This week’s Letter from Ireland is still coming to you from our tour. Last week I attended the AOH/LAOH Biannual Convention in Pittsburgh with Michelle Gildernew. This week it’s Washington with Michelle O’Neill.
The convention was a celebration of Irish American identity and a shared common experience. The welcome was second to none. Discussions centered on political developments in Ireland, the rise of Sinn Féin, the British Government breaching international law with their proposals on Legacy and Brexit, and the potential of Irish Unity.
This was mirrored in our engagements with political and civic leaders in Washington. There were detailed discussions on the legislative process in Westminster and what could be done next to protect and promote the Good Friday Agreement as we mark its 25th Anniversary next year.
The agreement is just as relevant today as it was in 1998. It is the framework for managing the political challenges of today and planning for tomorrow.
At a meeting in Washington, one Congress Member remarked that “no one has to lobby for Ireland – we get it”.
Such a simple statement. Such a profound truth. The relationship with political leaders is not based on a political calculation. It is personal. It cuts to the core of identity.
It’s an intergenerational pride in being Irish-American. The same pride that was evident with the Hibernians was evident in Washington. In typical, cut-to-the-chase fashion, the question was not whether to help but what can be done to help.
The US has been a guarantor of the agreements and steadfast in asserting the primacy of politics. We face a British Government that has no respect for agreements, acts unilaterally, and makes a virtue out of breaking international law.
At a time when international law is under attack with a war in Ukraine, British government policy on Ireland continues to undermine relations between Britain and Ireland, the EU, and the US. It also does untold damage to the political process and the rights of citizens.
The US stands resolute behind the Agreements, the protocol, and re-establishing the government and institutions.
At some stage, Britain will listen. The demands are reasonable: honor the agreements and respect international law. Irish America will endure, it is both personal and political.
Have a great weekend and special thanks to all those who made us feel so welcome.
Is mise,
Ciarán
Ciarán Quinn is the Sinn Féin Representative to North America
A government watchdog has accused the U.S. Secret Service of erasing texts from Jan. 5 and 6, 2021, after his office requested them as part of an inquiry into the U.S. Capitol attack, according to a letter sent to lawmakers this week.
So was the opening paragraph in a report in the Washington Post. And if it be a true reflection of the matter, a murky day in the history of the United States just got murkier still.
Stated the report: “Joseph V. Cuffari, head of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, wrote to the leaders of the House and Senate Homeland Security committees indicating that the text messages have vanished and that efforts to investigate the Jan. 6, 2021, attack were being hindered. ‘The Department notified us that many U.S. Secret Service (USSS) text messages, from January 5 and 6, 2021 were erased as part of a device-replacement program,’ he wrote in a letter dated Wednesday and obtained by The Washington Post. The letter was earlier reported on by the Intercept and CNN.
“Cuffari emphasized that the erasures came ‘after” the Office of Inspector General requested copies of the text messages for its own investigation, and signaled that they were part of a pattern of DHS resistance to his inquiries.”
Institutional resistance to outside scrutiny is nothing new. And it’s not confined to the Secret Service or its controlling agency, the Department of Homeland Security.
Interestingly, the Post report offered up this instance from the past. It stated: “The Secret Service has had a history of important records disappearing under cover of night and agency staff members refusing to cooperate when investigators came calling seeking information.
“When a congressional committee was investigating assassinations and assassination attempts, it sought boxes of records that reportedly showed the Secret Service received ample advance warnings and threats before President John F. Kennedy’s death that white supremacists and other organizations were plotting to kill Kennedy using high-powered rifles from tall buildings. The Secret Service told investigators the records had been destroyed as part of a normal culling of old archives — days after investigators had requested them.”
Well there you go.
The Echo, together with the Ancient Order of Hibernians, have experienced the kind of wall of silence that can surround agencies like DHS. And this stems from the case of Malachy McAllister.
On a number of occasions since McAllister was deported from the U.S. in June, 2020, the Hibernians and the Echo have separately sought clarification on the precise circumstances surrounding the Belfast man’s removal from the U.S. – this despite significant political support on Capitol Hill and the clear preference of the Irish American community that he be allowed stay in the U.S.
Indeed, there were indications that then President Trump had no problem with McAllister continuing to live in New Jersey.
As the Echo reported around that time, the Hibernians expressed frustration in a letter to GOP Senator Ron Johnson.
The report stated that questions continued to swirl around the precise role that DHS Acting Secretary Chad Wolf had in McAllister’s removal from the U.S., the Belfast native’s home for more than two decades. The Hibernians saw the hand of Mr. Wolf in McAllister’s deportation.
In the letter, penned by Neil Cosgrove, AOH National Political Chair, the Hibernians stated that they had “serious questions regarding this nomination, questions that Mr. Wolf, as acting Secretary, has not answered.”
Added the AOH letter in part: “On June 9, 2020, one of our members, Malachy McAllister, a law-abiding, tax-paying resident of the United States for over two decades, was deported by Homeland Security at Acting Secretary Wolf’s direction.
“Mr. McAllister fled to the United States with his family, seeking the traditional promise of safety and new beginnings that America has offered generations of political refugees. No less a personage than President Trump’s sister, Judge Maryanne Trump Barry, wrote in an opinion that current law did not anticipate the circumstances of the McAllister family. Senior Senate and Congressional leaders wrote to DHS to exercise discretion in the McAllister case until legislative redress could be made. Mr. Wolf chose to ignore the petitions of the people’s elected representatives.
“Such was Mr. Wolf’s hurry to get Mr. McAllister out of the country, that when informed that Mr. McAllister had recently broken his collar bone and that Doctor’s had advised that he should not travel, DHS chartered, at considerable taxpayer expense, an Air Ambulance and crew to deport Mr. McAllister rather than letting this man who had lived here for two decades the necessary time to heal so he could use a scheduled commercial flight.
“The only logical conclusion we can draw from this rash act is that Acting Secretary Wolf feared appeals on Mr. McAllister’s behalf would be successful. Mr. Wolf, therefore, took it upon himself to violate the rules of compassion, common sense, and the fiscal responsibilities of his department to get Mr. McAllister out of the country as quickly as possible to avoid this possibility for his own reasons.
“The Hibernians currently have an FOIA request, 2020-ICFO-56457, with DHS that is already fifty days overdue from DHS’s target response date.”
It’s a lot more overdue now – like those January, 2021 tapes.
Toby Jones, the voice of Dobby in the Harry Potter films, Dr Zola in Captain America and Lance in the Detectorists, appears twice on the festival programme.
On Saturday he will perform a short piece of Beckett’s prose in the Breandrum Chapel of Rest in Enniskillen and on Sunday morning he will take a boat out to Devenish Island with his audience.
Image caption,Dunbar says Toby Jones is a “great Beckett fan”
There the pilot will switch off the engine, and the boat will drift as Jones reads two sections from the end of Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape.
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The festival will also feature local and international talent including BBC’s Conversations with Friends Tadhg Murphy, Dame Sarah Connolly, Fleur Barron and Liam Ó’Maonlaí.
A range of local venues are featured in the festival including the Marble Arch Caves, an upland mountain bog, the Regal and Enniskillen Royal Grammar.
‘A wonderful fit’
Dunbar’s interest in Beckett was sparked when he saw a production of Waiting for Godot while studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.
“Beckett disappeared off my radar for a while after that, but when the festival arrived it rekindled my interest in him,” he told BBC News NI.
“I wanted to get behind the festival because I felt it would be a wonderful fit for the town of Enniskillen, the town would respond to it, and so it has.”
Image caption,Devenish Island is the backdrop for a number of productions
Dunbar will direct a 12-minute play taking place on the 9th century monastic Devenish Island starring Vincent Higgins and Lalor Roddy as the Reader and Listener.
An intimate audience, a maximum of 48 people, will be transported by boat to the island at sunset.
“Ohio Impromptu really suits being done I believe on the island as it mentions the Ile aux Cygnes which is an Island in Paris that both Joyce and Beckett used to walk along chatting to one another.
“I think it’s a beautiful experience and I think that it is one of the major things that makes the festival successful is these experiences you have engaging with Beckett’s work because the work is curated in very interesting places.”
Image caption,Adrian Dunbar said the festival had rekindled his interest in Beckett
Beckett in Folkestone, a newly commissioned work which has never been seen before in Ireland will also feature at the festival.
It tells the imagined stories of three people who may have encountered Beckett in Folkestone in 1960 when he travelled there to marry his long-time partner.
A series of three monologues will be delivered in venues across the town including Blakes of the Hollow and Enniskillen Castle.
The audience will hear from a receptionist, journalist and a wedding witness.
Festival founder and artistic director Seán Doran said he was delighted to be bringing back the international festival after a three year enforced silence by Covid-19.
“It is a truly special festival, attracting not only international names and faces but also audiences from across the globe,” he added.
The Happy Days Enniskillen International Beckett Festival will take place from 21 July to 25 July.
On Monday 9th of August 1971 Interment Without Trial was introduced by the British Government in the North of Ireland. This policy was implemented by the British Army at 4am on that particular summer morning. The British Army directed the campaign against the predominately Catholic community with the stated aim to “shock and stun the civilian population”.
Between 9th and 11th of August 1971, over 600 British soldiers entered the Ballymurphy area of West Belfast, raiding homes and rounding up men. Many, both young and old, were shot and beaten as they were dragged from their homes without reason. During this 3 day period 11 people were brutally murdered.
All 11 unarmed civilians were murdered by the British Army’s Parachute Regiment. One of the victims was a well known parish priest and another was a 45 year old mother of eight children. No investigations were carried out and no member of the British Army was held to account. It is believed that some of the soldiers involved in Ballymurphy went on to Derry some months later where similar events occurred. Had those involved in Ballymurphy been held to account, the events of Bloody Sunday may not have happened.
The terrible events which took place in Ballymurphy in 1971 have for too long remained in the shadows. Here we, the families of those murdered, put the spotlight on how 11 innocent people met their deaths over a three day period in August 1971.
The Massacre – Chronology 9th August 1971
On the 9th of August 1971, at roughly 8:30pm, in the Springfield Park area of West Belfast, a local man was trying to lift children to safety when he was shot and wounded by the British Army’s Parachute Regiment. Local people tried to help the wounded man but were pinned back by the Parachute Regiment’s gunfire. Local parish priest, Father Hugh Mullan, telephoned the Henry Taggart army post to tell them he was going into the field to help the injured man.
Father Mullan entered the field, waving a white baby grow. He anointed the injured man, named locally as Bobby Clarke. Having identified that Bobby had received a flesh wound and was not fatally wounded, Father Mullan attempted to leave the field. At this point Father Mullan was fatally shot in the back.
On witnessing such events another young man of 19 years, Frank Quinn, came out of his place of safety to help Father Mullan. Frank was shot in the back of the head as he tried to reach Father Mullan. The bodies of Father Hugh Mullan and Frank Quinn lay where they were shot until local people could safely reach them. Their bodies remained in neighbouring homes until they could be safely removed the next morning.
Tension was rising in the community as local youths fought back against the army’s horrendous campaign. Families were fleeing their homes in Springfield park as they came under attack from loyalist mobs approaching from the direction of Springmartin. Parents frantically searched for their children. Local men were still being removed from their homes, beaten and interned without reason. All this and at the same time the people of Ballymurphy were trying to live a normal life. Local people had started gathering at the bottom of Springfield Park, an area known locally as the Manse. Some of those gathering included Joseph Murphy who was returning from the wake of a local boy who drowned in a swimming accident. Joan Connolly and her neighbour Anna Breen stopped as they searched for their daughters. Daniel Teggart also stopped as he returned from his brother’s house which was close to Springfield Park. Daniel had gone to his brother’s house to check on his brother’s safety as his house had been attacked as local youth targeted the Henry Taggart Army base located near by. Noel Phillips, a young man of 19 years, having just finished work walked to Springfield park to check on the local situation.
Without warning the British Army opened fire from the direct of the Henry Taggart Army base. The shooting was aimed directly at the gathering. In the panic people dispersed in all directions. Many people took refuge in a field directly opposite the army base. The army continued to fire and intensified their attack on this field.
Noel Phillips was shot in the back side. An injury that was later described in his autopsy as a flesh wound. As he lay crying for help, Joan Connolly, a mother of 8 went to his aid. Eye witnesses heard Joan call out to Noel saying “It’s alright son, I’m coming to you”.
In her attempt to aid Noel, Joan was shot in the face. When the gun fire stopped Noel Phillips, Joan Connolly, Joseph Murphy and many others lay wounded. Daniel Teggart, a father of 14, lay dead having been shot 14 times.
A short time later a British Army vehicle left the Henry Taggart Army base and entered the field. A solider exited the vehicle, and to the dismay of the local eye witnesses, executed the already wounded Noel Phillips by shooting him once behind each ear with a hand gun.
Soldiers then began lifting the wounded and dead and throwing them into the back of the vehicle. Joseph Murphy, who had been shot once in the leg, was also lifted along with the other victims and taken to the Henry Taggart Army base. Those lifted, including Joseph Murphy, were severely beaten. Soldiers brutally punched and kicked the victims. Soldiers jumped off bunks on top of victims and aggravated the victims’ existing wounds by forcing objects in to them. Mr Murphy was shot at close range with a rubber bullet into the wound he first received in the field. Mr Murphy died three weeks later from his injuries.
Joan Connolly, who had not been lifted by the soldiers when they first entered the field, lay wounded where she had been shot. Eye witnesses claimed Joan cried out for help for many hours. Joan was eventually removed from the field around 2:30am on 10th August. Autopsy reports state that Joan, having been repeatedly shot and bled to death.
10th August 1971
Eddie Doherty, a father of two from the St James’ area of West Belfast, had visited his elderly parents in the Turf Lodge area, on the evening of Tuesday 10th August to check on their safety during the ongoing unrest. He was making his way home along the Whiterock road, as he approached the West Rock area he noticed a barricade which had been erected by local people in an attempt to restrict access to the British Army.
A local man named Billy Whelan, known to Eddie, stopped him and the pair passed commented on the ongoing trouble. At the same time a British Army digger and Saracen moved in to dismantle the barricade. From the digger, a soldier from the Parachute Regiment opened fire. Eddie was fatally shot in the back. Local people carried him to neighbouring homes in an attempt to provide medical attention but Eddie died a short time later from a single gun shot wound.
11th August 1971
At roughly 4am on 11th August. John Laverty, a local man of 20 years, was shot and killed by soldiers from the British Army’s Parachute regiment. Joseph Corr, a local father of 6, was also shot and wounded by the same regiment. Mr Corr died of his injuries 16 days later. The Parachute Regiment’s account stated that both men were firing at the army and were killed as the army responded. Neither men were armed and ballistic and forensic evidence tested at the time disproved the army’s testimony.
Pat McCarthy, a local community worker who came to work in Ballymurphy from England, was shot in the hand on the same day as he was attempting to leave the local community centre to distribute milk and bread to neighbouring families. A few hours later and nursing his wounded hand, Pat decided to continue with the deliveries. He was stopped by soldiers from the British Army’s Parachute Regiment who harassed and beat him.
Eye witness’ watched in horror as the soldiers carried out a mock execution on Pat by placing a gun in his mouth and pulling the trigger, only for the gun to be unloaded. Pat suffered a massive heart attack and the same soldiers stopped local people from trying to help Pat. As a result Pat died from the ordeal.
John McKerr, a father of 8 and a carpenter from the Andersonstown Road area, was carrying out repair work in Corpus Christi chapel on the 11th August. John took a short break to allow the funeral of a local boy, who drowned in a swimming accident, to take place. As he waited outside the chapel for the funeral mass to end, John was shot once in the head by a British solider from the Army’s Parachute Regiment.
Despite the harassment of the British Army, local people went to his aid and remained at his side until an ambulance arrived. One local woman, named locally as Maureen Heath, argued with the soldiers as they refused to allow John to be taken in the ambulance. John was eventually taken to hospital but died of his injuries 9 days later having never regained consciousness.
