SAFFRONS ABÚ

Your man and me went to last Sundays game in Casement. It was a great day out. The pitch was in great condition, the crowds were expectant, excited and colourful. The atmosphere was great. The new stadium, when it comes, will be a great venue for more great occasions.

Okay we lost. This blog would be happier if we won but you got to give it to Tír Éoghan. Too many people, including your man, were writing them off in advance of the game. You don’t write off Tír Éoghan like that. Especially against an Aontroim side which is still evolving, still a team – a very good team – but a team in transition with its best yet to come.

Last years success meant there was going to be a very high expectation among players and fans alike. That’s a good thing. Liam Bradley and his management team are doing a great job and we have some of the best players in the country playing for us. But Tír Éoghan have craft and experience. By the bucket load. And they used it.

So we can’t complain. They won the first half and in the second half we put them under great pressure. And maybe just maybe with a wee bit of luck we might have pulled it off. But we didn’t. They won, even if Muggsie’s goal was dodgey. Agus shin é. Well done to all our players.



The next game is the important one. The minors will also be disappointed but no matter. Both seniors and minors did us proud.

I met some of the Aontroim and Saint Galls lads the night before. When I was in Saint Finian’s,or maybe it was Saint Mary’s I was involved with Saint Galls. I was only a kid. Brother Leopold – the walking lamp post – dismissed me over an alleged instance of rowdy behaviour in the clubrooms which at that time were adjacent to Milltown cemetery.

Later when he found out that I wasn’t the culprit he apologised and asked me back. I remember that day well. It was during a hurling match in Casement. As your man recalls it I was having an indifferent game. My recollection is that I was Christy Ring-like. Anyway the good brother invited me back to Galls. But in those days I had principles. So I never did go back. Ah foolish youth!



A jubilant Naomh Eoin

Talking of hurling, well camogie to be exact. Naomh Éoghan camogs had a great win at the Feile. By all accounts the game against Loughgiel was a cracker. According to my sources high Noon at Cargin saw Naomh Éoghan girls fight back to achieve the impossible and beat hot favourites Loughgiel by 4 points after starting the second half three points down.

However, the Naomh Éoghan fighting spirit paid off as Roxy took a quick early point and Captain Eimhear Costello slipped through a gaggle of Loughgiel defenders to blast home the goal which put St.Johns ahead.

There was no looking back after that as Niamh Adams blasted home from close range and Roxy followed up with two well struck goals and a point to leave Loughgiel in disbelief. The North Antrim girls fought back with four more points and a goal at the very end but a gritty team effort saw Naomh Éoghan girls through to their first ever County Féile championship and a big trip to Clare in June.



And finally our senior hurlers have a big game at the weekend against Offaly. The hurlers have been taking some hits recently but they have the ability to do better than they have managed so far. So they have our best wishes also. Hurling is still the best field game in the world. It is the poor second cousin of Gaelic sports mostly because more skill is required. On this your man and this blog are in agreement.

As he says ‘Any oul eejit cud kick a football. But striking a sloithar under pressure and at full speed that’s a different matter.’

I don’t know about the any oul eejit bit. Any oul eejit couldn’t get through the Tír Éoghan defenders. But then your man isn’t any oul eejit. He’s special. Or so he thinks.

Prisoners have rights which must be protected

Maghaberry Prison

Two weeks ago a Sinn Fein delegation, including elected representatives Caral Ní Chuilín, John O’Dowd, Paul Maskey and Raymond McCartney visited Maghaberry prison to view conditions and meet with prisoners. Coiste Na nIar Chimí representative Michael Culbert was also part of the delegation.

I had already discussed the Maghaberry situation with Minister of Justice David Ford and asked for clearance for the Sinn Fein prison visit. At the start of this week Martin McGuinness and Raymond McCartney MLA also met with him on this situation.

In addition Caral Ní Chuilín MLA has also met and had several conversations by phone with the Head of Prisons in the north Robin Masefield.

The news on Tuesday evening that Liam Hannaway had ended his hunger strike was therefore welcome news. He had raised a number of issues with the Sinn Féin delegation when they met him two weeks ago. These were discussed directly with the prison administration and the Justice Minister.

It was clear from all the conversations that have taken place that with the necessary political will all of the issues relating to Liam Hannaway, and indeed the wider problems in Roe House can be resolved.

The fact that another prisoner Harry Fitzsimons, who had been held in the punishment block, had now been moved back into Roe House was also a welcome development.

It clear that there are problems with the regime in Maghaberry.

Maghaberry has been the focus of a series of critical reports over a number of years.

In 2006, an inspection made over 155 recommendations but more than half were never implemented. The most recent inspector’s report made over 200 recommendations and concluded that the current situation in Maghaberry could not be allowed to continue.

Last year, the prison governor and his deputy were dismissed and 13 members of staff disciplined following an inquiry into the suicide of a prisoner in August 2008.

Subsequent reports were highly critical of the way the prison was being run and disciplinary procedures were taken against prison staff who it was alleged were surfing the net and watching television rather than being on suicide watch.

Four prisoners have taken their own lives in the last 4 years in Maghaberry.

A new governor, brought in last July to implement reform, faced open hostility from staff. Following his car registration number and name being found in a prisoner's cell the governor resigned amidst fears for his safety. Subsequently the Prisoner Ombudsman Pauline McCabe was asked to carry out an investigation when it was alleged that a member of the prison staff planted the note in order to intimidate the Governor.

Earlier this year, increasing tensions between staff and prisoners culminated in protests by a number of segregated prisoners, including a 48-hour lock-in of prisoners during Easter.

Recently relatives of some of these prisoners have been in contact with Sinn Féin representatives in relation to the situation in Maghaberry.

The Sinn Fein delegation that visited Maghaberry on May 14th had access to the segregated wing and met with ten prisoners representing various groups within Roe House. The delegation also met with the current governor, Alan Craig, and other members of the administration.

The prisoners raised a number of issues. They included complaints about a number of punitive actions such as the use of strip-searching as harassment of both prisoners and their visitors and a range of other conditions-related issues that were very familiar to the former prisoners on the delegation. The prisoners cited one clear example of this. Despite the fact that it was obviously unnecessary, prisoners appearing by video link for remand were being subjected to strip-searches.

The proximity of dogs in the visit processing area, the presence of the PSNI in the visitors’ area, the public identification of those who are to be strip-searched, and visitors being threatened with arrest if they refuse to be strip-searched, were also raised.

The delegation assured them their concerns would be conveyed to the prison administration, the Prison Service and to the Justice Minister – and they have.

Republicans have a long experience of prisons and of hostile and antagonistic prison systems. It is our belief that prisoners and their families must be treated with dignity and respect. Prisoners have rights and the prison regime should reflect this.

There is currently a review taking place into the prison regime. It is our intention to continue to pursue all the matters involved with the Minister of Justice and the Prison system.

MUSINGS FROM STORMONT

What we have we hold! Not an inch! No surrender! No Pope here! No Catholic need apply! I wouldn’t have a Catholic about the place.

Some of the slogans and catch cries of unionism seem quaint and old fashioned nowadays. Relics of another age. And that’s only the printable ones. No doubt that sentiment exists yet but its public expression is on the wane. No longer politically correct. Even though the emotion may linger on. And not only in the TUV.

Some senior DUP members find it hard to come to terms with the new dispensation. They wander around Stormont like lost souls ever alert to the possibility that the young person sharing the lift with them or the queue for lunch might be a Sinn Féin staffer. Difficult to know who to be polite to or friendly with in this place. It’s easier to avoid the public face of Sinn Féin. But all the rest of them? That’s a different story.

That is why the DUP detest the TUV. Jim Allister says what some of them think. Even though they might not admit it nowadays. Not publicly at any rate.

Publicly all the talk is about unionist unity. Makes sense. I like unity. Good politics. Consensus building. Nil neart le chur le cheile. Unity is strength. Except when it is on a negative agenda. Like the Assembly on Monday. On Monday the DUP tabled a motion to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the disbanding of the B-Specials, without any sense of irony whatsoever, and the formation of the UDR. They were supported in this by the UUP. Unionism United.

But for what purpose?

For the purpose of revisionism.

This blog has no problem with any one celebrating the UDR or the B Specials. That’s their own business. As long as it is not in the chamber at the Assembly.

That is why I and others opposed their motion.

The B Specials were an armed wing of the old Unionist regime at Stormont.

Along with the RUC they were responsible for oppression and violence against nationalists over many decades in defence of that regime.

But I am very conscious that members and former members of these organisations and their relatives were killed by republicans.

So I tried to be measured in what I said.

Everyone should regret the fact that any one was killed. I certainly do.

At the same time there is no avoiding the shameful record of the B Specials or the fact that it had to be disbanded by the British Government in 1970.

The UDR had a similar history. It also was scrapped.

The British Government of the day made no bones about what these organisations were for. They armed the unionists to defend the union and partition, and equipped them with all the weapons of coercion, sectarianism and terrorism to do this.

So too with the UDR. When the British establishment felt the need to protect their mainstream regiments they recruited more expendable local and indigenous people to do their work for them.

They founded the UDR as part of their Ulsterisation strategy.

I can understand why some people joined these organisations, and I have no doubt that some of them may have behaved bravely in the conduct of their duties.

However it is my strong view that these organisations and their members were used by sinister elements in the political and military elites here for their own narrow ends. And when they had served their purpose the British Government, as expedient as always, got rid of them. Just like that!

Even a brief glimpse at the history of the UDR or the Specials would satisfy all but the most jaundiced eye that these forces were entirely subversive.

The history of the UDR in particular is replete with accounts of its involvement directly in the murder of Catholics, and indirectly in the murder of hundreds more through collusion with unionist death squads.

In many cases files and photos of nationalists and republicans were passed over to unionist death squads, frequently from within the UDR.

It’s over 40 years since Terence O Neill told us that ‘Ulster is at a cross roads’. If Monday’s debate is to be heeded it appears that elements of political unionism are there still.

Thankfully most everyone else has moved on. If the DUP backwoods men doubt that, maybe they should ask Jim Alister.

Saying No is not an option

Last Monday Paul Butler MLA moved a motion at the Assembly calling for the Executive to explore “through the North/South Ministerial Council, ways to develop policies in conjunction with the Irish Government which benefit both economies on the island, with particular consideration being given to the potential benefits of the harmonisation of VAT rates, taxation systems and corporation tax; and further calls on the Executive to work with the Irish Government to develop an all-island economic recovery and development plan, aligned with an investment strategy, to help address the adverse impacts of the present economic climate.”

It was a good motion, well thought out and full of common sense proposals to help end unnecessary duplication of services and administration and create more efficient economies north and south.

The small number of unionist MLAs who were in the chamber railed against Paul’s motion. I listened intently to what they said and I would strongly suggest that readers log on to the Hansard site and read the minutes.

Ultimately there was no substance to their remarks. Their opposition was entirely bogus and rhetorical. There was no significant criticism of the logic of the motion.

Gregory Campbell’s contribution is a case in point.

His only rationale for opposing the motion and the amendment, which was put by the SDLP, was that they are political! That is why we are in the Assembly: to talk politics. He offered no notion of how the DUP would deal with unemployment, high levels of deprivation, including poor health and inadequate housing, or the unacceptably low quality of life and living standards for those on the lowest rung of the social ladder.

Let us face facts: before there was a global crisis, before the Tories and the Lib Dems got into power and before we had 30 or 40 years of British direct rule, the economy in the north did not work. It was always a basket case.

Let us deal with the logic. We are on the same small land mass. We live on an island. This motion is not about a united Ireland. Obviously, this blog is for a united Ireland. That is the best solution, and, in time, perhaps the Member for East Derry and others will come round to the logic of that position.

But Monday’s debate was not about that, it was about increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of our economic system and improving the quality of life of citizens in both parts of the island.

Sinn Féin is arguing for harmonisation. We are arguing for common-sense relationships which the three unionist parties that spoke against the motion in the Assembly debate, signed up to in the Good Friday Agreement, the St Andrews Agreement and the Hillsborough agreement.

Two years ago, the Minister of Finance and Personnel, Nigel Dodds, acknowledged that the Executive has only a limited set of levers under its control to manage the economy. For me, the rationale is that we should have more control. We should have more sets of levers.

There needs to be a two-pronged approach, with new ideas, solutions and strategies.

That approach involves dealing with the British Government to get as much control over as many levers as possible to manage the economy.

It means working with the Irish Government through the Executive and the North/South Ministerial Council.

It is about harmonising VAT rates, looking at taxation systems, agreeing a single rate of corporation tax and eliminating all barriers to workers’ mobility throughout the island. It is about not having two competing agencies, Invest NI and the IDA, arguing and competing with each other.

It also means that the same assistance that is given to foreign investors should be available to local businesses.

On Thursday I and other party leaders met with the new British Prime Minister David Cameron. Martin McGuinness and Peter Robinson met him separately. All these issues and others were put on the Downing Street agenda by us.

I want Mr. Cameron to be the last British PM with jurisdiction in Ireland. But in the meantime all the parties here have to build the economy, create jobs and make sure citizens have their economic and social entitlements.

Say No is no longer an option for unionism.

Sharing Martin McGuinness’s birthday cake

The new British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived in Belfast today for his first visit since he took up his new job.

Before I went up to Stormont House to join the other local party leaders in meeting him I travelled out to Dunmurry to meet Declan Kelly the US Economic Envoy to Ireland who is here for several days of meetings and events.

Yesterday he was in Newry and Derry and this morning he spent time in the City Hall with the Mayor Naomi Long.

This morning he was visiting Lightstep Technologies who have developed what they describe as the “world's first Situation Sensitive, telemetry reactive Intelligent Evacuation System.”

Sounds impressive and it is. I have had several meetings with the management of this locally based company and have been impressed by their drive and determination. I was also impressed by the technology they have developed to save lives.

Their goal is to introduce an evacuation technology system into buildings, sea going vessels, aircraft, in fact anywhere people work, live or play in large numbers.

It’s an amazing product and in previous conversations with Declan I had urged him to meet the management.

Today he had an opportunity to see the evacuation system at work and speak to the senior management.



Later I met Declan again at the west Belfast Partnership Board along with Geraldine McAteer, Gerry McConville of the Falls Community Council and Jackie Redpath of the Shankill Partnership Board.

Then it was off to Stormont Castle to share some of Martin McGuinness’s birthday cake before my meeting with the other party leaders and David Cameron.

Bon Voyage

Caoimhe Butterly at Stormont with this blog and the Joint First Minister

Last Wednesday evening the MV Rachel Corrie sailed out of Dundalk harbour at the beginning of an historic journey. Its goal is to deliver hundreds of tons of much needed construction, school and medical supplies to the besieged people of the Gaza Strip.

Irish woman Caoimhe Butterly is one of the main activists behind the plans for a flotilla of eight ships to break the Israeli siege by delivering supplies by sea to Gaza. This blog renewed its acquaintance with Caoimhe last April when a delegation of Shinners visited the Middle East and spent two days in Gaza. Caoimhe had worked during the Israeli assault on Gaza the previous December and January as an ambulance helper.

In the past she has worked with victims of aids in Zimbabwe and with the homeless in New York. In 2002 she was shot by an Israeli soldier in Jenin and spent over two weeks in President Arafat’s compound in Ramallah when it was under siege by the Israeli’s.

She is a dedicated activist for human rights.

Last Monday Caoimhe visited me at Parliament Buildings. She told me how the Free Gaza Movement had purchased the 1800 tonne MV Linda at the end of March from the Irish government.

The ship was built in Germany just over 40 years ago and for the last ten years had been bringing timber from the Baltic to Dundalk.

In July last year the company which owned the ship went out of business and the crew was abandoned to its fate. The International Transport Federation and SIPTU investigated the circumstances and found that the crew had not been paid and were being treated disgracefully by the ships owners.

The MV Linda was seized and auctioned by order of the High Court in Dublin following an application by International Transport Federation inspector, and SIPTU. It has been in Dundalk harbour since then.

At the end of March the Free Gaza Movement bought her at auction for €70,000. Proceeds from the sale will be used to pay arrears owed to the, mainly Ukrainian, crew.

The Free Gaza Movement, together with the Turkish humanitarian organisation IHH – the Foundation For Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief – the European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza, the Perdana Global Peace Organisation from Malaysia, the Greek and Swedish Ship to Gaza campaigns, and the International Coalition for Lifting the Siege on Gaza, they are organising a flotilla of eight ships to sail to Gaza with supplies.

The flotilla – of three cargo ships and 5 passenger ships - will be loaded with up to 5,000 tonnes of supplies and 600 international passengers and media who will make the perilous journey to Gaza. Among those participating will be Sinn Fein TD Aengus O Snodaigh.



A repainted MV Rachel Corrie

For the last 6 weeks the MV Linda has been tied up at Brown’s Quay being repainted and refitted, including having a large tricolour painted along her side clearly identifying her as an Irish humanitarian ship.

Caoimhe and her friends have been busy gathering a range of supplies desperately needed by the people of Gaza. Other supplies include pharmaceuticals, wheel chairs, paper and toys for the children.



Arthur Morgan TD and Aengus O Snodaigh TD

On Wednesday morning the MV Linda was formally renamed the MV Rachel Corrie. Aengus and Arthur Morgan TD were on hand to celebrate the event. The ship is now named after Rachel Corrie, a 23 year old American activist from the International Solidarity Movement who was killed by an Israeli bulldozer in March 2003. Rachel Corrie was one of a number of activists acting as human shields trying o prevent the Israeli Army demolishing the home of a Palestinian family.



The MV Rachel Corrie about to sail

The MV Rachel Corrie is now on her way to the Mediterranean. There she will join with the other ships of the flotilla and make for Gaza. They will bring much needed aid but in reality much more is needed to rebuild the homes of thousands of families and the shattered economy of the Gaza Strip.

The continued siege of Gaza by Israel is an affront to the International community. The governments of the world have failed to defend the rights of the one and a half million people of that small imprisoned strip of land. It has been left to human rights organisations and activists like Caoimhe Butterly to try to help. It isn’t good enough. If the US and European Governments and Russia and others are serious about peace in the Middle East then they must end the siege of Gaza.

“Culture and Language in 21st Century Belfast – A Catalyst for Change”

This morning the second bi-annual Gaeltacht Quarter conference took place in Colaíste Feirste.

Entitled the Destiny Decade – Deichniúr an Chinniúna – it had four broad themes. Looking at the challenges and opportunities of community development; examine how local areas can develop strategies to attract business; look at how education infrastructure planning can help local areas and examine how regeneration can contribute to good relations.

I was asked to speak and my remarks focussed on “Culture and Language in 21st Century Belfast – A Catalyst for Change”

Below are my remarks which focussed on “Culture and Language in 21st Century Belfast – A Catalyst for Change”

Ar dtús ba mhaith liom fearadh na fáilte a chur roimh gach duine chuig Coláiste Feirste i gcroílár Iarthar Bhéal Feirste.
Agus mo buiochas fosta daoibh mar seans a chuig sibh domh a caint libh ar an maidin geal seo.

The 21st century will see significant changes to the population and infra-structure of Ireland as we seek to compete in an ever more competitive global market.

A recent report – entitled Infrastructure for an Island Population of Eight Million – by the Irish Academy of Engineering in partnership with Intertrade Ireland, has mapped out some of the likely changes.

The report predicts that within 20 years this island will have a population of 8 million, with 4 million people living along the Belfast Dublin corridor.

It believes that with the appropriate infrastructure investment this corridor can compete with other major European urban zones.

And it argues for major infrastructure investment in the growth city regions of Ireland, including Belfast.

Leaving aside, for the sake of todays discussion, the ongoing political movement towards the end of the union with Britain and towards the reunification of the Irish people, the outworking of this report means greater and closer economic co-operation and harmonisation on this island.

It means as part of this transition, in the short to medium term, the movement of fiscal powers and the management of the north’s economy away from London and back to Belfast.

As the political institutions evolve and strengthen and deliver and as the all-Ireland elements deepen, our language and culture will play an increasingly important role in building the economy, ending inequality and bring people together.
Tá mé an-dóchasach faoin todhchaí.

The opportunities are amazing. The challenges will be formidable also.



Ach níor chúlaigh lucht na Gaeilge ó rud beag trioblóide, i mBéal Feirste ná in áit ar bith eile.

But the Irish language community in Belfast has met and overcome challenges before.
So, I am very hopeful for the future.

In partnership with business, and with the voluntary and community sector and with the two governments, I believe the resurgence in our language and culture, and the strategic management of its potential, can make a significant contribution to making Belfast a better more prosperous place.

Much has happened over recent years.

The decades of conflict which dominated the latter part of the 20th century have ended.

The peace process is transforming Belfast.

There is a power sharing Executive and Assembly, all-Ireland institutions, including Foras na Gaeilge, and a political stability that would have been unthinkable only a few short years ago.

However, if the promise of change and progress is to be realised then the structured political and religious discrimination and inequalities which remain deeply embedded in society here, must be ended.

That must include an end to the institutional and political opposition that exists to the Irish language and culture.

Tá dúshlán roimh choiste na Ceathrú Gaeltachta má tá siad – má tá muid – le chéile, chun an aisling a bhaint amach.

An Ceathrú Gaeltachta will meet its ambitious goal of becoming a vibrant cultural quarter. It will develop the services, institutions and resources that this will require.

But this will be resisted. Strategies and partnerships and alliances are needed to overcome this resistance.

This work can be assisted in a logical and rational way by drawing on the abundance of evidence which prove that language and culture and the arts can be a key driver in the process of regeneration and building of sustainable communities.

Our language and culture is tied up in our place names and townlands, in the English that is spoken here, in our music and poetry.

The history of the Irish language and culture in Belfast is a proud history.



Sinn Féin MEP Bairbre de Brún attended the conference

Agus tá ardmholadh ag dul chuig Forbairt Feirste, go háirithe Jake agus Feargal, as an leabhar beag seo a chuir siad le chéile – ag leagan amach stair na teanga i mBéal Feirste. Jab maith, déanta go maith.

It is a rich history which embraces many from the protestant but particularly the Presbyterian community.

People like Robert Mac Adam and others who protected and sustained the Irish language, poetry, music and dance through very difficult years of persecution.

They understood the importance of the language and culture.

They ran Irish language classes, published books, collected oral history and music.

We can be sure that they would be delighted at the current revival in the Irish language and culture.

Tá sé ráite agam cheana nár chóir go mbeadh eagla ar dhuine ar bith roimh an Ghaeilge. Is le pobal uile na hÉireann í, thuaidh ‘is theas. Ná bac le creideamh, ná le polaitíocht ná le rud ar bith eile.

There is now a thriving, vibrant activist community in this city.

Thousands of our children have and are passing through Irish medium education.

They enter education at the age of 3 and have spent their entire pre-primary, primary and post-primary education through the medium of the Irish language.

Much of the credit for this can be traced to the Gaeltacht on the Shaws Road and the quiet determination of those who ran the Ard Scoil and An Cumann Cluain Ard.

The conflict too radicalised many, especially the thousands of political prisoners who learned Irish while incarcerated.

They brought the language back into their communities and played a pivotal role in creating a new future for the language and culture in the north.

An Ceathrú Gaeltachta is the 21st century manifestation of this remarkable growth in the Irish language and culture.

There will be a Ceathrú Gaeltachta because there is a growing community of citizens who wish to live our lives through Irish.

That is our right.

The regeneration of Belfast has to take that into account.

The reshaping of our society and regeneration, in whatever form it takes, must help change the patterns of inequality that exist in our society.

So, the development of An Ceathrú Gaeltachta provides both a route toward equality as well as a tool for regeneration.

At the core of An Ceathrú Gaeltachta is this school, Coláiste Feirste, the fastest growing Irish medium post primary school in Ireland.

An Cultúrlann Mac Adam O Fiaich is a vibrant centre of culture.

Close by is St. Mary’s University which also has an energetic Irish language section.

And all around are local businesses and communities eager to promote the Irish language and to grasp its regenerative and business potential.

For many reasons, global as well as local we need a new economy.

This should include a greater focus on culture based projects designed to generate new employment and revenue and create a climate of regeneration for disadvantaged areas.

The growth of language and culture based projects and districts in cities will act as an economic drawing power which can transform areas.

A vibrant cultural quarter can also make a neighbourhood a more desirable place to live and work.

Successful culture based projects attract people and business.

Belfast now has more visitors than ever before.

So my friends An Ceathrú Gaeltachta is much more than a quarter for Gaels, though that in itself will be a very fine thing.

The development of our language is a catalyst for change, for regeneration, for business as well as the enrichment and the improvement of the quality of all our lives in this city and on our island.

It is a win – win situation.

Tá an deis againn féin anois.



Mise agus Jake Mac Siacais of Forbairt Feirste who chaired the conference

One World Day in St. Paul's Primary School

One World Day abú:

One World Day is a unique, innovative and wonderful initiative held each year by St. Paul’s Primary School in Mica Drive in Beechmount. I visited the school last Tuesday and was met by Cathal O'Doherty the Principal and Gerry McDonald the Vice Principal and Fr. Devlin the local Parish Priest.

They explained to me that the school has a high proportion of children who are non Irish – around 30 out of a school population of 260 - or who have parents who are not Irish. They are from many different countries across the world, including Ghana, South Africa, the Czech Republic, Iraq, China and the Philippines.

There was music and dance and African drums and tin whistles and costumes representing all of the nations present in the school. Rev Edith Quirey from St. Luke’s Church spoke to the children about the importance of reaching out to others of different cultures, races and nationalities.

Later this morning there will be a food fest where different foods from these many different cultures will be there to be enjoyed by children and parents.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable morning which I would like to see replicated in other schools.

FOUR-MY FAVOURITE NUMBER.

A jubilant Michelle celebrates


So the elections are over. All the votes are counted. At the time of writing a government is still to be formed in Britain and here in the north of Ireland people are waiting to see who will be the next tenant in Downing Street. For our sins voters here are, at this time, part of the same electoral system so there is some interest at popular level about who will get the top job. This blog has no preference either way. Even benign British Prime Ministers have little real working knowledge of Ireland. They depend a lot on their system of ‘permanent government’ to guide them. So the challenge for Irish democrats is to educate, educate, educate.

Tony Blair, at least in his first term, was the exception to this. He knew a wee bit about us. But all British PMs have a duty to uphold the union. Therein lies the undemocratic reality of British rule in Ireland. The Union.

Even if a British Prime Minister is personally indifferent on this issue he or she (and in this case it will certainly be a he) is obliged to be a unionist. Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement he is also obliged to legislate for a united Ireland when the people in Ireland decide that’s what we want. So there is a constitutional fluidity on this matter which did not exist heretofore.

This matches the beginning of political fluidity on other matters which has emerged in the election results here. The relatively low turnout – an average of 57.6 percent, down 7.8 percent since the last election – is evidence that there is a disconnect between the electorate here and Westminster. This has been aggravated by the revelations of the MPs expenses scandals which dogged the last parliamentary term. With our own more accountable administration here voters are less interested in Westminster matters.

And the feeling is mutual. In the very well publicised leaders debates on television neither Labour, the Lib Dems or the Tories mentioned the north of Ireland. Not once. When David Cameron in an interview did get round to us it was to signal that there was too much dependency on the public sector here. Not unreasonably that was interpreted as code for cuts in public spending if the Tories won the election.

Cue an abrupt exit stage left for Cameron’s partners in the Ulster Conservatives and Unionist New Force as the voters had their say. They got no one elected. This blog and others is waiting to hear what Reg Empey has to say on all this.

Jim Allister, hard line former DUP MEP and anti everything, also got the heave ho! No one elected. The DUP did well but their success was drowned in the shock news of the loss of Peter Robinson’s seat.

The SDLP held on to their 3 seats with the help in South Belfast of Sinn Féin’s Alex Maskey and unionist tactical voting in South Down and Derry. Sinn Féin emerged again as the largest party over all and the only main party to increase our share of the vote. Well done and thanks to everyone who worked and voted for us.

But the news of the election for Irish republicans was the nail biting finish in Fermanagh-South Tyrone. Despite a pact by all shades of unionism including the Orange Order and serious vote splitting by the SDLP, Michelle Gildernew retained her seat. By 4 votes.



The Winning Team

I am glad to say that I was there for the final recount. What joy. It was brilliant. The people of that proud constituency saw off the Tories. They saw the sense in Sinn Féin’s position and voted accordingly. And as elsewhere a significant number of people from a unionist background either stayed at home or voted for Michelle. Bobby Sands would appreciate that. Four? Four is my favourite number.



Michelle and the kids - including me

The Peoples Taxis

A couple of months ago this blog was asked to formally open the new complex for the west and north Belfast black taxis in King Street. Unfortunately the talks at Hillsborough were taking place and I was unable to fulfil that engagement.

Last week I was able to make up in a small way for that by officially opening Café an Rí – the new café which provides a hot food service for the thousands of customers who use the taxis each day.

Dominating the café is one of Danny D’s brilliant wall murals which reflects life in the community.

The Black Taxis – some of which are green and red and grey - which service west and north Belfast are famous the world over. No tourist visit to the city would be complete without a black taxi trip.

The Taxi Association runs a thriving tour business bringing visitors around the city and giving them a potted history of the place.



But its main function is as a transport service for the citizens of west and north Belfast.

40 years ago it was a different story. Belfast was in turmoil. The conflict was at its height, barricades and riots were commonplace. The main roads were regularly blocked and bus services were often suspended especially in West Belfast.

A couple of local people had the bright idea of going to London, to buy some old black taxis and to set up an alternative service. It caught on and soon hundreds of these, sometimes very old and dilapidated black hacks, were travelling up and down the Falls, Andytown and the Whiterock

Frequently up to 8 people would cram into the vehicle – six in the back and two in the front. If roads were blocked they drove down side roads, over the rubble of riots, along footpaths. Nothing stopped them. Not even the British Army checkpoints.

It was a unique solution to a unique problem – providing transport for citizens of this area in the midst of major conflict.





The taxis ferried people to and from work and kept families in contact with each other. But it has been at a high cost. Their success meant that they became a major target for the British and unionist state, and an element of the media. The taxi association and the taxi drivers were demonised, and targeted by unionist death squads. As a direct consequence of this 8 drivers were killed in sectarian attacks and scores more were assaulted, arrested and harassed. .

And today there are battles still to be fought against discrimination and bias.

But 40 years on the Falls Taxi Association is a blueprint for community economic development. 220 drivers are employed and there are 26 additional jobs.

So, I was very pleased on Friday morning to be in Café an Rí – notwithstanding election campaigns – to celebrate the success of this unique, locally based transport service and to meet the families of those who lost their lives providing that service.

The heritage of the black taxis is intertwined with the history and experience of our community.

As the community has evolved, so has the taxi association.

The conversion of the open air taxi ranks into a new complex, and now the opening of a new passenger terminal are signs of forward planning and progress.

The black taxi service is a public and community service in the fullest sense.

That theme is beautifully illustrated and captured in the mural outside – it says the people’s taxis.

This initiative came from the people; it provides employment for people and it is a service for the people.

There is a seanfhocal which expresses this more clearly –

Ní neart go cur le cheile !

The black taxis are not only an element of community life in west and north Belfast. They mirror the community.

The taxis were the first public transport service to go bilingual, reflecting our native language and the needs and rights of those of speak Irish. Glor Na nGael recognised this by presenting the taxis one of their annual awards.

Now taxis bring people of other cultures to visit west and north Belfast.

This visitors bring investment to the heart of our community, and the tours also bring our culture and history to life for them.

So the history of the taxi association is a history of community resistance, commitment and success. It is a history which should be cherished.
So too the names of those who died providing this service. They are Jim Green, Michael Duggan, Paddy McAllister, Hugh Magee, Harry Muldoon, Caoimhin MacBradaigh, Thomas Hughes and Paddy Clarke.

Still Imprisoned Project



A few days later this blog officially launched an advertising campaign on Black Taxis for the ‘Still Imprisoned Project’ run by Tar Anall. Another excellent example of the Black Taxi Association’s connections into the community.

The “Still Imprisoned” project is a direct response to the needs of Republican ex-prisoners and their families.

Many former political prisoners suffer from issues as a direct result of the trauma they experienced during the conflict. These include alcoholism, drug dependency, financial management problems, depression and anxiety.

The Still Imprisoned Project is there to help.

It has been in place for a year and provides a 24hour help line and personal support within a short time.

There is a total commitment to confidentiality and respect.

The S.I.P. project has 3 tiers:

1. "coal face" responders who man the helpline 24/7. The criteria for this group is that they have to have a history of abuse themselves, i.e. be a recovering alcoholic, and they must be Republicans.

2. Professional physiologists, psychiatrists, counsellors and trained psychiatrist nurses who provide support on a voluntary basis. Their criteria is that they must also be sympathetic o republicanism.

3. "befrienders" or "comrade circle". These are ordinary men and women who call in to see some-one recovering and their job is to ease the loneliness and often the guilt which people on the road to recovery face.




This is a very important project. It is about helping people who are often in great pain. It is a very selfless act on the part of the voluntary workers who willingly and freely give of their time to reach out to others.