Posted by Jim on June 24, 2018
This week in 1897, James Connolly was arrested and detained for
organising a series of protests in Dublin over Queen Victoria’s diamond
jubilee, soem of which resulted in riots.
James Connolly called the Jubilee a “feast of flunkyism” and wrote:
“Join your voice with ours in protesting against the base assumption
that we owe to this empire any other debt than that of hatred of all its
plundering institutions.”
One march was held across the city, with a mock coffin draped in a black
cloth with the words British Empire embroidered on it. Maud Gonne
organised the production of a series of black flags, on which were
written statistics of the famines/starvations, evictions and other
social disasters that had taken place in Ireland during the long reign
of Queen Victoria.
The coffin was eventually thrown into the River Liffey, with Connolly
reportedly shouting as it entered the water, “Here goes the coffin of
the British Empire.”
The following is a speech delivered by Connolly, as transcribed by the
James Connolly Society in 1997.
———————————————————————
“The great appear great to us, only because we are on our knees: LET US
RISE.”
Fellow Workers,
The loyal subjects of Victoria, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland,
Empress of India, etc., celebrate this year the longest reign on record.
Already the air is laden with rumours of preparations for a wholesale
manufacture of sham ‘popular rejoicings’ at this glorious (?)
commemoration.
Home Rule orators and Nationalist Lord Mayors, Whig politicians and
Parnellite pressmen, have ere now lent their prestige and influence to
the attempt to arouse public interest in the sickening details of this
Feast of Flunkeyism. It is time then that some organised party in
Ireland – other than those in whose mouths Patriotism means Compromise,
and Freedom, High Dividends – should speak out bravely and honestly the
sentiments awakened in the breast of every lover of freedom by this
ghastly farce now being played out before our eyes. Hence the Irish
Socialist Republican Party – which, from its inception, has never
hesitated to proclaim its unswerving hostility to the British Crown, and
to the political and social order of which in these islands that Crown
is but the symbol – takes this opportunity of hurling at the heads of
all the courtly mummers who grovel at the shrine of royalty the contempt
and hatred of the Irish Revolutionary Democracy. We, at least, are not
loyal men; we confess to having more respect and honour for the
raggedest child of the poorest labourer in Ireland today than for any,
even the most virtuous, descendant of the long array of murderers,
adulterers and madmen who have sat upon the throne of England.
During this glorious reign Ireland has seen 1,225,000 of her children
die of famine, starved to death whilst the produce of her soil and their
labour was eaten up by a vulture aristocracy, enforcing their rents by
the bayonets of a hired assassin army in the pay of the -best of the
English Queens’; the eviction of 3,668,000, a multitude greater than the
entire population of Switzerland; and the reluctant emigration of
4,186,000 of our kindred, a greater host than the entire people of
Greece. At the present moment 78 percent of our wage-earners receive
less than #1 per week, our streets are thronged by starving crowds of
the unemployed, cattle graze on our tenantless farms and around the
ruins of our battered homesteads, our ports are crowded with departing
emigrants, and our poorhouses are full of paupers. Such are the
constituent elements out of which we are bade to construct a National
Festival of rejoicing!
Working-class of Ireland: We appeal to you not to allow your opinions to
be misrepresented on this occasion. Join your voice with ours in
protesting against the base assumption that we owe to this Empire any
other debt than that of hatred of all its plundering institutions. Let
this year be indeed a memorable one as marking the date when the Irish
workers at last flung off that slavish dependence on the lead of ‘the
gentry,’ which has paralysed the arm of every soldier of freedom in the
past.
The Irish landlords, now as ever the enemy’s garrison, instinctively
support every institution which, like monarchy, degrades the manhood of
the people and weakens the moral fibre of the oppressed; the
middle-class, absorbed in the pursuit of gold, have pawned their souls
for the prostitute glories of commercialism and remain openly or
secretly hostile to every movement which would imperil the sanctity of
their dividends. The working class alone have nothing to hope for save
in a revolutionary reconstruction of society; they, and they alone, are
capable of that revolutionary initiative which, with all the political
and economic development of the time to aid it, can carry us forward
into the promised land of perfect Freedom, the reward of the age-long
travail of the people.
To you, workers of Ireland, we address ourselves. AGITATE in the
workshop, in the field, in the factory, until you arouse your brothers
to hatred of the slavery of which we are all the victims. EDUCATE, that
the people may no longer be deluded by illusory hopes of prosperity
under any system of society of which monarchs or noblemen, capitalists
or landlords form an integral part. ORGANISE, that a solid, compact and
intelligent force, conscious of your historic mission as a class, you
may seize the reins of political power whenever possible and, by
intelligent application of the working-class ballot, clear the field of
action for the revolutionary forces of the future. Let the ‘canting, fed
classes’ bow the knee as they may, be you true to your own manhood, and
to the cause of freedom, whose hope is in you, and, pressing unweariedly
onward in pursuit of the high destiny to which the Socialist Republic
invites you, let the words which the poet puts into the mouth of Mazeppa
console you amid the orgies of the tyrants of today:
But time at last makes all things even,
And if we do but watch the hour,
There never yet was human power
That could evade, if unforgiven,
The patient hate and vigil long,
Of those who treasure up a wrong.
Posted by Jim on June 23, 2018
“Ever since the 1920 British Government of Ireland Act —which artificially created a pro-British majority by ripping the Six Counties of Northern Ireland away from the other 26 Counties of Ireland— the British Government and the Unionists/Loyalist/Protestants have defended this gerrymander by claiming the ‘majority wanted it.’ … So, ‘majority rule’ was allegedly the settled British opinion, against which nobody could legitimately argue. It was reasonable, sensible, and fair-minded —everybody had to go along with it because that is how democracy works.
So, now that a Nationalist/Republican/Catholic majority is emerging in Northern Ireland, why is it suddenly irresponsible and undemocratic to acknowledge it, and its implications? Especially given the implications of Brexit for the entire island of Ireland? And, why would this article in the British newspaper Express claim that Irish Senator Mark Daly is being ‘triumphant’ and is ‘inflaming tension’ when he acknowledges the indisputable demographic changes in Northern Ireland. Whatever happened to the British position that ‘majority rule’ is reasonable, sensible, fair-minded and democratic—against which nobody can legitimately argue?”
—Fr. Sean McManus
‘Brexit is pushing Ireland closer to UNIFICATION’ – Irish politician’s triumphant boast
A LEADING Irish politician has risked inflaming tensions after claiming Northern Ireland could quit the UK over Brexit as he said Theresa May’s negotiations with the EU were isolating voters in the province.
MARK DALY
By James Bickerton . Express. UK. Saturday, June 23, 2018
In a triumphant statement, Mark Daly, a member of a top Irish Parliamentary Committee, said said “Brexit and the changing demographics of Northern Ireland” are going to end the province’s UK membership.
He claimed “The history of Irish unification is still to be written” and said both the British and Irish Governments should prepare for a referendum on Irish unity.
He argued the uncertainty as to whether people and goods will still be able to travel freely across the 300 mile Northern Ireland/Ireland border after Brexit was fueling the nationalist sentiment.
Whilst the UK as a whole voted for Brexit on 23 June 2016 Northern Ireland voted “Remain” by 56 percent to 44 percent.
A total of 85 percent of Northern Irish Catholics, who tend to support the unification of Ireland, opposed Brexit.
A 2015 BBC/RTE poll found that 30 percent of Northern Irish residents want to see a united Ireland.
However since the Brexit vote, this figure has exploded with a recent LucidTalk poll finding support at 42 percent, only slightly below the 45 percent who want to remain part of the UK.
The 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which ended the bloody Northern Ireland conflict, says a referendum on Irish unity should be held if it “appears likely” to get a majority.
Mark Daly has warned Theresa May there could be another Ireland referendum
The Irish Government has already got the EU to agree that if Northern Ireland joins the Republic it will automatically rejoin the EU, mimicking what happened with East Germany in 1990.
However, Brexiteers appear unfazed by the threat issued by Mr. Daly and are have said leaving the EU is more important than Northern Ireland remaining in the EU.
A polling report by Lord Ashcroft earlier this month said: “If it were not possible both to leave the EU and to keep England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales together in the UK, 63 percent of Leave voters in Great Britain (including 73 percent of Conservatives) said they would choose to leave the EU.27 percent said they would choose to keep the UK together, and one in ten say they didn’t know.”
Posted by Jim on
The unionist paramilitary UVF are being blamed for an ‘Eleventh Night’
bonfire being built close to a children’s play park in a built-up
residential area of Belfast.
More than 1,000 pallets and six black oil drums have already been
assembled to an area off the Newtownards Road near Ravenscroft Avenue.
East Belfast cleric Lucas Parks, whose grandfather was an Orangeman,
said he was highlighting his concern now because many others living in
the area were afraid to do so.
“It’s a UVF bonfire; it’s an overtly sectarian bonfire – tricolours get
burned,” he said. He said he worried about anti-social behaviour in the
run-up to the Eleventh Night, the night before the biggest day of the
year for sectarian Protestant marches.
Belfast City Council, which owns the public car park where the fire is
being built, said it would allow ts to proceed.
“We will continue to work with elected members and key stakeholders to
address how bonfires are managed and to minimise any potential negative
impacts on local residents,” the council said. “The approach to managing
bonfires is a member-led issue and a member-led decision making process
has been agreed.”
Meanwhile, dozens of UDA paramilitary flags have been erected in south
Belfast in recent days, including outside a primary School.
The SDLP’s Donal Lyons said the appearance of the flags at Taughmonagh
Primary School was “outrageous” and shows there are some who continue to
act as if they’re “beyond the law”.
“The fact that these UDA flags have been put up at the entrance to a
primary school and outside the local community centre where young
children will be forced to pass under them is particularly outrageous,”
he said. There is no justification for these flags to be up and no
reason that they should stay up”.
Another nationalist SDLP politician was mocked by paramilitaries after a
bonfire sign was erected of him wearing an Orange sash. Former Assembly
member John Dallat is depicted in Limavady wearing in an Orange sash and
includes a message that reads, “Dump bonfire wood”.
“I will be taking this intimation seriously,” he said. “I have asked the
PSNI to interview the culprits with a view to prosecuting them.”
Meanwhile, around 30 pallets were burnt prematurely this week at a
bonfire site on the Sandy Row in south Belfast. It is the second such
case of bonfire material being set ablaze before the marching season
gets underway.
The incident comes despite city council funding of over #26,521 for the
paramilitary-linked Belfast South Community Resources, based in Sandy
Row, to organise a “bonfire diversion”.
Meanwhile, DUP leader Arlene Foster has said she wants to work with the
anti-Catholic Orange Order to challenge “bigotry and prejudice” towards
the organisation.
The Orange Order, which only admits Protestants, was described recently
as a “reservoir of anti-Catholicism and sectarianism” by Presbyterian
Moderator Rev Ken Newell. On July 12, they organise the annual Twelfth
parades, which celebrate the Battle of the Boyne, a 17th century battle
victory over Catholics.
“I want to work with the Orange Institution to ensure the bigotry and
prejudice shown toward its members, halls and parades is challenged,” Ms
Foster said, without irony. “There is no place for such intolerance in
2018”.
Posted by Jim on
A judge in the non-jury trial of a prominent republican has admitted
the prosecution was based entirely on allegations extracted by police
threats and ordered him to be released, more than five and a half years
after he was initially charged.
Damian ‘DD’ McLaughlin was accused of moving a car which Gardai police
said was later used in an attack in which Maghaberry prison warder,
David Black, was killed outside Belfast.
The prosecution case against Mr McLaughlin rested solely on the
evidence of a Leitrim man, Stephen Brady, who was interrogated in a
coercive manner by gardai, according to the judge at Belfast Crown
Court.
The Diplock (non-jury) judge, Justice Adrian Colton, said that Gardai
in Dublin were guilty of ‘aggressive, oppressive, hectoring and
bullying’ when forcing Mr Brady to falsely identify Mr McLaughlin.
Recordings of the interviews, seen by the judge, were laced with illegal
attempts to extract false allegations. The judge said the interviews
were conducted in such a way as to “undermine the right to silence”. He
concluded that as the case was solely dependent on tainted evidence, “no
court could convict” Mr McLaughlin.
In an effort at damage limitation, prosecutors asked for a further 48
hours to consider an appeal before formally abandoning the case on
Thursday.
A statement from Mr McLaughlin’s lawyer, Peter Corrigan, said that he
had always vehemently denied the charges.
“The evidence obtained by the Gardai was significantly and fundamentally
flawed from the outset, and should never have been relied upon, nor
should Mr McLaughlin have been charged with these offences,” he said.
He added: “The techniques used by the gardai in extracting the
information from the suspect can only be described as oppressive and
inhuman. We plan to immediately proceed to make a complaint to the Garda
Ombudsman for allowing such practices to occur. If the gardai abided by
their own practice, our client would never have been before the courts.”
The saga of his prosecution saw Mr McLaughlin being returned to jail in
2012 after a previous incarceration, before he was bailed on draconian
conditions. Rearrested in Donegal after violating his bail conditions,
he was then extradited back North, despite a Dublin Court hearing that
the Maghaberry regime would violate his rights as laid out in the
European Convention on Human Rights. Remanded at the jail, he was
subjected to two strip searches a day by the prison’s riot squad.
Dee Fennell of Saoradh said the case should have far-reaching
consequences. “What has been exposed in the course of this case is the
corrupt nature of pursued prosecutions against Republicans,” he said.
“What is now apparent, ironically confirmed by a British Diplock Judge
of all people, is that DD McLaughlin was in jail because of a corrupt
Garda culture that acts unchecked and with no balances.
“It is totally unaccountable, supported by draconian legislation and
courts that have also been similarly deemed by organisations including
the United Nations and Amnesty International to be incompatible with
international law practices that commit to ensuring a fair trial.”
“This corruption is not only enabled by the Leinster House
establishment, it is encouraged by the political descendants of the Broy
Harriers and Blueshirts.”
The case has added to pressure for the abolition of the Special Criminal
Courts. On Wednesday night, a packed public meeting, in the Teachers
Club in Dublin, heard strong calls to abolish the courts, a campaign
that is being supported by a range of councillors, TDs, community
activists and trade unionists.
Mr Fennell said that scores of republicans “of various affiliations and
none” had been wrongly incarcerated by the courts and hit out at their
claim to prevent jury intimidation.
“Consistent reports, including from aforementioned human rights
organisations, can find no evidence of jury intimidation prior to the
SCC being initiated,” he said.
“When the SCC hears evidence, as in the case of an ongoing trial
involving male and female Republicans from Belfast and Dublin, even when
the sitting judges rule that evidence was gathered illegally, they
paradoxically rule this evidence admissible.
“‘Belief’ evidence is permitted, with a Garda above a certain rank
allowed identify someone they believe to be in the IRA. This evidence is
admissible and has been ruled as such even when the Garda has admitted
they had no knowledge of the defendant until after their arrest. This
alone is deemed enough evidence by the State to pass the prosecutorial
threshold.
“And of course, all this occurs after an arrested individual has their
right to silence when under questioning removed, with this also adjudged
by the 26 County administration to be supposed evidence of guilt.”
Mr Fennell warned there had been a “not too subtle” invitation from
Justice Colton to the 26 County administration to seek Mr McLaughlin’s
reverse extradition, because the Special Criminal Court in Dublin would
view the “evidence” more favourably.
“It should encourage human rights organisations, many of whom are quick
to highlight the repressive State apparatus being utilised by other
regimes, to initiate reports on the use of draconian legislation to
target political activists here at home. They should no longer be
allowed to continue their dereliction of duty in this regard.”
Posted by Jim on June 22, 2018
RADIO FREE EIREANN will broadcast this Saturday June 23rd on WBAI Radio 99.5FM or WBAI.ORG at 12 noon-1pm New York time or 5pm-6pm in Ireland or anytime after the program on WBAI.ORG – Archives
As we near July 4th celebrations of America’s Declaration of Independence, we will ask Dr. RUAN O’DONNELL, historian,Senior Lecturer at Limerick University and author of books on Patrick Pearse and Robert Emmet, about Ireland’s Declaration of Independence from Britain,and why as we near the 100th anniversary of Ireland’s Declaration of Independence there seem to be mixed emotions about celebrating.
TONY O’HARA ,a former Blanketman in the Long Kesh will talk about being blocked by the Gaelic Athletic Association from holding an event honoring his brother PATSY O’HARA one of the 1981 Hunger Strike Martyrs.
We will have a final preview of a special live WBAI performance co-starring RFE’s own JOHN MCDONAGH with MALACHY MCCOURT.
John McDonagh and Martin Galvin co-host.