October 1998 Connolly Association: campaigning for a united and independent ' ISSN 0021-1125 60p Stressing the of the '98 rebellion Ruan O'Donnell: Page 7

The Connolly Association adds its voice in opposition to the introduction of draconian legislation in the wake of the and warns that the measures breach the spirit of the

EMERGENCY LEGISLATION Such measures "hardened support for political wings of ter- perpetrate rather than to resolve the conflict". rorist groups. They were often politically counter-productive, The chorus of concern and opposition to the Government's seen as a substitute for political progress", he insisted. He was response even included The Economist magazine, a publication not f there has been a feeling abroad that the signing of the Good right. Why therefore did he allow his government to be bounced renowned for its liberal views or its defence of human rights in Friday Agreement signaled the end of the conflict in Northern into introducing draconian new legal measures? Ireland, which went so far as to agree with Sinn Fein's Martin Ireland, the devastation caused by the bombing of Omagh and Statements issued by prominent civil rights organisations in McGuinness that the new laws "conflicted with the Good Friday continuing events in Portadown, where Orange mobs in sup- Britain, including Amnesty International, the Committee on the Agreement" and "that persuasion, rather than repression, was the port of the Drumcree marchers are sustaining a climate of Administration of Justice, British Irish Rights Watch, Human best way to isolate and stop dissident republicans." intimidation and violence, should dispel any such illusions. For its part, the Connolly Association has repeatedly called for IWhile the real target of the so-called 'Real IRA' at Omagh was violate the government's human rights obligations under inter- the abolition of all emergency legislation, including the Prevention the destruction of the peace process and damage to a Sinn F6in lead- national law and conflict with the soon to be enacted Human of Terrorism Act. There is a considerable body of evidence which ership responsible for convincing most republicans of the need to Rights Act demonstrates that such legislation has been ineffective in dealing adopt an entirely political approach to achieving their objective of a Commenting after the measures were announced Martin with acts of political violence and has fuelled the conflict in- the , the response of the two governments, particular our O'Brien of the CAJ stressed: "There is no evidence to suggest that North. Recent events make this call no less relevant today. own, is a cause of considerable concern. restrictions on the right to remain silent The task now for people in Britain, particularly those active Given the anger and revulsion felt by people in both Britain and or the creation of new offences have within the labour and trade union movement is to continue to press Ireland to the Omagh bombing it is perhaps understandable why been particularly effective in reducing for the full implementation of the Agreement, and to ensure most have either agreed, or at least gone along with, the hasty intro- the level of paramilitary violence." that our government keeps to its obligations, particularly vis a vis duction of avowedly draconian new laws whose supposed aim is the On the contrary, he insisted, "our the prosecution of what has become known as the equality agenda. smashing of dissident Irish republican groups. experience has been that the use of The introduction of the latest security measures will undoubtedly Yet, despite the enormity of the Omagh atrocity, such a knee-jerk emergency powers has helped to hinder rather than help this process. response, one which has serious implications for the civil liberties of all British people and for the successful implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, is completely wrong, counterproductive and fundamentally at odds with the spirit and the letter of the Belfast agreement. Legislation which allows the opinion of senior police officer as to whether a person is a member of a proscribed organisation as admissible evidence in court, which places further limits on the right to silence, and which raises the spectre of collective punish- ment, deserves the uncomplimentary epithet 'draconian'. By investing even greater powers in the RUC at a time when its future is the subject of a commission set up under the terms of the Belfast Agreement ignores the fact that the RUC is not an impartial force and, as such, does not have the confidence of a significant proportion of the population. The Solicitors Criminal Bar Association, the professional body representing criminal law solicitors working in Northern Ireland, are among those who have warned that the new laws create a system which is open to potential abuse by the authorities and is likely to RE-ROUTE result in further miscarriages of justice. It was the hasty and ill.-thought-out introduction of emergency SECTARIAN measures following a concerted bombing campaign by the IRA in MARCHES Britain in the mid seventies which resulted in some of the worst miscarriages of justice ever witnessed, including the Six, the Guildford Four and the Maguire Seven. Although strong opposition from some MPs and human rights organisations forced the government to backtrack on some of then- original proposals, the measures, railroaded through both Houses of Parliament without proper scrutiny, represent a significant and unwelcome extension to the panoply of'anti-terrorist' legislation in existence prior to the Omagh bomb. — , In a, recent newspaper article, written in the wake of the bomb- ing, Tony Blair reaffirmed his commitment to a political solution through the implementation of the Belfast agreement, acknowledg- Protesters focus on the need to Implement Agwrni^ ing that attempts at a military solution to the conflict had been Young women from South recently joined a Downing Street protest at the continuing harassment of nationalists in Portadown misguided and that security-led responses had failed. and attempts by the Orange Order to force sectarian marches down the Garvaghy Road against the wishes of local nationalist residents.

I Page 10 Irish Democrat October 1998 Iruk Democrat October 1998 Imsh Oemociut News Page 3 Mo Mowlam Eurowatch Founded 1939 Volume 53, No.5 Anger grows English claim Irish document by JOHN BOYD addresses TUG over Scots TRADES UNION CONGRESS PROCLAMATION SALE European A TIME FOR CHANGE Martin Furlong Guards release Democrat reporter Northern Ireland Secretary of State PRISONER RELEASE onfirmation of the underlying attitudes of the Union or So there we have it. The new Northern Ireland Assembly has Mo Mowlam received a warm wel- Democrat reporter British establishment to the issue of Ireland's strug- finally met and begun the important task of implementing key come from trade unionists attending gle for freedom was seen recently with the sale at democracy this year's TUC in Blackpool in mid Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Sotheby's of a rare original copy of the 1916 elements of the Good Friday Agreement. As yet little progress The choice over European Union is September. In her address she paid Mowlam has been accused of acting Proclamation. The document, described by one has been made, particularly over the establishment of all- clear - either we give up all forms of with insensitivity over the release on Irish newspaper as "the most important piece of tribute to the trade unionists in the democracy which currently exist, as Ireland bodies, but this will have to follow, and follow soon, if life licence of two Scots Guardsmen paper in the history of the Irish nation", was sold to an North who have continued to give C well as the right to develop it further, convicted of murdering the Belfast anonymous telephone bidder for an astounding £41,000 - nationalists and republicans are to remain convinced that the help and representation to people on or we keep them. both sides of the divide despite what teenager Peter McBride. well in excess of the £25,000 to £35,000 originally estimated. Agreement will deliver real benefits in terms of equality, democra- Economic and monetary union is a she described as "intolerable sectari- Despite an assurance by the tic rights, and peace. the report are that Irish women are Believed to be one of only 16 originals still in existence, staging post to Euro-federalism, an Secretary of State that the families of worse off relative to their male coun- anism". She also thanked Irish trade the document had been in the possession of same family unelected European government, a Certain hands may not have clasped, warmly or otherwise. So Tiger roars victims would be given adequate terparts than in other western coun- unionists) for their part in securing a since the Easter Rising of 1916. Around 1,000 copies were European army and a European notice of prisoner releases, the release what? It's now only a matter of time before David Trimble and tries. Ireland also has the highest, pro- Yes vote in the Good Friday originally printed at Liberty Hall, the headquarters of the central bank of 21 unelected bankers for the rich of the two soldiers, Mark other pro-Agreement unionists bow to this inevitability, leaving portion of people living in poverty, Agreement referendums. Irish Transport and General Workers Union. with Commission officials in Fisher and Jim Wright, came as a total with the exception of the US (the UK The peace process had been driven However, despite what has been written about the sale, it Frankfurt. These institutions will be the media to go into overdrive in an attempt to dress up the press- IRISH ECONOMY shock to the family. comes third), the highest levels of by people in Northern Ireland against is not the inflated sale price of the document which is of par- accountable to nobody. ing of republican and unionist palms as an event of monumental Democrat reporter Particular concern has focussed on functional illiteracy; and the second a background of unacceptable levels of ticular importance, but the manner in which it was sold by The definition of a parliament is an the timing of the releases, which fell in symbolic importance. growing suspicion that the ben- highest rate of long-term unemployed. depravation, discrimination and Sotheby's. institution which has which has pow- the week of the anniversary of Peter While the Good Friday Agreement and the setting up of the efits of the Celtic Tiger have not Women in Ireland earn a little over unemployment she said. Highlighting Given the significance of what is, in effect Ireland's dec- ers to legislate, to raise taxes, and to McBride's murder and preceded the accrued to all sections of the a quarter of total income (in Sweden work which still needed to be done by laration of independence, it seems bizarre that Sotherby's control the mint and armed forces. new Assembly will not automatically lead to the ending of first batch of loyalist and republican Irish population has been con- the figure is 45 per cent) and are less her department she reiterated her chose to put the document in a sale of'English History and The consolidation of European partition, which remains the root cause of the conflict, it signifi- prisoners released under the terms of firmed by a recent United likely to enjoy positions of power or intention to introduce a Bill of rights Literature'. Union takes all these powers, with the the Good Friday Agreement. cantly strengthens the Irish dimension in the equation of the Nations report. Human privilege in business and politics. "as soon as possible". The government The -based photographer Sass Tuffin, whose pic- exception of taxation, away from At a meeting earlier this year ongoing struggle for unity and independence. As such it is a Development 1998, a survey of the top Other sections of the report paint a was also committed to the creation a tures feature regularly in the Irish Democrat, was at the sale : Westminster. Even on taxes the I between the Secretary of State, the and approached Sotheby's staff for an explanation. "I was twenty industrialised economies, con- poor picture of a country with a sup- Human Rights Commission she told ; Council of Finance Ministers decides significant step forward. McBride family and a representative firms what numerous commentators posedly 'booming' economy. Congress. Turning to the future of the told that the Proclamation appeared under English ' both the rate of VAT and on what it of the -based The strategy of mainstream unionism and the British have asserted over the last few months, This report should serve as a peace process Mo Mowlam stressed Literature and History simply because it was written in It is easy to imagine the entirely justifiable furore that can be levied - VAT on fuel and elec Centre Mo Mowlam promised to give government has long been to drive a wedge between the SDLP namely that the distribution of reminder to politicians that wealth that the agreement had to be imple- English", she said. would ensue if the Irish ever took it upon themselves to tricity in Britain still stands at 5 per the family adequate notice of the Ireland's new found wealth has exacer- does not trickle down, but redistribu- mented in full to ensure that all parties "I found it almost beyond belief that it should have been describe, for example, the Magna Carta as an Irish literary cent, the minimum allowed by and Sinn Fein. That strategy has clearly failed. It now seems like- soldier's release. She also gave an bated rather than reduced the dispari- tion must be managed and directed to were satisfied and that dialogue could relegated to English Literature and History instead of being or historical document. Brussels. ly that tljey will attempt to co-opt Sinn Fein by inducing northern assurance that the two soldiers would ties between rich and poor. those sections of the population who continue in good faith. included in the political sale which took place later that day The whole episode clearly demonstrates that the ghost of not be among the first wave of those The transfer of all these powers republicanism to work the interim settlement in a pro-union Among the stark facts contained in are in greatest need. v Unfortunately the TUC debate on and which attracted vast media coverage." The political sale English imperialism, particularly in relation to the question released under the Good Friday from national governments to direction - in the process wearing down republicanism's radical- the North was sanitised by the General featured items belonging to the former English statesman of Irish independence, continues to stalk the ramparts of the Brussels and Frankfurt takes away the Council. A motion from TSSA togeth- prisoner release scheme. Winston Churchill. ism and political cutting edge. British establishment. right of electors to remove those who Association appeals for a new er with an amendment from the ISTC While this latter pledge was upheld govern us and undermines formal The decisions by Sinn Fein to pay all their assembly salaries were dropped in favour of a bland in a strictly tecnical sense, the two democracy and the rights of voters. men were allowed to bypass the 1 into one pot from which each assembly member will receive a statement. It appears that the General The so-called European parliament in the North Agreement arrangements and were McNamee GA tribute to 'friend of Ireland Council deemed the motion to be too has none of these powers and remains living wage, and to keep president Gerry Adams free to lead and released with unprecedented speed charged with a catalogue of abuses, controversial for debate as it raised the high esteem by the United Irishmen. an expensive talking shop - an assem develop the party politically appears to be an important recogni- SLICING under the life sentence review system. PRIESTLEY COMMEMORATION and which remains resistant to real issue of sectarian marches. Appeal hearing In conjunction with the ceremony bly costing £1 million per MEP! This Democrat reporter It is understood that the family feel Democrats rter tion of this potential pitfall. change, combine to make meaningful the Association is holding a seminar assembly cannot make up the 'democ- betrayed by the Secretary of State. Members of the Birmingham It is now up to the forces of Irish national democracy and their he creation of a new police force reform virtually impossible. Donations to the Conootty approaches in Birmingham on the same day (see ratic deficit' and there are no plans for In a statement issued at the time of Connolly Association are to lay a for a new situation, one that is The importance for the future of Association and the Irish Democrat below for details). Entitled Joseph it to do so. supporters to ensure that the developments work in the opposite the soldier's release by the campaign MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE both acceptable and responsive the peace process of the need to create wreath at the statue of the 18th Priestly: English Radicals and Irish The strict criteria for the single direction. The building up of a mass popular movement, the 9 June to 2 September 1998 group Relatives for Justice, spokesper- Democrat reporter to all sections of society is essen- 'a new police force' for a 'new situa- Century political radical, scientist, Revolutionaries the event will focus on currency are permanent cuts on public son Elish McCabe accused Mo mobilization of people at grassroots level to press for the most tial if a lasting solution to the tion' cannot be underestimated. F. Jennings £20; J. McL; J. Duggan What will hopefully be the last lap of theologian and one-time Unitarian how Catholics and Protestants were sector spending and an attack on the Mowlam of breaking her word and of rapid and thorough-going implementation of the equality agenda conflicrt^to be attained. "Attempting to create a police force £6.75; M. Melly £4.50; R.Deacon Danny McNamee's bid for exonera- minister, Joseph Priestley. able to unite in the North of Ireland in Welfare State and the NHS. The treating the McBride family with con- That was the clear message deliv- thai will embrace the ethos of profes- £14.50; C. Knight £5; D. Bernasconi tion and freedom finally gets under- The ceremony, which will take the 1790s and the significant Welfare State, NHS, student grants is likely to be critical to any such approach. I tempt. "This type of treatment of the ered by the Connolly Association in its sionalism, efficiency, effectiveness, £2; A. Higgins £112; E. Doyle £10; way at the Royal Courts of Justice in place at 11am on Saturday November Presbyterian contribution to the rebel- and pensions are a means to redistrib- victims of state violence is similar to However, it is obvious that the new political situation also submission to the Independent fairness and impartiality will be an H. Davies £10; L. Lilley £20; T. Finn central London on November 9. 7 in the city's Chamberlain Square, is lion of 1798. The seminar, details of ute some wealth from rich to poor what one would have expected from demands a qualitatively different response from friends of Ireland Commission on Policing for Northern onerous task, the CA's submission £2; I. Mulazzani £3.30; A. Young £10; If successful, the Appeal hearing, to honour Dr. Priestly as a great which are currently being finalised, regions and people. This is practical previous British administrations. We Ireland chaired by former Tory minis- concludes." J. Mulrennan £10; A. Valentine £10; which is expected to last two weeks, English radical and a friend of Ireland. will also examine the links between democracy. An aim of EMU is to bring in Britain. The nature and role of solidarity work in the coming were supposed to move beyond this ter and colonial governor of Hong Along with other components of J&N Duggan £18; K&M O'Brien will bring an end to yet another major Priestly was a supporter the French the Irish and English radical move- practical democracy to an end. period will be particularly important. Our attention must now type of treatment," she said. Kong, Chris Patten. the so-called human rights agenda, £12; P Snowden £10; L.Wilde £10; miscarriage of British justice. Revolution, Catholic emancipation ments. Placing power in the hands of focus on ensuring that the British government keeps to its side of Referring to the aspirations for a progress on this important issue needs V. Deegan £5; J.O'Connor £5; W. Anger has also been expressed over Although Danny's case made legal and advocated the disestablishment of unaccountable institutions like the the bargain. This will involve detailed monitoring of the new policing service contained in the to be relatively swift, the Association Booth £10; O. Cahn £5; M. Brenan the soldiers' resumption their army history by becoming the first to be the Church of Ireland. There is also For further details contact the Connolly Commission and the Central Bank careers, a development which mirrors referred back to the Court of Appeal Agreement's implementation and forthright opposition to all Good Friday Agreement, the warns. "If such progress is not £5; R. Doyle £15; J&M Nolan £10; clear evidence that Priestly was held in Association office on 0171 916 6/72. virtually removes the right to lobby Association submission stresses that realised, tangible benefits accruing A. Kenny £15; PT. Mullin £20; the treatment of Lee Clegg who was by the Criminal Cases Review efforts to undermine it through deliberate delays or by wrecking and demonstrate in support of a par- the RUC currendy fails to meet the from the peace process and post- B. Morgan £5; M&B Flannery £50; released from prison and rejoined his Commission in July 1997 it was over a ticular course of action, or protest attempts to amend, subvert or to simply ignore key aspects of essential criteria. Agreement situation will not be felt by I. Arnold £5; J. McLennan £5; army regiment. He was then promoted year before an appeal hearing was set, against a policy. The campaign against to lance-corporal despite an existing adding considerably to the anguish the deal. The widely held perception of the the people of Northern Ireland, which A. Hogg £20; A. O'Keefe £5; F. Byrne Saturday 7 November, lpm-5pm the Poll Tax is an example of informal conviction for murder. and frustration already experienced by RUC as a sectarian force which, over in turn can undermine their support £5; A. Donaghy £10; P Riddell democracy in action where popular The question of broadening support for a progr essive interpre- Danny and his family. the years of its existence, has been for the process." £17.50; R. Deering £3.50; G. McLean In response, the Pat Finucane opinion won a change of policy. Centre and the North have Joseph Priestley: tation of the Agreement also needs to be addressed. For too long £5; P&G Horgan £8; R. McLaughlin McNamee has served over 11 years Democracy only wofrks within launched a petition calling for the has the question of solidarity with the national struggle of the Irish £10; T. Hackett £10; P Ladkin £10; of a 25 year sentence for "conspiracy to nation states and not between them. immediate dishonourable dismissal of been confined to organisations like the Connolly Association and various anonymous donations £32.52. cause explosions". He has consistently English Radicals and Irish Within nation states minorities freely the two guardsmen. The Centre is also protested his innocence and is not, nor Bankers orders £291.22 consent to majority rule. There can be other organisations within the British left. It is now vital to asking people to write to the Minister has ever been, a member of the IRA. Revolutionaries no shared citizenship between peoples Total: £787.79 for the Armed Forces, Doug encourage the broadest possible unity among supporters of the Inisti Oemoctuc Following his transfer to the Maze of separate nation states. Henderson, calling for their dishon- in June 1997 and following sustained Agreement, tapping into the vast reservoirs of good will that exist The Liberty Tree: Within a national community, the For a united and independent Ireland Apolcgy ourable discharge. (Address below) lobbying on his behalf the prison within Britain's Irish community, the labour and trade union Unks Between Eighteenth nation, there exists mutual identifica- Published continuously since 1939, the Irish Democrat i. the bi-monthly The April/May edition of the Irish "If these two guards had been authorities eventually changed his tion and mutual interests among movement and within the British people themselves. This will Century English and journal of the Connolly Association which campaigns for a united and Democrat included a letter comment- found in bed together they would have security category from 'Exceptionally people. At the same time there are Irish Radicals require a flexible and imaginative approach but, as the response of ndependent Ireland and the rights of the Irish in Britain. ing on a review by Peter Berresford faced immediate dishonourable dis- High Risk' to 'High Risk Category A'. those associated with transnational the Labour government to the Omagh bomb and attempts by Ellis of a new collection of Connolly's charge from the British army. But, Recently campaigners have attempted Ruth Frow, corporations and banks who are out to having been convicted of the murder to get his security downgraded further Working Class Movement Trimble and other unionists to keep Sinn Fein out of the Annual Subscription Rates (six issues) writings. demolish the nation state in order to We wish to apologise unreservedly of a civilian they have been accepted from Category A to Category B. They Library rid them of the impediment of democ- £5.50 Britain I enclose a cheque Assembly executive demonstrate, it is a responsibility that cannot for any offence caused to Peter back into the army on their release are also attempting to organise a good racy. Hence it is in the interests of (payable to "Connolly be shirked. £10.00 Solidarity subscription Berresford Ellis resulting from an edi- from prison," explained Paul attendance of observers throughout Radical Presbyterians working people to defend and extend Publications Ltd")/postal £8.00 Europe (airmail) torial oversight - the inclusion of the O'Connor of the Pat Finucane Centre. the appeal hearing and are urging of 1798 democracy and the powers of the order for £ £11.00 USA/Canada (airmail) letter's penultimate paragraph. By "The message given to the two men by people to send good luck cards to John Kitten, nation state to control private capital. £12.00 Australia (airmail) including the paragraph we inadver- their reinstatement is that they really Danny in prison. Anyone able to help Linen Hall Library iRish OemocRAC didn't do anything wrong." should contact the Campaign at the Bi-monthly Newspaper of the Connolly Association Name tently allowed the repetition of inaccu- John Boyd is the secretary of the rate and defamatory remarks about the address below. The Women of'98 Address . Further information from Campaign Against Euro-federalism intellectual integrity of Peter Speaker to be announced the Pat Finucane Centre website: (CAEF). The campaign publishes a Helen Bennett; Gerard Curran; David Granville (editor); Jonathan Hardy; Berresford Ellis which were initially Danny McNamee, HMP Maze, Peter Mulligan; Alex Reid. Production: Derek Kotz www.serve.com/pfc/ regular journal The Democrat and can be i 1 made by Aindrias 6 Cathasaigh in his Lisburn, Co. BT24 SRP contacted at 57 Crreen Lane, Merseyside by Connolly Publications Ltd, 244 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8JR, tel: 0171 833 3022 Send to: Connolly Publications Ltd, 244 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8JR introduction to Connolly: the Lost Letters to Doug Henderson, For further informatwn on the Caledonian Room, Ibis Hotel, Ladywell Walk, Birmingham. Email: [email protected] L4S 8JQ te1.0151 691 1746; by Ripley Printers iTU) Ltd, Nottingham Road, Ripley, Derbyshire, tel: 01773 743 621 Writings. Minister for the Armed Forces, MoD, Campaign/Appeal hearing contact: Organised by Birmingham Connolly Association website: wivw.poplel.org.uk/against- Whitehall, London SW1A 2HB BM INNOCENT, London WC1N 3XX eurofederalism Irish Democrat October 1998

School/letters Page 10 Irish Democrat October 1998

News/Analysis World Comment A decade of progressive debate by POLITICUS Nick Wright reports on the recent tenth Desmond Greaves Summer School where topics ranged from the peace process through to the death 'Antis' regroup to wreck the Agreement Economic of Irish historical revisionism and also managed to include the Irish background of the great revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara 'Lynch'

The Irish Democrat's northern correspondent, Bobbie Heatley, looks at the latest hurricane? mphasising the need for a polit- ing European Union institutions he ical respons? to the Omagh "They pushed the free market on us," pointed out that Ireland's economic developments in the six counties five months after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement bombing a leading Sinn Fein upswing arose from its ability to deter- n Monday 14 th September the fides - Sinn Fein seems unworried represented by six different parties throughout the North including the The Guardian quoted a Russian MP, speaker sharply told partici- mine the rate at which the punt was new Northern Ireland about the seeming impasse while and the wreckers - Paisley's DUR blockade of a Co. Fermanagh school "and what they gave us was a free pants at the annual Desmond exchanged with other currencies - a Assembly met for the first Trimble continues to hold the reins in McCartney's tiny UKUP and the new by protestors following the appoint- crisis". Greaves Summer School in power which would be lost in a single time. Antagonisms, although his party. UUAR along with a substantial ele- ment of two Catholic employees fol- Of course Russia is only a local Dublin that draconian restrictions on currency tailored to the interests of the understandably present, were Although the Good Friday deal was ment of Trimble's UUP itself - repre- lowing the retirement of two centre of the much larger global E civil liberties and new internment French and German economies cur- apparently muted. But, approved by a slim majority of sent a formidable oppositional bloc. Protestant fellow workers. economic cataclysm, which is now measures would undermine the Good rently in recession. although Adams feels that he can 'do Protestants in the North there is evi- The dominant grouping within the Government officials are said to be reaching the complacent heart of Friday Agreement. O The so-called Celtic boom - with a business' with the Trimble wing of the dence that the Omagh bombing has going to travel to Portadown, which Europe and America. What makes UUP plus the PUP (spokespeople for "The appalling loss of life at there is still hardened unionist attitudes. has been taken over by mobs of rioting Russia important is that the bank 7-8 per cent annual growth rate - was the UVF) and the UDP (which speaks Omagh must not be repeated said Sinn widespread foreboding over the Fortunately, the desire for peace is still supporters of Orangeism, in an collapses, debt default and impending dependent on Ireland retaining an for the UDA) currently constitutes a Fein NI Assembly member Bairbre prospect of political in-fighting to widespread. It is likely that this will attempt to re-start 'proximity talks' independent exchange rate policy. less than enthusiastic bloc within soaring inflation - all inevitable De Brun. come, allied to hope that it will not influence the direction of Trimble's unionism which, in the knowledge of between the residents and the results of Yeltsin's crony capitalism - With the shift to a single currency She was compelled by the scale of lead to what has gone before. faction and enable it to remain in con- what the British will tolerate, half- Orangemen. This implies that they have led to an acute constitutional - essentially the project of Europe's the Armagh events to remember the trol of the situation. It had better. If heartedly accepts the Agreement. want some kind of a concession from political elites - the national question Despite Adams' prior meeting with struggle over who will lead Russia into response of people to the Dublin/ the Assembly experiment collapses, the former. This is entirely the wrong in Ireland would assume a new form. Trimble the outcome of which was Insofar as unionism is concerned, the next millennium. Will it be the Monaghan bombings - the crowds there are plenty of sceptical national- approach. It is really a law and order Quoting Desmond Greaves said to be satisfactory to both sides, all the situation seems to be evenly Russia's parliament or some clone of anxious to do something practical, the ists and republicans around who situation and they should heed the call thing in Ireland's post-colonial devel- Left to right: Bairbre Be Brtin of Sinn Anthony Coughlan said that if eighty was not bonhomie on the opening day balanced. This could explain why Yeltsin, who will continue doing the shock and the willingness to give remain unconvinced of the existence from the business community in opment". Kin, Kevin McCorry of the Belfast- per cent of laws were to be enacted at of the Assembly. It is simply not possi- Trimble, who has gambled on siding bidding of the West? blood for the injured. Under the impact of contemporary based Campaign For Democracy and Brussels then the IRA's fight would be ble to air-brush out the recalcitrant of a political road forward within the with the UK government in support of Portadown to take the matter in hand. The output of real goods and "The Med policy of repression - developments revisionists had "taken Green Party MEP Patricia McKenna over where the remaining twenty per unionists who have a quite consider- the deal, appears to be acting some- services in Russia is now only half the policy of securocrats - was life at Omagh must flight" he said. cent would be made. able presence. Joined by some nomi- what irrationally by joining with the what it was at the time of the absolutely contrary to the letter and Whenever the British media need- said Anthony Coughlan of the Irish nally pro-deal UUP members, the British Tory and unionist 'antis' in the The ultras refuse break-up of the USSR. This is an not be repeated" "Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie Trimble's side the spirit of the Good Friday Agree- ed an Irish commentary on contempo- National Platform. 'anti-agreement' ultras wasted no time wrecking call for the IRA to hand in economic slump of unprecedented were fighting the Irish at the Alamo" ment and is no answer", she said. rary events a revisionist authority in initiating a campaign against the of unionism has no its arms immediately. None of the to countenance proportions. It is the reason for the - Bairbre De Brun Ireland was being tied into a was the surprise the historian and No one aspect of the Agreement would be drafted in to reinforce repressive centralised European polic- Celticist Peter Berresford Ellis sprang equality clauses of the Good Friday recent moves forward in respect of this growing poverty of the majority of could be elevated over another and its British perceptions. ing policy. Irish neutrality was under- on startled participants. The untilled document, dismissing Sinn Fein's desire to bite matter have placated them in the least. the display of Irish Russians. With the currency terms were not for renegotiation she fires were becoming possible. From the floor Irish writer Owen mined by an engagement with the fields of Irish history included the objection to Stormont as the venue Alongside ominous happenings in collapsed, imports, including many said calling for the early establishment The school was launched with a Bennett pointed out that skepticism Western European Union he said. contribution made by Irish fighters to for the Assembly. The SDLR until the British hand the Assembly, threatening events are emblems alongside foodstuffs, become impossible or of a Department of Equality. sharp critique of academic and about the peace process on the part of Pointing to the threat to Ireland's the independence struggles of South recently itself hostile to a return to continuing to take place on the streets, super-expensive overnight. which feeds it the Union Jack "Inequality and exclusion are the journalistic attempts to deny the revisionist figures reinforced attempts independence posed by the Maastricht and central America. Stormont was, on this occasion, inter- in which the Orange Order - another The only way to stop Russia's enemies of the peace process" she said. centrality of the national struggle in to undermine key aspects of the agree- and Amsterdam treaties he argued estingly mute. anti-deal ingredient - is, despite its slump in production is to restore Mexico's struggle for independence The peace agreement is a 'win, win' Irish history. ment. that the real question to be decided by won the supp^u of many Irish who The ultras also refused to counte- confines of Northern Ireland. denials, nakedly complicit. The fact is that there remains much many of the features of the old package offering progress for every "Irish historical revisionism is In a wide-ranging session on the the Irish people in a referendum fought in her armies. Mexico was nance the display of Irish emblems If there is an acceptance, therefore, The Portadown District Lodge is which could lead, once again, to some- command economy - protective tariffs section of the community said Barbara dead" Dr Brendan Bradshaw told par- European Union after Maastricht and should be whether or not they agreed weakened by the US land grab which alongside British ones (ie the Union that the Assembly and other elements still campaigning to force its way thing of a conflagation threatening the against Western imports, controls on McCabe from the NI Women's coali- ticipants. It was Father Bradshaw's Amsterdam Green MEP Patricia with handing over power to the harvested California, New Mexico, Jack) and made it clear that they of the deal can provide a framework down the Garvaghy Road despite whole peace process. Given the whole- capital, direction of investment and tion. But the inclusive character of the seminal article "Nationalism and his- McKenna criticised lush politicians European Union. Arizona and Texas. would not tolerate the use of the Irish within which nationalists and republi- numerous rulings by the Parades hearted support of the British, Irish tough action against the industrial and agreement could be undermined she torical scholarship in modern Ireland" in Brussels for disregarding Irish With the development of a com- The first act of the lexus secession language in the Assembly chamber. So cans, who constitute the anti-colonial- Commission that there will be no such and American governments for the financial robber-barons who under said. "Kneejerk and quick responses which began the demolition of neo- interests and the will of Irish voters. mon European security policy Ireland from Mexico was to reimpose slavery much for parity of esteem and equality ist democracy of the North, can work march this year. Nonetheless the loyal- Agreement deal, which itself is crafted Yeltsin's disastrous rule have grabbed do not make good law". unionist interpretations of modern Despite the atg^nce uf any popular or was aligning itself with a military and Irishmen were to be found among of treatment. But, it is how they intend politically for the ending of partition ists intend to hold a huge alternative with underlying EU precepts (when Russia's industries and natural Policing entire communities as Irish history a decade ago. party backing for nuclear power Irish alliance committed to a nuclear war- those besieging the Alamo. The inti- to approach other elements of the and self government, current opti- parade in the town centre on sovereignty is projected upwards and resources for their own personal guilty parties and emergency legisla- Criticising revisionist claims to sci- support had been given to a unani- fighting strategy and a first strike pol- mate connection between the Irish Good Friday deal such as fair employ- mism must be tempered with caution. September 26th after Craigavon away, of what meaning are borders?), enrichment. tion was not the way forward she said. entific status and empirical method mous decision to provide the nuclear icy. Deutschmark for the Eurobomb nationalist diaspora and other strug- ment, judicial reform, policing, mean- While some anti-deal elements Council said an Orange Order 'festi- some would argue that unionism has The larger economic crisis of Criticising the London and Dublin Dr Bradshaw - who is director of his- industry with subsidised low cost was a slogan which made the link gles for independence and freedom ingful cross-border bodies and so on. from within the UUP have had to cut val' could not take place in the nowwhere else go? But then, how which Russia is a small part could government for their precipitate tory studies at Queen's College loans. between the drive for monetary union found a more recent echo in the deep Sinn Fein's electoral entitlement to their links with the party to form a People's Park, close to the nationalist rational is Unionism? What will bring a repeat of the 1930s. First the response she pointed out that Cambridge - identified attempts to "Those who talk about democratis- and common defence policy, interest Che - whose full name was places in the putative executive is infra new grouping, the self-styled Ulster end of the Garvaghy Road. Other happen will still depends very much 'Asian tigers', then Japan, then Russia, strengthened emergency powers were devalue the national emphasis in Irish ing the European Central Bank Arguing against the surrender of Ernesto Guevara Lynch - expressed in dig. Given this background and devel- Unionist Assembly Party, many others provocative, coat-trailing, events have on how the British government South America and finally the US and being introduced just when new cease- historical writing as linked to "some- haven't read the Maastricht Treaty" economic policy making to centralis- the Irish struggle. opments outside of the Assembly, it is remain active within it. Unionism is been staged in other locations handles matters. Europe. This is the geographical no wounder that Trimble, under pres- sequence of bank collapses, currency sure from the UK government, is devaluations, economic retrenchment, Unhelpful editorial? given. For some reason, in this age of modern sending out contradictory signals. credit-crunch and flight from stocks To state English nationalism is "thoroughly reac- Letters to the Editor police technology, there is no tape available of the On the face of it he wants the deal and shares into cash, that is already a tionary" is unhelpful! (ID editorial July-August Write to: The Editor, Irish Democrat, c/o 244 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8JR Real IRA warning. Why? Who is telling the to work. His side of unionism has no global economic storm, and could well issue) or e-mail at: [email protected] truth? desire to bite the British hand that become an economic hurricane. Most troubles in the world come from one Unfortunately, world opinion will now be feeds it. Besides, it covets the salaries At the heart of the problem is free nation (state) interfering in the affairs of another. The form of imperialism today is European is a clandestine creation of the enemies of Irish inclined to ignore British establishment of a and the 'prestige' accorded to its mem- movement of capital, which the The basis of non interference is internationalism Union with a European army of rapid reaction freedom. sectarian bigoted state in Ireland as the real cause bers by belonging to the Assembly, no advocates of free-marketry and so- - the recognition of nations (states) to the right to forces. still retains its common market Omagh actually has a predominantly of the sufferings of the people of the occupied matter that it is a subordinate body called 'globalisation' have long self determination and national democracy. To be in these islands but is increasingly subservient to Catholic/Nationalist population. Does it make counties. Nevertheless, the truth will prevail. with circumscribed administrative pushed. This has introduced a new an internationalist requires first to be a national- Brussels felt and understood by widening any sense for any Irish Republican guerrilla William Gartland responsibilities (not powers) under the element of economic instability into ist and applies equally to the Irish, Cuban, sections of the English. English nationalism does group unhappy with the Good Friday accord to Rio, USA continuing aegis of Westminster. capitalism. Billions can move from French or English - as expounded by James exist and is healthy. It opposes those who support attempt to gain the support of the Catholics of Nevertheless, faced with conflicting country to country at the touch of a Connolly at the start of this century. This was the modern imperialism of European Union. Omagh by killing and maiming them? Rocking the boat? pressures, Trimble still feels able to computer button. further elaborated by Desmond Greaves, former What is required is more English nationalism We must also consider the fact that the focus Thank you very much for you excellent article take sides with those who are using the Countries favoured by capital long standing editor of the Irish Democrat and the with continued support of the Irish Democrat to of world condemnation has been turned from the 'Towards Unity' (ID July/August 98). I can pretext of decommissioning to oppose inflows can run high balance of basis of the Connolly Association. develop a unity of purpose between Irish and murderers of three Catholic children by Loyalist foresee, as I'm sure you can, two serious hazards. the formation of an executive. With payments deficits for a while. But To interfere in other nations (states) is largely English nationalism against common enemies. zealots and the Loyalist arsonists who fire- Firstly, unwelcome comment and pressure will the text of the deal on its side - a when the financiers take flight, they for the purpose of exploitation in some form of John Boyd bombed ten Catholic churches. receive the accusation of 'rocking the boat", of breathing space of two years for the must suddenly retrench - usually at imperialism carried out for and on behalf of Campaign Against Euro-federalism Now the focus of world attention is back 'endangering the Good Friday accord' - respon- IRA to be convinced of unionist bona the expense of the mass of ordinary private capital. where it was before the Provisional Irish sibility, or the lack of it will dwell in Kafka land people. That is happening now The infrastructure and means to staff Ed. - While wishing to challenge a number of the Republican Army cease-fires. in the north/south council and Brussels. everywhere, and no one is in control Price List for 60th tontwrtary ttwra imperialism requires tacit -or placid support of above assertions, it is clear that there is a need for a The onus of "terrorism" is again on the Irish Given this very possible attitude, it would I the system. Lack of social control, (all in £s Sterling) people in the imperial state who are led to more general debate on this subject. I am therefore struggle for national liberation from the rule of appear likely that the 'fragmentation of union- I after all, is the key feature of capi- consider themselves superior in some way to inviting contributions of up to 600 words on the nature the British crown. Forgotten is the truth that ism' is by no means an irreversible process; Comnumwathra ereuiwl badge K < m talism. people of the dominated nation (state). Racism and role of English nationalism. Copy for the next Orange Loyalists gangs have killed six innocent seeing the same danger or bureaucratic dilution £7.99 each \ f Financial crisis now threatens and chauvinism are component parts of the ide- edition of the paper must reach the paper no later than Catholics to every Protestant the IRA or the so- they will maintain the hard line. With the £8.50 including postage and packing in the UK 7 Wall Street where share-prices have ology of imperialists. This can be adopted by Friday October 23. called Real IRA ever killed. ("Index of Death", present figures they are a potent threat on all £9.50 and Europe (airmail) sections of the dominated nation, for example £9.25 USA, Australia & New Zealand (airmail) been soaring for years, in a speculative Malcolm Sutton). important issues. bubble and greed frenzy without unionists in'the six counties, and by those used to Omagh bomb World opinion was just beginning to see the Another possibility is that Sinn Fein will out- James Connoly and Wolfe Tone Mugs historical precedent. The soaring act on behalf of the imperial power such as armed The Omagh bombing tragedy in British- true bigoted character of the Orange Order's strip Labour and the SDLP as, initially, I guess £8.00 per pair value of stocks and shares is the basis forces utilised against another nation, as does occupied Ireland, which has taken 28 lives, could three thousand plus triumphalist parades when the SNP will outstrip Labour in . £7.50 including postage and packing in the UK of their pensions, house prices, car British imperialism. not have come at a better time for those who the Omagh bomb exploded. What should be our attitude to these factors, £9.50 Republic of Ireland & Europe (airmail) £11.50 USA, Australia & New Zealand (airmail) loans, credit card limits and much If yoji scratch most English people you will no detest the prospect of a re-united Ireland. The Real IRA claims a forty-minute warning do we wait for an increasingly prosperous and else. doubt find some imperialism in one form or The unbelievable wrecklessness of the so- was given. The Royal Ulster Constabulary claims non-political Republic to seduce the North into or £3.50 each £4.30 including postage and packing in the UK If Wall Street slumps severely, it other. But, to damn all English is to mix up called Real IRA almost leads one to wonder if it that a misleading forty-minute warning was a de facto economic unity or do we continue £5.70 Republic of Ireland and Europe (airmail) will cause millions of Americans to cut imperialism of the British state, extended to grumbling and grieving? £6.50 USA, Australia & New Zealand (airmail) back on spending. What began in control an empire, with nationalism - the very The Irish Democrat welcomes readers' letters. IainBaillie,

All overseas payments in £s Sterling by Thailand will thus have ended in New antipathy of imperialism. Please note that shorter letters stand a better chance of appearing unedited (2S0 words max). Canterbury, Kent International Bankers Orders or York, London and Fraukfurt. The Eurocheque, made payable to Connolly ghosts of Marx and Keynes will be Publications Ltd. (sorry no credit cards) chuckling in their graves! *

__ _ ' nan'*" Page 6 Irish Democrat October 1998 Irish Democrat October 1998 Page 7 fm Features TlllltlfcW" "* connoLLy coLumn Contesting three rebellions' view of 1798 One of James Connolly's Restoring an major contributions to political theory and practice relates Progressive Irish historian, Ruan O'Donnell, examines the position of Ulster Jjfc in the rebellion of 1798 and challenges the unionist to his extensive analysis and view that what happened in the north east was somehow separate from the events to the west and south of the country understanding of the honourable connection relationship between t is an indictment of 1798 histori- in Dublin. The strategy projected to matters transpired the availability nationalism and the struggle he name of St Leger popped up For Connolly Association executive ography that, notwithstanding commence on 23 May 1798 was itself a of the Reays permitted their rapid the avalanche of recent publica- reluctandy and hastily adopted con- for social justice in Ireland. everywhere in the 19th century. In an ^ • deployment to Meath where they member Moya St Leger (left), an interest tions, the orthodox model of the tingency developed in response to Belcnv we reproduce article for the Doncaster Review in ' ' - ^ won a decisive victory over a numer- 1897 the Rev. R. Taylor writes: St Insurrection remains almost martial law, the inability of the French the second instalment of in family history resulted in a surprising ous rebel force at Hill on the 26th. Legers were found 'in pulpit and fat exactly as it was during the dis- to land and the arrest of key personnel. The Durhams, if delayed in the north, Connolly's essay on prebends; on the front and back discovery about an 18th century member daineI d centenary celebrations of 1898. Once the centre piece of the plan col- may not have been in a position to nationalism and socialism Tstairs at Court; at the head of crack regi- In the public mind the Rebellion con- lapsed, however, as it did on the first defend the critical sector of the line which first appeared in Shan ments, and at the tail of scaling ladders of the St Leger's who has been excised sisted of a bloody upheaval in Leinster night of action with the aborted capi- entrusted to them on 9 June at the bat- Van Vocht in January 1897. planted against American forts; on the hot lasting from May to June 1798, a weak tal focused rising, everything that tle of Arklow in Wicklow. from the family's genealogical charts reflection of this in two Ulster coun- plains of India, and on the dusty racecours- ensued was necessarily ad hoc. effect It is clear that the rising of the ties in early to mid-June and an oppor- es of Great Britain and Ireland'. missed from it". St Leger was suspended April, 1797 to Edward Cooke, Under Certainly, the incidence of large on north- Ulster rebels had a profound effect on tunistic second-wave rising in Socialism and nationalism The one place I had not expected to find and had to sell his commission. Secretary of the Civil Department, Marcus scale uprisings bore very little relation ern com- the outcome of the struggle in the piv- Connaught occasioned by the belated a St. Leger was within the United Irish Meanwhile in the winter of 17% sol- Beresford a Crown Prosecutor of the N.E. to the strength of United Irish cadres manders once otal zone of Leinster. The army was arrival of the French. This simplistic (Part 2) movement dedicated to 'abolish all unnat- diers of the 24th Light Dragoons who had circuit wrote: " ...I have determined to on the ground, or, for that maner, to news of it obliged to await the arrival of 10,000 scheme has perpetuated the mislead- It may be pleaded that the ideal of a Socialist Republic, implying, ural religious distinctions, to unite all allegedly taken the Oath of the United select one or two of the best cases... to meet the intensity of counter-insurgency. reached Belfast. British forces in mid-June before ing notion of 'three rebellions', one as it does, a complei: political and economic revolution would be Irishmen against the unjust influence of Irishmen were being investigated by the United Irishmen on the ground they Rebellion manifested itself for an Prevarication and fac- launching its comprehensive counter- per province, and total Mure in the sure to alienate all jur middle-class and aristocratic supporters, Great Britain, and to secure their true rep- William Brownlow, MP for Armagh (1795- now put their case by a direct conviction array of reasons such as the pres- tionalism further sapped attack on the Wexford Republic. The fourth, Munster. who would dread the loss of their property and privileges. resentation in a national Parliament'. Lt. 1815). St Leger was arrested and impris- for treason... and St Leger's is the case of all ence of charismatic leadership, the potential of the Ulstermen dynamism breathed into the northern What does this objection mean? That we must conciliate the John Lindley St Leger has been mysteri- others upon which I could answer the con- Thankfully, many old canards have communications with Dublin, even as the militant Henry Joy fighters by McCracken and Henry privileged classes in Ireland! ously edited from all of my own genealogi- viction must be had." been laid to rest this year: no-one of local access to armaments, McCracken issued the orders to rise Munro from 6 June quickly ended in But you can only disarm their hostility by assuring them that in cal charts. The reported his trial on can seriously contend that Fr. John provocation by loyalist extrem- on 6 June 1798. Early military suc- disappointment but contained all the a free Ireland their "privileges" will not be interfered with. That is Like his scholarly father Brigadier 15 September 1797. St Leger was cleared of Murphy was the principal rebel leader ists and unfounded rumours, cess promised a large scale, phased ingredients necessary for success. The to say, you must guarantee that when Ireland is free of foreign dom- Barry St Leger, nephew of Arthur 1st the charge of 'High Treason' - probably or that those who risked transporta- not least the one spread on the turn out of men, as was the case in fateful decision to concentrate insur- ination, the green-coated Irish soldiers will guard the fraudulent Viscount Doneraile, John joined the because he was defended by the brilliant tion or death to unite 'protestant, Kildare/Wicklow border on the parts of Kildare and Wicklow on 23-4 gent forces at Ballinahinch, where gains of the capitalist landlord from "the thin hands of the poor" army and was first commissioned as a John Philpot Curran, defence counsel catholic and dissenter' were really a morning of 24 May 1798 which May and in Wexford from the 26th. they were heavily defeated on 13 June, just as remorselessly and just as effectually as the scarlet-coated Lieutenant when he was 21 years old. for many a United Irishman. He was claimed that the city had fallen. There This was not to be in the north as opposed to marching immediately emissaries of England do today. He was serving with the 24th Light found guilty of'maliciously adminis- were, furthermore, 'risings' all over where the rebels failed to win the on , was not taken lightly. This the country of varying degrees of scale, On no other basis will the classes unite with you. Do you expect Dragoons when his regiment was tering an oath to keep the secrets of It is clear that t|ie necessary breathing alone prevented the arrival of Ulster most of which dispersed without inci- the masses to fight for this ideal? When you talk of freeing Ireland put on detachment to Ireland in United Irishmen' to his troop and space from near rebels in Armagh and Louth and their dent when the miscarriage of the do you only mean the chemical elements which compose the soil of May 1795. Whether he was part of sentenced to deportation for life. St rising of the constant military subsequent juncture with their Dublin strategy became clear. Ireland? Or is it the Irish people you mean? If the latter, from what the squadron sent to Armagh in Leger was the only army officer to pressure despite Leinster comrades. Ulster rebels had a strong showings at do you propose to free them? From the rule of England? March 1796 when the persecution be found guilty of this crime. Accounts differ as to what was As matters stood hundreds of Antrim, Saintfield, But all systems of political administration or governmental of Catholics by the Peep O' Day After the trial when he was in expected of the Ulster rebels on the northern rebels committed themselves profound effect Randalstown and machinery are but the reflex of the economic forms which under- Boys was at its worst is impossible Armagh gaol, his infant child died night of 23 May 1798. The Ulster to the struggle in the south-east: Ballymena. Tying lie them. English rule in to establish. and shortly after his wife. Directory were still smarting from the scores of United Irish infiltrators on the outcome of down Major-General Ireland is but the symbol of The terrible experiences of that Describing himself as the wounds inflicted on their networks in within the Antrim Militia defected to Nugent's substantial the fact that English con- If you remove squadron were to be recalled in 1839 'wretched, desolate father of two the struggle in 1797 by Lieutenant-General Gerard the Wicklow insurgents when the forces in Ulster, however, querors in the past forced by a former officer of the regiment. In helpless infants' he petitioned the Lake's 'dragooning' and their deliber- opportunity presented itself in the late the English army was militarily a sound strate- upon this country a property a letter to the editor of the Globe news- Lord Deputy, Lord Cornwallis, for the pivotal zone of ations were further compromised by summer of 1798. Others who lived in gy even if the unanticipated influx system founded upon spolia- tomorrow and hoist paper he remembers: "...in the autumn clemency. None was shown. the presence of a spy, Nicholas Wicklow's substantial Ulster migrant of reinforcements from Scotland tion, fraud and murder: that, of that year (1796) a squadron was sud- Following his imprisonment in Leinster Mageean of Saintfield (Down). One communities of Stratford-on-Slaney lessened its value. Also unexpected as the present-day exercise of the green flag denly ordered in consequence of the dis- Armagh, Newgate and on the prison ship, key informant, Samuel Sproule, and Arklow helped pioneer the spread was the speed and strength of the "rights of property" so turbed state of the country to proceed to Lively, anchored in Dublin, on 24 Aug 1799 sectarian 'jacquarrie'. Other old warned Dublin Castle that two days of the United Irishmen in that county over Dublin Castle, Nugent's counterattack which originated involves the con- Armagh. he was transported to Australia in the con- myths, it appears, will die hard and would elapse between the Ulster and in the spring of 1797 and later turned Mageean had facilitated by informing tinual practice of legalised unless you set vict ship Minerva. Sailing via Rio de one of the most glaring is the theory Leinster segments of the plan in out to fight in the mountains. This In the course of the following year the him that Belfast did not feature in spoliation and fraud, English whole regiment took up its quarters at Janeiro the ship reached Sydney Harbour that the fighting which broke out in order to create tactical difficulties phenomena was replicated in Long- 1 rebel plans and did not, therefore, rule is found to be the most about the on 1 January 1800 and disgorged its Antrim and Down bore little or no for government forces on two ford and many parts of the West of Armagh... during that period I had wit- oned in Armagh gaol on the orders of Lord require much protection. suitable form of government organisation of the nessed the excesses committed by the Bentinck who had discovered that he held human cargo. relation to that of the eastern counties fronts. It seems, furthermore, Ireland where thousands of northern that the town of Belfast was by which the spoliation can be Orange Party who now began to form the post of secretary to the Armagh branch An Australian relative wrote to me of Leinster. The provincial orientated From the government's perspective refugees had settled in the 1790s flee- not an immediate objective protected, and an English Socialist Republic themselves into lodges, and the dreadful of the United Irishmen. Not only had St recently to report that John Lindley 'three rebellions' view is, at best, a the psychological and strategic conse- ing sectarian persecution and General of attack. Of more conse- army the most pliant tool with persecutions to which the Catholic inhabi- Leger taken the Oath but also sworn in escaped from Australia in 1804 on the construct of hindsight designed to quences of the loss of either Belfast or Lake's brand of state terrorism. your efforts would quence were the 5,000 which to execute judicial mur- tants were subjected. Night after night I other men, an offence earning the death American ship The Rose bound for Canton. explain a complex and under Cork would have been considerable, In discussing 'three rebellions' one troops camped near der when the fears of the prop- be in vain have seen the sackings and burnings of the penalty under the Insurrection Act. What became of him is uncertain, but I researched subject to the uninitiated. but that of Dublin city nothing short could lose sight of the fact that there Lurgan at Blaris camp ertied class demand it. i^^MH^^BHBIB dwellings of these poor people... It is quite evident from contemporary have re-inscribed his name on to our In this respect the quest for narrative of catastrophic. Dublin was the key to was only one United Irish leadership who would be drawn into The Socialist who would destroy, root and branch, the whole "It is impossible for me to describe at records that the government was deter- family tree to restore some human pride clarity and neat geographic packaging rebel fortunes and even minor varia- with 280,000 followers sworn to the action by even limited brutally materialistic system of civilisation, which like the English this distance of time, the horrors and atroc- mined to get a conviction. In a letter of 11 and dignity to the house of St. Leger. has done the Irish people a disservice. tions in the CasUe's Leinster order of same republican ideology. It would be United Irish mobilization in language we have adopted as our own, is, I hold, a far more deadly ities I witnessed during that period... I can Some unionist commentators have battle were very serious. It is likely regrettable if the bicentennial year the north. This would foe to English rule and tutelage, than the superficial thinker who positively assert, and I appeal to the history seized on the concept of a fractured that the materialisation of an overt copper fastened a patent distortion of detain, if not divert imagines it possible to reconcile Irish freedom with those insidious of those times, that the Catholics had no revolt to emphasise imaginary lines of insurgent threat in Ulster during the the historical record. them, from an anempt but disastrous forms of economic subjugation - landlord tyranny, share in the disturbance of that period, at The Connolly Association demarcation between the north and first hours and days of the Rebellion, to retake the capital from capitalist fraud and unclean usury... least in the north of Ireland... the the rest of the country. rather than two weeks later, would the Dublin rebels. In this Ruan O'Donnell writes a 1798 Rebellion it is well known was brought celebrates the bicentenary of It is all too evident that the have prevented the march to the If you remove the English army tomorrow and hoist the green respect the role of the diary column for the Irish Times and about by the United Irishmen, who were Rebellion did not follow the plan laid south of the Reay Highlanders flag over Dublin Castle, unless you set about the organisation of the Ulstermen mirrored that is the author of The. Rebellion in Socialist Republic your efforts would be in vain. none of them Catholics..." the United Irish rebellion down by the United Irish leadership and Durham Fencibles. As Wicklow 1798 (Irish Academic Press) England would still rule you. She would rule you through her By 1797 large numbers of soldiers had Saturday October 10th, from 3pm, Douglas Hyde room, < capitalists, through her landlords, through her financiers, through been persuaded by the arguments of the the whole array of commercial and individual institutions she has United Irish movement and taken the Public Lecture any have asked why it was Ballynahinch, Antrim and Ballymena planted in this country and watered with the tears of our mothers Oath. However, Lt. St Leger first comes to .that The Big Cross was the with approximately half a million and the blood of our martyrs. England would still rule you to your notice in a correspondence which contains only battle to take place in members spread across Ulster, ruin, even while your lips offered hypocritical homage at the shrine complaints about his behaviour in a , Munster during 1798 The battle of The Big Cross Leinster and Munster. of that Freedom whose cause you had betrayed. the Reynolds Inne. rebellion. It is often forgot- Our Cork correspondent Jim Savage examines how the repression which followed The battle of The Big Cross was not Nationalism without socialism - without a reorganisation of He is alleged to have 'behaved in a most ten that following the a futile gesture, even though the batde society on the basis of a broader and more developed form of that ungentlemai.ly manner' while drunk, ver- abortivMe Bantry Bay invasion by the the abortive Bantry Bay invasion of 1796 impacted on the *98 rebellion in Munster was lost - at the time of the United common property which underlay the social structure of Ancient bally abusing 'the King, the Dukes of York French fleet in 17% led by admiral Irish uprisiifg the authorities believed Erin - is only national recreancy. It would be tantamount to a pub- and Clarence, the Royal Family, Mr. Pitt, Hoche and Wolfe Tone himself, the were "obliged to burn houses". Again men under Sir Hugh O'Reilly were military authorities in the wake of the that their fate could hang on develop- lic declaration that our oppressors had, so far, succeeded in inocu- the Judges and Jury whom he thought whole of west Cork was earmarked for according to the report "the terror was attacked by the United Irishmen battle was undoubtedly designed to ments in County Cork where thou- lating us with their perverted conceptions of justice and morality unjust in refusing justice to the Defenders special treatment by the English great and everybody fled". After three under the command of Tadhg An quell any further thoughts of uprising sands had taken the United Irish oath. that we had finally decided to accept those conceptions as our own, while they protected the Orangemen...' A authorities. weeks the troops hacl accumulated Asna O'Donnabhain who, unfortu- by United Irishmen in the Clonakilty Although it was a gamble there was no and no longer needed an alien army to force them upon us. magistrate drinking with him struck him Martial law was proclaimed early in around 800 pikes and 3,400 stands of nately, was killed at a critical stage of area. The desecrated remains of Tadhg irrationality about what happened. As a Socialist I am prepared to do all one man can do to achieve in the face and St Leger was thrown out of enings of documentary films about 1798 1798 and Sir John Moore, command- arms, described as "a significant haul the batde. An Asna's body were left outside the If the 1798 rebellion had succeeded for our motherland her rightful heritage - independence; but if the pub. ion with the London Socialist Film Co-op) ing a large company of troops, was of weapons". After the battle the local yeomanry market house for several days before and independence had been achieved you ask me to abate one jot or tide of the claims of social justice in He was to pay a high price for his care- aunch of new cSMron of essays on 1798 ordered to disarm east and west West Cork had been cowed into dragged the bodies of the dead rebels they were dumped in a part of the slob with the aid of the French, it is certain order to conciliate the privileged classes, then I must decline. less talk. His superior officer, Colonel published by the Connolly Association Carbery. This was accomplished by submission to an extent However, to Gonakilty and left them for days in known as the Crab Hole-later referred that absentee landlordism would have Such action would be neither honourable nor feasible. Let us Loftus, writing to Lord Bentinck * Bookstall violent means and the population was resistance was not totally snuffed out front of the market house, a popular to by local landlords as Croppy Park. been doomed, thus preventing the never forget that he never reaches Heaven who marches thither in Commander at Armagh, splutters: "he is a ordered to hand in their arms "rather as was proved by the uprising at The venue for buying and selling frequent- • The men of Clonakilty were part English policy of genocide which was the company of the Devil. Let us openly proclaim our faith: the disgrace to the Regiment and to the Admission £2/£l For further details, tel. 0171 916 6172 or 0171 833 3022 than be ruined". Most refused and, Big Cross where a detachment of the ed by large numbers of people. of the same United Irish movement responsible for the great starvation of logic of events is with us. Service, and I trust by this time he is dis- according to one account, the troops Westmeath militia consisting of 220 The act of terror perpetrated by the as were the Presbyterians of the 1840s.

...... x

it^L. i Page 8 Page 10 Irish Democrat October 1998 Book Reviews Bartlett's book allows us to discov- fellow IRA volunteers and formed Page 9 er who Tone was and what he thought. many strong friendships. Brave and Tone: the man and Through this collection, at long last, uncompromising, there was in his he is able to speak to a new audience. nature a continual tug-of-war between state of vitality. To be in Boylan you REVIEWS IN BRIEF Previous studies did not have the sensualism and asceticism. have to be dead! the revolutionary scope and wealth of information of English gives much of his attention Referencing Ireland The Oxford Companion to Irish this book and weren't capable of to O'Malley's bohemian post-Civil History is equally as enticing and Enda Finlay reviews encapsulating such a huge figure. War existence: several years spent in David Granville reviews informative. Its 1,800 or so cross- Tone's journals show how com- America and Mexico followed by life A Dictionary of Irish referenced entries, the combined The Life of Theobald Wolfe pletely devoted he was to his political divided between Mayo and Dublin, work of one general editor, four Tone, edited by Thomas ideals. They also describe a father and the friendships with artists and writers Biography, Henry advisory editors and 86 specialist husband who dearly missed his wife and the protracted break-up of his contributors, covers subjects as Bartlett, The Lilliput and family during their numerous marriage to an American sculptor. Boylan (ed.), Gill and diverse as contraception, the Irish periods of forced separation, this is KrnieO Mallev He remained a committed republi- Macmillan, £19.99 hbk Hospitals Sweepstake, the Belfast Press, £20 pbk particularly noticeable in his can, and in the preface English states Harp Festival of 1792 and Peadar IKMnklkvtual Theobald Wolfe Tone is undoubtedly French journals. his intention to explore militant and The Oxford O'Donnell. A number of maps and a useful subject index are also included. one of the most important and iconic His early journals reveal the republicanism through the life of this Companion to Irish figures in . Each young Tone as a great socialiser and "charismatic and significant individ- Although it is perhaps inevitable in year thousands travel to Bodenstown wit, and one who was frequently the ual". This is where English comes History, S.J. Connolly a work which relies on such a diverse to pay homage to the man frequently worse for wear in the morning. The unstuck. He claims that "Republican pool of academic scholarship that described as the 'father of Irish repub- evolution of his political thought ideology... defined Irishness in a way (ed.), Oxford, £25 hbk some entries appear less satisfactory licanism'. What puzzles me is that for and his republicanism over time is Another man's which effectively excluded most than others this should not act as a such a huge political figure this book, what we learn from the journals and Protestants". This is patendy wrong: For those among us who either take deterrent to further exploration of this edited by Professor Bartlett, is the his collected writings, which form part republicanism the foundations of republican ideology delight from embarking on a random remarkable book. only complete collection of Tone's of this book. were laid by Irish Protestants, many of journey through a well presented and Equally,- while some more eagle- writings and diaries since 1826, when Tone's contemporaneous notes get Sally Richardson reviews them for Belfast. He says: "The fact erudite work of reference, or who eyed, and undoubtedly better quali- was that Irish Protestant experience his family published an earlier work in across the pace of events, the moments Ernie O'Malley: IRA require access to such information for fied, reviewers have pointed out a America. of hope and despair. Tone's journals was interwoven with Unionist poli- professional or research purposes, the number of minor errors such as a tics". But this wasn't always so, and it publication of two new collections by Whilst many of us know Tone's for- to abolish the memory of all past dis- that record his stay in and the intellectual by Richard Covering a wide range of sub- leader Henry Joy MacCracken is list- reference to the "1992 World Cup" doesn't justify unionism, any more mulation "To subvert the tyranny of sensions, and to substitute the com- Ban try Bay expedition are laced with Oxford and Gill and Macmillan will jects, ranging from the dissenting cler- ed, there's no place for his sister Mary these appear to be few and far between. English, Clarendon Press than the interweaving of white South our execrable government, to break mon name of Irishman in place of the sadness and despair. be extremely welcome. gyman John Abernethy (1680-1740) Ann MacCracken. Overall, the Companion fulfils the African experience with apartheid jus- While not one of the best books on the the connection with England, the denominations of Protestant, Catholic This book is an indispensable col- The third edition of Henry through to Zozimus the pen name of For readers who are a tad peeved at objective set out by the editor's in the (Oxford), £25 hbk tifies that other racist obscenity. rebellion, The Year of Liberty: the never-failing source of all our political and Dissenter - these were my lection that sheds light not only on the Boylan's A Dictionary of Irish the Nineteenth Century balladeer not having a few paragraphs alongside preface: "that anyone with a question Great Irish Rebellion of 1798 by Thomas evils, and to assert the independence means", most know very little about evolution of Tone's thinking but on Ernie O'Malley, IRA commandant The Free State's reactionary Biography, which includes brief sum- Michael Moran, there's plenty to about their own illustrious life sitting to ask about a significant individual, Packenham and abridged by Tony of my country - these were my objects. Tone's life, what sort of person he was the United Irish movement itself, and and author of lyrical memoirs of the Catholicism was not what revolution- maries of the lives and achievements interest all types of reader - although alongside the likes of James Connolly, event or institution in the Irish past Buchan, (Weidenfeld and Nicholson, To united the whole people of Ireland, and how he came to such a conclusion. how it set about the 1798 rebellion. Tan War and Civil War, was a talented aries like O'Malley had fought for. He, of around 1,700 prominent Irish fig- there's always room to quibble about Benjamin Lee Guinness or Samuel should be able to search here with a £14.99 hbk) is almost certainly one of and contradictory figure whose life and others like him, did not fit into ures living between 400 AD and the the inclusion or omission of this or Beckett be sure that comfort is at reasonable prospect of finding at least the most lavishly illustrated. Some of O'Toole's arguments are merits a full-length re-examination the repressive twenty-six-county state. present day, is the cumulative result of that figure. It's certainly disappointing hand. Your non-appearance may sim- the beginnings of an answer". You Much important research has been both specious and pernicious. For and appraisal. English is adept at analysing the char- years of painstaking research. to find that while the United Irish ply be an affirmation of your current can't say feirer than that. carried out by a new generation of example, he asserts that "it is now Richard English's new biography acter of this admirable and fascinating historians since the book was original- obvious, however tacitly, that Irish reinforces the impression given in man, but it's a pity that he misunder- HIDDEN ly published unabridged in 1969, society no longer treats the death of an O'Malley's own writings of a man who stands the broad nature of the Irish exposing Packenham's over-reliance abandoned infant as a crime requiring was a loner in many ways, who yet had republican cause O'Malley believed in on pro-government sources. Yet, prosecution and punishment". AGENDAS a deep sense of comradeship with his so passionately. Eddie Mulligan reviews despite the inevitable distortions, this Those who dissent are reviled: Andrew Bryson's Ordeal: book contains a good basic outline of ' "Instinctively anyone who is not a events. However, it should be read in complete crank knows ihat morality Cartoonists draw the line An Epilogue to the 1798 conjunction with one or more of the and respect for Hie law are enhanced many excellent new studies of 1798 rather than undermined by merciful Drawing Conclusions: A cartoon history of Anglo-Irish Rebellion, Michael Durey currently available. compassion that is now shown to relations 1798-1998 by Roy Douglas, Liam Harte and women in these circumstances." (ed.), Cork University xs Rebellion: A Television history of 1798 Astonishingly, he mentions no Jim O'Hara, Blackstaff Press, £14.99 pbk Press, £8.95 pbk edited by Thomas Bartlett, Kevin requirement for extenuating circum- r*»» Dawson and Daire Keogh, (Gill and stances, like "post-natal depression", Poignant, acerbic, witty, subversive, by brief accounts of each historical Part of Cork University Press's Irish Macmillan, £12.99pbk) is an excellent for infanticide. vicious or blatantly racist, the political period. The cartoon pictured below is Narratives series, this book tells the AndrewBiyjo.i 'r>!t a! 'popular account.' Published to Does his 'more civilised' society cartoon remains a powerful weapon in taken from a 1971 edition of the Voices of Irish freedom personal story of one Andrew Bryson, ''.titpitut'ii' >I!I< . " .'fir coincide with a major RTE series on condone violation of the most basic the armoury of the propagandist on all monthly republican newspaper the the son of a Presbyterian lease holder the rebellion broadcast earlier this right, the right to life, (Article 40.2 of sides. The idea therefore of analysing Unite^ Irishman. It depicts a deranged Declan O'Brien reviews Ireland Free: revolutionary poems and prominent United Irishman in < year, the book places the events of Anglo-Irish relations over the last 200 looking Irish Taoiseach, Liam Co. Down. 1798 into historical context and is the Bunreacht na hEireann/ and speeches of Ireland, read by Michael MacLiammoir, IRISH ' Constitution of Ireland) of its most Imperialism years using the medium of the politi- Cosgrave, about to light a bomb, dis- Although apparendy not involved .... accessible, well-illustrated and intelli- vulnerable citizens? Why protect cal cartoon is nothing short of ground- playing references to a number of Outlet Records PTICD2004 and Patriotic Voices of in any significant action he was never- gently written. State in flux inconvenient children, let alone foe- breaking. Drawing Conclusions con- security controversies, with an 'Anglo- theless given the rank of colonel in the was hospitalised upon his arrival at unmasked Hie Uniforms Of 1798-1803 by F. Glenn tuses, say, when parents wish to go tains over 250 cartoons taken from friendly match'. The cartoon includes Ireland read by Gearoid MacLachlainn, Derry Records rebel forces. After a short period of their destination. Ruairi O Domhnaill Thompson (Four Courts Press, £9.95 their own way, say, to sample the Hidden Agendas by John British, Irish, European and American the useful and ever-timely reminder hiding he was captured, forcibly Bryson experiences are set out in a IRB1803CD (both recordings are available in CD and pbk) is probably unique in that the reviews The Lie of the 'night-life'? sources. Each illustration is accompa- that English policy inevitably rests on enlisted into the English regular army letter to his sister but end with his Pilger, Vintage, £8.99 pbk author's painstaking research and nied by an explanation of its historical self-interest, "a fact that Irish politi- cassette formats) and sent to the West Indies. arrival in America where some mem- Land: Irish Identities It should come as no surprise that attention to detail have resulted in a context with further depth provided cians ignore at their peril". DG This small volume gives Bryson's bers of his family already resided. the Gaels' antipathy has its roots dqgp This is an outstanding book, which comprehensive collection of illustra- The statement from the Dock of the words of Emmet, Pearse, Connolly own hand-written account of his Unfortunately the mystery surround- by Fintan O'Toole. Verso, in our psyche, from our pre-Christian addresses the malignancy and hypo- tions depicting all forces and regi- Irish revolutionary, poet and United and Yeats with a series of moving and forced march through Ireland stop- ing his fete thereafter remains unre- traditions. Certainly my generation crisy of UK and US Governments and ments involved in both the 1798 and £10 pbk and Nature Irishman Robert Emmett rightly highly enjoyable renditions. ping at various prisons along the way solved. was not encouraged to ask challenging their clients. As its cover notes 1803 rebellions. While the detail of the remains one of the touchstones of Unfortunately much of the materi- to Waterford and the period on board In Ireland: a scientific questions which science provoke. suggest, Pilger unravels the hidden The real value of this work is the uniforms, weapons etc. are undoubt- Irish republicanism. The speech was al is the same on Ireland Free, with a ship, bound for the Caribbean. He In my family, the younger genera- histories of contemporary events. contemporaneous account of events edly as accurate as existing knowledge made after he was sentenced to be notable exceptions being the Aims of gives a vivid account of the cruelty and cultural history, tion have taken to science with relish If I have any criticism, it is this now so distant in history. It is so much allows, Thompson is clearly more at hanged and beheaded for his part the the United Irishmen, Wolfe Tone's meted out to both the enlisted men with an astronomer, a biologist who is sheer range. With an abundance of more satisfying to read the words of home drawing artifacts than human John Wilson Foster & abortive rebellion of 1803. address the military court and James and crew during their voyage and the also a haematologist, a psychologist, a evil, there is no shortage of material, one who participated in the historical figures. Helena C.G. Chesney computer scientist and a civil engi- and the author's integrity and abilities When Emmet's words are deliv- Connolly's The Irish Flag. Indeed, effect upon his own health, which events of a nation than some historian neer. But, I still have to cope with two should find readers, had he written ered by one of Ireland's greatest actors seven items (eight if you include the deteriorated to such an extent that he centuries after the event. In Wfcklown General Joseph (Eds), Lilliput Press, professional artists, and a philosopher this in two or three volumes. in the shape of Michael MacLiammoir two different versions of Emmet's Holt's personal account of 1798 edited (Ireland Free: revolutionary poems and speech from the dock) appear on both £20.00, pbk opposed to work. Our best-qualified His exposition of the great hunger, by Peter O'Shaughnessy (Four Courts scientists are the product of an makes poignant reading, and his speeches of Ireland) one cannot feil to be recordings, around half the total num- Press, £9.95 pbk) provides a fascinat- touched by the calibre, albeit in very ber included on each disc. Tone and co's roman-a-clef The only favourable feature of English education, unfortunately. denunciation of revisionism in Irish ing account of a man who appears, on Nature in Ireland affords an unusual history befits a man whose great-great- different forms, of both men. While the spoken style of the surface at least, to have thrown in O'Toole's book is the pun in the title. Sally Richardson reviews Belmont Castle or, Suffering The Lie of the Land is a triumph of perspectives on our past. Brendan grandfather was a convict, transported This splendid collection, in which MacLachlainn and MacLiammoir is his lot with the rebels largely for per- pre-Thatcher Thatcherism, where McWilliams' essay on meteorology in leg-irons from Cork to Sydney. each item is introduced as well as spo- clearly different it is hard to justify Sensibility by Theobald Wolfe Tone & divers hands, sonal reasons, following the burning greed is good: where sex, drugs, rock and Eoin Neeson on woodlands are Better a Cork convict than a Seoinin! ken by MacLiammoir, also includes this duplication, particularly as there of his family home. and roll and 'cow plop' contests van- particularly excellent and peculiarly Pilger's television programme Pearse's stirring oration at the funeral is no shortage of material which could Marion Deane (ed.), Lilliput Press, £7.99 pbk Holt, a Protestant and reasonably quish the old order of the "Irish Gaelic. The former cites a number of Apartheid is Dead: Long Lwe Apartheid of the Fenian O'Donovan Rossa, the have been included - even if this In 1790 Theobald Wolfe Tone and his (about half the novel) is head-and- well-off tenant farmer, rose to the Church" and Fianna Fail - but con- folk guides to Irish weather, which are was denounced in The Guardian, for proclamation of the Irish Republic would have required the use of a third fellow law-students Richard Jebb and shoulders above that of his fellow position of general in the United Irish spicuously, not Fine Gael. sufficiently enchanting to overcome being "light on solutions and heavy on and a selection of poems in both actor's voice. John Radcliffe published this enter- authors' and displays the grace and forces after the main Wexford battles. English and Irish by W.B Yeats (Mise While Connolly justly excoriated my prejudice to the bastardised 'clo critique". So is this book, but, this The unfortunate result is that, if taining parody of the romantic and humour we are accustomed to reading Along with fellow leaders such as Eirell am Ireland, Easter 1916, Red the Church for its exploitation and Romanach'. However, he undermines author performs a humanitarian forced to choose between the two sentimental novels of the time. In her in his diaries. Michael Dwyer he successfully waged Hanrahan's Song About Ireland, On A betrayal of the native Irish people, he science in his account of *Oiche na service by exposing abuses, and tacidy collections, it would be difficult not to excellent introduction Marion Deane It's all great fun. But beneath a guerrilla war against the authorities Political Prisoner, The Rose Tree) and left us infinitely more than 'tabloid Gaoithe Moire'. It seems that challenging us to find solutions. Roger select the one featuring the magnifi- unravels the novel's background: most Tone's self-mockery and wit there long after the rebellion had been Padraig Pearse (The Fool, The Rebel, journalism', with its preoccupation Freemasons were held responsible for Casement performed a similar cent delivery of Michael Mac- of the characters are thinly disguised lurks a feeling of grievance, and we quashed. He eventually surrendered Renunciation/Fornocht Do Chonac Thu). with the squalor of corrupt politicians an ghaoth mhor. With such congenital function, but let us hope that John Liammoir, despite the absence of portraits of prominent members of the sense the pain the Eliza business and was transported to Australia, and sexual proclivities of a minority of sagacity, we don't need the scientific Pilger is not tarnished with a knight- Although unable to match the anything in this particular selection Anglo-Irish establishment. Tone's caused him. returning to Ireland some years later. the clergy. method. hood. JR. O®. -WHOM THE GODS DESTROY THEY FIRST MAKE MAO interpretative heights of Mac- by Connolly. own problematic relationship with/a Radcliffc and Jebb went on to be O'Shaughnessy fills in the gaps and Liammoir, Gearoid MacLachlainn Free catalogue available from Outlet married woman, Eliza Martin, is-also prosperous and successful establish- inconsistencies of Holt's account pro- makes a creditable effort on Patriotic Recording Company Ltd, IS 121 Gordon depicted in the novel. ment figures. But it is Tone we admire viding valuable additional narrative Voices of Ireland, breathing life into the Street, Belfast BT1 2LG The quality of Tone's writing and remember. detail, notes and appendices. Irish Democrat October 1998 Page 11 Page 10 Irish Democrat October 1998 Irish songs Peter Mulligan's Peepshow Reviews On the English and thoughts of tomorrow. For the beggars there is the Bastille, and the others sumerist package. Hiberr.icism, linked to chauvinistic Billy Byrne Ballymanus At the month o' the Foyle, bade well to the soil, go to jail. Secrets and lies At the same time he is carrying a imperialism. ICAH-OkM, As down below decks we were lying. Courier's tale A conducted tour around Wicklow Jail informs the visitor Chorus For 'our* eyes only - The Government top-secret package for the IRA and is McCabe sees the magnanimous Seamus O Cionnfhaolaidh who occupied the cells in 1798. There are also exhibits O'Doherty screamed, woken out of a dream, has announced that certain documents aware that he is being tracked bv the Eddie xWulligan reviews and compassionate Pearse through about transportation to Tasmania. A young actor dressed By a vision of bold Robert dying. Now to conclude my hunting song, I hope you will relating to Ministry of Defence activi- British Special Branch and their spies. some kind ot distorting glasses. He is An Sagart sanntach as Billy Byrne talks to the visitors. Byrne was allowed the The Sun burned cruel, as we dished out the gruel, agree, ties in Ireland will not be open to The tact that he is unsure who to trust incapable of appreciating the ethos of Dan O'Connor was down with a fever. The poor men they are starving while the rich will Anger's Violin by David M The Greedy Priest freedom of the jail before his execution. Here is one of the pubic scrutiny after the customary 30 and that unexpected events keep the man who set out to free the songs written about him. Sixty rebels to-day, bound for Botany Bay, have their spree; year period. The 1972 MOD file on Thomas, Mount Eagle changing his plans helps to build up Untouchables of Ireland, to raise them Bhi fear deirce( 1) ag siul an bhothair la, How many will reach their receiver? And to complain it is a crime, so poor you must Kenneth Littlejohn, the MI5 agent the sense ot both personal and politi- from the serfdom to which they had agus thainig se go dti ceartha(2) an Publications, £7.99 pbk Come on you local heroes, pay attention to my remain, who infiltrated the IRA and acted as cal intrigue. been condemned. Ghabha, agus chuaidh se isteach. song, Chorus: The parson says, 'Contented be, and you will an agent provocateur, will remain The author is from a working class Connolly's reference to the "red Ni raibh aoinne istig ach an Gabha Its of a mournful circumstance - it will not keep Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh I wish I was back home in Derry heaven gain'. secret. When Littlejohn's backers background and was involved in the wine of millions of lives" should, of agus a chairde, agus bhiodar ag tracht ar you long; Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh I wish I was back home in Derry refused to support him, he went pub- 1984-85 miner's strike. He went on to course, be construed as describing the an Sagart paroiste agus da ra gurb e an Concerning Billy Byrne, of feme and high renown, lic. There have been suspicions that be educated at universities in England, cosmic genocides organised by the fear ba shantai in Eirinn e, agus go Who was tried and hanged in Wicklow as a traitor I cursed them to Hell, as her bow fought the swell, the secret service may have had a role Italy and France and his socialist poli- marauding imperialists when they This Land is Your Land gcuirfeadh se an ruaig ar aon fhear no to the Crown. Our ship danced like motion the firelight. in his death. War Office reports on tics shine through the work, This drove the enslaved nations of the earth bean deirce a thagadh chun an doiris White horses rode high as the devil passed by, This song was triggered by Irvine Berlin's song called their activities in Ireland during the novel is a cut above the normal dross into the killing fields, time after time, chuige. In the year of ^8, my boys, we had reason for to Taking souls to Hades by twilight Xiod Bless America', in which everything was supposed to 1914-1922 period will remain closed. that passes for paperback fiction in to defend their oppressors. But Pe sceal e, chuir an fear deirce geall complain Five weeks out to sea, we were now forty-three, be all right because God was in the driving seat. Guthrie (Document reference: Irish Situation this country. Highly recommended. McCabe adroitly misapplies the quota- Our comrades we buried each morning. (3) leo, se sin go bhfaigheadh se fein We lost our chief commander - Billy Byrne was his with his sympathy for the poor and dispossessed was infu- 1914-22, Raid and Search reports tion for his own ends. In our own slime, we were lost in a time, deirc a fhail on Sagart, agus d'imigh se name, riated by hearing Berlin's song everywhere he travelled. W03S/86B) Pearse had the logical intention of Endless night without dawning. leis agus bhuail se cnag ar dhoras an He was taken in Dublin city and brought off to There are a number of versions of the Woody Guthrie sparing Ireland from these bloodlet- tSagairt, agus thainig an cailin aimsire song. Guthrie had a strong influence on , Wicklow Jail, Chorus state assassins - "The tone of these The poems of ting international orgies. Breakfast amach feach ce a bhi' ag an n-doras. Sea And our great misfortune, for him they'd take no who was equally concerned with social evils. You will find remarks (Tony Blair's comment on It must be the famous and much Pearse arsa si, "cad ata uait?" bail. Van Dieman's land is a hell for a man, Guthrie's The Plane Crash at Gatos (about the fruit using the SAS in Ireland) can be twist- misused 'objectivity' which leads with McCabe "Taim ag lorg an Sagart", arsa an To end his whole life in slavery. pickers), and Sacco and Vanzetti, in his sotigbook. ed into meaning that the special forces Marie McGuinn reviews McCabe to recognise the victim as the fear deirce. "Imigh leat as san no cuir- When he was taken prisoner, the lot against him Where the climate is raw and the gun makes the are, as The Observer chose to describe aggressor. This distorted vision sees Enda Finlay reviews fidh me na madrai asat", arsa an cailin swore, law, This Land is your Land and this land is my land them, 'state assassins' in Northern the Jews entering the gas chambers as Rogha Danta by Padraic Breakfast on Pluto, aimsire leis. That he a captain's title upon Mountpleasant bore. Neither wind nor rain cares for bravery. From the California to the New York Islands' Ireland. This is not what the Prime the racists, Caractacus as the torturer, "Ni imeoidh me!arsa an fear deirce, Before the King's grand army his men he did Twept" years have gone and I've ended my bond, From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream Minster intended - any more than he Pearse, New Island Books, Anne Frank and Padraic Pearse as Patrick McCabe, Picador, "ta se uaim labhairt leis an Sagart". review, And t he comrades ghosts were behind me. waters. intended to imply any criticism of the David M Thomas's first novel is writ- Gestapo. McCabe is really insulting A rebel I came and I'll die the same, £4.95 pbk Chuala an Sagart ag arg6int iad agus And with a train of cannons he marched on This land was made for you and me. US." Times editorial ten with pace and is packed with our intelligence and treating us as £15.99 hbk One the cold winds of night you will find me. thainig go dti an doras, agus chuir si Carrigroe. . 6 action and suspense. It is a pity that this inspiring book of idiots if he expects us to receive grate- Patrick McCabe must be on of the ceist ar an bhfear cad a bhf uaidh. Chord!; As I went a walking, that ribbon of highway, - "The cost to The leading character, I hesitate to poetry in the Irish language has been fully this blatant putting of the jack- most important Irish writers of the last "Tf, arsa an fear leis, "t£ eolas uaim The day his trial it came on, the perjurers came in; And saw above me The endless skyway, the British taxpayer is £3m in criminal call him a hero, is beset with problems damaged by the introduction written boot on the other foot. He is offering 10 years. With his novels he has ar cad a dheanfainn le mala airgid da There was Dixon, Matthew Davis, likewise Biddy ©C. Moore/Bardis And saw below me that golden valley, I said, damage. The Office of the Secretary of on both personal and professional lev- by Eugene McCabe a colleague of us the ultimate in distorted vision. depicted a nightmarish and macabre bhfaighinn ar an mbothar 6". Doolan, This land is made for you and me. State for Northern Ireland disclosed els. A courier on a coach tour across Ruth Dudley Edwards. Both have the rural Ireland. Sometimes his writing As for accusing Pearse of glorifica- "6 tar isteach", arsa an Sagart leis And then they did not scruple Jiis heart's blood to that the cost did not account for the Europe, he provides tourists with the same agenda. tion of violence, let us remember all reminds the reader of the more comi- agus bfodh greim le nithe agat. Shuidh spill, I roamed and rambled, deaths of three children in a petrol standard superficial patter about the cal episodes of Twin Peaks, but there Indeed the writer of the introduc- the recurring films of British propa- an fear deirce ag an mbord, mar cheap Who never injured any one, nor any man did kill, To the sparkling sand of her diamond deserts bomb attack. Neither did the figure the similarity ends, for McCabe writes New hunting song places of interest while resenting the tion supports my theory by writing a ganda, glorifying England's unending an Sagart go raibh se tar-eis mala airgid And all around me, a voice was sounding, include the cost of police overtime or fact that he is unable to give them the wars, the hero worship of her own war within a distinctly Irish context - the flattering compliment to Ruth's a fhaghail ar an mb6thar, ach an fhaid When those traitors did appear, those words they Looking for a song about Fergus O'Connor and the This land was made for you and me. injuries to police and civilians." The real history of the towns and cities "objectivity", which is as non-existent criminals who have covered the world Irish border. agus a bhi an Sagart imighe amach as an did explain; Chartists I came across two, and chose this one because it Independent (NB Excludes the cost of because such information is deemed in blood and whose iron statues stand as his own. In the folklore of the revi- Breakfast on Pluto seem like a more se6mra, chuaidh an fear dlirce go dti an They swore he worked the cannon on Arklow's was the most satirical. (G.Curran) There was a high wall, that tried to stop me, maintaining 16,000 British troops.) too political and not part of the con- sionists, objectivity means anti- all around London. adult version of The Butcher Boy. bhfuineoig agus bhf se ag croch an plata bloody plain; A sign was painted said: Private Property, Where the latter described the forma- mhor bia amach sa bhfuinneoig chun They swore he worked the cannon and headed the All you that are low spirited, I think it won't be But on the back side, it didn't say nothing Transformation - "He does know there tive years of Francis Brady, the former go bhfeicfeadh an Gabha agus a chairde pikemen, wrong This land was made for you and me? has to be change in this situation: the depicts the life and times of Patrick 6, mar bhi an cedrtha treasna an And near the town of Gory three Orangemen did To sing to you a verse or two of my new hunting, .^jj r_ • .i question is how much change. We're A musical antidote to the summertime blues Braden. And what an exceptionally bhothair o thig an tSagairt. kill. song; When the sun was shining then I was strolling talking about a British Prime strange tale it is. David Granville sampled the Celtic delights at this year's Cambridge Folk Festival Nuair a thainig an Sagart ar ais, bhi For hunting is in season, the sport has just begun, In the wheat fields waving, and dust clouds rolling Minister, whether he ever says it or Patrick's father turns out to be the se an-chiirdiuil leis an bhfear deirce, Where are you Matthew Davis, or why won't you And heroes will have their fun with their fine dog The voice was chanting as the fog was lifting: not, being prepared to bring about an During a summer when the British set comprising traditional jigs, reels The all female Irish-American local priest, his mother left him with agus d'iarfhaidh se dhe ca bhfuair se an come, and gun. This land was made for you and me. entirely new relationship between weather conspired to put a literal and airs amply highlighting both the Cherish the Ladies arrived in another family to be raised, and t-airgead agus bhf si ag tabhairt To prosecute poor Byrne than now lies in these two islands based upon mutual 'dampener' on most forms of outdoor band's individual and ensemble musi- Cambridge in the wake of a string of Patrick earns the nickname Pussy, comhairle dho, ma bhf se aige, e a thab- Rathdrum? Chorus: One bright sunny morning in the shadow of the independence and respect. From our pleasure the 34th Cambridge Folk cal strengths. Hardly surprising, given successful performances throughout because he has a penchant for wearing point of view we're talking about max- hairt do fein (an Sagart) agus go dtab- The devil has him chained fast, repenting for his Oh, a-hunting we will go, my boys, a hunting we steeple Festival appeared to slip effortlessly that Sharon Shannon band member Europe and rave reviews for their lat- make-up and stealing and wearing imum change, we're talking about a harfadh se aire do. "O a athair", arsa an sins, will go, We'll lay out schemes and try all means to By the relief office I saw my people- under the weather readers' radar. Donagh Hennessy (guitar) ex- est album Threads of Time (see ID Mrs O'Hare's smalls. Obviously keep the poor man low total transformation". Gerry Adams in fear deirce leis, "ni bhfuair me aon In lakes of fire and brimstone, with sulphur to his As they stood there hungry, True, there wasn't a surfeit of sun- Waterboy Trevor Hutchinson (double July/August). Yet, despite delivering a Patrick will not stay in the small bor- the Independent on Sunday. airgead ag dul amu, ach da bhfaighinn, chin. I stood there wondering if shine, but the rain kept off and the bass), Capercaillie's Mike pleasant and highly polished set, a suc- der town of Tyreelin for long, and with bhf me ag lorg eolas uait ar cad a dhean- It's one of our brave huntsmen, my song I will This land was made to you and me. Craic was furious in both the main McGoldrick (flutes, uillean pipes) and cessful blend of high quality musician- the onset of , he is off to fainn leis". When the devil saw him coming, he sang a merry commence, Pernicious laws - "We have had a suc- music tents, with strong representa- John McSherry (uillean pipes and ship based on traditional Irish and London to seek his fortune and find song, Brave Bonaparte I will begin, he was a man of sense ^ ©Ludlow Music inc cession of tough laws and tough laws whistles) make up contemporary musical styles, they "0, a bhacaigh bhuf," arsa an Sagart tion from the many-faceted Celtic his mother. From Corsica he set oft to hunt upon a chance, and tough laws and the horror has the rest of the failed, for me at least, to ignite the pas- leis, "agus mise a cheapa go raibh airgead Saying: 'Welcome Matthew Davis, what kept you so music scene. Sadly Patrick ends up plying his He hunted until he became emperor off France. increased and increased and line up. sions on this occasion. faighte agat, sin e an chuis gur thug me long? Newfoundland-born Martyn trade in Piccadilly and enduring some increased". Mr McNamara, said he beile bf dhuit a bhithiunaigh. Cuir dfot Where is that traitor Dixon, to the Crown so loyal Chorus Bennett and Cuillin Music got pro- Scottish acts were also well repre- rough times. He gets caught up in a fouR provinces was particularly angry that the legisla- amach an doras go mear, agus na feicim and true? ceedings off to a flying start on the sented with the ever popular pub bombing near and ends up Now Wellington at Waterloo, he had the best of tion would remove the citizen's right ag mo dhoras chaoithe aris thu". And I've a warm corner for cursed Biddy Doolan opening night with an energising Capercaillie, high energy Celtic rock- in prison accused of being one of the luck, of silence and suggested that it would Dimigh an fear diirce leis thar-ais too.' mish Bookshop blend of traditional music and techno ers Wolfestone and traditional ringleaders before they realise they He hunted from a lieutenant till he became a duke; leave Britain in breach of the go dti an cheartha, agus fuair se an geall dance rhythms. Although the set Scottish folkies Deaf Shepherd all of have the wrong person. But men that did fightwell for him, and did him 244 Gray's Inn Road European Convention on Human a bhi ag dul do. "Well!" area an Gabha God rest then Billy Byrne may his name for ever v would undoubtedly have displeased whom produced quality performances. Breakfast on Pluto is another slice of honours gain London WC1X 8JR Rights. "I don't believe that it's the leis, "ta buaite agat (4), mar cheapamar shine, traditionalists, many seemed pleasant- The -born Eddi Reader also McCabe's particular take on small- He tried his very best to have their pensions ta'en. right way of dealing with this particu- ni raibh aoinne indan deirc(5) a Through Italy, France and Flanders, and all along Tel. 0171 833 3022 ly surprised by the results of this rose to the occasion, demonstrating town Ireland, and his unlikely lar matter, but I believe there are more the Rhine; Chorus unlikely cross-over. her talents as a vocalist, songwriter protagonist is a very welcome addition fhaghail on Sagart Paroiste sin". important questions of principle May the Lord have mercy on him and all men as •A The presence of Donal Lunny and inspired interpreter of other peo- to the characters of contemporary John Frost in Wales a hunting went, and well knew involved." Kevin McNamara MP, Notes: (1) the beggar man (2) forge (3) bet (4) you he, For the very best in books: (pictured), arguably the most ple's material. Irish fiction. speaking to BBC Radio. are the limit (5) charity Who stood upright for Ireland's right and for her how to ride, important figure on the Irish music history, politics, But, for me, the best came in the liberty! He had a fine bred Chartist horse, and got on the scene, provided one of the shape of Dougie Maclean, who has wrong side, literature, Irish language Last Word strongest reasons for attending rightly won a reputation as one of If he had held the reigns quite firm in his own Cambridge this year. There were to the country's most gifted singer Join the Back home in Derry hand, Also: Music and 66Before God and my country be no disappointments. Fronting a songwriters. Songs from his latest They'd ne'er have hunted him into Van Dieman's language cassette tapes I speak of what I myself have seen. star quality nine-piece band featur- recording Riof featured heavily 's talents as a poet and songwriter are well land. I have seen in Ireland the most absurd ing, among others, the highly in his two sets. Connolly Association illustrated in this song. As well as being influenced by Irish as well as the most disgusting tyranny Chorus acclaimed accordionist Sharon Another Scottish connection writing Sands also used some of the techniques of Kipling. Open 11am to 4 pm that any nation ever groaned under. The Connolly Association is the oldest Irish campaigning organi- I have seen troops sent full of this Shannon, fiddle player Nollaig in the form of the There is also a strong influence from Wilde's Ballad of O'Connor round the country, a hunting he did go, sation in Britain. Membership costs £10 per year - or £12 for a Tuesday to Saturday prejudice, that every inhabitant of that Casey, Lunasa's John McSherry Newfoundland fiddle player Reading JaiL The song has been performed by many With meetings called in every town to tell the truth joint membership, (£6 joint unwaged) and £5 for individual kingdom is a.rebel to the British (uillean pipes and low whistle) and Natalie MacMaster also gener- prominent singers, including Christy Moore, and also you know; students, unemployed and pensioners. Membership includes a Government. The most wanton sean-nos singer Maighread Ni ated enormous excitement with appears on Rob Greene and Andrew O'Brien's 1798 - The tyrants tried to keep him down but that was all Mail order and catalogue free subscription to the Irish Democrat. insults, the most cowardly oppression Dhomhnaill, Lunny and co. con- two stunning performances during Words and Music by, recorded at the Bridge Tavern in vain: available on request practiced upon men of all ranks and spired to deliver two of the weekend's which she demonstrated prodigious May 11-15,1998. The people swear they'll back him up and have conditions, in a part of the country as finest performances. Only the tone musical talent and the remarkable Name.... their rights again. i free from disturbances as the City of deaf could have failed to be inspired ability of being able to sing, play and In 1803 we sailed out to sea, 1999 Address. Chorus London. Thirty houses are sometimes by the mixture of driving, rhythmic tap dance all at the same time without Out from the sweet town of Derry. 'Beautiful Ireland' calendars burned in a single night, but from exuberance and sheer musical virtuos- appearing gimmicky! For Australia boQnd if we didn't all drown, They're hunting up the beggars through the Postcode prudential motives I wish to draw a ity. With so much to stimulate and The marks of our fetters we carried. country every day, now available, price £3 1/We enclose the membership subscription of £ veil over more aggravated facts. J J Traditional music band Lunasa, delight perhaps it really did pour In the rusty iron chains, we cried for our wains, The hawkers, if they do not all a heavy licence pay; (£3.60 by post inc. p&p) led by fiddle player Sean Smith, down all weekend after all and we were and a donation of £ towards the CA's campaigning Our good women we left in sorrow. They won't allow the poor to beg, its against the law - Lord Moirts speaking in the proved to be another big hit with the just all enjoying ourselves too much to Return to: CA, 244 Grays Inn Road, London WC1X 8JR As the main«iil« unfurled, our curses we hurled, to steal British JHouse of Lords In 1798 Cambridge crowd. Their enervating notice. IrisIi Oemoctuc

Anonn Is Anall: The Peter Berresford Ellis Column Reflecting on interesting times Irish Democrat columnist Peter Berresford Ellis looks back at some of his first direct experiences of political life in the six counties as seen through the eyes of a jobbing journalist (pictured, second left)

he Chinese curse expresses the wish: arming themselves with sticks and stones. 'May you live in interesting times'. We are It has been hard to convince many people that I certainly doing just. Like many others, I am talking of a period five years before the date have found myself in a period of reflec- when popular history now claims that the recent tion on the history of these last turbulent 'Troubles' started! When today's unionist try to con- decades. I also found myself recalling my vince people that during this time they ruled over a Tfirst visit to Belfast. 'peaceful' and 'democrat' corner of the UK. 'How would you like to go to Northern Ireland?' The next evening a new strike was launched asked the editor of the newspaper I was writing for. against the Falls Road. Squads comprising 350 RUC It was September, 1964, and a British general elec- men, with military helmets, flack-jackets, shields, tion was about to take place. The next month hand-guns and batons, supported by armoured cars, Harold Wilson's Labour Party would scrape into marched up the Falls Road. Over 50 civilians were office with a majority of four. hospitalised with serious injuries. Horrified by the I admit that I hesitated. Born in Coventry, attack on the Catholic population, a Dublin protest Warwickshire, I was the son of a Cork journalist, turned angry and the British embassy was stoned. was Kineu. i nere was a remote, tragic irony in tnat was and knew the 26 Counties well. I had been fed on The'West Belfast seat was won by the unionist, she was an elderly Protestant loyalist. It was only a It is a moot point whether all the blame for the Ireland's history and politics. Yet the six counties James Kilfedder with 21,337 votes; Diamond won matter of time before Catholics started to die in the violence in 1966 which preceded the decades which was strange territory for me. I had read much about 14,678, Boyd 12,571 and McMillan 3,256. Kilfedder, violence which Paisley had unleased. On May 27, followed can be laid solely at Paisley's door. Perhaps, partition, of the bigotry which kept unionism in in his victory speech, thanked Ian Paisley- without John Scullion was shot and died in Clonard Street, had he not been there, someone else might have power, the pogroms against Catholics, the lack of whose help 'it could not have been done'. In fact, all off the Falls. On June 26 three Catholics leaving a been the catalyst. Had there not have been a Hitler, civil rights, the general discrimination and vote 12 Westminster seats in the six counties went to the pub in Malvern Street were shot and one of them, would there have been a Nazi Germany? Does his- rigging. I was not enthusiastic to go there any more Unionist Party. Even Prime Minister Terence Peter Ward, was killed. 'Gusty' Spence, Robert tory rely on the personality of one evil man? Some, than I was enthusiastic to visit Franco's Spain. O'Neill, vacillating between moderation and trying Williamson and Hugh McLean were arrested and with more generous natures, could argue that However, I took the assignment. Even my back- to prove his Orange Order credentials, claimed that charged - Spence was also charged with murdering Paisley is also a victim of the situation he was born ground reading had not prepared me for the reality. 'certain republican candidates, many with back- /Scullion. Spence's brother, Bill, had actually been into. Certainly, Paisley was the immediate factor What was special about the Westminster elections grounds in the IRA' had used the general election to Kilfedder's election agent in the general election. whose actions steered the six counties into the next that year was that the republicans were contesting provoke disorder in the six counties. There was no For. some months newspapers had been receiving three decades of violence. the West Belfast seat with actually a chance of win- mention of Paisley's role in provoking the disorder. press statements from 'Captain William Johnston, Paisley even attempted an attack on the Her ning it. Only two years before, on February 26,1962, Paisley was a 'loose cannon' but the unionists chief of staff of the '. It was Majesty's Governor of Northern Ireland, Lord the IRA had declared a cessation of its armed strug- thought they could control and use him for their quite clear that the UVF had been formed by Erskine of Renick, in June, 1966. The unionist gle. So the election was a testing ground and this own political agenda. Paisley's supporters who were motivated by his calls establishment were now forced to act, at the insis- was my first introduction to six county politics. I was back again in January and February, 1965, to use violence to defend the Union and by his hys- tence of Harold Wilson. Paisley was prosecuted on There were four candidates, James Kilfedder for for the historic meeting between Taoiseach Sean terical paranoia of a unionist establishment 'sell- July 18 and went to jail for three months. It was not the unionists; Billy Boyd of the Northern Ireland Lemass and O'Neill. This was the point at which out'. It was now obvious that the UVF was to be the last time that this architect of conflict was to be Labour Party; Harry Diamond, socialist republican, the moderate unionist establishment, seeking a taken seriously. jailed. From jail, declaring himself a 'martyr', who was already a member of the Stormont parlia- Paisley called for protests. Riots broke out as his fol- ment for the Belfast (Falls), and Liam McMillan for lowers attacked the RUC on July 22 and July 23. Sinn Fein. As Boyd was likely to take some of the The July 23 riots of Paisley supporters left the cen- unionist votes from Kilfedder, it was thought that tre of Belfast with smashed shop windows, the Harry Diamond would win the seat. The republican Catholic-owned International Hotel was attacked campaign headquarters was in Divis Street on the and a betting shop on , where Catholics Falls Road. An Irish flag had been placed in the win- were employed, was set on fire. The RUC made dows of the campaign office. It will be remembered repeated baton charges against Paisley's rioters to that the display of the Irish state flag was then ille- contain their excesses. gal in the six counties. On Paisley's release Bob Jones III of Bob Jones On Sunday, September 27, Ian Kyle Paisley, self- University, South Carolina, a notorious right-wing styled moderator of his own church, who had paid religious educational facility, conferred an 'honorary for his 'degrees' from a bogus college in Manitou doctorate' on Paisley for 'services to fundamental Springs, Colorado, and was already known as a rab- Protestantism'. It is this questionable degree that ble rouser and bully boy, entered the picture. He even British government ministers defer to by call- held a meeting at the Ulster Hall and declared that ing Paisley, 'Doctor Paisley'. if the RUC did not remove the flag within two days The 1966 general election, which had returned he would lead his followers in an attack on the Divis the Wilson government with a greater majority, of Street to ensure its removal. 97, also returned Gerry Fitt for the Republican The unionist establishment certainly did not Labour Party (set up with Harry Diamond in 1965) want any dissension in their ranks. The Minister of as MP for West Belfast. He immediately invited Home Affairs, R.W. McConnell, went to see Paisley three Labour MPs to visit the six counties and see to tell him to call off his planned attack as the mat- for themselves the rampant discrimination and vio- ter was being dealt with. lence against Catholics. Like me, they were appalled On Monday, September 28, fifty armed RUC at the evidence of vote-rigging to ensure a perma- men, commanded by District Inspector Frank nent unionist majority and general discrimination Lagan, smashed in the door of the republican cam- in every walk of life. In a so-called integral part of paign headquarters and not only took the flag but the UK, a third of the inhabitants had no rights nor destroyed what campaign literature and other mat- security and daily went in fear of violence and ter they could find. A few days later the flag went up control over their right wing working-class support. threats of violence from the state 'security forces'. again. Once more, on Thursday, October 1, a heavi- Paisley was more than willing to step into the role of Ian Kyle Paisley, self-styled Captain O'Neill pleaded with Wilson that 'there ly armed phalanx of RUC, using pick axes, smashed a Messianic 'Leader'. Violent demonstration was really is no acceptable or truly democratic alterna- in the door and this time destroyed the offices. the order of the day. He forced O'Neill to abandon moderator of his own tive to letting us find the solution for our own prob- That night, the worst rioting since 1935 hit west one official function with Lemass, called O'Neill a lems'. But time was fast running out. Belfast. The RUC astounded the world by going 'traitor' and began to warn of a 'sell out' by 'big church and known as a I think most journalists, like myself, in the six into action with armoured cars, mounted with guns house loyalism', harnessing the fears and prejudices rabble-rouser and bully- counties during that period knew the inevitable out- and water cannon. I say 'astounded' because UK of the Protestant working-class into an embryonic come; knew it long before the civil rights movement government officials maintained that they had no fascist movement centred around his new publica- boy, entered the picture was formed (August, 1968) or the Peoples' idea that the RUC possessed such an arsenal - yet tion, the and his quasi-militia, Democracy (October, 1968); knew that Paisley had the ultimate authority over the Royal Ulster the Ulster Protestant Volunteers. become the unionist's Frankenstein's monster - Constabulary was, supposedly, the British Home Nineteen sixty-five was a year of unease. But The court heard McLean state: 'I am terribly created by them but now totally out of control. And Secretary. It demonstrated just how little control or 1966 exploded with the first signs of the inevitable sorry I ever heard of that man Paisley or decided to the Labour Party, prior to 1969, had not only a blind interest London was taking in the unionist regime. sectarian campaign against Catholics. Through the follow him.' Paisley immediately denied all knowl- eye to the situation; it had, with its Government of Defending their homes against the onslaught, early months petrol bomb attacks were carried out edge of the UVF and of McLean. Yet Ireland Act of 1949, legitimatised and guaranteed the nationalists managed to drive the RUC back, on Catholic shops, homes and even schools' in had been actively associated witi; him and Paisley the unionist police state, endorsing fifty years of Belfast. As the 50th anniversary of the 1916 had even publicly thanked the UVF for taking part persecution for the Catholic minority. Insurrection approached, Paisley's hysterical in a demonstration on April 17 and referred to them Today Blair's 'New Labour' still refuses to admit 1966 exploded with the attacks on Catholics on the one hand and the union- again on June 16. Indeed, Noel Doherty, the secre- Labour's culpability in having supported a regime ist establishment on the other increased to a new tary of Paisley's Ulster Constitution Defence which, had it been located in some, other corner of first signs of the inevitable ferocity. He forced O'Neill to mobilise the feared Committee, was found to be a prominent member of the world, would have drawn forth Labour's Protestant elite RUC reserve, the B Specials. Thuns the UVF; he had been involved with Paisley in set- condemnation, demonstrations and government sectarian campaign and transport across the border were halted for a ting up the Protestant Telegraph and was one of his sanctions. The current official attitude in the month over the Easter period. trusted lieutenants. The indiscriminate killings by Labour Party is historical ignorance at best and against Catholics A petrol bomb attack on a Catholic pub want the UVF in 1966 were a grim warning to anyone hypocrisy at worst. badly wrong in May for the lady living next door who could be bothered to read the signs as to what We still live in interesting times.