Landslide Win for Ff in Elections
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Page 2 - BELFAST SEX SCANDAL Page 3 — POSTSCRIPT TO STRIKE Page 4 - POLLUTION MYSTERY Page 5 - LAGAN LIGHTS IMo 497 JULY 1985 Page 6 - IRISH SONGS Page 7 - BOOKS PUBLISHED LANDSLIDE WIN Page 8 - DONALL MacAMHLAIGH Anti-pollution conference FIFTY delegates from eighteen organizations attended a conference FOR FF IN ELECTIONS held in Liverpool on Saturday June 15th, which may well be the start of something. The subject was the "Pollution DUBLIN LABOUR DECACLE and militarisation of the Irish Sea," and sponsors included Liverpool Labour M.P.s, Dafydd WP AND SF BUOYANT Wigley of Plaid Cymru, Messrs Brian Stowell and Alec Doswell, THE great swing against the unprincipled Fine Gael/Labour coalition should be a warning and the Merseyside County Council. shot across the bows of Garrett (we almost wrote Dermot) Fitzgerald). Speakers included Mr Dermot Nolan, General Secretary of Irish Here are some of the opportunism which must make OMINOUS CND, Mr Paul McGhee of figures. their founder James Connolly An ominous sign was the low Greenpeace (Barrow-in-Furnace), turn in his grave. turn-out in Dublin where only In Cavan, Galway, Laois, Mr Bernard Moffat of the Celtic In Galway the Labour share of 43% of the electorate went to vote. Limerick, Mayo, Meath, North League (Peel, IOM), Mrs Susan the vote was 0.2%. Can you The same was true in Cork and Tipperary, Fianna Fail had an Schafer of Merseyside Action for imagine it! A national party, and South County Dublin where only overall majority over all other Peace, Mr Victor Marshall 0.2%! Only 124 people voted 47% turned out, and Dun Laoire parties combined. The highest (Bradford) of Scientists against Labour in Galway. The figure in where only 45%.turned out. proportion won by Fine Gael was nuclear arms, and Mr Desmond Donegal was 0.7%, that in Mayo In every other constituency 38.9% in Mayo and Cork. The Greaves of the Connolly was 0.8%. there was over a 50% poll, the Fine Gael vote in Dublin City was Association. The chairman was But these are farming counties. highest being in Kerry with its FAMOUR SINGER down to 20%. Councillor Alec Doswell. What about the cities where the 74% and Monaghan with the There can be no doubt that if same. The obvious conclusion is Ample evidence was provided of workers might be expected to vote there were a general election that the working class are feeling JOINS THE CA the criminal irresponsibility of Labour? Labour's share in Dublin tomorrow Fianna Fail would go cynical about politicians and do DICK GAUGHAN, famous all government and nuclear industry. was 9%, against the Workers' in with a substantial majority, and not think it worth while bothering over Scotland, Ireland and i This was geared to war Party's 9.4%. As a result of we hope they would keep their to choose between evils. England for his singing and preparations and seemed to be transfers the Workers' Party has promises. playing with "THE BOYS OF exempt from control. The Irish sea five councillors, Labour only one. The Workers' Party did best in CONCERN THE LOUGH", has joined the was the most polluted in the world In Cork City Labour squeezed out Waterford where they got 10.3% The results should cause grave Connolly Association. Asked why and liable to get worse. 10.6%. The highest Labour of the vote, and reasonably well in concern to the Labour Party, he had taken this step at this time, ' THE conference was shown showing was 21.3% in Kildare. Cork City and Kilkenny. whose abysmal performance he replied: expertly drawn maps showing That in fact is not bad. BITTER FRUITS stems directly from the disgusting where the pollution was worst, and Sinn Fein did best in Monaghan "Although I was born and where it came from. It was noted with 12% — a higher figure than raised in Scotland, and am proud that child leukaemia, of which the the Workers' Party got anywhere of being Scots, my father's parents only known cause is radioactivity, HOW THE VETO WORKS — and reasonably well in the two were Irish and I was raised with a was increasing round the entire other Ulster counties, Cavan great love for Ireland and, as they coast of Liverpool Bay, and across THC North West region of the Why consult Belfast? Because (4.6%) and Donegal (4.8%). In were fierce Republicans, with an the sea on the coast of Ireland. TGWU was invited to affiliate to an English Union had decided to Leitrim with its old republican understanding of Ireland's history [ Mr Bernard Moffat provided the campaign to stop interference operate in Ireland and make its tradition they polled 11%. In and struggle for nationhood. in Irish affairs which had brought headquarters in the occupied information about the submarine Leitrim and Cavan the Workers' Recently, I have become over the three man delegation territory. Party offered no candidates. In concerned that Irish neutrality is activity that had caused the sinking from Ireland to tour Lancashire. So the situation was made in Monaghan where they did. they yet again under threat and that, of thirteen civil ships, mostly 1 he delegation was composed England. Just as the Tory polled 0.7% against Sinn Fein's together with the rediscovery of fishing vessels. of Mr Sean Redmond, Mr Tom Unionists are offered a veto on 12%. many of my family in Co. Mayo Redmond and Miss Anne Speed. constitutional change, so the , It is hoped to publish the and the continuing shame of the The. report is now circulating union establishes its-headquarters These results show the bitter proceedings of this conference in partition of the Six Counties, have that North West region applied to in the Unionist area, and the fruits of Labour's abandonment pamphlet form. The Connolly led me to a better understanding Association proposes to discuss Belfast for advice, and that Belfast majority of the Irish people — of the national cause. It can be possibly the majority of Irish of the special relationship between with local organizations further advised them not to affiliate. reasonably forecast that the The TGWU is of course entitled TGWU members — are not the British and Irish working work in Liverpool. The six agitation already started to return to manage its own affairs, but consulted. class. I felt that it was time to take delegates from Gwynedd are to the socialist repuplican Irish republicans will note that the Did the region do anything principles of James Connolly will a positive action in support of the meeting with a view to furthering region did not consult its local improper? Not a bit of it. Such are receive a considerable boost. struggle of the Irish working class. the campaign in North Wales. membership. It does not appear to the rules. Among organizations represen- have consulted the national office. ted were CND ( Gwynedd, It certainly did not consult Dublin GRAND IRISH MUSICAL GARDEN PARTY Chester-le-Street, Liverpool, the capital of Ireland. Cymru, Crosby, StoU, Famworth), SUNDAY, 21st JULY, 4 pm till late Merseyside Action for Peace, The the BSFS. A number of delegates Society of Friends, National Union failed to identify their 18 ASYLUM ROAD, PECKHAM, SE15 of Seamen, National Union of organizations; those who applied FREE FOOD AND Teachers, Merseyside Women for for credentials but may not have UNWAGED £1 CHILDREN £1 REFRESHMENTS Peace, Cymieithas yr iaith been present included the TGWU, cymraeg, Gwynedd CPGB, Birkenhead Labour Party, and the SOUTH LONDON CONNOLLY ASSOCIATION Connolly Association, the NCP, IBRG (Blackburn). I Page I wo THE IRISH DEMOCRAT July 1985 July 1985 THE IRISH DEMOCRAT Page Three TONI CURRAN! Irish postscript to the strike RIP I SEHI ShX scandaXl abouSCANDAt the — led to the collapse of the powerL- Downin RE-EMERGEg Street before Mrs under the Official Secrets AcSt for I WOULD like to tell people in each week's contributions was I UK extent of Toni C urrun's disclosing everything he believes Kimora boss' home, subject of sharing executive Thatcher's then private secretary. Britain of one example of the By kept for anyone to see, clearly and commitment to progressive to be relevant. This is despite a innumerable cover-ups and The file also includes a David Barclay, replied saying that support the miners' strike got meticulously written out. personal undertaking from Mrs MURIEL SADLEAR political causes is illustrated tergiversations, has broken again. confidential army report which "there have been the most from a group of Irish women Mrs Finnigan and her Thatcher in January 1983 b\ the following extracts We reproduce the account shows that army intelligence knew thorough inquiries. .into the workers. colleagues are members of the No Kincora affair." granting him immunity. THE miners who used to cross I give them as an example of the "LA" AG EIRI from the speech made b> published in the "Guardian" about the homosexual abuse at Most people know that there 2 Branch of the Federated on the Holyhead boat to take up many other groups taking up newspaper of June 26th, 1985, the Kincora boys' home in East But the narrow terms of was strong support for the Workers Union of Ireland — set IS ABHAR lontais e i gconai John Boyd at her funeral: It is not clear whether the MuD early morning collections on similar collections in Dublin and under the headline "Ulster 'dirty Belfast at least as early as 1974 reference of the inquiry — into the miners' cause in Ireland, although up by Jim Larkin — and being spiorad agus danacht lucht stiurtha "We have just heard two Irish passed on the documents to the O'Connell's Bridge were amply throughout the country.