New York’s freedom banner is a sign of the times

Posted by Jim on March 24, 2019

A banner carried in the annual St Patrick’s Day parade in New York has
become a battle line in the upcoming elections in Ireland.

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald caused a controversy — for some —
by posing with a banner reading ‘England get out of Ireland’. The only
political banner allowed in the parade, it has been proudly carried
there for over 70 years. The simple message of Irish nationalism, Sinn
Fein said, requires no explanation.

Fine Gael and the Irish establishment media saw a ‘gaffe’ and a
political opportunity. They claimed the banner was an expression of
sectarian bigotry, and attacked Ms McDonald for being photographed with
it.

The description efforts bemused Irish Americans, who have presented the
same message as far back as the the time of the United Irishmen. Wolfe
Tone, a founder of Irish republicanism, said he wanted “to break the
connection with England, the never-failing source of all our political
evils, and to assert the independence of my country”.

The Brehon Law Society, who carried the banner, said it reflected the
desire of millions of Irish Americans and the Irish diaspora for the
reunification of Ireland.

“It is an iconic statement that has been carried in the NYC Parade by
many groups for decades. Irish reunification must be planned for and
discussed openly and inclusively,” they said.

“As a Law Society dedicated to peace and justice for a united Ireland,
we are grateful for the opportunity to express a deeply-held sentiment
felt by many Irish and Irish-Americans.”

But stung by self-righteousness, Fine Gael Tanaiste Simon Coveney wrote
on Twitter: “Mary Lou McDonald this is NOT leadership – it’s offensive,
divisive and an embarrassment – grow up, this is NOT #Ireland in 2019!
We are better than this!”

Alliance leader and east Belfast representative Naomi Long took offence
on behalf of English people, declaring the nationalist sentiment to be
hostile “to anyone English or of English extraction”. Green Party leader
Clare Bailey went further, and claimed it called into question Ms
McDonald’s commitment to “equality and rights”.

There was also no shortage of unionists to take wilful offence, despite
not featuring in the banner’s message. DUP MP Gregory Campbell claimed
it showed Sinn Fein wanted unionists to leave Ireland, while Ulster
Unionist leader Robin Swann said Sinn Fein had ‘returned to type’.

Adding to their anxiety were signs of an increase in support for Irish
republicanism internationally, with IRA slogans being sung with gusto on
a BBC primetime television show ‘This Time with Alan Partridge’, and by
the crowds at boxer Michael Conlan’s entrance into the ring at New
York’s Madison Square Gardens.

Fine Gael has now decided to make Sinn Fein a target at its annual
conference this weekend in Wexford, where DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson will
make a ‘surprise’ appearance alongside a cast of other Sinn Fein
critics, including Fine Gael’s new signing, former Derry-based SDLP
leader Mark Durkan, now rebranded as a Fine Gael candidate in the
European elections in Dublin.

For its part, Sinn Fein showed no sign of being troubled. A Sinn Fein
spokesman said: “The most divisive and offensive act on this island for
almost the last 100 years has been the partition of Ireland.

“It should come as no surprise that Sinn Fein wants a new united Ireland
under the provisions of Good Friday Agreement.

“However if Simon Coveney and the government is serious about achieving
a new and agreed united Ireland then he should immediately convene an
all-Ireland forum on Irish unity.”

Coveney’s attempt to turn a simple appeal for national freedom into a
smear to attack republicans brought back echoes of his party’s avid
anti-Irishness in years past. It is no coincidence that the controversy
arises with elections set to take place in May.

The photograph was also no ‘gaffe’ — Sinn Fein has been actively
highlighting its return to its republican roots after a change in
political direction saw it lose almost two-thirds of its electoral
support in October’s Presidential election. This year, partly as a
result of Brexit, it has adopted a more traditional stance, and the New
York banner is a sign of that.

“You have to remember what is that banner about?” said Sinn Fein’s
Michelle O’Neill.

“It’s about the end of partition in Ireland and, as Irish republicans,
that is what we are about – ending partition, partition has failed.

“I think some of our opponents have tried to spin this and turn it into
that it’s about individuals or people with a British identity, or people
who are English. It’s not about that, it’s about the relationship
between Britain and Ireland.

“And I don’t think it should be a surprise to anyone that the president
of Sinn Fein, a republican party, would stand behind a banner that
actually says that we want to end partition.”