Léargas

This blog makes no apologies about returning to the issue of suicide. The recent surge of suicides by young men in west Belfast and in the Colin area in particular, has caused great hurt and anguish for families and friends of those who died. It has also frightened parents of other young people. But it has also encouraged other young people, including close friends of some of those who died, to come together to help those at risk. Last Monday a large group of young people came to Parliament Buildings to speak to this blog and other Sinn Féin MLAs. We discussed what has been done and what needs to be done to confront this issue. For over an hour we spoke about the difficulties young people face, the pressures they are under, the issue of drugs and their part in the rising suicide levels and the role of the statutory agencies. Meeting in Parliament Buildings It was at times an emotional conversation as some of those present related their personal experiences of drug taking, or of seeking...

Last week there were four deaths by young men from suicide in west Belfast. I visited all of the wake houses and attended one of the funerals on Saturday. My heart was broken by the huge sense of loss and devastation I found in all of the families and among the many young people who were around the wakes or who attended the funeral. Following the death of the fourth young man a group of young people took an initiative and organised a vigil at the top of the Whiterock Road last Thursday evening. It was held close to the home of one of those who died. It was cold and dark but hundreds attended. Most were teenagers and young men and women coming together in solidarity with each other. There were older people also. All of us were sad. Some held candles. Groups working on suicide awareness and prevention schemes passed through the crowd handing out information leaflets and little business cards with contact numbers for help. There were songs of love and hope. Speakers appealed for anyone fe...

This blog attended a very special celebration earlier this week. It was Turf Lodge: 2010 Anois is Arís 50th Anniversary. For those of you who don’t know Turf Lodge is a proud Belfast working class community. Through many difficult years the people of Turf Lodge demonstrated time and time again a commitment to their families and to each other. Like Ballymurphy and Andersonstown, Turf Lodge was one of many estates that were built on the then outskirts of Belfast in the years after the end of World War 2. They were part of a programme of work by Belfast City Corporation known as the ‘Slum clearance and houses redevelopment programme.’ The land on which Turf Lodge was built was eventually bought by the Corporation in June 1956. The name of the estate, it is said, came from a farm on which the estate was built. But it was four years later, in October 1960, and after many disputes and delays between builders and the Corporation, that the first completed houses were handed over for allocation...

The 1970’s was tough times. Republican Belfast was under military occupation. This blog flitted from house to house. Sometimes for just one night, never to return again. Not even a sight of the family who provided the shelter. In and out of back doors. Other times there was the chance to stay in the one place for longer periods. One such house backed on to an RUC barracks. British troops came and went on a regular basis. Our paths crossed regularly. Timing is everything. I stayed there off and on, despite a number of narrow escapes, for ages. It was a lucky house. It was there that I made the acquaintance of some books which had an enduring appeal to me. One was CALL MY BROTHER BACK by Michael McLaverty, another OVER THE BRIDGE by Sam Thompson - a play not a book. During that period I also became aware of the writing of Seamus Heaney. Once travelling on a bus down the Falls Road, my head buried in DEATH OF A NATURALIST, I was confronted by one of the British Army’s notorious Parachu...

On Wednesday the British government will announce the outcome of its Comprehensive Spending Review and the extent of the cuts that it plans to impose. Two weeks ago this blog met a senior delegation from the ICTU to talk about these threatened cuts and their likely impact on the north. Cuts to departmental budgets; cuts to public services; cuts to infrastructure investment; cuts that will cost jobs and hurt citizens. It was a good meeting and most of those involved came down afterward to the front of Parliament Buildings and joined us for the launch of a west Belfast billboard Opposing the Cuts. Sinn Féin and ICTU are agreed about the need to reject cuts and protect front line services and to build an alliance between political parties, the unions and the community and voluntary sector to oppose any cuts. There is a lot of speculation about the cuts which might be introduced by the British government. It the speculation is correct they will have a huge and detrimental impact on workers...

Donnacha Rynne I remember very well the time Anne Rynne told me Donnacha had multiple sclerosis. We were on the phone. It must have been about fifteen years ago. Or thereabouts. Donnacha was in his mid twenties. Although she was scared Anne was very brave about this traumatic development in the life of her son. Donnacha was even braver. They are like that, this mother and son who have faced adversity for every minute of the forty years since first they came into each others lives. Donnacha is one of twin boys. Niall and he are the second born of Davoc and Anne’s family. Then there is Áine - off now doing good in Vietnam - and the wondrous Turlough. Davóg is the oldest. Donnacha’s story is incomplete without them. Especially his amazing parents. And they would be incomplete without Donnacha. He is the touchstone in the lives of his family. And in the lives of many others including this blog. He is a huge inspiration for me. So who is Donnacha? Donnacha Rynne was born six weeks premat...

This blog has known many British Secretary’s of State. They have come in all shapes and sizes and with differing levels of knowledge and understanding about the situation here. Some have done their best by their own lights. Others have been inept. Still others indulged in sleight of hand politics. On one occasion this succeeded in collapsing the peace process. And at other times the political institutions fell. What they all have had in common was and is a determination to put British interests first. Last Thursday this blog facilitated a meeting with the present incumbent, Owen Paterson, and the Ballymurphy Massacre families. Regular readers of this blog will know that in the two days after the introduction of internment in August 1971, 11 people, including a mother of 8 children and a local Catholic priest, were killed by the British Parachute Regiment. None of those killed had any connection to any armed group. They were all innocent civilians. The families have always disputed Br...

In west Belfast, community groups and residents associations have helped foster a cohesion and civic spirit which held people together when government agencies and statutory bodies ignored appeals for help. This blog is very proud to be part of this community and I am a big fan of those who serve it in the voluntary and community sector. As October 20th approaches and the details of the British government’s Comprehensive Spending Review are announced many community organisations are understandably worried about future funding, including those involved in community development work in the poorest areas. Often these groups are providing services which offer a safety net to the most vulnerable. Sinn Féin worked tirelessly with others to persuade the European Commission to help the areas in greatest need through the Peace Programme in the mid 90’s. MEP Bairbre de Bruin led the lobby for the current Peace 3 programme. However, even as this money was secured, the British government was misus...

Pearse Doherty, myself, Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin and Martin Ferris at the Dáil on Wednesday The Dáil resumed on Wednesday. The mood was sombre. This blog spent the day in Dublin meeting Sinn Féin TDs who return to battle against this incompetent Fianna Fáil/Green government. I also attended the European Day of Action against cuts organised by the Trade Unions. But more of that another time. Thursday saw more bad news on the economy and further evidence of the disastrous mismanagement of the banking crisis by the coalition. The cost of the bank bailout to the taxpayers was revealed to be an incredible €50 billion! This includes an increased estimate for bailing out Anglo Irish Bank bringing that figure to €34.3 billion, almost 40% higher than the government had originally claimed. There will also be additional money for AIB and Irish Nationwide Building Society. The state is slowly being impoverished by the irresponsible decisions of the Fianna Fáil/Green government. And it is ordinary peop...