Posted by Jim on August 27, 2019
by Tom Abernathy
We have been marking a variety of centennials in Irish history over the past few years, most prominently the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising in 2016. But one centennial is upon us now and is not getting the attention it deserves. On September 10, 1919, the British Government “outlawed” the Irish national assembly, Dáil Éireann, declaring it an “illegal assembly.” It could be argued that this act by the British Government is one of the signal events in the history of the Anglo-Irish conflict of the last decades. But for reasons that are not entirely clear, this fateful decision by the British Government has never received the attention it has deserved. With the anniversary approaching, now would be a good time to reflect on this seminal event in Irish history.
Dáil Éireann was the democratically elected parliament of the Irish people, assembled after the watershed General Election of December 1918, the first held under a greatly expanded franchise that abolished almost all property qualifications for men and provided for the first time, a (restricted) franchise to women. Irish separatists ran on a platform of sovereign independence and an Irish Republic. The advocates for Irish independence ran the election campaign under great difficulties, many of the independence activists were in jail, a great part of Ireland was under British military rule, and Britain censored and suppressed Irish newspapers. The whole electoral machinery was under British control. However, despite all the obstacles, the General Election resulted in advocates of Irish independence winning 73 out of 105 Irish seats. True to their election promise, instead of sitting in a British parliament, the elected representative of the Irish people met in Dublin on January 21, 1919 as Dáil Éireann and declared Irish Independence. The centennial of that momentous event in Irish history has just passed and perhaps did not get the attention it deserved. In any event, the Irish in 1919 were not content to merely proclaim independence, they set about to try to establish a counter-state to British rule in Ireland.
The Dáil government, in fact, was eventually able to supplant the British Government machinery in parts of Ireland, establishing, for example an Irish court system. The idea was simple, that an Irish government representing the democratic will of the Irish people and dedicated to the best interests of the Irish people had more legitimacy than a British government that had no democratic mandate to be in Ireland and that pursued British rather than Irish interests.
At first the British Government treated Dáil Éireann with contempt and largely ignored it. But when it became clear that Dáil Éireann meant business in governing Ireland, the British responded with repression. On September 11, 1919 after the British had issued a proclamation “banning” Dáil Éireann, British military and police raided the Dáil headquarters at 76 Harcourt Street in Dublin and arrested 9 staff members of the Dáil. This action by the British forced the Irish government to go underground for the rest of the War of Independence. The guerilla campaign in Ireland, in fact, did not really heat up until after the Dáil was “outlawed” by the British government. Having denied the Irish the right to self- government, the British then brought in the infamous Auxiliaries and the Black and Tan paramilitary forces as tools of ever more ferocious repression of the Irish. It was in a sense a coup by the British Government against the democratic government of Ireland. It is remarkable, therefore, that this fateful event in Irish history, the decision by the British
Government to “outlaw” a democratically elected government and to enforce that suppression by force and violence, is not centrally featured in discussions of the Many history books do not even mention this decision by the British Government, or do so in only cursory fashion. And yet there is probably no decision that was more consequential in terms of future Anglo-Irish “Troubles” than this decision taken by the British Government in September 1919.
The British could have accepted Irish democracy and worked to repair relations between Britain and Ireland on a basis of equality and mutual respect. Instead, the British ruling class chose violence and conflict. But despite the clear rejection of British rule by the voters of Ireland, not only in the General Election of 1918, but also the Local Elections of 1920 and the election of May 1921, Britain never doubted in own right to dictate terms and conditions to the Irish people. This was certainly true when it came to the imposition of Partition on Ireland by the British Government.
The people of Ireland were not evenly divided on partition; the overwhelming majority of Irish people were opposed to it. Following democratic norms, those who constituted a political minority in Ireland, pro-British unionists, would constitute a political minority in an Irish state. As historian Donnacha Ó Beacháin summarized, “[n]ot only was the concept of partition inherently undemocratic, considering that 80 per cent of the Irish population favored independence from Britain, the execution compounded the iniquity.” Historian Joseph J Lee in his major work, Ireland 1912-1985, accurately describes “a border (Northern Ireland) justifiable only the basis of racial supremacy” and also refers to the dedication with which Ulster Unionists laboured to “sustain a sense of racial superiority”.
The British contempt for Irish democracy has not lessened over the years. The British have no problem re-imposing a hard border separating one part of Ireland from the other as part of Brexit and yet criticize Irish politicians for insisting on a “backstop” whose purpose is to try to alleviate some of the disruption caused by British action in Ireland. British politicians even have the nerve to say that such a backstop would infringe on British sovereignty and would not give to the democratic will of the British people to leave the EU as demonstrated by the Brexit vote. This has been the argument, for example, of Owen Patterson, former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and a frontline Brexiteer. The irony of an ardent unionist such as Patterson talking about sovereignty and the will of the people seems to be lost not only on unionist such as Patterson, but also most sections of political and media class, which has failed to point out that partition itself is an affront to Irish sovereignty and democracy.
The contempt that Britain demonstrated toward Ireland in “banning” the first Irish national democratic assembly 100 years ago is still there. The British clearly neither knew nor cared about what effect the Brexit vote would have on Ireland. The only question is whether Irish people will still put up with this contempt shown them by the British pollical class. There are choices available to the Irish other than sitting back and waiting to see what British politicians have planned for Ireland. One option would be to insist that the British allow an all -Ireland vote on the question of unity. Certainly, the likes of Owen Patterson and the rest of the British establishment would fight tooth and nail against any all- Ireland referendum on Irish unity. As far as the British are concerned, ideas of sovereignty and democracy only
apply for England, not Ireland. Therefore a mass -based, democratic campaign is needed to insist that a unity vote take place in all Ireland and not limited to the British created jurisdiction of the Six Counties. Part of that campaign would need to focus on educating Irish people as to what has happened in the past, in particular the “banning” of the All Ireland Government of Dáil Éireann in September 1919 against all principles of democracy. We will have to insist that contrary to what happened in September 1919, that this time Britain respect the wishes of a majority of the people of Ireland for a unified country free of British control.
Posted by Jim on August 25, 2019
WTC
Retired FirefighterJohn W. BoyleRescue Company 1
Wake:
Tuesday, August 27, 2019 and Wednesday, August 28, 2019
2:00PM-5:00PM – 7:00PM-9:00PM
Papavero Funeral Home
72-27 Grand AvenueMaspeth, NY 11378
Funeral:
Thursday, August 29, 2019
10:45AM
Our Lady of Hope
61-27 71st Street Middle Village, NY 11379
All Off-Duty Members should attend in Class A Uniform
Posted by Jim on August 24, 2019
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BLUES LEGEND: West Belfast singer/guitarist Rab McCullough will be back in the Devenish on August 31
Rab to headline Greatest Hits night
HOSTED by the Andersonstown News, next week’s ‘Greatest Hits’ showcase is set to be a true celebration of the best local music from the last 50 years, and there are few musicians who know the Belfast scene better than legendary blues guitarist and event headliner, Rab McCullough.The Andersonstown man has shared stages with some of the biggest names in the music business and has had more than his fair share of recording success, but, perhaps most importantly, he helped inspired the West Belfast blues and rock scene during its formative years. Reflecting on those early days, Rab said: “The one that I made my name at was the Clubhouse, up beside the Green Briar. If you go up O’Hare’s Lane just off the Glen Road you can still see the ruins of it now – it has been pulled down. We started gigging there in 1976 and the guy said he couldn’t pay us, so we said we would just charge the door – whatever it was. They weren’t losing money, but if it went well we were making a bit of money. “The first gig was a Tuesday night and there was about six people at it. The next Tuesday there was about 30 people at it. The following Tuesday night every seat was taken. We moved it to a Wednesday and then a Saturday, which was a bigger night of course. “Most of the bands that were playing here were playing pop music – it was all chart. There was a lot of good stuff in the charts then, but I came up through the British blues scene, so I brought that style of a band. It was blues fused with southern rock.” He added: “We played a lot of alternative stuff, so you were introducing kids to stuff they had never heard of before. They were teenagers, but I was listening to a different type of music. When we started playing they were going ‘where did that come from?’ They were totally oblivious too it. I’m not saying this to pat myself on the back, but you were introducing them to a music history. This was in the middle of the Troubles, and kids were saying to me it was like a light in the dark – they just couldn’t wait for Saturday.”The Troubles, of course, took its toll on the local music scene, but Rab kept playing throughout, and as he says always managed to “keep the wolves from the door” with his music.“Locally you were sort of brought into your own areas, which was between here, Ardoyne, the Bone, the Markets,” he said.“The regular ones were in the town and those kept the wolves from the door. “In 1998 the town was starting to open again and we started to gig in the Empire on Thursday night – we would still play there. We call it the 18 to 80 club because that’s the age group that goes into it. I’m 71 and there’s guys older than me. You have kids up boogying and ripping it up, and you have older people just there to listen.” Although now playing in venues across Europe and beyond, Rab continues to hold the longest residency in the North of Ireland – an impressive 21 years at the Empire. While many come just to hear him play, Rab has always encouraged others to pick up an instrument and play alongside him “You get the odd muso kids who come for a couple of weeks beforehand and are plotting your downfall,” he joked.
Amongst the musicians he has played with over the years, Rab is particularly proud of the fact that he has been able to help local musicians along their way to success including Ed Sheeran’s labelmate, Foy Vance and the late, Bap Kennedy of Energy Orchard, who also got his first guitar from Rab. As well as playing at next week’s gig at the Devenish, he is especially looking forward to taking in some performances from some of West Belfast’s greats, including the late Bap’s bandmate, Joby Fox.“These types of gigs are few and far between, but you never know what’s going to happen on the night. I’m going to be bringing a couple of guys with me to play, so we’re expecting it to be good.” He continued: “When you’re playing like I am you don’t really get a chance to go out and see other bands that are playing, so a night like this is rare occasion. I’m looking forward to seeing other bands playing. Joby Fox has been writing some great stuff. The Adventures are going to be playing too – they’re a great band. They invited me to their last two sell-out gigs, but I couldn’t go because I was playing myself, so this will be the chance to see them.”
You can now purchase tickets online at
http://belfastmediagroup.com/product/west-belfasts-greatest-hits-ticket/
or just click on image below.
You can vote for your Greatest Hits online now.
And you can also buy tickets by calling into our offices at Hannahstown Hill or Yorkgate. Single tickets are £35 and £299 for a table-of-ten. Or simply call us on 02890-608822. The votes are flying in online already with 13,000 votes registered. |
Posted by Jim on
Colin Gleeson. Irish Times. Dublin.
Saturday, August 24, 2019
French president Emmanuel Macron has told British PM Boris Johnson that two core objectives must be upheld in any further Brexit negotiations:stability in Ireland and the integrity of the single market.
You can always trust the French not to mince their words, and Emmanuel Macron – the young, dynamic president of the republic and one of Europe’s most progressive leaders – is no exception.
Receiving UK prime minister Boris Johnson in the courtyard of the Élysée Palace this week, Macron set the tone by hoisting French and EU flags – but no British ones. While remaining courteous and respectful, he seemed in no mood to mollycoddle his guest.
Johnson, with his abhorrence for the backstop, did not take seriously enough the risk of reigniting the conflict in Northern Ireland, Macron implied. “There are still families whose children, brothers and sisters died in this conflict,” he said.
“To think of reviving that, because it suits us, would be irresponsible. I consider that Irish peace is European peace. We must not allow it to be threatened by a political and institutional crisis in Britain.”
The remarks could almost have been scripted in Dublin, and Macron went even further with the suggestion that Irish reunification and integration of the entire island in the EU “would solve all the problems”. To be a fly on the shoulder of Arlene Foster.
Days earlier, Johnson was greeted in Berlin to shouts of “No Brexit” from a hostile crowd camped outside the Berlin chancellery. Angela Merkel – hosting her fifth British prime minister – told Johnson the onus to find an alternative to the backstop was on him.
If he could do so within a short timeframe, Merkel said she would listen to proposals to change the withdrawal agreement, although there is no expectation in Berlin, Paris or Dublin that it can be done.
Nonetheless, the usual suspects in the British media celebrated the “concession” won by Johnson. “We can Merk is out,” cried the Sun on its front page.
All the while, UK government borrowing surged in the first four months of the fiscal year. The budget deficit between April and July stood at £16 billion, 60 per cent more than the same period last year.
Meanwhile, fears of a no-deal Brexit are growing by the day. Ireland’s European Commissioner Phil Hogan said such an outcome would create a “foul atmosphere” between the parties and would have “serious consequences” for any future trade deal.
The implications for the Border were laid bare by a report from the Food Research Collaboration, which pointed out that we will be legally obliged to apply controls to food entering the country from the UK in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
It would be “hard to exaggerate the disruption” this scenario would cause, it said, with some food businesses in Northern Ireland suggesting they could go out of business within three days.
Separately, a secret UK planning dossier called Operation Yellowhammer warned of “meltdown” at English Channel ports, with delays of two days and a severe bottleneck for Irish hauliers bound for Europe.
On the bright side, Irish motorists will no longer need “green cards” to cross the Border in the event of a no-deal Brexit thanks to an agreement between transport authorities in the UK and the Republic. …
Posted by Jim on
ELSASSER ONE PITCH TOURNAMENT IS FULL
The Elsasser One Pitch Tournament, hosted by Engine 221 / Ladder 104 is now full. They would like to thank everyone who signed up, and they look forward to another great tournament this year. For those who have already signed up the details are as follows; it will be held Friday, October 4, 2019, in Cunningham Park, Queens (73rd Ave between Clearview Expwy and Francis Lewis Blvd). The tournament begins at 9:30 AM. Registration is $350 per team. Food, soda, water and Gatorade will be served. All proceeds go to families of deceased N.Y.C. Firefighters and Fire Officers who died non-line of duty. Send checks via post office only, payable to Engine 221/Ladder 104 One-Pitch Fund, to 161 South 2nd Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211, C/O Ken Butler/Chris Amengual. Any questions, call (718) 965-8221.