Posted by Jim on February 9, 2019
There are signs of a growing acceptance in London that a referendum on
unity in the Six Counties will be required in the circumstances of
Britain’s departure from the EU.
The future status of the North of Ireland is uncertain as Britain gets
ready to leave the EU without a deal next month. The BBC has reported
that several senior Tory cabinet ministers now believe that a hard
Brexit would lead to a vote on Irish unification within the Six County
area.
The prospect of such a a ‘border poll’ is set out in the 1998 Good
Friday Agreement, but it requires explicit approval from the British
government before it can take place.
One senior Tory minister told the BBC this week the prospect is now
“very real” and “very much on the mind” of British Prime Minister
Theresa May.
“A no-deal Brexit is the way that’s most likely to lead to a border
poll and to people questioning the benefits of being in the United
Kingdom,” they said. “The dial could be moved in those circumstances.”
Two other cabinet ministers “warned” the government of the “dangers” of
“sleepwalking into a border poll”.
They believed that people who are not from a nationalist background
could “react badly” to a no-deal Brexit, especially if it leads to
“serious issues” at the border through Ireland.
They said that said there was an understanding in May’s government that
a vote on unification would be a realistic means of coping with the
“disruption and uncertainty” due to Brexit.
The comments follow a prominent article in The Spectator magazine which
asked if a referendum on Irish unity might be the best way to solve the
Brexit border issue. The London-based publication is traditionally
associated with influencing right-wing British opinion. The piece by
David G Green, director of right-wing think tank Civitas, noted that 56
per cent of the north’s electorate backed remaining in the EU.
Mr Green speculates that a similar proportion of voters might vote for
Irish unity if given the opportunity.
Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald has said that it would be “grossly
reckless and irresponsible” of the British government to allow Brexit to
compromise the Irish peace process.
Speaking on The Andrew Marr Show, Ms McDonald insisted that the backstop
— a previously agreed mechanism to prevent the remilitarisation of the
border area — was the “bottom line” and that Ireland must protect its
national interest.
She said: “As the Brexit drama comes to a climax, we have to accept
there is a possibility, if not a probability, of a hard Brexit crash and
in those circumstances, we believe that the disruption and damage to the
island of Ireland would be such that, don’t imagine that we will
philosophically take it on the chin.
“Put simply, if the border in Ireland cannot be mitigated, cannot be
managed in the short term, well then you put the question democratically
in the hands of the people and allow them to remove the border.
“The backstop is the bottom line.
“On the issue of the border poll, there’s no point us burying our heads
in the sand and wish away a hard Brexit.
“We prepare for the worst scenario and protect our national interest.
One of the biggest symbols of success of the peace process is that
people can travel unimpeded over the border.”
Ms McDonald reiterated her challenge to the Dublin government to convene
an Irish unity forum and said unionists have to start planning for “all
eventualities”.
She added: “Obviously, our unionist brothers and sisters need to be part
of planning a new Ireland, their first option, of course, is to maintain
the union with Britain and we respect that, but as one ex-leader of the
DUP put it, they need to start now planning for all eventualities and
unionism needs a Plan B.”
Ms McDonald has said that the growing likelihood of a no-deal Brexit has
pushed the idea of Irish reunification to the forefront of politics, but
she believes mindset is the biggest stumbling block.
She added: “The Good Friday Agreement provides a route to remove the
border once and for all. Regardless of Brexit, there will be a unity
referendum.
“In our time we now have an opportunity denied to generations – a
peaceful and democratic route to Irish unity; to build a new and united
Ireland.
“There are those who believe Irish unity is a pipe dream.
“Some old wives’ tale about the four green fields, some don’t yet
appreciate the huge opportunity that Irish unity can present for all of
us socially and economically, and those that are hostile to the idea.
“There are those who are not unionists but part of the establishment
here in the south who might be hostile to the idea, or anything that
upsets the apple cart, and those people are in the minority, the vast
majority of people know that Ireland is changing and needs to change
more.”
Posted by Jim on
BBC News Article Feb. 8, 2008
Q&A: Bloody Sunday inquiry
This week it was revealed that the cost for the Bloody Sunday inquiry now stood at £181.2m, making it the longest and most costly in British legal history. The BBC’s Ireland correspondent Denis Murray looks at Lord Saville’s probe into events in Northern Ireland more than 30 years ago. Why is the inquiry taking place? The Bloody Sunday enquiry was set up in 1998 by then Prime Minister Tony Blair to re-examine the events of 30 January 1972, when soldiers of the Parachute Regiment shot dead 14 people attending a civil rights march in Londonderry. The tribunal chairman is Lord Saville of Newdigate, alongside two other judges from Australia and Canada. Bloody Sunday is one of the best-remembered events in the entire history of the Northern Ireland Troubles. It was regarded certainly by the Catholic population as no less than mass murder, and badly damaged Britain’s reputation abroad. The British Embassy in Dublin was burned to the ground by rioters three days later. An initial inquiry under Lord Widgery was regarded by the Catholic community as a whitewash. The decision to hold a new inquiry was based on “the weight of new material available”. What developments have taken place? Lord Saville made his opening statement in April 1998, and the inquiry’s oral hearings began at the Guildhall in Derry, in March 2000, with an opening statement by counsel to the inquiry, Christopher Clarke QC. This alone lasted up to the end of June, becoming the longest opening in UK legal history. At one stage, the tribunal moved to the Central Hall, Westminster, after the Court of Appeal ruled that the evidence of soldier witnesses should not be heard in Derry because of fears for their safety. Some of the soldier witnesses gave evidence from behind a screen, visible only to the three judges and legal teams. The first witness was heard in November 2000, and the last in January 2005. Why has it taken so long and cost so much? Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward, in a written parliamentary answer earlier this week, said his receiving of the tribunal’s completed report was not “imminent.” A spokesman for the tribunal pointed to the sheer scale of the operation – 2,500 witness statements, of whom 922 were called to give direct evidence. One of those witnesses was Martin McGuinness, now deputy first minister of Northern Ireland, who accepted in evidence that he was the second-in-command of the Derry Brigade of the IRA at the time of Bloody Sunday. There were also 160 volumes of evidence, containing an estimated 20-30 million words, plus 121 audio tapes and 110 video tapes. What is the current situation? The tribunal spokesperson said they stood by their last news release in August 2005 which said the “very large quantity of material” meant “it is not possible…to give any firm estimate of when the report is likely to be finished”. Most of the cost is in legal fees, but the way it was run was used as a template for both the inquest into the Omagh bombing of 1998, and the Hutton inquiry into the death of weapons expert David Kelly. The cost is obviously way beyond what the government had expected, and means that other inquiries into events of the past in Northern Ireland – such as the Billy Wright Inquiry, which started last year – are likely to have much tighter purse strings. Do the relatives think it will all be worth it? Jean Hegarty, whose brother Kevin McElhinney was one of those killed on Bloody Sunday, says she will not know the answer to that question until the final report is made public. She told me: “It’s not the truth that has cost so much, it’s the lies. If the British army hadn’t lied on Bloody Sunday itself, there would have been no need for this inquiry.” She also said that Lord Saville and his colleagues had done their best to get at the truth. “You can’t put a price on it,” she said. Interested parties will get some months notice of the report’s completion, which will be delivered to the Northern Ireland secretary before publication.
Posted by Jim on February 8, 2019
PLAQUE DEDICATION
On Friday, March 8, 2019, at 1100 hours, a WTC Plaque Dedication Ceremony will be held honoring the memory of Firefighter Paul R. Tokarski, Ladder 164. The dedication will take place in the Quarters of Engine 313 & Ladder 164, 44-01 244th Street, Queens, NY. All off-duty members and their families are invited to attend. Members are requested to attend in dress uniform.
BATTLE OF THE FIREHOUSE BANDS
On Saturday, March 2, the 5th Annual NYC Memorial Stair Climb Fundraising Night will host Battle of the Firehouse Bands. This year’s memorial climb will be held on Saturday, May 4, at 3 WTC and is supporting A Soldier’s Journey Home www.asoldiersjourneyhome.org. For more information visit www.NYCStairClimb.com or contact Chris Barber, L-22, at 646-373-1324.
SILVER SHIELD COLLEGE AWARD
The Silver Shield Foundation is honoring the service of uniformed members of the FDNY to the New York Community by awarding one member’s college-bound daughter or son – chosen by lottery – a college scholarship in the amount of $5000, renewable annually for up to four years. To be eligible, a student must be the natural or adopted child of an FDNY member currently serving as a Firefighter, Fire Officer EMT, Paramedic, EMS Officer, Wiper, Engineer, Pilot, Fire Marshal or Supervising Fire Marshal. Grandchildren and step-children are not eligible. The children of retirees, deceased members or civilians (including Fire Prevention) are not eligible. The student must have graduated from an accredited high school in the current year (2019) and be accepted at an accredited four-year college to matriculate in the summer or fall of 2019. The scholarship winner will be chosen by lottery. To be considered, the student should write: His/her first, middle and last name; Name of high school and graduation date; Name of college and start date; Name of FDNY parent on a piece of paper and sign the page. The paper should be sealed in a plain white envelope with no address or markings. It should be enclosed in another envelope addressed to: Evelyn Tesoriero, Assistant Commissioner, Family Assistance Unit, Rm. 8S-10, 9 MetroTech Center Brooklyn, NY 11201. Write the parent’s FDNY reference number across the seal of the outer envelope. Only one entry will be accepted per child. Envelopes must be received by March 11, 2019. For additional information, email Evelyn.Tesoriero@fdny.nyc.gov or call 718-999-0405.
Posted by Jim on February 2, 2019
“Those
knowledgeable about the Black Freedom Struggle in America and with the struggle
for justice in Ireland —and in The North/Northern Ireland since the 1920 Partition of Ireland— will recognize
the significance of the Labor
Force Survey Report as recounted in the attached article from today’s
Irish News, February 1, 2019, Belfast.
‘ The
number of Catholics and Protestants of working age is almost the same for
the first time as Northern Ireland’s population changes continue.
The number of Protestants has declined by 14 percentage points to
42 percent, while the number of Catholics is up to 41 percent. People
who define themselves as ‘other/non-determined’ has increased from 6
percent to 17 percent over the same period.
The statistics are revealed in the latest Labor Force Survey Report, which
examines the labor market differences of the two main
religions, including unemployment rates and levels of economic activity
from 1990 to 2017.With estimates suggesting that Catholics will outnumber
Protestants in the total population by 2021…’
The artificial State of
Northern Ireland was created by England’s
1920 ‘Government of
Ireland Act’ (Scotland and Wales can hardly be blamed). It was an outrageous
gerrymander, based on a nakedly anti-Catholic, sectarian headcount.
The word gerrymander
provides an immediate nexus with the United States because it was first coined
in Massachusetts in the early 19th Century. And, of course, it makes an obvious
connection to how Blacks had to struggle against the rigging of electoral boundaries in the US to keep them from
gaining the power necessary for equality.
Who in today’s America could
assert (at least publicly) that it is bad for African Americans and other
people of color to overcome gerrymandered political entities? Can people of
color be blamed for being pleased they are overcoming contrived, structural
injustice and discrimination—structures that Pope John Paul called ‘structures
of sin.’?
Yet, there is a
distorted and twisted ideology by some in Ireland —inevitably picked up by a
few Irish-Americans lacking knowledge of both Irish and British history— which asserts that it is somehow wrong for Catholics/Nationalists/Republicans
to want to overcome their disenfranchisement
and contrived marginalization… that it is wrong to be relieved that democracy
and equality is pending for the whole
island of Ireland.
For example, it has been asserted
(behind my back, of course) that I should stop ‘harping’ about the historic
mistreatment of Catholics in Northern Ireland … like telling
African-Americans, Hispanics, women, and other unfairly marginalized groups in
the US to stop talking about fairness and equality. Can anything be more
stupid? It’s like White Supremacists saying: ‘It is OK for us to establish
supremacy, but it is unreasonable for people of color to seek equality, to quit sitting at
the back of the bus.’
The re-unification of Ireland is in inevitable,
made more obvious by Brexit. In the meantime, the Beloved community must be
built up in Northern Ireland/The North. Equality, solidarity, unity, and peace
are not a threat to anyone— just ‘liberty and justice for all.’” Fr. Sean McManus.Almost equal numbers of Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland of working age for the first time
The report examines the labour market differences of the two religions in Northern Ireland, including unemployment rates and levels of economic activity.
Suzanne McGonagle.Irish News. Belfast. Friday, February 1, 2019
The number of Catholics and Protestants of working age is almost the same for the first time as Northern Ireland’s population changes continue.
The number of Protestants has declined by 14 percentage points to 42 percent, while the number of Catholics is up to 41 percent. People who define themselves as ‘other/non-determined’ has increase from 6 percent to 17 percent over the same period.
The statistics are revealed in the latest Labour Force Survey Report, which examines the labour market differences of the two main religions, including unemployment rates and levels of economic activity from 1990 to 2017.
With estimates suggesting that Catholics will outnumber Protestants in the total population by 2021, politics professor John Coakley cautioned that the new figures do not automatically point to a majority in favour of a United Ireland.
Historically the Catholic community experienced a higher unemployment rate than the Protestant community, however over the past 15 years that gap has gradually narrowed.
In 1992, 69 per cent of working age Protestants and 54 per cent of Catholics were in employment.
But by 2017, the number of Catholics in employment has rise to 67 per cent, but working age Protestants only increased to 70 per cent.
In 1992, 76 per cent of working age Protestants were economically active, compared with 66 per cent Catholics. Fifteen years later there is more of a similar picture in both communities with 73 per cent Protestants and 70 per cent Catholics economically active.
Unemployment rates for both communities are now the exact same following years of higher levels of unemployment for Catholics.
Over the same period the unemployment rate has moved from nine per cent for Protestants and 18 per cent for Catholics to four per cent for both.
The number of people reporting as “other/non-determined” has more than doubled over the 15-year period – from six per cent to 17 per cent.
Professor Coakley, of Queen’s University Belfast, said “it would be dangerous to jump to any political conclusions on the basis of these demographic developments.”
“Until the effects of the uncertainties associated with Brexit began to be felt, opinion polls and surveys showed sizeable Catholic support for the Union – not confined to Alliance and SDLP supporters, but including also a cluster of Sinn Féin supporters. For this reason, it would take a major shift in Catholic opinion for the Union to be endangered. But this is where the instability caused by Brexit may have unexpected consequences,” he said.
Posted by Jim on
A crowd of thousands took to the streets in this year’s annual Bloody
Sunday march in Derry, supported by a range of republican and civil
rights and justice groups.
They were there to mark the day 13 people were shot dead by members of
the Paratroop Regiment during a civil rights demonstration in the city’s
Bogside on January 30, 1972. A 14th man died later from his injuries.
Thousands of people, accompanied by several republican bands, weaved
their way down through the streets of Creggan and into the Bogside,
retracing the steps of the original march.
Organisers said they want the top British officials behind Bloody Sunday
– including top-ranking General Michael Jackson – put behind bars.
Former MP Bernadette McAliskey, who was one of the organisers of the
march on 30 January 1972, said the families of those killed by British
paratroopers are still waiting for prosecutions against the soldiers
involved.
Ms McAliskey told the gathered crowd that she will campaign until her
last breath “to see Jackson, the British Army, the British government
and the British state in the Court of Justice at the Hague”.
The families learnt a few weeks ago of the death of Soldier N, who was
among 18 soldiers being considered for prosecution by the Public
Prosecution Service in connection with the attack.
“In regard to the prosecution of those soldiers, we are not moving
forward more than an inch at the time. ‘Soldier N’ has died. Family
members are dying,” said Ms McAliskey.
Kate Nash, who lost her teenage brother William on Bloody Sunday, told
the crowd those behind the killings need to face court. “My brother was
innocent of any wrongdoing. The perpetrators need to go to court and
they need to face trial for what they did that day. He deserves it. We
are all entitled to justice,” she said.
The death of ‘Soldier N’ also raises questions for the PSNI police, said
‘Sunday’ survivor Michael Bridge.
“The only people this benefits is the PSNI,” he said, speaking in
advance of the march. “There are certain questions that need to be asked
now. There has been an investigation going on now for eight years.
“They have been investigating the conclusions of Saville which were that
in total, 28 people were shot. It was a crime, a very serious crime. So,
who is responsible for the delay in deciding on prosecutions?
“The delay has been so long we have to ask if they are actually
questioning Saville’s assertions that Bloody Sunday actually happened.
Who is taking responsibility for them (the soldiers) not being
prosecuted for perjury?”