Former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has released a personal tribute to the former political prisoner and former party chairman Bobby Storey following his death at the age of 64.Mr Storey died in England last Sunday, June 21, following an unsuccessful lung transplant. Hundreds of mourners lined the Falls Road on Friday as his body arrived back to Belfast. Republicans wearing white shirts and ties formed a guard of honour and flanked the coffin as it was driven to his home.
His funeral is to take place in Belfast on Tuesday, June 30. It is understood that Sinn Féin has met with the PSNI to discuss arrangements. His remains will leave his home in Owenvarragh Park at 10.30am for 11am Mass at St Agnes’ Church on the Andersonstown Road and afterwards to Milltown Cemetery.
Thousands of mourners are expected to attend and republicans are being urged to ensure social distancing measures are maintained.
Mr Storey, who spent more than 20 years in prison, was loved and respected, and his death had come as a political as well as a personal blow, Mr Adams said.
“Bobby Storey was a stalwart of the struggle for Irish freedom for almost 50 years. As a young teenager growing up in North Belfast he witnessed, like many others of his generation, the violence and bigotry of the Unionist state, and then of the British Army.”
He said the introduction of internment in August 1971 and the Bloody Sunday killings in Derry had a huge influence on him.
“He was interned aged seventeen, one of the youngest internees, and in the decades that followed he spent over 20 years in prison.”
Mr Adams said he was an important advocate of the peace process.
“Bobby had a sharp, insightful political mind. He embraced the opportunity for building the republican struggle and advancing our goal of Irish Unity created by the peace process.
“At countless republican meetings he spoke in favour of Sinn Féin’s peace strategy. And when, following years of negotiations, the potential emerged for republicans to engage with the new policing dispensation Bobby played a leadership role in persuading others to grasp this new opportunity.”
He also said Mr Storey was one of the bravest people he had ever known.
“Whether inside or outside of prison, or through the years of harassment and beatings, arrests and torture from the RUC and British Army, Big Bobby demonstrated time and time again his enormous personal commitment and courage.
“He was also one of the funniest people I know. Big Bobby made light of his stammer. He could hold a group spellbound with his stories of past escapades and derring-do. His accounts of life in prison in England were hilarious. He was kind, thoughtful, loyal and very giving.”
He said even as he battled his illness, he remained cheerful.
“Big Bobby’s death is a huge political blow for republicans but is also a very personal loss for all of us who knew him. There were tears shed across Ireland as comrades got news of his death.
“On behalf of Colette and myself and our family I extend my sincerest and deepest sympathies and solidarity to Teresa, their children and grandchildren, his brothers Seamus and Brian, his sister Geraldine, his extended family circle and his many friends.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians has congratulated Ireland on its election to the United Nations Security Council.
In a letter to Irish Ambassador to the United Staes, Daniel Mulhall, AOH National President James McKay wrote: “As Ireland’s exiled children in America, we take special pride in being able to congratulate the Republic of Ireland in securing a position on the UN Security Council.
“For a nation that has yet to achieve its 100th birthday, for Ireland to now join the Security Council for the fourth time is truly an extraordinary accomplishment. It is a fitting recognition to the sacrifice of Ireland’s young men and women who have served as peacekeepers in some of the world’s most troubled areas. It is a testament to the energy and drive of the Irish people.
“As noted by former Ireland Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald, ‘Ireland has never invaded any other land, never sought to enslave or occupy.’ Ireland brings a unique perspective to the critical deliberations of the Security Council that is sorely needed in a troubled world seeking lasting peace.
“In this year 2020, we mark the sad 175th anniversary of the nadir of Irish history, the start of the Great Hunger, a time when Ireland was degraded and abandoned; a time when she lost a quarter of her population to starvation and immigration. For Ireland in this commemorative year to take a place of leadership amongst the nations of the world is as appropriate as it is remarkable.
“May God continue to bless Ireland as she confidently strives forward, reaching new heights.”
Dear Editor, Sadly, your Washington correspondent has got it exactly right:“ that much of the success of Donald Trump was based on racism.” ( Suzanne Lynch,” Donald Trump’s political success is based on racism.” June 6).
Americans have been slow to actually come to terms with that. Even leading media people, who are critical of Trump, have been loath to actually and outrightly state it: fudging it with words like “ We don’t/can’t understand why he says/does that…” —making this Fermanagh man shout back at the TV :” because he’s a damn racist, that’s why he’s doing it.”
A Catholic from Northern Ireland can quickly spot racism/sectarianism (the twin evils of the world).Ms. Lynch rightly says slavery was the original sin of the United States. Racism (anti-Irish) and sectarianism (anti-Catholicism) were the original sin of England’s 1920 creation of Northern Ireland
There was a time not so long ago that White racists in America were proud to boast that they were anti-Black; and extreme Unionist/Loyalist/Protestants were likewise proud to demonstrate their anti-Catholicism. Now both groups will deny that they are bigoted. Indeed, it has now reached a ridiculous point that if one dares to criticize state-sponsored sectarianism in The North—the real serious issue, not individual bigotry, which may always be with us —one can be accused of being sectarian! But nothing can deny the enduring pathology, in significant sections, in both the United States and Northern Ireland.
One cannot watch the TV scenes of American police battering peaceful protesters off the streets and not immediately be reminded of the RUC. [Royal Ulster Constabulary, name of the former police force]. And one cannot hear about “collusion” (a word, I think, was first made popular in The North) and not think of The North when Trump keeps saying “ no collusion, no collusion”—knowing that that was England’s constant response, deny, deny.
And, I cannot watch Attorney General Bill Barr ( whom I call Lord Widgery) without thinking of cover-up, corruption, and lies.[The late Lord Widgery covered-up the State-massacre by the British Army of 13 innocent Catholics in Derry city, January 30, 1972.The British Army opned fire on thousands of peaceful Civil Rights protesters].
When I first came here in 1972, I , of course, knew that this great country still had problems. But it never occurred to me to be worried about the future of the United States—what new immigrant does?
But now, after almost 50 years, I am deeply concerned about the future of the United States, especially if Trump is re-elected for another four years. He has already hollowed out the main institutions: The State Department, the Justice Department, the FBI, the Separation of Powers (White House, US. Congress, Supreme Court), and he wants to use the U.S. military as his own Pretorian Guard or “B Specials.”
Historians warn us that great powers collapse from the inside, not the outside. This appalling occupant of The White House is a present and clear danger to the United States; he is the cancer on the presidency; he is a bully, a coward, and a narcissist beyond imagination, without a shred of empathy. He either does not know objective truth or he does not care about truth. He lies about everything, and according to the facts checkers of the Washington Post he has told about 20,000 lies since becoming president—and yet the Religious Right and many Catholics still support him, while he uses religion to divide and conquer.
Mother of God, how did this happen to this great country that I and every Irish immigrant love?
There has been a surge of pressure for an end to Britain’s trade in plastic and rubber bullets following disturbing scenes of serious injuries to Black Lives Matters protestors in the US. Seventeen people have been killed by rubber bullets over the course of the conflict in Ireland, including eight children, and there have been scores of other injuries, including blindness.
Originally designed to be suppress protests in Catholic areas, over 125,000 rubber and plastic bullets were fired between 1970 and 2005.
Official export licences show Britain is now the world’s largest exporter of rubber bullets, as well as other militarised policing equipment, such as smoke and pyrotechnic charges, CS gas grenades, and teargas.
Sinn Féin has supported calls by the Scottish parliament, opposition MPs at Westminster and human rights campaigners for an immediate suspension of the exports.
“The British government cannot be allowed to profit from weapons turned on peaceful protestors,” said Sinn Fein MP Francie Molloy.
“As was demonstrated during the conflict here, rubber and plastic bullets are anything but ‘non-lethal’. There is no excuse or justification for their use ever.”
This week, English TV host Victoria Derbyshire added to the controversy when she said during a live broadcast to the US: “We don’t use rubber bullets in the UK, we don’t know what they are”.
Derbyshire was apparently unaware that they have been used by the RUC, PSNI and British Army to attack peaceful protests in the north of Ireland for decades. But her comments motivated two Derry activists, now living in London, to help campaign for an end to the industry.
“Victoria’s comment shows that even in the supposedly more informed elements of media there is a blind spot about the use of rubber bullets by British Forces within its own borders,” wrote Maev McDaid and Brian Christopher.
“This is just one more example of the failure and inability to discuss Britain’s bloody past and present.
“Increasingly we see people take to the streets to challenge the legacies of empire, such as the statutes in public spaces, forcing the hand of the media to address Britain’s imperial past.”
An Irish-American leader in Philadelphia said he could not overstate his opposition to the use of plastic bullets anywhere “let alone on our fellow citizens”.
Bob Gessler, the president of the Irish Memorial Ancient Order of Hibernians, said he was one of thousands who marched against their use in Ireland.
“The devastation these bullets have done to Irish Catholic families throughout Northern Ireland cannot be forgotten – fathers, mothers, daughters and sons killed, maimed and wounded,” he said.
“We as a people cannot forget and can never condone their use. We cannot forget our history as a persecuted people, nor sacrifice the very human rights we have sought for and still seek for our sisters and brothers in Northern Ireland.”
The petition calling for an end to the British export of rubber bullets is available at https://bit.ly/3e96Iyo
A petition to ban rubber bullets is available at https://bit.ly/37qqwuX
After four months of negotiation, a proposed Programme for Government between Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party could give the 26 County state the largest right-wing government it has seen for decades. The draft plan for a five-year coalition government being circulated by Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar (left), Green party leader Eamon Ryan (centre) and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin (right) could finally bring together the parties arising from both sides of the civil war, propped up in power by the Greens.
Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil or their predecessors have alternated in government in Dublin since the 1920s. After a dire performance in the 26 County general election in February, when Sinn Féin emerged as the largest party, they now need the support of a left-leaning party to form a new government between them.
The parliamentary parties of all three parties are due to hold online meetings this evening the ratify the deal ahead of votes of the party memberships.
Fianna Fáil have said they expect Micheál Martin will be the next Taoiseach as part of a rotation of the position between the parties.
A lot now depends on the membership of the Green Party. Many of them will recall that their disastrous support for the Fianna Fáil-led government during the financial crisis of 2008 plunged the state into receivership at the hands of the International Monetary Fund, and almost wiped out the Green Party itself.
Sinn Féin deputy leader Pearse Doherty said the deal is “not the change that people voted for” and warned Green party members were being asked to endorse a plan that would do “significant damage to the environmental movement”.
Mr Doherty said his party would “wait and see” as to how the membership of each party votes, but that Sinn Féin will seek to form a government again if it does not pass.
“These parties, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil specifically, cannot be trusted. They created many of the major challenges we have in terms of health and housing. Regardless of what party props them up, these two parties will not change. So it is over to the membership now. They have seen what these parties have failed to deliver despite all their flowery language and I think it would be naive in the extreme to think they will change into what the public wanted.”
Mr Doherty said many within the Green Party would have seen the “huge mandate for change” in February’s General Election and “recognise that this is not it.
“People know that it is in the DNA of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to protect the developer, landlord, speculator, the insurance industry and we have countless examples of that.”
He said that if the deal passes, Sinn Féin will “use the mandate we have to force the changes that are needed.”
Tánaiste and Fine Gael lead negotiator Simon Coveney said the draft coalition government deal followed “a lot of good work”.
“Negotiating teams have done their job. I think the text that will be going to the leaders today is good for the country and I hope and I am confident that the three leaders will be able to sell it within their parties and to the public.”
If the deal fails to get past the memberships, Sinn Féin will renew contacts with other like-minded parties, Mr Doherty said.
“We have stayed in contact with everyone including in fairness the Green Party who never excluded us. We want to lead the next government, deal with the climate emergency, and reduce the pension age, all of these things.
“I have huge respect for the Green Party and I believe that of course they know they are going in with two centre-right parties, parties who together have created the housing crisis. The under-investment in health did not fall from the sky.”
“The crises that we have in our society aren’t acts of god, they are man-made. The Greens know the consequences of government and the alternatives. It is up to them to decide what is in their interests and what is in the interests of the people who elected them. If this deal goes ahead, it will be the largest centre-right Government in recent times.”
Rise TD for Dublin South West Paul Murphy said that “if the Greens’ membership endorses this deal, they will do significant damage to the environmental movement, allowing themselves to be used as a green mudguard for austerity. That is epitomised by the carbon tax, which will not even be a ‘cap and dividend’ model previously advocated by the Greens, with rebates for lower income families. Instead, it will be a straightforward austerity tax.”
