The Commission on the Future of Ireland held successful public meetings in Fermanagh and West Tyrone on Irish Unity. 

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.

Casement

I have spent many enjoyable afternoons in Casement Park watching countless football and hurling games and playing in some of them. I have lost count of my man of the match triumphs. Especially for St. Marys or Belfast Schools in hurling. Or on Sports Days. In the past the stand and terraces or raised mounds around the pitch provided a wonderful view of the contests. Some games attracted a few hundred spectators while others were watched by enthralled thousands. 

Casement Park was opened in June 1953 and was named after Roger Casement. He was one of the leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916 who was hanged in London by the British in August that year. The people of Belfast, but especially the west of the City, raised over one hundred thousand pounds to construct Casement Park.

Starvation

There is now overwhelming evidence that the Israeli state has added a new weapon to its arsenal of genocide against the Palestinian people – hunger. The video and photographic images of starving children and desperate parents searching for food and water are heart rending. The UN says some 2.3 million people in Gaza are now on the brink of starvation.

Respect

On Sunday last I spoke at the 40th Anniversary Commemoration of the killing by the SAS of IRA Volunteers Henry Hogan and Declan Martin in Dunloy County Antrim. Declan was 18. Henry was 20.

I was also the speaker at the funerals in February 1984. At that time hundreds of  RUC  and scores of landrovers surrounded Henry Hogans wake house and myself, Martin McGuinness, Danny Morisson and Owen Carron linked arms with other mourners to create a human barrier around the house and the funeral to shield them from the RUC. That is the way many republican funerals were conducted in those days.

A Window on the Past

Ask almost everyone you know about the date when internment was introduced and the 9 August 1971 will be the popular answer. .

That was the day 342 men and boys were dragged from their homes in the early hours of the morning to be beaten, interrogated and interned. Fourteen were the victims of planned torture – the Hooded Men.

Ceasefire Now

The European Union’s Foreign Policy chief Joseph Borrell took issue with US President Joe Biden and his remarks that the Israeli state’s offensive against the Palestinian people had been excessive. “If you believe that too many people are being killed maybe you should provide less arms,” Mr. Borrell said…”If the international community believes  that this is a slaughter, that too many people are being killed, maybe they have to think about the provision of arms.”

An appeal for Information

In the 1970s the IRA shot dead and secretly buried a number of people. This is a terrible legacy of that period of our history.  The families of those killed have suffered a grievous injustice. Republicans, including the IRA, recognise and have acknowledged this fact. What happened was wrong and unjustifiable.


Israel’s War Against Children

The accounts of the Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip against the Palestinian people have produced many difficult and heart wrenching moments. The destruction of homes and schools and hospitals; the deliberate killing of over 30,000 children, women and men; the mass murder of health workers, journalists and civilians; the destruction of cemeteries; the premeditated shepherding of civilians into killing zones by Israeli forces, and so much more have shocked and appalled millions around the world. The Israeli state’s war on Gaza will be remembered for all this. It will also be forever remembered as Israel’s war against children

Moore St Raffle

The Moore Street Preservation Trust are raffling a framed, limited edition Moore Street Print by renowned Irish Artist Robert Ballagh. 

Tickets are €10/£9 and the draw will take place on Easter Sunday. 

Get your tickets here: http://msptshop.myshopify.com/

Historic Change 

The restoration last Saturday of the political institutions and the election of Michelle O'Neill as First Minister marks an extraordinary turning point in the process of constitutional change for the North and for the island of Ireland. It is a significant new chapter in the transitional process of change that began with the peace process. Last Saturday something  fundamental  happened.

Alex Maskey

Alex has committed himself to continuing his activism and to the goal of Irish Unity and to the principles and objectives he has dedicated his life to. So, well done Alex and well done also to Liz, an activist in her own right. She has been by his side through all of these years. Ádh mor oraibh a chairde. 

Ivor Browne

Ivor Browne died last week, aged ninety four. I admired him a lot. And I’m glad to say I met him a few times. He was one of the world’s leading and pioneering psychiatrists. As President Micheal D Higgins said he ‘…left a profound mark on the understanding and attitudes to mental health in Ireland’. A visionary and a doer Ivor dismantled mental institutions and developed community clinics. He was a revolutionary. Professor Brendan Kelly said his legacy was ‘the additional liberty enjoyed by thousands of people who avoided institutionalisation as a result of the reforms which Ivor came to represent’.

Comhghairdeas Kneecap 

Comhghairdeas Kneecap as an rath a bhí ar bhur scannán ag féile scannán Sundance. 

Last August I travelled over to a studio close to Queen’s University to meet with Kneecap. The three west Belfast lads were busy putting the final touches to their movie which recounts – mostly i nGaeilge - how they were formed. That night they were to do some work with Michael Fassbender but I was there to film a short segment. 


Irish government must join South Africa 

Many thanks and commendations to the government of South Africa for taking the case to the ICJ on behalf of the people of Palestine. 

There was widespread welcome for the decision of the International Court of Justice last week ordering Israel to:

·         Refrain from acts under the genocide convention

·         Prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to genocide

·         Take measures to ensure humanitarian assistance to civilians

·         Preserve evidence of genocide and submit a report to the Court 

·         And submit a report to the ICJ in one month.




Áras Uí Chonghaile – A world class visitor centre 

Áras Uí Chonghaile – the James Connolly Visitor Centre on the Falls Road – was formally opened by Uachtarán Michael D Higgins in April 2019. The Áras celebrates the life and times of James Connolly, the key role he played in Irish history, the struggle for freedom and the Labour Movement. It be a world class visitor centre exploring the life of Connolly; with a unique interactive exhibition; a library of writings by and about Connolly; historical objects relating to Connolly, and an all year round programme of engagement with communities, schools and visitors and a bialann. 

Time for Clarity. 

The question – will he or won’t he – has yet to be answered. Will Jeffrey Donaldson provide the leadership needed to persuade his party to go back into the Executive or, as Michelle O’Neill pondered at last week’s meeting of the Assembly, have we seen the final sitting of the Assembly?

Irish government must recognise Palestinian State

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out a post-war peace process that would lead to the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state. A statement released after he had spoken to President Joe Biden last weekend said: "In his conversation with President Biden, Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated his policy that after Hamas is destroyed Israel must retain security control over Gaza to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel, a requirement that contradicts the demand for Palestinian sovereignty."

On the same day in a post on X – formerly Twitter Netanyahu said that Israel must retain "security control over the entire area west of [River] Jordan." This is an area which also includes the Israeli-occupied West Bank territory.

WCNSFs – Wounded Child No Surviving Family

Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the west Bank passed the 100 day mark at the weekend. By the time this column is published the number of dead at the hands of Israel’s war machine is likely to have passed 25,000, mostly women and children. That’s almost equivalent to the entire population of Newry wiped out.

Irish Unity Summit for New York

This week the tickets became available for a major public event on Irish Unity to be held in New York on 1st March. Billed as an ‘Irish Unity Summit’ the event is jointly sponsored by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Brehon Law Society, Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, Friends of Sinn Féin USA, Irish American Unity Conference, James Connolly Labor Coalition, Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians.

The ‘Summit’ will be held in The Great Hall at Cooper Union. It will start at 1:00 pm on Friday 1st March and conclude at 6:00 pm. There will be keynote speakers, panel discussions, and cultural performances.

The Fermanagh Blackbird

Dónal O Connor and his family have made a long standing and continuing contribution to Irish traditional music and song. Dónal is a well known and respected musican, broadcaster and producer. We are all indebted to and enriched by the work of the O Connor and Ní Uallacháin clanns. Because of them and others like them the traditional music scene is alive and well. Many songs and tunes which might have been lost have been retained or recovered.

Death of a Hero

Just before Christmas my colleague Greg O'Loughlin, the Executive Director of Friends of Sinn Féin in the USA , gave  me the sad news that veteran American Civil Rights leader King Hollands had died. I had the honour of meeting King and his fellow activists Rip Patton and Richard Dinkins during a visit to Nashville in November 2018.

Frank Kitson. 

Richard has insisted that I write a little bit about the death of Frank Kitson. Kitson, British Army general and leading advocate of counter-insurgency operations and collusion between state forces and death squads died last week. I have written about him many times. I am sure his death will be mourned by those within the British system whom he served over many decades in defence of the Empire. He was rewarded with medals, a knighthood, and military promotions. He was for a time Commander in Chief of the UK Land Forces and from 1982 to 1985 he was Aide-de-Camp General to the British Queen.

Few if any of  his many victims who were tortured, imprisoned, killed by his counter-gangs and collusion strategies, whether in the North or in Malaya, Kenya, Aden or Cyprus, will shed tears at his passing. Nollaig na mBan

Nollaig na mBan - Women’s Christmas or Little Christmas  – was celebrated last Saturday. Traditionally, it’s the last day of the Christmas period when the role of women who did all the work preparing for and making Christmas a success for everyone else, was celebrated.  January the 6th was the day when they had the opportunity to rest and celebrate. 

This Land Is Your Land. 

I am a long time fan of Woody Guthrie. He is one of the worlds great song writers in the English language and many of his words  are as relevant today as they were when he wrote them. He was also an American activist who agitated and educated and sang for social equality,  immigration reform, peace and fairness. He stood against fascism, racism,  war, corruption and for a clean environment. He sang about love, for workers rights and a better life for all.