Posted by Jim on March 23, 2017
Senior political figures and officials from the Irish, British and US
establishments have joined thousands of supporters from across Ireland
to attend the funeral in Derry of Martin McGuinness.
The former IRA commander who became deputy First Minister for the Six
Counties died on Monday at the age of 66 from a rare systemic illness.
There was no IRA or military aspect to the funeral, although his coffin
was draped with the Irish flag.
Former US President Bill Clinton and former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern
attended, with the current British government represented by the
British Direct Ruler in Ireland, James Brokenshire, and the PSNI police
chief George Hamilton. The 26 County government was represented by
President Michael D Higgins.
The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party and former First Minister,
Arlene Foster, who had been undecided about attending until last night,
arrived for the church ceremony, and received a cheer for her efforts.
Hours before the funeral got underway, thousands gathered in front of
Mr McGuinness’s house in Derry’s Bogside, where Sinn Fein leader Gerry
Adams was seen comforting mourners.
Mr McGuinness’s wife Bernie and children, Grainne, Fionnuala, Fiachra
and Emmet escorted the coffin out of their house on Westland Terrace.
Family members assisted in shouldering the coffin as did senior Sinn
Fein figures such as Gerry Adams, Michelle O’Neill and Mary Lou
McDonald.
Close to the house Frances Black sang one of his favourite songs, Raglan
Road, while Matt Molloy of the Chieftains played a slow air on the
flute.
The procession made its way past the Free Derry Wall mural, where many
of those present clapped in tribute to the man widely credited for his
role in bringing peace to the north of Ireland.
‘COMPLEX’
Father Michael Canny, who delivered the homily at Saint Columba’s
Church, described Mr McGuinness as “a complex man”.
“He was born into a community where faith, Catholicism and Nationalism
were intertwined,” he said. “He was a man of simple tastes who ascended
to the political summit. He visited the White House, Downing Street and
Windsor Castle, but only ever felt at home in his beloved Bogside,
returning to his wife and family at every opportunity.
“He shook hands with presidents, prime ministers, Taoisigh and even
royalty, but was most comfortable walking with Bernie along the
backshore at Buncrana, or wandering at Inch Island or up at Grianan, or
along a river bank fishing.”
He added that in his last television interview, Mr McGuinness was asked
about the judgement of history.
“He wasn’t worried about what historians thought, he told Tommie Gorman;
he said he would leave it to the judgement of people. He asked only that
he be judged fairly.”
‘INDISPENSIBLE’
On Wednesday, political leaders continued to praise his work to end the
Provisional IRA’s armed struggle. British Prime Minister Theresa May
told parliament she could never condone the former IRA commander’s
“violent past” but she praised his “indispensable” role in moving the
Provisional IRA away from armed conflict.
Despite continuing turmoil over Mr McGuinness’s decision to collapse
power-sharing at Stormont in January — his final political act — a
special session of the Stormont Assembly was held on Wednesday. His
successor in the post of Sinn Fein leader in the North, Michelle
O’Neill, paid an emotional tribute.
She told the Assembly her heart was broken yet bursting with pride. “The
legacy that Martin wished was for a better future based on equality and
measured by the joy and laughter of all of our children,” she said. “So,
on behalf of Sinn Fein I rededicate our party to completing his life’s
work and to living through his legacy.”
DUP leader Arlene Foster acknowledged that the North would “never see
his like again”. She said Mr McGuinness’s legacy was “complex and
challenging”.
“Things have fundamentally changed since I was growing up in the 70s and
80s and changed immeasurably for the better and Martin McGuinness did
play a role which I will always condemn in the 70s and 80s, but I also
have to acknowledge the role that he played over this last decade and
more in government in Northern Ireland,” she said.
In the 48 hours since he died, Sinn Fein held vigils across Ireland, the
largest of which took place in Belfast. Crowds also turned out in wintry
weather to pay their respects in Dublin, Newry and several towns across
the north, as well as outside the European Parliament in Brussels.
‘INSTRUMENTAL’
Meanwhile, former US president Barack Obama added his voice to tributes
to the former Sinn Fein minister, saying his leadership was
“instrumental” during the peace process.
Mr Obama described Mr McGuinness as “a man who had the wisdom and
courage to pursue peace and reconciliation for his people”.
“His leadership was instrumental in turning the page on a past of
violence and conflict that he knew all too well.
“In our own meetings, I was always struck by his good humour and
persistent belief in a better future for the people of Northern
Ireland,” he added.
“May Martin rest in the peace that he pursued in life, and may his
example inspire others to follow a path of reconciliation,” said Mr
Obama.
Posted by Jim on March 22, 2017
Delegates from the Tyrone Ancient Order of Hibernians are to press for the organisation to embark on a new strategy for Irish Unity at a special A.O.H. conference to be held in Toomebridge this weekend.
The Extra General Meeting will see A.O.H. members from Ireland, America and Scotland gather ahead of a national convention to be held later this year in order to access the Order’s future direction.
Sources say that a large contingent is expected from Tyrone and that they intend to present a radical nationalist agenda aimed at securing a United Ireland in the short term.
“We now have a nationalist majority in the Six-Counties and it’s time that our voice was heard and our aspirations fulfilled”, the Tyrone A.O.H. President Gerry McGeough said ahead of the EGM.
It’s understood that the Tyrone County Board of the Hibernians had a meeting last weekend at which they agreed to put the issue of Irish Unity at the forefront of the Order’s future strategy discussions.
“As far back as June, 2010, the Tyrone A.O.H. adopted a motion that political pressure should be brought to bear in order to trigger a Border Poll at the time under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement”, Mr McGeough said. “We understood that we would lose that particular referendum, but it would insure that another would need to be held seven years later. By then we felt that there would not only be a nationalist majority, but that people would have had seven years to come to terms with that potential reality and prepare accordingly. Unfortunately, our proposal fell on deaf ears and here we are seven years later facing an immediate Brexit crisis for which no-one is adequately prepared”, he added.
The Tyrone Hibernians are understood to be in a strong position within the A.O.H., having dramatically increased their numbers with a new intake of activists over the past year. The most recent Tyrone Division, as Hibernian branches are called, was formally established this week. Known as Craobh na nGael it is comprised entirely of Irish-speakers who conduct A.O.H. business through the medium of Irish.
“The political focus at the moment appears to revolve around keeping the North within the EU”, Gerry McGeough said. “We believe that this is a futile strategy and that it would be better to demand that when the British leave Europe that they should leave Ireland on the same day. We can take care of our own affairs after that.”
Citing the precedent of the Conscription Crisis of a hundred years ago when the A.O.H. actively and successfully campaigned with others to prevent the British Army forcing Irishmen to fight on the Western Front, Mr McGeough said that it was now time for the Hibernians to mobilise in the interests of the northern nationalist community again.
Posted by Jim on
Thousands of people have attended the removal of Martin McGuinness in
advance of his funeral in his native Derry.
Mr McGuinness died during the night at Derry’s Altnagelvin Hospital
with his family by his bedside. He was diagnosed with a rare and
serious illness in December.
Amid snow and sleet, an unexpectedly large crowd followed the coffin of
the former Sinn Fein negotiator and IRA commander as it was carried to
his home at Westland Avenue in the Bogside. There was a respectful
silence as the procession turned past Free Derry Corner where a
tricolour flag flew at half-mast.
Mr McGuinness’s wife Bernie bore his coffin past the Bogside’s landmark
before his two sons, Fiachra and Emmett, shouldered his remains into
his house.
Gerry Adams and the Sinn Fein leader at Stormont, Michelle O’Neill,
draped the flag over his coffin in Derry’s William Street. They also
helped to carry the coffin.
An emotional Sinn Fein President said his long-time friend was a
passionate republican who worked for reconciliation in Ireland. “We are
very, very sad that we lost him overnight,” Mr Adams said.
Tributes have flowed in from across the world for Mr McGuinness.
Earlier on Tuesday, the queen of England sent a private message of
condolence to his family.
Former US president Bill Clinton said Mr McGuinness’s legacy should be
an example for others to live by. “When he decided to fight for peace,
Martin was calm, courageous, and direct. And when he gave his word,
that was as good as gold,” he said.
Books of condolences have opened or are opening in Derry, Cork, Dublin
and Belfast.
His funeral will leave his home on Westland Terrace in the city on
Thursday at 1.20pm on Thursday, with Requiem Mass in St Columba’s
Church Longtower at 2pm. His remains will be interred in The City
Cemetery afterwards.
Posted by Jim on March 17, 2017
By Jude Collins (judecollins.com)
How much of our thinking is wishful? Quite a bit, I suspect. We produce
a model of how we would like things to be and then we gather together
signs and portents that will point to that view.
For example, The Irish Voice, an American-Irish newspaper, had an
editorial yesterday with the heading A United Ireland Now Looks Certain
in the Near Future’. It notes that the various Dublin governments over
the years gave lip-service only to the idea of a united Ireland. “Notice
how Fianna Fail, long the party of platitudes about the North, are
suddenly producing a 12 point plan for Irish unity with no empty
cliches. ”
The editorial notes that for many years voices north and south tended to
be quiet on the subject of a United Ireland:
“For decades there was reason not to speak of a united Ireland in case
such talk spooked the unionists, or so the narrative ran. But that was
then and this is now.”
The editorial writer notes that unionists are under unparalleled
pressure: on the one hand the rising tide of nationalism in the north,
on the other the hardships that will impact everyone in Ireland if
Brexit produces a hard border.
“So, on St. Patrick’s Day in 2017, we stand on the threshold of a new
era in Northern Ireland. We have seen from this latest election that a
unified Ireland has moved from speculation to a demographic
reality…Given the new context and the different political reality in the
Irish Republic, we can say for the first time ever that a united Ireland
is now more likely than not. The figures are there to prove it.”
In today’s Irish News, Alex Kane has a piece entitled ‘Brexit, border
poll and independence referendum mean constitutional tidal wave on its
way.’ His opening paragraph is arresting:
“The next five years or so could be the most exciting – albeit
unpredictable – ones since 1945. Maps will be redrawn. New nations could
emerge. The United Kingdom could disintegrate.”
He says the UK is in chaos, with prime Minister Theresa May devoid of
any kind of plan to cope with Brexit. “So I’m still expecting a second
referendum further down the line, if only to get her off a hook she
never expected to be on.”
Kane believes both Nicola Sturgeon and Sinn Fein are “mischief-making”
in calling for a border referendum both know they won’t get, but it
helps drum up support for their cause. Unlike The Irish Voice, Alex
ducks back from saying what this Celtic restlessness and the impact of
Brexit will have. “Predictions are almost impossible to make because
nobody can know which of the forces will predominate and carry the day.”
But, he concludes, major change is on its way.
In yesterday’s Irish Times, Leo Varadkar, one of those Fine Gael TDs
with his eye on Enda Kenny’s job, declares “Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein
trying to push unification on North”. Leo makes it clear he’s always
been in favour of a united Ireland (who’d a thunk it?): “”In terms of
emotion and feeling, I have always believed that there would be a united
Ireland in my lifetime, and I want to see it.”
But while his heart pines for it, Leo is very worried that there is a
sizeable chunk of the population in the north who don’t want a united
Ireland. “I don’t want to say majority support from both sides – that
may never be possible – but to have reasonable cross-community support.”
Anything else is going to frighten the unionist horses.
The most obvious point coming from Leo’s comments is that he doesn’t
believe in the Good Friday Agreement, which states that a border
referendum should be held when the British Secretary of State believes
there is sufficient support for a constitutional change. (How
nationalists and republicans let as vague a clause as that in, I don’t
know – ach sin sceal eile). If we follow Leo’s advice, we would concede
that there should be constitutional change only when unionists wanted
it, whether they were a majority or a minority. So much for democracy,
then. The threat of unionist violence rules, as it did over a century
ago.
Alex Kane’s thinking is rather more nuanced. He’s right that Nicola
Sturgeon and Sinn Fein are calling for a border referendum for tactical
reasons, but to call that “mischief-making” suggests that the SNP and SF
are naughty school-children. Worse, it seems to suggest that the SNP and
SF shouldn’t do what they can to achieve their political goals. It’s
what politicians do, Alex, and what we pay them to do. As is often the
case with Alex’s columns, they suggest more than they deliver. He tells
us that great constitutional change is on the cards, but backs out of
predicting what that might be. (Mind you, it’s also sensible of him,
because most political predictions are miles off the mark. Do I have to
cite Brexit, Trump, our recent Assembly election – you can make up the
rest.)
Finally, The Irish Voice. When I read editorials like that, it reminds
me how powerful the voices in the media can be.”For decades there was
reason not to speak of a united Ireland in case such talk spooked the
unionists, or so the narrative ran. But that was then and this is now.”
Now there’s a bold statement and one that resonates with a lot more
nationalists and republicans than northern unionists would care to
believe.
Posted by Jim on
There has been an angry response in both Ireland and Scotland after
British Prime Minister Theresa May said she would block referendums on
Irish unity and Scottish independence following the Brexit vote to leave
the European Union.
In last year’s shock referendum on EU membership, both the north of
Ireland and Scotland voted to remain, but England and Wales voted to
leave.
Hours after Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon demanded a new
independence vote on Monday, Sinn Fein said it also wanted a referendum
on Irish reunification “as soon as possible”.
Sinn Fein has been regularly calling for a ‘border poll’ to decide on
whether the Six Counties of Ireland under British rule should reunite
with the rest of Ireland. Support for a united Ireland has increased
dramatically since Britain voted to leave the European Union last June,
and there was a surge in support for Sinn Fein at assembly elections a
week ago. The party has also overtaken Fine Gael in an opinion poll for
the first time to become the second most popular party in the south.
And in a significant u-turn, the most popular party in the 26 Counties,
Fianna Fail has now said it is working on its own plan for a united
Ireland.
“Brexit will be a disaster for the economy, and a disaster for the
people of Ireland. A referendum on Irish unity has to happen as soon a
possible,” Sinn Fein’s leader in the North, Michelle O’Neill, told
reporters in Belfast.
She made no direct connection between Ms Sturgeon’s call to the British
government for permission to hold another referendum in Scotland, just
hours earlier.
She said the prospect of the triggering of Article 50 by Theresa May,
the formal and apparently irreversible act of leaving the EU, increases
the urgency for a referendum on Irish unity.
“The British Tories are on the verge of triggering Article 50 to take
the North out of the EU against the wishes of the people. This will
significantly undermine the Good Friday Agreement and lead to the
imposition of a hard border,” she said.
“They are refusing to listen to the majority of people and parties in
the North, as well as the majority of parties across Ireland, who
support the North securing designated special status within the EU.”
‘STICK IT’
In the European parliament, Sinn Fein’s Martina Anderson also launched a
blistering attack on the British position, as well as that of the EU and
rejected even the existing border arrangement as a solution.
Addressing fellow MEPs in Strasbourg on Monday, Ms Anderson told Theresa
May to “stick it where the sun doesn’t shine” over her Brexit plans. In
remarks which drew predictable condemnation from unionists, she quoted
from the anti-interment song ‘The Men Behind the Wire’.
“And let me put the record straight for everybody here, no border hard
or soft will be accepted by the people of Ireland,” she said. “What
British armoured cars and tanks and guns couldn’t do in Ireland, 27
member states will not be able to do in Ireland.
“So, Theresa (May), your notion of a border, hard or soft, stick it
where the sun doesn’t shine because you’re not putting it in Ireland.”
Earlier, Theresa May told the House of Commons: “It is not right to
have a border poll at this stage. What we should all be focusing on is
bringing the parties together to ensure that we can continue to see the
devolved administration in Northern Ireland working, as it has done, in
the interests of the people of Northern Ireland.
“We want to see that devolved administration being formed and that is
what all the parties should be looking for at the moment.”
She also said she would block any independence referendum for Scotland
until after Brexit has been completed. She said, without irony, that
“there is much that binds us, and I do not want to see anybody doing
constitutional game-playing with the future of the United Kingdom.”
Nicola Sturgeon responded indignantly, insisting the vote should be held
when there is a clear choice to be made. “The Scottish government has a
cast-iron democratic mandate for an independence referendum, and the
vote must take place within a timeframe to allow an informed choice to
be made — when the terms of Brexit are clear but before the UK leaves
the European Union or shortly afterwards,” Ms Sturgeon said.
And amid speculation that new border controls could become a factor on
both islands, the London government’s ‘Brexit secretary’ continued to
make contradictory statements regarding his plans.
David Davis insisted his government is determined to use technology to
ensure an “invisible, frictionless border between north and south”, but
also referred to a need for customs checks along “a very light border”.
He said there was “quite a lot of design work to do”.
Sinn Fein’s John O’Dowd has said the attempts to offer reassurances on
the border were “laughable” and had not allayed any fears.
“He claims there will be a digital border and that his government will
develop the technology to manage it. But given his government’s track
record of trying and failing to develop bespoke computer systems his
comments will not reassure anyone,” he sad.
“And his comments are all the more ridiculous because it won’t be up to
Britain to decide what any EU border will look like. That decision will
be taken by the 27 member states.”
Speaking from the US, Sinn Fein’s Gerry Adams repeated calls for north
to have a special designated status within the EU. “This is the only
logical way to avoid a hard economic border, job losses and business
closures,” he said.