Posted by Jim on April 13, 2019
An analysis piece from the Enniscorthy Guardian looks at how Scotland’s
approach to Brexit resonates in Ireland.
As the parliament in Westminster continues its descent into anarchy you
could be forgiven for thinking that British politics has reached a state
of such utter dysfunction that it may never recover.
Thank God then for Scotland which – in an increasingly lunatic world –
looks like it will emerge from the morass of Brexit with its dignity
intact.
There is no denying that those most aggressively seeking Scottish
independence have seized on Brexit as a powerful propaganda weapon to
advance their cause.
While that is certainly true, it does a disservice to Nicola Sturgeon
and her administration to suggest that advancing Scottish independence
is the only reason that they have so vigorously fought to stop Brexit.
Though a majority of Scots voted against independence in 2014, when it
came to the Brexit vote in 2016 the vast majority of Scottish voters –
62 per cent – said they wanted to stay in the EU.
Now as the UK prepares to drive off a cliff, in the most demented act of
political self harm witnessed in Europe for decades, our Scottish
neighbours are pleading with Europe not to abandon them in their hour of
need.
Debate in Westminster has become a tragic farce but in Europe sense,
logic and responsibility have generally prevailed in the face of British
irrationality.
A striking example of this came in the EU chamber last week when
Scottish National Party MEP Alyn Smith made an emotional rallying call
to the European Parliament.
In what he said could be his last ever speech to the European
Parliament, Smyth insisted that Scotland remains a European nation and
he begged the lawmakers in Strasbourg to leave the door open to
Scotland’s return in the event that Nicola Sturgeon and her party can
secure a vote for Scotland’s independence from the UK.
“We celebrate international solidarity, we celebrate freedom of
movement. If the European Union did not exist we would need to invent
something like it and Scotland would like to be part of it,” said Smyth
to applause in the chamber.
“Chers collègues, I’m not asking you to solve our domestic discussions.
I am asking you to leave a light on so we can find our way home,” he
added.
It was a powerful, articulate contribution to a debate that, in Britain,
has become more vicious and increasingly half-witted with every passing
day.
If there were more politicians like Mr Smyth in Westminster then Europe
might have been spared this abject mess.
The SNP’s fight for Scottish independence still has a long way to go but
recent polls have shown that more and more Scots believe Brexit will
make Scotland’s independence more likely.
Crucially 43 per cent of previously undecided Scots polled in the last
week say that Brexit had made up their minds and that they now back
independence.
Whatever about Westminster, there are interesting times ahead in
Holyrood.
Posted by Jim on
One of the pillars of the British establishment in Ireland, former
Alliance Party leader John Alderdice, has joined growing criticism of
British Direct Ruler Karen Bradley.
Speaking on the 21st anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement,
Alderdice, who now goes by the title ‘Baron Alderdice of Knock’, said
Bradley did not have the “capacity” for the job.
He said she should not be in the post as she did not have a “real
understanding of the problems Northern Ireland has” and “does not
understand” her job.
Speaking in Westminster, Alderdice admitted the minister had “said some
things that are completely extraordinary”.
Last week, Bradley told Irish citizens in the north of Ireland that they
did not have a right to vote in referendums, and would not have the same
rights as other EU citizens after Brexit.
Sinn Féin described the comments as “erroneous and dangerous”.
This week the British government sought to provide reassurance, but
still fell short of providing clarity that Irish citizens will be
allowed to participate in any future border poll on reunification.
A spokesperson said that voter eligibility rules for future referendums
would be determined “on a poll-by-poll basis”. He said: “The rules
surrounding any referendum are set in legislation specific to that poll,
as happened in 2016 (for the Brexit referendum). Any decisions on a
border poll would be made in line with the Belfast Agreement.”
The controversy comes after other highly inflammatory remarks by
Bradley, including a shocking statement that all the killings carried
out by British soldiers in the north of Ireland are “not crimes”.
Alderdice works closely with the British government’s political
apparatus in Ireland and has previously been taken part in MI5-operated
commissions to “monitor” the status of the Provisional IRA’s ceasefire.
But he said Bradley was out of her depth.
“She is not a bad person but she should just not be in the job, because
she does not understand it and she does not have the capacity to deal
with it and it is allowing things to drift in a totally unsatisfactory
way.”
Another statement by Bradley this week claimed that she is willing to
hold a “short, focused set of five-party talks” in order to restore the
Stormont Assembly in Belfast.
Sinn Féin Vice-President Michelle O’Neill said neither the British
government nor the DUP had any genuine interest in restoring
power-sharing.
“I am fully committed to Sinn Féin playing our full part in any serious
and meaningful talks process which remove obstacles to proper
power-sharing and which deliver a successful outcome and restore the
Assembly,” she said. “We have yet to see Karen Bradley prioritise any
such process, and I have told her it is time she did.”
She said the present reality is that Karen Bradley’s government is
wholly reliant on the DUP at Westminster to stay in power.
“It therefore appears to us that neither the British government nor the
DUP want an Assembly and Executive at this time which would impede their
catastrophic Brexit.”
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said she was alarmed that “more than
20 years after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, that the
British government and state insists that Irish people living in the
north of Ireland are British.
“And I am concerned that [Bradley] would make such ill-judged and
inaccurate comments around people’s right to vote in any potential unity
referendum. That worries me and that does undermine public confidence in
her.”
Asked if Ms Bradley should resign, Mrs McDonald said it “wouldn’t solve
the problem”.
“The issue that we have here regards this government’s stewardship of
the peace process is far deeper and goes much wider than Karen Bradley.”
Posted by Jim on
A former British military medical assistant has told the inquest into
the Ballymurphy Massacre that a senior figure in the British Army asked
him to plant bullets on two innocent civilians he had treated. It is
thought to be one of the first incidents of British Crown Forces in
Ireland attempting to falsely portray civilians as combatants.
The inquest is looking into the killings of ten people in the
Ballymurphy area of west Belfast in August 1971 as Crown Forces sought
to seize control of the area during the introduction of internment
without trial.
Nigel Mumford was serving as a first-aid medic at a temporary British
Army base at Henry Taggart Hall.
Speaking via videolink from an unknown location, Mumford said an
‘officer’ he did not recognise asked him to plant bullets on the clothes
of the victims. He told Belfast Coroner’s Court that he refused to do it
and that the bullets were not planted.
Mr Mumford also said he did not report the officer at the time. Asked
why, he said he did not want to negatively impact his career.
“It takes a brave man to go up against an officer in the British Army,”
he said.
Mr Mumford also told the inquest that he had watched a moment when
soldiers opened fire on people.
The witness said he saw an officer known as ‘Lieutenant M42’ take six or
seven soldiers outside the base. He said that with the permission of
‘Major M45’, the lieutenant shouted “some warnings” at what he said was
a crowd of rioters, and then ordered his men to open fire on the crowd
and “shoot to kill”.
The former corporal described a “fusillade of shots” for about a minute.
He said he did not see the victims, and was only told that the group had
“scattered” as some fell wounded or dead.
As victims were brought in, he described a number of attempts at giving
first aid, admitting to frustration that his poor medical training
prevented him from saving lives.
During his descriptions the families of those who died were clearly very
upset.
He also observed the body of Joan Connolly being brought into the base.
He told the court that a doctor present took photographs of her
injuries, which he said was for training purposes.
In a discussion on the culture of the Parachute Regiment, he agreed that
at times rubber bullets had been doctored with nails by other soldiers
before being fired.
He also described the treatment of men arrested and interned who he said
were tied up, hooded, and pushed around.
He said the internees had bags placed over their heads and their hands
tied behind their back, and said they were made to believe they were
going to be pushed off a table and hung. But he denied it was torture.
“It was to put the fear of God into them,” he said. “You use Paras to
fight wars…” he said. “Not as cheap policemen.”
Posted by Jim on
An extraordinary incident involving Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has
forced the Dublin government to confirm that heavily armed members of the
British Crown Forces are routinely making incursions into all areas of
the 26 Counties without any checks or controls.
It has emerged that there was a security scare at Garda HQ in the
Phoenix Park in Dublin late last month involving Harris and several
armed PSNI moving in unmarked PSNI jeep. The ‘bomb-proof’ jeep was
badly damaged when it was struck and flipped upwards by a security
barrier raised as it attempted to enter the base without warning.
The Garda Press Office has been engaged in a damage limitation exercise
since news of the incident emerged last weekend, almost two weeks after
the incident on March 25th.
Insider accounts said the jeep was ‘flung up into the air’ when a garda
at the gate of Garda HQ, responding to the threat of an unknown
northern-registered vehicle entering at speed, activated an emergency
security barrier which ‘rammed’ the bottom of the jeep, which was ‘flung
up into the air’.
Panicked gardai rushed out of Phoenix Park thinking there was a bomb on
board. “Gardaí thought there was a bomb scare because the barrier is
only used when there’s a security threat,” the Daily Mirror reported.
The jeep was said to have been written off as a result of the impact.
The Garda Press Office later blamed a faulty bollard for the impact,
which it said occurred when the armoured PSNI vehicle was moving “at
walking pace”.
In almost identical statements, both the Gardaí and the PSNI described
the incident as “normal procedure”. But their attempts to minimise the
incident only added urgency o the questions.
Chief among these is the revelation that members of the PSNI, including
those with a past involvement in collusion, have been allowed to carry
loaded weapons throughout the 26 Counties since 2013, despite the
illegality of doing so.
Harris was controversially appointed by Justice Minister Charlie
Flanagan in September last year. He previously served as the head of
PSNI/RUC Special Branch where his actions served to cover up that
force’s collusion with loyalist paramilitaries.
It also emerged that Harris prefers to use a PSNI unit rather than
Gardaí as personal security, dispensing with his own Garda Emergency
Response Unit (ERU) vehicle which normally is assigned for his
protection.
Dermot Ahern, who was minister for justice from 2009 to 2011, said he
was never aware of the PSNI being permitted to carry firearms across
Ireland during his time at the department.
He also said that every time he travelled to the North his Garda driver
would be disarmed by PSNI before they crossed over the Border. After
they crossed, the PSNI would insist “every time” that he transfer to
their vehicle for the onward journey.
The PSNI’s expanding role in 26 County policing has angered
rank-and-file members of the Garda who see it as a denigration of the
function of the highly trained ERU which is responsible for the
commissioner’s safety.
Harris has been accused of treating Garda HQ as a sub-office of PSNI HQ
in east Belfast. He has also been accused of treating the post of Garda
Commissioner as a stepping stone as he prepares to apply for the role of
the next Chief Constable in the Six Counties.
Previously Harris generated controversy over his links to loyalists
after he backed Garda protection for a masked loyalist gang who have
been carrying out illegal evictions in the 26 Counties.
On Monday, John O’Brien, retired Garda chief superintendent and former
national head of Interpol and Europol, said the latest incident raised
serious questions about the judgment of the commissioner, who has
suffered bereavement and trauma during the conflict.
“It is not standard operating procedure, the usual way that we do
things, that an armed escort from the PSNI would travel to Garda
headquarters to protect the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána,” he
said.
“The officers concerned have no authority to carry firearms,” he said,
and there would be “huge issues” if the PSNI opened fire.
Mr O’Brien raised the possibility the PSNI involved could have been
targeted by an IRA unit on their return journey.
“If some incident goes down, what are the rules of engagement? The
bottom line is that the Gardaí and the Defence Forces are the only
service permitted to carry firearms in this jurisdiction,” he said.
“What happened with Drew Harris and his car calls his judgment into
question very strongly unless there is a reasonable explanation for it.”
Posted by Jim on April 12, 2019
April 12, 2019
Dear friends in the Lord,
This Sunday is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. Will you accompany Jesus as He enters Jerusalem?
Christ crucified is the greatest preacher ever. His passion, death, and resurrection is the most effective pulpit ever. This Holy Week, He invites you to walk with Him.
Monday, April 15, is Reconciliation Monday, a tradition in the Archdiocese of New York, the Diocese of Brooklyn, and the Diocese of Rockville Centre. All parishes will be open and priests available to hear confessions from 3:00 to 9:00 p.m. If it’s been awhile and you need a little refresher on the “how-to’s” of going to confession, that’s OK! There is no time like Lent to get back in the habit of participating in this beautiful sacrament. Second, you can find a good overview on preparing for the sacrament here, and you can always tell the priest you need a little help, and he’ll be glad to guide you.
Additionally, many parishes will be praying the Stations of the Cross during Holy Week – a wonderful way to unite through prayer across our 10 counties – and all parishes will have special services for the Triduum, the three great days of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday that culminate in the Easter Vigil on Saturday night and Easter Sunday Masses. Make a special effort to participate as we commemorate the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Our Lord.
I will remember you in my prayers, that you may have a blessed Holy Week, and a joyous Easter.
Faithfully in Christ, Timothy Michael Cardinal DolanArchbishop of New York