A PSNI raid on the grieving home of a former IRA Volunteer a day after
his funeral has sparked considerable anger in west Belfast.
The Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) described the police raid, in which
a number of items were seized from the home, as “shameless” and
described the PSNI unit involved as “British thugs”.
Alex (Alec) Murphy’s funeral took place at St Peter’s Cathedral on Monday
afternoon. He passed away at his home on the Falls Road last Thursday,
15 August.
Hundreds had gathered on the the Falls Road on Monday as a coffin draped
in the Irish tricolour was proudly carried from his home.
Around 15 men in the funeral parade wore IRA-style clothing bearing the
symbol of the Provisional IRA’s D Company 2nd Battalion.
At the garden of remembrance, where members of the unit are honoured,
the coffin was saluted by those wearing uniforms during a minute’s
silence.
Henry Reid, a friend of the deceased, told the crowd that Mr Murphy
remained unrepentant about his IRA past and became disillusioned
after the armed campaign ended.
He said Alec was 12 when he heard “gun battles raging on the streets”,
referring to the Falls Road curfew in July 1970. He was first arrested
at the age of 15 and was one of the youngest internees in Long Kesh,
and became a very active Volunteer.
Mr Reid said the Gibraltar ambush of three IRA Volunteers by the SAS in
March 1988 had “set off a chain of events which would result in Alec
again finding himself inside a prison cell.”
Mr Murphy received a 25-year sentence for a well-known IRA action in defence of
a republican funeral in west Belfast. A dramatic, televised incursion on
the funeral cortege by two plain-clothes British soldiers led to chaotic
and violent scenes which ended with the two soldiers being shot dead.
Mr Murphy was released after 10 years under the terms of the Good Friday
Agreement and immediately reported back to D Company, Mr Reid said: “But
like many before him, it was clear that Alec’s type of service was no
longer needed and he was sidelined and became disillusioned. He was cast
aside and forgotten about by those now in high positions, what a shame.”
He said Murphy was unrepentant, adding that he “never tried to sanitise
his involvement in the liberation struggle. And is on the record as
saying if he had to do it all again, he would.”
A PSNI spy camera mounted to a vehicle recorded all those in
attendance as the funeral cortege proceeded to St Peter’s Cathedral.
Earlier, a volley of shots had been fired over the open coffin in the
traditional republican salute for an IRA Volunteer. A video of the
tribute emerged on Monday.
While the Good Friday Agreement enshrines the right of everyone to
commemorate their dead, Sinn Féin have called for an end to gun salutes.
They said this week there was “no place for guns on our streets”.
The police have said
such tributes are illegal.
But the heavy-handed PSNI response at the Murphy home was strongly
condemned.
“The West Belfast Community has been witness to many despicable acts of
cowardice and insensitivity by Crown Forces over the years, regardless
of whatever nom-de-guerre they use at any particular time. This is a new
low,” said Saoradh in Belfast.
“This attack on Alex’s home and his family, still grieving from the loss
of their loved one, has been carried out at the behest of hysterical
unionists,” they added.
“These raids are also the direct outworkings of Sinn Féin’s repeated
calls for an end to Republican Volunteers being afforded the final
salute they deserve from comrades.
“The actions of Crown Forces today simply demonstrate that in death, as
in life, they fear Alex Murphy and his revolutionary legacy. Saoradh
stand in solidarity with the Murphy family and call on the community to
further reject Sinn Féin attempts to normalise their own present-day
comrades in the PSNI.”
The IRSP said that a number of local residents had contacted them
“making clear their complete disgust at this action by the front line of
Britain in Ireland, as well as disgust at those who continually prop up
these thugs and attempt to integrate them into our communities.
“Our thoughts are with the Murphy family at this time.”
The British prime minister believes there is an alternative to the “Backstop” – but can’t say what it might be
Irish Times. Dublin. Tuesday, Aug 20, 2019
Almost a month after becoming British prime minister, Boris Johnson got around this week to writing a letter outlining his demand for changes to the EU-UK withdrawal agreement. The new administration in London may have a negotiating strategy and some fresh ideas on how to avoid a hard Border in Ireland but, if so, the open letter does a good job of concealing them.
The four-page document restates Johnson’s opposition to the “Backstop” and sets out three specific reasons for that opposition. First, Johnson argues, the backstop is “anti-democratic” because it could keep the North in alignment with EU regulations without having a say over them. Second, he claims, it subverts a key aim of the Leave campaign – regulatory divergence from the EU. And third, it undermines the Belfast Agreement. None of these claims stand up to serious scrutiny.
A clear majority in Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU. It is an insult to them to claim any attempt to soften the blow of a hard Brexit is somehow anti-democratic. Total regulatory divergence from the EU – a hard Brexit – may have been the aim of the ultras behind the Leave campaign, but there is no empirical basis for claiming this is what British voters chose when they ticked the box marked ‘Leave’ – not least given that many high-profile Leave campaigners actually advocated staying in the Customs Union. The claim that the “Backstop” somehow thwarts the Belfast Agreement is the sort of argument that even a desperate student debater would struggle to deliver with a straight face; after all, the “Backstop” is expressly designed to prevent something – a hard border – that would self-evidently undermine the spirit if not also the letter of that accord.
Most worryingly, Johnson puts forward not a single idea for replacing the “Backstop”. Instead, he falls back on empty slogans first heard three years ago, putting his faith in unspecified “alternative arrangements”. The truth is that, if Johnson had any confidence that there was a viable new way of avoiding a hard Border while the entire UK left the Customs Union, he would not oppose the “Backstop” because it would be irrelevant.
The EU is facing a negotiating partner who is threatening to set himself on fire unless he gets what he wants. Unfortunately, Ireland is locked in an enclosed space with this irrational actor. That means the next two months could be extremely tense. A negotiated deal is in everyone’s interest. The Government must therefore maintain a constructive tone and do everything it can to find an accommodation that Johnson could sell to his party while retaining the core elements of the “Backstop” – which is (and it needs repeating) a reasonable, practical attempt to solve a problem London created with its mutually incompatible red lines. But the space for accommodation is narrow, and the timeline is excruciatingly tight.
On Monday, August 26, 2019 at 1100 hours, a Plaque Dedication will be held honoring the memory of Firefighter Jimmy Martinez, E-157, who died on August 24, 2018. The dedication will take place in the quarters of Engine 157 & Ladder 80, 1573 Castleton Avenue, Staten Island, NY. All off-duty members and their families are invited to attend. Members are requested to attend in dress uniform.
FIREHOUSE KITCHEN TALK:
Q&A WITH A PROBIE For those interested in joining the greatest job in the world, come join us at Friends of Firefighters (199 Van Brunt Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231) on Wednesday, August 28, from 6:00-9:00 PM for a firefighter-prepared dinner and Q&A session with a probie on his Fire Academy experience and first year on the job. Please notify your family members and friends. This event is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. No RSVP necessary. For more information, call their office at 718-643-0980 or email info@friendsoffirefighters.org.
WORLD TRADE CENTER OAK PROJECT
Friends of Firefighters encourages all members to read about the World Trade Center Oak Project, a beautiful initiative started by one man who traveled from Michigan on September 13, 2017 to the September 11 Memorial at the World Trade Center in New York City. After collecting 60 fresh acorns dropped from the memorial oak trees, he returned home to work on raising the trees again. He is now desperately seeking permanent homes for 41 oak tree saplings in NYC where they can act as ‘living memorials’ and be a sign of both remembrance and rebirth. Ideally, they need to find homes by the end of September or they will not last through the next season. Please contact Friends of Firefighters at 718-643-0980 or info@friendsoffirefighters.org if you or your firehouse is interested in planting a WTC oak tree in someone’s memory, perhaps the most fitting memorial gift of all as we approach the anniversary of September 11th.
FF WILLIAM TOLLEY FUNDRAISER
The 1st annual FF William Tolley Fundraiser, “Tolleyfest” is here. Join in honoring Billy’s legacy and supporting the First Responder Community. The fundraiser is Thursday, October 17, 2019, from 6:00 -10:00 PM at Black Forest Brewhaus. Tickets are $60 per person. Registration deadline is September 30, 2019. Contact Bobby Tolley at (631) 327-0659 or robert.tolley@firesanddrums.org for questions.
Paul Kelly has an uncomfortable question for the GAA.
So, Boris Johnson has finally achieved his lifetime ambition and made it to Number 10. “The end of the beginning” as his hero, Winston Churchill, once said. Or could it possibly be the other way around? Brexit is now in full-throttle Cronus mode and has clearly demonstrated that the truth is irrelevant when you’re chained to an antiquated and highly flawed ideology; the good old days when the sun never set on the British Empire. If devouring its own children in order to maintain the status quo is what it takes, then so be it. Former US president Bill Clinton summed it up perfectly to RTE’s Tommie Gorman in June. Expressing his concerns about those at the vanguard portraying the pursuit of a hard Brexit as a means of “liberating the United Kingdom” Clinton warned they may be: … consigning one of the world’s greatest nations in human history to a smaller role just so that people who have historically been in control can stay there. As much as we like to tut-tut at Boris, Rees-Mogg, Gove et al pining for a simpler time when Paddy knew his place, with regard to blind devotion to an archaic creed are we really in a position to cast the first stone? Take, for example, the GAA; arguably the final bastion in Irish society but an organization whose stubborn resistance to change rivals that of the Vatican. If the top table is unwilling to discuss a recent suggestion from Jarlath Burns (touted by many as a potential Uachtaran CLG) in relation to removing anthems and flags from GAA events in an attempt to welcome those of a different persuasion, are they (and thus by default, we) not handcuffed to an equally outdated doctrine also? What flew in 1884 doesn’t necessarily fly in 2019. What was written during a time of war doesn’t necessarily apply during a time of peace. All philosophies have a sell-by date. I believe this is what hurling pundit Donal Og Cusack was driving at with his ” … last remnants of British culture on these islands …” comment made during a recent post-match analysis in which he defended coaches criticized for exploring alternative tactics. For many the GAA is about identity; for others it’s simply chasing a ball around a field. I’d suspect the silent majority fall somewhere in between. Of course the GAA takes on different meanings depending on geography and I fully appreciate that carrying a hurley in Ballymena isn’t the same as carrying a hurley in Ballyhaunis. Placing less emphasis on historical and cultural aspects may be anathema to some; it was to me until recently. But I believe it’s time for what former Crossmaglen Rangers and Armagh footballer John McEntee described in his Irish News column as ‘uncomfortable conversations’. This thinking will no doubt meet with fierce resistance in some quarters but our rich culture, one which transcends burning tyres and pallets, isn’t jeopardized one iota by holding such discussions. One would think this is a more pressing matter for GAA president John Horan than introducing a ridiculous and totally unnecessary back-pass rule. ⏭ Paul Kelly is a Tuam based writer.
