Posted by Jim on May 8, 2015
Much of the Scottish drive, strangely enough dovetailed with the film “Braveheart” starring Mel Gibson, who portrayed the Scottish leader William Wallace.
This British election will go down in history not for the shock margin of victory by the Conservatives but for sounding the death knell of the United Kingdom.
The
Scottish Nationalist Party has surpassed all expectations by winning 56 or so of the 59 seats in Scotland up for grabs in the British parliament.
What that means, pure and simple, is another referendum on Scottish independence probably within the next five years.
While the last one failed there is clearly a massive case of buyer’s remorse among Scots. The vote next time will not be close if the 2015 election is any indication.
If a new referendum is held there seems no doubt that the Scots will vote to depart from the union. The 1707 Acts of Union declared that the kingdoms of England and Scotland were “United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain.”
Not for long more it appears.
The unionists of Northern Ireland ought to be very afraid. The United Kingdom they cling to may soon not exist.
The massive Scottish nationalist gain, up from 6 seats five years ago, is the latest manifestation of the drumbeat for independence that has swept across Scotland for the past few years.
Put succinctly – the Scots are fed up of being second class citizens, far from London, their issues ignored.
The rule of thumb is that the farther from the center the less attention. That has certainly been the case in Scotland.
Much of the Scottish drive, strangely enough dovetailed with the film “Braveheart” starring Mel Gibson, who portrayed the Scottish leader William Wallace.
“Braveheart” appeared to help channel the momentum to the Scottish nationalist movement which stalled in the latter part of the last century.
The Labour Party bastions in Scotland have fallen like ninepins and the failure to compete in the rest of Britain creates a huge issue for the party. Their decision to oppose Scottish independence has been a disaster for them.
But they may yet see defeat as a blessing in disguise.
David Cameron now has to deal with the centuries of disregard for Scottish needs, which have now reached a perfect storm for the Scottish nationalists. Will he want to be known as the Prime Minister who lost the United Kingdom?
United Kingdom no more? Nicola Sturgeon the SNP leader has vowed her party will seek a new way to deal with the overlords in London.”The tectonic plates have shifted,” she said.
That will surely mean an independent Scotland by decade’s end.
Posted by Jim on May 6, 2015
Prominent Belfast republican Gerard ‘Jock’ Davison was shot dead this
morning in the Markets area in a killing which has shocked the city
less than 48 hours before polls open in the Westminster general
election.
A former senior commander in the Provisional IRA, Mr Davison is
believed to have been shot several times at about 9am at Welsh Street.
Members of Mr Davison’s extended family and friends later attempted to
break through the PSNI security cordon at the scene.
Sinn Fein sources and others have blamed a criminal gang for what they
described as a “brutal murder”.
Mr Davison has been centrally involved in the power struggles of
central Belfast for many years. He is also alleged to have been
indirectly involved in the pub row that subsequently resulted in the
high-profile death of east Belfast man Robert McCartney in Magennis’s
Bar close to the Markets in early 2005.
Mr Davison was one of three IRA figures who were said to have been
court martialled and disciplined by the Provisional IRA after it
carried out its own investigation. He was later accused of working as a
police informer by Mr McCartney’s sister, Catherine. He remained a key
Sinn Fein supporter in the area throughout and in recent years took on
the role of a community worker.
The dead man is survived by a partner and three children. Sinn Fein
Assembly members Alex Maskey and Mairtin O Muilleoir visited the scene
to offer assistance to the Davison family.
Mr Maskey described the killing as “brutal”, adding: “The people who
took his life have robbed this community not only of a family member
but of a person who had been working tirelessly on behalf of the
community.” He described Mr Davison as “a longstanding republican and
community worker”.
Mr Maskey said he did not want to speculate on who might be responsible
but added that “clearly they have nothing to offer”.
Sinn Fein’s representative in the nearby Short Strand, Niall O
Donnghaile, said: “My friend has been callously murdered while working
for the people of the community he loved. He and his beloved family are
foremost in my mind.”
The Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams also offered his condolences to Mr
Davison’s family and said people were appalled at the murder.
“This brutal act will be condemned by all sensible people. There can be
no place today for such actions. I would urge anyone with any
information to bring that forward to the PSNI,” he said.
Posted by Jim on April 28, 2015
Fast Til Death (May-Oct 1981)
After the ending of the first strike, Bobby Sands, who had succeeded Brendan Hughes as O.C of the H-Blocks became heavily and frantically involved in attempts to bring the prison protest to a principled end on the basis of the five demands.The last thing the prisoners wanted after four years of a gruelling and nightmarish hell was a return to the protest.
It soon became evident however that the Prime Minister of Britain, Margaret Thatcher and the British Government, having secured the ending of the first strike and a potentially explosive situation were more interested in a political victory over the prisoners, and republicans as a whole, than an honourable resolution of the protest.
Subsequently despite intense efforts by Bobby Sands and the other republican leaders, both inside and outside the H-Blocks to avoid it, the prisoners were left politically, with no alternative than to proceed with another hungerstrike.
The second hungerstrike began on 1st March 1981 and was led by Bobby Sands.Unlike the previous strike volunteers would be joining in different stages, thus slowly maximising pressure on the British government.This staggered approach would also avoid a repeat situation where a number of volunteers might die at the same time.The prisoners thinking being, that two or three hungerstrikers dying at once would have no more effect on the Brits than a single death.Another tactical move came the day after the beginning of the fast when the four hundred and twenty five non-conforming prisoners in the H-Blocks called off their dirty protest, thus centralising public and media attention on the plight of the volunteers on hungerstrike.
Another I.R.A prisoner, Francis Hughes, 27, from the village of Bellaghy joined the fast on 15th March.He was later followed by I.R.A volunteer Raymond Mc Creesh, 24, from South Armagh and Patsy O’Hara, 24, from Derry City the officer commanding the I.N.L.A prisoners in the Blocks.They joined their comrades in refusing food on 22nd march.
These four young Irish men in the prime of their lives had grown up knowing nothing but oppression and discrimination in their own country.Contrary to British claims of criminality, the four would never have seen the insides of a prison were it not for the political situation prevailing in Ireland at the time.
An opportunity to dispel the myth that these men were mere gangsters and part of a criminal conspiracy arose when a special election was called for after the death of Independent Nationalist M.P for Fermanagh/South Tyrone, Frank Maguire.It was quickly decided that Bobby Sands should run for this seat on the issue of the H-Blocks unaligned to any political party.The rallying cry of “Don’t let them die” employed during the many rallies held throughout the country became a campaign slogan.The H-Block Commitee were not only calling on nationalist people to elect Bobby as a member of parliament but were urging them to save his life.Or so they thought.
The people of Fermanagh/South Tyrone spoke with a resounding voice when on 9th April 1981, 30,492 of them elected Bobby Sands, by now six weeks without food, as their political representative to the Westminister parliament.Bobby Sands political prisoner, became Bobby Sands M.P. Unbelievable result for a man who was labelled a criminal. Grafitti on the walls throughout the six counties began to decry this fact.
Surely to God Margaret Thatcher and the British government wouldn’t let a fellow M.P starve to death?
Signs looked ominous however when, in response to this victory, a law was drafted in the British House of Commons preventing any more prisoners from standing in future elections.The situation was very bleak indeed.Despite this election result and political pressure from both Ireland and abroad, Margaret Thatcher refused to even enter into negotiations with the political prisoners.
As a direct result of British intransigience Bobby Sands M.P for Fermanagh/South Tyrone, Irish political prisoner, poet and Irish soldier, died at 1:17am May 5th 1981 after sixty-six days without food.
He died as he had lived, an Irish freedom fighter who would rather die than see the cause, for which he ultimately payed the supreme sacrifice, be criminalised.One hundred thousand people turned out for Bobby’s funeral from his terraced home in Twinbrook, West Belfast.Proportionally, on a population basis, it was as though two million people had marched through London.Sympathy messages flowed in from all corners of the globe condemning the British governments position and paying tribute to the courage and selflessness of Bobby Sand’s martyrdom.Serious rioting broke out all over the six counties with many people losing their lives.The British , true to form,still didn’t take heed.
Sadly nine more young Irishmen followed Bobby Sand’s footsteps into martyrdom before the hungerstrike came to an end.Nine more coffins were followed through the narrow streets and country lanes of the six-counties.Nine more families were left broken hearted, after watching their loved ones die a slow and agonising death because of Britains point blank refusal to give them their five just demands, their rights as political prisoners of war.
Francis Hughes died a week after Bobby Sands on 12th May.Patsy O’Hara and Raymond Mc Creesh both died on 21st May.Joe McDonnell died on July 8th.Martin Hurson died July 13th.Kevin Lynch died August 1st.Kieran Doherty died August 2nd.Thomas McIlwee died August 8th and Mickey Devine died August 20th.
The hungerstrike came to an end on 3rd October 1981 after 217 days due to the fact that the Catholic Church, the Dublin government and the S.D.L.P(Social Democratic Labour Party) had all consistently refused to side with the prisoners and found it more politically beneficial to capitulate to the British Government.Thus insufficient pressure was brought to bear on the British by the Irish establishment and it was evident that Margaret Thatcher was quite happy to sit back and watch the entire Republican population of the H-Blocks starve to death.Also by this stage, because of pressure brought upon the families by the Catholic Church, the prisoner’s families had begun to take the prisoners of the fast once they had lapsed into a coma, as was their right.So it looked as though the hungerstrike was on the verge of collapse anyway, when the prisoners released their statement on Octobers 3rd declaring that the hungerstrike was over.
Posted by Jim on April 25, 2015
April 21, 2015
Letter to Editor
NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE
620 8th Avenue, 6th Fl.
New York, New York 10018
Dear Editor:
Mary Anne Weaver’s recent story on British jihadists (“Why Do They Go?”) referred to Home Secretary May’s remark that Britain is “…now facing the greatest terrorist threat in recent history.” Ms. Weaver wondered if Secretary May had forgotten the IRA conflict and “the 3000 people who died then.” This seemed and odd and ill suited reference to the IRA. Almost half of the deaths of the 30 year conflict were victims of the British Army, the police and loyalist death squads colluding with MI-5. That fact is amply documented by Anne Cadwallader’s book LETHAL ALLIES and Malcom Sutton’s INDEX OF DEATHS. British-loyalist victims were primarily innocent Catholic civilians while IRA victims were primarily soldiers, police and members of a government known better for its human rights violations and corruption of justice. The IRA reference seemed forced. There is no reason to compare the slaughter of ISIS and the Anglo-Irish conflict; a point upon which even British security services would agree.
Sincerely,
Michael J. Cummings
Albany, New York 12203-1814
Michael J. Cummings, a native of Springfield, Mass., is a graduate of St. Anselm’s College (B. A., 1968) and New York University (M. P. A., 1970). A former member of the National Boards of the Irish American Unity Conference (1996-2013), the Ancient Order Hibernians National Board (2001-2008), and the National Executive of the Irish Northern Aid Committee (1988-1996), he served six National AOH Presidents , 5 IAUC National Presidents and two National Chairman of INA primarily in public relations capacities. He is the only person to serve on the national policymaking bodies of all three major Irish American organizations. He also served on the Commission on Peace and Justice of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany.
Cummings has appeared on American, English and Irish television and radio and his commentary and letters and those of the Presidents have appeared in major American, Irish-American, and Catholic print media. He is a frequent columnist for the weekly IRISH ECHO newspaper
Posted by Jim on
by James O’Shea @ IrishCentral
A failure to understand what the Irish American identity means.
How many times have we seen posts on this site from well-meaning Irish Americans only to have them accused of being ‘Plastic Paddies’ by native Irish people.
According to Wikipedia, ‘Plastic Paddy’ is a “pejorative term for members of the Irish diaspora who appropriate (often stereotypical) Irish customs and identity.”
There seems to be a deep antipathy among some Irish-born towards any involvement or interest among Irish Americans or Irish abroad generally in Irish issues.
Most recently there were howls of derision from Ireland when Irish Americans dared to suggest that a situation comedy based on the Irish Famine might not be the smartest thing to do. Howls of Plastic Paddyism ensued.
We might have answered, ”Hey it was our Famine too and we don’t think it was funny.”
Sometimes I believe they seem to think we are all a bunch of overweight construction workers from Cleveland marauding around Ireland and singing “Mother Machree” and chanting “Up the IRA.”
Are there folks who do that? Yes, perhaps, but there are also probably Irish who want to live under “Rule Britannia” again but I don’t consider all Irish with them.
The fact is that the Irish view of Irish America is sadly out of date and deeply unoriginal in many cases. They are the ones who are being hopelessly parochial here.
When you look at some of the great innovations in Irish culture – the modernization of dance (Michael Flatley, Jean Butler – two Irish Americans) the incredible spread of Irish Studies in universities (Notre Dame, NYU the trail blazers), philanthropic investments in Ireland (Chuck Feeney $1.5bn dollars – another Irish American), the peace process (made possible in large part by an American president Bill Clinton and his envoy George Mitchell), there are so many benchmarks proving that Irish America not only gets it but guides Ireland into a better place.
The fact is that Ireland, despite some recent emigration from Poland etc., is a deeply homogeneous place where the aspect of being Irish is not in the least remarkable as everyone else is too.
Irish parochialism is alive and well in certain quarters, assuming that only Irish from Ireland can be counted a true Irish and all else are ‘Plastic Paddies.’
No Irish American thinks they are Irish in the ‘Irish from Ireland’ meaning of the word. But we do come from a society that encourages and thrives on the fundamental fact that everyone here with the exception of the American Indians came from somewhere else on a boat or plane..
So Irish identity in the American sense is valued and deeply cherished though it primarily relates to the American ethnic experience where others are Italian American, Jewish American etc.
And, yes, Ireland is an emotional touchstone for them, delivering a strong sense that their heritage is both ancient and very modern, the gatekeeper of their ancestral roots.
But that’s not ‘Plastic Paddies’ stuff as it is often labeled. It is a sense of reaching back and connecting in the most powerful way with those who came before.
We Irish Americans are part of a vast mosaic, as Governor Mario Cuomo once said, each ethnic group is part of the tapestry of America, each bringing our own brightest colors to it.
That is what the Irish Americans do. It is not ‘Plastic Paddyism’ no more than what Michael Flatley brought to Irish dance was, what Shane MacGowan, or Ed Sheeran bring to popular music. It is a real and separate arm of Irish identity that only asks that it be identified as such.