Léargas

In the years since her death Máire Drumm has become an iconic figure in Irish republicanism. She was an extraordinary, larger than life leader who was a woman, a mother, a grandmother, a political activist and visionary. I heard Máire speak many times. At internal party meetings but more often on the streets when taking a stand against injustice. She had an ability to speak from the heart and in language that resonated with people. She was a gifted leader and organiser, and an inspirational public speaker. Máire is best remembered for her leadership in the years following the pogroms of August 1969 when nationalist areas of Belfast were attacked by unionist mobs, the RUC and B Specials. Hundreds of homes were destroyed and thousands of men, women and children became refugees in their own city. And citizens died. During those early years of the ‘troubles’ the Unionist regime at Stormont resisted the demand for civil rights which were very modest. In the sexist sloganizing of the ...

Following the February election Fianna Fáil engaged in a long drawn out charade of seeking to form a government. It refused to talk to Sinn Féin – as did Fine Gael – and spent weeks posturing. No one believed that a Fianna Fáil government was possible. At one point, under pressure from others in the establishment to end the crisis in government formation, Enda Kenny offered the Fianna Fáil leadership a partnership government. This was a good offer. And a brave one. It was rejected outright. Why? Fact is there is a genuine nationalist and republican instinct in the grassroots of Fianna Fail. They want a united Ireland. They know the Fine Gael leadership have no interest in this. Neither does its own leadership at this time but that’s another story. An alliance in government between the Blueshirts and the Soldiers of Destiny would leave sections of Fianna Fail voters looking for a new political home. A republican one. Sinn Féin? So FF and FG in Government was a no go. At least...

British governments like to pose as the defenders of freedom. Last year’s celebration by the British system of the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta sought to reinforce a political and historical narrative in which it is a beacon of light and justice for the oppressed of the world. The truth is much different and last week’s Tory party conference exposed once again the British establishment’s largely xenophobic view of the world outside of England. Theresa May described Britain’s armed forces as the “finest armed forces known to man.” In full Thatcherite mode she attacked “those left wing human rights lawyers” who she claimed “ harangue and harass” those forces. The applause was loud and sustained. The British Prime Minister and her Ministers plan to protect their soldiers from the legal consequences of any criminal actions they might be responsible for by making them exempt from European human rights laws during any future conflicts. This is not the...

After five months of confusion over what Brexit will mean in practice the British Prime Minister Theresa May has finally given some substance to her ‘Brexit means Brexit’ line. The Conservative Party conference this week was an opportunity for the Tory Brexiteers in the British Cabinet to finally spell out the direction they plan to take. According to Ms May the British government will trigger Article 50 before the end of March 2017. This will begin the two-year process of negotiation by the end of which the British state will have left the EU. The British Prime Minister has now set the British state on the path to a so-called ‘hard Brexit’. This means that Britain will leave the single market. The emphasis in May’s speech was on independence and sovereignty with Britain taking back full control of immigration. Consequently, there will be no free movement of workers as the barriers to immigrants are raised and reinforced.  The British Prime Minister also said that Britain wi...

Imagine being so frightened and desperate that you are prepared to be packed tightly with your babies and children, and hundreds of other distressed and despairing people, into a cold dark storage room in the bowels of an old dilapidated boat? And then the absolute terror and panic as the boat rolls over and sea water suddenly floods in as the boat quickly sinks beneath the Mediterranean. That’s what happened last Wednesday to hundreds of men, women and children several miles off the coast of Egypt. The boat, which should only have held 200, was filled to overflowing with an estimated 600 refugees. Hundreds died. No one knows yet exactly how many. Only 169 were rescued and that was largely thanks to the quick response of local fishermen. Scores of bodies were recovered and the stench at the pier at El Borg was described as overpowering. Many more may never be found. Those who died were victims of human traffickers – smugglers who ruthlessly exploit the desire of those fleeing war ...

Last week the Assembly resumed following its summer break. Next week it will be the turn of the Dáil. Normally we would be back in Leinster House by now but a major renovation is in progress and this includes a new sound system in the Dáil chamber. Next Tuesday it will be what passes for business as usual in the chamber but most of the rest of the original Leinster House building will remain out of bounds as work continues. Among the first items I intend to raise will be the disgraceful attitude of the British government toward the Ballymurphy Massacre families. On Monday they met the current British Secretary of State, James Brokenshire. He is the fourth such Minister they have met in recent years. Their hope was that he would agree to release the funds needed for the inquests into the murders of their family members. The 11 dead were all civilians from the Ballymurphy district, including a mother of eight children and the local parish priest. They were killed by the British...

The Irish language was almost destroyed as a result of centuries of British colonial policy.  As the greatest imperial power in human history successive British governments understood the importance of destroying the language, identity and culture of a people in order to make it easier to control, occupy and exploit them. Irish history is full of examples of policies intended to deter the use of the Irish language while promoting English. But it is also full of courageous men and women, from all classes and all sections of society who strove to defend the language and music and culture of Ireland. Here in Belfast one of the most important of these was Robert Mac Adam, a Presbyterian industrialist in the 19 th  century – after whom An Culturlann is named -  and his family. His uncle, also Robert, had helped found the Irish Harp Society to provide a means by which blind boys and girls could learn the Harp and thus earn a living. The Society also promoted the study of...