Léargas

      Every state holds monuments which are important to its sense of identity. This is particularly true of those states which have fought for freedom against foreign occupation and oppression. Think of the USA and the American Revolutionary War. Independence Hall in Philadelphia is where the Declaration of Independence was signed; or Faneuil Hall in Boston which was the site of speeches setting the scene for the subsequent war of independence or Paul Revere’s home. The French have the former Army ammunition dump at Les Invalides in Paris which was stormed by revolutionaries and whose weapons were then used to attack the Bastille. The Vietnamese have their Củ Chi system of tunnels which was the base of operations for their Tết Offensive in 1968. The people of South Africa have Robben island where Madiba and other famous political prisoners courageously opposed the apartheid regime. And on it goes. Place after place. State after state. Proud of thei...

  I want to extend birthday wishes to Nelson Mandela – Madiba - who is 95 today. “ Lá breithe shona duit Madiba”. People around the world will today celebrate Madiba’s birthday with him and his family. Throughout his life Madiba has demonstrated enormous courage, vision and tenacity. He is a role model and example to us all. Madiba is in my view the greatest political leader of our time.      

At the weekend I learned with great sadness of the death of Toshi Seeger. She died on July 9 th . She had just turned 91 on July 1 st . Four years ago I had the huge pleasure of meeting her and her husband Pete at their home in Upper New York State. As a teenager growing up in the 1960s Pete Seeger was and still is one of my heroes. He was an American singer songwriter and was already a legend by that time.  Seeger was a contemporary of Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie; wrote and sang songs of protest; was vocal in his opposition to segregation and racism, and in support of trade unions, and in the 1950’s he was blacklisted during the McCarthy era. His songs helped shape the music of the 20 th century and influenced generations of other musicians. For over 70 years he has been out there singing his songs and making music for workers and fighters for civil rights, and women and disadvantaged people. He still is at ninety four years of age. Anyone who saw him o...

      Early this morning I left Dublin and travelled to Kilrea in county Derry. It was there in the early hours of Saturday morning last weekend that two young men from that community were killed in a tragic road accident. Christopher O Neill and Declan McKenna were both aged 22. Christopher O Neill was also a leading Sinn Féin member in the area. Today Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, Daithi McKay MLA and local Sinn Féin Councillors and party activists and hundreds of local people joined with the family to bury their Christopher. Kilrea came to a stop. It’s much like any small town in rural Ireland and in brilliant sunshine the funeral cortege followed behind a coach pulled by two black horses. We made our way to St. Mary’s in whose cemetery two other Sinn Féin members, Tommy Donaghy and Danny Cassidy who were killed by unionist death squads are also buried. This is my oration at the graveside of Christopher O Neill. “I...

On Tuesday in the course of Taoiseach’s Questions in the Dáil the Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin raised the issue of the Boston tapes, paraded the Ed Moloney book based on some of these tapes, and spoke about the PSNI investigation into the killing of Jean McConville. It was another piece of political opportunism by the Fianna Fáil leader with no interest in due process or truth, just smear and allegation. On the premise that the Taoiseach had visited Boston College recently he asked if the Taoiseach had asked about the Boston tapes and if he would make a statement on the matter. The Taoiseach said he had not raised the issue and therefore would not be making a statement. Mr. Martin then went on to make his remarks. Later that evening I met some of the families of those who were killed and secretly buried by the IRA. I made clear my commitment to do all that I can to help find all of the remains and to bring closure to them. I am publishing on this blog my respo...

Tomorrow we remember some of the victims of Thatcher’s militarist Irish policy among them hunger striker and IRA volunteer Joe McDonnell, Nora McCabe and Fian John Dempsey.   Joe, who was arrested in October 1976 along with his close friend and comrade Bobby Sands, died on July 8th 1981. He was the fifth of the hunger strikers to die. Joe, who was aged 30, was also one of those who stood in the 1981 general election for the Dáil. He missed out on winning a seat in Sligo-Leitrim by 315 votes.   Each of those who died on hunger strike was a unique and exceptional individual in their own right. Joe was married to Goretti. They had two children, Bernadette and Joseph.   He was born in the Lower Falls but grew up in the Greater Andersonstown area and came to live in Lenadoon Avenue where he was a well-known and very popular man. When talking about him now all those who knew him, both in the prison and outside all remark on his great sense of humour. Even in the face...

The recent conviction of Adrian Bayley in Australia for the brutal rape and murder of Jill Meagher, the savage murder of Jolanta Lubiene and her eight year old daughter Enrika in county Kerry and the media furore around the photos of celebrity cook Nigella Lawson being assaulted by her husband, have all brought into sharp focus the issue of violence against women. Co-incidentally two weeks ago the annual report for 2012 from Women’s Aid was published. Its facts were equally shocking. ·        One in five women in the Irish state will experience violence and abuse from an intimate partner ·        3,230 disclosures of direct child Abuse to the Women’s Aid Helpline – a 55% increase on the previous year ·        11,729 calls to the Freephone Helpline ·        32 calls per day ·        49% of the women supported in One to One...