The Official IRA and Workers Party In The Wake Of The De Rossa Split | The Broken Elbow
“Helmut Oberlander”, a whistleblower, explains the recent split in the Workers’ Party / Official IRA. The message below was sent to Ed Moloney.
Once again, in the history of left-wing organisations which degenerate politically, we see the needs of the apparatus (in this case criminal businesses created by a conspiratorial army aided by North Korean forged dollars) prioritised against legitimate struggles waged by the working class and its allies.
This form of left politics is today re-emerging via the ideology of “Campism”, where régimes like Xi Jinping’s China (a major capitalist power) are supported when they are competing against Donald Trump’s USA. Xi Jinping and company know that “left wing” puppets in foreign lands can be cynically bought. 
I received the piece below as a comment on an article I wrote on the recent split in what remains of the Workers Party and Official IRA. ‘Helmut Oberlander’ is the undoubtedly fictitious byline that came with the article but knowing a little about the organization involved, I cannot blame the author for seeking refuge in such a deep blanket of obscurity. That aside, I think what ‘Helmut’ has to say about his former comrades at the time that Prionsias de Rossa led most of the WP’s TD’s into the new Democratic Left party, carries the ring of truth and authenticity as well as fascinating revelation. And so dear reader I recommend it to you. Enjoy: Read the rest of this entry »
Mary Toomey (Valarasan) : “I would consider every child born in this country as Irish”
On August 12 2020 the Irish Times published an interview with a citizen who came to work study and live in Ireland in 1967. Her name is Mary Toomey; she was born in Sri Lanka. I asked myself : was this the same woman who got a job teaching in Sandymount High School (SHS), and was known by her pre-marriage surname, Valarasan? I did some searching, found out my guess was correct, and established direct contact. I was one of her SHS pupils, starting in September 1967.
A copy of the interview is at the link below :
https://www.dropbox.com/s/28f3db3uism75fa/Mary%20Toomey%20%28Valarasan%29.pdf?dl=0
A good description of Sandymount High School, which
was founded in 1947 and was initially controversial because, as a non-denominational school, it wasn’t owned by a church but by the Cannon family[1], who also provided the two headmasters the school had: father and son Patrick and Conall Cannon. Patrick’s wife Eileen Cannon also served as headmistress.
The school’s student body was arguably drawn from several distinct groups: those from a local council estate called Beech Hill, the offspring of parents disenchanted with denominational/same sex schools, students on the Malahide/Howth to Bray rail corridor and the 3 & 18 bus routes, and foreign nationals who paid tuition fees.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandymount_High_School?wprov=sfti1
In those days, unlike in 2020, very few people born outside Ireland lived and worked in a country famous for exporting its people. The Irish constitution stated that everyone born in Ireland (on both sides of the border dividing Ireland into two states) automatically was a citizen of the state.
On June 12 2004 voters amended the constitution on a day of shame – the definition of “citizen” changed.
Mary Toomey observes
I would consider every child born in this country as Irish. But the problem is, once you are not lily-white or freckle-skinned, you are still labelled as non-Irish or a non-national.”
The protection of children – regardless of nationality, race, caste, creed, physical and mental disability or socio-economic status – should be Ireland’s primary focus, she says. But, 16 years on from the referendum, Dr Toomey says racism towards children of colour in Ireland has become noticeably worse.
I was an activist in the “Vote No” campaign.
Two items arguing against the new citizenship rules are below. Read the rest of this entry »
Civil War in the British Labour Party Intensifies – Sir Keir Starmer Targets Jeremy Corbyn
For what it’s worth, my personal reaction, and advice to Jeremy Corbyn et al from the western side of the Irish Sea : prepare a split from the British Labour Party now – show firm and decisive leadership – study the Stalin anti-Bolshevik manual of the early 1920’s, and compare it with the salami tactics used today by the Starmer gang – do not try to reason with the Starmer-Stalin gang, that’s a waste of time – gather together the willing fighters and fight, fight, fight – nothing to lose, everything to gain – the Starmer-Stalin purge is coming – John Meehan
“Jeremy Corbyn, the former left-wing leader of Britain’s Labour party, is once again making headlines over an “antisemitism problem” he supposedly oversaw during his five years at the head of the party.
This time, however, the assault on his reputation is being led not by the usual suspects – pro-Israel lobbyists and a billionaire-owned media – but by Keir Starmer, the man who succeeded him.
Since becoming Labour leader in April, Starmer has helped to bolster the evidence-free narrative of a party plagued by antisemitism under Corbyn. That has included Starmer’s refusal to exploit two major opportunities to challenge that narrative.
Had those chances been grasped, Labour might have been able to demonstrate that Corbyn was the victim of an underhand campaign to prevent him from reaching power.
Starmer, had he chosen to, could have shown that Corbyn’s long history as an anti-racism campaigner was twisted to discredit him. His decades of vocal support for Palestinian rights were publicly recast as a supposed irrational hatred of Israel based on an antipathy to Jews.
But instead Starmer chose to sacrifice his predecessor rather than risk being tarred with the same brush.
As a result, Labour now appears to be on the brink of open war. Competing rumors suggest Corbyn may be preparing to battle former staff through the courts, while Starmer may exile his predecessor from the party.”
UK Labour party teeters on brink of civil war over antisemitism
Too many FFFGGG piggies 🐷 🐷 🐷 slurping Euros 💶 from the trough? 18 ministers at Cabinet is ‘fairly obviously unconstitutional’ and politically ‘dubious’
Bunreacht na hÉireann states: “The Government shall consist of not less than 7 and not more than 15 members.”
The FFFGGG coalition has a deserved reputation for letting ministerial piggies 🐷 loose to slurp at a trough stuffed with Euros 💶. Greed causes the party leaders to ignore clear and simple rules about how many ministers can be appointed – the constitution states the maximum number is 15 – and no other politicians can attend cabinet meetings. Three “super junior” mini-ministers – already in hot water for getting a pay 💰 hike – are attending cabinet meetings – according to the attached article this practice is probably unconstitutional and illegal. This might look like an obscure technical point – but it might be a gift 🎁 to radical left deputies denied 🙅 decent speaking rights in the current Dáil. Revenge is a dish best served cold.
The legal side: ‘Crystal clear’ and confidentiality
“Most of the time with constitutional law, there’s a great deal of ambiguity and it’s really unclear what the constitutional answer is,” says David Kenny, Assistant Professor of Law at Trinity College Dublin and co-author of the leading text on Irish constitutional law.
“This is one of those ones where I think it’s very clear that there’s essentially no scope for having more than 15 members of government. The Constitution is crystal clear about that, there’s just no way to have more than that.”
Confidentiality is also enshrined in the Constitution, meaning that you can’t have non-Cabinet members involved in the deliberations of Cabinet.
Article 28.1 of Bunreacht na hÉireann states simply:
“The Government shall consist of not less than seven and not more than fifteen members who shall be appointed by the President in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.”
Article 28.4 alludes to the confidentiality and collective responsibility of Cabinet:
“The Government shall meet and act as a collective authority, and shall be collectively responsible for the Departments of State administered by the members of the Government.
The confidentiality of discussions at meetings of the Government shall be respected in all circumstances save only where the High Court determines that disclosure should be made in respect of a particular matter.”
Kenny continues: “So the question is how are these junior ministers both allowed to be subject to these confidential discussions and involved in these meetings, where only 15 people are supposed to collectively wield the executive power of the State?”
So I think it’s fairly obviously unconstitutional.
https://www.thejournal.ie/government-more-than-15-members-at-cabinet-5163806-Aug2020/
Thanks to Raymond Deane who drew attention to this problem.
The Miami Showband Massacre – 45th Anniversary July 31 2020 : Files delay ‘appalling’, says judge – BBC News
Readers are urged to examine the stark facts below.
The British State was caught running the loyalist sectarian murder of Miami Showband musicians returning in the wee small hours from a music gig at Castle Ballroom, Banbridge, County Down on July 31 1975, 45 years ago.
A survivor, Stephen Travers, tells the story to Yvonne Watterson . https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/miami-showband-massacre-i-heard-my-platform-shoes-click-against-each-other-i-still-had-both-legs-1.4318542
My friend Stephen Travers knows all too well about remembering. He was a member of the Miami Showband who survived that atrocity.
They were travelling home from a gig at the Castle Ballroom in Banbridge, Co Down, when they were flagged down at what appeared to be a routine British army checkpoint outside Newry. They were ordered to stand by the road with their hands on their heads, while the men in uniform checked their van.
Stephen recalls being concerned about what was taking so long. “My guitar was in there. I had a very unusual guitar, a transparent Dan Armstrong Plexiglas bass, and I was very protective of it. I was damned if I was going to let some awkward soldier manhandle it. I loved my guitar.”
Two of the uniformed men – later revealed as members of the Ulster Defence Regiment – were planting a bomb under the driver’s seat when it exploded, killing both of them. The other assailants opened fire, killing the band’s frontman, Fran O’Toole, its trumpet player, Brian McCoy, and its lead guitarist, Tony Geraghty. Read the rest of this entry »
“Anti-Capitalist Resistance” – Planned launch 🚀 of new anti-capitalist organisation in England 🏴 and Wales 🏴
Some convergence on the radical left is occurring in England and Wales. https://www.timetomutiny.org/. https://socialistresistance.org/
INITIAL STATEMENT, INVITATION, & PROGRAMME
Anti-Capitalist Resistance
A Weekend School:
Saturday/Sunday 12/13 September 2020
The radical left faces major challenges following the defeat of Corbynism and the consolidation of a new Labour leadership under Starmer. We also face a resurgent far right following Brexit, an unprecedented economic crisis, and the existential threat of climate chaos. Many left organisations and activists, inside and outside the Labour Party, are uncertain of the way forward. This is a moment of reflection and potential realignment. We must learn the lessons of the past and apply them in creating new socialist organisation fit for purpose in the 21st century.
The aim of this weekend school is to analyse the political situation we face and to consider launching a new, united, anti-capitalist organisation in England and Wales. (The political situation in Scotland is very different, though we wish to work closely with Scottish anti-capitalist organisations.)
What we stand for
We seek revolutionary transformation to meet the compound crisis of ecological disaster, economic collapse, social decay, grotesque inequality, mass impoverishment, growing militarisation, and creeping authoritarianism.
• We are internationalists, ecosocialists, and anti-capitalist revolutionaries. We oppose imperialism, nationalism, militarism, racism, misogyny, and homophobia. We stand in solidarity with all the oppressed at home and abroad, and we support all struggles from below against the system.
Read the rest of this entry »Episode 1 : Congratulations 🎉 to Neasa Hourigan TD – Green Party, Dublin Central – votes against FFFGGG Coalition Residential Tenancies Bill – Episode 2 : Neasa Backtracks!
Excellent News!🙋♀️ Well done 👍 Neasa Hourigan TD Dublin Central.
Hopefully a case of 1 Green deputy down, 11 to go.
There were 12 green bottles🍾 sitting 🪑 on the wall,
and if 1 green bottle 🍾should accidentally fall,
There were 11 green bottles 🍾….
“The Dublin Central TD voted against the Bill as a whole after 6pm, which could lead to her being stripped of the whip by her party.
Another Green Party TD abstained in the final vote.
There was criticism this week that the Bill was not discussed at the Cabinet sub-committee on housing, which only met today for the first time. “
The abstaining Green TD was Junior Minister Joe O’Brien, Dublin Fingal.
“Wow! Well done to the Green TD with the courage to vote against government on the Residential tenancies and valuation bill 2020.
This bill is:
A. Not included in the pfg
B. Not in line with green party policy
C. Completely immoral and unjust in the context of a housing crisis pic.twitter.com/WaYDP90AKd
— Lorna Bogue (@LornaBogue) July 30, 2020”
Source: Lorna Bogue/Twitter
“The bill is not contained in the programme for government.
Sinn Fein has also put down an amendment that would ensure that no notice to quit can be placed on grounds of a landlord seeking vacant possession to sell a property during the emergency period.
The Green Party manifesto committed to a ban on evictions due to sale.
Legal advice received by the Simon Communities states the original ban was brought in as a response to a public health crisis, which is not yet over.
The dissent in government ranks will raise alarm bells for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. https://www.thejournal.ie/neasa-hourigan-rent-vote-5163999-Jul2020/
Nice Try But Public Not Falling For Government’s 10% Pay Cut Bullshit – Waterford Whispers News
Satire which is real news.
Irish FFFGGG coalition government ministers continue to fumble in the greasy till and get caught.
THE PUBLIC has doffed its cap to the government in appreciation of its attempt to pull a fast one with its selfless decision to institute a 10% pay cut for ministers, but added ‘we ain’t falling for this bullshit’.
“It’s the sort of tokenistic gesture that I actually might have appreciated were it not for the fact Taoiseach Martin and some of his ministers will still actually be earning more than the previous government’s salaries,” explained one member of the public.
“Sorry, what was that? Could you speak up,” asked the Taoiseach when it was put to him his government have taken being tone deaf to new inaudible highs.
The Taoiseach had been hoping the 10% cut would have distracted from Junior Minister pay bumps, welfare hunters at airports and reemerging focus on the treatment of victims of the Cervical Check scandal among 400 other things, however, the move has gone down like a dozen lead balloons strapped with explosives.
“Fair play, only this clown car of a government could take a pay cut and still end up earning more money, and that’s before expenses even come into play,” shared one member of the public, who as a healthcare worker, will have to settle for saving up all the applause they received to pay the bills in lieu of any pay increases.
In a last ditch attempt to secure a positive PR win for his government the Taoiseach stated Jack Chambers is worth every penny of the €140,000 he is paid.
Elsewhere, Sinn Féin, a party who incorrectly claimed their TDs only take home the average industrial wage labeled the 10% pay cut ‘a disgrace’.
— Read on waterfordwhispersnews.com/2020/07/28/nice-try-but-public-not-falling-for-governments-10-pay-cut-bullshit/
Irish Left Unity: a new round of engagement in a year of change, 2020
Guest post by Des Derwin
Irish Left Unity: a new round of engagement in a year of change, 2020.
Links to and extracts from selected articles, posts, podcasts and interviews.
1. Jacobin; Michael Taft: ‘This Month’s Elections in Ireland Are a Historic Opportunity’, 2nd January 2020
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/02/ireland-elections-fine-gael-fianna-fail
oooOOOooo
2. Rise website: ‘Why a Combined Left Challenge in the General Election is Essential’, 6th Jabuary 2020.
https://www.letusrise.ie/featured-articles/why-a-combined-left-challenge-in-the-general-election-is-essential
oooOOOooo
3. Paul Murphy TD, speaking at the ‘Stop the Stitch Up’ rally, Dublin 7th March 2020.
“We need to build a mass political party of the left which is open to different trends, to be organised within, and to represent working class people.”
oooOOOooo
4. RISE website: ‘After Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, what next?’ by Diana O’Dwyer, 20th February 2020
https://www.letusrise.ie/featured-articles/after-fianna-fil-and-fine-gael-what-next
oooOOOooo
5. From: RISE website: ‘We need a socialist government’, 7th March 2020.
https://www.letusrise.ie/featured-articles/we-need-a-socialist-government
“Build a new mass left-wing party
There is a desperate need for a mass political party of the left. Because of Sinn Féin’s acceptance of the capitalist market and its hesitancy to engage with people-power movements, it will not be that party.
None of the existing radical left parties are likely to grow directly into that mass left party either. Instead, we need a left party that is anti-capitalist, anti-coalition and anti-oppression, while being open for different groups to organise within it.
RISE and our TD, Paul Murphy, wants to work with others to build such a party. While fighting for every reform in the here and now, we are a revolutionary socialist group that sees the need to end the rule of the bosses and big corporations.” 
oooOOOooo
6. RISE website: ‘No going back, but what’s ahead’ by Cian Prendiville, 1st May 2020.
https://www.letusrise.ie/featured-articles/no-going-back-but-whats-ahead
“This new era will pose new challenges and opportunities for the socialist left.
The recent general election was a brush with fate. The fractured socialist left took blows, but kept on our feet, holding onto most of our seats. This shows that a certain base of support for socialist TDs has been built. A Sinn Fein surge squeezed our vote, and we struggled to respond in a positive and principled way. In too many places the left split its vote, costing perhaps two seats and putting a third at risk. We should learn from that, and strengthen the left for the future.RISE’s proposals for a combined left challenge are a good starting point.
The truth is, this isn’t a bad place to begin. Just before the 2008 crash, Sinn Fein had 5 Dail seats, now it is the largest party in the state. Crisis changes everything.
Back then the socialist left had no seats. Now on the cusp of another major turn, we are the ones with 5 seats. We are the ones with the ideas to change the world. A desire for a radically different and better world is growing every day.
Let’s make this the decade of that revolution.”
oooOOOooo
7. Irish Broad Left blog: ‘Uniting the Left to fight for an ecosocialist united Ireland’ by Cian McMahon, 6th June 2020.
https://irishbroadleft.com/2020/06/06/uniting-the-left-to-fight-for-an-ecosocialist-united-ireland/?fbclid=IwAR22GKSsaXbJWoISzYkC5-m2H5MOzxXqrkF6Bp-FYTF-cZrSZ-tfteQDRWQ
oooOOOooo. Read the rest of this entry »
The FFFGGG Coalition Government in Dublin – “Two old hams 🐷 with a slice of lettuce 🥬 in the middle”
Gene Kerrigan Strikes Again
IN recent days, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have been forced to move fast, in the open. We’ve seen with unusual clarity the underbelly of their type of politics.
A minor speculative comment can be added to Gene Kerrigan’s splendid article below. We do not (yet?) know who shafted Fianna Fáil’s Barry Cowen, making the Offaly TD an ex-minister after only 17 days in office. We do know that details of a Garda file were shown to journalists from the Irish Independent and the Sunday Times. The leaker (or leakers) are unknown, are probably “jealous, revengeful or whatever” – but the shafter (or shafters) may not have been Fianna Fáilers. Rivals of Cowen from the Laois-Offaly Dáil constituency, not in FF, are delighted about the back-stabbing of the former Minister for Agriculture.
And what we’ve seen has been petty, cynical and avaricious.
We’re seldom angered to see politicians filling their pockets. It’s become just part of what they do.
Read the rest of this entry »But, after what we saw last week, we have to wonder if “centrist” politics is now about anything other than grabbing cash and stroking each others’ tumescent egos?
Tomás Ó Flatharta 