Tomás Ó Flatharta

Looking at Things from the Left

Archive for the ‘Six County State’ Category

Dark Comedy Show : Will Maria Steen be a Far-Right Frankenstein Candidate on the Irish Presidential ballot? – It is odds-on, a racing certainty

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Let’s have a little fun regarding the nomination campaign of the conservative far-right, anti-choice and racist candidate Maria Steen; Steen is a veteran or Ireland’s anti-choice movement; readers can stay up-to-date here :

“Independent Ireland is expected to make a decision tomorrow or Wednesday morning.

Their decision could influence whether other TDs or senators – rumoured to include a small number on the conservative wing of Fianna Fáil – would lend her their vote before the presidential nomination deadline of noon on Wednesday.” (RTÉ News Report).

The entire Fianna Fáil organisation is conservative – although occasionally it makes gestures towards the left. Between 2011 and 2018 the party leadership realised it had to dump a too close association with Catholic Church anti-feminism and the vile crime of institutional child abuse. It is continuing this tactic by nominating the high-profile Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) figure Jim Gavin to be President of Ireland. Gavin states he is pro-choice, pro same-sex marriage, and voted to lift the constitutional ban on abortion in 2018. These statements make him totally unacceptable to the Irish far-right, which includes Maria Steen and the Aontú party led by ex Sinn Féin TD Peader Tóibín, who is in charge of the Maria Steen bingo card. It is a racing certainty Steen will be on the presidential ballot – she has the nominations of 13 or 14 Oireachtas members plus 4 from the Irish Independent party.

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“Approximately 100,000 on a far right march in London. A grim new milestone in post-war political history” – Great Article by A Very Public Sociologist

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The writer angrily says “This is the culmination of Keir Starmer’s rancid approach to immigration” – and he is spot on. We have problems confronting a growing racist right in Ireland also, and can learn a very important lesson : Dog-Whistling and Pandering to racists creates a catastrophe.

Link :
Grim Political Milestone in London 13.11.2025 – A Very Public Sociologist

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Epping Forest Asylum Hotel Case Judge Mr Stephen Eyre has right-wing form in the 6 County bit of Ireland

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We are used to NIMBY (Not in my back-yard) racists in Ireland attacking asylum-seekers and refugees in vulnerable accommodation. This political plague is currently sweeping across the British State. An Epping Forest Judge, Mr Stephen Eyre, has political form in the six-county bit of Ireland


Judge in Epping Forest asylum hotel case ran for Tories in NI poll

Liam Tunney, Belfast Telegraph, August 22nd, 2025

A judge behind a landmark ruling on hotels accommodating asylum seekers in the UK once stood for election in Northern Ireland.

Stephen Eyre’s ruling on the legality of The Bell Hotel’s eligibility to house asylum seekers has sparked a wave of complaints to local authorities across the UK, including three councils in Northern Ireland.

The action, taken by Epping Forest District Council against Somani Hotels, alleged the group had not notified the local planning authority of a change of use for the premises.

Mr Eyre is a former election candidate for the Conservative Party, standing in Birmingham Hodge Hill in 1987, Stourbridge in 2001 and again in a 2004 by-election in Birmingham Hodge Hill.

In the 1992 General Election, he stood in Strangford as the Conservatives attempted to gain a foothold in Northern Ireland.

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European Law might overrule bigoted British Supreme Court Anti-Transgender ruling in 6 County bit of Ireland – since Brexit, the north is different from Great Britain

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Voters in the 6 County bit of Ireland rejected Brexit in the 2016 British State referendum by a large margin : 55 to 45 per cent. This was a unique political event – opposition to Brexit broke down the normal sectarian divide on an important constitutional development in the north of Ireland : Almost all nationalists voted against Brexit, and they were joined by a significant number of Unionist (perhaps ex-Unionist) voters.

Afterwards a decision was needed : would a new European Union (EU) – Britain border divide the 6 and 26 county bits of Ireland – or would a new border emerge, dividing the island of Great Britain from all of Ireland?

Everybody knew a new Brexit border could not be imposed on Ireland. The British government needed window-dressing for its Unionist allies : the “Windsor Framework” was unveiled with a walk-on part for the reluctant British monarch King Charles.

This rickety constitutional construction kicked a sleeping dog. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement. copperfastened an imperialist crime – the 1922  partition of Ireland.  A promise that partition could be ended through an internal 6 county referendum is part of the GFA – but this was never meant to happen. The architects of the GFA reasoned, correctly in 1998, that an anti-partition majority in the north of Ireland was extremely unlikely. The Unionist Veto was safe. After Brexit, not any more.

The former Fine Gael leader and taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, is saying out loud what many people know is true but do not want to hear :

A Nigel Farage-led UK goverment could herald a united Ireland – Varadkar

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1. Six-County Cops – Softly, Softly Against Racists 2. Twenty Six County Cops – target non-whites crossing Ireland’s “open(ish)” border

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The two reports below tell us that policies operated by police forces operation in the two partitioned bits of Ireland – the Gardaí Síochána (Guardians of the Peace) and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) [a child of the hated Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)] are racist-friendly.

The news reports are related :

Claire Mullaly, a spokesperson for End Deportations Now Belfast told The Irish News that gardaí boarded the bus and began asking passengers for identification.
She said they specifically removed non-white passengers who could not produce documents while allowing white passengers in the same predicament to remain on board. She branded the incident as “disgraceful” in light of the anti-immigrant violence that took place in Northern Ireland in recent days.

Both reports come from the Belfast Irish News.

PSNI officers told not to intervene during race riots unless life at risk

Connla Young, Crime and Security Correspondent, Irish News, June 17th, 2025

DETAILS OF INSTRUCTION SENT IN EMAIL

PSNI officers were told not to interfere with violent mobs during last week’s race riots unless life was at risk.

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Racism: The socialism of Fools; Racist Cancer Spreading from Ballymena in Ireland

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Introduction :

The writer Fearghal Mac Bhloscaidh offers very valuable insights into the June 2025 pogroms spreading from Ballymena in North Antrim to other towns in the 6 County bit of Ireland, notably Larne and Portadown. These vile events are related to similar sewer eruptions in the 26 county bit of Ireland and fit into a global rise of genocidal-racist powers such as Putin’s Russia, Netanyahu’s Israel, and their protectors such as Donald Trump’s USA. The latter is still a capitalist bourgeois democracy – but credible analysts now ask – for how long?

Below Fearghal’ s timely article –  which contains very useful warnings from history : relevant references are made to the Marxist scholars and activists August Bebel, Victor Serge and Ernest Mandel :

We add :

A chilling report of an interview with the DUP Westminster MP for the Upper Bann constituency, Carla Lockhart.

A stark report from the 6 County bit of Ireland headlined “Week of Violence in North “Akin to 1930s Germany”

Racist Cancer Spreading From Ballymena in Ireland, Irish Times, June 14 2025

Fearghal Mac Bhloscaidh

Link :


Ballymena; Racism the Socialism of Fools; Fearghal Mac Bhloscaidh

I recently discussed three interconnected issues on Raidió na Gaeltachta: reform to the South’s rent caps benefiting landlords and international funds, Trump’s authoritarian militarization of US protests, and the racist attacks in Ballymena/Larne.

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Ballymena Riots – Democratic Unionist party Stormont-Racist Minister Gordon Lyons posted location of people sheltering from riots – He Must Resign Immediately

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“Christian” charity has disappeared from North Antrim.

Link :
Gordon Lyons Has to Go – by Eamonn McCann

The scenes we’re witnessing in Ballymena, Larne and elsewhere are vile and indefensible attempted pogroms. They should be utterly condemned by all.

These attacks haven’t occurred out of thin air, however.

In a context of community frustration at deprivation, waiting lists and crumbling public services, far right agitators are spreading racist lies on social media to blame migrants, and Unionist politicians have deliberately fanned the flames of their hate.

Last night, the DUP Minister for Communities Gordon Lyons posted the location of people sheltering from riots:

“It has been brought to my attention that a number of individuals were temporarily moved to Larne Leisure Centre in the early hours of the morning following the disturbances in Ballymena.”

The leisure centre was attacked later that evening – motivated by sheer racism. Gordon Lyons should resign immediately.

Other Unionist politicians have been whipping up anti-immigrant rhetoric.

On Monday Paul Frew, also DUP, went on the attack about immigration in a session on violence against women, and also referenced the case of sexual assault which sparked the racist riots in Ballymena. Frew also railed about immigration in Ballymena in a debate on the 20th May.

The TUV’s Timothy Gaston beat the anti-immigration drum on that same day: “Migration puts pressure on hospitals, schools and housing: that is a fact.”

This is the racist playbook on display. It blames migrants and minorities for the problems in our society. Migrants didn’t underfund the health service, minorities don’t hike up rents, asylum seekers don’t keep wages down. These problems are caused by the super rich, by landlords, and by politicians who protect them

Unionist politicians bear serious responsibility for the hateful scenes of recent days. They dog-whistled and whipped up racist sentiments. Loyalist paramilitaries and far right agitators took the next logical step, attacking ordinary people and making them fear for their lives.

Don’t be taken in by the DUP, the TUV and the far right. Stand up for humanity in a time of fear and chaos.

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Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Versus the BBC concerning the 2006 killing of IRA informer Denis Donaldson – Dublin Jury Awards €100,000

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This is a result which does not surprise close observers of the proceedings.

A very strong argument was advanced by Tom Hogan, counsel for Gerry Adams.

A BBC journalist has rejected a suggestion that she engaged in "a box-ticking exercise" when finding sources to corroborate an allegation against Gerry Adams which is at the centre of a defamation case

RTÉ News (@news.rte.ie) 2025-05-15T11:37:57.106Z


Source :

Tom Hogan, Counsel for Gerry Adams in BBC/Denis Donaldson libel case, puts forward extremely strong argument

The BBC Spotlight reporter Jennifer O’Leary failed to convince the jury about the quality of her 6 anonymous sources.
Any reasonable juror was bound to say to themselves : “It is irrelevant that Adams was, or was not, in the IRA. This claim is not proven – we are asked to take one person’s word for it, and that is not good enough”.

In short, the BBC case was extremely flimsy as it relied on anonymous British intelligence sources.



In this respect, see Anton McCabe’s incisive article below –

Adamned if he does, adamned if he doesn’t

Gerry Adams didn’t order spy’s murder, and ‘Spotlight’’s agent didn’t even say he did

British intelligence sources are serial liars – and the background news is :
The British Northern Ireland Secretary of State Hilary Benn is scrambling to prevent a public enquiry into
the Sean Brown 1997 murder involving 25 – yes 25! – people connected to British intelligence.

Former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams with British King Charles – ex Fianna Fáil TD Seán Haughey looks on

Tánaiste Simon Harris has come out firmly with the Brown family, the GAA, thousands of Derry demonstrators, the Irish News etc – against the British state’s cover-up protecting MI5 murderers.

We are well used to British government cover-ups in Ireland. We are even more used to Dublin governments bowing, scraping, and capitulating to Westminster diktats.

So, it is notable that the Dublin government has grasped the Sean Brown cover-up must end.

John Meehan May 30 2025


After the libel trial result was made public, Gerry Adams called on the Dublin government to meet the family of Denis Donaldson. Jane Donaldson, the daughter of the killed IRA informer, issued a public statement which has the ring of truth.

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The British State and the 6 County Bit of Ireland – Hilary Benn’s Three Cover-Ups Are Protecting State Killers

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Hilary Benn is the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. He is very busy, scrambling to protect state killers.

Appalling vistas have come to the surface.

Hilary Benn, British boss (Six County bit of Ireland) flanked by Stormont 1st and Deputy 1st Ministers Emma Little-Pengelly and Michelle O’Neill

Three major scandals will not go away, public pressure is building up.

Number 1, The murder of Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) Chairperson Sean Brown in 1997

The Sean Brown case is extraordinary – Hillary Benn is covering up the involvement of 25 people connected to British intelligence in a case that dates back to 1997. Let that sink in.

Campaigners for Sean Brown are very clear on what they want. We are well used to British government cover-ups in Ireland, and are even more used to Dublin governments bowing, scraping, and capitulating to Westminster diktats.

So, it is notable that Simon Harris – Dublin government Tánaiste (deputy prime minister) has grasped this cover-up must end. This news report is very telling :

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Belfast Child Abuse Scandal : KINCORA MONSTER DENIED ALL WHEN CONFRONTED BY AUTHOR IN THIS EXTRACT FROM HIS NEW BOOK, KINCORA: BRITAIN’S SHAME

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Child Abuse remains a major crime problem in Ireland, on both sides of the border. Veteran reporter Chris Moore has worked tirelessly researching the issue, and fighting state censorship.

Governments running the two bits of Ireland must stop pocketing knowledge of abuse, and then using the information for political intelligence purposes, and protecting powerful wealthy criminals.

The building at the centre of the scandal was demolished three years ago, but the cover up of the crimes committed behind its walls continues.
It is long past the time that the full truth was told about what happened in the house of horrors.

Suzanne Breen, Journalist, Belfast

McGrath denied his sins to the end – one of his last interviews

Chris Moore, Sunday Life, May 18th, 2025

Source : “McGrath Denied His Sins to the End” Kincora Monster Denied All

KINCORA MONSTER DENIED ALL WHEN CONFRONTED BY AUTHOR IN THIS EXTRACT FROM HIS NEW BOOK, KINCORA: BRITAIN’S SHAME

The UK government has locked up files on Kincora until 2065 & 2085.Veteran investigative journalist Chris Moore’s new book, ‘Kincora: Britain’s Shame’, launched last night in a packed Duke of York bar, means we don’t have to wait until then. #mustread

Patrick Corrigan (@patrick-corrigan.bsky.social) 2025-05-16T09:13:34.658Z

I parked in the forecourt of a neighbourhood shop with the intention of asking if anyone could direct me to McGrath’s home.

I presented a few items for payment, casually asking the shopkeeper if she could point me in the direction of his house.

Politely, but firmly, she declined, saying that as far as she and others in the village were concerned, ‘Billy’ McGrath was a friendly man who said he had been badly wronged in the courts and pestered by reporters.

“I suppose you are one of them,” she said bluntly. I owned up and then respectfully suggested that the evidence that convicted him indicated that, far from being wronged, McGrath had actually got off very lightly.

Collecting my change, I headed out to the car to consider my next move. I could do the door-to-door routine, but the attitude of the shopkeeper suggested I would receive little cooperation. Then, an elderly man approached, wearing a cardigan, dark trousers and slippers, so obviously he had not travelled too far.

I got out of the car and watched as he moved towards the shop. There is a God, I thought. Gingerly I edged around the car, proffering my hand as he reached me.

He accepted, we shook and I announced myself as “Chris Moore from the BBC”. McGrath smiled wryly and told me he had nothing to say.

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