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Respect
On Sunday last I
spoke at the 40th Anniversary Commemoration of the killing by the SAS of IRA
Volunteers Henry Hogan and Declan Martin in Dunloy County Antrim. Declan was
18. Henry was 20.
I was also the
speaker at the funerals in February
1984. At that time
hundreds of RUC and scores of landrovers surrounded Henry
Hogans wake house and myself, Martin McGuinness, Danny Morisson and Owen Carron
linked arms with other mourners to create a human barrier around the house and
the funeral to shield them from the RUC. That is the way many republican
funerals were conducted in those days.
It was part of a
conspiracy between the NIO, the RUC, British Army and the Catholic Hierarchy to
stop patriot dead being buried with the national flag as part of their criminalisation
strategy. It eventually failed as a strategy not least
because of the resolve of the families involved, their neighbours
and friends and local republican communities.
Sunday’s event which
drew a huge crowd, was part of a weekend of discussions, music and remembrance
in Dunloy. It got me to thinking of how this effort to criminalise our patriot
dead is still the focus nowadays of some anti-republican
elements and some lazy journalists. One of the questions most asked
of newly elected First Minister Michelle O Neill is whether she will attend IRA
commemorations. No questions to unionist representatives about their attendance
at commemorative events. And neither should there be.
I have no
objection to them or others commemorating their dead. This includes
British soldiers, RUC or UDR officers and unionist paramilitaries. I said this
in Dunloy on Sunday. Of course all acts of rememberance should be
conducted in a dignified and sensitive way. They should also be held only in
places which are generally receptive tosuch events. No one should engage in
provocative language or offensive behaviour. Respect should be the
watchword.
Incidently there
are no IRA commemorations. The IRA is gone. Republican commemorations are
organised by groups like The National Graves Association or The National
Commemoration Committee which is respnsible for 1916 events or by
local committees drawn from local communities, old comrades, families, Sinn
Féin and others. They are not about - and should not be about -
being provocative. We who have suffered in the conflict are not
about glamourising or glorifying the war. We should be mindful always of the
feeling of those who lost loved ones due to IRA actions.
And others who
often still describe republicans as terrororists need to ask themselves what is
achieved by such offensive language. The war is over. The healing has begun for
many people. This is for the good. Leaders can help this by
tempering their language. We will probably never agree on the past. But we can
agree to disagree. There is no single narrative. Only by including all the
narratives will a complete picture emerge of what happened and why it happened.
Understanding that is part of being enabled to prevent it ever happening
again.
Of course it is not
only elements of the British or unionist establishment who continue to insult
republican communities or the families of republican patriot dead. The Dublin
establishment also repeats the same old story. Again and again. They
don’t do irony. Fianna Fail leader Micheál Martin
leads the chorus of ooh aah good old Ra of the 1920s while insulting the
families of the bad old Ra of more recent times.
Will he change
his tune? Probably not. But we live in hope. I’m not even
arguing for him to do so. Let’s keep our views
of the past if that is all we can do but let’s try
to articulate it differently. I’m arguing for us
to move into a new phase of our process of change. A phase of healing and
shaping the future. The past is gone. Let’s not repeat
it. Even rhetorically.
Of course some
victims cannot move on. Fair enough. That’s their
entitlement. But others have and continue to do so. They are an example to the
rest of us. Especially for those in political leadership.
The leader of
the DUP was once a member of the UDR, an organisation which the British
Government had to disband. The leader of the UUP is a former British soldier. I
have yet to hear a Sinn Féin representative cast up about any of that.
So let’s reflect on how
we commemorate our dead. Republicans need to continue to do so in a
fitting manner, in tune with current political conditions and with a mind to
building an inclusive future.
Others should
join us in this endeavour.
A Window on the Past
Ask almost everyone you know about
the date when internment was introduced and the 9 August 1971 will be the
popular answer. .
That was the day 342 men and boys
were dragged from their homes in the early hours of the morning to be beaten,
interrogated and interned. Fourteen were the victims of planned torture – the
Hooded Men.
What is less well known is that
August 1971 was not the first time internment was introduced in the most recent
phase of conflict. I was reminded of this by my good friend and comrade Tom
Hartley – noted historian and collector - who presented me with a photocopy of
a page from the Irish Press – a Dublin based paper at the time – in which the
names of 24 Republicans interned in Crumlin Road Prison was published on 22
August 1969.
Internment was a favoured weapon of
the British and of the unionist regime at Stormont. It was also widely employed
by Britain’s colonial administrations across its colonies. It was used by
the British after the Easter Rising and by the Free State government during the
Civil War. In the North the unionist government used it in 1922-23; 1925; 1935;
1938-45; 1950-51; and 1957-61.
In August 1969 unionist mobs led by B
Specials and the RUC attacked nationalist parts of Belfast. Hundreds of homes
were destroyed, thousands of families became refugees and … were killed. The
Unionist regime sought to blame Republicans for these events. Even claiming to
a disbelieving media that nationalist families had destroyed their own homes.
The Unionist Prime Minister
Chichester-Clarke issued a public statement in which he claimed that: “Well-disciplined
and ruthless men, working to an evident plan, attacked the police at a number
of points in the city.” He described this as a “…a deliberate conspiracy
to subvert a democratically-elected Government.” The aim was to blame the
IRA not unionism and its street mobs for the instigation of violence.
As British soldiers were being
deployed on our streets the RUC raided homes and arrested two dozen
Republicans. They were all interned under the notorious Special Powers Act.
They included Prionsias MacAirt; Jimmie Hargey; John McGuigan; J. McCann;
Frank Campbell; Denis Cassidy; Denis Casson; M. Darity; J.J. Davey; Frank
Donnelly; P. Duffy; R. Fitzpatrick; L. Johnston; D.J. Loy; H. Mallon;
P.J. McCusker; John McEldowney; F. McGlennon; Malachy McGurran; Liam McIlvenna;
Billy McMillan; L. Savage; M. Toal and F. White.
I sent Deirdre Hargey MLA the
clipping Tom sent me for her mother. In turn Deirdre sent me an RUC photo
of her father taken at his arrest. So there you have. Another little example
of the state we were in.
Most of the 24 internees were
released within weeks. Billy McMillan, Prionsias MacAirt and Malachy McGurran
continued to be held. McMillan was eventually released in late September while
Prionsias MacAirt and Malachy McGurran were held until the end of the year.
Ceasefire Now
The European
Union’s Foreign Policy chief Joseph Borrell took issue with US President Joe
Biden and his remarks that the Israeli state’s offensive against the
Palestinian people had been excessive. “If you believe that too many people are
being killed maybe you should provide less arms,” Mr. Borrell said…”If the
international community believes that
this is a slaughter, that too many people are being killed, maybe they have to
think about the provision of arms.”
Mr. Borrell is
right. The US administration along with Britain and other European powers are
complicit in what Israeli state’s violations of international humanitarian law.
It’s long since time for a ceasefire. The huge attendance at demonstrations
across the world, including Ireland, shows there is popular support for an end
to the genocide. People want peace. The
Palestinian people deserve peace. Ceasefire now.
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