Ireland's Friend
2
Fortnight Publications Ltd. Ireland's Friend Author(s): Kevin Cullen Source: Fortnight, No. 350 (May, 1996), p. 8 Published by: Fortnight Publications Ltd. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25558861 . Accessed: 25/06/2014 06:44 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . Fortnight Publications Ltd. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Fortnight. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 91.229.248.111 on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 06:44:04 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
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Transcript of Ireland's Friend
Fortnight Publications Ltd.
Ireland's FriendAuthor(s): Kevin CullenSource: Fortnight, No. 350 (May, 1996), p. 8Published by: Fortnight Publications Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25558861 .
Accessed: 25/06/2014 06:44
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
.
Fortnight Publications Ltd. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Fortnight.
http://www.jstor.org
This content downloaded from 91.229.248.111 on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 06:44:04 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Ireland's friend Kevin Cullen
Xreland, north and south, lost a
good friend when Ron Brown's
plane went down in Croatia.
A couple of years ago, Brown's
press secretary, Carol Hamilton,
who also died in the crash, rang out of the blue, saying Brown was
going to Belfast and wanted to
meet for a chat.
I arrived at the Copley Plaza
Hotel in Boston prepared to dis
miss Ron Brown. He was, I thought
just another Washington pol who
in the aftermath of the ceasefire
saw some political capital to be
made. I knew the Commerce De
partment he headed was slated
for elimination, that he was un
der fire for some personal busi
ness dealings, that he was probably
looking for a positive story after a
slew of negative ones. In spite of
this, I was disarmed by an African
American pol who knew more
about Ireland than many Irish
Americans pols I had interviewed.
Brown spoke passionately and
knowledgeably about what ailed
Ireland, on both sides of the bor
der, and about what he thought could help.
Brown could not wax philo
sophic about the difference be
tween Jim Molyneaux and David
Trimble, but he did grasp the root
of the conflict. He had sympa thies on both sides, and remarked
that a growing number of Protes
tants were becoming as poor as
some Catholics had been for gen erations. He talked at length about
how the plight of Catholics mir
rored his own people in America.
"The unemployment rate of
Catholics in Northern Ireland is
almost identical to black Ameri
cans," he said, marvelling at the
similarity. Yet even in the face of institu
tional discrimination Brown saw
mainstream solutions. He be
lieved violence only divided com
munities further, and saw
evenhanded economic develop ment as an alternative to para
military subculture. He authorised
Chuck Meissner, one of his depu
ties, to concentrate on Ireland.
Meissner, a Vietnam veteran and
former banker who also died in
the crash, did yeoman's work on
the ground in Belfast.
Over a cup of coffee, I told
Brown that Gerry Adams had used
the pseudonym Brownie. Brown
got a kick out of that. He got a kick
out of Ireland and hoped to re
turn often.
The last time I saw Ron Brown
was the night of President
Clinton's triumphant trip to Bel
fast. I walked into the make-up room at the BBC studios, and there
was Brown, in the chair.
"Since when," I asked, "does a
black guy need make-up?" "Since when, "he replied, "does
a Boston Irishman have the right to bust a Cabinet secretary's
chops?" We talked about the historic
day, how we hoped it wasn't just a
feel-good moment. Brown was
sure it wasn't. I complained about
having to get up the next day at 5
am to make the press flight to
Dublin, and having to travel with
the snooty White House press
corps. Brown preached tolerance,
saying they weren't the worst. And
then he said something I'll always remember. By saying it, he showed
he had picked up on the local
idiom, and it holds some poign
ant resonance given what hap
pened later.
"Safe home," he said.
May the Lord in his mercy be
kind to Ron Brown, because he
tried to be kind to Belfast and all of Northern Ireland.
^
Good to be
it isn
Jonathon Moore
J. he police have now got their
extra stop and search powers and
the promised IRA Easter blitz on
London never happened. The two
events are not related but Michael
Howard's claim that security sources were certain of an IRA
offensive was the deciding factor
in gaining all party support for
giving police back the SUS laws which had been taken off them in
the early 1980s. The granting of
such new powers to the police will
be observed by many sections of
the Irish community in Britain
with deep concern. Given how
the PTA has been used against
8 Fortnight may 1996
This content downloaded from 91.229.248.111 on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 06:44:04 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
