CONNEMARA Galway Vol. XII — No. 144 Spanish Armada Memorial Centre Grange and Armada Development Association Grange, Sligo | Old Courthouse (green doors) At Ireland Ascending we have written extensively about the local, national, and international efforts in recovering the shipwrecks at Streedagh Beach. As Irish American children, myself & my siblings first heard of the ‘legend’ of Armada shipwrecks somewhere off the Sligo coastline — from my county Sligo born immigrant mother, Bridget Hannon (Ó hAnnáin). In 1985, that legend became Fact. In 2015, both siege & ships cannons were raised from the La Juliana (Spain). Resting nearby are the La Lavia (Venice) and the La Santa María de Visón (Sicily), neither of which have yet given up their secrets (all 3 were mediterranean merchant ships pressed into service by King Philip II). The Spanish Armada was not defeated by England, but by a great storm (1588) of the Wild Atlantic Way that carried one ship to Norway and two to Scotland. Ireland’s west coast counties Donegal, Sligo, Mayo, Galway, Clare and Kerry have 28 known Armada shipwrecks — with others further off the coastline deep in the Atlantic. Year 2020: View Event & Spain’s Ambassador to Ireland Ildefonso Castro’s comments which were held online for Covid-19 reasons: https://youtu.be/EMpQb3uuYQo Year 2015: View a La Juliana Cannon recovery here: https://youtu.be/a_6nxyarrog Eddie O’Gorman chair has invited noted guests from abroad to Grange for annual visits. The Memorial museum will be reopening in early July. Credit also to Cllr. Marie Casserly and Sligo County Council. For more visit www.SpanishArmadaIreland.com ©MMXXI Ken Hannon Larson, Ireland Ascending.com The Quiet Man Movie Off - The - Set Photos Recently the National Museum Of Ireland received “negative glass plates” taken by an unknown professional photographer in Cong, Co. Mayo back in 1951. The plates are dark and unclear as to who and what we are actually seeing. At Ireland Ascending we were able to convert the negative glass plates, into viewable B&W photos. The actors are all off-the-set, resting before their next film shoot in the movie. For John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara it was a chance to mingle with the local Irish, some of which were extras in the movie. These 70 year-old photographs are presented here for fans of the film to enjoy. John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara Continued On Next Page Maureen O’Hara and Friends (L-R) Francis Ford, John Wayne, Victor McLaglen, Director John Ford, Barry Fitzgerald (sitting) Continued On Next Page Jane Paddy Adams Cunningham Picture by Tom Honan/PA Wire John Wayne with Cormac O’Malley, son of Ernie Mildred Natwick and Barry Fitzgerald preparing O’Malley a friend of Director John Ford for the next onset film shoot John Wayne, Director John Ford, Arthur Shields* (Left) Victor McLaglen, a big man in a small chair. *Arthur Shields (brother of Barry Fitzgerald) played the part of a protestant minister of the Church of Ireland. In real life… as a young man he took part in the Easter Rising 1916 at Dublin’s General Post Office (GPO), under the command of James Connolly. He was arrested and sent to the infamous Frongoch prison in Wales. Negative Glass Plate Images Courtesy of the National Museum of Ireland ©MMXXI Ireland Ascending.com ©MMXXI Ireland Ascending.com The Opening of the 2021 Fine Gael Ard Fheis 15th June 2021 Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, TD Delegates, I believe in the Unification of our Island and I believe it can happen in my lifetime. Good evening and welcome to the 80th Fine Gael Ard Fheis. The first to be held on-line. Next time, as we embrace the ‘new normal’ post-pandemic, it will be hybrid with people attending in person and also joining us on-line. For now, a special welcome to everyone joining us from home. A lot has happened since our last Ard Fheis. Brexit. A General Election. A pandemic. An historic coalition and a third successive term in Government for our party. The theme for this conference is the ‘future’, an opportunity for us to discuss the Ireland we – the Fine Gael team – want to build after the pandemic is over. So, I think it is fitting that we will start our programme tonight with a discussion on Northern Ireland and our future together. Before I speak about that, I want to start with a few words of thanks – to Fiona O Connor and her colleagues on the Executive Council, to those on the Ard Fheis Sub Committee and to Headquarters staff who have worked so hard to prepare this event. And I’d also like us to take this opportunity to remember some colleagues who we lost since we last met – Eddie Collins, Richie Ryan, John Browne, Liam Whyte, Terry Brennan, Tom O’Donnell, PJ Sheehan and his wife Frances. We also remember the many other former councillors, officers and members who have passed away. So, Chairman, let’s turn now to the topic of the evening, Northern Ireland, and allow me start with a few words on the current dispute in relation to the Northern Ireland Protocol. Fine Gael is a party that believes in free trade and multilateralism. We do not want and have never wanted any barriers to trade, North/South, between Britain & Ireland or between Britain & Northern Ireland. That’s why we, along with the majority of people and parties in Northern Ireland, opposed Brexit. However, the decision to opt for a hard Brexit made it inevitable that checks and controls would have to happen somewhere and it is much better that these should take place at two or three ports and airports rather than at multiple border posts along 10 border counties. There were alternatives, the UK staying in the customs union and single market, we said Yes to that. A single customs territory as a default, the ‘backstop’, we said Yes to that too. When all these were rejected, a Northern Ireland only solution, now known as the Protocol, was the only option and we said Yes to that too. Continued On Next Page Under terms of the Agreement it can only be disapplied should the Northern Ireland Assembly vote to do so and there is no majority for that. There should be no unilateral action either by London or Brussels. We fully appreciate the practical difficulties the Protocol has caused for some in Northern Ireland and disturbance it has caused for unionists. We are also conscious, that the opponents of the Protocol, have not come forward with solutions that remove the need for checks while ensuring the single market is protected and our place in it is not undermined. We remain committed to working through the European Union to find pragmatic solutions within the parameters of the Withdrawal Agreement. It can be done. The vast majority of checks and controls can be removed if we all agree to maintain the same high standards when it comes to food and veterinary rules. Ideology, pride nor nationalism, of any form, should not prevent us agreeing a solution. The consequences of failure for all of us are far too great. With this in mind, I particularly want to recognize the role of our Deputy Leader Simon Coveney in ensuring that European unity remains solid and that the US administration is appraised of the situation. Colleagues, a few years ago, I said that the tectonic plates were shifting in Northern Ireland. In the centenary year of its foundation, I believe that to be more true than ever. The Assembly elections and the census tell us that in Northern Ireland there is no majority anymore. There are three minorities, one that defines itself as British and Unionist, another as Irish and Nationalist, and a third and growing middle ground, many born since the Good Friday Agreement, who refuse to be defined in this way. They see themselves as both Irish and British or perhaps simply Northern Irish. What’s most revealing in opinion polls, even among the youngest voters, is that neither nationalist nor unionist parties have a majority due to this growing middle ground. It is one of the most encouraging things that has happened since the Good Friday Agreement was signed. The future is not yet written and nothing is inevitable. Delegates, I believe in the unification of our island and I believe it can happen in my lifetime. It means the unification of the people of our island as well as territory of Ireland and it is a legitimate political aspiration. It is in our Constitution and is provided for in the Good Friday Agreement should a majority of people in the North and South vote for it. The views of unionists must be acknowledged, understood and respected but no one group can have a veto on Ireland’s future. We should be proud to say that unification is something we aspire to. It should be part of our mission as a Party to work towards it. We can do so in many ways. First of all, we need to make sure that the Good Friday Agreement is working and working fully and that all of the institutions are functioning at their optimum level. While the North-South bodies and other institutions are operating I do not believe they are meeting their full potential. We can work on this. As a Party, we need to increase our engagement with people and communities in the North. We can do this through our Northern Ireland Engagement Group under the leadership of Deputy Fergus O’Dowd. Continued On Next Page As well as this, I believe we should establish a branch in Northern Ireland with the same status as a constituency organization in our rules.