Available to buy in An fhuiseog.ie 

At the time of writing this week’s column Keir Starmer is still the Leader of the British Labour Party and Prime Minister. On Monday he delivered a ‘Save Keir Starmer’ speech which may or may not work for him. Can he survive the voices of opposition within Labour? That is a matter for his party.

The reality is that his leadership of Labour and its success in the 2024 general election had little to do with Starmer and more to do with voters’ deep antipathy toward the Conservative party. With a landslide victory and a massive majority of 174., Starmer was given a mandate to right the wrongs of a decade of Tory mismanagement and corruption, and of the Brexit debacle.

Instead and in just 23 months Starmer has lost the confidence of the vast majority of the electorate in Britain. His funding of public services in the North is disgraceful; his government’s abject failure to tackle the cost of living crisis; or his bizarre and stupid appointment of Peter Mandelson to the post of Ambassador to the USA, have cost Labour dearly. Allied to these has been his shameful support for Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people. Consequently, Starmer is now reputedly the most unpopular British Prime Minister since opinion polling began decades ago.

The Irish Language and Irish Unity

Well done to Conradh na Gaeilge on the publication of its report – ‘A United Ireland: A Transformative Opportunity for the Irish language and Gaeltacht.’ The report, written by Roisin Nic Liam, a researcher at Queens University, is an insightful examination of how the Irish Language has been traditionally viewed in the context of Irish Unity and its place in the growing conversation now taking place on unity. It accepts that “comprehensive planning is required in order to clarify what a united Ireland might look like. Such clarity would ensure that the people of Ireland are able to make an informed decision about the future of the country. Central to this discussion is the question of the Irish language.”

Marwan Barghouti – A Resolute Defender of Freedom

After 24 years the continued imprisonment of Palestinian Leader Marwan Barghouti is more than a punitive act of judicial oppression by Israel. It is a calculated strategic decision to prevent the emergence of a united Palestinian leadership. Barghouti is widely recognised among Palestinians as the leader who can unite the various Palestinian groups and provide a united, coherent political strategy to challenge Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories and its genocidal policy in Gaza.

For more than 50 years Marwan Barghouti has been part of the struggle against Israel’s apartheid regime, its brutality and occupation of Palestine. He was born in 1959 in the west Bank. When he was eight years old the 1967 war resulted in Israel occupying the west Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. It was under this military occupation that Marwan grew up.

When I was a wee buck growing up in Ballymurphy there was a river at the back of the houses across from our home place at the corner of Glenalina Road and Divismore Park. The river ran the length of our street and the length of Ballymurphy Road before exiting below the Whiterock Road and into the City Cemetery. From there it meanders down to and under the Falls Road beside the Bus Depot and onwards to the Bog Meadows. You can see it there to this day.  The stretch which used to border our street was long ago captured and incarcerated in a pipe below ground.

Before then it was one of our favourite places to play. The Ordinance Survey maps name this rivulet as the Ballymurphy Stream.  I can’t find its Irish name. It rises in the mountain and cuts under the Springfield Road beneath a very high arch just up from our street. It used to be at its widest at that point. Perfect for jumping. Swinging across on a rope. Falling in. Catching frogs. Plastic sandals were all the go. Perfect for walking on water. 

Tiocfaidh ár lá

It does not feel as if 45 years have passed since the death on 5 May 1981 of Bobby Sands on hunger strike. Bobby’s death and that of his nine comrades changed so much in our struggle and opened up so many new opportunities that it is rightly viewed as a tipping point in recent Irish history.

On Sunday former hunger striker Pat Sheehan MLA gave a wonderful speech at Bobby’s statue in Twinbrook. The courage and heroism of the ten men who died and those who took part in the hunger strike, and of Michael Gaughan and Frank Stagg, are a huge part of our republican history. 

But we should never lose sight of the fact that Bobby and his comrades in the H-Blocks and in Armagh Women’s Prison were more than political prisoners. They were family members, friends, neighbours. Comrades. They were ordinary young men and women who enjoyed life. 

Free Marwan Bargouti

Freedom struggles across the globe have their heroes. Nelson Mandela, Che Guevara, Bobby Sands and in Palestine, Marwan Bargouti .

Last September a mural celebrating Marwan’s leadership and resistance to Israeli occupation and the oppression of the Palestinian people,was unveiled at the international wall on Bóthár na bhFál. Two weeks ago at the Ard Fheis I met with Marwan’s son Arab. Since then we have spoken by zoom. His family and those, like me, who believe he should be released are fearful for his life. 

Sinn Féin, but especially, the party in Belfast pulled out all of the stops at the weekend to ensure that the Ard Fheis was a huge success. The ICC Waterfront Hall was buzzing with republican voices from across our island and beyond talking about the big issues confronting all of us nationally and internationally. The number of young people attending and taking part in the debates was particularly encouraging.

There were 167 Motions on the clár for discussion. They ranged across the cost of living crisis, housing, Irish unity, education, health, the climate crisis and our environment, rural Ireland, justice and human rights, and the fraught international situation.

International Solidarity

Sinn Féin believes in international solidarity. Consequently, an important element of our annual Ard Fheis is the many international guests who travel to be with us. This year there were around 60 guests from the ANC in South Africa, EH Bildu in the Basque country, the ERC in Catalonia, from Australia, Kurdistan, France and other comrades.

I was especially pleased to meet again with Arab Barghouti, from Ramallah in the west Bank and son of Marwan Barghouti who has been imprisoned for 24 years by Israel. The situation is Gaza continues to be appalling with scores of Palestinians being killed on an almost daily basis, and towns and villages in the west Bank regularly targeted by criminal Israeli gangs of settlers.

Honouring Rita O’Hare

The next time you go into Áras Uí Chonghaile on Bóthar na bhFál in Belfast go up to the first floor where there is a plaque dedicated to the work of Rita O’Hare, who played a huge part in securing the support of American Trade Unions for the Áras. 

Last Friday a bunch of us, her family and friends, got together to remember Rita and to unveil a James Connolly bust in her memory. It’s a striking piece of art. It was created by the talented sculptor Steve Finney and Barry O’Neill of Lough Neagh Bronze. The bust was originally donated to the Moore St. Preservation Trust that is campaigning to save the 1916 Battlefield site in Dublin.

Remembering Bobby Sands

Finally, next Tuesday, 5 May, will be the anniversary of the death on hunger strike of Bobby Sands. He was the first of ten men to die during the six-month hunger strike in 1981.

This weekend there will be a number of events to remember Bobby and his comrades and their contribution to the struggle for freedom.

·      At 9.30 am on Sunday the Annual Bobby Sands Walk will take place on Divis Mountain.

·      At the same time there will be a 12k freedom run meeting at the Bobby statue in Twinbrook.

·      At 2pm on Sunday there will be a commemoration and wreath laying at the Bobby Sands statue in Twinbrook.

·    And later that evening at 8pm the Annual Bobby Sands Lecture will take place in Andersonstown Social Club. 

The Great Fenian Escape

For as long as the English have occupied Ireland there have been political prisoners. As long as there have been political prisoners there have been daring and ingenious escapes. In the most recent period of conflict it is estimated that around 100 republicans participated in escapes, including the great escape from the H-Blocks in 1983. That was the biggest ever in British penal history. Others tunnelled their way out; clambered over walls; escaped in a helicopter; shot their way out; blew a hole in a wall; hid in a bin lorry or dressed as priests or in one case as a woman. I was a Samuel Beckett type of escapee. I failed. But I never gave up. I failed better. 

Moore Street Trust calls on State to buy Moore St. Terrace

This Friday, 24 April, is the date 110 years ago when the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army launched the Easter Rising. They published the 1916 Proclamation and proclaimed a Republic. For six days a small band of Irish rebels took on the might of the British Empire. 

Ard Fheis 2026 in Belfast

This weekend the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis will be held in the ICC Waterfront Hall in Belfast. Like hundreds more I will be there as the party debates policy, including how we can advance our core objective of Irish Unity. 

The blockade of fuel depots, motorways, towns and Dublin City centre was entirely avoidable if the FFFG government had taken the growing crisis around the cost of living and increasing fuel and energy bills seriously months ago. Instead Micheál Martin and Co. stuck their heads in the sand and ignored the mounting anger.

Another Israeli Offensive likely in Gaza

As I write this the talks between Iran and the USA, over the illegal Israeli/US war against Iran, appear to have foundered. It is likely that the energy and economic crisis that has resulted will continue.

Israel’s leader Benjamin Netanyahu has been lobbying the USA for decades to attack Iran. Other Presidents refused. President Trump agreed. The bombing of Iran and Lebanon result from Netanyahu’s war aim of expanding Israel’s borders.

Palestinian Prisoners Day 17 April:

This Friday is Palestinian Prisoners’ Day. It is a day set aside internationally and dedicated to the freedom of Palestinian political prisoners and in support for their rights.

A just published report - titled “Another genocide behind walls” - by Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor https://euromedmonitor.org/en documents the appalling widespread patterns of brutality and sexual violence, including rape, used by Israel against detainees from the Gaza Strip.

A Nation For All

Caoilfhionn Ní Dhonnabháinnn’s book A NATION FOR ALL is a must read primer for anyone interested in the struggle for the re-conquest of Ireland by the people of this island. I whole heartedly recommend it.  Especially to activists or those brave souls who are on the journey into activism and who are trying to figure out how, in this turbulent world, the struggle for equality, solidarity, democracy and sovereignty in Ireland is to be taken forward. As always it is important to get the basics right. A Nation For All does that.  

Last Friday I spent an enjoyable couple of hours in the company of my good friend American Trade Union leader John Samuelson and the staff of Áras Uí Chonghaile and Fáilte Feirste Thiar – the west Belfast Tourist Board. Unbeknownst to John both organisations had agreed to name one of the Áras rooms after himself and a former Transport Workers Union, (TWU) President Mike Quill. 

Keeping the Faith for Unity

This Easter the Good Friday Agreement is 28 years old. It only seems like yesterday that we were all gathered in Castle Buildings wondering if David Trimble was going to take the leap. He hadn’t spoken to Sinn Féin at any time during the negotiations – except on one occasion when I said hello to him in the toilet and he told me to grow up. But on Friday 10 April 1998 he signed up to the Agreement.

It was a defining moment in our recent history. It was a compromise between conflicting political positions. For the first time since partition the Agreement brought peace, stability and hope, and the opportunity for a better future for all the people of the island of Ireland. 

Terry ‘Cruncher O’Neill

It was the profound sadness that I heard on Sunday of the death of my friend and comrade Terry ‘Cruncher’ O’Neill. Cruncher was an incomparable singer of Irish songs of resistance. Type his name into google and you Will discover videos and audio recordings of Cruncher singing. 

My memory is full of occasions when he enthralled an audience. There is a great Frankie Quinn photo of himself, Joe Cahill, me and Gerry Kelly singing ‘Something Inside So Strong’ at the tops of our voices outside the old Sevastopol Street office. Cleaky is in the foreground looking after us. 

Gabriel Rosenstock. 

As we go to press I am also sorry to hear of the death of Gabriel Rosenstock, poet, play wright, haikuist and writer. Gabriel was one of the leading lights of Irish language literature. He was the author and translator of more than 180 books and publisher of over 400. 

Easter is only days away. This Sunday will mark 110 years since the momentous events of Easter Week 1916 and the declaration of Independence and equality contained in the Proclamation. It is also the centenary of the sale of the first Easter Lilies which were designed in 1925 by Cumann na mBan to raise funds for the Irish Republican Prisoners Dependants Fund.

In the 100 years since then thousands of women and men have been imprisoned in defence of the Irish peoples’ right to national self-determination and each year Easter Lilies are sold in their tens of thousands to support them and their families and to honour the sacrifice of those who died in pursuit of freedom.

Micheál Martin is stalling on Unity

An Taoiseach Micheál Martin was the first guest to participate in a new six part series of the podcast, ‘How to Gael’ under the title – ‘How to Unite Ireland?”

The 40 minute interview - can be heard on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/01Mg0w8UDawINdgeX45IvV

It was conducted by Doireann Ní Ghlacáin and Louise Cantillon, who in her opening commentary described their series as an exploration of the “lived experiences that shape how people feel about unity. It’s a complex and sensitive topic, and the series creates space for open, informed and respectful conversation."

The interview with Micheál Martin provided an opportunity for the Fianna Fáil leader to restate his long standing position on issues as diverse as the history of Fianna Fáil, his refusal to work with Sinn Féin, the Shared Island project, reconciliation and Irish Unity, the Good Friday Agreement and border poll, and talking to loyalists.

The surprise of the two interviewers at Martin’s claim that Fianna Fáil is a republican party was genuine and an interesting insight into how that party is viewed by many young people. Time and again Martin returned to his central thesis of reconciliation as a pre-condition to reunification. He said: “My philosophy is it has to be about the unity of people, insofar as you can go, it’s not just about territory.”

Donegal /The Swallows Tail – A song by Davie Furey

Next week my first expedition into the recording world of music will be launched when singer and songwriter Davie Furey releases ‘Donegal/The Swallow’s Tail’, his first single of 2026.

I have known Davie a long time. When I sent him a copy of a small book of poems I had written he especially liked ‘Tir Chonaill Thuaith.’ He asked me if he could include it in a new song he proposed writing around the poem. I said yes. But then he asked if he could record me reciting the poem as part of the single.

The Civil Case against me in London came to an end last Friday when the Claimants and their lawyers accepted a ‘drop hands settlement of the extant claim on the conditions that:

1.    the Claimants file and serve a Notice of Discontinuance by 10 am 20 March 2026; and

2.    that there be no order for costs’

In other words, they accepted an offer, made by me the previous evening, that they discontinue their claim. I instructed my legal team to make the offer because it was apparent at the end of day eight of the trial that the claimants case, as presented by McCue and Jury, the lawyers for the claimants, was in serious trouble. I gave them a way out. 

Dolores Keane – A Great Voice

I have always loved music. All kinds of music but I have a particular fondness for Irish traditional and folk music. I think by the time I heard De Danann’s first album, with Dolores Keane’s amazing voice leading the vocals, I was probably in Cage 11. That first Dé Danann album was incredible and over the subsequent years I never stopped being astonished by the uniqueness of Dolores Keane’s magnificent voice.

This week I spent Lá Féile Pádraig in Derry/London. As you read this my time in the Royal Courts of Justice should be coming to an end. Regrettably, the court case prevented me from joining in the St Patrick’s festivities in Belfast or here. I am assured the London Irish have a vibrant, hugely enjoyable celebration of Irish music, culture and language so good luck to all the Paddys and Patricias.

The civil case is expected to conclude on Thursday, although, that could slip. The case is based on hearsay and alleged intelligence claims made by witnesses who could provide no documentary supporting evidence. So far it has provided a platform for some highly offensive, insulting and untruthful commentary. 

What the Judge makes of all of this we will know when he delivers his judgement; although that might not be for some time yet.

Time for Diplomacy in the Middle East

The illegal Israeli attacks against Lebanon and the equally illegal Israeli/US assault on Iran continue to dominate the media agenda. The financial cost to the USA of over a billion dollars a day and the rising cost of oil, petrol and gas are also major talking points. The cost of living crisis is set to get worse.

The number of Lebanese and Iranian citizens killed as a consequence of the massive bombing campaign barely rate a mention in a western media that has largely become a propaganda wing of the aggressors - Israel and USA.

More Schools needed for Irish speakers

The Irish language has more than two thousand years of unbroken history behind it. Apart from Greek, it has the oldest literature of any living European language. It is the badge of a civilization whose values were vastly different from the one which has sought to subjugate us. Of course, Irish culture is wider than the Irish language and wider than Gaelic games, music, dance and story-telling.

Add to this the myriad traditions of urban and rural Ireland, of ancient and modern customs, of Protestant, Catholic and other religious tendencies, of the influence of the new Irish who have come to our shores from all parts of the globe – and we have some sense of the diversity of our island people. All of this is great cause for celebration and is as thoroughly Irish as any other aspect of our society.

I’m writing this week’s column in London. Today, Monday, I’m in the Royal Courts of Justice in a civil case that has been brought against me by three claimants, innocent victims, who were injured in three IRA bomb attacks in 1973 and 1996. They are alleging that I was party to those attacks.

There was a small crowd of former British soldiers outside the Court and some in the court room itself. There were also some people with tricolours showing their support.

Today the legal teams for the claimants and for me made their opening submissions. My legal team set out logically and clearly my position. In summary, they said that I have consistently rejected claims that I was in the IRA. In this case I am also stating emphatically and unequivocally that I had no involvement in the three bomb attacks. 

Moore St Bill wins Unanimous Backing

Meanwhile the legal challenge being taken by the Moore Street Preservation Trust against the plans by developer Hammerson, to destroy much of the historic 1916 Battlefield site in Dublin, is up for mention shortly in another Court. This time in Dublin. However, the case itself is unlikely to be heard until the autumn.

Last week an important draft piece of legislation - An Bille um Cheathrú Chultúir 1916, 2021 - the 1916 Cultural Quarter Bill – to designate the Moore Street 1916 battlefield site as a Cultural Quarter, received unanimous support when it was discussed at the Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage. This was an important moment in the campaign to save the Moore St Battlefield site. Among those who supported the Bill were Cathaoirleach Mícheál Carrigy TD (FG), Paul McAuliffe TD (FF), Senator Maria McCormack (SF), Seamus McGrath TD (FF), Senator Aubrey McCarthy (Independent) and Tommy Gould TD (SF).

Seachtain na Gaeilge

We are in the midst of Seachtain na Gaeilge. It used to run for one just week, but its popularity is now such that it has been extended to cover the period from March 1 to 17 – St Patrick’s Day.

It is very appropriate that it has been officially confirmed that Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, which will take place this August, is already slated to return to Belfast next year. Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann is the world's largest annual Irish traditional music festival and is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors to Belfast.

Is í Seachtain na Gaeilge an ceiliúradh is mó den Ghaeilge agus cultúr na hÉireann ar domhan. Bhí an oiread sin ráchairt uirthi gur síneodh amach chuig coicís í. Bíonn sí ar siúl ashan bhliain ó Márta 1 go dtí 17 - Lá Fhéile Pádraig.

A Turning Point in Irish History

50 years ago on Sunday past I was in Cage 11 in Long Kesh prison camp. It was a Monday. It was also 1 March 1976, the date on which the British Labour government’s decision to end political status took effect.

Political status had been introduced in June 1972 after a hunger strike by republican prisoners and as part of the context for negotiations that were to take place between republicans and the British.

In March 1974 a Labour government, led by Harold Wilson, came to power and embarked on a new strategy to defeat Irish republicans. Ending political status was only one part of it. Laws were changed to allow for ease of convictions in the non-jury Diplock Courts, particularly using beatings and forced confessions. New cellular special control units called H-Blocks were constructed in 1975 in another part of Long Kesh, to house the expected new influx of those who were now to be designated ‘criminals.’

Merlyn Rees was the British Secretary of State with responsibility for the new ‘Ulsterisation, Criminalisation, Normalisation’ strategy. Its aim was simple; reduce the number of British soldiers getting killed, and replace them with the locally recruited RUC and UDR. In the British mindset local forces were expendable and their deaths less likely to cause a political fuss In Britain and internationally.

Criminalisation was about trying to convince people, especially the nationalist section of our people, that republicans were motivated by greed. That we were ‘gangsters’ involved in a ‘criminal conspiracy. We were, in the new language of the 70s, – godfathers – mafiosi – out for what we could make personally. The British hoped that this new spin on an old propaganda theme would reduce support in Ireland and the international community. 

International Women’s Day

This Sunday is International Women’s Day. For over one hundred years the 8 March has been set aside to specifically celebrate women who are active in society; in their communities, trade unions, voluntary organisations, in their families and the political institutions.

It is also an occasion when the inequalities, injustices and violence still suffered by many women are highlighted. According to one UN report nearly 70 per cent of countries surveyed revealed that women continue to face more barriers than men to accessing justice. And for the 676 million women who live within 50 kilometres of an active conflict zone “justice systems are largely absent and perpetrators act with impunity.”

The reality is that millions of women and girls around the world are confronted by violence, discrimination, and abuse. The United Nations defines violence against women and girls as: “Any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.” 

War of Aggression in the Gulf

As I write this, the war declared by President Trump last Saturday against Iran, and his avowed aim of regime change, is continuing as the death toll rises. The US and Israel had clearly been planning this attack for some time. The USA did this as negotiations involving it and Iran were, according to the Oman mediators, making progress.

This war must be condemned. Diplomatic efforts had not ended. There was still hope. President Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu broke international law, ignored Iran’s sovereignty, and destroyed that hope with bombs.

Under the UN Charter, states are prohibited from using unilateral force, except in two cases: (1) when authorized by the UN Security Council or (2) in self-defence. The US and Israel did not go to the UN Security Council ahead of Saturday’s strikes. That only leaves self-defence

Currently, the British state is convulsed around allegations surrounding a member of its Royal family. Norway too is in the midst of a crisis around its monarchy. The law of both states will take their course, as is right.

However, these controversies raise for me the very existence of monarchies. A family elite which through past colonial conquest and patronage, and in alliance with business and societal elites, continues to enjoy a place of wealth and privilege and influence. Given that the British state includes a part of Ireland, at least for the time being, this is more than an academic issue for those of us who are captives of this undemocratic system of privilege. 

I am instinctively against monarchies. Of any kind. Constitutional or otherwise. Monarchies are bad. The late Tony Benn put it well when he said that “the existence of a hereditary monarchy helps to prop up all the privilege and patronage that corrupts our society; that is why the crown is seen as being of such importance to those who run the country - or enjoy the privileges it affords.”

Conradh na Gaeilge Votes for Unity

At the end of last year Oireachtas na Samhna in Belfast was a huge success. Thousands of Irish speakers, including Uachtarán Catherine Connolly, spent several days enjoying the music, dance, culture, arts, craic and discussions that are part of the oldest Irish language and arts event on the island of Ireland. In August Belfast will host the Comhaltas Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, the world’s biggest celebration of Irish music and culture.

All of this is evidence of the change that is taking place. I was pleased to attend An Conradh’s Ard Fheis. The conference was alive and vibrant with a new generation of young gaeilgeoirí determined to assert their Irishness, proud of their language and determined to stand up for their language and national rights. They were articulate, positive, funny, hopeful and generous. 

Micheál Martin out of step on Unity

Last week, An Taoiseach Micheál Martin, in an interview with TG4, claimed that there is not much substance behind Sinn Féin’s campaign on Unity.  The Fianna Fáil leader, who has consistently rejected any common sense suggestions to prepare for unity, returned to his favourite and bogus argument that we need reconciliation before unity.

Martin’s comments are out of step with the political reality and popular opinion North and South. He also misses entirely the point that the demand for unity is not simply being put by Sinn Féin. Former leaders of Fine Gael and the SDLP, as well the SDLP leadership, Ireland’s Future, the Irish Labour Party, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Good Friday Agreement and others are part of the growing demand for the Irish government to prepare for unity.

Remembering Frank Stagg

Last week marked 50 years of the death of Frank Stagg on hunger strike in Wakefield Prison, in England.  Events, including a black flag vigil and a march and rally were organised to remember the Mayo man. Gerry Kelly who was on hunger strike in England in the 1970s for over 206 days, during which he was force fed 167 times, gave the main oration in Ballina and spoke of Frank’s great courage and commitment.

I was in Long Kesh when Frank died on 12 February 1976 after 62 days on hunger strike. Britain’s intransigence and in particular the obduracy of the then Home Secretary Roy Jenkins, ensured that Frank’s fourth hunger strike would result in his death. As we walked around the Cage or sat in our cells the talk from when Frank embarked on his fast, was about his resolve and strength of character as on his own he faced the brutality of a British system determined to break him.

Two years earlier we had watched as Frank’s friend and comrade Michael Gaughan, another Mayo man, had died on hunger strike. 

Holy Smoke

I used to smoke. I was very addicted to it. I smoked everything that was legal. I smoked a pipe for years. I liked the pipe. There is a certain ritual attached to pipe smoking. Filling your pipe requires special skills. It takes time. And care. Fill it too loosely and it will not last long. Too tightly and it will not burn at all. Most pipe smokers had a number of pipes. But there was always a favourite one. My favourites were invariably Kapp and Petersons. Particularly the bendy ones, favoured by Sherlock Holmes. Kapp and Peterson still have  a shop in Dublin. Kapp and Peterson gets honourable mention in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot. In Belfast Miss Morans in Church Lane, which is still doing business, was a favoured supplier of pipes and good tobacco.

Pipe tobacco is of course a matter of choice and taste. And addiction. I was inclined towards heavier brands like Condor. The I graduated to War Horse, particularly War Horse plug tobacco. The preparation of this type of pipe filler requires a pen knife for cutting off little slices of tobacco. These were then rubbed between your hands until they were reduced to the desired consistency. This added to the ritual. It was probably theraputic. If thats not a contradiction. Ditto  with the smell of pipe smoke. Back in the day pipe smokers were a fixed presence  in pubs and at most social gatherings. Many people, barely visible in the clouds of smoke, would declare how much they liked the smell. 

The death of Nora Comiskey

It was with sadness that I heard of the death last week of Nora Comiskey. Many Dublin republicans and some of us from Belfast and other parts knew Nora over many years. She was a former president and long-time activist in the 1916-1921 Club. This was a unique institution founded in the 1940s whose aim was to try and bring together some of those who fought on the pro and anti- Treaty sides in the Civil War. Many did, including Nora who had been in Fianna Fáil. Its founding charter is the 1916 Proclamation and among its objectives are a commitment to honour those who fought for Irish Freedom and who work for its achievement. It also seeks to contribute to the cause of an Ireland — united, independent and sovereign 

Mandelson was Unimpressive

As I record this the future of Keir Starmer, as British Prime Minister, is a topic of conversation because of his mishandling of the Peter Mandelson affair. I know nothing about the ongoing scandal around Jeffrey Epstein other than what I read or see in the media. But the evidence of his serial abuse of young women going back many years is plain to see. My heart goes out to the victims and survivors of this despicable cabal 

Goodbye Dearest Heart

This week sees the republication of Jim McVeigh’s excellent book – Goodbye Dearest Heart - on the life of Joe McKelvey who was executed by the Free State in 1922 aged 24. It tells not just the personal story of Joe McKelvey but also the remarkable times in which he lived.

Joe McKelvey was born in Stewartstown in county Tyrone but moved to the Falls area of west Belfast as a teenager. He was a committed Gael who in 1916 was a founder member of the O’Donovan Rossa CLG in Beechmount.

Jim McVeigh tells how McKelvey joined the Irish Republican Army in Belfast and quickly rose through its ranks to become O.C. (Officer Commanding) of the Third Northern Division which had responsibility for Belfast. McKelvey’s time as O.C. coincided with the partition of Ireland. 

We Are Not Numbers

Late last year I came across a book written by young people living in or exiled from the Gaza Strip - ‘We Are Not Numbers: The Voices of Gaza’s Youth.’  

Through their words it gives testimony to the horror that the Palestinian people face daily in Gaza under Israeli occupation and blockade. The book spans ten years. It tells of the experience of young people and their community trying to survive against a ruthless enemy that does not see them as human beings

The organisation We Are Not Numbers (WANN) was founded in 2015. 

London Case - Not about Truth and Accountability

In May 2022 a civil case was launched against me in England. The civil trial will begin on 9 March in London, and conclude on St Patrick’s Day.

There are some aspects of the case I can comment on and others I cannot at this time. Suffice to say that this is an unorthodox claim against me about events which occurred 29 and 53 years ago. In short, three Claimants, seek to hold me personally liable for three bombings committed by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in March 1973 (at the Old Bailey), in February 1996 (at London Docklands) and in June 1996 (at the Manchester Arndale Shopping Centre).

Many innocent people were seriously hurt, three were killed in the bombings. The Claimants were injured and have suffered as a result. They deserve nothing but sympathy for what they have gone through. So do all those who were killed or injured in the conflict. And their families.  I regret all the deaths and injuries.

People are entitled to use the law. However, this case is brought decades after these incidents and decades after the Good Friday Agreement brought peace to us all.   I anticipate, from public statements made by the Claimants’ solicitors, that a number of former British Army, and RUC/PSNI witnesses will give hearsay evidence that because I was a senior republican during the conflict I must be responsible for these specific events.

Stand-up to a Genocidal Bully

As the world ponders the implications of US President Trump’s talk of an ‘armada’ heading for Iran; or his latest threat of tariffs against Canada; or his ongoing threats against Cuba, Greenland and Europe; the so-called ceasefire in the Gaza Strip which he brokered in October has been breached over 1300 times by the Israeli apartheid regime. 509 Palestinians have been killed.

In just one morning last week, Israeli attacks on Gaza City and Khan Younis left 31 Palestinians, including six children, dead. The limited medical facilities were overwhelmed with the dead and wounded.

Streets of Minneapolis

I have been very fortunate over the years to see Bruce Springsteen live. The concerts and the music are amazing. The Boss’s lyrics are sharp and he is unafraid to sing about the politics that anger and outrage him. ‘Born in the USA’ is an anthem against the War in Vietnam. ‘Streets of Philadelphia’ highlighted the aids crisis.

Last week he turned his ire on the behaviour of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE )agents.

Springsteen dedicated the song – Streets of Minneapolis - to the “people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbours and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good”. 

Well done Bruce.

• Tá Scoil Gheimhridh Uí Chadhain, i gcomhar le Conradh na Gaeilge agus Glór na Móna, ag óstáil plé ar an Ghaeilge agus ar aontú na hÉireann Dé hAoine seo ag a haon a chlog sa Chultúrlann.
• In addition, Scoil Gheimhridh Uí Chadhain is hosting another discussion this Saturday at 11am on Protestants & a United Ireland, featuring Claire Mitchell and Dr Robbie McVeigh.
• Sinn Féin's Commission is hosting a people's assembly in Cork, on the 19th February 7pm at Rochestown Park Hotel. Bígí Linn. 
• South & East Belfast Sinn Féin is hosting an evening discussion on what a world class, all-Ireland health system could look like and how we make it a reality. Chaired by Deirdre Hargey MLA, with Guest speaker David Cullinane TD and joined by panellists from across the health sector. The event will take place on the 12th of February 7pm at the Malone Lodge. 

Self-Determination and Democratic Rights

For decades now I have argued that self-determination is one of the big issues of our time. In 2005 I wrote: “In my view the big international struggle of our time is to assert democratic control by people over the decisions which affect their lives. This does not mean retreating behind existing borders and refusing contact with the outside world, but it does mean reasserting the primacy of democracy and working together in order to pursue this objective.”

Mickey Brady – A Cheerful Change Maker. 

Mickey Brady, former Sinn Féin MLA and MP for Newry and Armagh died last week. His sudden death came as a great shock to his family and to all of us who knew and respected him. I had the great fortune to work closely with Mickey in the Assembly and I often campaigned with him during elections. Some people are really good canvassing during elections. They have that way of engaging with people on the streets and at the doorstep and Mickey was a master at it.

He was always positive. He knew the issues impacting on people and he could speak from his years of experience as an elected representative and as a champion for their rights through his work in the Newry Welfare Rights centre.

Report on Rural Health in a New Ireland published

Sinn Féin’s Commission on the Future of Ireland last week published its latest report - ‘Delivering Rural Health and Care in a New Ireland.’ The public event took place in Enniskillen in November.

A packed hall heard from a panel of health activists, including Pat Cullen MP, Fr. Brian D’Arcy – writer and broadcaster, Paula Leonard, CEO of Alcohol Ireland and Denzil McDaniel, author and former editor of The Impartial Reporter. The discussion and report examines the challenges faced by rural communities trying to access all-Ireland cardiac services, autism services, cancer provision, suicide support services and A&E.

It makes no sense that we run two entirely separate health systems trying to solve the same problems. The report of the Enniskillen Assembly can be accessed in English and Irish here: www.sinnfein.ie/futureofireland

Sinn Féin's Commission on the Future of Ireland is hosting a People's Assembly in Cork.  The event will take place on Thursday  19th of February 7pm at the Rochestown Park Hotel. Join the discussion on a new Ireland, how it could be achieved and what it might look like. The conversation will be led by an independent chair and panel which will be announced soon. You can register to attend on Eventbrite or at the venue on the night.  

South & East Belfast Sinn Féin is hosting an evening discussion on what a world class, all-Ireland health system could look like and how we make it a reality. 

Chaired by Deirdre Hargey MLA, with Guest speaker David Cullinane TD and joined by panellists from across the health sector. The event will take place on the 12th of February 7pm at the Malone Lodge. 

Kitson Praises Paras in Ballymurphy

I recently came across the autobiography of British General Sir Frank Kitson which was published last year shortly after his death. It is titled ‘Intelligent Warfare’ an oxymoron in any language. In truth it is an account of British military failures through several colonial wars in which Kitson fought, including in Ireland. It is also a reflection of Kitson’s enormous personal ego.

Kitson came to prominence within the British military hierarchy in the 1950s during its efforts to crush the independence rebellion in Kenya. He established counter-gangs that tortured and killed Kenyan civilians. The groups were made up of British soldiers, including Kitson on occasion, and former members of those fighting against British rule. Tens of thousands of Kenyans ended up in over 150 detention camps where they were brutalized. An estimated 30,000 Kenyans were killed; one and a half million were interned; torture was commonplace and 1090 were hanged.

While Kitson boasts of his role in the counter-gangs he ignores the human rights violations that underpinned British strategy in that African country.

In 1970 he took command of the 39th Brigade – which covered Belfast and surrounding region. In the same year he published ‘Low Intensity Operations’ which quickly became the standard text book for the British Army’s counter-insurgency strategy in the following decades. 

A Raffle for Jim Fitzpatrick limited edition print

The Moore Street Preservation Trust is raffling our hugely popular Elizabeth O’Farrell print - a unique, framed print designed and signed by the renowned Irish artist Jim Fitzpatrick. Míle buiochas Jim.  The draw will take place on Good Friday, 3 April 2026.

Tickets are €5 / £5 and they can be bought at: msptshop.myshopify.com 

Public Media Ireland

Last week a report entitled, ‘Public Media Ireland: a New PSM (Public Service Media) Organisation for a New Country’ was published in Belfast. The report – a joint project by Dublin City University and Ulster University – recommends the setting up of a new public service media organisation, Public Media Ireland, if citizens  ote yes in the referendum for constitutional change.

Susan McKay, the Press Ombudsman, chaired the event. The four authors of the report, Dawn Wheatley, Roddy Flynn, Stephen Baker and Phil Ramsey, shared their vision of a Public Se

The European Commission has backed a free trade agreement with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The European Parliament is set to decide on the future of the Mercosur Agreement. It has taken twenty-five years to get to this point. The European Commission has decided to support this proposition and the smart money says the Parliament will follow suit. But perhaps not. It’s not over until it’s over. There will be a legal challenge to the deal, including Sinn Féin’s MEPs, and a vote in the European Parliament. Sinn Féin is also bringing forward a Dáil motion calling on the government to support the legal action and mandating all MEPs to vote against the deal. 

Nollaig na mBan

Some of the traditions that surround Christmas and the New Year celebrations have changed over recent years. For example, when I was growing up Christmas decorations didn’t start appearing in homes until a fortnight or so before the 25th December. Now, Halloween is barely over before Christmas decorations start appearing. Previously also, the tree, crib, and the rest all stayed in place until 6 January – the Feast of the Epiphany, the date on which it is said that the three wise men visited the baby Jesus in Bethlehem. This year decorations were mostly down from the start of the new year. And already Easter eggs are in the shops. 

However, one celebration that has taken on a new lease of life is Nollaig na mBan - Women’s Christmas. It is celebrated on 6 January. It used to be confined to rural areas but that is changing.  

Nollaig na mBan is the day when the role of women, who generally did  all the work for Christmas, was celebrated. It was the day when women get together with other women and enjoy a brief few hours of celebration on their own. 

Progress on Casement Park

Last week the draft budget for the Executive, announced by Finance Minister John O’Dowd, included an allocation of an additional £40 million toward the rebuilding of the new Casement Stadium.

Sadly, despite the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and its principles of equality and parity of esteem, the decades since then have produced many examples of political unionism continuing to resist investment and funding allocation for nationalist areas. Casement Park is a case in point.

Last week’s announcement is a positive and welcome development.

Irish Unity Must be Priority for EU Presidency

On 1st July the Irish government will assume the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. This will be its eighth time holding this key administrative and political role within the EU and the first time since Brexit. 

The agenda for this Presidency is enormous and will affect all of our lives. It will include new legislation as well as significant negotiations around all of the major national and international issues affecting the world at this time – the Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip, the war in Ukraine, Venezuela, threatened US Foreign Policy adventures toward Greenland, Cuba, Colombia, Nigeria and Iran, famine in Africa, climate change and migration.

An Taoiseach Micheál Martin has defined the state’s Presidency of the EU as “a Presidency defined by action.”

All sounds impressive. But so far no one in the Irish government has said anything about using this unique opportunity to raise the issue of Irish Unity. Thus far, Micheál Martin’s approach to Irish Unity can best be described as “a leadership defined by inaction.”

International Law in Tatters

Should we be surprised by the decision of President Trump to kidnap President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores? Should we be shocked by his claim that the US will now administer Venezuela or that US Oil companies will manage Venezuela’s huge oil reserves? And what of his threats against Cuba, Colombia, Mexico, Greenland, Nigeria and others?

The historical reality is that we have seen all of this before. The most brazen example this century was the invasion of Iraq in 2003, under the pretext of the non-existent weapons of mass destruction. The truth then was that US and British interests were primarily concerned with the control of Iraq’s oil. The result was a million Iraqi dead and a region torn apart by the subsequent political instability. International law was flagrantly broken. Torture and a brutal occupation followed. 

The Fellow in the Big Picture

Over the Christmas break I watched more television than I do at any other time. Regular readers will know that I’m more of a radio man. RTE Radio, Raidió na Gaeltachta, Raidió Fáilte, Radio Ulster. I listen to these every day. But I like westerns. And there is always a ton of westerns to be seen on television over the Christmas period. Some are old ones featuring Audie Murphy, Gene Audrey, Alan Ladd, John Wayne, Maureen O Hara and the likes.  TG4 usually has a good selection of these.

They also show a lot of movies featuring Clint Eastwood. I like his films.  And not just the westerns. Although he first came to our attention in Ballymurphy with Rawhide. Unforgiven was the film of choice this Nollaig with Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman, all in starring roles. And it was followed by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. 

Irish government should be ashamed

2026 began for the people of the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Occupied Territories with more Israeli attacks by land and sea and air; winter storms that have added to the enormous hardship of people trying to survive in flimsy tents; and the denial of appropriate humanitarian aid.

2025 also ended with Israel having killed nearly half of all those journalists killed last year. Reporters Without Borders recorded that 29 reporters were killed by Israeli forces making Israel “the worst enemy of journalists.”

A very happy New Year to all readers of this column, to the staff of the Belfast Media Group and The Irish Echo. And to you good readers who have stayed with me over the years.

None of us know what 2026 will bring but we can be sure it will be interesting. May it also be good to you all and to your families. Beirigí bua. 

Eyes On The Prize. 

2025 was a good year for Irish Unity. All of those advocating for a new Ireland, including Sinn Féin’s Commission on the Future of Ireland, worked hard and effectively promoting the message that Irish Unity will be good for the people of the island of Ireland. Crucially, both houses of the Oireachtas, the Dáil and the Seanad, passed motions calling on the Irish government to begin the process of planning and preparing for Unity referendums. These include The Oireachtas Good Friday Agreement Committee. This is the only all-Ireland committee in Leinster House. It is unique in that Members of Parliament from the north join TDs and Senators to work on issues relating to the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.

The Good Friday Agreement remains the basis for relations on the island of Ireland and between the islands of Ireland and Britain. However, its implementation has been challenged, principally by indifference from London and a lack of consistent and positive leadership from Dublin.

‘I’m so scared, please come’

For as long as I have been a republican activist I have been reading and writing about the impact of British colonialism on peoples around the world. As the largest empire in human history Britain’s conquests and exploitation of other places resulted in untold misery, death and hardship for those living under British rule - not least here in Ireland. To maintain its domination, the British Empire used violence and dehumanised the peoples it sought to exploit. Behind its claim of being a guardian of the ‘rule of law’ Britain stole land and property, exploited mineral resources and reduced native peoples to little more than slaves.

Among those many locations was Palestine. British policy is largely responsible for the decades of war that have plighted that land for a hundred years. Current British government policy is facilitating the genocide of the Palestinian people by the Israeli apartheid regime.

I have visited Palestine and Israel on at least four occasions, including the Gaza Strip in 2009. I walked along the ‘separation wall’ – a monstrous perversion designed to imprison Palestinians into smaller and smaller ghettoes.

In English prisons five people, imprisoned under new repressive laws targeted at pro-Palestinian activists, are on hunger strike. Several of them will have been on hunger strike now for over 50 days. At the weekend and each day since, protests have taken place across the island of Ireland and in Britain. 

Irish republicans have a natural affinity with those who use hunger strike in protest against inhumane prison conditions and to advance democratic aims. The use of hunger strike by political prisoners following the Rising and during the Tan and Civil Wars and in the North is well documented.

Grace – just hold me in your arms …

Next year the judicial review, taken by the Moore St. Preservation Trust, will be held in the Dublin High Court to challenge the Irish government’s support for the plans of the developer - Hammerson – to demolish much of the historic 1916 Moore St. battlefield site.

16 Moore St. is where the leaders of the 1916 Rising held their last meeting and where the decision to surrender was taken to prevent further civilian loss of life.

Among those present was Joseph Plunkett who was centrally involved in the planning of the 1916 Rising. He was Director of Military Operations in the Irish Republican Brotherhood. He was also a member of that organisations Military Council. He was a signatory of the Proclamation and although heavily bandaged as a result of medical operations in early April, Plunkett spent Easter week in the GPO. 

A bleak Christmas for Palestinians

The story of Christmas and the birth of Jesus in a stable, as Mary and Joseph sought shelter, is known by billions around the world – even by those of other faiths and none. Christmas will be celebrated – presents given – and many will go to their respective places of worship to remember the child born in poverty, surrounded by a loving family and animals.

But for the people of Palestine, surviving in the occupied Palestinian Territories, this Christmas thousands of families will be separated from their loved ones, many of them children, held illegally in Israeli prisons. In the Gaza Strip families will mourn the 20,000 babies and children killed in Israel’s genocidal war and the many more left with life changing injuries. Children will grieve for the parents who have been killed.

The Kenova Report adds further substance to the litany of existing reports that over several decades have exposed the extent of British state participation in the murder of citizens.

The Kenova Inquiry commenced in June 2016 and the final report was published on 9 December 2025.

Operation Kenova covered four distinct investigations:

·      Operation Kenova – Stakeknife

·      Operation Mizzenmast – The Murder of Jean Smyth-Campbell

·      Operation Turma – The killings of Sergeant Sean Quinn and Constables Paul Hamilton and Allan McCloy

·      Operation Denton – The activities of the Glenanne Gang.

The Kenova Report is 166 pages long and it is impossible to deal with it all in this column. However, it is available on the PSNI website at https://www.psni.police.uk/about-us/our-publications/operation-kenova-final-report. 

Bondi Beach

Anti-semitism is wrong. Just like racism, sexism or sectarianism. The attacks on Jewish people on Bondi Beach are shameful. My thoughts are with those who were murdered, the injured, their bereaved families, the wider Jewish community and the people of Sydney and Australia.

Unity project making progress

As 2025 draws to a close the momentum around the demand for Irish Unity continues to grow. Last week Sinn Féin’s Commission on the Future of Ireland published its annual report. 2025 was an exceptionally busy year for the Commission with nine public events hosted in Ireland, one at the European Parliament and 13 events organised by Friends of Sinn Féin in America and Canada. In addition, a national strategic conference was held and a series of internal party discussions took place.

And Flowers Grew up Through the Concrete is Laurence McKeown’s second prison memoir. Big Laurny, is a very fine writer. This latest book is an account of his journey through imprisonment, hunger strike, brutality and growing self-awareness. It is beautifully written and unashamedly honest in its emotion.

Laurence is one of those gifted republican POWs who spent years – decades in some cases – in British prisons and who have written about their experience. Together they have generated a huge body of prison literature comparable to previous periods in the independence struggle.

Among them are Eoghan MacCormaic and Jazz Jim McCann; Pat Magee; Gerry Kelly; Síle Darragh’s inspirational account of the women in Armagh - ‘John Lennon Is Dead’; Danny Morrison, Roseleen Walsh; Tony Doherty, Chrissie McAuley, Jim McVeigh; Jake MacSachais, Richard McAuley and others. I apologise to any I have left out - always a danger when you produce a list of any kind.

Perhaps the best known of all the prison writers is Bobby Sands whose poems, songs and accounts of life in the H-Blocks and on Hunger Strike still resonate over four decades after his death. Writing on scraps of paper to be smuggled out, Bobby’s poetry, prose, political polemic, songs and other writings in Irish and English are now part of the tradition.

Laurence’s previous books include, with Brian Campbell and Felim O’Hagan, ‘Nor Meekly Serve My Time” which covers the blanket protest from 1976 to 1981; ‘Out of Time: Irish Republican Prisoners Long Kesh 1972-2000’; and with Brian Campbell the script for the film H3. 

A Real Peace Settlement Needed

Last week the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky visited the Irish state. In the course of his meetings President Zelensky also addressed the Oireachtas in which he called for a peace without humiliation.

His visit came at a time when there is widespread speculation that the US government is pressuring Ukraine to accept a peace deal that would force it to cede land to Russia.

My starting point as a republican is clear. The people of Ukraine have a right to self-determination and the Russian invasion is a breach of international law. With Russia intensifying its drone attacks on Ukraine, especially its targeting of civilian infrastructure like energy, health care and water, there is an urgent need for an intensification of the peace efforts. 

Gearóid Ó Cairealláin

Reáchtáladh deireadh seachtaine d’imeachtaí in An Chultúrlann cúpla lá ó shin chun Gearóid Ó Cairealláin, a fuair bás anuraidh, a chomóradh agus chun ár meas a léiriú dá fhís agus dá chrógacht. Scrúdaigh na himeachtaí téamaí an agóid

Mo bhuíochas ó chroí le hEoghan Ó Néill agus na daoine a chuir Scoil Gheimhridh Uí Chairealláin le chéile. Obair iontach, agus sílim go bhfuil Gearóid an-sásta leis. Diaspóra, ceol, siúlóid, fáthanna éagsúla… agus an taispeántas galánta fosta ar shaol Ghearóid — go han-maith.

Seo mar chara é agus mar fhear a raibh go leor fiontar aige. Agus é ag baint sult as an saol. Tá gá le gach streachailt le glór ciotach – ach glór dearfach. Bhí Gearóid lón smaointe geala. 

A Chairde,

I want to respectfully reach out to my unionist neighbours at this time of ongoing change on our island and continuous turbulence and conflict in parts of our world. We should count our blessings. Imperfect though it might be we have peace and the ability to work out our difficulties peacefully.

This ability to find solutions is frustrated by the British government refusing at this time to permit us to exercise our right to self-determination. So, London continues to interfere in our affairs. In my view, and history supports this view, London will never govern us in Irelands interest. It never has. And it never will. How could it? It serves different national interests.

Sometimes these coincide with the attitudes of political unionism. But when they don’t political unionism and its attitudes are set to one side by London. This has happened again and again. Betrayal has been followed by betrayal after betrayal. London is only loyal to the unionists when it suits its interests. Those are not my words. These are the words of unionist leaders. I do not think these leaders serve the interests of my unionist neighbours. Certainly not on social or economic issues or the daunting challenges of growing our peace process into a prosperity process. Or a new rights based citizen centred society. 

Of course, my unionist neighbours are entitled to vote for these parties or anyone else if that is their wish, and political unionism clearly has a deep rooted commitment to the Union with Britain. It used to have things its own way. Maybe some of its leaders still believe that is the case but it isn’t. They have lost their electoral majority. The Union is now very conditional and in the upcoming period there will be a referendum to decide the future.

The extent of constitutional and institutional change is for the people of the island of Ireland to decide – democratically and without outside interference. The Good Friday Agreement makes clear that constitutional change requires consent, freely given and expressed in referendums North and South. So, political unionism will have its say. But so will the rest of us. On the basis of equality. All the unionist parties have agreed to abide by the outcome of this referendum.

This ongoing continuum of change is about shaping a new Ireland, an agreed Ireland, and a new relationship with Britain that enhances our personal and community relationships, strengthens society, makes conflict a memory, ends sectarianism and creates real opportunities to improve the daily lives of citizens. It is about reconciliation and accommodation. It is about the North as a part of the island of Ireland again taking its place as a full member in the European Union.

The Good Friday Agreement will provide the best framework of protections for everyone including and especially my unionist neighbours. The Agreement which was democratically supported in referendums North and South and is an all-island international agreement, already provides future protection for citizens.

The Agreement guarantees that future governance arrangements will be “exercised with rigorous impartiality on behalf of all the people in the diversity of their identities and traditions and shall be founded on the principles of full respect for, and equality of, civil, political, social and cultural rights, of freedom from discrimination for all citizens, and of parity of esteem and of just and equal treatment for the identity, ethos, and aspirations of both communities; recognise the birthright of all the people of Northern Ireland to identify themselves and be accepted as Irish or British, or both, as they may so choose, and accordingly confirm that their right to hold both British and Irish citizenship is accepted by both Governments and would not be affected by any future change in the status of Northern Ireland.”<

For the first time ever the families of many of the 207 Republican internees held on the Al Rawdah prison ship between 1940 and 1941 met in Belfast. 85 years after their loved ones were interned on the prison hulk the families came together for the launch of Tom Hartley’s insightful account of that period.

At the beginning of his remarks Tom invited the relatives present to stand. There was spontaneous and sustained applause from the rest of the audience. It was an emotional moment, for the relatives and for those watching, in what was an evening of memory and recollection.

Mary McConville whose Uncle ‘Rocky’ Burns was held on the Al Rawdah, introduced the event and Tom Hartley explained to the relatives and audience his motivation for writing the book and the forensic approach he took in collecting information. He also drew attention to the poignant fact that two days earlier was the 85 anniversary of the only prisoner to die on the Al Rawdah, John Gaffney, who fell from his hammock and hit his head.

Tom reminded us all that following partition in 1920 the Unionist Regime at Stormont moved quickly to consolidate its power and to ensure that nationalists and republicans living in the North posed no threat to their domination. Legislation was introduced to gerrymander electoral boundaries, and deny hundreds of thousands of citizens, mostly nationalist, access to a vote in local elections. Local Councils with nationalist majorities became unionist controlled. Discrimination in employment and housing was built into the structure of the state.

A Space in which Dialogue is Possible

Last week Queens University , Belfast and Dundalk  Institute of Technology (DkIT) announced a significant new partnership that will establish DKiT as a University College of Queen’s University. The all-island educational and economic potential is enormous. Last week also, the Good Friday Agreement Oireachtas committee was told that survival rates for children with congenital heart conditions on the island of Ireland now match the best results anywhere in the world. This is because of 15 years of co-operation between the health services North and South.

To add to this good news, the Shared Island Unit announced an additional €50 million for projects and it emerged that a number of MEPs have written to the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola requesting special “observer” status for representatives from the North.

The DUP leader Gavin Robinson immediately opposed the EU move. The perennial default position of the DUP and others within political unionism is to condemn and oppose any positive progress. This resistance to change is evident almost daily in the negative atmosphere that has been created in the Assembly, in the Executive and on local councils.

The reality is that unionism has gone backwards to the ’NEVER, NEVER, NEVER’ stance of past decades. This resistance to change reflects the essential insecurity of political unionism.

None of this is new. Anyone with a basic understanding of unionist history since the plantation, and especially since the Home Rule struggle of the late 19th century and into partition, understands this.

Philomena Mulvenna died in the early hours of last Friday morning. I have known Philomena and her husband Paddy for most of my adult life. Paddy and she were 72 years married and they had 7 children. Mrs Mulvenna protested with other women against military occupation and for decades on behalf of the political prisoners especially the Armagh women and the blanket men. The song sings unfairly, of the boys of Ballymurphy but all of us know that without the women of Ballymurphy, the struggle would have not succeeded as it has in this Republican heartland. Like working class Republican women throughout the North, these mothers and grandmothers, sisters and wives were unbreakable, indomitable and resilient.

Brendan Murphy

I was deeply saddened to hear of the death of Brendan. I had the pleasure of knowing him for decades, although I haven’t seen him in ages.

Martin Collins

Martin Collins would not have been well known on this side of the Irish Sea. But in London he was central to many of the Irish organisations and campaigns, as well as the solidarity movements like Troops Out. Martin campaigned for decades against British injustice in Ireland. It was through this work that I often met him in London.

Solidarity with the Palestinian People

To mark International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People there will be an event in Ionad Eileen Howell/St. Comgall’s in Belfast on 29 November at 11am. This will involve a conversation between myself and Seanadoir Chris Andrews who recently participated in the Global Freedom Flotilla to Gaza.

A Passport office for the North

The consistent refusal by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to establish a passport office in the North flies in the face of the very clear demand for such a service. Year after year the numbers of people in the North applying for an Irish passport has grown substantially. Last year over 128,000 people living in the six counties applied for an Irish passport.

Hilary Benn is the 25th British Secretary of State since the Conservative government of Ted Heath scrapped the Stormont Parliament in 1972. Whitelaw was the first. I met him during the London talks in July that year. There was then a gap of 23 years before I met another British Secretary of State, Patrick Mayhew. I have met most of the rest since then.

The 25 were a mixed bunch both in ability and in temperament. Most we had never heard of before they were given the job. Many we never heard of again after they left here.  A few were friendly. Some, like Roy Mason, were wannabe generals or spymasters who bought enthusiastically into the counter-insurgency strategies of the spooks, Brit military and RUC. Some, like Merlyn Rees, were bumblers who hadn’t a clue about the North and probably didn’t care, and some were or thought they were, clever and devious. Most of them suffered from delusions of grandeur. I used to call it the English disease but that is probably unfair. Not all English people believe they have the right to rule other countries. But whatever their personalities or politics they all had one thing in common – they were here to defend British national interests – whatever the cost.

The battle for hearts and minds of Unionism

Michelle O’Neill honoured her commitment to be a First Minister for All when she chose to take part in Sunday’s remembrance day ceremony in Belfast. Deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly chose not to honour her responsibilities by refusing to attend this week’s inauguration of Catherine Connolly as the 10th Uachtarán na hÉireann. The two choices taken by both leaders’ highlight again the refusal by unionism to accept the core principles of equality and parity of esteem which are at the heart of the Good Friday Agreement.

The battle for hearts and minds of Unionism

Michelle O’Neill honoured her commitment to be a First Minister for All when she chose to take part in Sunday’s remembrance day ceremony in Belfast. Deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly chose not to honour her responsibilities by refusing to attend this week’s inauguration of Catherine Connolly as the 10th Uachtarán na hÉireann. The two choices taken by both leaders’ highlight again the refusal by unionism to accept the core principles of equality and parity of esteem which are at the heart of the Good Friday Agreement.

Comhghairdeas to all of those who helped make Oireachtas na Samhna the huge success it was. Thousands of Irish language speakers from across the island of Ireland spent part of last week enjoying the music, dance, culture, arts, craic and discussions that are part of the oldest Irish language and arts event on the island of Ireland. The Waterfront Hall and other venues were filled with the very young to the not so young Gaels, all actively and enthusiastically enjoying the enormous diversity of Oireachtas na Samhna. Many took part in competitions, including sean-nós singing, sean-nós step dancing and lúibíní (poetic verses).

A special well done to Máirín Nic Dhonnchadha and the leadership team which ensured the smooth running of an amazing and ambitious occasion. The presence of President Elect Catherine Connolly, due to be sworn in as Uachtarán na hÉireann next week was a special bonus. The Oireachtas was her first visit North following the presidential election. So too did the presence of Pól Deeds, the new Irish Language Commissioner, who along with Lee Reynolds the Ulster Scots Commissioner, will take up their posts next week.

This is another important step forward. The Irish Language Commissioner will play an important role in enhancing the opportunities for the growth of the Irish Language.

Ról na nGael i dTógáil Éire Nua

Ceann de na himeachtaí ag Oireachtas na Samhna eagraíodh é ag Coimisiún Shinn Féin ar Thodhchaí na hÉireann. Scrúdaigh sé go sonrach ról na nGaelgóirí i dtreo aontú na hÉireann.

Cuir Tomás Ó Néill fáilte roimh an tionál ar son Shinn Fein mBeal Feirste. D’oscail Aisling Reilly MLA, duine den ghlúin úr seo sa chathair, an imeacht agus labhair sí ar na deiseanna romhainn fríd Aontacht – “deis fháis, deis cheangail agus deis ar rathúlachta chomhchoitinn”.

Dúirt Aisling gur mór an seans go mbeadh ann don Reifreann le linn Uachtaránacht Catherine Connolly agus go bhfuil muidne, muintir na hÉireann i bhfad chun tosaigh ar an Rialtas. Lá i ndiaidh lae, tá níos mó daoine, eagraíochtaí agus grúpaí a rá go bhfuil dualgas ar an Rialtas i mBaile Átha Cliath tabhairt fán phleanáil agus ullmhúchán do reifreann agus d’athaontú na tíre.

The Olive is never just a Tree

The number of people killed by Israel’s genocidal war on the Palestinian people of the Gaza Strip has passed 68,000, with a further 10,000 at least still buried under the rubble. Over 150,000 have been wounded, many of them permanently disabled.  The most recent figures on Israeli actions in Gaza reveal that the so-called ceasefire that began on 10 October is far from that. So far Israeli forces have violated the ceasefire on 194 occasions, including 55 shootings and 55 shellings. Other attacks have occurred since then. At least 226 people, including 97 children have been killed. What price the ceasefire?

Last week, the Israeli government allowed some heavy machinery in to help in the search for dead Israeli captives. They continue to ban heavy equipment for the retrieval of Palestinian victims.

Under the agreement agreed between the USA, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey humanitarian aid should now be flowing into the Gaza Strip. However, instead of the 600 trucks cleared to enter Gaza each day less than a quarter of this number are currently being allowed in. Critically trucks carrying frozen meat, eggs and livestock are still blocked. 

Ba mhaith liom mo chomhghairdeas a ghabháil le Catherine Connolly agus a foireann. Maith sibh as feachtas Uachtaránachta dearfach, forásach agus trócaireach a chur chun cinn.

I want to extend my congratulations to Catherine Connolly and her team. Well done for fighting a positive, progressive, compassionate and cohesive Presidential campaign. Well done also to the many Sinn Féin activists from all parts of the island and all the others who enthusiastically handed out leaflets, erected posters, canvassed thousands of doors and worked hard to get the vote out last Friday.

Lots of words have been used to described the outcome. Stunning. Triumph. Historic. And many more. For me the two most important are hope and opportunity.

Catherine Connolly was an exceptional candidate. The success of her campaign cannot be separated from her authenticity and her connectiveness with the electorate and with those, many of them first timers, who campaigned for her. That campaign and the emergence of a centre left alliance of parties backing Catherine has provided hope that the century long dominance of the two conservative parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, can be ended.

 The Vinyl Gift

I love listening to music. There is nothing as uplifting as a good live session. And the music stays in your head forever after,  to be dipped into when the need or notion moves you. For example, Martin Hayes magical concert last week in Belfast’s Grand Opera House. Its still jigging in my brain. Martin was well served by guitarist Conal O’Kane and bouzouki and concertina driver Brian Donnellan. They were joined for the encore sets by Donál O’Connor and Neil Martin, two of my favourite musicans, who opened the event along with singer Mary Dillon who was outstanding.  A

ll  in all a wonderful evening. Martin Hayes  playing was amazing, elegent, draoíluíleacht, exquisive, sublime and betwitching. He transported us to a higher state of being. And all of us are the better for it. 

But it isn’t possible to get to live events all the time. So apart from the radio I have a fine collection of recorded  music. They include cassette tapes, CDs and LPs. Some are over fifty years old.

Seamus Drumm gave me an ipod of over a thousand tunes years ago. I’m still working my way through  them. Go raibh maith agat Seamie

Supporting Palestine

October is the month Palestinian farmers in the west Bank harvest their olive groves. But this year many such groves sit untended because Israeli settlers are attacking Palestinian villages and farms and the Israeli forces have erected barriers to prevent Palestinians getting to their land.

In the Gaza Strip the ceasefire is being repeatedly broken as Israel continues to pound Palestinian families and communities. At the same time the medical situation in Gaza remains critical with Israel blocking much need humanitarian and medical aid entering the Palestinian territory. The World Health Organisation last week reported that only 10 percent of the requested medical supplies have arrived. Medicines like Paracetamol that we take for granted and that can be bought freely here are not available to help those in pain.

October is the month Palestinian farmers in the west Bank harvest their olive groves. But this year many such groves sit untended because Israeli settlers are attacking Palestinian villages and farms and the Israeli forces have erected barriers to prevent Palestinians getting to their land.

In the Gaza Strip the ceasefire is being repeatedly broken as Israel continues to pound Palestinian families and communities. At the same time the medical situation in Gaza remains critical with Israel blocking much need humanitarian and medical aid entering the Palestinian territory. The World Health Organisation last week reported tha

The Presidential election is on Friday. Many of you reading this column or listening to it on social media platforms, will not have a vote. But some of you will. So, I am asking you to cast your first preference for Catherine Connolly and to encourage everyone else to do the same. 

The last week has seen a significant increase in negative campaigning against Catherine by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil and by the establishment media.

Why has Catherine Connolly, who most of the media ignored during her time as a TD, become the bête noire of the establishment? Is it because she has unashamedly challenged Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil on their appalling record in government – on health, on homelessness, on the cost-of-living crisis, and on carers? Is it because of her fluency in the Irish language? Is it because she has defended neutrality and condemned genocide against the Palestinian people? Is it because of her support for a United Ireland.

Hiding the Truth

Last Sunday was the anniversary of the imposition on 19 October 1988 of the broadcasting ban by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.  Prior to that    censorship in one form or another had operated in the North and in Britain, and also in the 26 counties. The rational for this had long been the desire of the two governments to deny citizens their right to information. In this way it was easier to promote the establishment’s narrative.

In Ireland the British media strategy had its roots in Britain’s colonial experience. But it was especially influenced by the writings in the late 1960s of General Frank Kitson who believed that all governmental structures; the judiciary, the law, the police and the media, must be part of a co-ordinated strategy to defeat ‘the enemy’ while suppressing citizens and their rights.

Legacy Bill deeply flawed

Presented by the Irish and British governments as the resolution to the long running legacy issue the ‘Northern Ireland Troubles Bill’ is anything but that. Once again the British government, with the support of the Irish government, is introducing a legal structure that provides the British state with the means to deny the truth to families.

Under draft legislation, drawn from the two governments Framework Agreement, the British Secretary of State will have the power to withhold information from families and inquests; from the information retrieval body, the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (CRIR), and from the new Legacy Commission. In addition, agencies like MI5 will have the power to vet all reports. The British Secretary of State will also be able to make various regulations and guidance, including the power to make an award to cover legal representation/expenses etc. for participation in inquisitorial proceedings.

Comhghairdeas Naomh Eoin

Well done to Naomh Eoin's Senior hurlers. Crowned Antrim Champions on Sunday after six semi-final defeats in seven years and after a dogged battle with Loughgiel the Johnnies are hurling Kings of the county. Well done to all the hurlers, the Management and support staff, the Club Committee and every one in Saint Johns. 

 A population greater than that of Belfast has been moving back to the northern Gaza strip following the ceasefire announcement last week. Awaiting them is utter destruction. The infrastructure of Gaza has been levelled by the Israeli state’s genocide. The return of the Gazans. is based on hope. Hope that humanitarian aid will arrive. Hope that the indiscriminate bombing by Israel and the deliberate slaughter of desperate, starving people at aid stations has stopped. Hope that the big powers – which have allowed this holocaust to go on for two years will ensure that this is a meaningful end to the war.

Liam Mellows and the Irish Revolution – ‘a Very Important Book’

I was very pleased to speak at the launch in Áras Uí Chonghaile last week of the latest edition of Desmond Greaves’ wonderful book, ‘Liam Mellows. And the Irish Revolution.’ Dr. Ruan O’Donnell, a Senior Lecturer in History, was instrumental in updating the book. Present also was Anthony and Muriel Coughlan. Anthony is Desmond Greaves literary executor. He is owed a debt of gratitude for his lifelong work on many issues, but especially the work of collating Desmond’s writings. 

Oireachtas na Samhna

Oireachtas na Samhna is coming to Belfast. The oldest Irish language festival in the country which celebrates an Ghaeilge, sean-nós music, dance, literature, recitation and even a rap music category - a sign of the times! Thousands of Gaeilgeoirí - families, children, young people and some older folk too, will gather in Belfast where the Oireachtas is being held for the first time since 1997. 

There will be lots of events, including competitions, book launches, conversations, live broadcasts and debates - all completely as Gaeilge. 

The decision by Fianna Fáil Presidential candidate Jim Gavin to withdraw from the contest means the race is now between Independent Catherine Connolly and Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys.

But what of the man who asked Gavin to stand? Suffice to say I am not a supporter of Micheál Martin. There is nothing personal in this. I have seen at close quarters how he works and I am not impressed. How Fianna Fáil responds to this debacle which its leader landed it in will determine how it faces into the future. Because the process by which Jim Gavin became the Fianna Fail candidate says more about Fianna Fáil and how Micheál Martin runs it than anything else. No leader can ignore or disregard the views of grassroots or other activists. Diktat may keep a leader in place if he has the guile and resilience to survive. But for what purpose?  Especially for a party which is proclaims itself to be republican. Micheál’s instinct will be to brazen it out. But he can only do that if the party lets him. And that risks the party completely losing its sense of itself.

Mr. Martins negative approach to the Good Friday Agreement and the Unity Referendum it provides for amounts to a refusal to fulfil his obligations under the Good Friday Agreement, the Irish Constitution and Fianna Fáil’s own aims and objectives.

The Orange and the Green. 

Another friend of mine died last week. An Orangeman, Ian Milne. He was also an undertaker. I met Ian in 2003 in Dublin Castle when he spoke at The Forum for Peace and Reconciliation. I thought it was a very good initiative by him in an effort to find a resolution of the Drumcree stand-off caused when the Portadown Orangemen refused to accept a ruling by the Parades Commission preventing them from marching down Garvaghy Road. 

After the event we bumped into each other in the Men’s Room. In those days Men’s Rooms were the main venue for the many first informal off the record words between me and some unionists. I told him that Sinn Féin would talk to the Orange if that would be helpful.  Ian was very friendly although he was at pains to tell me that he wouldn’t reveal at that time that he talked to me. 

Eventually we did do the meeting with some Portadown Orangemen. It was in Conway Mill and while it didn’t resolve the issues it was a very worthwhile and informative discussion. It’s good to talk. And to listen. Ian was also in dialogue with Seán Murray for over twenty years as part of their efforts to advance reconciliation. 

All three candidates in the Presidential election have made commitments in support of Irish Unity. Clear evidence of the growing importance of Irish Unity to the electorate.

Last Saturday Catherine Connolly was invited to address a Sinn Fein conference in Dublin. There was a palpable buzz of anticipation in Dublin City University as over 500 party activists gathered to discuss ‘Building For Unity.’  It was an opportunity to judge her style, hear at first hand her vision for the future of our island, and to assess her ability to challenge the establishment parties and their candidates.

Connolly has been an outspoken critic of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil and an advocate for workers, communities, and equality. She supports the need for the Irish government to plan for the future unity referendums. A call Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael and their candidates refuse to make.

Real sanctions needed now

Last Friday I spoke on my podcast to Chris Andrews a Sinn Fein Senator who is on the Global Sumud Flotilla in the Mediterranean Sea which, as a I write this, is trying to bring much needed humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people of Gaza. The flotilla, which has already been bombed by Israeli drones, sails under the constant threat of Israeli assault. The 50 boats involved left the coast of Crete on Sunday. Another flotilla of ten vessels also left Sicily on Sunday. When I spoke to Chris we discussed the danger and challenges facing the flotilla. He urged the Irish government and Tánaiste Simon Harris to do more in support of the flotilla's mission and the Palestinian people.

Last week at the United Nations most state representatives refused to sit while Israeli PM Netanyahu ranted against those who opposed his genocidal policies.  Every day Israeli forces are continuing to assault the people of Gaza City and scores of Palestinians are being killed, and others, mostly children, are dying from forced starvation.

Using your Loaf!

This week I want to highlight the virtues of the humble Belfast Bap and the man who created it. During the week I breakfasted on boiled eggs served on a sliced  bap plastered with butter and sprinkled with black pepper. An bhlasta. Really scrumptious. Try it. You won’t be disappointed. 

This particular bap came ready sliced. I prefer to slice my bap myself so that the slices are thick and well able to carry the butter and the boiled  egg. This is real finger food.  The ready sliced baps can be a wee bit thin. Still tasty but a bit messy. So slice your own. 

The flotilla is carrying food & humanitarian aid in an attempt to break the blockade on Gaza.

It should be allowed safe passage. 

Catherine Connolly – A President for all of Ireland

In less than five weeks’ time the next Uachtarán na hÉireann will be elected by the people of the 26 counties. Election day is 24 October. That the people of the North and of the diaspora will be denied a vote is a disgraceful consequence of the efforts over recent years by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael (FFFG) to prevent the extension of the presidential franchise. Both parties are frightened by the prospect of people, who have never voted for either party, voting in Presidential elections.  They want to retain the status quo not change it. This partitionist approach also influences the resistance of Micheál Martin and others to the growing potential for a referendum vote in favour of Irish Unity.

Last weekend’s decision by the Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle to endorse Catherine Connolly’s campaign is, to quote Mary Lou, a ‘game changer.’ Sinn Féin has many capable, articulate leaders who would have been great candidates. But the party chose to join with others as part of a left alternative. This was a courageous decision which gives those who can vote in the election a clear choice between the conservative politics of FFFG or a progressive and positive alternative. 

Cearta –Marching for Rights

Under the banner of CEARTA – meaning RIGHTS - tens of thousands took to the streets of Dublin on Saturday to demand equality for the Irish language. In scenes reminiscent of An Dream Dearg in Belfast three years ago, Irish speakers and activists from across the island, wearing their distinctive red with a white circle, marched from Parnell Square to the gates of Leinster House.

The protest was an exuberant and joyful celebration of our language and culture and of the demand that the Irish government implement policy changes that will protect and enhance the lives of Irish speakers and of the Gaeltacht communities. There was live music from Ispíní na hÉireann, Niamh Ní Dhubhgháin and Breandán Ó Beaglaoich and others. Niamh Ní Dhubhgháin performed a song about the needs of young people, especially those living in Gaeltacht areas who are finding it impossible to buy or rent or build a home. 

Go raibh maith agat Bruce Morrison

In two weeks’ time there will be a celebration in New York to mark 30 years of the Morrison Visa Programme. The event will remember the introduction of the visa legislation that provided an estimated 45,000 Irish people with a legal pathway into the USA in the early 1990s.

The Morrison Visa was the brainchild of former US Congressman Bruce Morrison who introduced a program that allocated visas to nationals who up to that point were underrepresented in US Immigration. Bruce however, is also known for his hard work in support of the peace process. He was part of a group of Irish American business, trade union and political leaders – the Connolly House Group – who played a pivotal role in creating the conditions for the 1994 IRA cessation. Bruce and his colleagues continued to be active for years afterward and Bruce remains so today. 

If we were to listen to and accept at face value those in the media who criticise the Assembly and the Executive as ineffective, and who question their value or use, we would mothball both institutions and sack the MLAs.

Yes, there is justifiable frustration at the failure of the institutions to address concerns on health and education and delivery on Casement Park, Saving Lough Neagh, building the A5, delivering for Gaeilgeoirí, tackling poverty and hate crimes and legacy issues alongside problems in our public services. But that is not the fault of the institutions. It lies with the political parties and others who are blocking progress.

Yes, there are problems but it is wrong to tar all our politicians with the one brush and it would also be wrong to hand over responsibility for these issues to unelected civil servants and to the British government. That would be irresponsible and stupid.

Does anyone really want another British Secretary of State running this place? There have been 25 British Secretaries of State, mostly mediocre and forgettable, including some who contributed enormously to the conflict.

We also need to appreciate that the London government is adding to the difficulties faced by an Executive which doesn’t have the financial resources to tackle some of the issues of greatest concern. All of this is an argument for the end of Westminster rule. We need to say that loudly and often. London has never ruled us in our best interests. We who call this place home are the only ones entitled or fit to do that. That includes our unionist neighbours and their representatives. 

The reality is that the Northern statelet was not and is not a normal society.  Partition was a unionist and British imposed response to the demand by the people of this island to independence and sovereignty. The unionist regime at Stormont immediately and successfully deepened political and sectarian discrimination and the inequalities that were part and parcel of colonisation. The Northern state was a place where non-unionists were to have no say in its running and where the institutions of the state were closed to us. 

After 78 years of ‘Northern Ireland’ the Good Friday Agreement began a process of fundamentally changing that system. It is a process. The Agreement was and is a unique arrangement to facilitate conflicting political visions. Republicans decided to enter Stormont – a place that represented all that was wrong with the Orange State – because we believed that a space was needed in which we and unionism could moderate our differences. Other venues were considered but we believed that unionists would be comfortable within the Stormont setting. And we opted for that. 

However, did anyone seriously think that generations and centuries of colonisation and prejudice could be overturned quickly? That the deep rooted antipathy to all things progressive or rights based, never mind nationalist or republican, would disappear overnight or even in the short term?  Only the most naive or stupid among us would have thought the British State would acknowledge its wrong doing and embrace equality and democracy?  No dear readers.  It was always going to be a battle a day- a process that demanded and demands perseverance, doggedness, generosity, resolve and strategic focus. Especially strategic focus.

Cearta Anios. 

In May 2022, 20,000 activists took to the streets of Béal Feirste to demand Irish language rights. This An Dream Dearg mass mobilisation of both young and old was highly symbolic, positive, cheerful and confident. Four days after this protest, the British government took the first step to introduce Irish-language legislation, paving the way for historic social change in the Northern state. This legislation provided for the repeal of the centuries old  penal-law ban on the use of I

Last Saturday millions across the world, including here in Belfast, participated in one of the biggest ever solidarity events as part of a Global Day of Action in support of the Palestinian people. At the same time dozens of boats, and hundreds of human rights activists, are taking part in the largest civilian freedom flotilla. Among them are three senior Sinn Féin representatives; Lynn Boylan MEP, Seanadoir Chris Andrews and Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh TD. They are all on their way to the Gaza Strip in a courageous effort to break Israel’s illegal blockade. Their aim is to deliver much needed food and medicine to the people of that besieged territory.

Next month will mark two years since the commencement of the Israeli genocide assault against the Palestinian people, following the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023. The statistics of death and destruction are horrendous. To date almost 65,000 Palestinians have been confirmed as killed with many thousands more buried under the rubble of Gaza.  Almost 20,000 children have been murdered and tens of thousands have suffered serious injuries, many of them life changing.

UNICEF has described the situation in Gaza City as catastrophic with starvation now an integral part of Israel’s genocidal war against civilians. Eight Palestinian children die every day from starvation. The Israeli forces kill 28 children every day. Over 350 children are daily being admitted to the limited U.N. facilities still operating within the Gaza Strip, suffering from acute malnutrition. Many will not survive and those who do will suffer from health problems for the rest of their lives because of this experience.

The Voice of Hind Rajab

Movies can uplift and depress, frighten and inspire, and occasionally make us laugh. The Irish experience, through films like Hunger, which tells the story of Bobby Sands; In the Name of the Father which recounts the miscarriage of Justice experienced by the Guildford Four; of Michael Collins; Bloody Sunday and others is evidence of this. These movies focussed on important political or historical events while successfully and emotionally impacting on audiences.

Last week ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ received the longest ever standing ovation at the Venice film festival and won the Silver Lion prize. It is a drama based on true events – the killing by Israel of a five-year-old Palestinian child, Hind Rajab, in Gaza in January 2024.

Hind was in a car with her Aunt and Uncle and four cousins trying to flee Israeli forces. Their car was struck by a shell and the adults and three children were killed. An Israeli tank fired consistently into the trapped vehicle. The fourth cousin was later killed. Hind was alone, surrounded by the bodies of her relatives. She spent hours on a mobile phone with the Palestine Red Crescent Society. She was terrified. She pleaded for help. “Come take me. You will come and take me? … I’m so scared, please come. Please call someone to come and take me.” Desperately the Red Crescent sought clearance from the Israeli Army to send an ambulance. They never got it.

Van The Man

A very happy 80th birthday to Van Morrison. This column is a big fan of Van the Mans music. It is great that he is still so creative. His   latest offering Remembering Now is a gem. It is reflective and musically very very positive and uplifting. Not bad for a man who started in the sixties . Still going strong. 

Chieftan's Walk - Martin McGuinness Peace Foundation

14th September, 1pm Derry City: https://register.enthuse.com/ps/event/ChieftainsWalk20251

CEARTA Dublin Rally: 20th September, Parnell Square 1:30pm: National Irish Language & Gaeltacht March. 

Say No To Farage. 

Probably more than any other politician in Britain Nigel Farage was responsible for winning the vote on Brexit in 2016. He exploited racism and anti-migrant sentiment winning new converts over to an English centred- jingoistic view of the world. The dangers of Farage’s xenophobic beliefs are evident daily across the British news media. Every day attacks increase on refugees and migrants.

Farage has also exploited the divisions within the British Conservative Party. Theresa May and Boris Johnson said they were for completely cutting Britain from all its legal and legislative connections and treaty obligations with Europe. One of these is the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The ECHR was incorporated into the law of the North as an integral part of the Good Friday Agreement. It was written into the Agreement as a way of protecting equality and human rights and preventing any return to the discriminatory and sectarian policies implemented under the Stormont Regime.

Farage has now made the withdrawal of Britain from the ECHR a major plank of his political programme for the next British general election. As the right in Britain become ever more strident Farage has set his sights, very publicly, on renegotiating the Good Friday Agreement and clearing the way to extricate Britain from the ECHR. 

Padraic Fiacc – A Belfast Poet

Padraic Fiacc (born Patrick Joseph O’Connor) died six years ago at the age of 94. Several weeks ago a Blue Plaque was unveiled on the wall of the Falls Road Library, close to his birthplace, in memory of this redoubtable Belfast poet.

His writing is not as well-known as other poets but his poems stand out for their stark language and brutal rawness, especially when he writes about the conflict. 

Michael and Brid McKernon, brother and sister, have been campaigning for almost twenty-five years to have Padraic Fiacc, formally recognised and accepted as an outstanding poet of his time. They believe the recent unveiling of the Ulster History Circle Blue Plaque, is a significant step in that direction. 

Chieftain's Walk, Doire 14th of September. 

The eight months of the 1981 hunger strike campaign changed the political landscape in Ireland. It was as Síle Darragh, former O.C. of the republican women prisoners in Armagh Women’s Prison, said recently, “our 1916.” It began on 1st March 1981. When it ended on 3rd October ten hungerstrikers were dead. Bobby Sands had been the first to die on May 5th. He was followed over the following four summer months up to August by Francis Hughes, Raymond McCreesh, Patsy O Hara, Joe McDonnell, Martin Hurson, Kevin Lynch, Kieran Doherty, Thomas McElwee, and Micky Devine.

On Sunday last people came in their thousands, from all parts of the island of Ireland, and from overseas, to participate in the annual August march and to honour and commemorate the ten who died forty-four years ago in the H blocks and others who starved to death decades before this including Frank Stagg and Michael Gaughan who died in the 1970s in prison in England. 

The stories of the ten hunger strikers and of their comrades in the H-Blocks and Armagh Women’s Prison, who spent five years on the protest for political status, are many. The brutal physical and mental abuse the women and men endured in defence of the struggle for freedom and in rejection of the label ‘criminal,’ has been articulated in a series of books, poems and articles. These include Ten Men Dead by David Beresford; Seachtain an an Bhlaincéad by Ruairí Ó Dónaill; The Crunch has come by Eoghan MacCormaic, written while he was in the H-Blocks and using the pen name Frankie O ‘Brien; Nor Meekly Serve my Time by some of the POWs; John Lennon is Dead by Síle Darragh; Time Shadows by Laurence McKeown; 6000 Days by Jim (Jaz) McCann: ; Pluid: Scéal na mBlocanna H, 1976-81 by Eoghan MacCormaic; Playing My Part by Gerry Kelly; and the many poems and articles written by Bobby Sands. And there are others including by this writer.

Speaking at the Republican Plot in Milltown Cemetery where Bobby Sands, Joe McDonnell and Ciaran Doherty are buried, Uachtarán Mary Lou McDonald caught the legacy and memory of that time when she described the hungerstrikers as: “Ten brave Irish men who laid down their lives on hunger strike for the freedom of their country. Starved and persecuted they lay in the H-Blocks and with every sinew of their being, they refused to be criminalised, refused to be broken, refused to be defeated.” 

She said: “For them, we will do the work, we will walk the extra yards, we will write our nation’s next chapter – Ireland, united and free… Joined by heroic women in Armagh Gaol, they hungered not only for political status, but for the Ireland envisaged by the proclamation – for the Republic… The legacy of the hunger strikers calls to us today.  To stay true to vision and the dream for which they gave everything. To never despair. Never lose hope. Never give up.”

Perhaps one of the most emotional moments of the day was as the huge march made its way along the Falls Road toward Milltown. A huge banner of Bik McFarlane was unfurled as the march rounded the bend on the Falls Road, just above Beechmount. The blanket men and women who were leading the commemoration stopped and for a minute lifted their clenched fists in silent salute to the friend and comrade who had led them through that terrible year.

In his contribution to Guthanna ’81, published last Saturday, Bik, who died earlier this year, wrote about that experience. His account provides an insight, into t

Wednesday 20th August marks the anniversary of the death on hunger strike in 1981 of Mickey Devine. Mickey was the last of the ten men to die and several weeks later the hunger strike end on 3 October. It was also the day the by-election was held in Fermanagh South Tyrone caused by the death in May of Bobby Sands. Owen Carron successfully held the seat as the ‘Anti-H-Block/Proxy Political Prisoner’ candidate.

This Sunday the annual National Hunger Strike March and Rally will take place in Belfast. Republicans and others remember with pride and sorrow those who died on hunger strike in 1981, as well as Michael Gaughan 1974 and Frank Stagg 1976, and others of earlier generations. The men of the H-Blocks and the women of Armagh Women’s Prison hold a special place in republican hearts and minds. We also remember all of those who died during that summer of 1981.

An Clogán

Among the many excellent events at this year’s Féile an Phobail was the launch of a new journal called An Clogán (The Little Bell). It is an independent, politically unaligned magazine that takes its name, and I suspect its design as an A5 booklet, from The Bell. This was a left oriented magazine edited and published in the 1940’s and 50’s by Peadar O’Donnell, Roisin Walsh and Sean Ó Faoláin.

An Clogán, which is edited by Oisín Gilmore and Oisín Vince Coulter is an ambitious magazine containing 27 contributions from a wide range of writers, including Claire Mitchell, Robbie McVeigh, Phillip Pettit, Martina Anderson, Margaret Ward, and an interview with me.

Comhghairdeas Féile!!

Well done to all of those who planned, organised, participated in, or generally contributed to this years hugely successful Féile an Phobail. It was a colourful, imaginative, informative, entertaining, empowering and exhausting couple of weeks. This year’s published programme was a weighty volume providing information on over 600 events across the City. It was a mix of  80 debates and discussions, sporting and music events, art exhibitions, as well as the carnival parade and family fun days for children and much more. The concerts in the Park were packed to capacity each night and revellers thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Gael Stair – Na h’Abair é, dean é.

During Féile I had the honour and pleasure to open an exhibition in Conway Mill on the role of the Irish language and Irish language activists in the social and political history of Belfast. At the heart of the exhibition is the archive preserved by Brighid Mhic Sheáin - one of the founders of the Shaws Road Gaeltacht in west Belfast. Over five decades she diligently collected the Gael Stair archive which reveals how connected the Irish language was with the struggle for social rights, self-determination, and for a better future free from poverty and unemployment.

🏚"Gaeltacht Gan Tithe  🔜  Gaeltacht Gan Todhchaí"🏚

Bígí linn, Satharn 20 Meán Fómhair ag Mórshiúl Náisiúnta na nGael - CEARTA - i mBaile Átha Cliath. 

⭕"Seas le pobal na Gaeltachta" 🏡

Remembering Internment

As we celebrate Féile an Phobail we should remember the events of August 1971 which gave rise to some of the conditions that helped shape Féile in 1988.In the early hours of Monday 9th August 1971 thousands of British soldiers swamped nationalist areas across the North and smashed their way into the homes of hundreds of nationalist and republican families. 342 men, the old and the young, were dragged from their beds and taken to interrogation and holding centres were most were beaten. Fourteen of their number were singled out for torture – the hooded men.

Off on Sunday morning to Croke Park. Dark skies. Lots of grey clouds. Our journey was delayed by Féile An Phobail’s 5km and 10km run. Diverted and distracted we eventually got out of West Belfast and on the road to Dublin. Enroute the dark skies lightened. The grey clouds gave way to blue heavens and gentle sunshine. We were off to watch Antrim’s Lady Footballers in our own All Ireland against Louth. As we crossed the Border KneeCap kept our spirits high. Their ceol blasted out and the car rocked as we hip hopped to the Capital. A morning after the night before follow-on from Saturday evening’s Falls Park Country frolicks.

The match in Croker started off positively with Antrim taking an early lead but Louth soon asserted themselves and Antrim was chasing the game from then until the last ten minutes. Some of the players may have been overwhelmed by the big occasion.  If so who could blame them? To play in Croke is mighty and Antrim supporters were out in strength. Everyone, including us, as proud as could be.  Family members, club mates. The number of Northern Gaels was swelled by Tyrone supporters who later went on to win their championship against Laois. Dublin went on to best Meath in the Seniors. A great day of Gaelic football.

Gaza – An Gorta Mór – The Starvation

The scenes of desperation as starving people in Gaza try to get basins or pots filled with soup, are shocking images. It is a famine we are told. Last week the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a United Nations panel which had long warned of the threat of famine, concluded that it was now a reality.

The use of the word ‘famine’ and the images of starving children are a reminder for many in Ireland of what life must have been like during An Gorta Mór in the 1840s. But it is important to note that in a famine there is no food. In Ireland there was plenty of food. During those years the quaysides of ports along our coast were lined each day with abundant produce - all bound for export. It was a starvation.

The hunger in Gaza is an Israeli made starvation. Aid agencies and the UN have more than enough food and medical aid ready to enter Gaza. Israel prevents this. It is not a famine – it is a starvation

Orangism in the New Ireland

The northern statelet was built for unionism. It was constructed and then managed in a way to ensure that nationalists would never have a say in running the place.

We are less than three years off the 30th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. Most citizens, and many within the broad unionist section of our people, have grown accustomed to the stability and peace it has brought but there are others who still hanker after the old days of supremacy. The DUP shares the office of the First Minister with Sinn Féin but their strategy is focused on the next Assembly election in two years’ time and their aim is to remove Michelle O’Neill as First Minister. That is why there is a battle a day over Irish language rights. That is why there has been no start on building the new Casement. That is why there is negative nonsense over bi-lingual signage in public places.

It was Charles Stewart Parnell who said: “No man has the right to say to his country. Thus far shalt thou go and no further.” This was in the 19th century. He also declared; “Let no one set a boundary to the march of a nation.”

Parnell was clearly setting out the right of the people of Ireland to self-determination. Interestingly he chose Cork to make this declaration.  That was the 21st January 1885. One of the current Cork TDs and the current Taoiseach Micheál Martin has a contrary view. Our right to self-determination is contained in the Good Friday Agreement so that right has been won. We now need to exercise it. There is an irony that An Taoiseach has set his face against this and that he refuses to plan for the certain day when the Good Friday Agreement referendums will be held.

Planning for the Future

It was Charles Stewart Parnell who said: “No man has the right to say to his country. Thus far shalt thou go and no further.” This was in the 19th century. He also declared; “Let no one set a boundary to the march of a nation.”

Parnell was clearly setting out the right of the people of Ireland to self-determination. Interestingly he chose Cork to make this declaration.  That was the 21st January 1885. One of the current Cork TDs and the current Taoiseach Micheál Martin has a contrary view. Our right to self-determination is contained in the Good Friday Agreement so that right has been won. We now need to exercise it. There is an irony that An Taoiseach has set his face against this and that he refuses to plan for the certain day when the Good Friday Agreement referendums will be held.

Our Martin

Last week, in the Guildhall in Derry, several hundred friends, comrades and family of Martin McGuinness came together for the launch of Jim McVeigh’s authoritative and compelling new book on Martin. Jim is a gifted writer.

‘Our Martin’ is a very personal, insightful account of Martin’s life in Derry and his love for his wife Bernie, and she for him, and for their children, Fionnuala, Emmet, Fiachra and Grainne.

Martin said: “What politicised me was the civil rights protest. It wasn’t anything I heard in the house, or even in my grandmother’s house in Donegal. There was no republicanism whatsoever in my background.”

‘Our Martin’ by James McVeigh will be launched in Belfast at 1pm on 2 August in St. Mary’s University College Belfast, as part of Féile an Phobail. It is available from An Fhuiseog, 55 Falls Road and from www.beyondthepalebooks.com

Next Monday one of the most historic and transformative events in the Irish Peace Process took place. Twenty years ago on the 28 July 2005 the IRA issued a statement which ended its decades long armed struggle. In its statement the IRA said: "The leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann has formally ordered an end to the armed campaign. This will take effect from 4pm this afternoon.  All IRA units have been ordered to dump arms. All Volunteers have been instructed to assist the development of purely political and democratic programmes through exclusively peaceful means. Volunteers must not engage in any other activities whatsoever.”

The IRA leadership also said that it had authorised its representative to engage with the IICD (Independent International Commission on Decommissioning) to “complete the process to verifiably put its arms beyond use in a way which will further enhance public confidence.” This was confirmed two months later on the 26 September by the Commission.

The IRA initiative opened up opportunities for progress.

Peace processes are by their very nature challenging and difficult. They frequently fail. Many of the wars of the 1960s and 70’s were a response to the colonial occupation and exploitation of native peoples by colonial powers.  Africa saw many examples of these. Some conflicts went on into the 1980s and 90s. Algeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia), Angola, Mozambique, and others, including in Asia the Vietnam War and in the Middle East the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. The South African peace process brought an end to apartheid and witnessed the election of Nelson Mandela as President of that country in 1994. In our own place our peace process brought an end to decades of conflict and heralded processes of change.

Today, in a world still bedevilled by wars, the Irish Peace Process is frequently held up internationally as an example of a peace process that is working.  The governments occasionally try to root it in the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985. But the truth is that it started in the 1970s when Republicans began to claim back the word ‘Peace.’

A Welcome Electoral Change

The decision, announced last week by the British government, that it will be lowering the voting age to those aged 16 and 17, is a welcome move. There is already widespread support for a reduction in the voting age. Last September the Assembly backed a Sinn Féin motion calling for this change. In the South the policy has received widespread cross-party support from Sinn Féin, Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, The Green Party, The Labour Party, Social Democrats, People Before Profit, and many Independents.

The London government is focussed on the 2029 Westminster election but the North will have local government and Assembly elections in 2027. The focus now must be on ensuring that the necessary legislative steps are taken to ensure that 16 and 17 year olds can vote in those elections.

Updating the electoral register and ensuring that this new tranche of young voters have suitable identification, will be a big job of work but with political will it can be done. It would also send entirely the wrong message to future voters if the 2027 deadline is missed.

Legislating for young people to have the right to vote is the right thing to do. All parties in the North, with the exception of the DUP, support changing the voting rules. Young people should have the right to vote on decisions that impact on their lives, including voting for a united Ireland.

Gaels le Cheile In Conversation with Peter Canavan

Monday 28th July, 7:30pm - Naomh Eoin CLG Corrigan Park

There is widespread anger at the decision by the Irish government to convert the historic GPO in Dublin into shops and offices. Last Saturday hundreds gathered in O’Connell St. to protest at the government’s plans for the GPO and for the Moore St. Battlefield site. Their demand is for the protection of the cultural and revolutionary heritage of this part of Dublin.

Every nation that fought for its freedom from colonial rule - often from the British - has hallowed ground, the place where patriots made a stand against injustice and occupation. For the people of Ireland, the GPO is one such place.  It is the place where the revolutionary generation of the early 1900s declared for a Republic and where the Pearse read the Proclamation of that republic.

Best International Documentary

I spent the weekend in Galway and Mayo. The weather was amazing. The countryside with its miles of stone walls separating plots of land and the lush colours of green and rocky inclines was a joy to travel through.

I was in Galway on Saturday to attend the Galway Film Festival/Fleadh where Trisha Ziff’s film – A Ballymurphy Man - was receiving its world premiere. The cinema in the old Town Hall where the Festival is centred was packed to capacity for the screening. The audience was hugely attentive and very welcoming when Trisha and I went on the stage at the end of the screening to talk about the making of the documentary.

A Week in the Life and Death of GAZA

I first met Mustafa Barghouti in the west Bank in 2014. The General Secretary of the Palestine National Initiative is a physician, an activist, and is head of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society. He is also a member of the PLO and of the Palestinian Legislative Council. He advocates the use of non-violence and civil disobedience.

In a few weeks’ time, I hope to have the opportunity to interview Mustafa for a special podcast on the situation in Gaza and the West Bank.

Each day Mustafa sends out a WhatsApp update on news from the region. The following is an edited daily diary for the week beginning Sunday 6 July to Sunday 13 July.

In recent years there have been encouraging signs of growing support for Irish unity in successive electoral results, demographic changes, contributions from civic society, in opinion polling and in public commentary. Unsurprisingly, any debate on unity quickly focuses on practical issues like the economic viability of a united Ireland as well as on the future of a health and care system, governance structures, education, the environment and other matters.

Sinn Féin’s Commission on the Future of Ireland recently held a successful conference examining the issue of health in a new Ireland and the party produced a widely welcomed health and care document looking to a future all-island model. It is available at  https://sinnfein.ie/the-case-for-an-irish-national-health-and-care-service/

And now we have the report by Professor John Doyle of Dublin City University – ‘The Projected Public Finances of the Early Years of a United Ireland, and the Northern Ireland Subvention.’ The report is the product of joint research by Dublin City University and Ulster University’s Economic Policy Centre. It succeeds in cutting through much of the jargon associated with economics to present a cogent explanation of the economic benefits of a united Ireland.

The Future of the GPO

Micheál Martin’s ten-year plan for the GPO site in Dublin is shameful. His effort to sell the plan as a flagship project for Dublin City Centre, that will protect the historic and cultural significance of the GPO, was described by the Irish Times as “vague and ill-defined.” Mary Lou McDonald and others have been much more vocal and direct in their condemnation of the government’s plans. Martin’s proposal, for example, that the upper floors of the GPO will be turned into office space, makes no sense when much of the available office space in central Dublin is currently unused and vacant.

The reality is that the GPO holds a special place in the nation’s soul. It may have been a Post Office for all of its two hundred years but it is more than just another of those Dublin buildings that reflect the capitals colonial past. It is acknowledged by generations of Irish people as the birthplace of the Republic, as envisaged in the Proclamation. For over one hundred years it has symbolised the hopes, aspirations and vision of that historic document and of the courage of the men and women who risked everything in April 1916.

World Premier in Galway of ‘A Ballymurphy Man’

This weekend I will be in Galway for the 37th annual international Galway Film Fleadh/Festival. The Fleadh runs for a week every July.  This year it’s between 8 July and 13 July. It was established in 1989 as a place for Irish filmmakers to exhibit their work to their peers.  

This year it will host World, International and Irish Premieres in the Town Hall Theatre and Pálás Cinema.It will feature 31 World Premieres, 11 International/European Premieres and 46 Irish Premieres from 44 countries, featuring 96 feature films in total

Join the campaign to “Save the GPO”. Sign the petition which calls for the development of a 1916 Cultural Quarter in the area around the GPO, O’Connell Street and Moore Street and the implementation of the Moore Street Preservation Trust plan. 

We must fight to save the GPO together.

Sign the petition here:

The Israeli forces as part of their on going genocide, in the last 24hrs have killed 142 Palestinian civilians, and injured 487. 

Internment

A British Supreme Court judgement in 2020 ruled that almost 400 internees were unlawfully detained under British law in the 1970s.  These internees are now elderly and some are quite poorly.  They were victim of appalling treatment at the hands of the British state forces and were held in shameful conditions.

‘British Prime Minister Keir Starmer made his views clear earlier this year when he told the British Parliament that he would block compensation.

Internment was an abuse of power and a denial of human rights by the British state.  This was compounded for these 400 because the British government breached even its own law.

The original injustice endured by the internees will be deepened by the stupidity of a vindictive British government which doesn’t accept its own law.  Another example of the British waiving the rules when it suits their political agenda 

Defend the GPO

The Dublin GPO and the streets and laneways around it are forever linked with the Easter Rising of 1916. This is a Battlefield site of major historic and international significance which successive Irish governments have failed to develop properly. Successive promises of investment and planning in Moore St have come to nothing. Succesive governments have reduced the National Monument to four houses leaving the rest of the historic area to be destroyed by a London based developer.

In keeping with this shameful approach the Irish government last week published a 10-year plan which will see the General Post Office (GPO) become a mixed-use development. The spin from Government is that the GPO will become a flagship project, including retail and office components with a Designated Activity Company being established. 

Uachtarán Shinn Féin Mary Lou McDonald TD described it well when she said the government’s proposal as “another shameful betrayal of Ireland’s proud revolutionary history.” 

In any other city in the world we would see visionary, ambitious plans to develop the site, preserving our history with a national museum, arts and culture, education, tourism and homes to make it a living, breathing area.

So, join the battle to Save the GPO and Moore St. Sign up to the petition and support the campaign of the Moore St. Preservation Trust for a modern historical quarter – shaped around the GPO, Moore Street Battlefield site and O’Connell Street. The link is: https://outreach.sinnfein.ie/save-the-gpo/ 

Kneecap Abú

Well done to Kneecap and those other performers at Glastonbury who stood up to the British political and media establishment and courageously spoke out against the Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip and the west Bank. Well done also to the tens of thousands who applauded and cheered as Mo chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí, demanded ceasefires, an end to the mass murder of Palestinian people and stood up to the censorship of the British Broadcasting Corporation. 

Féile an Phobail – A festival extravaganza

This week I was given a copy of the minutes of a meeting held on the 22nd June 1902 in the Catholic Boys Hall on the Falls Road to establish a league for junior hurlers. The venue was the Catholic Boys Hall. So far I have three locations for this hall. One is off Dunlewey Street not far from

Should we have been surprised by the decision of the US President Donald Trump to attack Iran? No. Shocked maybe but not surprised. The weapons of mass destruction spin, that was used to justify the invasion of Iraq two decades ago, was already in wide usage by some western governments and sections of the media before B 2’s dropped so-called ‘bunker buster’ bombs on Iran. And we all remember what a disaster the Iraq war was for the people of that nation and for world politics. An estimated million Iraqi citizens died.

The attack on Iran was an act of aggression against a state that had not attacked the USA. It was in clear breach of international law and it almost certainly broke US domestic and constitutional law. Moreover, two nuclear powers – Israel and the USA – have attacked a nation that does not have nuclear weapons. And applauding in the wings are Britain, France and Germany and others who are colluding in the genocide of the Palestinian people.

Mol an Óige

The boys and girls of Rang A Seacht graduated from Bunscoil an tSléibhe Dhuibh last Friday. I was there in my capacity as a Daideo to one of the scholars. Our oldest lad’s oldest lad. It was a wonderful event. The Assembly Hall was filled with parents and grandparents, brothers and sisters, teachers and classroom assistants. Pilib said a few words as a céad míle fáilte.

He reminded us all that we are Gaels. Part of Gaelic society in Belfast. Part of the Irish language community here and across Ireland. Living our lives through Irish. Bringing our language with us wherever we go.

Family Album

When Frankie Quinn was sixteen his father gave him a  camera and sent him along to the newly formed Camera Club in the McAirt Community Centre. The club was focussed on recording life locally in the Short Strand/Ballymacarrett district which was being redeveloped.

It was 1982. Large parts of the area had already been demolished when Frankie set to work. All of us who are interested in our local history have benefitted from this initiative by his father and from Frankie’s work. Over the decades he has produced photographic treasures for us to contemplate and remember how things once were particularly in working class Belfast communities two generations ago.

Frankie has won many awards and produced fine exhibitions of his work along with a number of publications. Family Album is the latest of these. It is about his home place. The tiny nationalist district of Short Strand and Ballymacarrett in East Belfas

In 1972 Catholic families – who had endured three years of sustained sectarian attacks on their homes – fled Annalee St in North Belfast. Last month - fifty-three years later - Catholic homes in Annalee St. were again the target of sectarian attack and families were forced to flee. In the last fortnight we have also witnessed the firebombing of homes in Ballymena, the Larne Leisure Centre and racist attacks in other parts of the North.

The images of homes in flames in Ballymena reminded me of similar scenes I first witnessed in Belfast in August 1969. The film footage of that period is of streets ablaze, frightened families hurriedly stacking furniture on lorries or carrying their most precious possessions on their backs. Then it was the racism and sectarianism of the apartheid unionist state attacking nationalist and republican families, killing residents, destroying hundreds of homes and forcing thousands to become refugees in our own city.

Regrettably, the same sectarian and racist fundamentalism that motivated those attacks still exists today among some in our society who campaign against housing for Catholics, hang effigies of political leaders on bonfires and use violent rhetoric to promote hate crime against immigrants and those they define as ‘others’. That is those who are of a different religion or colour, or sexual orientation. 

Defending Neutrality

The Israeli rogue state has set the world on a dangerous course. Its deadly assault on Iran, allied to its violent actions in Lebanon and Syria and its genocidal war on the Palestinian people, has cast a huge shadow over the Middle East. As its military forces continue to kill scores of Palestinians daily in Gaza and its war planes attack Iran the Israeli military imposed a complete siege on the west Bank. Over a thousand military checkpoints which provide Israel with absolute control over the occupied west Bank, were completely closed imposing a siege on the Palestinian towns, villages and isolated farms of that region.

As the world focusses on the exchanges between Israel and Iran the Zionists’ genocidal and ethnic cleansing strategy against the Palestinian people is escalating. Those western states that have refused to challenge Israel’s murder of tens of thousands of Palestinians or stand-by international law, are now defending Israel’s attack on Iran using the same unacceptable excuse that Israel has the right to defend itself.

Pat Finucane - End the Delay

It has been ten months since the British Secretary of State Hilary Benn first announced that he was setting up an independent inquiry into the killing of Pat Finucane under the 2005 Inquiries Act. Last week he appointed Sir Gary Hickinbottom as the Chair of the Inquiry. Hickinbottom has been given responsibility for investigating one of the most high profile examples of state collusion between loyalist death squads and British state agents and agencies during the decades of conflict.

As well as Hickinbottom, former Police Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan and international human rights lawyer Francesca Del Mese have been appointed as assessors to the inquiry. Their role is to advise the Chair but they will not be involved in any final report.

It has been a long difficult road for Geraldine Finucane and her family to secure this Inquiry. Twenty-four years ago the British and Irish governments agreed at Weston Park to establish public inquiries into a number of troubles-related cases. Canadian Judge Peter Cory recommended inquiries into the deaths of: Rosemary Nelson, Robert Hamill, Billy Wright, and Patrick Finucane and also into the deaths of RUC officers Bob Buchanan and Harry Breen.

Regular readers of this column will know that I wholeheartedly support the efforts of the Moore St. Preservation Trust to preserve the 1916 Moore St. Battlefield site in Dublin that is under threat from the developers wrecking ball. This week the Trust - a not for profit organisation led by Relatives of the Signatories of the 1916 Proclamation – will launch a new limited edition signed print of Elizabeth O’Farrell by the renowned Irish artist Jim Fitzpatrick. One hundred prints will be available from Thursday evening at €150 as part of the fundraising efforts of the Trust to raise much needed funds in support of its alternative plan for a cultural and historical quarter in the Moore Street battlefield site. 

Health and Care in a New Ireland

Last month the European Movement in Ireland –Amárach Research – reported that a majority of people in both parts of the island were in favour of a united Ireland within the EU. The figures were 67% in favour in the North and 62% in favour in the South.

Last week the Life and Times Survey, which is conducted by Queens University, reported that the gap between those who support the union with Britain and those who favour Irish Unity, has halved in the last year. In 2021 the gap was 23 points. In 2023 that had halved to 12 points. This year it has halved again to 5 points.

An Act of International Piracy

In an act of international piracy Israeli forces hijacked the humanitarian aid vessel the Madleen in international waters as it was making its way to the Gaza Strip with much needed humanitarian aid for the beleaguered community. The Madleen is part of the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition and it had a crew of 12 including environmental activist activist Greta Thunberg and Rima Hassan MEP. The Israel action is part of its strategy to control the public narrative around events in the Palestinian occupied territories, particularly Gaza, where millions face starvation.

In the Gaza Strip and the west Bank the daily slaughter of innocents by the Israeli regime’s murder squads continues unimpeded. So too does the deliberate targeting of the health service which has been all but obliterated by Israel’s genocidal military campaign. The objective is clearly to remove sll Palestinians from Gaza. 

As I get older I seem to be farting more than I used to. Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t keep a record of my farts. That would be impossible but I do have a notion that my flatuence is more intense since I turned seventy, or at least I’m getting more complaints than I used to. Richard is particularly offensive and loud in his protestations at my alleged emmissions. Especially in the car. He is theatrical. And dramatic. And loud. Not  satisfied with lowering the windows he makes choking noises. And exaggeratted smothering sounds

I find this very upsetting.  I’m also at a huge disadvantage. I  have no sense of smell.  As you,  dear reader, will know farts come in different forms.  The ones which trip me up are the silent ones. They sneak out anonymously in carpetslippers. Apparently they are also very very pungent. 

Or so Richard says. Colette is the same. Without a  sense of smell I have only their word for it. 

This column makes no apologies for writing so much about the genocide in Palestine and the urgent need for ceasefires and a peace process.  At least 14,000 babies face imminent death from starvation. Over 60,000 Palestinian children, women, men have been killed, including more than 4,000 since Israel ended its ceasefire in March. One especially harrowing example of Israel’s murder machine at work was the deliberate targeting last Friday of the family home of Hamdi and Walaa al-Najjar, two doctors who work at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. As Hamdi was at work nine of her ten children were killed. Her husband and a 10th child was left critically ill.

Mothers Against Genocide have stood up against this savagery and for the rights of the Palestinian people. Sue Pentel and Martine McCullough are active in this campaign. Sue has been a political activist all her life. My earliest memory of her is as a member of Women against Imperialism over 40 years ago. Sue is a Gaeilgeoir who has worked for decades promoting the education of our young people through the medium of Irish. She is also a committed advocate for the rights of the people of Palestine and last weekend she and her friend Martine were arrested by the PSNI and charged with ‘criminal damage’ to an ATM at Barclays Bank in Castle Place in Belfast City Centre. The so-called criminal damage was the placing of a sticker on the machine as a reminder of Barclays role in selling Israeli war bonds.

‘If I Must Die’

There will be a public event this Saturday – 31 May - about the ongoing genocide. The venue is St Comgalls/Ionad Eileen Howell and it starts at 7.30pm. Chairing the meeting, which is sponsored by the Bobby Sands Trust, will be Dr Brendan Ciaran Browne, Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution. The main speaker will be Yousef M. Aljamal 

On the International Wall in Belfast there is a poem by Refaat Alareer, ‘If I Must Die’ which he wrote for his daughter, Shaymaa, who would grow up to be an accomplished illustrator. It is very poignant because the Israelis went on to kill Refaat, along with his sister, brother and four of nephews and nieces, eighteen months ago. 

Give the vote to 16-year-old citizens. 

The debate on reducing the voting age to 16 is gathering momentum. Twice in the last decade the Assembly – minus the DUP - has endorsed the call for the vote to be reduced in the North from 18 to 16. Several years ago Sinn Féin introduced a Bill in the Oireachtas to allow for this in southern elections and last week An Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that he had an “open mind” on such a proposition and would give it “serious consideration.”

The Commission on the Future of Ireland are hosting 'Health & Care in a New Ireland' on the 6th of June, 1pm at St Comgalls, Belfast.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/health-care-in-a-new-ireland-tickets-1354804690299 

If you live in the San Francisco area go along to the Vogue Theatre on 1st June to see a sneak preview of Trisha Ziff’s film – A Ballymurphy Man.

It’s me telling my story, talking about the influences in my life and of our efforts to build the peace process. 

Trisha is still working on the final cut and The World Premier of her documentary film will take place in the Galway Film Festival on 12 July. 

But this is an opportunity for people in San Francisco to see the current work in progress.

Tickets are available through the San Francisco Documentary Film Festival at sfdocfest2025.eventive.org/schedule or you can pay in person.

The film begins at 7.30 pm and Trisha Ziff, the Director will be there for a Question and Answer.

Verbal Disorder

When I was younger I used to have a stammer. I don’t know what age I was. Somewhere between seven and ten perhaps. A youngster! I grew out of my speech impediment, and I have very little recollection of my stammering phase but I was reminded of it when I was on the phone to a friend in Ard Oifig in Dublin last week.

The Floodgates of Horror

Uachtarán na hÉireann, Michael D Higgins does not mince his words when it comes to Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people. Last weekend he addressed the annual commemoration of Ireland’s An Gorta Mór – The Great Hunger - of the 1840s. The commemoration is a reminder of our colonial experience and of a potato plight which became a genocide because of the policies of the British government. Over a million died and millions more fled. 

The Catastrophe – Nakba

Last week Palestinians across the world commemorated the Nakba – The Catastrophe. In 1948 almost a million Palestinians fled as refugees from their homes as the Israeli state was forcibly carved out of Palestine. 

In a historic vote in the Assembly last week its members overwhelmingly passed by 46 votes to 25 - a motion calling on the Irish government to implement the recommendation of the 2013 Constitutional Convention on the Constitution to extend “the right to vote in elections for President of Ireland to all Irish citizens on the island of Ireland.” The reality of course is that successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments have deliberately refused to implement this recommendation despite having 12 years to do so. 

DONNACHA RYNNE

Donnacha died last week. I had planned to visit him in July. Unfortunately, that will not be. Donnacha loved West Belfast. And West Clare. He loved life. He lived in the nowness. Donnacha remains an inspiration. 

I spent the last week in Dublin in the Four Courts as part of the outworking of my case against the BBC’s Spotlight programme nine years ago. But more of that when it’s over which could take another fortnight.

On the morning that the case started our Gearóid phoned me to say that his father-in-law Paddy ‘Swinger’ McBride was dead. The news was a great shock. I had spent a half hour or more a few days before chatting with Paddy in his home. He was just out after a spell in hospital, and although he was ill his spirit was strong and he was full of craic and talk about the current politics, his son Patrick’s Man of the Match performance for Antrim against Armagh, the need to build Casement and how a son of Tony Benn could behave the way Hillary Benn does.

Israel’s reign of terror

As this column goes to press the Israeli government is calling up tens of thousands of army reservists for a full scale military invasion, subjugation and occupation of the Gaza Strip. After almost 20 months of genocide against the Palestinian people the Israeli state is now embarking on its final solution – the displacement of two million people and the mass murder of more Palestinians.

Last Saturday was World Press Freedom Day – but not in Gaza. In the year and a half of this current reign of terror by Israel at least 211 journalists have been killed in the Gaza Strip while the international press corps is denied access to report on events in that huge concentration camp. Britain and most western and European states are silent on this. They are silent also on the deliberate use of starvation as a weapon of war against two million people, many of them children, who live in Gaza. According to UNICEF over three hundred thousand children under the age of five are suffering severe malnutrition.

Commission on the Future of Ireland

As momentum in the demand for Irish Unity grows the work of Sinn Féin’s Commission on the Future of Ireland continues to expand.

In the last two months the Commission has held a Mid Ulster Peoples Assembly in the Seamus Heaney Homeplace in Bellaghy; a Tionól Pobail Bhaile Ghib in County Meath; a climate crisis conference - One Island, One Environment – in Dublin and an EU & Irish Unity- What next?- event in the European Parliament in Brussels.

On May 4 at 3pm, a statue of Bobby Sands will be unveiled in the Republican Memorial Garden in Twinbrook, where Bobby lived. The organisers of the event, all local republican activists and all inspired by the courage and self-sacrifice of Bobby and his comrades, have worked hard over recent years to raise the funds for the statue. Former hunger striker Pat Sheehan who spent 55 days on the 1981 hunger strike will speak about Bobby and his comrades who died.

There will also be a Bobby Sands Mountain Walk that morning and the annual Bobby Sands lecture will be given that evening by Pat Sheehan in the Andersonstown Social Club.

Bobby was the first of ten republican hunger strikers to die during the H-Block hunger strike of 1981. He died on May 5. The others were: Francis Hughes; Raymond McCreesh; Patsy O’Hara; Joe McDonnell; Kieran Doherty TD; Kevin Lynch; Martin Hurson; Tom McElwee; and Mickey Devine. Nor should we forget Michael Gaughan 1974 and Frank Stagg 1976 who died on hunger strike in prisons in England.

I knew Bobby and Francie Hughes, Kieran Doherty and Joe McDonnell. I also met Tom McElwee and Mickey Devine on a visit to the prison hospital in July 1981. They were all ordinary young working class men. Joe McDonnell at 30 was the eldest. The rest were all in their 20s. In extraordinary times they revealed a depth of resolve that few are ever called upon to demonstrate.

The Refugees

A hurried worried people, a human stampede to God knows where,

Were spat out from the back streets, for God knows who to care.

Their little kitchen houses lit up the night around about

‘For God and Ulster’ was the reason that the refugees were driven out.

Oh little humble homes where the people hugged the open fire,

Oil-clothed floors and little ornamented cabinets that the neighbours would admire,

The little backyard havens where the youngsters would play

And in the hall the little font of holy water to bless you on your way!

Pope Francis

The funeral last Saturday of Pope Francis was an occasion to mourn the passing of a leader who championed progressive causes, stood up for those most marginalised and vulnerable while opening the door to reform within the Church. 

There is much more to be done to make the Church democratic. I am among those who are alienated by the deep absence of equality in the Church’s structures.  Banning women from the priesthood is totally unacceptable as is the opulence of some institutions and the unaccountability of church leaders, particularly over the treatment of children and vulnerable people.  But still there are good priests and nuns and many decent people doing their best to make amends.  

They include Pope Francis. The many stories of his deep sense of compassion for the sick and vulnerable and those who are victim of abuse and violence have filled the airwaves and social media since his death. His loss is a huge blow to the institutional Church which often seems aloof to the trials and tribulations of ordinary people while being less than open about the sins of some within its own ranks.

Kathleen Lynn – a Rebel Woman

I hope you all had an enjoyable Easter. Across the island and further afield commemorations were held at countless locations to remember those who fought in the 1916 Easter Rising and in all of the generations of the freedom struggle. The Belfast turnout was big and Pearse Doherty, who made an exceptional speech, was given a very warm welcome. I saw no mention of his remarks or those of other republican speakers on RTE, BBC or other broadcasters. So much for public service broadcasting! 

The story of Easter 1916 reverberates with many remarkable accounts of courage as a small band of Irish Republicans took on the largest Empire ever to have existed in human history. They include many women. Among these are Julia Grenan, Winifred Carney and Elizabeth O’Farrell who were in the GPO and in Moore St. when the decision to surrender was taken. Winifred Carney’s statue now stands proudly in front of Belfast City Hall. 

Finding their place in a new Ireland

In his Easter remarks at the Republican Plot in Milltown Cemetery Teachta Pearse Doherty referenced the fact that the “momentum for Irish Unity grows stronger every day…. it is fast becoming the defining political project of our generation.” Pearse also addressed the importance of preparing for unity and in doing so the imperative of engaging with the unionist section of our people. He said: “There are many issues for republicans and unionists to talk about. We need to address the genuine fears and concerns of unionists in a meaningful way.”

That means examining what they mean when they say they are British. We must be willing he said; “to explore and be open to new ideas. We need to look at ways in which the unionist people can find their place in a new Ireland.” 

A Barren Landscape of Death

The Gaza Strip is one eighth the size of County Antrim and has a population three times larger. Imagine if Belfast north of the River Lagan and including Mallusk and Newtownabbey were levelled to the ground. No schools, no hospitals, no homes – just tents – no churches, no shops, no transport system, no sewage system. A barren levelled landscape of death. Gaza City has been under strict Israeli siege for seven weeks. No bread, no water, no fuel, no medicines have been allowed to enter the area. The people – the children – are starving.  And all the time the international community with a few honourable exceptions does nothing – is complicit in this genocide.

All that Fuss

A friend of mine in County Tyrone was taking her seven year old daughter to her local Gael Scoil when the child drew her attention to the road sign for Londonderry. Someone had drawn a line through the London bit.

‘Why is that  like that Mammy?’ She asked. 

So Mammy gave a children’s explanation. 

‘But they are both wrong’ the child replied ‘It’s not Londonderry or Derry. Its Doire.’

And that dear readers is why there is all that fuss about Irish or bilingual signage. 

Wear an Easter Lilly

I did not think Easter is almost upon us. It has crept up on me. For Irish republicans Easter holds a special significance. It is synonymous with the 1916 Easter Rising and the heroism over a century ago of those who rose up against the British Empire and declared for a Republic. It is also a time when we remember all of those women and men – over countless generations – who gave their lives in pursuit of Irish sovereignty and independence.

In the course of my activism I have travelled widely. I have visited many countries. Time and again I have been struck by the determination of nations to honour the patriots and freedom fighters who gave meaning to their desire for freedom and self-determination.

Across the world there are countless memorials to those who fought in wars against colonialism. National ceremonies of remembrance are held. Buildings or lands and even prisons associated with struggles for freedom are protected and used as aids to teach young people the value of citizenship and the importance of freedom and democracy.

Across this island and beyond there are many such monuments to Irish patriots. Next Sunday tens of thousands of people in towns, villages and cities, at country crossroads and at lonely hillside graveyards across the country, will gather for commemorations. They will gather also in Britain, Australia, Canada, the USA and many other places.

Most will wear an Easter Lily. This is a symbol of our enduring commitment to the ideals of 1916 and of the Proclamation of the Republic and is a mark of respect for all those, from every generation, who paid with their lives in the cause of Irish freedom. 

Micheál Martin and Moore St.

Micheál Martin visited 14-17 Moore St. last week. Number 16 is where the leaders of the Rising held their last meeting before their execution. Numbers 14-17 are the planned location for a National Monument to those who fought in the 1916 Easter Rising and who evacuated to that street as the GPO was in flames. Martin’s visit comes 12 years after he called for the "protection and enhancement" of Moore Street. It comes 19 years after the Fianna Fáil government of Bertie Ahern designated 14-17 Moore St. as a National Monument. During that time the buildings lay derelict and have fallen into a dangerous state of disrepair

Now almost two decades later Martin takes an interest, on the cusp of Easter, in a site that his government has starved of funding. Moreover, Martin has backed the plan by the London based developer Hammerson to obliterate the Moore St. Battlefield site, including historic buildings that are part of that period.

The rumour was that he was to make a public statement about this. Representatives of the Moore Street Preservation Trust were there to respond, including the grandson of James Connolly, James Connolly Heron. 

James presented An Taoiseach with the Trusts plan for a 1916 historic and Cultural Quarter. This encompasses the preservation, restoration and management of the Moore Street Battlefield Area, as designated by the High Court in 2016 “the lands, buildings, streets and lanes within an area including Moore Street, Henry Place, O’Rahilly Parade and Moore Lane, in which the 1916 Rising Volunteers travelled after evacuating the GPO”. 

Two different Voices on Unity

Speaking of Micheál Martin, the Fianna Fáil leader was interviewed for the Belfast Telegraph last week. I was disappointed but not surprised by his assertion that he wasn’t even thinking of a ‘border poll’. When pushed about the constitutional future of Ireland in 50 years-time he couldn’t even bring himself to utter the words ‘united Ireland.’

In the 15 years he has been leader of Fianna Fáil Martin has engaged in a deliberate strategy of obfuscation when it comes to unity. His current excuse for not pursu

Protecting our environment

The blue skies and warm weather of recent days is a reminder that spring will soon give way to summer. Everywhere the trees and flowers are coming into bloom and the dark evenings are retreating as our daylight hours increase. Regrettably, this change in weather also brings with it acts of vandalism, in particular the setting of wildfires that present a real danger to hill walkers, animals, local wildlife and the natural fauna. 

Build Casement Now

The delay in building the new Casement Park is totally unacceptable. Like many Gaels of my age I grew up with Casement. I played there for our school teams and enjoyed sports days as well. I have watched umpteen games over the decades. Until 2013. That was the last time Casement Park hosted a game. On 10 June 2013. 

International Palestinian Child Day

First, let me congratulate Francesca Albanese who despite a despicable campaign by Israel and its allies to have her sacked, will continue in her role as UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories until 2028. She has been a champion for the people of Palestine as Israel’s genocide continues to kill and wound hundreds every day. 

Trade War Demands United response

The U.S. President Donald Trump has initiated the most dangerous trade war of modern times. His widespread imposition of tariffs threatens untold damage to the world’s economies. In the USA the stock market has declined sharply and senior economists are warning of a deep recession. These too will adversely impact world economies. There is no indication that President Trump intends to change direction. On the contrary he appears to be digging in. 

Campaign for Moore Street Continues.

The North began, the North held on,

The strife for native land;

When Ireland rose to smite her foes

God bless the Northern land

Thomas Davis

In the 1790s Belfast was the centre of an Irish political movement which linked Antrim and Down with the Republics of France and America, and Belfast citizens celebrated the Fall of the Bastille, drank toasts to Mirabeau and Lafayette and studied Payne’s great book, The Rights of Man. Presbyterians formed the Society of United Irishmen and declared for Catholic emancipation, for the abolition of church establishments and tithes, for resistance to rack rents and for sweeping agrarian reforms. They gave a cordial welcome to Mary Wollstonecraft’s Vindication of the Rights of Women and joined with their Catholic neigbours in the struggle for national independence and political democracy. 

Calls for Kurdish peace process welcomed

Following World War 1 the European colonial states divided the Middle East into British and French zones of interest. An initial commitment to a Kurdish state was ignored and the Kurdish people were forcibly partitioned between Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Iran. Winston Churchill, who was Colonial Secretary in 1920 and helped draw up the state boundaries of that region, cleared the use of poison gas against the Kurdish people in Iraq. The renowned writer and historian Noam Chomsky writes that Churchill favoured the use of poison gas "against recalcitrant Arabs as an experiment" and cleared their use on the basis that; "I am strongly in favour of using poisoned gas against uncivilised tribes."

Since then the region has been convulsed with conflict. Not least has been the

centuries long struggle of the Kurdish people to self-determination.

Time for Unity

The Spring budget statement from the British Chancellor last week exemplifies much that is wrong in the current union between the North and England. It was a statement that Margaret Thatcher would have approved of. It directly attacks the most vulnerable in society and promises more cuts to public services, including welfare provision. It commits Labour to the implementation of policies that will cause significant difficulties for the North. It will significantly increase poverty, particularly for children and people with disabilities. At the same time Labour intends spending more money on weapons for war. 

Free Palestine

This column salutes Mothers Against Genocide for their Protest on Mother’s Day against the genocidal war by the Zionists against the people of Palestine.  Mothers Against Genocide are an inspirational group of women who campaign assertively and imaginatively for peace and self-determination for the people of Palestine. Their overnight vigil at the gates of Leinster House was forcibly cleared by An Garda Síochána and eight protesters were arrested. 

Martin Mc Guinness. A Reflection.

Friday the 21 March was the eighth anniversary of the death of our friend and leader Martin McGuinness. Like many others, I am sure, I was perplexed as it dawned on me that eight years had passed since we lost him. In my head I thought it was five or six years ago. But as we people of a certain age should now know time waits for no one. I remember as if it was yesterday dashing to the hospital. Even though we were anticipating his death there was nonetheless a numbness, a shock to be told that Martin was gone. 

A Courageous Advocate for Palestinian

Ms. Francesca Albanese is the Special Rapporteur for the United Nations in the Palestinian territories. She is a remarkable champion for human rights and international law whose moral integrity and deep rooted humanity are an inspiration. Her leadership on Palestinian rights, her unremitting and courageous criticism of Israel’s decades long illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories, is an example for all of us who seek a just peace between the peoples of Palestine and of Israel.

Last week Ms. Albanese was in the South of Ireland addressing Universities, giving interviews, attending the massive pro-Palestinian march in Dublin on Saturday and meeting a wide range of individuals and groups. 

The only answer is Unity

There are at least 50,000 people in Belfast reliant on PIP (Personal Independence Payment). Given that levels of disadvantage and poor health indicators are higher in west Belfast it is safe to assume that many thousands of families in that part of the city are especially vulnerable to British government cuts to the PIP system.

Over the years Labour governments have shown scant regard for their socialist roots. Often they are just a pale imitation of the Tories who care even less. They especially show no empathy when it comes to the North. Year after year the British block grant fails to meet our basic public service requirements whether in the provision of health, education, housing, agriculture or the environment. The Executive scrambles to stretch a finite budget. 

If truth be told the long standing claim of neutrality by the southern Irish state is not all its made out to be. It is a fact that successive Irish governments have turned a blind eye to American war planes using Shannon as a stopping off point for attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as carrying munitions to Israel for its genocidal war against the people of Palestine.  US planes carrying political prisoners to interrogation and detention sites, where they were tortured, stopped at Shannon to refuel. A breach of international law. The government did nothing.

In recent months a significant and increasing number of articles have been published in the mainstream Dublin based media claiming that neutrality was fine in the past but is not fit for purpose in the world today. It is ‘morally degenerate’ wrote one writer. Getting rid of neutrality would make the Irish state appear more ‘grown-up’ said another. The language has become increasingly belligerent as the demand is made for a substantial increase in spending on weapons and for the Irish government to join the NATO alliance. 

Support the Occupied Territories Bill

Last week An Taoiseach Micheál Martin is reported to have told an Israeli lobby group in New York that the Occupied Territories Bill is not on the legislative calendar. He is sticking rigidly to the line that there are constitutional difficulties that require the Bill to be significantly redrafted. The end result of this prevarication is that the Occupied Territories Bill remains in limbo.

While Micheál Martin stonewalls meaningful action against Israel that state’s genocide against the Palestinian people is unrelenting. Israel has clearly breached the January ceasefire multiple times. Since 15 January Israeli forces have killed over 150 civilians in the Gaza Strip, including women and children, charity workers and journalists. For almost three weeks now Israel has imposed a blockade on desperately needed aid from entering the devastated region. It has also turned off Gaza’s electricity preventing the desalination plants from providing water for the besieged residents. 

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig

St. Patrick’s Day is an opportunity for the Irish people and diaspora to celebrate being Irish. In some parts of the world St. Patrick’s Day morphs into a week of celebrations. I hope you enjoyed your St. Patrick’s Day/week wherever you are.

This year Friends of Sinn Féin published an advertisement in several US based newspapers, including the New York Times urging Irish America to speak out on the right of the diaspora to vote in Irish Presidential elections and called on the Irish government to prepare for Irish Unity. 

Let’s welcome the World

It has been a very busy and eventful couple of weeks for all of those who speak and enjoy the Irish language and who have campaigned for decades against government policies of institutionalised exclusion, inequality and discrimination.

Two weeks ago, and after years of prevarication by successive British governments, the British Secretary of State finally commenced the legal process by which the last penal law – the Administration of Justice (Language) Act (Ireland) 1737 - will finally be repealed. This is an important milestone in the long struggle to ensure equality of language rights for gaeilgeoirí in the North. There is now an onus on the Justice Minister Naomi Long to bring forward effective guidelines in the courts that reflect the increasing numbers of citizens using Irish in their daily lives in our society. 

Na Mná Abú.

I have been a life-long supporter of Antrim’s footballers and hurlers. And the Camógs as well. Colette played county back in the day. Back in another day I had a dream that I too might make the grade.  But wee boy dreams faded into reality and alas it was not to be.  I sometimes reflect on how different my Gaelic sporting life might have been in a different political dispensation.  If only?  

So, I have followed our county’s fortunes and misfortunes from the side-lines for over seventy years now. That’s a long time.  I am one among many. Not all of us can be county stars. But we kept the faith on tough days out as well as on heady days in Casement and other county grounds and occasionally in Croke. 

Opening the Gates of Hell

Late last week war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he was blocking humanitarian aid from entering the Gaza Strip. His Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich applauded this decision and called  for the cutting off of electricity and water. Within hours this was done.  Smotrich went further and demanded the "opening the gates of hell on Gaza with a powerful, deadly and quick attack.”

UN Human rights experts accused Israel of "weaponised starvation" after the decision to block humanitarian aid. They asserted that Israel as the occupying power is obliged to ensure sufficient food, medical supplies and other relief services reached the people of Gaza and the west Bank. They accused Israel of weaponising aid by deliberately cutting vital supplies. 

Seachtain na Gaeilge used to run for one week but because it was so popular it was extended. It now runs annually from 1 March to 17 March – St. Patrick’s Day. 

Is í Seachtain na Gaeilge an ceiliúradh is mó den Ghaeilge agus Cultúr na hÉireann ar domhan. Bhí an oiread sin ráchairt uirthi gur síneodh amach chuig coicís í. Bíonn sí ar siúl ó 1 Márta go dtí 17 Márta - Lá Fhéile Pádraig, achan bhliain.

Seachtain na Gaeilge was founded in 1902 by Conradh na Gaeilge as part the Gaelic  revival of that time. Initially Seachtain na Gaeilge was limited to the island of Ireland but today it is now a global phenomenon and the largest celebration of our language and culture here and overseas.

Seachtain is an opportunity to celebrate our native language and culture and to enjoy it all.  I was lucky to attend the Belfast launch in An Cultúrlann on the Falls Road last week. I certainly enjoyed it. It was a great event. Bia blasta agus ceol milis. You could tell a new generation is here to take the language movement forward with confidence. 

 To read what's on in the festival, go to Seachtain na Gaelige le energia or cnag.ie 

Death of Dafyyd Elis-Thomas

Next week the funeral will take place in Cardiff of Dafyyd Elis-Thomas the former leader of Plaid Cymru, the Welsh independence party, who died in February. Forty-four years ago Dafyyd was an MP in the British Parliament where he played a pivotal role in the 1981 hunger strike.

Bobby Sands commenced his hunger strike on 1 March 1981. He was to be followed in the weeks and months that followed by other blanket men. Five days after Bobby first refused food Frank Maguire, the Independent Republican MP for Fermanagh South Tyrone suddenly died of a heart attack. Following days of intense discussion, it was decided by Sinn Féin to stand Bobby Sands in the by-election. Harry West was the Unionist candidate.

When the result was announced on the 9 April in Enniskillen’s Technical College - “Sands, Bobby – Anti H-Block/Armagh Political Prisoner – 30,492; West, Harry – Unionist – 29,046” – history was made and the political landscape on the island of Ireland changed forever. Bobby was elected with a majority of 1447 on an 87% turnout. 

On Tuesday we buried our friend and comrade Brendan McFarlane. Bik texted me just over 2 weeks or so ago to say he was back in hospital. He had been battling cancer for some time. A few days later the medics stopped his treatment. There was nothing else they could do for him. Suddenly and unexpectedly he was gone. He died peacefully surrounded by his loving family.

My solidarity and sympathy to Lene, a mighty woman, and to their children Emma, Tomás and Tina, his brother Gerard and the wider family circle. His loss for them is immeasurable. For his countless friends and comrades his death is a deep blow. 

Fáilte abhaile Leonard

Leonard Peltier was finally released from prison in Florida last week. The 80-year-old political prisoner had spent almost the last 50 years in prison protesting his innocence. Leonard is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and he now on his reservation in North Dakota. His family and friends gathered to welcome him home. After his release he said: “They may have imprisoned me but they never took my spirit!” and he thanked “all my supporters throughout the world who fought for my freedom.” Fáilte abhaile Leonard.

Taking A Stand.

The decision by Uachtarán Shinn Féin Mary Lou McDonald and Leas Uachtarán Michelle O’Neill not to attend the St. Patrick’s Day events in the White House and the Speakers lunch on Capitol Hill, will undoubtedly upset some of our friends across Irish America. This is very understandable.  Sinn Féin’s access to successive US administrations was won after decades of very hard work by many people across North America. Understandably they do not want to jeopardise or lose that influence. It is worth noting that in the past Sinn Féin has always attended White House events when invited, including during President Trump’s first term in office.

So the Sinn Féin decision was taken after much deliberation.  The catalyst for this was the recent statements from President Trump in which he calls for the expulsion of over two million Palestinian people from the Gaza Strip, his refusal to countenance their return and his proposal that the United States of America will take over the region. The decision would have been the same had a democratic President called for the expulsion of two million Palestinians. 

Last week we remembered Frank Stagg who died on hunger strike in an English prison in February 1976. 

Frank began his fourth and final hunger strike in December 1975. He died 62 days later. He last request was "to be buried next to my republican colleagues and my comrade, Michael Gaughan" who died on hunger strike two years earlier. Michael had been buried in Ballina with republican honours.

Faced with the prospect of another high-profile funeral of a republican hunger striker the plane carrying Frank Stagg’s coffin was diverted by the Irish Government from Dublin, where the Stagg family and friends were waiting, to Shannon. Frank’s body was hijacked and taken by helicopter to Ballina, where it was buried. A 24-hour guard was put in place and concrete was poured over it to prevent the family from exhuming the coffin.

Frank’s brother George later described how, when  he took his mother to visit the grave, Special Branch officers took photographs of her as she knelt and prayed. 

Slán Brendan.

This week came with the death of our comrade and friend, Bik McFarlane. 

Roseleen Walsh is one of 36 women who were interned in the early 1970s. Her latest book – My Internment – tells the very personal story of her life as a young woman in west Belfast in the late 60s and early 70s. Of the constant pressure and danger of living under British occupation and of her time as an internee in Armagh Women’s Prison.

Roseleen has been writing for many years, including during her time in Armagh Prison. She is a writer of great skill including of poetry, plays and books. She is also a very determined individual as her account of her first days in Armagh makes clear. When her cell door was opened for the first time she remembers that “there before me was, not a mess, but a blank canvass. Immediately I knew white walls would suit me best for I intended making those walls a work of art! I would surround myself within the comfort of my own words.  Since I was young, I had found it hard to express myself to others until I discovered that poetry was a wonderful way to articulate what I meant… The walls were to become like pages of a diary.”

Climate Crisis

January was a month of climate opposites. Storm Éowyn is now believed to have been one of the worst to ever hit the island of Ireland. It broke wind-speed records; forced the cancellation of flights and ferries; and within hours had cut power supplies to over one million households and businesses north and south.  Tens of thousands were also left without water as treatment plants lost power.

Although last month Ireland was colder than usual January was still the hottest month ever recorded across the world. More worrying it is the 18th month out of the last 19 when the average global temperature was greater than that set by the world’s governments.  

The World Stands at a Tipping Point

In the months leading up to the invasion of Iraq by American and British forces and others in March 2003 Martin McGuinness and I warned Tony Blair and President Bush not to invade. We pointed out that it would be a breach of international law. At one particular meeting in Mr. Blair’s office in Downing Street Martin and I urged the British PM to learn the lessons of British involvement in Ireland and in other conflicts. We told him and his officials they were living in cloud cuckoo land; “if you go into Iraq it will be another Vietnam and it will be a huge mistake.”

One British official told us that it would all be over in a matter of months. Martin told him “... given the previous history of successive British military expeditions to Ireland, that certainly would not be my view of how the situation in Iraq is going to move in the next short while." 

The Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip and the pogroms against Palestinian towns and villages in the west Bank strike a similar note today and a lesson for the international community. The support of the British Government and the White House for the Zionist assaults on the Palestinian people is shameful. It is also, like the war in Iraq, short sighted and counter-productive. 

Over 60,000 Gazans have been killed – mostly women and children and 80% of the infrastructure of Gaza has been destroyed; a thousand are dead in the west Bank; south Lebanon is ablaze; Israeli forces have moved deeper into Syria, and the US President is seeking to expel the Palestinian people of Gaza from their homeland. The world stands at a tipping point amid the real risk of a possible wider conflagration. 

Simon Harris has said that Irish unity is not a priority for him.  That is self-evident. But for him to say so is at odds with the stated position of most senior Irish politicians including An Taoiseach Micheál Martin. Their position is one of verbalised adherence to the constitutional objective of unity. In other words, they are verbalised republicans. Rhetorical United Irelanders. Mr Harris doesn't even pay lip service to this. Some may think this clarity from him is good for the unity debate. And they have a point.

Simon Harris words reflect the reality of the position of successive governments. Thus far no Irish government has a strategy or a plan for unity. So unity is not only not a priority for Simon Harris. It is clearly not a government priority either.  

The truth is he reflects a deep-rooted view within the southern establishment which sees partition as acceptable. For 100 years Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have run the southern state – in their own interests. One led the government. The other led the opposition. And every so often they would walk across the floor of Leinster House, play musical chairs and change places. Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. Now they are Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dum.

International support grows for Palestinian Struggle

As the Israeli state’s brutal assault on the rights of the Palestinian people continues in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank nine countries came together last Friday at The Hague, in the Netherlands, to inaugurate a new international alliance in support of Palestinians.

‘The Hague Group’ supports South Africa’s genocide case against the Israeli state at the International Court of Justice, and also seeks to maximise international diplomatic and legal action in support of Palestinian national and human rights.

OFF LINE.

I ordered a pair of jeans on line recently. Why, by the way, do we say a pair of jeans? It’s the same with trousers. A pair of trousers is what we say. That means literally two trousers. Or does it?  Maybe it’s a generational thing. Do younger people just say jeans? Or trousers? And why is it plural? Maybe because most jeans and trousers have two legs? A pair of them. So maybe that’s the answer to my question.

According to the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer his government is looking at "every conceivable way" to prevent me and at least 300 other people from receiving compensation for wrongful arrest and imprisonment in the 1970s. This issue of compensation arises from the decision by the British Supreme Court in May 2020 that the Interim Custody Order (ICO) or internment order issued against me was unlawful. 

Internment was demanded by the Unionist government in 1971 and imposed by the British on 9 August that year. It had been used in every decade since partition in 1920. Internment saw thousands of armed troops smash their way into nationalist homes to arrest 342 men and boys. They were dragged from their beds and many were beaten. Fourteen – the Hooded Men - were subjected to days of sustained torture. 25 people were killed in the following four days. In Ballymurphy in west Belfast eleven local citizens, including a priest and mother of eight, were killed by the Paras in the Ballymurphy Massacre.  Five months later the Paras attacked an anti-internment march in Derry and killed 14 people. Bloody Sunday was another of many dark days in the conflict. In July 1972 another five citizens, this time in Springhill, were killed by the British Army. They included another priest and a thirteen-year-old girl.

Leonard Peltier - Going Home

Leonard Peltier is a native American activist. He has spent almost 50 years in prison in the USA for a crime he has always denied and which many, including some involved in jailing him, have long believed he was innocent of.  A short time before he left office US President Joe Biden commuted Leonard’s life sentence to one of home confinement in his tribal homeland in North Dakota. Leonard is due to be released on 18 February.

Last week Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, supported by the regional independents, published their Programme for Government 2025. This contains the objectives set by the government parties for the next five years. In my ten years in the Oireachtas as the TD for Louth and East Meath I worked through two such Programmes. First in 2011 and then again in 2016. Neither Programme for Government matched the rhetoric or the commitments contained within them.

The Programme for Government 2025 is no different. It is as Pearse Doherty aptly described it “a copy and paste job from five years ago … a tired and stale document that is completely devoid of the ambition and big ideas our people need and deserve.”

Presidential Vote

A further example of the lack of ambition by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael can be found in their refusal to honour the commitment both made in 2020’s Programme for Government to hold a referendum on the extension of Presidential voting rights to Irish citizens living in the North and outside the island of Ireland. 

Solidarity with the people of Palestine

As I write this column the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is less than 24 hours old. Already thousands of displaced Palestinians driven from their homes by Israel’s genocidal war are starting to slowly make their way back into Gaza City and northern Gaza. Most carry on their backs the entirety of their possessions. Their very few clothes and personal belongs and for some the tents that will provide them with shelter among the rubble that was once their homes. Some have donkeys to help while a few of the more fortunate have motor vehicles.

On Saturday last leading trade union activists from across the island of Ireland came together in Newry for a packed Ireland’s Future event in the Thomas Davis Hub. It was a wet winter morning and i was pleasantly uplifted by the turn out. 

The panel included ICTU assistant general secretary Gerry Murphy, Unison regional general secretary Patricia McKeown, Phil Ni Sheaghdha, general secretary of the Nurses and Midwives Organisation, Katie Morgan of FORSA, Greg Ennis of SIPTU and Gerry McCormack of the ICTU. It was a lively and informative debate which pointed to a much better future for workers in a united Ireland.

Ireland’s Future is for holding the referendums by 2030 and Saturday’s public sectoral meeting is part of a consultation for what it believes is the ‘crucial five-year period’ ahead of us.

Niall Murphy, who is the secretary of Ireland’s Future explained that it seeks “to continue to inform, educate and stimulate the conversation on constitutional change in the years preceding a referendum. The pace of change has quickened and we are firmly of a belief that a referendum will take place around the year 2030, therefore it is incumbent upon the political administrations in Dublin, Belfast and London to prepare, and it is also imperative that civil society, including the trade union movement, recognises the constitutional space we are now entering.”


Let the Music Keep Your Spirits High

I am not a big watcher of television. When I have my way – which is usually when everyone else is out – the TV goes on only when there is something I want to watch. Other times it is a constant background noise. An intrusion. Like white noise.

Sometimes I just like the silence. Or some good music.

Alexia and I have become friends. I like to listen to music when I’m writing. So Radio Na Gaeltachta, Radio Fáilte, Lyric, Radio Ulster and RTE Radio1 are my broadcasters of choice. I also have tons of tunes on my phone. And an IPod loaded up with thousands of songs from Seamus Drumm who has the most expansive reservoir of ceol of anyone I know. My ambition is to listen to all Seamie’s collection before I die. Listening to music on these various devices wraps me in a melodious comfort blanket of uplifting sounds. Sometimes I will even join in.

A Ceasefire
The ceasefire in Gaza is only a step in a long process. It is about justice, peace, and the right of the Palestinian people to have self determination.

Monday 6 January is traditionally the date on which the Christmas decorations are taken down. In the Christian calendar it marks the end of the Christmas season and the visit of the Magi – the three wise men – to Jesus.

In Ireland the 6 January is also Nollaig na mBan - Women’s Christmas or Little Christmas. It’s a day set aside to celebrate the role of women who did all the work catering for and making Christmas a success for everyone else.  On 6 January the women rested, although in many rural parts of Ireland it was also an occasion for women to come together and socialise.

Ted Howell – Republican

Ted Howell was 77 when he died last Friday. On Tuesday we buried him in Milltown Cemetery in the grave of the love of his life Eileen Duffy. The two of them were devoted to each other. They were married on the 9 October 1972. That night Ted was arrested. Fortunately, his false ID held up and he was released the following morning.  

Eileen was a formidable republican also. She was a hard worker and a champion of west Belfast. Ted and she had two fine sons Eamonn and Proinsias. Sadly, Eileen died in June 2004. Ted visited her grave, sometimes on a daily basis, in the twenty years since her death. 

Francesca Albanese – a champion for truth

2025 begins in the Gaza Strip as it ended in 2024 with the continuation of Israel’s savage assault on a civilian population. One result of Israel’s genocidal war is that 258 United Nations staffers have been killed.

PassBlue is an independent, women-led non-profit multimedia news company. It covers stories and events relating to the United Nations, to women’s issues, human rights, peacekeeping and other urgent global matters. It reports from the UN press corps in the New York City and is widely read for its informative insights into UN operations and activities world-wide.

I have the flu. It’s a sign of my loyalty to you dear reader, that I write this column in my sick bed. Bathed in sweat. I’ve changed my T shirt four times since Saint Stephen’s Day. I ran out of paper hankies and turned to kitchen roll for nose cleaning duties. The snatters are tripping me. I’ve changed my sheets as well. Three times. Everyone else is away so I phoned Richard. 

Gearóid Ó Cairealláin – the definitive activist

Lots has already been written about Gearóid Ó Cairealláin who died a fortnight ago. He was such a vital part of the Irish language community in west Belfast over so many years, and as someone I knew and greatly respected him, I cannot allow his passing to go without a wee personal tribute.

Israeli barbarity knows no boundaries

We begin the new year as we ended the old one in the Middle East. The Israeli military - its ground forces, and air force - continue their expansionist war in southern Lebanon, Syria, the west Bank, the Gaza Strip and in the Yemen. In pursuit of its land grab Israeli soldiers last weekend forcibly invaded Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza and gave the staff 15 minutes to leave. The Israeli forces then stripped the doctors, nurses and other medical staff and forced the semi naked medics and gravely injured patients out on to the cold and rubble strewn streets. There were 350 people in the hospital, including 180 medical workers and 75 wounded people. Many of the medics were taken away by the Israeli forces their plight uncertain.

I enjoy Christmas time. It a time for family and friends and for relaxation. For children and Dadaí na Nollaig and presents. For visiting family. For good food – often too much good food - good craic and sitting at home watching a movie, listening to music and reading a good book. It’s a time for remembering those who are no longer with us or for visiting those sick or in hospital.

60 Years A Growing. 

As this year draws to a close it strikes me that I first became an activist sixty years ago. It was in September 1964. I was a student in St. Mary’s Grammar School in Barrack Street at the bottom of Divis Street.  On my way to school I noticed that a shop front in Divis Street was plastered with election posters for the upcoming British General Election.  Liam McMillan, a local republican had his election office there. He displayed the Irish national flag in the shop window. The flag was illegal and the RUC, at the behest of Ian Paisley, an up and coming demagogue, using crowbars and pickaxes smashed their way into the election office and seized the flag. The republicans replaced it and there were a few days of street disturbances. The Divis Street Riots.  


2024 – A defining year for Unity

Last February the North’s political institutions were re-established. This was an important development but more crucially Michelle O’Neill was elected as First Minister of the Executive. This was a historic moment in the constitutional transformation that commenced with the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. 

Last week I posted a Christmas card to Leonard Peltier. I dont know if he will receive it.  Or the numerous other notes and cards I have sent over the years. At 80 years of age Leonard, a native American rights activist and victim of a miscarriage of justice; has been imprisoned for 48 years. This makes him one of the longest serving political prisoners in the world.
 
 

Hunger for Justice

Well done to all of those – 1600 at the last count – who last week participated in the Hunger for Justice fast - Troscadh ar son na Córa – in support of the people of Palestine. Over €100,000 has been raised. As well as individual contributions scores of vigils and protests were held across the island of Ireland.

 People want to talk about Unity

On Monday Uachtarán Shinn Féin Mary Lou McDonald TD joined National Party Chairperson Declan Kearney, in publishing the report of the work of the party’s Commission on the Future of Ireland. The Commission was established to undertake a grassroots engagement by providing citizens with a space in which they can have their say on the future of Ireland.

Last week the Northern Executive took welcome and decisive action to protect our environment, our health and jobs by committing to a ban on all forms of onshore petroleum exploration and production, including fracking. This decision is part of the Executive’s commitment to tackle our dependence on fossil fuels. Conor Murphy, the Economy Minister announced that, following drafting and consultation, he will be introducing legislation next year to block licensing applications.

Palestinians treated as subhuman – Amnesty Report

Last week Amnesty International published a landmark and damning report on Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip. The report entitled, ‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza, documents how the Israeli state has “carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention, with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza.”

Hunger for Justice

I want to ask your support for an important initiative aimed at drawing attention to the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people and also to raise much needed funds for UNWRA. This columnist is committing to join the Hunger for Justice - Troscadh ar son na Córa initiative. This is a 24-hour fast taking place across Ireland on the 12th December, 2024. The event is being organised by former republican hunger strikers, including Laurence McKeown and Jackie McMullan, in conjunction with Nenagh Friends Of Palestine. All funds raised will go to UNRWA. The aim is to get at least 1,000 people across the island of Ireland to participate.

Anyone wishing to donate to it can do so at:

gofundme.com/f/hunger-for-justice-gaza

As I pen these lines it is too soon to attempt a deep analysis of the Leinster House election. Not all the counts have concluded although there is enough to form general impressions of the outcome. I outline them in no particular order.

Christmas in Long Kesh 1976

It’s three weeks to Christmas. The decorations, inside and outside of the houses and shops.  and the Christmas trees in all of their finery are everywhere as we prepare for the festive season. It puts me in mind of another Christmas which was not so jolly but where the spirt of friendship and family rose above the place we were in.

Solidarity with the Palestinian People

Last Friday – 29 November – was the annual International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. It was a day set aside by the United Nations General Assembly in 1977  to mark the date in 1947 when the United Nations Assembly adopted the resolution on the partition of Palestine (resolution 181 (II)).  The 1977 resolution was intended to encourage UN member states to give the widest support and publicity as an act of solidarity with the Palestinian people. The United Nations designates such days as a means of raising issues of concern and to mobilise political will and resources to address global problems.

During the General Election campaign I have been in several constituencies. In Dublin, in Drogheda, Dundalk, and Donegal and some other places in between. People are clearly  fed up with the cost of living, the crisis in public services, especially in health and housing, childcare and disability services. 


Sanctions urgently needed against Israel

Last Wednesday was World Children’s Day. It was first established in 1954 as Universal Children's Day and is celebrated on 20 November each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children's welfare. It is also the date in 1959 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It is also the date in 1989 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child.


Solidarity and Condolences to the family of Pat Donaghy

As I finish this column I got the sad news that Pat Donaghy has died. Originally from Tremoge near Carrickmore in County Tyrone Pat emigrated to the United States in the 1950s. Like many others he went looking for work because work was sparse for northern nationalists in unionism’s apartheid northern state. He was in his late teens. His older sister Nora sponsored him. Pat was the sixth of fifteen children. Phyllis, Peggy and Bella along with Nora had already emigrated. Other siblings born after Pat and the older sisters also emigrated.

I have been doing a wee bit of canvassing in the General Election in the South. The response has been positive. There are clearly some who see election campaigns, including this one, as opportunities to write Sinn Féin’s obituary. Sorry to disappoint. Like all parties fighting elections there will be moments of gain and moments of pain. That is in the nature of electoral politics especially in volatile times. However, if your political ideology and the leaderships connection with the base is strong then all challenges can be overcome. That’s one of Sinn Féin’s strengths.

Mind Your Language. 

Throughout Israel’s genocidal war on the Palestinians countless social media posts by Israeli politicians, officials and its occupying forces have highlighted the racism that underpins Zionism and that is being used to dehumanise the Palestinian people.

Lá breithe Richard

Richard is seventy-two. He reached that lofty age on Sunday. If he lasts for a few more months he will have lived longer than any of his ancestors in his branch of the historic clann of McAuley. That’s quite an achievement. Congratulations

 RG.  I hope you live forever. 

On Sunday I was in Dublin for the Save Moore Street rally but afterwards I was in Caledon Road and St. Mary’s Road in East Wall with a Sinn Féin canvas team urging voters to give their number 1 vote to Mary Lou McDonald and their number 2 vote to Janice Boylan. The response was very good.


Judicial Review lodged in defence of Moore Street

The battle to save the 1916 Moore Street Battlefield site has entered a new and critical phase with the decision by the Moore Street Preservation Trust to seek leave for a judicial review of the decision by An Bord Pleanála to allow the developer’s plan to proceed. Almost two decades after the campaign to protect this important historic part of the Easter 1916 revolutionary story the campaign has reached a decisive moment.


New Mural in support of Palestinians

At the weekend a new mural was unveiled in Andersonstown in west Belfast highlighting the shared experience of struggle and solidarity between the peoples of Ireland and Palestine. Well done to Marty Lyons and Michael Doherty and the organisers.

In a recent interview Christy Moore remarked that the death of Bobby Sands robbed us of a great writing talent. Christy was praising the quality of the work Bobby created in the harsh conditions he endured. He was making the point that you can only imagine what Bobby might have gone on to produce in different circumstances where his creative imagination could have been nurtured and not repressed. But of course this was not to be. Bobby led the second hunger strike in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh and he was the first of the ten men who fasted to death in that awful summer of 1981.

Rally to Defend Moore St this weekend

The campaign to protect the 1916 Moore St Battlefield site from demolition is moving up a gear. As regular readers will know An Bord Pleanála  - the planning authority in the South – gave the go ahead recently for the Hammerson development plan which will see much of this historic site reduced to rubble.

Irish government fails Palestinians

More massacres. More children dead and maimed. More civilians killed by the Israeli government in a series of deadly assaults in Gaza and Lebanon. Health workers, journalists, and children continue to be the preferred targets for a right wing Israeli government that is being armed, funded and empowered by its western allies.

No Parking remember Father Des Wilson many moons ago lamenting the narrowness of streets in Turf Lodge and Ballymurphy. “The City Planners don’t think the  working class should have motor cars” he said one day as we tried to manoeuvre our way by tightly packed vehicles in Ballymurphy Drive. 

Sanctions Now In April 2009 as part of a Sinn Féin delegation I entered the Gaza Strip. The blockade of the area by Israel was two years old at that point. The UNWRA staff, school teachers, doctors, university students, elected representatives and workers we met were dignified and courageous, quiet but resolute. They were the survivors of an Israeli siege and a military incursion in 2008/09 that had left many dead and key facilities devastated. From the minute we passed through the Erez Crossing into Gaza under the gaze of Israeli watchtowers and the huge security wall that surrounds the enclave my overwhelming sense was of entering into a huge open air prison. Today I am horrified at what continues to unfold each day in that place. The Gaza City I saw 15 years ago is gone. 

The campaign to save the 1916 Moore Street Battlefield site and those iconic buildings and streetscape that are forever linked to the most important historic event in modern Irish history has reached another potentially decisive moment.

In May, An Taoiseach Simon Harris announced the establishment of “a Taskforce to take a holistic view of the measures required to rejuvenate Dublin City Centre, north and south”. The stated objective is to make Dublin City Centre “a more thriving, attractive, and safe cityscape; and a desirable location to live, work, do business and visit.” The Taskforce is expected to report this month (August).

International solidarity needed to end Israel’s genocidal war

By the end of this week more than 40,000 people, mostly children and women, will have been slaughtered by Israel in the Gaza Strip.  The Strip has been reduced to rubble and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been left without shelter, food, clean water and sanitation. This is an Israeli made humanitarian disaster.

Day after day courageous journalists living under constant threat from Israeli snipers, drones and bombs continue to report Israel’s targeted bombing of refugees;  the massacre of families living in tents; and of children starving because Israel is preventing food and medical aid from entering Gaza. In recent days Israeli soldiers deliberately destroyed a water treatment plant in the Tel Sultan neighbourhood of Rafah and an MRI machine at the Turkish hospital in Gaza. This is genocide.

Féile Aris

It is Féile An Phobail time again. Well done to Kevin Gamble and all the Féile team for once again bringing us a truly outstanding Féile programme. There was a time, now receding in memory for many people and never in the memory of countless more who weren’t born in those troubled times, when August,  and the anniversary of Internment, was marked by incursions of British troops and RUC into republican neighbourhoods and  days of rioting and deaths and injuries.

Féile An Phobail has replaced all that. It started following the killing in Gibraltar of three local people, IRA Volunteers Dan McCann, Seán Savage and Mairead Farrell at the behest of Margaret Thatcher in March 1988 and the deaths of others at their funerals. Our community was demonised in a tsunami of invective by the establishment media and our political opponents. Féile was a communal response to that.

The first book I wrote was Falls Memories.  Brandon Books led by the late Steve Mac Donagh was my publisher. I asked Steve if we could  include drawings by Michael McKernon. I didn’t know Michael but I was familiar with his fine line drawings.  Steve indulged me, Michael obliged and Falls Memories was produced, enhanced by his artistry. That was decades ago. In 1990.

Can We Afford A United Ireland?

I have written before about the work of Sinn Féins  Commission on the Future of Ireland and how it is giving voice to citizens' views on our future and in particular on the potential for constitutional change. I have attended most of the Commission's events. They are all about citizens having their say and usually consist of an independent panel of speakers engaging with an audience. They are also moderated by an independent chairperson. So while Sinn Féin organises these initiatives once the opening formalities are over the party takes a back seat. We are there to listen. 

Gaels Against Genocide in Gaza.

Saturday was a busy day. Tons of Gaelic games on the go. Fitting it all in is a problem. But Gaels Against Genocide in Gaza certainly rose to the challenge. Their demonstration from Belfast's Writers Square to the City Hall was mighty. Great speakers, including Antrim hurling star Neil McManus and a massive crowd from all over the island. In county and club colours. Children  and older Gaels.  Young mothers with their babies. Family groups. Clubs from everywhere. Glen Philips was an excellent Fear an Tí.

If the people of the 

Divide and conquer is an age old tactic. It is often utilised by conservative elements to advance their regressive agendas. This is true of the Irish as it is of any other nation. In fact historically some Irish people have acted against the interests of Ireland and supported imperialistic and other colonial or domestic adventurers.  Nonetheless the vast majority of Irish people are fair minded, decent and progressive.

Recognise the State of Palestine

Sinn Féin’s National Party Chairperson Declan Kearney MLA was in South Africa at the weekend where he spoke at the ‘Global Anti-Apartheid Conference on Palestine.’  The conference was attended by Palestinian groups. While there Declan met with South Africa’s foreign minister and ANC MP Naledi Pandor who has led the international condemnation of the Israeli state’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people. Declan also told Minister Pandor that Sinn Féin fully supports South Africa’s courageous case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

A recent report - "Northern Ireland Subvention: Possible Unification Effects" - published by the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) caught the headlines. It contained the startling claim that Irish Unity could cost the South up to €20 billion annually. It was grist to the mill of those who oppose unity.

Before the day was out contrary and critical opinions of the report began to emerge with other senior economists criticising it for its failure to acknowledge that a united Ireland will not have responsibility for much of the subvention and that the amounts involved are significantly smaller. 

Whatever one’s view of the merits of the IIEA report it succeeded in creating a debate around the shape of a future economy for the island of Ireland and that is a good thing. It highlighted the absence of any planning by the Irish government and reinforced the call for a Citizens’ Assembly to discuss future constitutional arrangements.

Celebrating 100 years

Last week I travelled to South Armagh with a large bunch of flowers to join the family of Maisie Moley in celebrating her 100th birthday. Maisie is a fresh, sprightly centenarian – the matriarch of the large Moley family. She and they were in great form as we pushed back the furniture for the obligatory photographs and all joined in the singing of Lá Breithe Shona Duit.

Keep supporting Palestinian people

As the world holds its breath waiting on the outcome of the current face-off between Iran and Israel and the potential for a regional war, the slaughter of innocents continues in the Gaza strip and on the west Bann. 

Two weeks ago Israel destroyed part of the Iranian consulate in the Syrian Capital of Damascus. Senior Iranian officials were killed. Last weekend, after giving a 72 hour warning of its intention to respond, several hundred drones and missiles were launched by Iran against military targets in Israel. Iran has said that it has now concluded its response. But has Israel? 

Fifteen years ago this month I led a Sinn Féin delegation on a visit to the occupied Palestinian territories. Our visit took place seven weeks after Israel’s assault on Gaza between 27 December 2008 and 18 January 2009. In that attack Israeli forces killed 1400 Palestinians, including more than 400 children and injured thousands more. Schools and hospitals and infrastructure were also targeted. 

Our delegation was impressed by the resilience of those we met and especially by the medical staff who were working hard to provide a health service, despite Israeli restrictions on medicines and spare parts for radiation and other medical equipment.

Lá Breithe Áras Uí Chonghaile

Áras Uí Chonghaile, the James Connolly Visitor Centre, on the Falls Road celebrated its fifth birthday at Easter.  Located in the very heart of West Belfast’s Gaeltacht Quarter it was opened five years ago by Uachtarán na hÉireann Michael D Higgins and Labour and Trade Union leaders from Ireland, the USA, Canada, England, Wales and Scotland.

I frequently visit the Áras, as it is affectionately known. It celebrates the life and times of Labour leader James Connolly who was executed by the British for his part in the 1916 Easter Rising. It commemorates the key role he played in the struggle for workers rights, the Labour movement and Irish freedom.

Friends of Sinn Féin USA and various other Irish organisations held a successful summit in New York.

Ireland’s Future released its ‘Ireland 2030’ proposals.

Mary Lou McDonald & Pearse Doherty addressed the Irish Unity Summit in Cooper Union NYC. 

In my unity roundup hope and change are the pathway.

Éire Aontaithe nua, náisiún ina bhaile do chách.