27 MAY 1997
May/June 1997 Connolly Association: campaigning for a united and independent Ireland
The 'rights' way Irish language Peter Berresfbrd forward for andself- Tory Sound Ellis: the sinking peace In Ireland determination Jiiishb&fin, of HMSWasp Page 7 Connolly Column: Page 6 Page 12
.jpsR ' . * • "i7?'.' | he dramatic landslide victory of as the potential pitfalls, are many. °EACE PROCESS respond to the new Labour govern- Moves on all of these key areas, Tony Blair and the Labour The electoral success of Sinn Fein ment in the coming months, will be along with a much hoped-for renewal Party has changed the political in West Belfast and Mid Ulster con- their response to Orange Order of the IRA ceasefire, and an end to all landscape of Britain and opened firmed beyond any doubt the party's marches in full, was indeed welcome. attempts to orchestrate a repeat of the forms of political and sectarian up a new opportunity for reviv- claim to have a mandate to speak on However, it is essential that the new the previous showdowns at violence, are essential for creating the ing the Irish peace process. behalf of a significant part of the commission is given powers immedi- Drumcree. It is essential that they do right conditions for progress. 1Labour's 179 seat majority in the nationalist population in die North. ately to ban and reroute contentious not allow some of the worst examples Labour has both an opportunity House of Commons ensures that the Their success increases both the marches where local agreements are of un mist triumphalism to win out and the ability to act decisively over British government is no longer at the need and desirability of their indu- not reached. yet again. the coming months, in creating of beck and call of unionism and their sion in all-party talks when they To date, the only additional mea- Early moves on a range of other key conditions out of which a new backward-looking and anti-democrat- resume in June, although the chances sures announced by the new Secretary issues are crucial, including: reform of accommodation in the North, based ic agenda. - of this happening, irraojKthw of of State have beeen the introduction of the RUC, the setting-up of a new on fundamental democratic rights and Whatever his intentions, John whether or not a new IR^S&ppfire is a21 day notice period and the banning enquiry into the events of Bloody the principles of'parity of esteem' and Major was heavily constrained by the announced in the coriffljTweeks, of alcohol on marches. Sunday, ending the use of plastic bul- ^eqwlity of opportunity1 can emerge. arithmethic of the last Westminster remains remote. Oak of the most critical tests facing lets, scrapping no-jury Diplock courts, b is an opportunity which Tony parliament f Mo Mowlam's announcemnet prior Labour in the early days of their new the suspension of emergency legisla- Blair and the new Secretary of State The Blair government is blissfully to the general election that Labour in administration, and one which is like- tion, and improvements in the condi- Mo Mowlam must not let slip through relieved of any such constraints, office would implement the recom- ly to have a significant influence on tions of republican prisoners held in their hands. although the challenges ahead, as well mendations of the North report on how nationalists and republicans English jails. Now is the time for talks Irish Democrat May/June 1997 Irish Democrat May/June 1997 Page 3 News ____
IRISH Oemoctuc NEWS IN BRIEF Founded 1W Volume 52, No.2 Boost for McNamee campaign Reports condemn abuse of human Arrests complaint Despite disappointment that the case Crawford of the Criminal Cases The European Committee for the of miscarriage of justice prisoner Review Commission asking the new Prevention of Torture has agreed to Danny McNamee was not referred body to be prioritise the Danny's case. rights in Special Security Units consider a complaint submitted by the directly back to the Court of Appeal Criminal Cases Review Commission, Celtic League following the beating of literally prisons within prisons); the both visitor and prisoner endure before March 31 and will now go Alpha Tower, Suffolk Street, Birmingham The publication of two a number of civilians arrested in South numerous searches despite being before the Criminal Cases Review B1 ITT. The Danny McNamee cam- lack of adequate exercise, sport, educa- Armagh on April 10. Three of those denied any physical contact during Commission, the new body to deal paign can be contacted at BM Box The vicious beating meted out to Robert Hamill by a 30-strong reports into the operation tional and work facilities; the absence arrested have since been charged with the visit, is strongly criticised. The with alleged miscarriages of justice, Innocent, London WC1N 3XX. of natural daylight and long-distance terrorist offences and IRA member- gang of loyalist thugs in Portadown, which resulted in his death of Special Security Units majority of SSU prisoners refuse to support for the campaign has contin- vision; the lack of adequate medical ship. twelve days later, is deeply disturbing, not least because of treatment; and the regular use of accept visits because of the effect ued to grow. in English jails has The League says that there is no •fcThe head of the Criminal Cases allegations made by the man's family that an RUC patrol failed to stripsearching and other 'security' 'closed visits' have on their families. In Ireland, the Oireachtas Joint doubt that the security forces used Review Commission has expressed highlighted human rights measures such as 'closed' visits. Although the Woodcock Report, Foreign Aflairs Committee recently intervene. The news that a number of the attackers have been excessive force in carrying out the concern that the new body set up to The effect on remand prisoners is published in the wake of the gave its unanimous support to a reso- abuses against Irish arrests. Some of those arrested investigate alleged miscarriages of jus- arrested and charged in connection with the incident is welcome, Whitemoor escape, refused to endorse lution calling for Danny McNamee's also criticised. According to the required hospital treatment. tice will be unable to cope with an but few will have any confidence that the Independent closed visits on humanitarian case to be referred to the Court of political prisoners. report, the SSU regime restricts pris- Eyewitnesses after the event have expected 'avalanche' of applications. grounds, stressing that they effectively Appeal. A recent delegation of Irish Commission for Police, which has been called in to investigate the oners' ability to conduct a proper described the scene of the arrests as Speaking at a press conference at Enda Finlay reports. deprived prisoners of any physical politicians also condemned Danny's incident, will uncover the full role of the RUC. defence, thus jeopardising their right resembling 'a butchers yard'. the end of the commission's first week, to a lair trial. contact with family and children, this ten year incarceration as an SSU pris- commission chairman, senior freema- The incident, and an increasing number like it in recent onditions in Special Security The findings of the Amnesty inves- did not prevent former Home oner. son Sir Fredrick Crawford, announced months, is also disturbing because it demonstrates, in the starkest Units constitute "cruel, inhu- tigation are reinforced by another Secretary Michael Howard immedi- NIO lodges with the spooks In Britain, Channel 4 has also final- that the new body had received 251 terms, the consequences of increasing levels of loyalist violence man and degrading treatment" independent report published jointly ately implementing the recommenda- Further evidence of the intimate ly announced that a long awaited Trial cases and was expecting new ones to and openly contravene tions of Sir John Learmont nature of the relationship between the and Error documentary about Danny's arrive at the rate of six per day. against catholics. Spurred on by the bigotry of extremist groups by British Irish Rights Watch, the European and international Committee on the Administration of Learmont went on to recommend Northern Ireland Office and the case will be broadcast at 9pm on The Commission, which employs such as the Spirit of Drumcree, the tensions of the triumphalist standards on human rights, Justice and the Irish Commission for the use of'closed visits' for Category A British security establishment was Tuesday June 24. 65 staff including 13 commissioners marching season, and the armed actions of the so-called Loyalist according to a report by Amnesty Prisoners Overseas. exceptional-risk prisoners. revealed recemly with the revelation Campaigners are now asking for and 25 case workers, claims to have I that the former is 'live over the brush' Volunteer Force, sections of the loyalist community remain intent International. The effect of the regime The Situation of Irish Republican It now remains to be seen whether supporters and concerned groups and received inadequate funding from the has led to "serious physical and psy- Prisoners in the UK concludes that the incoming Secretary of State, Jack with its spook friends in MI5. individuals to write to Sir Fredrick Home Office. on singing their traditional song of hatred, "croppy lie down". chological disorders in prisoners", prisoners in SSUs suffer greatly from Straw, will be prepared to act on the According to a report published in Sectarianism, and its close twins, racism and fascism, are to be Amnesty concludes. the arbitrary nature of the regime, the major human rights abuses highlight- the Daily Telegraph in March, the abhorred wherever they arise. But, only when loyalists are Among the main concerns raised lack of sentence planning and the ed by these two important reports, or Northern Ireland Office has taken out Independence and a ten-year lease on part of MI5's new prepared to accept the justness of change based on the principles by the report, which to be submitted absence of information as to why they whether a desire to be seen to be tough to the European Committee for the are being held there or when they will on 'crime' and 'terrorism' will lead Millbank headquarters. The NIO has the Irish language of 'parity of esteem' and 'equality of treatment' will horrendous Prevention of Torture, are: the use of be released. him to follow the path of his lory pre- been searching for suitable alternative A major one-day conference on the incidents such as the one that lead to the death of Robert Hamill 'the small group isolation' (SSUs are The use of 'closed visits', where decessor. since it was announced that its current theme of'Language and Nation' is begin to become a thing of the past. offices in the Mall are in need of major being held at the Hammersmith and refurbishment. Fulham Irish Centre in London on Donations to th> Conwoly Association m Separate entrances for NIO and Saturday May 31. J I, lMInL M. a; a- ana tne Irish Democrat MI5 staff and assurances that there Papers face libel action Speakers at the event, which has been 23 February 1997 to 24 April 1997 will be 'no intermingling' between Bloody Sunday to organised stone organised by The British Association BLOODY SUNDAY M. McGuire £10; Glasgow CA £18; 0. personnel are about as credible and throwing. According to his version of for Irish Studies, include: Enda Ftntay Donohue £5; B Partington £20 (in reliable as most other information The comprehensiveness of the Tories' defeat, and their complete events, "some soldiers, under the into ' incident Gearoid O Cearallain (Conradh na memory of Jimmy McGill); T. about Northern Ireland which comes annihilation, at parliamentary level, in Scotland and Wales also r Conor Cruise O'Brien has impact of the stoning, lost their tem- A campaign has been launched to tion to the media and the public must Gaeilge/Gaelic League), Angela Marrinan £2; J. Bird (New Zealand) out of MI5. However, the new made a habit of going too far pers and opened fire and some others press for -an independent public be investigated, say campaigners, who Bourke (University College Dublin), increases the chances of swift progress towards the setting up of a £2; A. Dickinson (Australia) £30; M. arrangements could also prove with his anti-republican invec- followed suit". inquiry into the killing of Diarmuid recently handed in a 2,000-signature Brendan Bradshaw (University of Ninth Desmond Greaves Scottish parliament and a Welsh assembly. While this will be wel- Guinan £20; C. Eliason £4.65; S. convenient for the New Secretary of tive. His latest outburst how- This is a completely new explana- State for Northern Ireland whose new O'Neill. He was shot six times by petition to the Home Office demand- Cambridge), Owen Dudley Edwards comed in many quarters, including among the ranks of the O'Cearnaigh £5; S. Yorkshire Summer School ever, in which he maligns the tion for the massacre, and one that is at party head quarters are just a few doors officers from Scotland Yard's tactical ing an independent public inquiry. (University of Edinburgh), Stiofano Communist Group £50; G. Curran £2; Friday to Sunday, August 22-24 1997 Connolly Association, this could yet result in some unwelcome victims of Bloody Sunday, odds with O'Brien's contemporaneous away. firearms squad S019 in the early They argue that answers to a num- Direan and Padraigin Rigg E O'Conchuir £2; Mr & Mrs O'Brien could cost him, or at least the Sunday account when he stated that: "I hours of September 23rd, 19%. ber of key question, including why (University College Cork). side effects. Not least of these is the distinct possibility that any I £12; J. Fleming £5; J. McLoughlin £5 Irish Labour History Society Independent which printed the offend- shared, and still share, the belief that Initial statements by the police jus- O'Neill was shot and who was respon- new parliament and assembly, elected on a basis of proportional (in memory of Paddy Bond); N. Foster Gal for peace There will be a reception hosted by Museum, Beggars Bush, Dublin 4 ing article, substantial libel damages. what happened in Derry was murder tified the death of O'Neill by stating sible for that decision, must be £15; P Latham £10; T. Leonard £7; E The Connolly Association is among a the Irish Embassy after the event, Conference themes representation, will offer a political lifeline to the righdy humili- In an article published by the paper in the sense that the troops deliberate- that he was killed during a shootout revealed. Rushe £10; Y. Boydell £5; K. Mathews growing list of organisations and followed by entertainment in the ated Tories of Scodand and Wales. on. March 23 under the heading ly shot dead young men who had between police and the arrested sus- The Connolly Association and The 1798 Bicentenary; the Irish £10; M & D Goodman £16 (in memo- individuals supporting an initiative evening, including Irish music and 'Handle new evidence with care', probably been baiting them in various pects. Subsequent reports confirmed Amnesty International are among Constitution; the fight against ry of Desmond Greaves and Paddy calling upon the new British poetry readings. O'Brien wrote "actually, no one who ways, but who were not endangering that O'Neill and the other suspects those who have called for an indepen- Eurofederalism; the way forward for Bond); P Evans £5; M. Murphy £5 (in government to take urgent action "to knows anything about Northern their lives". No mention here of arrested during the police operation dent inquiry into the killing. The cost of attending the conference the North Ireland doubts that the 'civil rights memory of Paddy Bond); S. McCartan create the conditions" for all-party organised stone throwing. were unarmed and that there was no The campaign can be contacted at: The is £20 (includes lunch and Cost: £12 for full school £10; C. Cunningham £5; L. Bradley peace talks. EH-T1IUT Tl KMOGUCT civilians' were Sinn Fein activists A libel action is also being brought shootout. Justice for Diarmuid O'Neill Campaign, refreshments). For further details £5; F & J Jennings £10, £10 (in mem- Enquiries to Summer School The question of further European integration under a Blair gov- operating for the IRA" against the Irish Times, whose corre- The Call For Peace campaign has The reason behind the police deci- BM Box D O'Neill, London WC1N contact: Eleanor Burgess (conference ory of 1. O'Dwyer); S.A. Mason £10; Director, 82 Barton Road East, Writing the following week in the spondent Kevin Myers wrote that the widely circulated a statement signed sion to give out misleading informa- 3XX. Individuals £10/£S, Groups £20. convenor) on 01245 467287. ernment poses an important new challenge for the left in Britain Des Fox £55.42; R. McLaughlin £5; Dublin 14. Deny Journal, local solicitor Patrick events of Bloody Sunday had turned by film maker Ken Loach, writer in which the issue of democracy remains the key. D. McLoughlin £10; J. McKeever £15; McDermott invited anyone wishing to into "a degrading cult of victimhood Ronan Bennett and the editor of the tries. This is mainly American money, The decision by the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon sue O'Brien or the Sunday Independent D. Fletcher £20 (in memory of Irish Post, Donal Mooney, stressing Dublin for young people has become and a perverted badge of identity." attracted by the sophisticated Irish to contact him. He has, needless to say, Hannah Fletcher); D. Reed £5; M. that "negotiations must - without economic boom the 'fun city of Europe'. Social securi- Brown, to give the Bank of England independent status, including The Irish Democrat will be happy to industrial infrastructure laid down been inundated with potential liti- Folan £5; R. Kelly £5; Anon £3.80. exception - be opened to all those par- ty benefits are higher there than in responsibility for setting interest rates, and the appointment of report the outcome of any litigation over decades, as well as by the gants. O'Brien's article attributed Bankers orders £303.85 ties with a democratic mandate who IRISH ECONOMY people against the Tories - and the Belfast. It is only a matter of time that follows. importance of maintaining an inde- Republic's skilled and highly educated leading British capitalist, BP chairman, Sir David Simon, as Mai: £760.72 wish to attend." Democrat reporter before the people of the six counties pendent exchange-rate. Joining the labour force. become aware of all this, as economic Minister for Trade and Competitiveness in Europe, bode ill for the OBITUARIES Professor Brendan Bradshaw of he Republic has the highest eco- single currency is meant to rule this More people are now coming to set- events as well as political, point them future of British democracy. Queen's College, Cambridge; Billy UnMftl L • II ffl* ifMMl— tM 0«LlJl«* active in local politics in Halle, joined Bragg (musician); Jeremy Hardy nomic growth rate in Europe, out for ever. One must always bear in tle in Ireland than are leaving it towards eventual reunification. Dorothea sngmima-sciNitzB In so doing Blair has signaled his governments intent on rush- the Socialist Unity Party and for a (stand up comedian and Guardian mainly because of its successful mind that the 1992-93 devaluations Professor Dorothea Siegmund- Marching Season were forced on the reluctant govern- ing headlong towards a Single European Currency and further time was a member of the GDR's columnist) and Mike Mansfield (bar- ten per cent .devaluation in Schultze, who for many years held the ment and political establishment of Volkskammer. rister) are among those who have 1993. Devaluation freed Ireland, European political, economic and military integration. This can chair of English Literature at the both Dublin and London. It was the Yes, Adolf Hider's Brownshirts signed the statement. and Britain, from the constraint only result in further misery for working people throughout University of Halle in the former had their traditions too - of being tied to the Deutschmark in failure of government policy in both Imsh demcmc d JackMttchel Copies of the original statement I German Democratic Republic, died riotous revels reaching back to the ERM, which was meant to prepare countries that caused the current Britain, as public spending continues to be squeezed dry in order and, further information about the recently aged 71, following a stroke. Glaswegian Jack Mitchell, an authori- the Dark Ages. it for the single Euro-currency. The boom, not its success. For a united and independent Ireland to meet the convergence criteria for monetary union. She was a regular reader of the Irish ty on Sean O' Casey and former lectur- initiative can be obtained from The No, they were not the first economies of Ireland and Britain have Some long-term factors have also Published continuously since 1939, the Irish Democrat is the bi-monthly Democrat and agreed fully with the er at Humboldt University, Berlin, Call For Peace Group, PO Box 10132, Our response must not be one of cosying up to those espousing to go through the ghettoes like a been in boom since. helped Ireland's boom. The most journal of the Connolly Association which campaigns for a united and CA's view that a strong solidarity died recently in Gal way, where he and London SW2 2ZB. a dangerous brand of reactionary and xenophobic English nation- dose of salts, Proof of how vital this devaluation important is the big fall in Ireland's independent Ireland and the rights of the Irish in Britain. movement in Britain was vital for the his wife Renate had retired some years i assaulting, insulting, terrorising; was is the contrast between the Irish fertility and birthrate since the early alism. The left in Britain must shake off its torpor, uniting in success of the Irish national move- ago. but they enriched the Boy hit by plastic bullet and British economies on the one 1980s. The average Irish woman today Annual Subscription Rates (six issues) Britain and across Europe with broader democratic forces to ment. His daughter Jennie is married to tradition with their very own A twelve year old boy from Lurgan, hand, and the French and German will have a family of one or two £5.50 Britain defend national democracy and the interests of working people. Between 1976 and 1988 she organ- Niall Farrell, whose sister Mai read mix Co Armagh, was hospitalised at the ones on the other. On the continent children or less, as compared with I enclose a cheque ised the biennial Halle conferences on was one of the 'Gibraltar Three' who £10.00 Solidarity subscription (payable to "Connolly of depravity and efficiency. end $f April after he was hit in the face Roaring job losses, cutbacks and belt- three or four for her predecessors of a 'Ireland: culture and society', in the were killed by the SAS. Jack, who was £8.00 Europe (airmail) Publications Ltd")/postal Stria-belted, jackbooted, by {plastic buHet fired by an RUC lightening are the order of the day, as generation ago. Higher family German I '.mocratic Republic. a fine poet, wrote a lengthy poem £11.00 USA/Canada (airmail) order for £ chins trapped, patrol. h •t'ni.'mcf', -countries prepare for the bankers' rule incomes have to be shared among These seem to have been the only about that event. £12.00 Australia (airmail) IRISH OEMOOUC the roar was the only mouth- JC claims that its officers" had pi EMU. Unemployment in Ireland fewer people, and the existing ggpiila- Bi-monthly Newspaper of the Connolly Association regular conferences on Ireland to be A fortnight before his death he sent music t under attack from a group of 30 Britain oh the'other hand is tion has to support fewer young held anywhere on the continent dur- the poem reproduced on the right to they could muster. i hurling stones have been stren-i hignartJi
Features CMIttte connoLLy coLumn After eighteen years of Tory rule it In this article originally The 'rights' way forward for peace in Ireland published in The Harp in 1908, Connolly succinctly cannot be business as usual outlines the importance of the As another loyalist marching season gathers ^omentum, Maggie Berne of the Committee on the Administation of Justice argues that the Irish language movement in For eighteen years successive Tory governments have allowed the causes of conflict to fester. need to address fundamental questions of human rights in Northern Ireland is central to the objective of securing a peaceful settlement. the struggle for national self- iven the scale and controver- involving the security forces was the determination, offering both an Far from acting as neutral referees, the British government has been the main cause of the sial nature of human rights death of Dermot McShane in Derry in internationalist and socialist problem. The Democrat's northern correspondent, Bobbie Heatley, looks forward to a new era. issues in Northern Ireland, it the early hours of July 13. Knocked perspective. It is clear from the may seem unlikely that a down by an army Saxon, he died Connolly's reference to n the style of a true colonial governor, Following the publication of the report, group such as the Committe on shortly after from his injuries. Four weeks after his death, the driver of the workers 'seizing the organised outgoing Secretary of State Sir Patrick Dr Hayes criticised the baroness and the Administration of Justice, Mayhew tried to blame the lack of (which draws its membership from truck had still not been interviewed by industries' through their Mayhew for "presenting a distorted picture progress towards a settlement on the of his findings" to the press. Speaking across the political spectrum, should the police. 'economic organisations' that backwardness of'the natives'. He even about the government's response he said: seek to address these questions as its This death followed on from a the article is from Connolly's considered an advertising campaign to "They picked the cherries they wanted and central focus. fracas which broke out in the casualty syndicalist phase. explaiI n to the British people (and to the didn't present the bitter fruit." The CAJ takes no position on the unit in Altnagelvin hospital the night world) the nature of the 'white man's Given its own experience, the British constitutional status of Northern before. To quote one witness: "A man burden' he was shouldering: endemic public will not be surprised that such chi- Ireland, but argues that the protection was lying on the ground with his Irish Language and fascism for which the political violence and canery, not to say sleaze, extended to and promotion of human rights must hands over his head. I believe he was developments such as the harassment of Northern Ireland. be at the heart of whatever settlement unconscious. A number of RUC self-determination catholic church-goers at Harryville were Despite all this, it is clear that the Irish prevails; that all human beings, officers were hitting him with batons". I do believe in the necessity, and indeed the inevitability of a uni- proof. side has not given up on the peace process. whether Irish or British, republican or The RUC were apparently asked to versal language; but I do not believe that it will be brought about, Yet, while there is considerable evidence The task ahead for the new Labour govern- loyalist, men or women, black or leave by hospital officials. or even hastened, by smaller races or nations consenting to the of overtly fascistic, politically-inspired ment must include a complete break with white, straight or gay, have inalienable On the Ormeau Road, residents extinction of their language. Such a course of action, or rather of behaviour in Northern Ireland there was the policies and methods which led to the rights. were subjected to a de facto curfew for slavish inaction, would not hasten the day of a universal language, no recognition by Mayhew and his like of current impasse. Needless to say, the position is not nearly twenty-four hours, and but would rather lead to the intensification of the struggle for mas- its source: the Orange/unionist transmuted Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams recently always popular and can be problemat- residents of the Garvaghy Road beaten tery between the languages of the great powers. UK state constructed by his predecessors gave a clear indication that the road ic in any society. In Northern Ireland, off the road, subjected to sectarian On the other hand, a large number of small communities, and diligently preserved during his short towards a peaceful settlement could soon the issue is particularly controversial abuse, and fired at with plastic bullets, speaking different tongues, are more likely to agree upon a com- sojourn as Northern Ireland Secretary become accessible once again. Speaking on in that a sizeable proportion of the observers appear to have been taken lines, the Inspector's report is highly to clear the way once the police mon language as a common means of communication than a small The blame for the present state of affairs April 24, 1997 he said: "The primary population challenges the very aback by the extent of the breakdown critical: of the parameters within decided to let the Drumcree Orange number of great empires, each jealous of its own power and seek- Of more than 6,000 march through. lies squarely with successive Tory (and one Mams road to peace could be re-opanad strategic objective is for a democratic peace legitimacy of the state - a challenge in the rule of law in 19%. which plastic bullets are allowed to be ing its own supremacy. Labour) governments, particularly those of settlement... we hope it will go a long way which is expressed by both peaceful The law in Northern Ireland has plastic bullets fired fired; the chain of command for The policing of public order I have heard some doctrinaire socialists arguing that socialists Heath, Thatcher and Major. Major and Talks on this basis are unlikely to get towards our political goal (a united Ireland) and violent means. consistently failed to guarantee equal decision making; and the lack of situations is only one of the many should not sympathise with oppressed nationalities or with nation- Mayhew are particularly indictable, having anywhere, despite what John Hume affects but it might not... we are prepared to take Moreover, the conflict is not played and adequate protection for the rights in one July week last accountability after the event. Implicit concerns for people committed to alities resisting conquest. They argue that the sooner these nation- had an eighteen-month IRA ceasefire in to believe, at least while Paisley has the risk of talking, of seeking agreement, out solely with the formal institutions and liberties of all. This failure, in his report was the suggestion that protect and promote rights. While we alities are suppressed the better, as it will be easier to conquer polit- which to move matters forward. Trimble by the tail and a pro-unionist gov- negotiating, or arguing... it might not get of the state, but rights are also often at coupled with the flagrant abuse of year, 662 were fired the police were out of control and that will be on the streets again this ical power in a few big empires than in a number of small states. The attitude of Labour leader Tony ernment is installed at Westminster. For us a s far as we want to go, but if there's a the heart of the society's communal rights, has fed and fuelled the conflict. the checks and balances need summer, we have also developed a This is the language argument over again. Blair to the IRA's pre-election disruption the talks to be effective, Sinn Fein's man- democratic peace settlement, we will sign divisions. Last summer's events Recent events exacerbated the at unionists and tightening. broader five-point agenda for change, It is fallacious in both cases. It is even more fallacious in the case in England, stressing that the IRA's actions date has to be recognised and genuine on for that." highlighted this in a particularly stark situation dramatically: for example, Clearly, this does not go nearly far calling for a Bill of Rights, legislative of nationalities than in the case of languages, because the emanci- would not be allowed to divert the election equality of treatment applied. While loyal- All that remains, it would appear, is to way. succumbing to the threat of violence more than 5,300 at enough. Nor is "reading between the and institutional change, an address- pation of the working class will function more through the eco- campaign away from the 'real issues', has ist paramilitaries have clearly broken their remove the obstructive preconditions Building up to the marching season from the protesters at Drumcree, the nationalists" lines" sufficient to address the deep ing of past human rights abuses and nomic power than through t^e political elite. The first act of the also been revealing. Given the events of the ceasefire on a number of occasions, few which are preventing Sinn Fein from par- last year, problems were clearly going use of force against peaceful demon- antagonism and anger felt in working the development of a human rights workers will be through their economic organisations seizing the past quarter century, one wonders how pos- (with the exception of those such as ticipating in the talks - the package which to arise. The breakdown of strators, the huge usage of plastic -class loyalist and republican areas. culture. organised industries; the last ••••i^hhb terity will treat the view that Northern Paisley) are calling for the exclusion of the Sinn Fein thinks will be acceptable to the negotiations between the Loyal . JbulleiSj and the difference in the Misrule of Law, the CAJ argued that Still, in its own way, it is an important t Issues of justice and fairness have Ireland was not a real issue for the British sane voices that have emerged from this act the conquest of political "I have heard some IRA for a renewal of its ceasefire is not Orders and the Garvaghy Road r numbers fired at nationalist and there had been an abdication of indictment of what happened. been at the very heart of the conflict in power. people and not worthy of debate during quarter. unreasonable. Of course, Northern Ireland residents in 1995 set the scene for unionist protesters, and the death of responsibility. Over 60 CAJ observers Plastic bullets were not the only Northern Ireland; it is therefore only In this the working class doctrinaire socialists this critical period. It is a view shared by all The outcome of the North report has unionism and its well-placed backers in the further confrontation the following Dermot McShane. attended various contentious marches human-rights abuse last summer. The in giving practical expression to such of the three major British political parties. will, as they needs must, follow arguing that socialists also been subjected to the same extractive British political establishment and in the year. However, even seasoned In its report on these events, The throughout the summer of 1996. gravest incidents of the whole summer principles that we can build peace. in the lines traversed by the Does Mr Blair really consider that the dentistry as befell Mitchell. Proposals for a news media will have to be faced down, Their brief was to monitor the polic- capitalist revolutions of should not sympathise military repression of a part of Ireland is commission legally empowered to ban or sooner or later, for the sake of lasting peace. ing of all events, from the perspective Cromwellian England, of colo- Committee on the with oppressed normal given everything which flows from reroute marches away from districts where Labour's Mo Mowlam has already told of marchers and protesters; their find- nial and revolutionary it? they were not welcome was 'long-fingered' northern unionists that the status quo is ings were deeply disturbing. America, of republican France, Administration of Justice nationalities or with It was as a result of such tri-partisanship by Mayhew who was only prepared to give not an option. As yet they have not had to The most obvious problem was the in each of whom the capitalist Founded in 1981, the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) is that Major was able to bin the main recom- the commission the capacity to persuade. take her seriously, while Trimble is of the use of plastic bullets. Seventeen deaths class had developed their eco- nationalists resisting an independent organisation which monitors civil liberties issues, provides mendations of the Mitchell report and Labour has indicated that it would restore opinion that Tony Blair has all the 'right have occurred as a result of plastic nomic power before they raised information to the public and campaigns for change in the administration conquest" scupper an early start to all-party talks that the teeth of the original North report rec- instincts' as regards the 'constitution'. For bullet injuries - over half of these the banner of political revolt. ^^HHB^MBHB^HB^M of justice in Northern Ireland. would get down to tackling the issues at the ommendations. them, renegotiating the constitutional sta- children - and many agree that this is Its membership is drawn from across the community and includes The working class in their turn must perfect their organisa- core of the dispute. Major was given the Other notable failures of the tus of Northern Ireland is not an option. a totally unacceptable weapon to use in lawyers, students, community workers, trade unionists, unemployed tions, and when such organisations are in a position to control, green light to support Trimble and Paisley Major/Mayhew double act during the peri- The talks outcome, in their words, "has to public order situations. people and academics. seize and operate the industries they will find their political power in their sabotaging demands for the prior od of the ceasefire included insufficient be an unchanged unionist one". Yet, in a one week period (July 7 - The CAJ produces a regular Bulletin, Just News, and publishes equal to the task. decommissioning of weapons and the set- movement towards demilitarisation and an Should the new British government 14, 19%) around 6,000 bullets were ting up of an assembly which unionists saw pamphlets and briefings on a wide range of civil rights issues. The CAJ also For over six hundred years the English strove to suppress that almost total lack of positive action on civil choose to ape its predecessors and turn its fired - more than in any year since as an embryonic return to Stormont. The organises meetings, conferences and seminars, campaigns and lobbies, mark of the distinct character of the Gael - their language, and rights and prisoner issues. back on what seems to be a golden oppor- 1981 (the year of the IRA hunger talks farrago which has ensued was scarce- both locally and nationally, and provides up to date comments on proposed failed. But in one generation the politicians did what England had However, perhaps one of the most tunity for securing peace, then the republi- strikes). Of these, 662 were fired in the ly able to agree its procedures within the legislation. failed to do. telling examples of the attitude of the can movement could still adopt a purely period of unionist protests, and the first year, while the walk-out of the SDLP The great Daniel O'Connell, the so-called liberator, conducted Major/Mayhew regime is the Baroness political path. There are strong arguments rest were used during nationalist from the forum has effectively left it a his meetings entirely in English. When addressing meetings in Denton affair. Northern Ireland industry for adopting this course. Elections in the protests. CAJ publications No Emergency, No Emergency Law Connaught where, in his time, everybody spoke Gaelic and over 75 unionist bear pit. minister, the Baroness was also responsible Republic are due soon and the next gov- Over half of all bullets fired were The Misrule of Law (Oct. 1996): (1995): the case for repealing NI's per cent of the people nothing else but Gaelic, O'Connell spoke for overseeing employment legislation ernment there is unlikely to be less nation- discharged in a very small area of report on policing of events during emergency laws. £4.00 exclusively in English. lie thus conveyed to the simple people the which established the Fair Employment ally-minded than the current incumbents, Derry city centre. While many bullets summer 19% in Northern Ireland impression that Gaelic was something to be ashamed of - some- Fan Employment for AU (Feb 19%): Commission. Accused of infringing the and could be significantly more so. With a were fired during periods of serious collected from first hand observers thing fit only for ignorant people. He pursued the same course all submission to the Standing legislation in her own office, an investiga- return to peace, pressure will grow for it to rioting, numerous accounts reported and eyewitness statements. £5.00 Advisory Commission on Human over Ireland. As a result of this and similar actions the simple peo- tion under a respected public servant, Dr re-enter the pan-nationalist alliance with people being fired at leaving fast-food ple turned their backs on their own language and began to ape 'the Human Rights: The Agenda for Rights in connection with employ- Maurice Hayes, investigated four separate Sinn Fein and the SDLE It is reasonable to restaurants or discos. gentry'. It was the beginning of the reign of the toady and the Change (1995): major report on ment quality review. (£4.00) incidents. One of these focused on allega- suppose that this would also rekindle the CAJ observers and journalists were crawler, the seoinin and the slave. tions of sectarian harassment of the 'Human Rights, The Northern interest of the US government under also near victims, and film footage "Harassment: It's part of life here...": Baroness's diary secretary, a catholic Ireland conflict and the peace The agitator for revenue came into power in the land. Clinton. shows people being fired on as they survey of young people's attitudes woman, by a fellow female employee in the process. £3.50 It is not ancient history, but the history of yesterday that old Put this alongside the potential of the tried to help wounded friends. The to and experiences of harassment minister's private office. The victim, hav- Irish men and women would speak Irish to each other in the pres- national democratic movements inside injuries were horrendous, and it is a Civil Liberties in Northern Ireland: by the security forces. £5.00 ing complained, was subsequently trans- ence of their children, but if they caught son or daughter using the Britain, the Scottish and the Welsh, and miracle that nobody died given The CAJ handbook (2nd edition, ferred and the unionist zealot retained. Adding Insult to Injury: allegations of language the unfortunate child would receive a cuff on the ear there might welt be a basis for Irish nation- the extraordinarily heavy firepower. 1993): reference book covering the harassment and the use of lethal force accompanied with the adjuration: "Speak English, you rascal; In his report Dr Hayes concluded that: al democracy, in its Northern Ireland man- Despite the public outcry, the powers of the police and army, by the security forces in Northern speak English like a gintelman!" ~k attempts were made to mislead the pub- ifestation, to be accepted into a more com- government steadfastly refused to freedom of expression, religious Ireland (1994). £3.50 It is freely stated in Ireland that when Protestant evangelisers, lic into thinking that the minister was not prehensive UK fraternal alliance with the establish an independent inquiry, still and sex discrimination issues, and soupers they call them at home, issued tracts and bibles in Irish in involved in ordering the transfer of the sec- joiijt objective of self-government. less engage in any serious debate about the rights of disabled people, pris- A Bill of Rights for NI (May 1993): order to help the work of proselytising, the catholic priesthood retary to another department; There are already voices arguing that alternatives. Many were completely oners, employees, social security detailed proposal with commen- took advantage of the incident to warn their flocks against reading ^additional stress was caused to the the case for a renewed IRA ceasefire has sceptical of the decision to ask Her claimants etc. Edited by Professor tary on each of the twenty articles. all literature in Gaelic, thus still further discrediting the language. woman due to mishandling of the harass- nothing to do with supplicating for an Majesty's Inspectorate of Brice Dickinson. £6.00 £2.00 I cannot conceive of a socialist hesitating in his choice between ment case; entniiice ticket to British structured and Constabulary to look at plastic ballets a policy resulting in such self-abasement and a policy of defiant * the minister ignored th* advice of senior driven talks. The arguments for a ballot as part of his routine review - yet For further information about the work of the CAJ and a full list of publications self-reliance and confident trust in a people's own power of self- civil servants that she could be in breach of paper in both hands belongs to a different another whitewash in the making? contact: CAJ 45/47 DonegalI Stmt, Belfast BT12FG tel 01232 232394 emancipation by a people. fair employment rules. ~ However, reading between the Page 8 Irish Democrat May/June 1997 Irish Democrat May/June 1997 Page 9 Book Reviews insights and some original research. majority had already obtained. Paisley's journey on the road to a l l\s| \\\ \J ,.1 DIN rigidly separatist theological and the Mansergh regarded De Valera as Moves to break with •• Wl> establishment of the Free Presbyterian IRA Perspectives from the most able and constructive states- Church as the home for the world's Sill man of his day. As UCC professor Joe mIN THE Lee says in an introduction, De sectarian legacy only 'true' christians will seem to IRISI 1 many readers like something out of I \M I.K.I II an Ivory tower' Valera's cleverest concept of external Sally Richardson reviews It is worth pointing out that the Monty Python's The Life of Bruin. P\l'l K ^ association was far in advance of what Levellers, good puritans every one of Nevertheless, it offers wider insights \feARS t> even the cleverest British statesmen Gerard Curran reviews student can dig out frets on gerryman- |mumm je Rethinking Unionism by them, said as much 350 years ago into the DUP leader's determination, if A were able to conceive about the nature dering, internment, sensory depriva- when they opposed Cromwell's unflinching self-belief and Loyalty Misplaced: of the Commonwealth in 1921. For Norman Porter, tion, Bloody Sunday or violence at invasion and subjection of Ireland. Machiavellian ruthlessness. ' JT Dev's idea presaged what happened in Burntollet. It takes a special sort of Liberal unionism, exemplified by Central to his particular brand of misdirected virtue and social 1947, when India became a republic Blackstaff, £9.99 pbk. wisdom and years of training to decide at Robert MacCartney's UK Unionist fundamental religious creed and polit- within the Commonwealth. disintegration, these things don't matter and to blot y first reaction to Norman Party, comes off little better. Porter ical outlook - Cooke argues that the f> mtiumi| them from the memory. Porter's book was that rightly attacks its minimalist concept two are inseparable - is an abiding Gerald Frost (editor), There is similar talent displayed by unionism does not need of the role of the state and the thinness loathing of Catholicism, ecumenicism, •^'LUL^ Christie Davies when describing the rethinking so much as of its idea of citizenship. the World Council of Churches, 'apos- Social Affairs Unit, £12.95. evil social effects of minority lan- ditching altogether, and However, he comes unstuck when tate' protestantism and just about n reading these essays by a guages. It is a wise person who sees the Ma,,*-*!, my mind wasn't changed attempting to recast unionism in a everything outside of the narrow con- f . number of academics one need to distract the public from blam- j. I. I « on reading it. However, the author has new mould. He admits that 'civic' fines of the sectish Free Presbyterian H catches ones breath at the skill, ing instability on political corruption, shown that a few unionists are capable unionism, as he calls it, owes a debt to Church and what is, in effect, its polit- \ul„ i.i- M.ujmt^ 1 The Northern Ireland When History was Made: sincerity and moral probity, crime, intensive farming and market of dragging themselves out of the sec- the civic republican tradition. The ical voice, the DUE Peace Process 'Cooke' report and one is amazed at the forces et al. The real culprit has to be tarian mire most of them inhabit, and problem is, try as he might, it's still 1993-1996 Paisley's ambivalent relationship The Women of 1916 by Spotlight on preoccupation with the unmasked - the Welsh language. It this is surely to be encouraged. unionism. with loyalist paramilitaries and his A ChronolOiv on Paisley Ruth Taillon, Beyond the commoOn good. takes nerves of steel to ignore all ordi- Norman Porter emigrated to attempts to win recognition as the He doesn't recognise that the six- the twilight They are like those involved in nary Welsh people in places like Australia at the age of 18 and returned county statelet owes its existence to undisputed leader of the unionist and Paul Bew David Granville reviews Pale, £6.95 pbk. higher mathematics, which type of Abergavenny, Port Maddock and to Belfast a few years ago. At 18 he sectarianism and was designed not to community, an objective which has, Gordon Gillespie years' reasoning, it is now said, can be Ffestinog, in shopping malls, doctors' admits he was "an extreme loyalist and uphold or facilitate democracy but to Persecuting Zeal: a portrait thankfully, been thwarted, partly as a Ruth Taillon opens her book with a severely damaged by being put into surgeries and cafes, chatting away in independence an explicit Protestant bigot". His prevent it. Although he is willing to result of his vitriolic attacks on reli- of Ian Paisley by Dennis list of the names of all the women Anthony Coughlan context. They cover three main their own language. Some are inno- experience of living abroad clearly accept, to some extent, the Irish gious and political rivals, are also John Murphy reviews who took part in the Easter Rising themes: how 'terrorism' puts on a vir- cently chatting But what about these helped him to escape much of the nar- identity of the six counties, he insists explored. reviews The IRA in the Cooke, Brandon £9.99 pbk. that she has been able to trace, and tuous free to fool the unenlightened; 'whinging linguistic top dogs', as Nationalism and row insularity of loyalism and gave that its 'British' identity should Political support for Paisley and his includes photographs of many of Twilight Years: 1923-1948, how some minority languages cause another essayist puts it, who protest him an international perspective. This remain paramount - even though he Independence by Nicholas It was with feelings of both party at the polls is a sad reflection of them. social disintegration, and; the reasons about submarines colliding with fish- book is the result of a radical rethink- understands that its "Britishness' is just how his strident bigotry, and in curiosity and trepidation that I She shows that women were Argenta Publications, why most emigation from the third ing boats in the Irish Sea, forcing the Mansergh, Cork ing of unionist attitudes and beliefs unlike anything encountered in particular his unrelenting anti- approached Dennis Cooke's involved right from the start in world into the US must be stopped. UDR out of its base on the Isle of Man The Northern Ireland Peace following his dissatisfaction with tra- Britain itself. portrait of the Reverend Ian Paisley: catholicism, has struck a cord with a £18.00 pbk. preparations for the Rising. Years of training and tranquil isola- and objecting to low flying aircraft and University Press, £15 pbk. ditional unionist politics. He envisages a six-county assembly curiosity at the author's ability to tack- section of working-class unionism Although Citizen Army women took The 'twilight years' were a rather tion must have gone into Dr. Aughey's nuclear pollution? The language must Process 1993 -1996: Porter is at his best when pulling based on the "principles of propor- le the question of why a man whose fearful of losing even more of the ben- die insists Mr. Davies. Apparently he This collection of posthumous papers part in the fighting most women in depressing time. After the 1922-23 piece on Northern Ireland terrorism. apart the fabric of traditional union- tionality and weighted majorities in its Christian fundamentalist world view efits once guaranteed by unassailed thinks 'The only good minority lan- by the distinguished Irish historian A Chronology, Paul Bew the Cumann na mBan were occupied civil war many IRA men emigrated to The essay is called 'Back from sabbat- ism, which he classifies as 'cultural' decision-making structures" might is enough to give the 'flat earth' unionist domination. guage is a dead one'. Nicholas Mansergh, edited by his in obtaining and providing food, the USA. Most of those who stayed on ical, Irish terror self-sacrifice and the and Gordon Gillespie, and 'liberal' unionism. He devotes a eventually have "comparable powers brigade a run for their money in terms widow Diana Mansergh, contains Depressingly, there's not even the tending the wounded and carrying in Ireland supported De Valera when pursuit of the impossible'. Wherein Another evil of which the world substantial chapter to each variety, to the old Stormont". But even with of irrationality, 'hose virulent anti- much valuable material on the origins slightest hint in Cooke's account that despatches. he founded Fianna Fail in 1926. But lies the skill of having the will and must rid itself, according to these gen- Serif, £9.99 pbk. and finds both seriously wanting. Dublin given a limited say, inherent catholicism verges on the fascist, of partition, the 1920 government of Paisley is either capable or willing to Even so, they were often in the not all did. "Dev left us with the clink- steadfastness to steer clear of vulgar demen, is the continuing emigration He rejects the protestant bigotry of sectarianism would mean that it should regularly command significant rise to the challenge of a new accom- Ireland Act and Anglo-Irish relations This book updates the author's thick of the action and displayed ers," Peadar O'Donnell said years historical frets. What heroism to resist from the third world, especially his- cultural unionism, and while acknowl- would remain 'a protestant state for a political support at the polls. modation in Ireland based on civil and from the '20s to the '40s, as well as earlier book, Northern Ireland: A much courage and resourcefulness. later, "people who understood soldier- the words like 'partition' and 'discrim- panics, to the US, although not right- edging the link between protestantism protestant people'. Trepidation because of a deep suspi- political rights for all. Undoubtedly interesting reminiscence of Eamon De Chronology of Troubles 1968-1993. It Women were in the GPO until just ing but could not think politically." ination'. He owes his position and sta- wing Cubans or the Russian mafia. and the development of democratic British rule has never been in the cion that (he answer is all too depress- this is a book which should be read by Valera and Sean Lemass. is an interesting reminder of the before the surrender, when all but Some of these went into politics tus to the fret that he is not distracted The people of Quebec are apparendy political beliefs, understands that best interest of the Irish people. Even ingly obvious. everyone who has an interest in seeing Its author was the father of Fianna good old days of the peace process. three were evacuated. with O'Donnell himself and George by such events as British Army or another target. They have this irritat- protestants do not have a monopoly on so, the sincerity and thought that has Cooke, himself a 'Reverend Doctor' a just and lasting resolution to the Fail adviser Martin Mansergh, who The book adequately details all the Ruth Thillon's book is very wet- Gilmore in 1934, when they estab- RUC harassment, SAS undercover ter- ing habit of speaking a strange collo- independent thought and freedom, gone into Porter's book is unquestion- and the Principal of Edgehill Irish conflict, even if only to gain an has been an influential player in the major events and occurrences. come and will surprise many. It lished the Republican Congress. But ror operations, the burning down of quial French. How wise of Peter C and that protestants have often been as able, and his recognition that 'dialogue Theological College, provides both a insight into a man who could yet Northern peace process. Where this books disappoints is helps to set the record right about the hard men soldiered on and backed streets by the B-Specials, the pograms Emberly to ignore the turblent and guilty as catholics of tyrannical is indispensable' welcome. detailed and remarkably even-handed prove to be one the foremost obstacles Mansergh shows that partition did when the authors explain in greater women's contribution to the struggle Sean Russell's disastrous bombing against Catholics at the birth of the complex history of Canada. regimes. account filled with fascinating to attaining such an end. for the Irish republic. SR not derive from the Anglo-Irish Treaty detail some of the major events, such campaign in Britain at the onset of Northern statelet, and the arrests These gentlemen cannot be expect- of 1921, but was imposed by Britain a as the UUP leadership contest, World War Two. De Valera responded under draconian Special Powers Act. ed to put their plans into operation at full year before that, when the describing Ken Maginnis MP as 'on 1 Brendan O'Brien himself, it was its ideological motivation, as well as by introducing internment. He has the courage to say 'the Law , ground level. Others have been dele- Westminster parliament's Govern- the left' and 'arguably the most 1 Slim guide to difficult to visualise this book being the many political and military Speaking up Several hundred Republicans rather than 'British law : it is often gated to do that. They have to return ment of Ireland Act drew a boundary affable man in Northern Irish anything other than superficial. developments, twists and rebirths found themselves locked up in the said that one strengthens prose by to their ivory towers and plan their across Ireland, without any of the polities'. The authors overlook the IRA history In fact, O'Brien, a well respected that it has undergone since its for himself Curragh Camp during the war years leaving out adjectives. Any first year next book. common people affected being con- times that 'affable' Ken has urged journalist and TV reporter whose formation in 1916. Particular and six were executed. Some of the sulted. selective internment, and that his book The Long War is one of the emphasis is given to the period since internees were on the political left, wardrobe at one point contained the Declan O'Brien reviews Then, with partition accomplished, I better books about the conflict, has 1970. some were on the right. The IRA of Portrait of a future hope Lloyd George used the treaty negotia- uniform of those 'affable' enforcers v-mSm succeeded in producing a well writ- While unlikely to satisfy the more Michael Collins In His today, as well as Irish republicanism tions to induce the southern majority of law and order, the B-Specials. ten, concise and informative account knowledgeable student of the Irish and the country's political left general- Ann McCracken, revolutionary, femi- to accept and recognise what the artifi- All in all this book is worth of the IRA from the time of the conflict, this book is probably an Own Words, Francis ly, continues the tradition these men nist and businesswoman. Mary Ann cially created northern unionist reading if not buying. EF STjJl Easter Rising up to the present day. ideal starting point for anyone gave the best years of their life for. and her brother Henry Joy Although, by necessity, lacking wanting to gain an understanding of Costello (ed), Gill and In this extraordinary near-thou- McCracken came from a cultured and the detail of the accounts mentioned how and why the modern version of Macmillan, £8.99 pbk. sand page book, Dublin architect enterprising presbyterian family with R** && -"' MS earlier, O'Brien makes up for this by armed republicanism continues to Uinseann MacEoin has collected the a strong sense of civic duty. providing a clear chronological be a factor L' contemporary Irish, The resurgence of interest in the life of reminiscences of 33 republican veter- Like all real revolutionaries, the '"•r-^WEt &figg§| history of the organisation's origins, and British, p litics. Michael Collins, spurred on in no ans. They include Jim Savage, John United Irishmen (and women) knew foim provinces small way by Neil Jordan's film and a Joe Hoey, Derry Kelleher, Pat how to enjoy themselves, and McNeill general reassessment of Collins's Hannon, Michael O'Riordan, Bob paints a delightful picture of their significant, though at times contradic- Bradshaw, Mattie O'Neill, Bob activities, although there was sadness, CORK UNIVERSITY PRESS Bookshop I tory, contribution to the struggle for Clements, Packy Joe Dolan and two too, in these early years, with the I® HVf^il CLO OLLSCOILE CHORCAI Irish freedom has spawned a rash of dozen others. imprisonment and execution of Mary B I Crawford Business Park, Crosses Green, Cork. new and reissued books about a man Collins's vision of social and econom- It is a treasure chamber of oral his- Ann's brother and friends. London's only remaining WKm^M TEL 021 902980, FAX 021 115129. E-MAII corkunipOwww.ucc.ie who remains one of the most contro- ic development for a new Ireland is tory, an invaluable source of informa- With her sister Margaret, she ran a versial figures of recent Irish history. particularly interesting and confirms tion on a key area of Irish politics from muslin manufacturing business and THE ORIGINS OF MODERN IRISH SOCIALISM, 1881-1896 Irish bookshop Of these, Costellq's effort, while not when trade slumped her primary con- Fmtan Lane that, while no socialist, his outlook the 1920s to the 1940s. It is full of fes- particularly unique, successfully remained generally progressive, in cinating anecdotes, as well as political cern was to keep her employees in This hook challenges the myth that modern socialism in Ireland pieces together a yariety of sources stark contrast to the conservative lessons pertinent to today - the most work. Throughout her life she tried to For the very best in books: May 1997 was initiated by James Connolly when he founded the Irish ranging from existing books through forces on whose side he found himself important being its illustration in the alleviate poverty and in her work for David Granville reviews Socialist Republican Party in 1806. The picture that emerges is one History, Politics,Literature, Irish language £45.00 Hardcover to Collins's own papers, Dail reports, during the civil wan Concerned at the context of Irish republican history, of the Belfast poorhouse she displayed a ISBN 1 85918 151 1 of a tradition more diverse and more vibrant than previously genuine respect for the people she had A Pocket History of the IRA £16 95 Paperback newspaper accounts, and the private conditions of the rural and urban poor, the truth of Qausewitz's famous dic- Sally Richardson reviews believed. The significant role of socialism in the politicisation of Also: ISBN I 85918 152 X papers of those who knew Collins. The he envisaged economic justice in tum that war is the extension of poli- helped. by Brendan O'Brien, 256pp2Mx 156mm the Irish labour movement is examined. editor's stated aim js to allow Collins "which great discrepencies [in wealth] tics, not politics of wan The Life and Times of Mary These northern protestants never Music and language cassette tapes, posters, to speak for himself. cannot occur". This book fallows MacEoin's other questioned their Irish identity and O'Brien Press, £4.99 pbk. WILLIAM THOMPSON APPEAL (1825) Ann McCracken 1770- T-Shirts, cards and badges. Working chronologically the book Mary Ann was resolutely anti- Edited by Dolores Dooley However, although the book is best-selling volume of memoirs, It would be fair to say that my initial covers all the main aspects of Collins's highly readable, the net result is only Suroivort. Anyone interested in under- 1866: a Belfast panorama sectarian. First published in 1825 the Appeal is a treatise demanding equality • • MaH Order Service Available. reaction on hearing that O'Brien life from the War of Independence, partially successful, lacking a certain standing modern Irish republicanism by Mary McNeill, This biography was first published Press was to publish a pocket history for men and women in a patriarchal society. This is the first edited through to his equally important role depth. At a mere 118 pages of text it'S should purchase it The book includes in 1960 and Blackstaff have performed May 1997 and annotated version, providing primary and secondary sources on of the IRA was one of curiosity. After £7.95 Paperback as Minister of ^nance, the Treaty hard to escape th^ feeling that much an invaluable 300-page chronology of a great service in reissuing it The For further details contact: Four Provinces Bookshop, the author. Condemned in its day, it remains remarkably fresh in all, given the weighty tomes on the ISBN 185918 058 2 negotiations, ancf ultimately civil war more could have beenincludcd - and events from 1923 to 1938, which will -r— depiction of a broad-minded, multi- 244 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8JR. subject produced by the likes of Tim 22$pp 210 x l!5mm addressing many current issues of oppression and inequality. and death. j McNeill's book depicts Belfrst faceted protestantism, concerned with perhaps would hajjelud Neil Jordan's save future researchers from plough- Telephone 0171 833 3022 Pat Coogan, J. Bowyer Bell and The section towards the end on film not made the impact that it has. ing through endless newspapers and is _ a period of political and indus- the welfrre of all Irish people, gives worth the book's price in itself trial upheaval through the life of Mary hope for the future. Page 10 Irish Democrat May/June 1997 Irish Democrat May/June 1997 Page 11
Bevtews/Cutture Irish songs Celtic Beat Peter Mulligan's Peepshow Of those who have, Jason Sherlock As per usual there's a fine crop of is hailed the GAA's "first superstar". Who fears to speak of The Ballymena Man in Childhood I «>
n January there was some correspondence in had asked for police protection to help him evict the Irish Times about a curious incident these poor islanders. which took place during the Land War in HMS Wasp did not make it to Moville. 1884. The incident has become part of Tory On Monday, September 22, at 3am, the Wasp Island folklore. The folklore was sum- struck rocks on the north side of Tory Island, marised by Hugo Duffy (Irish Times, January where the cliffs rise between 100ft to 300 feet. She 18)I: 'The Tory Islanders were poor and had little went down within minutes. resources from which to pay their rents beyond It was not until noon on Tuesday that the their fishing. When it became known to them Lloyd's agent on Inishbofin was able to send a that Crown forces were to be sent to collect rents telegraph to the Admiralty in London informing by force, it is said that, as soon as they sighted the them of the loss and the fact that only six men, than six and a half knots. He also said that the of the Royal Navy, will, however, to the public, ship, some of them reverted to paganism and none of them officers, had been saved out of the Tory lighthouse light could be seen without any seem inexplicable." turned the cursing stones in the bullain on the crew of 56 who were on board at the time. obstruction. While, of course, the loss of life is tragic, I can- island. Almost immediately, and in a calm sea, Although the news did not reach Dublin until Andrews was the second captain of the fo'c'sle not help but turn my mind to the intended vic- HMS Wasp was seen to sink with great loss of that evening it had already reached Cork because watch. He had just come on watch. The weather tims of that last voyage of the Wasp. The poor life. No rational explanation was produced at the one of the survivors, the cook named Hutton, was was bad and he noticed that the ship was rolling islanders of Inistrahull. enquiry as to why it ran onto a known rock.' able to telegraph his wife in Queenstown at 4.40 a good deal. "He perceived she was in peril". Let us remember that this was a period of There are only two facts in this piece of folk- pm that day. Asked why he did not reveal his alarm to the offi- worsening conditions during the agricultural lore. Firstly, on September 22, 1884, HMS Wasp Sir Robert Harvey, who had doubtless cursed cer of the watch he replied: "because I might depression of the late 1870s. The Land War was sank on a reef off Tory Island with only six sur- the non-arrival of the Wasp to help him with his have been told to mind my own business". He fought between 1879 and 1903, although, in the vivors out of a crew of 58; secondly, ihere is a evictions, was stirred into action on hearing the had shouted a warning as soon as he sighted the strictest sense of the term, the actual 'war' refers 'cursing stone', a bolkn, in the centre of Tory news. At midday on Tuesday, he chartered the north cliffs of the island. A few minutes later the to the period 1879-1882 when there was a violent Island. It could only be operated, according to steamer Menai from the Derry and Lough Swilly ship struck the reef being then about ten yards struggle between landlords and tenants. But evic- local legend, by one of a family named O Railway Company and proceeded to Tory Island. from the cliffs. Only after the ship struck did its tions continued long afterwards. Dubhagain (Duggan) who had the sole impreca- The steamer was only able to get within 100 captain, Lieutenant Nicholls, appear on deck, Inistrahull is deserted now. I do not know tory rights of using the stone to issue curses. The yards of the island. The stormy weather made a evidently having just been awakened and coming when the last of the islanders left. I wonder if the Rough Cruide to Ireland, while repealing the tale landing impossible. straight from his bunk. landlord, Sir Robert Bateson Harvey, managed to about the Wasp, demotes this to a 'wishing stone'. That afternoon, the iron-clad warship HMS find another ship to transport Crown forces to Folklore, however, no matter how many Valiant, anchored in Lough Swilly off Buncrana, evict the islanders? If so, perhaps the community books it is repeated in, is not history and the real- made steam to render assistance. But it was too While, of course, the loss never recovered nor were able to return to their ity of the sinking of HMS Wasp is more intrigu- late. Nothing remained of the Wasp. of life is tragic, I cannot homes. People had lived on Inistrahull since time ing. Within a few days 48 bodies had been immemorial. HMS Wasp was commissioned at Devonport recovered. The authorities gave up hope of help but turn my mind to It is not a well known nor important island. on December 1, 1881. It was classed as a finding the others. Indeed, the London Times in the space of a cou- Composite S Gun-Boat, of 465 ions displace- Folklore has it that the Wasp had been "seen" the intended victims ple of paragraphs could not even agree on a by the islanders, who cursed the ship, and it sunk spelling of the name - calling it 'Instrahad' and "in a calm sea". But the Wasp had approached the of that last voyage of the 'Innistrahock' and misplaced its location in the Folklore has it that north side of the island, obscured from the mouth of the Lough Foyle. Its one claim to fame islanders who live on the sloping southern side. Wasp. The poor islanders now is as Ireland's most northerly island. But it the Wasp had been "seen" She struck the rocks at 3am in total darkness. was home to generations of islanders who were The weather was stormy and bad. No one had of Inistrahull. dispersed by Sir Robert and his ilk. Where did by the islanders, who been able to land on Tory Island during the last they go to? few days. The other survivors were the ship's cook, the While the folklore of Tory Island does not cursed the ship, and it The point where the Wasp struck the rocks quartermaster, a petty officer, an able seaman and really stand up to scrutiny, perhaps that dark sunk "in a calm sea". was well known for hidden reefs and a dangerous a private of the marines. The witnesses agreed Fomorian god, Balor of the Evil Eye, whose current. There was a lighthouse at this point that there was no panic among the officers who citadel was in a tower on the highest north-east- standing 122 feet above sea level. Curiously, the tried to evacuate the ship but it went down too ern point of the island, which is how the island ment, with 470 hp engines, and mounting four vessel was not under steam at the time. Initial fast in turbulent seas, pounding at the foot of the gets its name ('island of towers ), was looking out medium guns. Wasp was commissioned to serve reports indicated that she had been attempting to clifis. for the welfare of Inistrahull as well as Tory with in the Queenstown (Cobh) Division of the raise a sail in a rising breeze and rolling heavily. The court martial, which had been held under his baleful eye. British Squadron on the Irish Coast. It was, commented the London Times, a the direction of Admiral Sir Cooper Key, had to For those who prefer a story with a weird end- Her captain was Lt John D Nicholls, commis- shocking disaster. So shocking in fact the acquit the defendants. It was obvious that none of ing in preference to unadorned facts, let me men- sioned in the navy on January 1, 1883. So he had Admiralty began looking for scapegoats to blame. them was to blame. But the court found that the tion this: among the early remains on Inistrahull less than two years' sea experience. His first offi- Eight people were brought before a court martial. Wasp had foundered "in consequence of no due was a seventh Century gravestone. It is incised cer was Lt (Navigator) Frederick A Warden, They included the six survivors and two crew care and attention in its navigation". No further with what is known as a marigold cross. It was commissioned on December 1,1881. The second members who had been on leave at the time. action was deemed necessary but "the severe cen- brought from the island to the Irish mainland officer was Sub Lt Thomas S Guppy. The chief The engineering officer, William Hudson, sure of the unfortunate officers who had paid for and now resides at Malin village tucked in the engineer was William Hudson and the gunnery had gone on leave on September 3 and was not their mistakes with their lives." side of Trawbreaga Bay. The stone can be seen at officer was John W Kerrigan, a native of Cork. due to rejoin the Wasp until September 24. The The Times of October 7, 1884, thundered: the village's only pub, the Malin Hotel. Local These officers had less than a year's sea experi- Times ingenuously said "his evidence would have "How it happened that 'no due care and atten- people tell me that the Inistrahull stone is called ence each. Many of the crew were Donegal men. been valuable had he actually escaped form the tion' were paid to navigation on board a gunboat 'the cursing stone'... The usual station of the Wasp was Westport, wreck". " JhtihtrakuZL Co Mayo, her main task being transporting the The most telling evidence came from Philip Commissioners of the Harbour and Fishery Andrews and Richard Rattenbury. Rattenbury, a Board around the coast, to rivers and harbours quartermaster, told the court martial that the for the purposes of gathering navigational infor- ship was not under steam at the time, that the mation. fires were banked and she was sailing at not more However, during the confrontations and evic- tions of the 'Land War' period, she had been A contemporary placed on special service. On Sunday, September British map showing 21, she had sailed from Westport for Inishbofin. Tory and Intstrahult Her orders were to sail around the Donegal coast islands into Lough Foyle. She was to put into Moville where she was due to take on board 30 men of the Royal Irish Constabulary under the command of District Inspector White. The ship was also to pick up the Resident Magistrate, Mr Harvey; the sub-sheriff, Mr Carey, and the justice of the peace, John Miller. The purpose was to transport this force not to Tory Island as folklore would have it, but to the islet of Inistrahull, six miles north of the Donegal coast off Malin Head across the Inistrahull Sound. Today the islet is deserted, but in September 1884 several families lived and worked there and the local landowner, Sir Robert Bateson Harvey,