Micheál Martin has it badly wrong on Irish Unity
For
almost a quarter of a century I used to spend my St. Patrick’s Day in the
United States talking to Irish America and political leaders in Washington.
It’s important to understand that the St. Patrick’s celebrations in the USA
usually last a week – not a day. Consequently I could be in New York to take
part in the celebratory St. Patrick’s Day breakfast with hundreds of others
before heading off to Philadelphia, followed by a couple of days of meetings in
DC. I have some very fond memories of meeting Irish Americans at these events
where they joyfully celebrated their Irishness through music and dance, poetry
and craic.
On
one memorable occasion we arrived in Syracuse in upper New York State for a St.
Patrick’s Day parade in the midst of a blizzard. We were not dressed for a
blizzard. I walked shaking with the cold beside Pat Aherne the Grand Marshall
who was thoroughly enjoying himself. He was wearing a top hat as he waved
enthusiastically to all the heavily muffled spectators. John’s repost to the
fact that you could barely see twenty yards down the road was; “We
parade in March because we are hardy. Anybody can walk in July.”
Richard and I only survived thanks to the generosity of DeDe Walsh, the wife of the then Congressional representative for the district Jim Walsh, who graciously lent us some coats and gloves. Rita O’Hare delighted in telling us off for ignoring her warning that it was going to be a cold walk in the snow. She still delights in telling that story.
While
no one was able to travel to the USA this St. Patrick’s Day because of the
pandemic restrictions it was still nonetheless a good couple of weeks for the
peace process, the Good Friday Agreement, the demand for the referendum on
unity and for the campaign for a United Ireland. Friends of Sinn Féin
successfully fund-raised the money to pay for major adverts in the New York
Times, the Washington Post and the Irish American papers. Under the banner
headline: ‘A United Ireland: Let the People have their say’, the message was
clear.
“The
Good Friday Agreement has changed Ireland for the better. Challenges remain but
twenty-three years on Ireland continues to seek the full implementation of the
Good Friday Agreement. The Unionist electoral majority in the North is
gone. Their rights, and the rights of all, are guaranteed in a United Ireland.
It will be a welcoming home for all...
It
is now time to have an inclusive, informed and respectful discussion. We appeal
to the Irish Government to promote and plan for Unity. As Americans, we call
upon our government and public representatives to urge the British Government
to set the date for the Unity Referendum.”
The
initiative was supported by the Ancient Order of Hibernians; the Brehon Law
Society; Friends of Sinn Fein, USA; Irish American Unity Conference; James
Connolly Irish American Labor Coalition; Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians.
A
few days later a cross party group of Senators introduced a resolution in the
Senate reaffirming bipartisan support for the Good Friday Agreement and for the
Protocol. U.S. Senator Bob Menendez Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee was joined by Senator Susan Collins and 13 other
colleagues. They said: “This bipartisan resolution signals our support
for the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, as well as subsequent
agreements including the Stormont House Agreement and Northern Ireland
Protocol.”
Subsequently
Úachtaran Shinn Féin Mary Lou McDonald and Joint First Minister Michelle
O’Neill briefed the Congressional Friends of Ireland Caucus on Capitol
Hill. And later still Michelle joined with DUP leader and Joint First
Minister Arlene Foster in a conference call with President Biden and Vice
President Kamala Harris. Once again the US administration made clear its
support for the Good Friday Agreement. However, more telling was the
administration’s public backing for the Irish Protocol. Normally US
administrations play with an even handed diplomatic bat when talking to parties
in the North but in this instance it came out against the DUP demand for the
protocol to be scrapped.
One
DUP response to all of this was given by Sammy Wilson who last October in the
midst of the Presidential election tweeted: “Joe Biden is a parrot for
Irish Nationalism and their falsehoods re the Belfast Agreement. I would far
rather have an American eagle in President Trump than a nationalist parrot in
the White House.” Having failed to achieve that goal Wilson
plumbed new depths in a recent interview with Russia Today (RT) where he
referred to President Biden as “the bigoted ignoramus who has now taken
over in the White House.”
An
Taoiseach Micheál Martin in response to the Irish American ads again rejected
any possibility of planning for the unity referendum or even planning for a
united Ireland. Instead Martin stuck to the line that now is not the time to
talk about unity. He told an audience in Washington: “I think it is divisive and puts people back into
the trenches too early.” His
strategy – if it can be called that – is to put reconciliation and a unionist
majority in favour of unity as preconditions to any discussion or planning on
unity. This is a clear breach of the terms of the Good Friday
Agreement which requires a simple majority in favour of unity. It is undemocratic
and would hand to unionism a veto over future constitutional change. Martin’s
stance fundamentally subverts a key component of the Good Friday Agreement.
Micheál
Martin’s approach - which I suspect has more to do with his electoral fears
about the growth of Sinn Féin in the South – is also unpopular within his own
party. In an unusual move Fianna Fáil TD Jim O’Callaghan addressed Cambridge University on Tuesday.
O’Callaghan made a number of proposals aimed at reunifying Ireland. These
include the Dáil or Seanad sitting in Belfast and unionist parties given
positions as of right in a future all-Ireland Cabinet.
Whatever the merit of these suggestions they have now become part of the
necessary debate that is urgently needed. However hard Micheál Martin pushes
back against the public clamour for a public debate on a united Ireland the
issue is not going away. Has he the political sense to set aside his antipathy
for Sinn Féin and do the right thing? Now that he has gone international with
his negativity I suspect not but I live in hope.
Twinkle
CATS.
I’m a doggie man. Ever since two
of my uncles went to Canada aeons ago and I inherited Darkie, my first madadh,
dogs have been a constant in my life. In fact it is possible to measure your
life journey by the dogs who have befriended you along the way.Cats? I know
lots of cat lovers. Some were converted to cats as a consequence of their
amourous relationships. The catscame with the partner. So
needsmust. Men who woudn’t look sideways at a feline quickly embraced them
as well as their female mistresses. I mean the
cats mistress of course. .
I’m not allowed a cat. When
Colette wasyoung someone threw a cat at her and it landed on her
face. She has had an aversion to our feline friends ever since.
Hardly the cats fault. Her umbrage should be agin cat throwers
not the unfortunate cat. But sometimes logic doesn’t get a look in. Not that
I am very anxious to get a cat. I’m currently trying to prepare the ground for a wee terrier.
That’s
a challenge given that we have two dogs already.
I love dogs. I have a slightly
different relationship with cats. I respect cats. They are independent,
haughty, sometimes arrogant. They could live without
us humans. Some behave like aristocrats. No part of the house is
out of bounds to them. One of my pals regularly turns up covered in
cat hairs. He seems oblivious to them. Sometimes I have an urge to
comb him.
A neighbour of ours the
late Frances Forte used to feed all the cats in the street. Frances
was an amazing old lady. She supplied me regularly with pasta when it was less
popular than it now is. That and stories of how her family came
to Belfast from Italy to be part of the Forte’s ice
cream family business away back in the 1920s. They were chased
out off York Street by a unionist gunman. Cats used to
lounge about Frances’ front garden at meal times.
Then some feral fellows joined them. They were like bad
boys.Corner boys. Sprawled out on her window sills. Sullen and
slightly menacing. Kittens followed. Eventually Frances’ cat
community got out of hand. The appropriate agencies had to
intervene to deperse them.
There were feral cats
in Long Kesh. They used to hoke in the bins. Maybe they are
still there. Like wee ghosts haunting the place. The odd time a
few were persuaded to accept titbits from cat
loving or mice and rathating political prisoners who looked to
the cats for rodent control. That was in the Cages. I think of
them when I see a cat slinking along the yardwall in ambush mode
for the wee birds feeding at the birdtable. A bell around the
cats neck would even things up. Make it a fair dig.
So why do I tell you all
this? It’s
on account of Twinkle. Twinkle is Sorcha’s cat. Sorcha is Sara and Flair’s daughter.
Twinkle went missing on March 9. I know this because of the
poster which was distributeda round this neighbourhood. It
said Lost Cat. Twinkle. A grey and white tabby. A photo of
Twinkle was included along with a request to check gardens,
sheds and hedges.
So that’s what I did.
I looked everywhere for Twinkle. I remember when I was Sorcha’s
age my dog of that time, Rory, Darkie’s sucessor, went missing.
I searched all over the Murph for him for days and cried myself to sleep
every night for months. So I know how Sorcha must have felt about Twinkle.
Rory nevercame back.
Thankfully Twinkle did. We got the good news a
few days after she
went absent without leave. I wonder what adventures
she had? But all is well that ends well. I suppose this is a
shaggy dog kind of story.About a cat. With a happy ending. Well
done Twinkle. And well done Sorcha.
Here is a poem written by
Sorcha’s mummy Sara aboutTwinkle.
Saol an Pangur Bháin
After Seamus Heaney
Pangur Fecking Bán had it easy,
living his life in a monastery.
Child-playing around some mouse’s den,
the diligent monk, hunting with pen.
The master was poised, the cat was curled,
both inoculated from this world.
Not demanding much from each other,
they worked well without care or bother.
Pangur has been praised in four-line rhyme,
and interpreted many’s the time,
his name bestowed on countless white cats
and I can’t help but wonder - for what?
Our cat Twinkle’s living through a plague!
She’s the real hero, fearless and brave.
Still ventures out in the darkest night,
no way did Pangur get it this tight.
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