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Kenny out of options, but refuses to quit

Posted by Jim on

With all of the first count results in the general election concluded,
Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s government has suffered a resounding deafeat in
the 26 County general election but he has ruled out resigning as leader
of Fine Gael.

“I have a duty and responsibility to work with the decision that the
people have made and provide the country with a stable government and
that I intend to do fully and completely,” he said. “Clearly the option
of a majority government is gone. Clearly, the option of a Fine
Gael-Labour government is gone.”

He was easily re-elected in Mayo, despite the late campaign controversy
in that county when he lashed out at Mayo’s “all-Ireland whingers”. The
Fine Gael leader also refused to be drawn on the prospect of a pact with
traditional adversaries Fianna Fail, which polled almost as highly, both
parties receiving almost 25%. He said that his “job and duty” is to
attempt to provide a government “for the people”.

“Ireland needs a government,” he said. “Whatever parties are in position
after the election are going to have to consider whatever options are
available.”

Asked if he could govern with some Fianna Fail support, Kenny replied:
“You mean some kind of Tallaght strategy?” (referring to the 1987
minority government when Fine Gael leader Alan Dukes supported Fianna
Fail Taoiseach Charlie Haughey). “We would like to wait and see (what
happens) in other constituencies.”

But some of his own party appear to have also already turned against
him. Outgoing Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald, interviewed on
radio, repeatedly refused to deny that there would be a challenge
against his leadership. Asked if she would be interested in running for
leader herself, she answered: “I’m not saying anything else now, we will
leave it at that.”

Outgoing Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney conceded that it had
been a poor election for Fine Gael and that the party was likely to lose
over 20 seats, but he said he did not believe there was an appetite for
a challenge to Enda Kenny’s leadership. He also insisted Fine Gael
would win more seats than Fianna Fail and remain the largest party,
which is still an open question.

“I don’t get the sense that there is going to be any leadership
challenge in Fine Gael. We will win in or around 50 seats and we will be
the largest party and Enda Kenny will be the leader of the largest
party.”

“He will obviously take on his responsibilities of bringing the party
forward. I don’t get the sense that there is any panic or anything like
that. People are disappointed. They are frustrated. A lot of very good
people are going to lose their seats.”

However, Labour Party leader Joan Burton is certain to face a leadership
challenge after the party’s support collapsed, from 19.4% percent to
around 6.6%. However, there are no clear candidates so far to take her
place. Under Labour’s constitution, a leadership contest must be held
within six months of failing to get into government.

Prominent left-wing independent Mick Wallace, who is expected to retain
his seat in Wexford, welcomed the prospective Fianna Fail-Fine Gael
coalition. saying it would “clean up Irish politics”.

“They are two right wing parties. The only difference between them is
the civil war. Next time we will have a proper left-right wing divide,”
he said.

Fine Gael’s Minister for Health Leo Varadkar said he did not favour such
a coalition, claiming it would not be good for either party and would
not last long. “I do not trust them [Fianna Fail] and it would open the
door to Sinn Fein as lead of opposition,” he said.

Sinn Fein deputy leader Mary-Lou McDonald said that she expects her
party will be putting leader Gerry Adams forward to be the next
Taoiseach.

“It’s early in the day but I think if this election demonstrates
anything, it is that there is now, or should be, no sense from Fine Gael
and Fianna Fail that they have some divine right to govern – they
don’t,” she said.

Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness says the left-wing parties must now
consider their options about forming a government, and that the people
of Ireland do not want a second election.

Mr McGuinness said the story of the election would be the rise of the
left-wing parties. He said that the election had been a good one for
Sinn Fein, especially having to face competition from the established
parties.

Mr McGuinness was asked about parties working with each other after the
results are counted and pointed to how he had worked with Ian Paisley in
the North. He also said that lessons needed to be learned that the
crisis in the North could not be used as “political weapon” against
parties.

RESULTS

In early confirmed results from the count centres, there were early
breakthroughs for Sinn Fein in Dublin Midwest, where party intellectual
Eoin O Broin was elected on the first count, and in Wicklow, where
councillor and tenants-rights activist John Brady was elected on the
second count. He became the constituency’s first republican TD since
Robert Barton in 1923 after polling in second place with 11,151 votes.

In Laois, Brian Stanley, easily passed the quota on the fourth count
with 10,092 votes, and he was hoisted aloft holding a starry plough flag
by his jubilant supporters. Also comfortably re-elected were the party’s
enterprise spokesman Peadar Toibin in Meath West was returned on the
second count and the party’s deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald, who topped
the poll in Dublin Central and was elected on the 6th count.

The party missed out in Dublin West, however, where Sinn Fein’s Paul
Donnelly was edged out by Joan Burton and sitting socialist TD Ruth
Coppinger of People Before Profit/Anti-Austerity Alliance.

Outside of Dublin, the party made significant gains in Waterford where
David Cullinane was finally elected after several close calls in
previous elections, and in Carlow-Kilkenny, where Kathleen Funchion took
the seat she had staked out in last year’s by-election.

Speaking at the RDS count centre Ms McDonald said the outcome from the
electorate is that “the government has been sacked by the electorate”.

“They’ve sacked Fine Gael and Labour”, she said. “That was the first
conclusion. The second conclusion is that politics here has changed. The
old tweedledum and tweedledee between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael is now
over. Politics is much more diverse. I think that’s a really healthy
thing.”

In an indication of the general political tide, two of Kenny’s most
controversial Ministerial appointments lost their seats, Alan Shatter
and James Reilly.

Shatter was one of the first big-name casualties, losing his seat in
Dublin Rathdown after a series scandals over police corruption and his
handling of his department generally. Paying the full price for his
indiscretions, his seat went to the previously unknown Catherine Martin
of the Green Party. Her election marks a return to the Dail for the
Greens after a period of purdah since their disgraced coalition with
Fianna Fail collapsed following the ignominious IMF/EU bailout in late
2010.

Labour Ministers of State Alex White and Kathleen Lynch have also lost
their seats, as well as former Fianna Fail Minister Mary Hanafin and,
almost certainly, Lucinda Creighton. Creighton is leader of the new
right-wing Renua party which is unlikely to any seats in this election.

In contrast to Renua, the new left-of-centre Social Democrats party has
already won three seats and is likely to increase that total, winning 3%
on their first time out, while People Before Profit and the
Anti-Ausrterity Alliance won 4%.

However, the big winner of the election was Fianna Fail leader Micheal
Martin, who arrived at the Cork city election count centre to rapturous
applause after his party polled an unexpected 25% in first preferences,
its best election result since the 2008 economic collapse.

“We had faith, going way back to 2012, and we were consistent and the
local elections gave us a great platform,” he said. “I think our message
resonated with people. We kept our feet on the ground, we kept connected
to communities. And that will be the strongest challenge – to stay
connected to the realities on the ground. I think the government lost
touch too quickly. And we, from way out, could see a two-tier economic
recovery evolving. We could see that many people didn’t get the rhetoric
of the recovery in their own daily lives – and the regions didn’t
either.”

He added: “And I think we, in terms of our core message of quality jobs,
cutting costs for families, resourcing and strengthening communities,
reasserting the principle of home ownership and ending the scandal of
homelessness – they were key pillars of our platform that really struck
a chord with people on the ground and on the doorsteps.”

OVERALL RESULT – First Preferences (compared to 2011 general election)

Fine Gael 25.5% (-10.6%)
Fianna Fail 24.3% (+6.9%)
Sinn Fein 13.8% (+3.9%)
Labour 6.6% (-12.8%)
People Before Profit/Anti-Austerity Alliance 3.9% (+1.7%)
Social Democrats 3.0% (+3.0%)
Green Party 2.7% (+0.9%)
Renua 2.2% (+2.2%)
Independents and Others 17.9% (+4.7%)

The media campaign against Sinn Fein

Posted by Jim on February 27, 2016

By Oliver Callan (for the Irish Sun)

The TV and radio blackout on election coverage began with the start of
the loftily-worded “moratorium” period. It sounds like a room where the
news goes to die.

It’s a fitting image of an election where sheep-minded media put
fairness and objectivity through a meat grinder.

Coverage has whinged about how ‘boring’ the election has been, as if it
isn’t the media’s job to make it interesting.

Despite a dull campaign, the results promise to be the most dramatic for
decades. A hung Dail beckons, star names will fall and previously
peripheral entities like Sinn Fein and Independents will win big.

While everyone in the media failed to predict the FG-FF alliance now
expected, it has been a dreadful election for journalism in worse ways.

The most alarming feature has been the ferocious campaign against Sinn
Fein. The State has never witnessed such a biased agenda across all
media organisations against a political party.

Broadsheet newspapers were the worst offenders, with constant attacks on
Adams, Mary Lou McDonald and the party’s policy on crime and the Special
Criminal Court. Editorialising adjectives including “embarrassing”,
“under pressure” and “biggest loser” were used in headlines.

In one article, a headline suggested Sinn Fein was in trouble in its
stronghold of Donegal, with Fianna Fail set to beat them. When you got
into the piece, it turned out both parties were on identical poll
figures. Similarly, a newspaper reported Leo Varadkar was on course to
top the poll in Dublin West, ignoring that Sinn Fein candidate Paul
Donnelly had the same opinion poll rating.

At best, subjective opinions on Adams’ performance in debates and
interviews were passed off as hard news.

At worst, the outburst of gangland crime in Dublin was directly linked
to the party. Some commentary suggested a vote for Sinn Fein was a vote
for drug dealers. Another Sunday newspaper report on Mary Lou was filled
with such scathing anti-Sinn Fein sentiment, it bordered on sexism.

Reports on the final leaders’ debate on Tuesday night focussed again on
Adams having an “uncomfortable night”. Enda Kenny’s bombshell that he
made the Minister for Arts appoint the man at the centre of a cronyism
row two years ago wasn’t highlighted comparatively.

Gerry’s poor grasp of economic policies was again underlined by
journalists who appear to consider the Taoiseach’s shaky knowledge of
economics less important.

A detailed analysis of the anti-Sinn Fein editorialising over the past
three weeks would make a very interesting thesis for any media students.
It had a significant negative effect on opinion polls.

The party was slow to take issue with bias until its poll numbers were
hit. Even then it only focussed its ire on RTE.

Claims that the Taoiseach got softer treatment are untrue. That Enda
looked unruffled by interrogations gave the appearance of an easy ride.

It’s just impossible to grill someone who prepares for interviews like
it’s a Junior Cert Irish Oral. No matter what Dobbo or Sean O’Rourke or
Miriam asked him, Enda had his “bhi me ar mo laethanta saoire” stock
answer ready. There is no doubt anyone who even suggests Sinn Fein have
been badly treated leaves themselves open to accusations of being a
closet Shinner.

Let me be clear, there is no whiff of diesel from my clothes and I have
no agenda for or against any political party. As a former student of
journalism and its ethics, I have merely watched this campaign with
dismay.

In Northern Ireland, the most conservative unionists with deep personal
reasons to loathe Sinn Fein have shared power with ex-Provos. Do we so
revere the offices in the Republic held by flawed men such as Haughey
that a Shinner is not worthy?

The media class has a sneering attitude that those who vote for Adams’
party are more ill-informed than the average centre-right FF/FG voter.
There is also a seldom-challenged view that Adams is a liability for the
party on the canvass, which has zero basis in fact.

Despite these sheep-like views, support for Sinn Fein has grown in every
election since the 1990s. Electoral success came even though there is no
other party leader subjected so intensely to the same repeated
questioning quite like Adams.

If most believe that Sinn Fein and the IRA were one and the same, then
why obsess over which organisation Gerry says he was a member of?
Everyone knows he cannot say he was an IRA commander as it would leave
him open to prosecution.

There is an argument that Sinn Fein might do better if Adams retired but
it is doubtful Pearse Doherty or Mary Lou would get better treatment.

Adams’ major achievement in bringing radical elements of Republicanism
into the peace process will never be acknowledged by the present media,
even in death. However, history will remember him long after the scant
achievements of Enda, Joan or Micheal are long gone.

For now, one of the big stories from Election 2016 will be the
incredible rise of Adams’ party from one TD in 1997 to more than 20
after tomorrow.

The future of the print journalism that so despises the party is in
serious peril, but Sinn Fein isn’t going away you know.

Two brother fighting two very different Wars

Posted by Jim on

by Ciaran Mc

Exactly a year to the day after the commencement of the Easter Rising,
24th April 1917, Sergeant-Major William (Bill) Leeman Ceannt was killed
in action during the First World War, Battle of Arras. A year
previously, Commandant Eamonn Ceannt, Bill’s younger brother, had
occupied and instructed the 4th Battalion of the Irish Volunteers in the
rebel garrison, South Dublin Union, in their fight against the same
British army his brother committed too. The grievous news of the death
of Bill on the Western Front reached the Ceannt family on 8th May 1917,
the date of the first Anniversary of Eamonn’s execution by the British
for his part in the Easter Rising. The fascinating story of the two
Ceannt brothers, Eamonn the Easter Irish Revolutionary, and, Bill the
Great War British soldier, illustrates the diverse allegiances amongst
families and the political complexity of Ireland in the early part of
the 20th Century.

Eamonn Ceannt, in many ways, is the “unknown” man among the leaders of
the 1916 Easter Rising. As one of the seven signatories to the
proclamation of the Irish Republic, Eamonn was a pivotal figure in the
planning of the Rising and as Commandant of the South Dublin Union,
where some of the fiercest fighting took place during Easter week. Some
believe, Eamonn was the “physical force” advocate amongst the Easter
leaders. The Rising for Eamonn was the culmination of a life dedicated
to political activism and the advancement and achievement of Irish
freedom.

As with many young people of the late 19th century, the centenary of the
United Irishman’s 1798 Rebellion coupled with the Gaelic cultural
revival was to contribute significantly to the national resurgence,
impelling many to join a variety of organisations, some that were
heavily infiltrated by the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). Eamonn’s
passion for the Irish language (aged 15, changed surname from Kent to
Ceannt) propelled him into the ranks of the Gaelic League, a movement to
promote Irish as a spoken and literary language, persevere Ireland’s
national identity and “de-anglicise” the Irish people. He was an
accomplished piper and conducive to the Irish music revival of the time.
In 1908, he travelled with a group of Irish athletes to Rome where he
played the pipes before Pope Pius X.

The Gaelic League, as it did to so many, politicised and radicalised
Eamonn’s already advancing beliefs. He joined Arthur Griffith’s Sinn
Fein Organisation in 1907, compelled by its “commitment to Irish
Independence” and was to rise through its ranks. Four years later, in
1911, he was sworn into the IRB by Sean MacDermott, a fellow signatory
to the Irish Proclamation. With the militant threat posed by the
initiation of the Ulster Volunteers, Eamonn stated in 1913, “it is the
duty of all Irishmen to be skilled in the use of arms. Preparation for
War is the best guarantee of peace.” Soon after, he was involved in the
establishment of the Irish Volunteers. Quickly, Eamonn became a member
of the Provisional Committee and a leading figure within the movement.
He was to play a key active role in financing and arming the Volunteers
and was involved in the Howth gunrunning of July 1914. Following the
split in the Volunteers, Eamonn was elected financial secretary and was
appointed commandant of the 4th Battalion in March 1915.

On 9th September 1914, Eamonn convened a crucial meeting involving
leaders of the IRB Supreme Council at 25 Parnell Square which agreed to
use the War as an opportunity to strike a blow for Irish freedom. In May
1915, Eamonn was co opted onto the Military Council of the IRB along
with Patrick Pearse and Joseph Plunkett with the sole objective of
putting plans in place for an armed rebellion. Many of the meetings of
the Military Council were held at Eamonn’s residence in Dolphin’s Barn.

On Easter Monday, 24th April 1916, Eamonn took command of 120 Volunteers
at the South Dublin Union. During Easter week, the 4th Battalion held
off a number of sustained attacks by the vastly superior British
military. The fighting became an intense hand to hand struggle, but
Eamonn’s military expertise and bravery ensured his men held their
position as the British failed to take the garrison. His calm leadership
under pressure and that of Cathal Brugha during the intense fighting and
bombardment was praised and recognised by the men of the South Dublin
Union. On Sunday 30th April 1916, Thomas MacDonagh broke the news of
the surrender to Eamonn. Under direct orders from the Provisional
Government, Eamonn reluctantly surrendered. Major Rotherham who oversaw
the surrender of the South Dublin Union was astonished such a tiny band
of men held off two major assaults by the British. Eamonn led his men
from the South Dublin Union, “a brave band who fought a clean fight for
Ireland” (Father Augustine) where he ordered his battalion to lay down
their arms and equipment.

In the gymnasium of Richmond Barracks, in the aftermath of the Rising,
Eamonn Ceannt was picked out by the Dublin Metropolitan Police
detectives, known as “G men.” At his court martial on Wednesday 3rd May
1916, presided over by General Blackader, Eamonn pleaded, “not guilty.”
After hearing evidence, Eamonn’s closing address to the court was
“remarkable in its clarity.” On the back of his charge sheet, it read,
“shall not deny anything proven or admit what is not proven.” The next
day, Eamonn was found guilty as charged. He was sentenced to death by
being shot. On the early morning of 8th May 1916, Eamonn, after taking
Holy Communion from Father Augustine, in a letter to his wife wrote, “I
die a noble death for Ireland’s freedom.” He walked to the
Stonebreakers Yard of Kilmainham Gaol, hands tied behind his back, a
cloth around his eyes, a small square piece of paper acting as a target
for the 12 man firing squad. At dawn, 4.05am, with Father Augustine’s
crucifix in his hand, Eamonn Ceannt echoed his last words, “My Jesus
Mercy” before the executor shots rang out.

Eamonn’s brother, Bill, was a soldier with the Royal Dubliner Fusiliers.
Having spent the opening phase of World War One stationed in Fermoy,
County Cork, Bill was charged at a court martial for giving stolen food
to Thomas Kent. The same Thomas Kent who was executed in Cork Jail for a
gunfight with the RIC in the immediate aftermath of the Easter Rising.
Bill was posted to the Western Front on 11th September 1916. During the
Battle of the Somme, in November that year, he was seriously wounded and
eventually promoted to Company Sergeant-Major. During the Battle of
Arras, in early 1917, Bill was struck down by machine gun fire during an
advance of enemy lines and subsequently died from his wounds. The Ceannt
family received a scroll admonishing him amongst those who answered the
call of King and Country, “let those who come after see to it that his
name not be forgotten.”

The legacy of the Easter Rising and the wave of sympathy that swept the
country in its aftermath ensured Eamonn’s War was more accepted than
Bill’s War. Eamonn Ceannt in his last letter was perhaps right, “In the
years to come, Ireland will honour those who risked all for her honour
at Easter 1916.” Bill’s name and many thousands of other Irishmen who
were killed and maimed in the First World War, were the names that for
decades would be forgotten and ignores. Brothers by blood, yet their
blood spilled in a commitment to very different allegiances, one to
Ireland and the other to Britain. Perhaps, the words of Eamonn as true
to himself as that of his brother, Bill, “This generation can claim to
have raised sons as brave as any that went before.”