jeff Bezos’ increased wealth bringing him to the cusp of being the world’s first trillionaire gives us a glimpse of such as future. The outbreaks of Covid-19 in workplaces with low paid and migrant workers tell us that we must empower workers in order to protect their health and safety.  Caoilfhionn Ni Dhonnabháin is a Sinn Féin activist

• This pandemic could be a turning point in the battle for improved workers’ rights, for greater equality and for wealth distribution anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2020 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

Ní amháin Gaelach ach saor LE ERIN NÍ BHROIN

Idir an séadchomhartha adhlactha atá 4000-6000 bliana d’aois darbh ainm Cromleac Thír an Omhna, teach allais meánaoiseach a úsáideadh chun tinneas a leigheas agus Tuama Cúirte Chnoc Néill le corp fathaigh curtha ann, de réir an fhinscéil áitiúil agus ar ndóigh, an tsliabh é féin, An Carn, atá luaite sa scéal ‘An Táin Bó Cuailgne.’ Is léir go bhfuil Sleacht Néill nó Carn Tóchair ina cheantar oidhreachta agus an-chuid cultúir bainte leis. Mar sin féin, tá caomhnú staire agus cultúir na hÉireann inscríofa i meon an cheantair. Tá níos mó ná ainm amháin ag an cheantar. Cuirtear Sleacht Néill air, a thagann ón ainm Leacht Néill mar gheall go bhfuil Leacht Néill sa cheantar é féin. Is scéal conspóideach é faoin Néill a maítear a bheith curtha ann. Síleann cuid daoine gur Niall Glúndubh Ó Néill atá ann, a mharaíodh i gcath leis na Lochlannaigh gar do Bhaile Átha Cliath sa 12ú haois, síleann daoine eile gur prionsa de chuid clainne Mhic Lochlainn a bhí ann a mharaíodh i gcath Cháiméirge i 1214 AD in aghaidh clainne Uí Néill. ‘Sleacht Néill’ an t-ainm ar an chumann CLG cáiliúil sa cheantar fosta, a bhí iontach rathúil le blianta beaga anuas in achan spóirt atá acu; camógaíocht, iománaíocht, peil. Thuigfí thú dá gcuirfeá ‘Carn Tóchair’ air chomh maith, Tagann seo ón dóigh a bhfuil an pobal lonnaithe ag bun sléibhe Charn Tóchair. Tugadh an t-ainm seo ar an sliabh mar gheall go bhfuil carn adhlactha ar bharr ón ChréUmhaois/Clochaois. Is bóthar é ‘Tóchar’, déanta de phlanda darach a úsáidtear le talamh fliuch a thrasnú. Tugann muintir na háite ‘An Carn’

ar an sliabh ach ní dhéanann seo trácht den shliabh amháin. An Carn a thugtar ar chroílár Phobal na Gaeilge

Carn Tóchair a chur chun cinn”. Ina bhfocal féin “Tá athbheochan na Gaeilge sa cheantar lárnach

An Carn a thugtar ar chroílár Phobal na Gaeilge i Sleacht Néill/Carn Tóchair i Sleacht Néill/Carn Tóchair. Bunaíodh Coiste Forbartha Charn Tóchair i 1992 agus bhí sé mar sprioc ag an choiste “athghiniúint cheantar Shleacht Néill/

d’éiteas an Choiste Forbartha agus tá achan tionscadal curtha chun cinn go dátheangach againn. Tá pobal óg, beo, fuinniúil Gaeilgeoirí a bhfuil

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Ní amháin saor ach Gaelach fís gheal acu chun Gaeltacht nuaaimseartha don 21ú haois a dhéanamh de cheantar Charn Tóchair.” Déarfadh daoine gurb é ‘An Carn’ a chuir tús leis an athbheochan seo. Tá siopa feiríní, oifig an phoist agus leabharlann ann le seirbhísí dátheangach ar fáil ann ar fad, chomh maith le seomraí comhdhálacha, oifigí agus halla beag a úsáidtear do réimse imeachtaí agus gníomhaíochtaí. Tá sé suite in aice leis an bhunscoil agus naíscoil áitiúil. Osclaíodh an bhunscoil i 1993. Chuaigh rudaí ó neart go neart don scoil agus de réir an Údaráis Oideachais i 2016/2017, chuir 27 dalta tús le rang a haon sa bhunscoil agus tuartar go dtiocfaidh méadú ar an uimhir an bhliain dár gcionn. Is iontach an fhorbairt atá déanta ag An Carn in achar gearr, éacht réabhlóideach. Tuigeann muid go bhfuil an rud atá ar siúl againn anseo speisialta, agus an obair dheonach sa cheantar chomh maith le dílseacht agus fonn an phobail traidisiúin na háite a chaomhnú atá luaite leis. Má luann tú Sleacht Néill le duine ar bith i gCúige Uladh, gheobhaidh tú ceann amháin de na freagraí seo a leanas; ceann amháin á luaigh rath an chlub ar na saolta deireanacha agus an

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ceann eile á luaigh an dioscó cáiliúil, Dioscó Shleacht Néill. An áit a bhfuair daoine a gcéad phóg, an áit ar bhuail siad lena gcéad bhuachaill nó chailín agus do chuid acu siúd, a bhfear nó bean chéile. an dioscó i réim i Sleacht Néill ó luath sna 80í go luath sna 00í. D’oibrigh na fir mar phreabairí go toilteanach don dioscó. Ní bhfuair siad pingin rua ach is mar sin ab fhearr leo é. Oibrithe deonacha ar fad. Ní chuirfidh sé iontas ort nár tháinig deireadh leis an obair dheonach ansin, a mhalairt a bhí ann. Níl an Ghaeilge ar fáil sa Charn amháin, tá CLG Roibeard Éiméid Sleacht Néill mar ionad cultúrtha sa cheantar chomh maith. Cé nach bhfuil nasc pearsanta ag an cheantar leis an tírghráthóir Roibeard Éiméid, ainmníodh an club i gcuimhne ceann de na hÉireannaigh Aontaithe mar bunaíodh an club i 1953, comóradh 150 óna bhás. D’éirigh an club as craobhchomórtas na gclubanna peil agus iománaíochta i 1981 lenár ndlúthpháirtíocht a chur in iúl dár gcomharsana agus comrádaithe a bhí ar stailc ocrais agus fuair muid ísliú céime de bharr sin. Go minic, bíonn ranganna Gaeilge ar siúl sa chlub, óstálann muid comórtas scóir agus bainistítear na cuntais meáin shóisialta go dátheangach agus cuireann muid scoláireachtaí ar fáil don Ghaeltacht. Ghlac an club leis an seanfhocal “Ní neart go cur le chéile” a fhéachtar ar gheansaí na foirne camógaíochta chomh maith le bealach isteach an chlub. Déanann sé achoimre chruinn ar mheon an cheantair agus cuireann sé i gcuimhne dúinn go bhfuil obair dheonach mar bhunús pobail agus ag cinntiú go bhfeiceann daoine an Ghaeilge i dtimpeallacht nádúrtha. Ba cheart an Ghaeilge a bheith mar theanga. Teanga a labhair ár sinsear, teanga a labhraítear ó lá go lá ag déanamh timireachta, teanga a thugann pobal le chéile. Níor cheart go mbeidh an Ghaeilge feicthe mar cháilíocht nó caitheamh aimsire. Ba cheart go mbeidh sé feicthe mar theanga ar bith eile, bealach chun cumarsáid a dhéanamh. Ní d’ár moladh féin atáim, ach is sárshampla é Sleacht Néill/ Carn Tóchair do phobail eile. Sa lá atá inniu ann, ní bhuailfidh tú le duine ar bith níos bródúla ná duine ón cheantar seo, agus cén fáth nach mbeidís. Fiú nuair nach raibh rud ar bith againn, ní raibh craobh ar bith inár sparán, nuair nach raibh stádas oifigiúil mar líonra Gaeilge bainte amach againn, nuair nach raibh muid ach mar spota eile ar an léarscáil, bhí an áit dubh le hoibrithe deonacha, idir óg

• Proinsias Mac Aoidh

agus aosta. Thuar siad ár gcumas, bhí tábhacht le ceiliúradh a dhéanamh ar ár gcultúr agus an tábhacht sin a chur ar aghaidh chuig an chéad ghlúin eile, ionas nach bhfuair na daoine a throid agus a bhfuair bás, cosúil leis

ár n-eapainmneach Roibeard Éiméid agus Proinsias Mac Aoidh cróga as Baile Eachaidh a ghabháil i Sleacht Néill, bás in aisce. Mar a dúirt Pádraig Mac Piarais “Ní hamháin Gaelach ach saor. Ní hamháin saor ach Gaelach.” 

ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2020 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

A NEW WAVE OF

PROTEST MUSIC IS HERE BY ANDY McGIBBON There is a Chinese saying “may you live in interesting times.” It sounds like a blessing but it’s actually a curse, we are living in those interesting times. This year has managed to compress a century of history into it so far. Australia was on fire. Iranian General Soleimani was killed by an American drone strike threatening WW3. A Ukrainian airliner crashed in Tehran. Kobe Bryant died. The WHO was notified of Covid-19 by China. The UK withdrew from the EU. I believe it is those same interesting times that will materialise an era of protest songs and politically motivated music. This is of course only natural. What else but interesting times could have possibly inspired the music of Pete Seeger’s civil rights and social change anthems, or Bob Dylan who spearheaded the 60s’ folk revival which saw the careers of Son House and others reborn. Woodie Guthrie the Dustbowl Troubador was singing to the same people John Steinbeck was writing about, or the song ‘Strange Fruit’ by Billie Holiday, the Strange Fruit in the song being the black bodies hanging from a lynching tree. The horror that inspired that song must have stayed with the composer for life. “Southern trees, bear strange fruit. Blood on the leaves, and blood at the roots”. What else but interesting times could birth the fury of ‘Fuck The Police’ by N.W.A. a group of young black men living in 90s Compton, a suburb of L.A. plagued by police and gang violence,

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We in the North don’t have the same conditions today that gave us the Ulster punk scene. Joe Strummer, the godfather of punk said of it best; ‘London had the haircut, Ulster had the reason’ where social mobility is a complete fantasy and the reality of life is tempered by violence, jail, death and addiction. Eventually riots grow out of protests, the city literally lit on fire after the police were filmed almost beating a man called Rodney King to death. In New York Public Enemy living under the same pressures writes ‘Fight The Power’, more overtly politically motivated and inspired by Malcolm X, Fred Hampton and the Black Panthers. They even mimicked the faux military discipline of the Black Muslims in their stage show. Chuck D’s lyrics of protest against racism and inequality inspired a generation of socially focused rockers from Manic Street Preachers to Rage Against The Machine who in turn rail against inequality and US foreign policy. Public Enemy’s willingness to openly reference the language of revolution saw them become vilified in the world press as something akin to travelling hate preachers. They were an open threat to the post-war boomer generation who saw themselves flourish under FDRs’ new deal. A time that left black America to rot under the boot of the J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI. His agents infiltrated every attempt by the working class to unite, from the Communist Party of America in the 30s to The Black Panthers in the 60s, and the even more recent Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011. Inevitably, protest ended up in the mainstream and peaked with Marvin Gaye’s masterworks and according to Mark Anthony Neal, the American author and academic; “I maintain that Gaye’s trilogy of recordings, ‘What’s Going On’, ‘Trouble Man’, and ‘Let’s Get It On’, aurally document the demise of the black protest movement.” And it was done in the Billboard charts. Of course we’ve always had protest songs, what else is folk music. In Ireland some of our greatest trad songs could be described as protest, even the ancient ones. ‘After Aughrim’s Great Disaster’ to ‘The Men Behind The Wire’ which most definitely is a protest song. In recent times, coming out of the UK in a response to ten years of Tory austerity, the punk rock of Idles lit a spark under a generation who have never had a protest movement of their own. The English musicians have captured a mood in the countries youth that saw tens of thousands singing ‘Oh Jeremy Corbyn’ at Glastonbury pinning onto him their future hopes. They are a generation left wondering why they have it harder than their parents, why they’ll never own a home, have a job for life or why the NHS that raised their parents was gutted. They are left wondering why the European identity that they considered normal was most violently ripped from them in a tidal wave of lies and misinformation exposing the political class as Machiavellian charlatans to a generation of youth that have been newly engaged only to be newly disengaged come the general election. It is a solace that those children should spew out a band like Idles that are every bit as irreverent, smart and questioning as Joe Strummer ever was. The conditions that created The Clash and Idles are not that different. Thankfully, we in the North don’t have the same conditions today that gave us the Ulster punk scene. Joe Strummer the godfather of punk said of it “London had the haircut, Ulster

The idles

Kneecap

Pete Seeger

Woody Guthrie

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NWA

Bob Dylan

Public Enemy

had the reason”. The shambolic Terri Hooley and his Good Vibrations label gave us The Undertones and Rudi. Then everyone was a punk and we got the anthem of a generation of Troubles babies Stiff Little Fingers’ ‘Alternative Ulster’. While we’re talking about the smart, weirdness, wit and social commentary in the lyrics of protest music, Sleaford Mods comes to mind. Jason Williamson’s observations are everything punk and poetry should be at its very best all delivered on an EDM beat but enjoyed by everyone from old mods to metalheads. I would argue that all the best music is or has within it a form of protest. It is the awareness of the wrongs in our society that when expressed becomes art and a record of sorts that future generations can reference. The pointlessness of the Katy Perry’s and the Taylor Swifts of this world are exposed as just that when compared to Kneecap, a Belfast hip hop group. They rap as Gaeilge about things that only a Belfast youth can talk about, with songs like ‘Get Your Brits Out’ or ‘C.E.A.R.T.A.’ - about the Irish Language act that brought down the Stormont assembly. They were supposed to be on a North American tour this year then the Covid pandemic hit. The same as Sleaford Mods, they have no business sparking the interest of anyone outside their local boozer where they would be considered weirdos or cranks but they fill venues all over the world. They are a headliner and they are brilliant but if they were singing about whatever Katy Perry sings about we would never know who they are. This leads me to wonder what the future brings, there must be a wave of protest songs coming. Young people all over the world think their parents generation have failed them and are lashing out. Here in Ireland the Connolly Youth Movement are occupying buildings in Cork, Extinction Rebellion aren’t asking for permission and internationally Greta Thunberg is calling the U.N. out to their faces. Socialism is making a comeback. It was inevitable. The inherent failings of capitalism that Marx warned us about are now unavoidably obvious and it is only natural that a generation that considers the system a failure looks to whatever the alternative of the current State for answers. Writing about anything that does not have a commentary attached seems trite these days, the idea of your output being potentially important is positively glowing in the dark. On the upside, it will not be boring and we will get some great music from it. I am reminded of Orson Welles’ monologue from ‘The Third Man’. “In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace – and what did that produce? The Cuckoo Clock. So long Holly”.  Andrew McGibbon is in The Bonnevilles, host of the Andy That’s In the Bonnevilles Podcast and is releasing a solo album this year.

Sleaford Mods

Marvin Gaye

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I would argue that all the best music is or has within it a form of protest. It is the awareness of the wrongs in our society that when expressed becomes art and a record of sorts that future generations can reference. 37

‘I believe compassion is a force to be reckoned with when we are talking about real social change’

Compassion connects BY GRACE McMANUS Growing up, my grandad was a brilliant man for the chats. A very spiritual fellow, he has a deep appreciation for the meaningful things in life. He also has an appreciation for language, and how words came to be. One of the many interesting things my grandad taught me was the origin of the word ‘Compassion’. ‘Compassion’, in English, comes from the Latin origin of the word ‘Compassio’, made up of ‘pati’ which means ‘to suffer’ and ‘com’ which means ‘with’. To suffer with. That has always stuck in my mind. During my campaign for the 2019 Local Elections I said I wanted to bring more compassion into politics. This was not rhetoric on my part - I was deadly serious - but as is often the case, the reality is different to the idea. This has led me to take stock and reflect on the question: how do we bring more compassion to politics, and most importantly, why should we? Let me begin with what compassion is not. Compassion is not sympathy, which a friend brilliantly described recently as ‘the act of saying to yourself “that’s sad” and then scrolling on’. Compassion is not doing a ‘random act of kindness’. There is no randomness to it, although kindness is often present. Compassion isn’t empathy; or an understanding of what the other might be feeling. Compassion, at least to me, is the choice to see suffering, to understand it on some emotional level, and to take a role in that suffering, to get close to it, to hold it in a wider context of hope and love, and to be brave in facing it, with the suffering person at the epicentre. I believe compassion is a force to be reckoned with when we are talking about real social change. How does it come out in politics? It can be the activist who stands at a door a little longer, listening, advising and connecting as someone spills their story. It can be the advisor, who meets the charity worker who is on a mission of change springing from their own story of pain. It can be the politician, who stands with the suffering of their constituent by honouring their story in the Dáil, Seanad, Stormont or Council chamber with legislation, motions or speeches. Dare we say, it can even come out in politics in those moments of human vulnerability of our

• Grace with Jamie McDonagh promoting housing public meeting

political opponents. One incident sticks out in my mind, where in the recent elections a former TD of an opposition party had lost their seat and a republican hero of mine hugged them during their moment of great loss. A true example of political leadership and compassion. But how? How can we have compassion in what can justifiably be called the toxic, aggressive and emotive arena of politics? It’s true, there are many barriers. The first, I think, is anger. Anger in this climate of unnecessary

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Less than a year into working as a full time county councillor GRACE McMANUS reflects and considers ways to be a better, more connected and present public representative. Compassion is the key.

us to our people

• Speaking at 'End the Insurance Rip Off' public meeting with Sinn Féin TDs John Brady and Pearse Doherty

human suffering due to inhumane and often cruel social policy is justified. It’s what we do with that anger that counts. It can be, as we republicans know, an energiser for our work. We pound the pavement in an election like no other. We leave no stone unturned in our pursuit of justice. I think a lot of that energy comes from our collective anger at the suffering we see. We turn our anger into passion, and that is wholly positive. But what we must be mindful of is to also hold space somewhere within us that is safe for compassion. I think anger and compassion can co-exist, but the secret I think lies in where we direct our energy. I’m certainly learning how challenging that can be, but the reminder comes when I see our leaders acting with such fierce

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compassion that I am inspired to hold space to nurture my own. I think the second big barrier is fear. It’s very scary to have someone reach out to you in the epicentre of their suffering, often begging for help. If I’m honest, as a newcomer to public representation I often feel illequipped to play a role in their trauma. My instinct tells me to push them away, with their suffering in tow. They have come to the wrong place. I don’t know how to ‘fix’ you. I don’t have any space left. Of course, this is not living my values, nor is it why I wanted to be elected. It’s not even true. What I have had to learn to do is override that desire to run, and to start with what is in front of me. Listening, paying attention to the story, the emotions, the body

• Bray activists delivering newsletters

‘What is incredibly exciting about the recent General Election surge for us is that it is a confirmation that our compassion is valued by the electorate’ language, asking questions as someone pours their heart out; that is the start of “suffering with”. We can all do that “showing up” in our own way. Step number two, which is the biggest struggle of all for me, is selfcompassion in these moments, too. I must recognise my own suffering; my own fear, anger, and guilt that are often present when I am facing the suffering of my electorate. Fear that I am not ‘good enough’, anger that it’s my job to fix what I didn’t break; and guilt that I am better off than them and can’t fix their issue, at least not straight away. I must be kind about these emotions present in me and realise that my emotions help me to empathise with the emotions in front of me. I’m also coming to learn that the solutions in these constituency cases take work and time, and that’s okay. However, compassion is not solution based. It’s the human connection • With fellow Bray Councillor Dermot ‘Daisy’ O’Brien in the Council Chamber that we have lost and overlooked in actual essential part of the alternative politics that we live. “traditional” politics. It’s the first step that shows us what It comes down to the fact that we aren’t willing to that person or group actually ‘needs’, rather than us just compartmentalise the suffering of others. When you suffer assuming we know. And that, is why compassion is vital in with, then there is no relief for anyone until the suffering a new way of doing politics. is no more. That’s why we are so invested in our policies Compassion breaks the mould of ‘politicians know resulting in the true alleviation of suffering; it is the only best’. Compassion connects us to our people, to our thing we are focused on; because ultimately, we are so society, and to each other. Compassion is, in my mind, connected to it that we will not have relief until they do. the unnamed force, that has kept Sinn Féin as the party And that, is certainly a force to be reckoned with.  that is rooted and connected to ordinary people. What is incredibly exciting about the recent general election surge for us is that it is a confirmation that our compassion is valued by the electorate. It’s not just important, but an

Grace McManus is a Sinn Féin representative on Wicklow County Council

ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2020 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

n a i l i z a r B y c a r c o m de k c a t t a r unde With Brazil challenged by a neglectful and confusing response to Coronavirus and besieged by a president who supports a return to military rule, CONOR FOLEY explains the events that have led Brazil to this critical threshold.

April 24th 2020, 2018 Jair Bolsonaro the President of Brazil sacked the head of the federal police force after learning that an investigation had been opened into one of his sons for inciting a demonstration calling for the military to shut down Congress and the Supreme Court. A few days before this Bolsonaro had sacked his own health minister, Luiz Mandetta, for refusing to back calls that shops and schools must reopen in the midst of a rapidly rising death toll during the Coronavirus pandemic. Bolsonaro was also reportedly irritated with Mandetta´s criticisms that he was refusing to observe ´social distancing´ advice, going walkabout in crowded areas and hugging his supporters during repeated demonstrations demanding the return of military rule. There are a number of ongoing investigations related to Bolsonaro´s family. One concerns another son who allegedly embezzled State funds to finance illegal construction carried out by right-wing ´militia´ groups in Rio de Janeiro. Another is one who gave the order to assassinate a left-wing Assembly member in Rio, Marielle Franco, which was allegedly carried out by two of Bolsonaro´s associates. Bolsonaro´s Minister of Justice, Sérgio Moro, resigned from office in response to the sacking of the chief of police, alleging that the President was interfering in an ongoing criminal investigation. Brazil´s Supreme Court

On the eve of his election Bolsonaro released a statement in which he promised to imprison his political opponents and echoed a slogan from the dictatorship era: ‘Brazil, love it or leave it’

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has also blocked Bolsonaro´s attempts to put his own nominees in both positions. Bolsonaro is a former military officer who won the Presidency in October 2018. His notoriety comes from a series of bizarrely offensive statements during his career. He told a fellow legislator that she was too ugly for him to rape her; said that he would rather his son died than accept him as gay; repeatedly taunted black people, indigenous communities and the poor; and said that the dictatorship’s only mistake was that it did not kill enough people. When casting his vote for the impeachment of former President Dilma Rousseff in 2016, Bolsonaro dedicated it to the memory of the dictatorship’s chief torturer whose victims included Dilma herself. On the eve of his election Bolsonaro released a statement in which he promised to imprison his political 41

opponents and echoed a slogan from the dictatorship era: ‘Brazil, love it or leave it’. The scandal of Bolsonaro´s actions as President of Brazil is only matched by the manner of his election. In 2002, the same year that I arrived in the country, Brazil elected Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula) as its President.

Bolsonaro did not take part in any presidential debates during the campaign or give interviews with journalists where he would be required to answer questions. He instead relied on social media, and the support of Brazil’s powerful evangelical networks Lula was a former trade unionist and his party PT (the Workers Party) consisted of former guerrillas, such as Dilma, liberation-theology Catholic laity, environmental campaigners, feminists and the rural and urban poor. It played a key role in mobilising the protests that brought down the dictatorship, in the 1980s. Lula´s government ran primary surpluses year-on-year, paying down its national debt and funding innovative social programmes like Bolsa Familia (family purse), while sharply raising the minimum wage. Millions were lifted out of poverty, inequality decreased slightly and education minister Fernando Haddad dramatically increased access to further and higher education. PT rejected the neoliberal ´Washington Consensus´ and moved Brazil more firmly into the non-aligned camp, building Southern linkages with other developing countries. It did little to

• President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro

• Minister of Justice, Sérgio Moro

tackle the enormous concentrations of wealth and power in Brazilian society, though, and in mid-2005, it emerged that opposition legislators had been bribed to vote with the government, in what became known as the Mensalão scandal. This crystallised internal discontent and PT split with the loss of highprofile members, including some of the party’s original leadership. PT had a reputation as a ‘clean hands’ party, and its achievements in office included strengthening the power and independence of the State prosecutor. Ironically, these reforms had only been achieved with the votes of parliamentarians through the Mensalão scheme. With this strategy no longer available, PT turned to the more traditional means of horse-trading with the parties that make up Brazil’s Congress, stitching together support for its legislative programme by doling out ministries and key positions in its State-owned industries. It was an open secret that once in office some of these politicians treated it as a licence to loot.

the time the ‘Mensalão’ scandal came to trial in 2012, the world was mired in recession. Lula was succeeded by Dilma, his former chief of staff, in 2010, and she was comfortably re-elected President in 2014. But PT lost control of the Brazilian Congress in the same year and these two crises coincided with the opening of an anti-corruption investigation, known as Operation Lava Jato (car wash). A group of judges led by Moro, devised a prosecution strategy, which was to be the biggest in Brazilian history. By the end of 2017, over 300 people, including members of Congress and State

• Luiz Mandetta sacked health minister

governors, had been charged with criminal offences and over 1,000 warrants had been issued. Suspects were placed in pre-trial detention and offered plea-bargains as inducement to testify. In some cases family members were also arrested. Evidence gathered in this way was used to target more suspects and the unsubstantiated word of alleged accomplices has been deemed sufficient for conviction. Brazil has a civil law system in which judges have an investigative as well as an adjudicative function. This means that judges sitting without juries have overall direction of a criminal investigation and then also determine the guilt or innocence of the defendant. Moro,

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• Brazilain president Dilma Rousseff greeting President of Ireland Michael D Higgins in Brasilia, October 2012

who presided over most of these trials, also provided the Brazilian media with selective briefings or tipped them off about police raids so that these could be televised. The effect on public opinion was electric. Huge protest marches were now regularly taking place throughout the country. A new generation of mainly middle-class Brazilians was emerging, too young to remember the dictatorship and impatient with the sclerotic inefficiency of the Brazilian State. Some linked up with the Tea Party movement in the US that was soon to become the driving force of Trump´s presidential campaign.

legal observers considered to have been the result of an extremely unfair trial. PT then nominated Haddad, Lula´s previous education minister, but he had little time to build an independent profile. Nevertheless, it soon became clear that the election would be between him and Bolsonaro. A few days before the first round of voting, Moro issued another indictment, based on a plea bargain, this time implicating both Haddad and Dilma, who had previously been untouched by corruption allegations. There seemed to be no pressing legal reason for the timing of this decision. Bolsonaro did not take part in any presidential debates during the campaign or give interviews with journalists where he would be required to answer questions. He instead relied on social media, and the support of Brazil’s powerful evangelical networks to build his base of support On first day of polling, on 7 October 2018, it seemed for a time that Bolsonaro would win an outright first round victory. He clearly outpolled Haddad in the wealthier south and east of the country. It was the votes of the poorer north-east for Haddad that took the contest to a second round at the end of that month. Tension surrounded the second round of voting as polls pointed to a tightening of Bolsonaro´s lead, but it held up sufficiently to ensure victory. The result was greeted with a cacophony of fireworks in Brazil’s well-to-do districts. In Rio´s favelas the police celebrated by firing their automatic weapons into the air. Within days of his electoral victory Bolsonaro made two announcements to give effect to his campaign platforms: the police, he declared, would be able to shoot criminal suspects dead on sight with total impunity and he was making Judge Moro his new Minister for Justice.  Conor Foleyis a Visiting Professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and has worked on legal reform, human rights and protection issues in over thirty conflict zones.

Contributors: Eugenio Aragão Rubens Casara

In October 2018 Jair Bolsonaro was elected president of Brazil. A former army officer, Bolsonaro has consistently campaigned against democracy and human rights. He is notorious for his repeated racist, sexist and homophobic statements and his defense of torture, extrajudicial executions and impunity for Brazil´s security forces.

• In 2002 Brazil elected Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula), a former trade unionist Sérgio Costa

Vanessa Maria de Castro

Fabio de Sá e Silva

Michelle Morais de Sá e Silva

Conor Foley

Gláucia Foley

Fernando Haddad

Monica Herz

Fiona Macaulay Renata Motta

Dilma Rousseff

Márcia Tiburi

IN SPITE OF YOU Bolsonaro and the New Brazilian Resistance

Edited by

CONOR FOLEY Includes original contributions by

Edited by

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Paulo Esteves

CONOR FOLEY

In Spite of You brings together voices of a new Brazilian resistance that opposes Bolsonaro. It includes chapters by Dilma Rousseff, former president of Brazil; Fernando Haddad, former mayor of São Paulo, who was runner-up to Bolsonaro in the 2018 election; and Eugenio Aragão, former minister for justice in Dilma´s last government. It also gives a voice to feminists, environmentalists, land rights activists and human rights defenders, who explain the background to Bolsonaro´s election and present a manifesto for reviving democracy in Brazil.

Dilma was impeached in April 2016. Lula was imprisoned the following year and PT responded by deciding to use the 2018 presidential election as a fight to defend their party, government and legacy. Lula was nominated as a candidate and opinion Booksthe polls soon showed him well ahead ofOR all other potential candidates, polling at over 40 percent. His nearest rival was the previously politically marginal Bolsonaro, polling around 15 percent. Most of the ´centrist´ candidates – who had previously dominated Brazilian politics – could not get into double figures. In September 2018 the Brazilian Supreme Electoral Court ruled Lula ineligible to stand due to his Lava Jato conviction, which most

IN SPITE OF YOU

October 2015, investigations revealed that the leader of the lower house of Congress, Eduardo Cunha, had stashed over US$16 million in various foreign secret bank accounts. Cunha, a strong opponent of the PT and Dilma, gave them an ultimatum; curb the investigation or he would move for her impeachment. The legal grounds for this were slender to non-existent, but many parliamentarians under investigation saw it as an opportunity. Get rid of Dilma, some were recorded as saying, and we can get rid of Lava Jato as well. In December 2015 Cunha accepted a petition for Dilma´s impeachment with a vote scheduled to take place in the next parliamentary session in March 2016. A couple of weeks before this, police officers took Lula into custody in an early morning raid about which Moro had informed the press. He then leaked wire-tap conversations that Dilma and Lula had held to discuss his appointment as her chief of staff, which would have made him subject to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, rather than Judge Moro.

Dilma Rousseff, Fernando Haddad and Eugenio Aragão

ISBN 9781682192108

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Cover design by Antara Ghosh

Conor Foley‘s In Spite of You, Bolsonaro and the New Brazilian Resistance, which includes Chapters by Dilma, Haddad and other leading PT activists can be ordered directly from the publisher here. https://www. orbooks.com/conor-foley/

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 family visit: To check in with the

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It is a gorgeous summer day. The clan are all together lazing around the back garden. Lucy’s Mum Eileen recently moved in with the family. Strangely enough it has been no adjustment at all. The kids love having their Nana in the house all the time, and their Mammies are eternally grateful for the extra support. Eileen was lonely in the city. Before the grandchildren her whole world had been her own kids, and that includes Willa. Lucy and Willa grew up in the same estate and were as thick as thieves from the minute they met. Eileen raised her three kids on her own, but she’ll readily admit she would never have managed were it not for Willa’s parents Terry and Henry. Eileen’s boys, Lucy’s brothers, were twins and both had Down’s syndrome. Thankfully Eileen had been ok money wise as her own parents had left her a significant inheritance when they died. It was the practical and emotional support Willa’s Mam and Dad had given the family that had made all the difference. Both worked in the Public Health Service (PHS) and had helped Eileen navigate the supports and services she needed for the boys. Ireland’s PHS is held up across Europe as the gold standard of public care, but it hasn’t always been that way. It had taken time to rebuild the island’s health service after the Great Struggle. Of course, the damage had started a long time before this. Before unification public health services north and south had suffered from decades of underfunding by the Irish and British governments. Both systems where privatised in part, but perpetual staff cuts and moratoriums, underfunding and fragmentation of services had created a deeply unequal system of care. When the first global pandemic

of a coronavirus hit it was the elderly and vulnerable who suffered most. Eileen remembers her own parents telling her as a child of how life just shut down overnight. Hundreds of the sick and elderly died. When

PHS

Old political parties hís Seirb coalesced in a Náisiúnta desperate attempt inte Sláto hold onto power.na They hÉireann stole the clothes of the progressive parties but true to form delivered the same failed policies of the past

4 Ireland talking about that time Eileen’s Mammy would shake her head and say, “it was bad then, but we had no idea just how bad things were to get.” A succession of viruses added to the fire of economic and social breakdown. Despite the Great Recession, Brexit,

NHS for

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Seirbhís Náisiúnta

Seirbhís Náisiúnta Sláinte na hÉirea

deepening inequality and a looming climate catastrophe, EU member state governments repeatedly failed to agree the rescue packages needed to rebuild and reimagine an economic framework that could withstand this new threat. Old political parties coalesced in a desperate attempt to hold onto power. They stole the clothes of the progressive parties but true to form delivered the same failed policies of the past. These were the roots of the Great Struggle that was to follow years later. “A penny for your thoughts Mum”, Lucy calls over to Eileen. “I was just thinking about your brothers love.” Lucy gets up and gives Eileen a kiss on the cheek and says, “Why don’t I get us a nice glass of wine and grab the old photo albums. We haven’t looked at them in ages.” Willa pulls her sun lounger over beside Eileen and shouts to the two youngest to give their Ma a hand in the kitchen. Their two dotey sun-kissed faces look up with disappointment. “It’s ok Ma”, James shouts over, “I’ll do it”. Banba and Alroy smile at their big brother from the corner of the garden. They’ve been standing guard over their solitary bee home all afternoon waiting for the larvae to hatch, and they’re not ready to give up their post just yet. Eileen clasps Willa’s hand and tells her how proud she is of the pair of them. “You and Lucy have devoted your whole lives to equality, you’re just like your Mam and Dad. They fought like tigers for the PHS. They always believed in the politics of equality and Irish unity. Your generation have done my generation proud.” At that moment Lucy plonks down the wine and a tray of treats, wraps her arms around her wife and Eileen and hugs them both tightly. “We stand on the shoulders of giants Mam, and we couldn’t do it without you.” 

ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2020 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

Sláinte

d i ó l h Réab e g l i e a G Shinn Féin LE CÓNALL Ó CORRA Áit a mbíonn an dólás, bíonn an sólás ina aice. Cur síos cuimsitheach ar staid reatha an domhain, den chéad uair le fada tá pobal an domhain sáinnithe ina dtithe ag an ghéarchéim shláinte uileghabhálach seo. Tá daoine scartha óna chéile le físchomhrá Whatsapp an t-aon mhodh cumarsáide ag cuid againn. Beidh an sólás in aice ag cuid leoga. Is iomaí caitheamh (iomaí + uatha) aimsire atá foghlamtha ag daoine áirid nó, daoine ag tabhairt faoi sin a d’imigh uathu le baois an tsaoil sa lá atá inniu ann. Rud dearfach atá an ghéarchéim seo i ndiaidh léargas a thabhairt dúinn air, go raibh muid uilig róghnóthach le rudaí a dhéanamh, rudaí nár bhain mórán tábhachta leo. Bhí muid gafa leis an saol ach rinne muid dearmad aire a thabhairt dúinn féin, ár mianta, ar bhfolláine agus am ceart a chaitheamh leo siúd is tábhachtaí dúinn ar domhan. Chuige sin, is mó daoine a bhí ag iarraidh

úsáid fhiúntach a bhaint as an tréimhse dhianghlasála le scil nó caitheamh aimsire nua a fhorbairt. Tá sé ráite liomsa go minic gur breá le daoine Gaeilge a fhoghlaim nó snas a chur uirthi ach easpa ama a bheith acu. Baois an tsaoil sa lá inniu ann! Cén bealach is fearr leis an tréimhse dhianghlasála seo a chaitheamh, ná do theanga náisiúnta a fhoghlaim mar sin? Chinn Sinn Féin tabhairt faoi thogra teanga ar líne. Is é sin go reachtálfar ranganna Gaeilge ar líne ag achan leibhéal do bhaill an pháirtí. ‘Sé ceann de bhunspriocanna Shinn Féin ná Gaelú a dhéanamh ar an pháirtí. Is sin go reachtálfar achan chúrsa inmheánach sa pháirtí ar bhonn dátheangach. Ghlac ballraíocht Shinn Féin leis seo mar sprioc ag Ard Fheis na bliana 2015. Tá Sinn Féin tiomanta don Ghaeilge, bhí ariamh, ach tugadh deis dúinn anseo Gaelú a dhéanamh ar ár mbaill ar bhealach nach raibh roimhe. Is trí fhorbairt na teicneolaíochta atá sé ar

anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2020 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

chumas s’againn, ach ní fiú an teicneolaíocht a bheith ann mura bhfuil daoine díograiseacha á n-úsáid. Léirigh baill Shinn Féin díograis agus misneach le blianta beaga anuas san fheachtasaíocht leanúnach ó thuaidh ar son Acht Teanga. Tá sé léirithe ariamh ó dheas i cibé feachtas a tháinig aníos. Tá an díograis seo léirithe arís eile ag baill Shinn Féin ar fud na tíre. Tá an misneach sin léirithe acu siúd atá anois ag gabháil do ranganna. D’fhreagair breis agus 1,500 duine ag léiriú suime sa togra seo a bhí ar siúl againn. Nuair atá mé á scríobh seo, ghlac breis agus 800 duine páirt in rang amháin ag leibhéal éigin. Tá bunrang anois ar fáil in achan chontae sa tír, tá teacht ag beagnach achan duine fosta ar mheánrang. Déanfar na ranganna a reáchtáil ar an chóras físchomhrá Zoom, beidh muid faoi chomaoin aige go brách. Tá grúpa de mhúinteoirí misniúla faighte

againn chomh maith, bheadh a sárú doiligh a aimsiú. Daoine d’achan chúlra ag obair le beagán agus mórán Gaeilge a thabhairt do na baill mhisniúla sin. Tá muid buíoch díobh siúd as ucht a gcuid ama a chur ar leataobh le ranganna a ullmhú agus a chur i láthair dhá uair in aghaidh na seachtaine. Réabhlóid atá ar siúl anseo ag baill agus ionadaithe Shinn Féin, is sin díchoilíniú ar a n-intinní. Dúirt an Piarsach tráth, ‘ní amháin saor ach Gaelach, ní amháin Gaelach ach saor.’

Tá Sinn Féin tiomanta don Ghaeilge, bhí ariamh, ach tugadh deis dúinn anseo Gaelú a dhéanamh ar ár mbaill ar bhealach nach raibh roimhe.

RANGANNA GAEILGE Sinn Féin has launched an ambitious Irish Language related project whereby we have tried to organise an Online Irish Class in every county. This project saw huge sign up, with hundreds of people participating in classes right across the country on

Sa mhí seo; Bealtaine, inár cuireadh chun báis é 104 bliain ó shin, tá sé tochtmhar go bhfuil an líon daoine seo in Sinn Féin ag tabhairt faoin athghabháil seo ar ár n-oidhreacht agus ár ndúchas. Tá moladh mór tuillte uile ag na foghlaimeoirí agus na múinteoirí as an obair seo. Níl muid ag rá gur sólás iad na ranganna seo d’achan duine, ach tá súil againn gur chuidigh siad le daoine an lá a chaitheamh i gcomhluadar a chéile. 

Video-Conferencing apps. This is in line with our national objective of Gaelicising Sinn Féin and a bilingual society, but also hopes to provide an opportunity for our membership to do something while they’re stuck inside.

IF YOU’RE INTERESTED IN TAKING PART IN THE FREE CLASSES

Email  gaeilge@sinnfein.ie

ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2020 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

CELEBRATING THE

CONNAUGHT RANGERS MUTINY

OF 1920

BY CONOR KOSTICK When it comes to the commemorations of the events of 1916–1923, the battle continues between Fine Gael and the rest of us. As far as Fine Gael are concerned, there is nothing inspiring or revolutionary to celebrate. Nothing to see here, let’s move on. Readers will remember the embarrassing video that the government commissioned for the 2016 anniversary of the Easter Rising, a video they hurriedly took down in the face of a huge public backlash. Unfortunately for them, there were enough of copies made that that if you are in the mood for a cringe, you can indulge with a quick search on YouTube. Then there was the attempt to commemorate the Royal Irish Constabulary and the Dublin Metropolitan Police, with a Dublin Castle event on 17th January 2020. This, the government said, was in a spirit of reconciliation and mutual understanding. But reconciliation with who? The British government of the day was directing these forces against the Irish national movement in a policy of ‘reprisal’ that even anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2020 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

Around 350 Irishmen serving in the Connaught Rangers, stationed in India, participated in a rebellion that began on June 28th 1920. These men risked their lives to protest the repression of Ireland and their story deserves a major celebration the most wooden-headed conservative would not expect to be celebrated in Ireland today. As part of this ongoing effort by Fine Gael to channel commemorations in a ‘safe’ and uninspiring direction, is their neglect of another important anniversary. It is that of a mutiny of Irish soldiers serving in the British Army in the summer of 1920. Around 350 Irishmen serving in the 47

Connaught Rangers, stationed in India, participated in a rebellion that began on June 28th 1920. These men risked their lives to protest at the repression of Ireland and their story deserves a major celebration. The key figure behind the mutiny was Private Joe Hawes. He later explained his action: “When I joined the British Army in 1914, they told us we were going out to fight for the liberation of small nations. But when the war was over, and I went home to Ireland, I found that, so far as one small nation was concerned – my own – these were just words.” In particular, when Hawes had been in Clare on leave in October 1919, he’d been part of a crowd who had faced the British Army and drawn bayonets when attempting to attend a hurling match. Soon after, stationed at Jullundur barracks near Amritsar, north-east India, where the previous year the British Army

‘I knew what I was doing. But the news coming from Ireland disturbed my mind to such an extent that I was quite prepared to suffer anything, irrespective of what it might be’ PRIVATE FRANK GERAGHTY had massacred at least 400 civilian demonstrators, Hawes realised he could no longer fight in the British Army. Having talked it over with a few friends, at 8 a.m. on the morning of June 28th 1919 Joseph Hawes, Patrick Gogarty, Christopher Sweeney and Stephen Lally entrusted their belongings to an officer with instructions to tell their families the true reason for their deaths, should they be immediately executed. Then they reported to the guard room and announced they would no longer serve the British Army. Word of this protest spread fast and groups of soldiers gathered to discuss the stand of the four men. When parade was called and Hawes’s C Company formed up, Jimmy Moran stepped out of the line to announce that he too would no longer fight for Britain. That defiant action was the trigger for a full-blown mutiny and twenty-nine more men (plus the armed duty guard) joined Hawes. Soon they were singing rebel songs and shouting ‘Up the Republic’. Moreover, the mutiny became more serious that afternoon when their colonel arrived and ordered the troubled B Company to sit on the steps of buildings around

the guard room, where he gave a speech about the regiment’s proud traditions and history, a speech that brought tears to his own eyes. Satisfied with the effect and confident of the result, he announced an amnesty for all if they would return to duty. Much to his astonishment, Hawes, a mere private, then stepped forward into the sunlight and took over the assembly. His speech was short but effective: ‘All the honours in the Connaught flag are for England and there are none for Ireland but there is going to be one today and it will be the greatest of them all’. B Company immediately joined in the rebellion and protected Hawes from being taken away. They released the men in the guard room; the senior officers hurried away, having now lost control of the entire barracks. Unexpectedly in control of the situation, the 300 rebels consolidated their position and put a guard to watch the officers, also on the alcohol. They commissioned a hundred • James Joseph Daly and (below) Joseph Hawes green, white and orange rosettes from the local Indian merchants and ran up a tricolour to replace the Union flag. A major from B Company came out to urge the men to stop, on the ground that the Indian population surrounding the barracks would take advantage of the mutiny to kill them all. Once again Hawes’ gave a spirited – and internationalist – reply: “If I am to be shot, I would rather be shot by an Indian than an Englishman”. In fact, the rebels had nothing to fear from Indian nationalists, who were sympathetic when the news spread of the mutiny of Irish soldiers in the British Army. One pro-Ghandi newspaper wrote that the action was an example of ‘how patriotic people can preserve their honour, defy the orders of the Government, and defeat its unjust aims.’ On June 30th 1920, the rebellion spread to other members of the regiment, who were stationed in Solon. ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2020 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

TIMELINE

• Dagshai prison, northern India, where 88 Connaught Rangers were imprisoned after the mutiny

Frank Geraghty and Patrick Kelly went to talk to the rest of C Company and in particular, to find James Joseph Daly, who was known for being a republican. Although the two rebel emissaries were arrested on their arrival, they shouted their news through the bars of their prison. Daly rose the occasion and took the lead in bringing about forty soldiers to the Commanding Officer to announce they were taking over a bungalow in protest at repression in Ireland and would no longer serve in the British Army. Their new base was renamed ‘Liberty Hall’ and the tricolour was raised above it. Once again, rosettes were made and again too, the night air of the barracks was filled with rousing rebel songs, belted out by forty voices. The following night, however, Daly tried to rush the magazine building on news that British troops were nearing the Solon barracks. The officers opened fire on the rebels, who carried bayonets, and two men were killed,

13 APRIL 1919

Amritsar massacre of at least 400 civilians in North East India by the British Army, just 90km from where the Connaught Rangers would be stationed.

OCTOBER 1919

Joe Hawes, Connaught Ranger, is on leave in Clare and present when troops obstruct a hurling match with bayonets drawn.

28 JUNE 1920

Joe Hawes, Patrick Gogarty, Christopher Sweeny and Stephen Lally, C Company, Connaught Rangers, ‘ground arms’ and report to the guard room of the Wellington Barracks, Jullunder. This triggers a mutiny of around 300 soldiers who take over the barracks.

30 JUNE 1920

Rebels send messengers to their comrades in Solon. They are arrested but spread the word and 40 men mutiny, occupying a bungalow.

‘All the honours in the Connaught flag are for England and there are none for Ireland but there is going to be one today and it will be the greatest of them all’ PRIVATE JOSEPH HAWES one wounded. Desperate, Dally offered to fight any of the officers one to one with bayonets, but they just waited for dawn and reinforcements. If Daly’s plan was to fight a retreat to his comrades in Jullundur, it had failed. With the arrival of loyal troops, the Solon participants were placed under arrest. Meanwhile at Jullundur the mutiny was ended by the arrival of the Seaforth Highlanders and the South Wales Borderers on July 1st 1920. Both these units had artillery and machine guns. The rebels had to surrender themselves into captivity, but they were determined to stick together and not let the authorities kill the ringleaders. This was as true for English rebels as Irish ones. A sergeant from Liverpool later explained at the courts martial, “These boys fought for England with me, and I was ready to fight for Ireland with them.” Though close to mass execution by machine gun and also to death from dehydration when penned outdoors in the blazing sun, the men resisted by physically holding on to their leaders at times, when attempts were made by the officers to drag away Hawes and nineteen others. Eventually, the more impassioned and violent officers gave way to proper procedure and eight-nine Connaught Rangers found themselves awaiting trail while in jail at Dagshai jail. Proceedings began on August 30th 1920. Thirteen men were sentenced to death, with the other mutineers given anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2020 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

Jullundur Barracks, scene of the mutiny of the Connaught Rangers in 1920

1 JULY 1920

Skirmish at Solon as the rebels attempt to seize the magazine. Two deaths.

At Jullunder, South Wales Borderers and Seaforth Highlanders arrive with machineguns to regain barracks. 2 JULY 1920

Leaders are not handed over to the authorities despite threat of mass executions.

MID-JULY 1920

89 mutineers held in prison at Dagshai.

30 AUGUST 1920 Court martial of rebels. 2 NOVEMBER 1920 Execution of Jim Daly (aged 21). 9 JANUARY 1923 Release of the rebels as part of the Treaty agreement. 29 APRIL 1936

Pension granted to survivors for the three years they were in prison. 49

• Connaught Rangers mutiny memorial beside the Hunger Strike memorial in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin

fifteen-year prison sentences. By this time, however, the political situation in Ireland was coming to the aid of the rebels. Powerful protests, general strikes, mass boycotts and guerrilla actions had thrown British authority onto the defensive. To kill all thirteen men was likely to create a public outcry that would further harm the position of the British authorities. They commuted all the death sentences but that of Jim Daly. As Major-General Sir George de Symons Barrow saw it, if no one were shot, that would create a very harmful precedent, not least for Indian men serving in the British Army. He needed to keep the threat of execution to prevent further mutinies. Fortunately for the other men, they were in the public eye and so, on 9th January 1923, they were released as part of the general settlement between the Free State and the British Government. It should be clear from this account that the men who risked their lives in 1920 in a protest against the repression of the Irish national movement deserve a heartfelt and sincere commemoration. Not least for the sake of the relatives of those involved. Instead, in an all too familiar pattern, it seems that the goal of the current plan is to belittle, rather than honour the soldiers. At the time of writing, there is just one event planned. Reasonably enough, a new monument in Sligo will recognise three local mutineers. But the accompanying talks are in the hands of people with no sympathy for the mutiny. University of Kent historian Mario Draper’s claim to 50

authority on this issue is his argument that the rebellion was not about support for Ireland’s national cause but local problems. His contention is that we can see the testimony of the men themselves as compromised by a desire to win a pension for their time in prison. This slur on the reputation of the men flies in the face not only of their own evidence at the time, i.e. at the courts martial, long before any talk of pensions, but also of the British sources. These include the English soldiers who supported the mutiny, or Lieutenant-Colonel H.F.N. Jourdain’s letter to the London papers, saying that the men had been “led astray by the accounts they had received about the Black and Tans.” Then too, there is the lie that these men were inexperienced and their real motive came from being ‘green recruits’ afraid of war. This is the position of the official regimental history. These soldiers were veterans of the Great War, most of those on trial having been in the army for more than five years. They were not afraid of battle and their rebellion was made with the full knowledge of the power of the British Army to crush them. But they had come to realise that Britain was never going to reward Ireland for its part in the war and that enough was enough. As Frank Geraghty put it: “I had served in France from January 1915 to the end of the war and had been wounded twice. And despite all my service, by mutinying, I knew what I was doing. But the news coming from Ireland disturbed my mind to such an extent that I was quite prepared to suffer anything, irrespective of what it might be.” We need a proper, nonrevisionist, celebration of this event and my suggestion would be a partnership between the families, Glasnevin Cemetery and those politicians who are unambiguously in favour of celebrating June 28th 1920 to hold an event (virus permitting) at the memorial to them in Dublin’s Glasnevin cemetery.  Conor Kostick is an historian and novelist. ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2020 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

THE

BATOFTLE S W E H T T A M T S W

hen the people of Ireland and in particular the people of the Ballymacarrett-Short Strand woke up on the morning of the 28th June 1970, they woke up to a different Ireland, to a very different northern state and to a very different nationalist community in particular. The reason for this difference happened, literally overnight, indeed in the space of a few hours, roughly from 9pm on the 27th June to 3am the following morning. In the space of those six hours, the 50-year-old reign of theUnionist Party and its military state power, shuddered to a stand-still. A new reality was born and a new experience began for the people of the six counties, particularly the northern nationalist people, hitherto denied their full rights as Irish citizens in their own country trapped in a state which used its oppressive and hostile authority to impoverish them politically, economically, socially and culturally. The first break in the chains that helped keep the nationalist people in check happened inside the heads of the people of the Short Strand and it happened on the streets of that numerically small district when the people, the IRA and the local

BY JIM GIBNEY defence force, the Citizens Defence League, (CDL), united to defend the people of the district. In taking such a stance to arm and defend themselves, the action became ‘offensive’. At that point, the reach and influence of the unionists’ state power hit an invisible ceiling. From that night forward it never regained the omnipotence and fear it

anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2020 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

wielded over nationalists for the previous 50 years, since partition in 1920. The IRA’s authority as the defenders of the northern nationalist and Catholic people was restored on the streets of the Short Strand as it fought alongside the CDL to protect the people against the armed and sustained attack on the district by unionist paramilitaries. Too often this has been misrepresented as ‘inter-communal rioting’, thus masking the true nature of the attack, as in Paul Bew and Henry Patterson’s ‘Northern Ireland - a Chronology of the Troubles’. The assault was aided and abetted by the RUC and the British Army who colluded in the attack as they ‘stood idly by’ and watched in hope, that the attack by unionist paramilitaries would raze the district to the ground. This would have forced the people to flee as they had the previous year, in August 1969, in a similar attack on Bombay Street and surrounding streets on the Falls Road and in Ardoyne in North Belfast where Catholics’ homes were also burnt down. On that occasion the IRA were illequipped to repel the unionist marauders and their long-standing and justified reputation as defenders was tarnished. In what became known as the ‘Battle of St Matthews’, the IRA emerged victorious and a new chapter began in its history as a popular national liberation army, on a 51

par with the volunteers during the War of Independence. All of this was of course not part of my thinking on June 27th 1970, as I went about my normal day as a 16-year-old going on 17. It was Saturday, it was warm and it was work free. A day to chill, as it would be described by a lad of a similar age these days.

don’t recall the hours before my friend Jimmy and I went to his sister’s house in Comber Street around 7pm to baby sit the children to allow her and her husband to go out for the night. Jimmy had a few sisters with children who needed regular baby-sitters and they were generous with their appreciation and we were delighted to have a ‘free’ house a few bob and a good night’s craic. It was in the days long before smoking was banned from public places but for some reason, I stepped from the house into Comber Street for a smoke. And that smoke and what I saw, while I was puffing away, changed the course of my life forever. I wasn’t a complete stranger to darkened streets and men on patrol performing vigilante duty to protect their homes from attack by loyalists. I was a vigilante myself for the previous year or so and had a ‘station’ at the corner of Bryson Street and Madrid Street beside my

The 50-year-old reign of the unionist party and its military state power, shuddered to a stand-still family home, where I and a few other young lads and men stood, keeping a weather-eye on the activities of loyalists. The big difference on this occasion was that the men on patrol were armed. One man walked past me carrying a rifle and the amazing thing was he did so openly, not concealed. And even more amazing for anyone to see, back then, but for a 16-year-old to witness it, the man casually strolled to the corner of the street, less than one-hundred yards from me and began to fire the rifle up Bryson Street towards the unionist Newtownards Road. For some reason, I stood there transfixed but not afraid of what I was seeing. It was like a scene from a war movie and it was happening on the streets of my district; where I grew up and played cowboys and Indians and now there was a real gun-battle under way.

For the next six hours the district resonated to the sound of sustained gunfire, people screaming, an acrid smell of smoke hanging in the air; rumours of people shot, and worse to come, as more armed loyalists were heading for the district to join in the attack. The armed man who passed me in the street was joined by a few others at their snipers’ post. From there I watched a regular exchange of gunfire with unseen loyalist snipers over the six-hour period. Throughout the gun battle I was the only eyewitness on the street watching the defensive snipers, faces covered, protecting the people of the district. From the safety of the doorway, where I took shelter, I ‘reported in’ to Jimmy what I was seeing, while he comforted his frightened nephews. I wasn’t really thinking about anything beyond what I was seeing. My family and Jimmy’s were literally up the street from us a few hundred yards. They too were hemmed in but the danger of the gun battle meant that all we could do was worry about them and them us. As dawn was breaking the six-hour ‘liberated zone’ that encapsulated the streets of the Short Strand began to fade, as the snipers melted away into the safety of people’s homes. And with the dawn came the British Army in their heavy armour-plated

ISSUE NUMBER 2 – 2020 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2  anphoblacht

In the long struggle for Irish freedom the ‘Battle of St Matthews’ was a turning point

• COLLUSION – The RUC and the British Army ‘stood idly by’ in hope that unionist paramilitaries would raze the Short Strand to the ground

vehicles circling the district, waiting their opportunity to reoccupy it. Their military might made it easier for them to retake the streets but it was over for them and the unionist regime. Its writ, power and authority obliterated

in the resistance by the people and the IRA, as a new phase in the age-old struggle for Irish freedom entered its most popular and decisive stage since partition. I, like thousands of other republicans, settled into a life of service in what became

anphoblacht  UIMHIR EISIÚNA 2 - 2020 - ISSUE NUMBER 2

a life-and-death struggle for decades to come. That night the McIlhone family tragically lost their father and husband Henry. He died in the attack on St Matthew’s Church and Billy McKee, a senior member of the Belfast IRA, was seriously injured. Other families lost as well – a number of Protestants died and many were injured. In the long struggle for Irish freedom the ‘Battle of St Matthews’ was a turning point. The people of the district endured much that night of the 27th June; they endured worse thereafter. Their resolve and that of republicans all over Ireland ensured that the injustice of partition, unionist domination and British occupation withered in the face of the determination of a risen people.  Jim Gibney is a Republican activist, former political prisoner and parliamentary adviser to Senator Niall Ó Donnghaile 53

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