Archive for the ‘26 County State (Ireland)’ Category
Massive Public Support for Pro-Palestine Encampment at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) – Book of Kells Closed Indefinitely
Palestine Solidarity at the centre of Dublin City – May 5 2024
#DivestNow #AcademicBoycott
Irish Times Report, May 5 2024; Ronan McGreevy, Fiachra Gallagher
Trinity College Dublin closed ‘until further notice’ as protest against Israel ties continues
Several dozen students who have set up camp on the university’s grounds, blockading entrance to Book of Kells, say they will remain ‘indefinitely’ until demands are met
Read the rest of this entry »Ireland’s Open(ish) Border – Sinn Féin on the Warpath
Ireland’s Open(ish) Border – Sinn Féin on the Warpath
Sinn Féin’s is warning Irish voters about “Open Borders”.
The party is promoting relentless propaganda in the run-up to the June 7 2024 European and local elections in Ireland.
This leaflet from Balbrigggan (Dublin) is a local version of statewide propaganda.
Let’s ask ourselves a question : What’s wrong with Open Borders?
Andrew Flood calls the border in Ireland Open(ish) – and he is spot on. Here is why :
I say Open(ish) because for two decades black or brown people crossing that border have been stopped and told to produce ‘papers’ by the Garda (claiming to be doing random checks). Maybe they want such checks stepped up, if not what is the demand here?
The border between the EU and the rest of the world is so closed that 3,000 people died trying to sneak across it last year. Over 20 times the number of people killed crossing the Berlin Wall in the 28 years it existed. The border with the 6 counties is Open(ish) – is it that?
OK we all know this is a response to the far right working with FFFGGP to blame Sinn Féin on the government’s failure to plan & communicate for large number of Ukrainian refugees. But this shite is just going to underline that Sinn Féin are no more principled that the rest.
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Swiss Grannies Win Historic Climate Change European Court of Human Rights Victory – Irish Green Party Minister Éamon Ryan Fought Them – and Lost
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.
Jennifer Whitmore TD, Social Democrats, Wicklow
Marielle Budry describes the case :
Source : International Viewpoint,
Historic victory for the “Aînées pour le climat”
Link : Swiss Grannies – Historic victory for the “Aînées pour le climat”
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]
Read the rest of this entry »The 1997 Bellaghy State Terrorist Murder of a GAA Chairperson Seán Brown in Derry – Link to Documentary
Trevor Birney’s documentary is recommended. It was broadcast on the Irish state’s TV Station RTÉ (Radio Telefís Éireann) 1 on April 22 2024.
For anyone who missed it or is unable to access it, here’s a link :
Weak Arm of the Law in the 26 County bit of Ireland – Police “Hug-a-Thug” Policy imported from the 6 County bit of Ireland
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.
John Meehan April 22 2024
Weak Arm of the Law – Cedar Lounge Blog
Link : Weak Arm of the Law – Cedar Lounge Blog
So, Friday comes the news that the previous night:
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.
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Dublin Far-Right Racist Connections – A Sunday Independent story highlighted by Paul Murphy TD
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.
https://twitter.com/paulmurphy_TD/status/1781954648292683804?t=c3ttmKhAR-_G9oNaoBVPyA&s=19
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.
Read the rest of this entry »Sam Nolan, an Irish trade union fighter
The RTÉ Archives Site asked a question :
This week we are looking for help with a photograph taken at PAYE tax protest march on O’Connell Street, Dublin, on 22 January 1980. Anyone know the man addressing the crowd? How about those on the platform with him?
Any ideas?
The photographer was Des Gaffney.
Contact us at archives@rte.ie or on Twitter @RTEArchivesView more photographs from RTÉ Archives
I did my best, sending this message to Des Derwin
Dear Des,
I came across a link below of a good photo of Sam Nolan speaking at a PAYE demonstration in 1980 –
It is on the RTÉ Archive and the administrators are asking for somebody to identify the speaker.
I think that honour should fall to Sam or Helena.
Perhaps, the message did not get through!
Sam Nolan’s funeral takes place on Saturday April 20 at 1.30pm in Glasnevin Cemetery.
Read the rest of this entry »
The RTÉ Archives Site asked a question :
This week we are looking for help with a photograph taken at PAYE tax protest march on O’Connell Street, Dublin, on 22 January 1980. Anyone know the man addressing the crowd? How about those on the platform with him?
Any ideas?
The photographer was Des Gaffney.
Contact us at archives@rte.ie or on Twitter @RTEArchivesView more photographs from RTÉ Archives
I did my best, sending this message to Des Derwin
Dear Des,
I came across a link below of a good photo of Sam Nolan speaking at a PAYE demonstration in 1980 –
It is on the RTÉ Archive and the administrators are asking for somebody to identify the speaker.
I think that honour should fall to Sam or Helena.
Perhaps, the message did not get through!
Sam Nolan’s funeral takes place on Saturday April 20 at 1.30pm in Glasnevin Cemetery.
Read the rest of this entry »
British Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris “accused of ‘unprecedented political intervention’ in legacy inquest” – News from the 6 County Bit of Ireland
Exclusive: Chris Heaton-Harris accused of ‘unprecedented political intervention’ in legacy inquest – Irish News Newspaper
Northern Ireland Office minister seeks to block information being passed to family of murdered Catholic man Fergal McCusker
Family Members of Fergal McCusker attend the Inquest at Laganside courts on Tuesday April 9 2024
News like this does not get the attention it deserves. Low standards of justice remain very common in the sick state of Northern Ireland.
Here are the details.
Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris has been accused of “an unprecedented political intervention” as it emerged he has written to chief constable Jon Boutcher questioning his actions.
Dramatic details came to light during an inquest hearing liked to the LVF murder of Fergal McCusker (28) in Maghera, Co Derry, as he made his way home from a night out on January 18, 1998.
No-one has ever been charged with the Catholic man’s murder, although four men were arrested and later released.
Read the rest of this entry »Saving Sodomy from Ulster – Public professions of Christianity frequently mask horrible crimes
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.
https://sluggerotoole.com/2024/03/30/public-morality-private-hypocrisy/
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.
An effective counter-campaign, Save Sodomy from Ulster, was the brainchild of Tarlach Mac Niallais. Link : CoVid-19 Has Taken Tarlach Mac Niallais From Us in New York – A Courageous Fighter from North Belfast 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.
Read the rest of this entry »Piety and Politics of the Democratic Unionist party in the Six County bit of Ireland – with the fall of Sir Jeffrey Donaldson “It feels like the end of days now”
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.
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Tomás Ó Flatharta 