Posted by Jim on October 22, 2018
“This excellent article is a must-read for Members of Congress who wish to fully understand extreme British thinking on both Northern Ireland and Brexit. I have the honor of appearing along with the author, Fintan O’Toole, in the film “Bobby Sands:66 Days.” Mr. O’Toole has provided some of the very best analysis on the folly of Brexit—while at the same time brilliantly exposing how little, in fact, the extreme British leaders care for Northern Ireland, something which the extreme Unionsts in The North are unable to grasp.God help poor Ireland.” Fr. Sean McManus
A ‘precious union’? The Brexiters don’t care about Northern Ireland
Leavers ignore the issue of the hard border. They just use the supposedly sacred integrity of the UK as an excuse for no deal
Fintan O’Toole. The Guardian. London. Friday, October 1, 2018
To know what a thing is, you have to know where it begins and ends, and where its edges are. And the awkward fact is that the United Kingdom begins and ends in the blurry, meandering, impossibly ambiguous border that snakes its weary way around the six north-eastern counties of Ireland. This is a fact, not just of Irish history, but of British history.
If you listen to some of the more anguished Brexiters, you might get the impression that the Irish border is a devious plot against the people of the neighbouring island, a snare invented by the Irish to trap Britain in European vassalage. In reality, it was created at Westminster, through the Government of Ireland Act, which became law in May 1921. It is, first and foremost, a British problem and a British responsibility. At the heart of the current impasse over Brexit is a shocking refusal to accept that responsibility.
Brexit has always had a large dose of phoney populism – it is an elite project for extreme globalization wrapped up as a popular revolt against globalization. But it also has an equally large dose of phoney Unionism – it is an English national rebellion wrapped in the union flag. Among its many contradictions, perhaps the one in which the gap between rhetoric and reality yawns most widely is this one.
On the one hand, all the evidence is that neither those who voted for Brexit nor those who are seeking to drive it to the hardest possible conclusion, give a good ***damn for the Union, and in particular for Northern Ireland’s place within it. On the other, they are pretending to be willing to walk away from the Brexit negotiations at any cost if the bloody Irish and the scheming Europeans don’t stop making proposals for dealing with the Border question that would – horror of horrors – undermine what Theresa May calls “our precious union”.
Thus the need for a guarantee that there will be no Border infrastructure in Ireland is not a recognition of Britain’s duties to its own citizens. It is, in the words of the letter written to May this week by Boris Johnson, David Davis, Jacob Rees-Mogg and others, “a trap being set by the EU which it is vital we do not fall into”. In this self-pitying narrative, the basic facts of modern British history become a foreign conspiracy against “our status as a sovereign nation state”.
These people want a no-deal Brexit, and they are using the integrity of the Union as the excuse for it: the people of England, Scotland and Wales supposedly prefer to suffer a no-deal catastrophe than agree to checks on goods going between Stranraer and Larne. Such bureaucratic procedures – utterly invisible to the vast majority of the population – would allegedly amount to an act of sacrilege against the most sacred thing in the heart of every Briton: the integrity of the Union. They would suggest that Northern Ireland, contrary to a famous claim by Margaret Thatcher, is a little less British than her constituency of Finchley. And that can never be tolerated.
This has all the conviction of a brothel-keeper taking umbrage at the very mention of sex. At every stage of the Brexit process, we have seen complete indifference to the fate of Northern Ireland. The “precious union” stuff is a gaudy orange garment borrowed from the DUP to cover the most nakedly obvious attitude: this Irish border stuff concerns a faraway people of whom we know nothing and care less. It is not our concern but merely a distraction being used by the EU Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, to deny us the perfect Brexit we deserve and demand.
The evidence for this is threefold. First, in the 2016 referendum campaign, the leave side consistently refused to address the problems of Northern Ireland, the Good Friday agreement of 1998, or the Border. The best that could be got out of any of them was a double fantasy. The Border would not be a problem because the Republic of Ireland (never really recognised as an independent country) would just have to follow the UK out of the EU and return to the fold of what could again be called (political correctness be damned) the British Isles. And/or the EU would have to give post-Brexit Britain a fabulous trade deal – the easiest ever negotiated – that would ensure “frictionless” trade anyway, so again the border did not have to be considered.
Second, we know from the overwhelming survey evidence that English people who voted leave in 2016 or supported the Tories in 2017 felt little responsibility for Northern Ireland and did not care about the peace process. The most telling measure of commitment to a political union is whether or not you are content for taxes from the richest part to be used to subsidize services in the poorest. In the recently released Future of England study, just 25% of leave voters and 29% of people who voted Conservative in 2017 agreed with the proposition: “Revenue raised from taxpayers in England should also be distributed to Northern Ireland to help Northern Irish public services.” (Tellingly, the only people still willing to subsidize Northern Ireland are the remainers.)
And when asked whether “the unravelling of the peace process in Northern Ireland” is a “price worth paying” for Brexit that allows them to “take back control”, fully 83% of leave voters and 73% of Conservative voters agree that it is. This is not, surely, mere mindless cruelty – it expresses a deep belief that Northern Ireland is not “us”, that what happens “over there” is not our responsibility.
Third, since May triggered article 50, we have had, on the crucial border question, nothing but bluster and magical thinking. The prime minister has signed up twice, in December and in March, to the so-called backstop to ensure that Northern Ireland remains fully aligned with the Republic to avoid a hard Border. The rest of us are entitled to assume that she knew what she was doing. And yet here we still are, with May trying to wriggle away from these commitments. Why? Because they were predicated on the emergence of some as yet uninvented technology for invisible Border control – Johnson, while foreign secretary, seriously proposed that the 500km (310-mile) Irish border could be controlled like the congestion charge in London.
So spare us at least the hand-on-heart, tear-in-the-eye sentimentality – if this is what a precious Union amounts to, it is hard to imagine what a throwaway Union would look like. If the Brexiteers are really looking for a last ditch in which to fight for the purity of their cause, it should be somewhere they actually care about. They mentally ditched Northern Ireland a long time ago.
• Fintan O’Toole is a columist at the Irish Times and author of Heroic Failure: Brexit and the Politics of Pain (published in November 2018)
Posted by Jim on
“The folly of Brexit has caused a series of lamentable reactions, but this outburst by Sammy Wison, DUP, must be one of the most appalling. (See below article from today’s Irish News of Belfast).
Taoiseach/Prime Minister Varadker is universally recognized as one of the good guys: a very smart, decent, fair-minded and capable man. He has shown great leadership over the entire Brexit mess, and he has spoken the truth about the danger of the return of a hard (British-imposed, lest we forget) Border.
Few people in Northern Ireland won’t find it ironic for Sammy Wilson to speak favorably of past ‘years of cross- Border political relationship-building,’ as if he were a great advocate for that!”—Fr. Sean McManus
Sammy Wilson slams Leo Varadkar over ‘despicable, low and rotten’ Brexit border terror claims
standing as a politician who should in any way be taken seriously”
Sammy Wilson said Leo Varadkar’s comments “diminished his
standing as a politician who should in any way be taken seriously”
Irish News. Belfast. Saturday, October 20, 2018
SAMMY Wilson has said Leo Varadkar’s behavior was “despicable, low and rotten” after the taoiseach used the story of an IRA bombing of a customs post to emphasise the importance of the Border issue to EU leaders.
The East Antrim MP said the taoiseach [Prime Minister] has taken a “sledgehammer” to years of cross- border political relationship-building.
Addressing fellow EU leaders in Brussels on Wednesday evening, Mr. Varadkar related the story of an IRA bomb attack at a customs post in Newry, Co Down in 1972.
Earlier today, Tánaiste [Deputy Prime Minister] Simon Coveney rejected any suggestion Mr. Varadkar was “scaremongering”.
However, the DUP’s Mr Wilson. claimed the taoiseach had “lost any sense of self control” in relation to Brexit, claiming his previous warnings about the impact of a no-deal had made him a “laughing stock”.
“His latest use of a victim of the IRA who was killed when the republican terrorists blew up a border post scrapes the bottom of the very deep barrel of threats, deception and rhetoric which he has dipped into in order to persuade ignorant heads of EU states that the EU must insist in detaching Northern Ireland from the UK in any Brexit deal,” said. Mr Wilson.
At dinner with EU leaders, Mr. Varadkar had circulated a newspaper article on the Newry bombing.
Mr. Varadkar brought in a copy of the Irish Times, which featured an interview with a relative of one of the nine killed in the blast.
Four customs officials, two lorry drivers and three IRA men died in the explosion at a customs clearing station.
The incident has sparked the latest fracture in the DUP’s deteriorating relationship with the Dublin government since the Brexit referendum.
The party believes the Republic’s unwavering stance in relation to the need for a border backstop to guarantee free movement on the island is a veiled tactic to create separation between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
DUP veteran Mr. Wilson expressed concerns that “republican madmen” could be influenced by the taoiseach “stirring up false fears” over violence.
Mr. Wilson insisted there was no chance border checkpoints would be erected when the UK leaves the EU.
“His behaviour is despicable, low and rotten,” he said of the taoiseach.
“He is not so stupid as to be unaware of the impact it can have especially given the record of republicans over the summer when they used impressionable young people to engage in sectarian attacks against the Protestant community in Londonderry.”
Mr. Wilson said much progress had been made in forging better cross-border political links prior to Mr. Varadkar becoming taoiseach.
He added: “Leo Varadkar has taken a sledgehammer to the work which was done but even more worrying is his total disregard to the impact of his irresponsible and reckless rhetoric on the peace of Northern Ireland.”
Earlier, Mr Coveney denied his government was scaremongering over claims violence could return if Brexit brings a hard Border.
The tánaiste said concerns about the potential to destabilise the island’s “very precious peace” were real, and reflected the fears of people living on the Border.
Mr. Coveney defended Mr Varadkar, insisting he dealt in facts.
“We are not trying to scaremonger here, what we are trying to do here is protect a very precious peace and normality on the island of Ireland,” he told BBC Radio Ulster.
He added: “If you speak to families living on the Border area they will talk in very emotive terms about their fears of the re-
emergence of that Border infrastructure and it’s important to be honest about that.
“It doesn’t suit some people’s political narrative, it certainly doesn’t suit people who advocate for Brexit because this is a very awkward and difficult issue for people to deal with, but it’s the truth.”
In response to Mr. Wilson’s remarks, a spokesman for the taoiseach said: “The priority of the taoiseach, the government and all parties involved in the Brexit negotiations is to protect the peace process and avoid the return of a hard border on the island of Ireland.
“The taoiseach wanted to ensure that fellow European leaders fully realise what is at stake and the importance of preserving the peace process throughout the Brexit process.”
Posted by Jim on October 20, 2018
Glucksman Ireland House Radio Hour
Dr. Miriam Nyhan’s guests: The filmmakers behind Mother and Baby a short film about the Tuam mother and baby home and filmmaker Williams Rossa Cole on his great-grandmother Mary Jane Irwin O’Donovan Rossa.
10am-12.00pm:irishradio.com
Nancy Giambalvo:15 years later returns to Adrian’s show!
Nancy Giambalvo, was adopted through the black market (after her mother was told she had a stillbirth), grew up in Brooklyn, NY in a Jewish household but always felt she was different from the majority of her family and neighbors. After more than 20 years searching for her roots, Nancy finally discovered her birth family through a DNA test from Ancestry.com. And after many futile trips to Ireland through the years, this past June she and her husband Andy returned to Ireland and England to finally meet her mother’s family, the Gintys in Bonnieconlon, Ballina, Co. Mayo.
JP McMahon, creator of Food On The Edge An International Food Summit of Food and Food Culture takes place in Galway this weekend. JP is owner of the EatGalway restaurant group and is also the “Cook It Raw” Ambassador in Ireland, which has seen him attend and participate in international food events in USA, Mexico, Finland, Canada and many others.
News and Sports live from Ireland with Kevin O’Connor, sponsored by Tourism Ireland
Community Organisations Listing
Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum: www.ighm.org
The Irish Repertory Theatre: www.irishrep.org
Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) https://aoh.com/
Irish American Heritage Museum, Albany https://www.irish-us.org/
Emerald Isle Immigration Center www.eiic.org
Irish International Business Network: www.iibn.nyc
New York Irish Center www.newyorkirishcenter.org
American Irish Historical Society: www.aihs.org
Irish Arts Center: www.irishartscenter.org
Aisling Irish Center: www.aislingcenter.org
NY Irish History Roundtable www.irishnyhistory.org
To visit our archives please click here Reach us www.info@irishradio.com
Posted by Jim on October 19, 2018
BRONX N.Y.C.F.D. FLORIAN’S KNIGHTS RUMBLE FOR RONALD
Florian’s Knights invites you to close out the riding season by helping those that need it most with the holiday season fast approaching. Please join in tomorrow, October 20, at the Toy Drive and Fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House of the Hudson Valley and Rockland Homes for Heroes. Registration is from 9:30 – 10:45 am, KSU at 11:00 am. The police escorted ride will start at Ronald McDonald House of the Greater Hudson Valley, 80 Woods Road, Valhalla, NY 10595; ride end point is at Hudson Valley Harley Davidson, 33 Route 304, Nanuet, NY 10954. Donations are $20 per rider with unwrapped gift, $40 per rider with no toy and $10 per passenger. There will be raffles, 50/50, silent auction and live music by The Remedy. From 12:00 – 4:30, an after party with food and drinks will be open to all families. Admission is $10 for those 18 and over and children are free. Additional toy donations are encouraged. There will be free pumpkin painting and a costume party for the kids. Rain date 10/21. Weather and more info can be found at www.floriansknights.com.
FDNY HOLY NAME SOCIETY – MID-WEEK RETREAT
The FDNY Holy Name Society will be holding the Captain Timothy Stackpole Annual Mid-Week Retreat at the Bishop Molloy Retreat House in Jamaica, Queens. The retreat will start with dinner at 7 pm, Tuesday, October 23rd and end with breakfast on Thursday, October 25th. For this short period you will be away from the stress of everyday life and enjoy the peace of a safe and serene environment. We want you to come to relax, rest, and find some peace in the presence of God and each other. You may want to come for a “24”, stop by for the day, or enjoy a meal and spend some time with your friends in the Department. We pray that Tim’s life will be a sign of hope to you as you strive to continue on with your lives in these difficult times. Please call the retreat house at 718-739-1229 to make arrangements.
On Sunday, October 28, the FDNY Anchor Club is sponsoring a “Visit to Calvary Hospital” located at 1740 Eastchester Road, Bronx, NY. The visit will start at 10:00 am – 12:00 pm. Lunch will follow. The event will resume from 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm. The outline for the day includes visiting patients, distributing candy and flowers, and providing some light entertainment. All off-duty members and their families and friends are invited to participate. For additional information, please contact William Greco, Engine 68, at 917-575-1012.
Join the FDNY Foundation with friends and family at Madison Square Garden to see the New York Rangers take on the New York Islanders on Wednesday, November 21, at 7:00 pm. Discounted tickets are available to all FDNY members if you purchase tickets online via the link https://fevo.me/2P2aeOQ. A percentage of ticket sales purchased through the link will benefit the FDNY Foundation. For more information, please contact the FDNY Foundation at 718-999-0383 or email wippers@fdny.nyc.gov or gregory.insana@fdnyfoundation.org.
Posted by Jim on
“God bless John McDonnell, an English politician that Irish-Americans can love!
How great is John McDonnel, longtime supporter of equality, justice and peace in all of Ireland? Despite still some imperialistic/colonial leanings in England, McDonnell represents the future thinking of most English people—when they think at all about The North/Northern Ireland.
The Unionists/Loyalists/Protestants surely must realize this—despite the temporary boost Prime Minister May has given them because she depends on the DUP to cling to power.
The Unionists should concentrate on building up the Beloved Community in The North—based on equality, solidarity, and justice— because a United Ireland is now inevitable .”—Fr. Sean McManus
British shadow chancellor John McDonnell says he longs for united Ireland
Sam Lister, Press Association. Irish News. Belfast. Wednesday, October 17, 2018.
BRITISH shadow chancellor John McDonnell has told how he longs for a united Ireland, but insisted he recognises the democratic will of the people.
Mr McDonnell dismissed suggestions his dream would be realised as a result of the Irish backstop row that has stalled Brexit talks.
He went on to joke that he would put his application in for the Orange Order, however, if the next election led to a hung parliament.
The DUP’s ten MPs currently prop up Theresa May’s minority administration.
At a lunch with journalists in Westminster, he said: “I’m a republican. I long for a united Ireland, but I recognise democracy.
“Ireland will not be united on the basis of some contortions around the issue of the relationship with the EU.
“It will only be reunited on the basis of the popular support of the Irish people, and that’s what I respect.
“Nothing in these discussions should in any way cause any damage to the Good Friday Agreement and its implementation.”
He added: “There will be some curious relationships that come out of a general election.
“I can get my application for the Orange Order and order my bowler hat and sash for the marching season. You never know.”
He apologised in 2015 for previously saying the IRA should be honoured for its role in bringing the British government to the negotiating table.
Mr McDonnell said Labour “could be in government within months” and claimed a general election was increasingly likely because Conservative MPs “hate each other more than they hate us”.
“We are ready for that and we are prepared for that, staffed up, budgeted up, prepared, planned up, all ready for it whenever it happens,” he said.
He said that if there was balanced broadcast coverage, “I think we will pick up the necessary points to take us into government”.
Mr McDonnell compared Mrs May’s Brexit approach to Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement of Hitler.
He said he expected the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier to make an offer to the UK for “fear of Boris and others”.
“It will be a fudge and it will be a delay and no matter how much Theresa May dresses herself up as Churchill when she comes back it will be Neville Chamberlain,” he said.
“It will be a Neville Chamberlain moment – peace in our time.”
He said Labour would support a deal that protected jobs and the economy.
“If it doesn’t, we will vote against it and call for a general election,” he said.
“If there isn’t a general election we will have the fallback position, we’ll look to see whether there’s another option there and it might well be a people’s vote of some sort.”
Mr McDonnell urged the government to plough money into children’s services in the upcoming budget, saying there was a £2 billion funding gap otherwise that must be filled or the “most vulnerable” youngsters would be “at risk”.