Léargas

Talking about Martin McGuinness Tuesday was the sixth anniversary of the death of my friend and comrade Martin McGuinness. I travelled to the Derry City Hotel that evening for a public conversation about my relationship with Martin with Roy Greenslade. Roy is an author, broadcaster and journalist who during a long and distinguished career has held a series of senior positions in many of London’s main newspapers. I recalled meeting Martin in Dublin and then behind the barricades in Derry in 1972 as we prepared to travel to London for secret meetings with the British government. It would have been understandable if a 22 year old working class lad from the Bogside was stressed and anxious about the process he was about to engage in but not Martin. He was in control – calm, confident, a natural leader – wanting to talk about how we should approach the upcoming engagements with British Ministers – our agenda, proposals, bottom line. The  Martin Mc Guinness Peace Foundati...

  Celebrating St. Patrick and the GFA This week Uachtarán Shinn Féin Mary Lou McDonald and Leas Uachtarán Michelle O’Neill will be in the USA for the St. Patrick’s Day events. St. Patrick’s Day or week is regular part of the annual calendar for the Irish diaspora everywhere but especially in the USA. Mary Lou and Michelle and Conor Murphy will engage in an extensive round of diplomatic talks with senior political leaders on Capitol Hill. They will brief them on the current situation and attend events with business leaders to promote investment. They will also meet with representatives of Irish America without whom none of this would be possible. This year is particularly special because it marks the 25 th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. Irish America and the Clinton Administration played a crucial role in helping all of us to achieve that historic event in April 1998 and critically Irish America and successive US administrations have maintained that commitment in ...

  To Be Or Not To Be. As this column goes to press it appears that the British PM Rishi Sunak and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission have reached an Agreement on the Protocol.  The so-called ‘Windsor Framework.’ To add to the excitement Dame Arlene Foster is giving off because King Charles is having tea with Ursula von der Leyen – a proverbial storm in a tea cup. The next few days - or longer - will see how the new Agreement goes down particularly among the Brexiteers here in the North. Remember the majority of people here voted against Brexit. Watch this space.   The Story of Moore Street Last week the Moore Street Preservation Trust held an Urgent Public Meeting in Liberty Hall in Dublin to discuss the crisis surrounding the future development of the Moore St. Battlefield site and the threat posed to these historic 1916 laneways by a developer.  The meeting was chaired by Christina McLoughlin who is the niece of Sean McLoughlin. He ...

  Rita O'Hare Macalla na mBán.  This week’s column is dedicated to women. It includes a guest piece by Bairbre de Brún, former MLA and Minister. Wednesday was International Women’s Day. It is a day set aside to celebrate the advances of women and their contribution to society and to draw attention to the inequalities and injustices still experienced by them. In the last week three woman friends of mine died. They were Rita O Hare, Bridie Crowe and Marie McBride. I extend my sympathy and solidarity to their clans. Rita is well known as a republican activist here and in North America. For many years she was one of our leaders. For most of her adult life she was a republican activist. Her story is a remarkable account of courage and tenacity and guts. As an IRA volunteer she confronted the British Army. She was grievously shot, imprisoned in Armagh Prison, got bail, went on the run, was imprisoned in the South and beat extradition. She was a campaigning journalist, editor...