You could not make it up. The Irish Green Party Leader Éamon Ryan is a Minister for Climate Change in the FFFGGG (Fianna Fáil Fine Gael Greens and Gombeens) Dublin Coalition Government. In a display of pure gombeen politics, the Green Irish TD fought the “Swiss Grannies” (“Aînées pour le climat”) in the European Court of Human Rights (EHCR) – and lost.
The “Aînées pour le climat” won a historic victory.
Heat-related deaths were at the heart of a recent landmark legal case taken by the so-called ‘Swiss Grannies’ in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The group, representing 2,400 older women, had argued that senior citizens were more likely to die in heatwaves. Earlier this month the court found that weak Swiss government climate policies had violated their human rights.
On 9 April, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights handed down a historic verdict, ruling that Switzerland is violating the human rights of older women because the country is not taking the necessary measures to combat global warming. [Aînées pour le climat – Older Women for Climate]
The boss of An Garda Síochána (police force in the 26 county bit of Ireland), Drew Harris, was recruited from the cops in the 6 county bit of Ireland. The people running the two states in partitioned Ireland have developed very close social, political and personal relationships since the the 1998 triumph of the Good Friday Agreement. I recently circulated details of Harris’s “Hug-a-Thug” policy towards growing far-right violence in the 26 counties to a 6 county political activist, who commented this was “reminiscent of the historic style of policing up here”.
Ruling class forces were extremely happy about the continuation of partition guaranteed by the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. They did not foresee that the foundations of partition in Ireland are more rotten than their constitutional plan conceding a Unionist Veto to a majority of the voting population of the six county state. The Brexit referendum result of 2016 lit a slow-burning fuse under the GFA structure; in the meantime we are witnessing the creation of a possible “United Ireland from Hell” which consists of knitting together the most reactionary features of both partitioned states in Ireland.
The following article from the Cedar Lounge Revolution Blog powerfully illustrates the dangers arising from importing 6 county softly-softly policing methods towards the far-right (loyalist paramilitaries), fine-tuned by Garda boss Drew Harris.
Gardaí were called to the home of Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman on Thursday night when a gang of up to 12 masked men gathered outside his house and huge placards and banners were stretched across his driveway gate, along his wall and fastened to outside polls.
Far-right racists regularly target Paul Murphy TD (People Before Profit), Dublin South-West. These sinister activists picket the homes of elected politicians; a few days ago they targeted the home of Green Party Minister Roderic O’Gorman, who is gay and is responsible for the housing of immigrants.
Paul Murphy observes :
Good that some media is finally drawing the obvious link between the far-right and the disgusting intimidatory scenes outside Roderic O’Gorman’s house.
This isn’t a lack of civility in politics.
It’s an organised attempt to undermine democratic rights.
Picketing family homes is from the same playbook as burning 🔥 immigrants’ accommodation, city centre riots such as November 23 2023 in Dublin, and propaganda attacking the rights of specific national groups.
We offer one example: Ukrainians forced to live in Ireland, fleeing from Russia’s genocidal war.
Two men – Jospi Strok and David Druzinec – working in Ireland, attacked for what appears to be no reason at all – apparently they weren’t speaking English.
But note that the father of Josip Strok has heard nothing from the authorities about his son’s death:
Josip Strok RIP and David Druzinec
“I can’t believe that no one from the Dublin higher authorities or the Irish embassy ever called or said anything to me about my loss. It was just Irish ordinary people.”
David Druzinec speaking on “Prime Time” to Irish broadcaster RTÉ
As bad is the initial response of the gardai as reported.
On Easter Sunday, after he [Druzinec] was discharged from hospital, he spent most of the day travelling around with the gardaí trying to re-trace their route.
Slugger O’Toole is a politically liberal site based in the 6 county bit of Ireland. One of its writers observes :
One of the great lessons in life is that the more someone publicly professes to be a ‘Christian,’ the more unchristian their private life is.
Years ago, I met one of the leading figures in the Save Ulster From Sodomy Campaign. I have a surprisingly good gaydar for a straight guy, and it was pinging off the chart. This guy had spent much of the 70s and 80s persecuting gays while himself being as gay as Eurovision. I felt sorry for him; he was a product of his upbringing. To live your life as a lie and with such self-loathing must be very tiring on the soul.
The Save Ulster from Sodomy campaign was a vicious anti-gay operation run by the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) and the Reverend Ian Paisley’s Free Presbyterian church. Paisley, a busy man, was leader of the DUP, and moderator of his church.
Ian Paisley’s DUP Tried and Failed to “Save Ulster from Sodomy”. Tarlach Mac Niallais led the Counter-Charge – a Man who Saved Sodomy from Ulster.
In Ireland, Christianity took over public life after the partition settlement of 1922. The Catholic Church controlled key parts of the state in the 26 county southern bit. In the North the Orange State was a Protestant State for a Protestant People.
In his final public sighting as DUP leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson was at Stormont for a Christian Easter service. It was Wednesday evening and there was a feel-good sense in Parliament Buildings. The DUP and Sinn Fein had been working together harmoniously for eight weeks, and now politicians were coming together for an uplifting ecumenical concert. With Donaldson in the audience, prayers were said for political leaders, and at the end the relaxed DUP leader went to have his photo taken with Eurovision winner Dana, who was singing at the event.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP and his wife Eleanor are scheduled to appear in court on April 24 in connection with serious criminal charges (described below). In the next weeks and months we will see how this story unfolds. The context is important – what effect will this have on the the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) which Mr Donaldson led until Good Friday 2024?
In a context where extreme right forces are on the march in most parts of the world, it is useful to add some Irish cross-border detail to Jeffrey Donaldson’s “final public sighting as DUP leader”. Sir Jeffrey was pleased to pose for a photo with Eurovision winner Dana (Rosemary Scallon) who attempted (and failed) to revive the religious far-right in the 26 County bit of Ireland. In the late 1990’s Scallon had some brief electoral success in a Presidential election, and won a European Parliament seat. However by 2011 Scallon’s political green-devil comet crashed and burned. The extremist Catholic far-right had become deeply unpopular. Most people in Ireland had turned against the Catholic Church, deeply implicated in a succession of child abuse scandals and hatred of pro-feminist causes such as the legalisation of abortion , divorce, same-sex marriage, contraception and gay rights. Shrewder right -wing politicians such as Fine Gael Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny saw the writing on the wall ; In the Dáil (parliament) this leader of the Dublin government stated that the Vatican was responsible for the “torture” of Irish children.
Reports state that Israeli military forces have “intentionally killed” United Nations employees : Polish, Australian, Irish, and British.
Labour Party TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North) states :
Israel have just killed an Irish citizen working for the UN. 30,000 murdered Palestinians should have been reason enough. But immediate sanctions including expulsion of ambassador must be the reaction of govt. And if Dáil needs to be recalled to sanction it then so be it.
Aodhán Ó Ríordáin TD
For sure, many other TD’s will make the same call.
#DYK in the 1920s and 1930s, the O'Connell Tower doubled as a mooring platform for airships?
Passengers were allowed to climb the tower while their airship refueled, although due to the noise disrupting funerals, and the opening of Dublin Airport, the practice soon ended. pic.twitter.com/UijAEn3w1J
— Experience Glasnevin – Ireland's National Cemetery (@ExpGlasnevin) April 1, 2024
From May 1 next, Cork Airport will be renamed and rebranded as Cork Cillian Murphy International Airport.
The renaming/rebranding is to be made in recognition of the Golden Globe, BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award winning actor, who is a native of Cork city.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP, leader of the far-right, homophobic, and misogynistic, Democratic Unionist party (DUP), deletes all his social media accounts
Donaldson’s party runs the recently revived Stormont assembly government in coalition with Sinn Féin and the Alliance Party.
“Yes, ruling by fooling, is a great British art with great Irish fools to practice on.” James Connolly
The far right and conservative Catholics claimed credit for the outcome but so have progressive disability rights and carers’ activists. So who is right? Was this a victory for reactionary or progressive ideas, or is the truth more complicated?
On International Women’s Day, Friday 8th of March, voters in the Republic of Ireland delivered two of the largest defeats in history for referendums put forward by the government. The Family referendum, which proposed extending the constitutional definition of the family to include families based on other “durable relationships” as well as marriage, was rejected by a margin of 68% to 32%. The Care referendum, which proposed replacing a sexist clause in the Constitution about women’s “duties in the home” with a gender-neutral clause pledging the state to “strive” to support family care, was defeated by a record 74% to 26%. Both referendums had been backed by the ruling Fine Gael-Fianna Fáil- Green Party coalition and supported, to varying degrees, by all the major opposition parties. The far right and conservative Catholics claimed credit for the outcome but so have progressive disability rights and carers’ activists. So who is right? Was this a victory for reactionary or progressive ideas, or is the truth more complicated?
Polling data shows that the Family Referendum was rejected by a significantly higher margin in rural areas, ranging from 80% in Donegal to 61% across Dublin. There was less of a clear urban-rural pattern with the Care Referendum but in Dublin, No votes were higher in working class than middle class constituencies for both referendums. An exit poll found that the majority of Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and (mostly right wing) Independent voters voted no to both referendums; Fine Gael, Green Party and Labour voters voted Yes-Yes and most People Before Profit and Social Democrat voters voted Yes to the Family referendum but No to the Care referendum. The 6% difference between the No votes in the two referendums suggests that around 6% of voters voted Yes to the Family Referendum and No to the Care Referendum. This compares to 68% of voters who voted No-No and 26% who voted Yes-Yes.
Tomás Ó Flatharta 