Posted by Jim on October 13, 2018
by Jude Collins (judecollins.com)
Where do people get their ideas on contemporary matters? From their own
experience, from friends and from the media. The first two have clear
limitations. Space and time restrict the number of personal experiences
you can have, and how much you can learn from them. Likewise, you may be
popular but you can have only a limited number of friends from whom
you’ll pick up ideas or opinions.
Which leaves the media. There’s a change occurring, with newspapers,
radio and TV on the wane and social media on the rise, but it’s not
there yet. An op-ed in a major newspaper carries a lot more muscle than
the vast majority of bloggers or tweeters.
And that’s why I feel irritated by the Irish Times. A day or two ago
they had an editorial highlighting “Sinn Fein’s evasions”. The Shinners,
it seems, have had the gall to describe the British government as the
main protagonist in the years of conflict. The IT lambasts them for
this, quoting the casualty figures over the years: ” The IRA killed
1,696 people, the British army 299 and the RUC 56.”
Viewed in terms of people killed, clearly the IRA was the main
protagonist. But armed conflict doesn’t work exactly like that. If I
were to shoot dead two Muslims, and Muslims were to respond by killing
me and six of my friends, you could, using the IT criterion, position
Muslims as the main protagonist. But as the source of the killing, the
central cause, I could be classified as the main protagonist.
Likewise the British government. They bore ultimate responsibility for
letting the Stormont government gerrymander and discriminate at will for
fifty years. Bernadette Devlin’s maiden speech in the House of Commons
touched on this, reminding MPs that the state of the north was
“Britain’s shame”.
The British government also bears responsibility for sending in the
British army: tens of thousands of heavily-armed men, occupying
buildings, sports grounds and numerous barracks; building watch-towers
and establishing check-points, sallying forth to raid house, beat
suspects, sometimes kill them. In terms of the number of protagonists
and their sometimes brutal presence, the British army – answerable to
the British government – did what the British army has always done in
Ireland: it intimidated the natives.
So in its inaction before the armed conflict, allowing an Orange state
to act as it pleased for decades, and its sanction of repressive and
frequently lethal actions, the British government used the British army
to do what it could to cow the natives. When all disputes and diversions
have been explored, we come back to one core awkward fact: the British
government has, for the past hundred years, claimed jurisdiction over a
part of Ireland, and has used armed men to maintain that jurisdiction.
Call me an optimist, but I still think the Irish people should be
allowed to exercise control of their own country, not the next-door
neighbour. It’s because successive British governments have failed to
observe this basic democratic aspiration that our Troubles have been so
bloody. And to rub vinegar into the wound, we were forced to pay the
armed forces who travelled to Ireland and killed members of our
community, sometimes in broad daylight.
The British government was the main reason we’re in the present Brexit
mess. Similarly, the British government was and is the main reason we
have a divided country and a precarious peace.
Posted by Jim on
By Lily Murphy (for Counterpunch)
In the Ireland of 1922, a civil war tore through the land and in its
path it ripped apart families and friendships. It also created a deeper
wedge in an unstable society where the church grappled for top position
in an emerging new state.
The Irish Republican Army had fought a War of Independence against
British rule for over three years and led by the young enigmatic Michael
Collins, it managed to push the British government to the negotiating
table.
Hopes of achieving a free and united Irish republic were dashed when
negotiations resulted in six counties of the northern part of the island
staying with Britain and the remaining 26 counties of the south gaining
home rule under the guise of an Irish Free State.
It split the Irish republican movement in two halves between those who
favoured an Irish Free State and those who wanted to continue the fight
for an Irish Republic. What followed was the most unsavoury of wars; a
civil war.
It was a short lived campaign but a bitter and bloody one. It was a war
that saw brothers fighting against brothers and comrades who had fought
together during the War of Independence now on opposing sides.
The Irish Free State won the Civil War and as it came to an official end
in May 1923, republican prisoners remained incarcerated. To protest at
their continued imprisonment, IRA prisoners carried out a hunger strike.
The act of Irish republican prisoners going on hunger strike had been
used during the War of Independence and continued to be used during the
Civil War when twenty three members of the women’s wing of the IRA,
Cumann na mBan, who were imprisoned in Dublin’s Mountjoy jail, conducted
a hunger strike in February 1923. After 34 days the women were released,
including Nellie Ryan who was a sister-in-law of the Free State Minister
of Defence Richard Mulcahy.
Although hostilities had come to an end in Spring 1923, internment
without trial became a common aspect of Free State tactics against
republicans and this led to IRA prisoners taking to another hunger
strike in late 1923.
The Free State government used various tactics to break this hunger
strike, including supplying prisoners with forged orders from IRA
headquarters to call off the strike. The government also had the
overwhelming support of the Catholic church which was also used as a
tool to break the strike.
The Catholic hierarchy had a keen interest in the formation of the new
Irish Free state thus becoming a staunch supporter of its government.
The church established a strong opposition to the IRA and this can be
clearly seen in its attitude to the republican hunger strikers of 1923.
Large numbers of IRA prisoners went on hunger strike in the early Winter
of 1923, but it did not stir the government into action. Neither did the
church flinch, they saw the republican movement as subversives and
instead it solidified its full support for the Irish Free State with its
bourgeoisie interests and stern opposition to left wing politics.
The church had mildly supported the IRA during the War of Independence
but, during the Civil War it had changed its outlook.
From the start of the Civil War in 1922, IRA volunteers were instantly
condemned from the pulpit while some priests even refused family members
of hunger strikers to enter a church or even light a candle for their
loved one. Such tactics would increase as the year went on.
Without any release in sight for the many IRA prisoners still
incarcerated after the end of the war in 1923, 300 republicans prisoners
in Mountjoy jail started a hunger strike in October. The hunger strike
soon spread to other institutions of incarceration resulting in over
7,000 prisoners going on hunger strike across Ireland.
Days before the hunger strike began, the Catholic hierarchy released a
statement declaring their opposition to the IRA. The statement called on
excommunication for IRA members who partook in the war against the Free
State. This attitude of the church hardened as the IRA hunger strike
began.
The total tally of hunger strikers in Mountjoy was 462 while in Cork
jail they numbered at 70. The Curragh prison camp had the highest
proportion of hunger strikers with 3,390 while in the Newbridge camp
they totalled at 1,700. In Kilkenny jail there were 350 hunger strikers
while 711 prisoners went on strike in Gormanstown camp. In Dundalk jail
there were 200 hunger strikers and in Harepark camp there were 100.
Members of Cumann na mBan also joined the strike and had 50 of its
members on hunger strike in the North Dublin union.
Conditions in these places were appalling while the treatment handed out
to the hunger strikers was calculated to break the strike and most
importantly their morale. Medical attention was nil regarding the
prisoners while simple things such as clothing and bedding were denied
to many. Lice, fleas and rats infested the jails and conditions worsened
as the Winter wore on.
The hunger strike of 1923 lasted for 41 days and tragedy rather than
victory was to be the outcome.
Two IRA memembers from Cork died on hunger strike just days apart. The
first was Denis ‘Dinny’ Barry from Riverstick who died on November 20
while Andrew O’ Sullivan from Mallow died two days later and even though
death had occurred, the stance of both the government and church did not
soften towards the prisoners.
Denis Barry was a member of the first Cork brigade and had been
politically active in Sinn Fein. In 1917 he became election agent for
W.T Cosgrave in the Kilkenny by-election, one in which Cosgrave was
successfully elected but just six years later Barry would find himself
imprisoned by the government Cosgrave was in charge of.
In 1922 Barry was imprisoned in Newbridge camp in Kildare and took part
in the hunger strike of 1923. After 34 days protesting against the harsh
regime and undignified conditions, Barry died but even in death he was
still refused dignity.
The body of Denis Barry was not released to his family and was instead,
on the orders of Minister of Defence Richard Mulcahy, buried in the
grounds of Newbridge prison camp. The Barry family took legal action
against this and eventually achieved the body of their loved one but
their stress did not end there.
Upon returning back to Cork with the body of the dead hunger striker,
the Bishop of Cork Daniel Cohalan, instructed his priests not to allow
Barry’s funeral in any church. Ironically just a few short years before,
Bishop Cohalan had been a strong vocal supporter of Terrence McSwiney
the Sinn Fein lord mayor of Cork who died on hunger strike in Brixton
prison, but shortly after McSwiney’s death bishop Cohalan’s attitude
towards the IRA changed.
Not long after MacSwiney’s death, Bishop Cohalan issued a decree
condemning the IRA in which he stated that: ‘Anyone who shall within the
diocese of Cork organise or take part in an ambush or in kidnapping or
otherwise shall be guilty of murder or attempted murder and shall incur
by the very fact the censure of excommunication.’
Bishop Cohalan was the perfect example of Catholic hierarchy hostility
towards the Republican movement. It was a hostility based on the
interests of the church which wanted a strong grasp on an emerging new
country, one which would be conservative and Catholic both socially and
politically.
On December 10 1922 the bishop had preached publicly his support for the
Anglo Irish treaty which set up the Irish Free State and he urged his
flock to do the same. This led to an even greater wedge between the
Catholic church and many IRA members, yet it would be the incident with
Denis Barry that would seriously taint the Bishop of Cork and the
Catholic church in republican eyes.
Because of Bishop Cohalan’s stern objection to Barry’s body being let
into a Catholic church, the dead hunger striker had to lay in state in
the Cork Sinn Fein headquarters on the Grand Parade in Cork city. Barry
was then taken in a funeral procession to St.Finbarr’s cemetery where he
was buried in the Republican plot next to Terrence MacSwiney whose
funeral Bishop Cohalan presided over three years previously.
In place of a priest was David Kent, Sinn Fein TD for Cork and brother
of Thomas Kent who was executed for his part in the 1916 Rising. Kent
gave an oration, recited the rosary and sprinkled holy water on the
grave.
On November 28th 1923, the day Barry was buried, Cohalan sent an open
letter to the Cork Examiner newspaper publicly denying a Christian
burial for Denis Barry and urging all men of the cloth to stay away from
any such attempts for a funeral for the dead hunger striker. Bishop
Cohalan went so far as to write to the Bishop of Kildare Dr. Patrick
Foley to enquire about Barry getting the last sacraments. Denis Barry
did indeed receive the last rites from a Fr Doyle who was serving as
prison chaplain and this did not impress the Bishop of Cork.
Two days after Barry’s death another IRA prisoner from Cork died. Andrew
O’ Sullivan died on November 22nd and the strike was called off the day
after.
The attitude of the Catholic church towards the IRA and those imprisoned
and on hunger strike during the Civil War sums up the position the
church took in the aftermath of the conflict.
Once the Free State was established the Church saw an opportunity to
position itself in a seat of power. Although many priests and some
bishops continued to sympathise with the Republican movement post War of
Independence, the majority followed the middle class patterns the
provisional government were knitting out.
When the hunger strike came to an end, only women prisoners were
released. The men remained in prison until the following year which
would see some of them granted their freedom in drips and drabs. By then
the Irish Free State was fully set up through a bedrock of conservative
Catholicism.
The church hierarchy decided to support those who represented the haves
rather than the have nots and the total disregard for anyone who opposed
them can be summed up in incidents such as Bishop Cohalan’s opposition
to a Christian burial for Denis Barry in Cork.
Posted by Jim on
Sinn Fein has condemned the Police Federation in the North (PFNI) after
it warned that current and former members of the PSNI/RUC police would
not cooperate with the proposed Historical Investigations Unit (HIU).
Sinn Fein policing spokesman Gerry Kelly said for police to refuse to
co-operate with legally constituted bodies dealing with the legacy of
the conflict was “appalling”.
He challenged the federation to clarify whether its members are
currently withholding information about past crimes.
Mr Kelly added: “The Police Federation is supposed to be engaged in
upholding the rule of law, yet here we have them warning that they will
have no part in legal mechanisms which were agreed at Stormont House and
which are a central part of proposed new legislation to deal with the
legacy of the conflict.
“The Police Federation’s stance is in direct contravention to everything
that human-rights compliant and accountable policing should stand for.”
A separate appeal by four former British Direct Rulers to abandon legacy
investigations was described as a betrayal of victims by Sinn Fein’s
Linda Dillon.
They are part of a group of Westminster House of Lords who have argued
that investigating past British war crimes, such as Bloody Sunday,
should not be a focus of the legacy process.
The letter says it would be a “mistake” to expect a judicial outcome in
“any but a tiny percentage of crimes that have not already been dealt
with”.
Their letter was issued by Peter Hain and was co-signed by his
predecessor Tom King, John Reid and Paul Murphy, as well as former
Church of Ireland Primate Robin Eames and Chris Patten, who oversaw
police reform in the north. All the signatories were awarded lordships
and use the title ‘Lord’.
Sinn Fein victims spokeswoman said an emphasis by the peers on cash
compensation over investigation missed the point “because victims are
entitled to both”.
“The families are not naive and have stated repeatedly that even where
there is no expectation of prosecution the investigative process for
them is as much about establishing the truth of how their loved ones
died,” Ms Dillon said.
“Some of these families have been waiting nearly 50 years for the truth
about what happened to their loved ones and this letter signed by four
previous British Secretaries of State is proposing closing down that
option to them.”
Ms Dillon said the mechanisms in the 2014 Stormont House Agreement were
“key to addressing the legacy of the conflict here and they must be
implemented in a human rights compliant manner”.
SDLP policing and justice spokeswoman Dolores Kelly said the two
elements of the legacy process were not mutually exclusive. “Legacy is
not an a la cart menu, where you can pick and choose what outcome suits
you on any given day.”
Posted by Jim on
Maghaberry prisoners aligned to Republican Sinn Fein have condemned what
it said were attempts to provoke tension at the jail by prison warders.
A statement by the prisoners said they believe there are being harassed
in order to provide an excuse for overtime payments and bonuses for
staff at the high security jail.
“Over the last number of nights Republican prisoners have been awoken in
the early hours of the morning by screws banging each cell door
individually,” they said.
“This is a deliberate act of sleep deprivation and designed to raise
tension in the jail once again. It is clear to all PoWs that in order to
justify their high wages, overtime allowances and other payments some
screws are more than willing to aggravate the situation in Maghaberry.”
Prison officials have said such “body checks” are a mandatory procedure
at the jail, but prisoners have said the harassment is selective and
clearly being used as a provocation.
“The screws have escalated their actions by opening cell doors, shouting
and physically waking prisoners,” they said.
“There has been no reason or explanation given as to why this is
happening. It is clear these actions are sectarian, biased and shows
there is still a sectarian mindset against republicans in Maghaberry
jail.
“Republicans will resist these attempts to provoke and will take the
necessary actions if and when required.”
Meanwhile, Saoradh is holding a protest at Hydebank women’s jail to
highlight the conditions being faced by north Belfast republican
Christine Connor in her isolation at the prison and to demand her
transfer.
The is being subjected to increasingly oppressive measures, including
being deliberately left vulnerable to attack by hostile elements and
being denied education, healthcare and adequate legal communication,
Saoradh said.
“Christine’s basic human rights are being attacked, and Saoradh will not
stand by whilst this continues,” they said. “This is also in the
knowledge that conditions affecting Christine now will be forced upon
any woman who may be imprisoned in Hydebank in future.”
Posted by Jim on
The widow of a man shot dead by a British soldier in Belfast 47 years
ago has begun a High Court bid to obtain access to documents stored in
secret English vaults.
Lawyers representing Isobel Copeland are seeking an order for production
of material held at an enormous warehouse operated by contractors in
Derbyshire as part of her legal action against the British Ministry of
Defence.
She is suing for the alleged unlawful killing of her husband, John
Copeland, in October 1971.
Mr Copeland was shot close to his Ardoyne home in the north of the city
by a British solder. He died days later. At the time, the soldier
claimed Mr Copeland was armed and had opened fire on an army patrol.
But a draft report by the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) obtained by
his family casts doubt over that version of events. The report also
criticises the RUC (now PSNI) police for failing to properly investigate
the killing. The HET was told the soldier who fired the shots could not
be questioned because he is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder.
The proceedings are expected to be heard in full next year. In a
preliminary step, Mrs Copeland’s legal team have started attempts to
ensure the preservation of files connected to the case.
They are among 66,000 files which remain classified at the Swadlincote
warehouse in Derbyshire and have not been released to the British
National Archive, in breach of the usual 30-year rule for
declassification.
The hidden archive includes what is described as “hundreds and hundreds
of boxes”, each containing about 10 files, that were sent to the
warehouse from the north of Ireland four years ago.
One MoD archivist describes it as looking like “the final scene from
Raiders of the Lost Ark”, in which box after box can be seen stretching
into the distance.
The application to have the British MoD compelled to produce the
relevant material for the Copeland family was adjourned at the High
Court.
Lawyer Kevin Winters, representing Mrs Copeland, explained the wider
significance of the push.
“This is important for the family because it will provide additional
information to assist in the civil action which is pending next year,”
he said. “Not only that, but it’s relevant to all military killings
during the conflict.”