No 511 SEPTEMBER 1986 30p

CATHOLICS Move to end lump labour

LABOUR ACTS IN IRELAND THE British Labour Party in a submission to the Standing Advisory Committee of Human Rights issued by the Rt Hon Peter

'Archer, QC, MP, has come out in favour of the Mac Bride principles, with a view to ending the discrimination against Catholics in the six counties.

It is becoming increasingly understood that the Labour Movement will have to do something decisive about the Irish question, which can only mean the administration of a major political defeat to Unionism, as a preliminary towards moving towards a united Ireland.

THE CONNOLLY Association is holding a meeting to discuss this subject on November 1st at the Marchmont Street Centre, and particulars can be obtained from the Association's offices at 244-246 Grays Inn Road, London, WC1. The object is to prepare for a full-scale conference on June 7th, 1987, at the Conway Hall.

The subject of the conference is "The British Labour Movement and the Irish question." A paper will be prepared by-Mr Desmond Greaves, and trade unionists are cordially invited. There will be no resolutions.

UNDER THREAT T H E T G W U is joining with other Trade Unions to spear-head a determined effort to end "the lump" in the building industry.

Mr George Henderson, national secretary of the construction section, told the Irish Democrat that ultimately there will have to be l e g i s l a t i o n , and M r K e v i n McNamara was already engaged in taking this up.

The industry would have to be decasualised, which would mean the registration of employers and workers, in much the same way as was done in' the case of dock labour.

It was not satisfactory that cow-boy employers should be driving round Kilburn early in the morning offering recent arrivals from Ireland a one-day job.

F I N A N C I A L a n d o t h e r pressures were being used to force, men on to "the lump." It seems attractive to "do the double," or to become self-employed, engage your wife as secretary and charge your car on to expenses.

But, said Mr Henderson, the inland revenue always catches up with you, and men without cards cannot get medical treatment. It was his impression that the menace of "the lump" was growing, aiid there were two noticeable side-effects. For one thing the number of accidents in the building trade was rising. The other threatened the whole future of the industry, for the c o w b o y f i r m s t r a i n e d n o apprentices so that there will at

4tpme t ime in the future be a serious M o r t a g e of skilled labour.

H e noted that even seme o f the larger employers were getting alarmed, as was shown in a recent article in "Construction News".

BELFAST'S ORANGE FACTORY DEAD RATS PUT IN LOCKERS

CATHOLIC workers are being systematically intimidated and persecuted at Short Bros aircraft fectory, the largest industrial undertaking in the six counties.

M a t t e r s h a v e r e a c h e d such a pi tch that m a n a g e m e n t h a s b e e n compe l l ed t o s t a t e pub l i c ly that a n y b o d y c a u g h t in t imidat ing C a t h o l i c s will b e d i s m i s s e d .

The company has c o m e under p r e s s u r e f r o m t h e F a i r Employment Agency as a result o f which the percentage o f Cathol ics employed has risen f r o m levels that varied from 3% t o 8% to levels nearer to 14% t o 17%.

The Agency notes however that only a small proport ion o f Catholics w h o apply are actually employed.

With the Anglo-Irish agree-ment, and the hysterical antics of the hard-line Unionis t s , the situation in the factory has worsened.

C O M P L A I N T On July 4th, 1985, Rhodes

Boyson, six county industry minister received compla ints about an Orange band marching t h r o u g h t h e s h o p f l o o r .

FASCIST MENACE IN NORTH l e f t s l o g a n s , w h i l e m a k i n g nonsense o f them. In England they are tiding to a d o p t s o m e of the colouring of the "greens ." In the six counties they talk a b o u t a "national revolution" which will lead to a new prosperous Ulster.

Their out look can b e connected with that o f the " le f t" Nazi S t r a s s e r w h o s e g r o u p w a s liquidated by Hitler o n j h e "night

vlfitfy

A L A R M is being expressed in six county progressive circles a t the increasing attempts o f the so-called "Nat iona l Front" t o secure a f o o t i n g in the Orange c a m p .

T h e O r a n g e o r d e r w a s described b y English historian T. A. J a c k s o n a s the first Fascist organisat ion in Europe.

A n article in "Unity" gives sobering facts . The "marching season" h a s given opportunit ies for selling e> right-wing papers, and arguing for "Ulster independence" appar-ently unaware that three Ulster Counties , Donega l , Cavan and

i- are quite happy in the s V- •

"Nat iona l Front" s h o w s w o f adopt ing a dangerous

"new l o o k " in which it flirts with

Assurances were given that this would not be permitted again. But this year there were two bands .

Machines are decorated with Orange emblems , and woe bet ide the Catholic with the temerity t o take them off . An Orange arch dominates the 360 bays, a n d plaques to paramilitaries a n d other regalia of the Ulster Volunteer Force line the walls o f the riveting shop. Red white a n d blue bunting is draped around.

Recently death threats have been uttered against Cathol ic workers, some of whom h a v e found dead rats in their lockers.

T h e r e w e r e p r o p o s a l s t o establish a factory in Catho l i c west Belfast, and the o ld D e Lorean site was offered. T h e company was told by the East Belfast workers that any w o r k coming out o f the Dunmurry plant would be blacked, and the site remains unoccupied.

S h o r t s i s a s t a t e - o w n e d company that last year made a profit for the first time for ten years, largely thanks to American contracts. Both Noraid and the Irish n a t i o n a l c a u c u s were s t r o n g l y o p p o s e d t o t h e s e contracts being awarded to Shorts, though for a time they gave the impression that they would adhere to the so-called MacBride principles of non-discrimination.

W h i l e t h e m a n a g e m e n t ' s undertaking to use disciplinary action to prevent discrimination a g a i n s t C a t h o l i c s is w i d e l y welcomed both in nationalist and trade union circles, whether it will be backed up by any decisive action is still in doubt. For at the best of t imes intimidation can be a somewhat nebulous thing.

The whole atmosphere of the e s t a b l i s h m e n t is m i l i t a n t l y Orange, a n d in general no Catholic will remain there long if be can get another job.

MORE ABOUT WINDSCALE

_ knives." T h u s t h e y a "national labour corps ,

to undertake "vital construct ion projects" — at trade u n i o n rates? They want tariffs t o protect focal industry, but they s eem unaware that under the t r e a t y o f R o m e this is impossible. m to b e active in movement .

a a l g c n e

WINDSCALE death factory at Sellafield in Cumberland had to stop all reprocessing work in mid-August when it was found that a consignment of: waste that was to have been poured into the Irish Sea. breached agreed guide-liiies.

This is shortly after be ing compelled to admit that releases of radioactivity had b e w fifty times greater than the management had admitted some years ago.

In January half-a-ton of Uranium was dumped in the sea. In February Plutonium mist was released into the atmosphere and 250 gallant of contaminated water were spilled. Iri May t w o workers

one was believed to have Inhaled it.

N o w o n d e r the C o m m o n s committee raised the question of whether it is worth proceeding with the giant thousand million pound new processor now being built:

Supporters of this criminal method of generating power should be asked a s i m p l e q u e s t i o n . C h e r n o b y l happened. D o you believe it can never happen again? Can you promise that if it does it will not be ten times as bad?

The menace of atomic energy in the environment is highlighted in the Connolly Associat ion pamphlet "Nfldearccttpool", obtainable at the

p ».. EM jjMm * - - . » « • ' -. Inn Koad, London, WC1. A

table is iftctuaed giving the half-lives and medical effects of the various

AIRSPACE VIOLATED

DID United States planes violate Irish air-space when Reagan launched his barbarous child-murdering raid on Libya?

Irish C N D has been trying to get a straight answer to that straight q u e s t i o n f r o m the D u b l i n Government.

British and American aircraft crossed Irish air-space over 3 ,000 t imes in 1 9 8 5 , and d e s p i t e international law, permission was not asked on a single occasion. This much the Dublin Government has admitted.

The Americans claim (hat they "misunderstood" the regulations. In the case of the Libya raid, the suspicion is that in the few days before it was carried out, several refuelling tankers were flown from America to British bases at Lakenheath and Mildenhall.

The French and Spanish refused to allow their air-space to be used and the allegation is that they used Irish air-space without permission.

SUSTENTATION FUND

ONE of our friends in Bognor Regis writes:

"1 wonder how many other Con-nolly Association members would give more generously to the 'sustentation' fund if the giving were made a little easier. I would be happy to increase my total contribution (including mem-bership fee) to £20 per annum through a £5 per quarter standing order through my bank account." Wel l , d idn' t the n e c e s s a r y

information go to him by Stella Bond's personal carrier pigeon.

. Now this month's figure looks a bit better, but, alas, it is not this month's but two months' donations. We hope more friends will adopt the Bognor Regis principles. But support of any kind is appreciated, for example taking a few copies of the Democrat each month to sell to your friends or workmates.

Our thanks to: M. King £2, T. Egan £5, M. Lindsay £19.05, L. Wrixon £3, M. Keane £4, J. Kavanagh £3.20, M. Duggan 15, P. A G. Horgan £2.50, M. Mulholland £3, O. Cahn £7, F. Rushe £2. South London C.A. £15, P. Doody £2.50, R. & M. Long £ 10, V. Deegan £5, N. Green £5, M. Brennan £5, Tottenham UCATT £12, J. Kavanagh £3.20, A. Noone £5, K. McLaughlin £1, C. Moloney £4, G. O'Reilly £57.53, South London CA£34, P. W.. Ladkin £1, P. A J. Lowe £9.50, J. Duggan i 4 , P. Walsh £1, T. Egan £2. C. Pamment £4, supporter! m South London £25.40, in Central London £1.28, in Birmingham 80.-., in Manchester £1.50 TOTAL £265.46.

-Jage Two IRISH DEMOCRAT September 1966

LIKE IT, OR LUMP IT! I H E L U M P is of venerab le

an t iqu i ty ; indeed I th ink you could f ind it in the b ib le ' T h e rai lways were built on the p iecework system, and so were the canals . T h e same was t iue in o the r indus t r ies . The Dub l in c o o p e r s were all on piece w o r k .

But all the systems l u m p e d toge the r as " t h e l u m p " are not the same as I will a t t empt to show.

The first t ime I ever hea rd of it was in I r e l and at the s tar t of the pos t -war bui ld ing b o o m . " T h e l u m p " was just a n i ck -name fo r " the p i e c e " or piece work . T h e r e were o t h e r n ick-names . T o be a f o r e m a n , gange r or c h a r g e - h a n d , would be to " h a v e the s h o u t " or " t h e s c r e e c h " or " the w h i s p e r " . When the b o o m star ted I re land was no t sho r t of c a r p e n t e r s o r p a i n t e r s , b u t b l o c k l a y e r s (b r ick layers ) were hard to f ind .

The Irish governmen t a p p e a l e d to w o r k e r s in Britain to c o m e h o m e , a n d m a n y of t hem d i d . They were a god-send to a new class of j e r ry -bu i lde r s tha t s p r a n g up. T h e y f o r m e d themselves in to

A c o r u m e n t u n o n t h e b u i l d i n g t r a d e t o d a \ , I n I >ul)l in-

b o r n , n o r t h l . o n d o n - b a s e d \ M ) N I I K K . I W

gangs of f o u r or five and would look for work on the lump on ly basis, which was not how the established f i rms opera ted . Soon some of them were ro ing in to jerry-bui lding themsel.s.s, buy ing a site and t rying to build one o r two houses on the basis of a series of loans, one when they reached first f loor level, ano the r when the shell was comple t ed . They were all right when they got a q u i c k sale. If the> d idn ' t the bank stepped in and sold off what the\ could to recoup themselves .

Now Ire land was full of f irst-class bui lders ' l aboure rs and these were not on the lump. If they worked on a l u m p job they were paid day wages, by the lumper o r by the bui lder . Building was n o longer d o n e with bricks but by blocks and each block was the equivalent of eight bricks. The i r size and weight was later reduced

THE IRISH IN HARINGEY CONGRATULATIONS to the Irish in Brent whose progress with the establishment of their new centre was described in August.

In neighbouring Haringey the go-ahead for adaptat ion of the premises allocated the Irish for an Education ind Cultural Centre has been given; a Committee elected by the Irish community and drawn from the various Irish organisations in the borough has been working flat-out for some months, and completion of the adaptation and official handing-over is scheduled for March 1987. Meanwhile a programme of monthly socials is already underway, the next being on Saturday, August 30th, September 27th, October 25th and November 29th. It is intended that the centre becomes the focus for the large Irish c o m m u n i t y in Har ingey , providing a lively variety of cultural and e d u c a t i o n a l oppo r tun i t i e s . Further details, and offers of help for the project, may be telephoned to the Cen t re ' s Sec re ta ry , Mair in Ni hUiginn, on 01 808 0938.

Sited in Pretoria Road, off White Hart Lane and near Tottenham High Road, the centre is the former St Katherine's School. Brick-built 20 years ago, it comprises four storeys and 3,000 square metres of flooring, and includes a magnificent Assembly Hall complete with stage. For hundreds of Irish in Haringey it was the venue for their last St Patrick's Dance, with the Mayor and council leader Bernie Grant as guests of honour. There not being enough Shamrock to go round, Councillor Grant was presented with a James Connolly badge, whereupon he asked if there was a Larkin one to complement it! Later he gave a fine rendering of the "Four Green Fields", for, since his education by Irish nuns and Jesuits in Guyana, he has kept in touch with matters Irish.

THE C E N T R E began as a gleam in the eye of the Haringey Irish Association, on its inauguration in July 1979. They lobbied Councillors until Haringey became the first authority in Britain to recognise that the Irish, by virtue of their distinctive culture and history, were an ethnic community, thus entitled to support and facilities on the same basis as other immigrant groups. Of all the parties canvassed prior to the 1981 Local Elections, only Labour adopted a manifesto commitment to providing a Cultural Centre. At many mutually-arranged meetings the HIA reminded the victorious Labour group of the commitment, and, one memorable evening in 1985, HIA members repeated the reminder from the public gallery, causing the suspension of tl)« council's sitting. Shortly thereafter

Bernie Grant became leader of the council and the road to acquisition of the centre was smoothed.

While campaigning for the Cultural Centre Haringey Irish Association had already established classes in the Irish Language, Irish Traditional Music and Ceili Dancing. They also established, in 1982, at 72 Stroud Green Road, near Finsbury Park, the Haringey Irish Community Care Centre. They acquired the building on a short lease, rent free, from Haringey Council, repaired and decorated it with Irish v o l u n t a r y l a b o u r , negotiated the G L C funding of a Social Worker and Administrator and secured a grant towards its upkeep from the Irish Department of Labour. (The GLC's funding role has been taken over by Haringey Council).

By DONAL KENNEDY

ELDERLY PEOPLE, homeless people, unemployed people and mothers with young toddlers are some of those who have benefited from its help and advice or have helped with its work. The full time social worker, Sister Joan Kane, together with Sharon, the administrator (now on maternity leave) and Anne, the t empora ry a d m i n i s t r a t o r , have earned the love and respect of all who have been there. There is always a warm welcome and atmosphere and the Christmas dinners and socials outshine anything seen since the last hey-day of the bards, for pipers, fiddlers and singers attest that Irish c u l t u r e has s u r v i v e d Kinsa le , Aughrim and other disasters. No one, whatever their origin, is turned from the door. This centre is largely the brain-child of Joe Howard, Gearoid O'Meachair (recently a recipient of an Irish Post Community Award) and the resourceful and irrepressible Bill Aulsberry, Secretary of the HIA. Since March this year, as a Friendly Society, Haringey Irish Community Care Centre Limited has had its own committee, with Bill Aulsberry as chairman.

The door is open in Haringey for those who want to get involved. The Haringey Irish Association can be contacted through the secretary, Bill Aulsberry, c / o 2a Braband Rdad, London, N22, or by telephone on 889 6579, or through John Mahoney, Membership Secretary, on 803 4576. The active local branch of the IBRG may be contacted by telephoning Maria Wynne on 801 7209.

Much has been achieved but it

because of the n u m b e r of a c c i d e n t s o n l a d d e r s a n d scaf fo ld ing . The blocks were usually m a d ' on the site usually by l ump workers . But as o f t en as not in I re land lumpers would be un ion members .

T H E b o o m in English indus t ry came later , in the middle o r late fift ies when speculative house -bui ld ing t ook off . The br icklayers and later the plasterers were d r a w n in to the l ump system. But these deve lopmen t s took t ime because of the wide variety of work avai lable . At first a w o r k e r would be asked casually, " w o u l d you like a bit of piece w o r k ? " Then as a result of the s t rong u n i o n o r g a n i s a t i o n o n t h e Barb ican and Horsefe r ry r o a d sites, the employe r s began to see tha t their best recourse was to extend l u m p working.

CARN IS OUT

T H E s u m m e r number of the C e l t i c L e a g u e ' s v a l u a b l e p u b l i c a t i o n " C a m " is n o w avai lable , pr ice 80 pence s ter l ing f r o m 9 M o u n t Sion R o a d , D r u m c o n d r a , Dubl in .

T h i s i s s u e c o n t i n u e s t h e admi rab l e ant i -mi l i ta ry t r ad i t ion of the Cel t ic League a n d B. D e a c o n con t r i bu t e s the first pa r t of an i m p o r t a n t article on the mil i tar isa t ion of Cornwal l . Celt ic League Secre tary J . B. M o f f a t tells the e x t r a o r d i n a r y story of h o w a M a n x f a r m h o u s e was n a r r o w l y missed w h e n p h o s p h o r u s b o m b s were d r o p p e d in the wrong place by forces f r o m the N A T O base a t J u r b y .

Evidence of discrimination against Welsh-speakers who are being kept out of top jobs in Wales is extremely significant, as is the run-down of railways in Wales and Scotland. The issue contains a tribute to the late Mr Peadar O'Donnell.

An interesting article on the Irish in Scotland is marred by what appear to be misprints, but in CARN as a whole a very high standard is maintained. There is a report of a conference of small nations held in Spain, at which NATO is stigmatised as a hindrance to national independence.

aught b«, as A1 Jolson would have said had he had the Gaelic — "Ml fltaca sibh neamhtu f6»l"

DONAL KENNEDY

Mr S. G. Kenny WE have received a letter from Mr S. G. Kenny asking a number of questions, the answer to each of which would require more space than is available. We would like to send him a reply through the post giving him the information he requires, but though he gives his address as Theobalds Road, London WC 1, he does not give the number of his house or flat.

However, as Theobalds Road is less than five minutes walk from the Four Provinces Bookshop, 244/246 Grays Inn Road, we suggest that he drops ia there and has a talk with Mr Bond who will be able to answer his questions or refer him to those who « H .

We wslcMM correspondence at all tims, but take this o p p o r t u a i t y t o r « m i » d correspondents to make they give a full address necessarilyfor publication.

But " l u m p " was now acqui r ing a new mean ing . For example f o u r blocklayers would agree to const ruct the ou te r shell of t w o semi-detached houses up to roof level for £100. T h e money w o u l d be paid in stages, at sill level, or roof well-plate level. The contract might be verba l , and was fo r a piece or l u m p of work.

In the case of big contracts the main c o n t r a c t o r employs only his office staff . T h e work is let a n d sublet several times. The subbie can pay the w o r k e r s on a day ra te , but he has no responsibility f o r tax, insurance or holidays. If the worker c a n n o t provide a " 7 1 4 " to certify he is self-employed the subbie will s t o p 30% to cover tax and insurance . But he may turn a blind eye if one of such worke r s , registers as unemployed , in which case he will be ab le to put the 30% in his own p o c k e t .

O N a big site there might be 15 or 20 sub-con t rac to r s , and t hough there may be h u n d r e d s of workers there is no c o m m o n link between them. A u n i o n organiser wou ld have a very d i f f icul t time, fo r the men will no t be working on the same basis, a n d some may be using false n a m e s . Of course when l abou r was in h igh demand-skilled workers cou ld o n occasion be drawing £50 a d a y . But gradual ly in the absence of trade un ion organisa t ion ra tes began to be eroded and the government on the one h a n d to le ra ted and even encouraged all these irregularities and then went o n to moan a b o u t the "b l ack e c o n o m y . "

It is an u n f o r t u n a t e fact which I a m a f ra id we will have to recognise t ha t in the p r iva t e sec to r the vast m a j o r i t y of bui ld ing worker s a r e u n d e r a type of admin i s t r a t i on which is the l u m p in one f o r m o r a n o t h e r . They c a n be classed a s self-employed men . T h e employe r ha s shed all his responsibil i t ies f o r insurance, hol iday a n d travel time, fa res , protect ive f o o t w e a r , can teen , washing, tools , etc . Most a l a rming are some of the recent c o u r t rulings depr iv ing the dependents of men w h o h a v e suffered a f a t a l accident of p r o p e r relief. And t o see how widespread the system is, j u s t look a t the adver t columns of the evening pape r s .

T H I S is the private sector . W h a t a b o u t the nationalised sector? In the main L a b o u r -contro l led local authori t ies have a good record, a n d act responsibly in the t ra in ing of apprentices, which are u n k n o w n in subbies. A thirty-five h o u r week is s t andard , with twelve ho l idays a year , protect ive c lo th ing and foo twear , subsidised c a n t e e n s etc. And th is s h o w s t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f pr ivat isa t ion, a n d the cons tan t i n t e r f e r e n c e b y t h e T o r y g o v e r n m e n t w i t h c o n t r a c t s entered into by local authori t ies. Pr ivat isa t ion , the putt ing out of everything to con t rac tors , means d i smant l ing the protection the t r ade un ions have built up.

If we w a n t a well-regulated bui ld ing indus t ry it must b e decasual ised, a n d ultimately thU m e a n s that it m u s t be brought i n to pub l i c o w n e r s h i p , with massive of f ice b locks p u t off the agenda , an?l houses , hospi ta l s and schools p u t a t the t o p .

If the Labour Party came out with a plan for nationalising the building industry and switching the priorities in favour of the p i l e ' s needs, it might well be a n fttatipii winner.

MOST people are by now aware of the controversy surrounding the imprisonment of the Irishmen, known as the "Birmingham Six". However, because of scant media coverage, many people may not know that the legal precedent created by Lord Denning, of the British House of Lords, to prevent two of the "Birmingham Six" from taking a civil action, was the legal precedent cited by the Irish Government to debar NICKY KELLY from continuing with his civil action for damages, and the clearing of his name.

It will be recalled that when Nicky Kelly went on hunger strike in Portlaoise Prison in May, 1983, the Government invited him to take a civil case on the grounds of his allegations that he was beaten into signing a confession. The then Justice Minister, Mr Michael Noonan, said that "if a jury found in his favour in a civil case, that would change things."

However, it soon became clear that the Government's invitation to Mr Kelly was a diversion tactic. Week after week, the Govern-ment's legal representatives played all kinds of tricks to delay and divert his civil case. The final crunch came in the High Court, in January, 1986, when Justice Rory O'Hanlon ruled• that the Lord Denning precedent debarred Mr Kelly from continuing with his civil action. Both Nicky Kelly and the "Birmingham Six" were told that their cases had already been decided by a Court - in the case of Nicky Kelly, it was the non-jury. Special Criminal Court.

THE following is a section of the judgement given by -Lord Denning in the "Birmingham Six" case:

" if the six menfail, it will mean that much time and money and worry will have been expended by many people for no good purpose. If the six men win, it will mean that the police were guilty of perjury, that they were guilty of violence and threats, that the confessions were involuntary.... and that the convictions were erroneous . . . . This is such an appalling vista that every sensible person in the land would say: It cannot be right that these actions should go any further."

Many notable individuals including clerics, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Peter Barry, are now demanding that something be done about the scandal of the "Birmingham Six". Therefore, it would appear that the Irish Government's sincerity is questionable so long as it adheres to the Lord Denning ruling to prevent Nicky Kelly from taking his civil action.

It is hardly possible that the Government would have something to fear if the facts in the Nicky Kelly case were to go before a jury of the people.

ANN McENEANEY DUBLIN

W ' i * - i •

Page Three IRISH DEMOCRAT September 1986

"I REMEMBER" PETER O'CONNOR, comes from a republican and trade union family. He remembers the day when his> brother Francis, one of the yomgest members of the Flying Column, Waterford East Brigade, came into town in one of the Crosley Tenders, carrying a Thompson machine gun as the Republicans took over the barracks from the crown forces.

His eldest brother Jimmy, also a member of the garrison, was Captain of Fianna Eireann, before transferring to the IRA, and Peter's mother's brother Peter Bergin was also in the movement.

On the trade union side it was a family of carpenters. His father was secretary of the Waterford branch of the ASW (now merged with VCATT) for many years. All the family knew of and supported the teachings of James Connolly,

-By

PETER O'CONNOR EDITED extracts from Peter O'Connor's reminiscences given at the now famous BusweU Hotel meeting in Dublin when veterans of the Spanish war told their stories.

and Peter's father described imperialism as the "destroyer of all natural good."

Peter joined the Fianna at the age of nine or ten, and remained a member until he transferred to the IRA at the age of 17. His brother Jimmy was Battalion OC at the time. Aileen Walsh, later married to Frank Edwards the adjutant, was Captain of Cumann na mBan. She is usually known as "Bobby" Edwards.

IT was in 1931, after coming

PICTURE taken at the wedding of Sean Mulgrew ofMulrany, Co. Mayo at the Red Lion, Kilburn in 1935. Peter O'Connor is in the back row, far left. On right is Thomas Patten of Achill, the first Irishman to die in Spain. Front row - Dolly Flynn, left, then

Mrs Mulgrew.

out of hospital in Dublin, that Peter O'Connor bought a copy of the "Irish Worker's Voice" and found in it the political content he had missed in the IRA. Later he wrote to the paper to ask them to send somebody to organise the unemployed of .Waterford. They sent Sean Murray. One of his meetings was chaired by Davy Walsh of Ballytrickle whose son is at present a Workers' Party councillor. During this time a Workers' Study Club was opened at Coffee House Lane, the premises being occupied today by Mrs Tobin who runs a cafe and boarding house. Some of its most prominent members were Frank Edwards, Jimmy Barray, Jackie Hunt, Maurice Quinlan, J. B. O'Shea, John O'Dwyer, Margaret and Nora Murray, Fred O'Shea, Tom Coughlan, Johnny Power, Johnny Carr, and the four members of the O'Connor family.

Peter. O'Connor described the deportation of Jim Gralton, the great Leitrim humanitarian and socialist as one of the most dastardly acts carried out by De Vatera's government. This was in 1933 and a Gralton defence committee was set up by Donal O'Reilly, Sean Murray, Peadar O'Donnell, George Gilmore, Mrs Despard and Seamus McGowan.

The Waterford study group constituted itself the local Gralton Defence Committee. Gralton died in New York in 1945.

The O'Connors were active in the building workers' strike of August and September 1934, and two of them were among the ten workers prosecuted for unlawful assembly and assaulting the police. The trial took place in October. In the meantime the Republican Congress had been founded.

BUT there was no work. Peter O 'Connor and Billy Power stowed away on a little coalboat called the "Walnut" and were very well treated by the captain, a Newry man, when he found them. They arrived at Newport, Monmouth-shire, on Armistice Day, 1934 and hitch-hiked to London.

"We reached London" said Peter, "late at night and stayed at a Salvation Army Hostel. We paid for our breakfast the next morning by breaking sticks, as when we left Waterford we had 7/5l/2d (37p) between us. A very kind English lady, a Mrs Gosling who lived at 309 Chapter Road, Willesden, took us in and gave us a room to sleep in. 1 often re-called the many kindnesses shown us by Mrs Gosling, and after the war I went to see her to thank her only to find that

(Continued on page 7)

A TALE OF TREACHEROUS FOLLY MR SMEDLEY is a long standing anti-Marketeer who founded the Keep Britain Out Campaign and in 1978 the Free Trade Anti-Common Market Party. In the courts in 1984 he personally challenged the government on the question of paying over £120 m i l l i o n to the E E C w i t h o u t Parliamentary debate or approval. Although the case was finally rejected in the Court of Appeal the Treasury did a U-turn and introduced a special Bill to obtain authority to pay the money.

His new book* contains three" major sections covering the economic, and political case for getting Britain, out of the EEC and the 'Ratchet Effect ' showing how step by step the nation is further entangled in the Common Market.

The economic case starts with the unequivocal view that "the decision to become a member of the EEC was the most myopic and senseless since the Charge of the Light Brigade". There is an abundance of

^useful statistics supported by charts that indicate the demise of Britain in the EEC.

The importance of overseas trade is highlighted with the charge that its destruction was completed by the Heath government. This was a " f i ne ly -ba l anced , ever sensitive pattern of trade upon which the UK had depended for nearly two centuries: crudely based on importing f rom the cheapest market our requirements of food and raw materials and paying for them by exports of manufactured goods and services."

Further on figures show how trade has deteriorated for Britain to the point where for the first time ever skilled workers failed in 1983 to earn a

trading surplus. Since then the position has deteriorated still further and "as a direct result, employment in the UK has declined and the work that would otherwise have been done by our own workers has been done by workers in the EEC.

Unemployment in the UK has inevitably increased and cannot fail to continue to increase until we come out of the EEC."

• Some enlightening figures on the food price index reveal that "whereas the rise in the index in the 400 years to 1872 was 1,278 points and in the next

" 100 years to 1972 6,317 points, in 11" short years since we joined the E E C . . . it amounted to . . . 21,565 points."

Also included are the increasing n u m b e r s of 'bus iness f a i lu re s ' , economic indicators showing how well other European countries are d o i n g o u t s i d e the E E C , the ' d e s e r t i o n ' of C o m m o n w e a l t h countries and meat trade with Argentina, and the fallacy of 'self sufficiency' of Common Market food.

In the section putting the Political Case the booklet reflects that sincere and hard working band of people who have opposed the Common Market from its inception but cannot believe that any government could have made such a 'mistake' as to have taken Britain into the EEC. "I t is Heath who is primarily responsible for the atrocious mess in which the UK now finds herself but those who served him as devoted and spineless accolytes, pa r t i cu la r ly D o u g l a s - H o m e and Geoffrey Rippon . . . must accept their share of blame."

" . . . My purpose has been to do no more than express and explain the depth of my sadness, which may be shared by others, that a condition of affairs which has evolved over centuries of patient struggle by generation after generation . . . should

be i r r e v o c a b l y d e s t r o y e d and dispersed in a few years by the unbelievably gutless and shallow men and women we have mistakingly allowed into power over our national destiny."

Mr Smedley makes the case that the last time British sovereignty was ceded to an alien was to the Normans in 1066, but then fails to appreciate why Britain's ruling class formally deserted the nation-state in 1973 and joined the interests of international c a p i t a l and the t r a n s n a t i o n a l

. corporations. It is these interests that_ want an EEC superstate and to dominate world trade. A superstate that requires the removal of all hindrances such as national borders, trade, fiscal, legal and other barriers. In other words an attempt t o throw away the nation-state in western Europe, by handing sovereignty to Brussels. Simultaneously they want to keep hold of the third world in ways that continue the old imperialist method in a new form.

To keep their interests 'safe' around the globe western European states take part in the US dominated NATO. For Britain this entails giving up sovereignty in the form of bases in Britain as well as giving up the crucial sovereign right to declare war or, more important in this.era, not to go to war.

Anti-marketeers have the big task of ensuring that representatives at Westminster do protect, and retrieve, Britain's sovereignty against further e n c r o a c h m e n t by t h e E E C , international capital, the trans-nationals and NATO. This booklet will be a useftil weapon in the armoury of that campaign.

JOHN BOYD * UK in EEC Spells Disaster,

Oliver Smedley, Classic Press, pp 79, £5.

CONGRATULATIONS for the good coverage and article on the Buswells Hotel meeting in Dublin commem-orating the 50th anniversary of the Spanish Civil War and the parallels with the Irish history of the period.

Most of the Press and media while generally sympathetic to the justness of the Republican cause failed to relate the lessons and dangers of a similar or corporate type of fascism developing in Ireland, and the sinister role of the Catholic hierachy who had supported Italian and Portuguese fascism. They knew what was going on in Spain and that frightened and finished me as regards to any hopes I ever had of a catholicity which truly followed the footsteps of Jesus who was crucified as much in Spain as he was in the period of the Roman empire.

The thirty pieces of silver thrown at Garrett Fitzgerald's wreath laying was as symbolic as his intended insult to the victims of fascism and the Irish who supported the heroic Spanish* people's struggle. He doesn't hurt us when his tribute to the Irish dead of all wars includes mercenaries and those who fought against Irish freedom in Britain's imperialist wars of conquest. It only demonstrates that the same dangers exist today.

The Irish Democrat does real justice in its report to show why Frank Ryan and his comrades expressed the real feeling of all that is best in Ireland's struggle against injustice and inhumanity. I am quoted as saying that there were 500,000 lives lost in Spain: This can be misleading. I was drawing comparisons of deaths by execution after the civil war as follows:— there were two million prisoners in 1939 of whom were executed by firing squads and Garrotte between 1939-1944 192,684 with 250 daily in Madrid, 150 in Barcelona, 80 in Sevillia etc. These figures are important as distinct from war casualties. These were judicially and ritually murdered in the holy name of Christianity. My figures are based on • Spanish reports and documentation.

BOB DOYLE London

(Ex-Inu motional Brigade and concentration camp inmate).

PALL OF GLOOM ON CORK CITY T H E R E is indeed little to lift the pall of g loom overhang ing Cork City.

Every week there a re more compan ie s going to the wall and ever rising u n e m p l o y m e n t and f rus t r a t ion .

Unfo r tuna te ly the gove rnmen t shows little sign of d o i n g what is necessary, namely t o diver t more of its finances in to product ive enterpr ises , and par t icu lar ly the cons t ruc t ion indus t ry .

One of the mos t severe p rob lems is tha t of long term you th u n e m p l o y m e n t . Cork City L a b o u r Exchange has 1,200 long term unemployed u n d e r 25 years of age, and M u n s t e r a s a whole has 5,700. Most of them have never worked in their lives, a n d see no prospects fo r the f u t u r e .

Get t ing on the b o a t is once again becoming a way of life. But L o n d o n is not n o w the safe haven it was. New arr ivals find it diff icult to get work and a c c o m m o d a t i o n . The Annua l Repor t of the L o n d o n Irish Centre says its C o m m u n i t y

— from —

JIM SAVAGE Services D e p a r t m e n t records an upsurge in emigra t ion . In 1985 some 2,136 new cl ients arrived seeking e m p l o y m e n t , a n increase of 18% on 1984, b u t a 300% increase on 1982.

S O M E of them a re ar r iv ing in g r o u p s despera te f o r work . Somet imes they have c o m e to earn m o n e y to send back t o their famil ies , but o the rs have left because of the c o n t i n u o u s family f r i c t ion due to u n e m p l o y m e n t .

" T h e y collect their do le money, b u y a t icket, escape ano the r fami ly row, a n d get o n the boat with no th ing but r e sen tmen t and f e a r . "

S o m e who t h o u g h t the streets of L o n d o n were paved with gold get a r u d e awaken ing . T h e y are often refused benefit by the D e p a r t m e n t of Hea l th a n d Social Security because they have omi t t ed to br ing ident i f icat ion wi th them. O f t e n they want to r e tu rn home , b u t can ' t raise he f a r e . T h e Irish Cen t r e repor ts t ha t it is not u n k n o w n fo r a whole family to a p p e a r on the steps of the Centre with suitcases seeking accom-m o d a t i o n

H E R E a f e u n e m p l o y m e n t f igures f o r some of the towns of East Cork , Mid l e ton 1,183, Yougha l the seaside t o w n 866, and C o b h 709. T h e to ta l fo r three towns is 2,758; in 1981 the co r re spond ing f igure was 1,554.

T h e posi t ion in N o r t h Cork is e q u a l l y h o r r e n d o u s . T h e inevi table dra in of y o u n g people will tear apar t the social fabr ic of the coun ty . In rura l a r e a s where only old people a re left these live out their lives in lonel iness , fear and despair .

A s f o r t h e c i t y , t h e u n e m p l o y m e n t pe rcen tage on the nor th side has risen t o 5 0 % , a five fo ld increase since Apr i l 1980. The L a b o u r is avai lable , the land is avai lable , and the d e m a n d f o r the p r o d u c t s of ag r i cu l tu re and i n d u s t r y . It is u p t o t h e g o v e r n m e n t t o p r o v i d e t h e capi ta l .

t ^ r s — '

Page Four IRISH DEMOCRAT September 1986

"EMIGRATION CAUSED BY CAPITAL SELL-OUT

Eyes are on Cluskey

WILL Frank Cluskey pull the plug on the Coali t ion and save something of Labour ' s h o n o u r before it suits Fi tzGerald to call a general elect ion? If anyone in Labour has the gumpt ion to do it, it is he.

Three years ago he resigned Irom the G o v e r n m e n t because he disagreed with Fine Gael Minister Bruton 's plan to bail out Dublin Gas at t axpayers ' expense, while s t i l l l e a v i n g it in p r i v a t e ownership. Since then Dublin Gas has made f u r t h e r colossal losses, the receiver has been sent in and now the G o v e r n m e n t has come up with a plan to use exchequer f unds to reimburse the Banks and preference shareholders in the C o m p a n y , w h i l e d i s m i s s i n g hundreds of workers on the most meagre r edundancy pay.

Frank Cluskey is not having it. He is the L a b o u r T .D . of the most solidly working-class sentiment. A former bu tcher and member of the Workers Union of Ireland, his decision to resign on the Gas deal has been wholly vindicated. In p a n i c t h a t C l u s k e y m i g h t withdraw suppor t from the Coalition Taoiseach FitzGerald has promised special government money to improve the workers ' redundancy pay. But Cluskey is kicking up such a stink that the Government has set aside £7 million to pay interest on money • owed by Dubl in Gas to the Banks and others. Fine Gael Minister Bruton has been made Minister for Finance recently. He is now responsible for running the country 's f inances. Frank Cluskey has said that the honourable thing for him to do is to resign. Having made such a mess in wasting millions on Dubl in Gas, how can he be trusted to manage the country 's finances?, he asks.

Sanctions worked then IT W A S an ac t ion by Ireland which finally settled the Ra inbow Warr ior business and a l lowed the two French agents who blew u p the Greenpeace ship to leave beh ind the 10-year jail sentences they h a d been given by New Zealand 's cour t s .

Foreign Minis ter Peter Barry lifted Ireland's veto on the New Zealand but ter quo tas in the EEC, so enabling the French-New Zealand prisoners-for -but te r deal to go through. For the French were out to deny New Zealand access for her bu t t e r to the EEC unless the secret agen t s were let out of pr ison. The E E C Commiss ion and Counci l of Minis te rs were France 's accomplices in p u t t i n g pressure on New Zealand . I re land could have blocked the deal s ince unanimity is required for these bu t t e r quotas a n d the French a n d Irish have usually taken the same a t t i t ude . When the French wi thdrew their veto, the Irish cont inued theirs fo r three days, but then withdrew it a l so , thus conniving with France ' s use of E E C policy to force a small c o u n t r y like New Zealand to release people convicted and jailed by their courts.

EMIGRATION from Ireland has begun again. The politicians and economists cannot run the economy to fit the number of young people seeking work, so the people must be changed, through emigration, to fit the economy. So much for the success of the politics pursued by the Irish Establishment over the past quarter century. So much for Whitaker's economic miracle.

There was a net emigrat ion of some 75,000 in the five years to last December . Net emigrat ion was 20,000 in 1984,30,000 in 1985 and it could be 40,000 this year. Remember these are net figures, the difference between the number leaving Ireland and those entering it, so the gross emigration figures would be higher. At the same time official unemployment is 240,000. This compares with an employed labour force of 1,100,000 out of a total populat ion for the Twenty-Six Counties of 3,500,000.

This bad news contras ts with the 1970s, which were a fairly prosperous decade, with good economic growth rates, a high birth rate and net immigrat ion to Ireland for the first time in its modern history. The good growth rates of the 1970s were sustained by high levels of public spending and investment. Dur ing this time the main parties, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael , vied with one a n o t h e r i n a s e r i e s o f auctioneering elections in which they sought votes by promising simultaneously tax-cuts and more spending. That could only be done by borrowing the difference and Ireland ran up heavy debts both at home and abroad , much of them f o r c u r r e n t c o n s u m p t i o n purposes . The ratio of public debt to annual national product is 125

By ANTHONY COUGHLAN

(Dublin) per cent, which is high' by internat ional s tandards and the entire personal income tax goes on servicing past loans. Yet there is need for more investment all the time to create employment for the g r o w i n g l a b o u r f o r c e a n d populat ion.

F I A N N A F A I L and Fine Gael conduct slanging matches a b o u t these debts, as to who was most responsible for accumulat ing them. The answer is that bo th were. " W e have mortgaged the assets of the fu tu re genera t ion ," says the Gove rno r of the Central Bank, " w e " being the politicians and decision-makers of course. The total nat ional debt is current ly £20,000 million, a for ty per cent increase since the present Coal i t ion, great advocates of fiscal rectitude, came into office. Of this £20,000 million some £ 1 1 , 0 0 0 m i l l i o n is o w e d internally to Irish citizens who h a v e l e n t m o n e y t o t h e Government . W h a t is involved here is a t ransfer of funds f r o m taxpayers to Irish holders of nat ional debt. The external debt is £9,000 million. In 1970 it was £70 million and in 1980 £2,200 million, so you can see how much it has grown. The foreign debt must be repaid in dollars, marks , sterling, and yen, the currencies in which it was bor rowed. These must be earned by exports. The foreign debt is therefore a real and growing burden on the economy.

For the pas t quarter-century the government has sought to i n d u s t r i a l i s e t h e T w e n t y - S i x Counties by a t t rac t ing foreign

99

capital through grants , subsidies and tax-reliefs. It has sought to make the count ry as politically congenial as possible to the t ransnat ional firms. Tha t was one of the reasons f o r joining the EEC. Vast resources were invested, but they were in capital-intensive r a t h e r t h a n l a b o u r - i n t e n s i v e projects, so tha t the returns in higher employment have been meagre. The foreign firms now export hundreds of millions in prof i ts every year , fo r there is nothing to force them to reinvest in I r e l a n d . M a n u f a c t u r i n g , employment is falling rapidly. E m p l o y m e n t in se rv ices — distr ibution, personal services and the public sector — expanded for a while, but g rowth in private service employment has now ceased and the possibility of creating jobs in public service like heal th and educat ion are limited by the pressures on the public finances arising f r o m all those debts .

T H E H E A R T of the problem is tha t Irish Gove rnmen t s have continually subsidised the owners of capital — especially foreign ones — and landowners at the expense of heavy taxes on people a t work, instead of encouraging the use of l abour by orientating | subsidies the o the r way round. There are scarcely any taxes on capital and rates on land have been abolished. T h u s the interests of capitalists and landowners have been put before those of ordinary people. Not surprisingly there is h e a v y u n e m p l o y m e n t a n d emigrat ion.

The other p rob lem is the high degree of openess of the Irish economy. This is illustrated by the fact that expor ts and imports

/V /)c fulcra's days Ireland owed nobody a penny, and despite imperialist opposition and discrimination, gradually national industry deci-mated by the I iiion and partition, wus being built up, in face of unparalleled e c o n o m i c d e p r e v si on, world war and post-war instability. When in 1955 Mr Lentass, under London pressure, opened the doors to the transnational

financiers, the "Irish Democrat' warned it would make money for a new class of jet-set parasites but ruin many of the ordinary people. For national assets were being replaced by national debts. If hat we forecast has now come about. In this article e c o n om is t An th o n y Coughlan describes the

pasv things have come to, and how only a break with the EFC can offer a chance of putting things right.

ARE THEY OFF THEIR HEADS? T H E A N T I C S of the six-county Unionists rise to ever-higher pitches of absurdi ty .

What is one to say of their incursion across the border to Clont ibret in Co Monaghan for the sake of " showing that border security was inadequa te . "

And what of the invasion of Dundalk when Mr Robinson was answering charges in connect ion with it? If Mr Robinson did assault the guards , he shouldn ' t be surprised at what happened . But if he d idn ' t , then the arrest was probably at the instance of the British government who'd like him out of the way.

The latter explanat ion fits in with the sudden withdrawal of security protect ion f rom his home. When a Member of Parl iament is in quest ion, matters are hushed up unless there are strong political reasons for seeing they are not.

And what was Mr Robinson 's mistake in the view of the British government? A fair guess is that though he was helping them to beat down the weakling of Leinster House, he had proved a bit too enthusiastic. He had to be shown that London had at least to put on an act of observing the agreement .

BUT the Unionists ' behaviour makes one thing clear. They may talk a b o u t the Republic being a " fore ign c o u n t r y . " The way t h e y

behave shows they know damned well it is not . Can you imagine" staging such demons t ra t ions in the United States or South Africa?

And to hold a Protestant "p rayer mee t ing" in a Catholic town in a " fo re ign count ry"! It 's obvious they regarded it as their own count ry , a n d some twisted, convoluted , c r a n k y realisation of that repeatedly comes out in Mr Paisley's denunc ia t ion of British government " t r eache ry . "

The Clont ibret affair roughly coincided with the announcement of the concessions to be given the Nationalists. One remembers the time w h e n ' i t was " D a m n your c o n c e s s i o n s . W e wan t o u r coun t ry . " N o w that the ex-Blueshirts rule with the aid of renegade Labour , you don ' t hear much of that.

But London will allow the tr icolour to be displayed. What a concession! They can ' t prevent it. They will al low local authorit ies to put up street names in Irish. That was allowed in the whv,!? of Ireland as early as the eighteen nineties.

But the judicial system is not to be radically r e fo rmed . A bill of rights is all very well, but what is to be in it? Hard ly the right of self-determinat ion.

The Unionists have nothing to fear. Mr Peter Bar ry has said the agreement "is n o vehicle for imposing Irish uni ty on Northern Ireland. It is no such Troian horse.

no slippery slope, and indeed no rocky road to D u b l i n . "

I F such is indeed the case, and there is no reason to disbelieve Mr B a r r y , it o n l y s h o w s h o w thoroughly the Dubl in Govern-ment should be ashamed of themselves.

And Mr Fitzgerald should be doubly so, for he blatantly and cynically deceives the public. Last November he said the arrange-ment fell just shor t of joint au thor i ty , though he admitted its p u r p o s e w a s " e r o d i n g the al ienation of the Nationalist c o m m u n i t y , " tha t is to say r e c o n c i l i n g t h e m t o t h e cont inuat ion of part i t ion.

It was not possible to continue d o w n the path of national betrayal without quietening them down some way. And before you could say knife, the European anti- terrorist pact received Irish endorsement and no political o f fender was safe. The next stage is the European Communit ies Bill, and Irish foreign policy exists no more , Neutrality? It is to be slowly worn down.

W h o are most to blame? Above all the dastardly leaders of the " I r i s h " " L a b o u r " Party. None of this would have been possible without their ant i-nat ional stand. One expects no better f rom the sons of blueshirts, but f rom members of a par ty founded by J a m e s Connollv? Ugh!

combined are equivalent to 130 per cent of the Republ ic ' s G N P . The foreign firms a t t rac ted by the I D A have few linkages, th rough ei ther purchases o r sales, with the rest of the economy. They c o n s t i t u t e a p r i v i l e g e d a n d subsidised enclave. Because of the free movement of goods a n d capi tal in the E E C , if the Irish government seeks to expand d e m a n d by public spending or cu t t ing taxes it tends to suck in

- impor t s rather t han d raw idle d o m e s t i c r e s o u r c e s i n t o product ion. Steps could be taken to counter this by a government willing to take them — selective credit and tax policies aimed a t st imulating p roduc t ion , use of public purchasing f o r this end, c u r r e n c y d e v a l u a t i o n , t h e adop t ion of tariff a n d non-tariff t rade barriers. But all that would be against the Ho ly Writ of the E E C ' s Rome Trea ty .

T H U S not only is the E E C a threat to Irish neutral i ty and foreign policy independence, bu t it s tands in the way of policies being adopted which could deal with Ireland's heavy unemploy-ment problem. Recently the F ianna Fail leader C. J . Haughey spoke about the desirability of " r e n e g o t i a t i n g " I r e l a n d ' s relat ions with the EEC. One should not expect that this will a m o u n t to much if F ianna Fail is re turned to office, unless political l abour puts pressure on Fianna Fail f r o m the left. Wha t it does indicate is that sections of the Irish business class are increasingly unhappy at the subord ina t ion of I r i sh i n t e r e s t s t o t h o s e of t ransnat ional capi tal and the governments which serve it. The main victims of this subord-inat ion, of course , are the unemployed and the young people with bleak economic fu tures in their own country .

Unti l Irish political labour regains its lost vocat ion and sets out to lead the na t ion ' s resistance to this servitude, bo th politically and economically, this bleak story looks likely to con t inue .

September 1986 IRISH DEMOCRAT Page Flvt*

LAGAN LIGHTS BY S. O. DIOCHGN

BREAKING THE MOULD

EXTRADITION RESISTED

L A S T m o n t h t h e r i o t i n g , in t imida t ion and general m a y h e m caused by the f rus t ra ted lashing a b o u t by the fanatical e lements of Union i sm had the sectarian p o t of S i x - C o u n t y p o l i t i c s b o i l i n g fur iously . Dur ing this unres t and physical conf ron ta t ion J a m e s Molyneux , leader of the Official Unionis t Par ty , and J o h n H u m e of the Social Democrat ic L a b o u r Par ty issued statements which were over-shadowed by the media r e p o r t s o f v i o l e n t c l a s h e s within the communi ty . Molyneux a n n o u n c e d tha t he would ref ra in fo r a n indefinite period f r o m any f u r t h e r dealings with the Press or b roadcas t ing . When such an experienced politician voluntar i ly b locks the f low of publicity which is the l ife-blood of any pol i t ic ian, it requires more of an explana t ion than the one he gave. He said the media was biased agains t the Unionist par ty and was giving too much a t tent ion to the I R A , the U F F a n d suchlike extremists .

It could be that he was dis tancing himself and his par ty f r o m Paisley, Robinson a n d the Democra t i c Unionist Pa r ty , a n d tha t he h a d no intention of being held responsible, a t his weekly Press conferences, fo r expla ining o r c o n d o n i n g the absu rd tactics which his D U P allies were us ing to o p p o s e t h e A n g l o - I r i s h Agreement . If, as one would suspect , he disagreed with the frenet ic s tunts of the D U P he could not a t this junc ture say so publicly.

T H E fol lowing day J o h n H u m e said he believed that by the end of the march ing season the Unionis t s would realise that "bul ly-boy tac t ics" would not have the effect o f k i l l i n g t h e A n g l o - I r i s h Agreement and that c o m m o n -sense would lead them t o the negot ia t ing table in the A u t u m n . I a n P a i s l e y i m m e d i a t e l y responded and challenged H u m e to n a m e one Unionist poli t ician w h o was prepared to negot ia te . It was noticeable there was no response f r o m Molyneux o r the Official Unionist leadership to H u m e ' s s tatement . The f u t u r e of J o h n H u m e and the S D L P is h e a v i l y d e p e n d e n t o n t h e realisation of the L o n d o n and Dubl in governments object ive of gett ing a section of the Unionis ts involved in the Anglo-Ir ish Agreement process. They must achieve this a im in order t o create the condi t ions under which they c a n undermine the electoral s u p p o r t of Sinn Fein a n d deprive the I R A of both the act ive and tacit suppo r t which they have within the Nationalist popu la t ion a t present .

INVASION T h e British Governmen t closed

d o w n the Nor thern Ireland Assembly last June . Since Sinn Fein, a n d as a consequence the S D L P , had refused to par t ic ipa te in it, the Assembly f a r f r d m serving the interests of British policy had become an obs tac le to f u r t h e r i n g t h e A n g l o r l r i s h Agreement . In these c i rcum-stances the obvious tact ic of the Official Unionist Pa r ty should have been to beef u p their a t t endance and agi tat ion led by Enoch .Powell and Mo lyneux in the House o f Commons. But since they had already surrendered the initiative to Paisley and the D U P

bigotry a n d sectarian t r iumph-alism impelled the Loyalists a long the road to violent conf ron t -at ions.

It was the height of nonsense for the messianic D U P J e a d e r , Peter. Robinson, to l ead 150 of his masked loyalists under cover of darkness over the British border i n t o t h e s m a l l v i l l a g e of Clont ibret . He said that his purpose was to show tha t the Brits were not doing a p rope r j o b of defending "Uls te r" . Since he was still in Ulster terr i tory in the Coun ty Monaghan it only served to expose not only his own illogical posit ion but tha t of the British Government as well. Any school-child in the nor th of Ireland knows that the tor tuous , ' and a t times vague, border stretching f r o m Omea th to Derry is impossible to defend in the way that Rob inson was demand ing . The futi l i ty of his invasion stunt was best expressed by a Protes tant small f a r m e r f r o m the Clont ibret area w h o , in a rad io interview, wanted to know what sense was there in the Loyalists rampaging and threatening in the village in order t o protest to the British Governmen t .

W H E N Robinson was arrested and his case sent f o r trial to Dunda lk it would seem tha t the Unionises h a d been ponder ing thf same Question asked by the M o n a g h a n fa rmer and had come to the same conclusion. Ian Paisley came thunder ing back f r o m the Bible Belt of the U S A to back u p his second- in-command. He called fo r a mass mobil isat ion of Loyalists to go to D u n d a l k and demons t ra te their suppor t fo r Robinson . However , D u n d a l k in the full light of an Augus t day is not the same as a fly-by-night takeover of Hi l l sborough or Clont ibre t . Nor are Paisley's followers blinded to the same extent with the illusions of power

. f r o m which he and Robinson seem to suffer .

Only a b o u t one hundred answered the call to mobilise. Almost all of those were members of the D U P . The cour t hearing took only a few minutes and Paisley a n d Rob inson were whisked safely back over the border under the protec t ion of the Garda Siochana. They left the unfor tuna te rump of the D U P fanatics in the main street of Dunda lk t o fend fo r itself and as e v i d e n c e o f t h e i r s t u p i d adventur ism. It was a t this point t h a t " r e p u b l i c a n " s t u p i d i t y manifested itself. There was no call o r reason fo r throwing petrol bombs a t the retreat ing and disillusioned Loyalists. W h e n ^i l l some republicans learn tha t there are t imes when if you give people enough rope they will hang themselves?

While the sectarian conflict and its tragic consequences occupy the headlines the British Governmen t beavers away and uses the divide in no r the rn society to fu r the r its own imperial ends as it ha s always done in the past . The t aming and m o u l d i n g of t h e U n i o n i s t organisat ions and their leaders to the will of the British Governmen t is b u t par t of much wider objectives. In the Anglo*Irish Agreement Britain p lans to undermine the struggle for Irish

T H E D u t c h High C o u r t will be hear ing a very impor tant case on Sep tember 10th in the Hague .

It concerns two ' i r i shmen , Brendan McFar lane a n d Gera rd Kelly, w h o are resisting a t t empts by the British Governmen t to have t hem extradited.

An immense amoun t of interest has been generated, no t only in Hol l and . Ken Livingstone, Liz Curt is a n d Gerry A d a m s have spoken a t demonst ra t ions held in the Universi ty of Ams te rdam, and posters have been exhibited t h r o u g h o u t the country.

An internat ional pet i t ion has been t aken up in Italy, D e n m a r k , Spain a n d France.

The final decisions rests with the Minis ter for Justice. Over 200 Du tch lawyers have urged him not to ext radi te . It will be near the end of O c t o b e r before he will be able to cons ide r the judgment of the cour t , a n d another m o n t h will

FREAMHACHA TA ionad fa leith ag an Bhord Tur-asoireachta i mBealfeirste a bhfreastolaionn ar na cuairteoiri on choigrioch a mbuaileann isteach chucu ar lorg eolais fana sinsear agus freamhacha na dteaghlach as a dtainig siad. Meiriceanaigh is mo a mbionn suim acu san ghnaithe seo. Le blianta beaga anuas ta cuid airithe de na duchasaigh ag deanamh aithrise ar an tead cheanna, ach is mar gheall ar pholaitiocht na huaire ata siad sin at thoir a bhfreamhacha sa stair. On uair a bhain Rialtas na Breataine a thacaiocht gan acht de na Aontachtaithe agus gur thoisigh a pie. g o hosoulte Je Blpi le Atha Cliath ta na hAontachtaiuie de reir a cheile ag cailleadh na muinine a bhiodh acu sna Sasanaigh. I lathair na huaire ta siad ag crubu siar iontu fein. Is e an brat Uladh gona laimh deirg is minice in airide acu anois de rogha ar an Union Jack. Ni ro-shasuil leo a thuilleadh go nglaotar "Briotanaigh" orthu.

Cuireadh ceim eile leis an chulu-siar seo on Bhreatain nuair a d ' e i s i g h roinn s o i s e a r na nAontachtaithe paimfled beag i Mi lull seo caite dar theideal "Ulster -The Lost Culture". Deirti sa phle-phaipear seo gur ghoid an iucht poblachtach Tone, Mac Reachtain a g u s c u i m h n e 1 7 9 8 o n a Protastunaigh. Moltar leis gur cho ir do na A o n t a c h t a i t h e athbhreithniu a dheanamh ar an dearcadh ata acu ar stair a muintire. Deir siad narbh iad Cath na Boinne no Leigear Dhoire a ba bhunchloch don stair sin agus go gcaitheann na fir bhui gona dromai lambeg agus a hatai crua drochchlu orthu ar fud an domhain. Fillean siad siar go Cuchulainn agus na Cruithnigh le cruthu go raibh Tuaisceart na hEireann ina seilbh acu roimh theacht na nGael. Cibe ar bith fan sean-stair agus an miniu sin uirthi, b'fheidir narbh ole an cas e ma chiallaionn se go bhfuil na Aontachtaithe ar bhealach a bhfuaiscailte faoi dheireadh thiar thall o gheimheal na Sasana agus a chuid impiriulachais.

probably elapse before he gives his decision.

IT is po in ted out however that if it is decided that the of fence cited by the British Gove rnmen t is not extraditable the Minister can order depor t a t ion . But in this case one assumes that the men would be entitled to go to a count ry of their choice.

The condi t ions under which the men are held have given rise to widespread a la rm. They are held separately a n d not allowed to communica te . Visiting time is confined to five hours per mon th and they are allowed no telephone facilities.

Again when their case was considered by the Amste rdam District C o u r t on March 11th this year, they were not al lowed to be present du r ing the proceedings, a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l l e g a l

• o r g a n i s a t i o n s i n c l u d i n g t h e London-based Ha ldane Society have a rgued that they had a right to hear wha t was being said a b o u t them, a n d if appropr ia t e to comment .

Gera rd Kelly, now aged 32, is Belfast-born and has been a m e m b e r of the R e p u b l i c a n movement since 1970. He was held in L o n g Kesh with political prisoner s ta tus , bu t escaped in 1983. H e w a s a r r e s t e d in Amste rdam in J a n u a r y 1986. The

' Dutch refused to extradi te h im, but the British Gove rnmen t is n o w a p p e a l i n g a g a i n s t t h i s decision a n d as a result he has been held.

T H E earl ier judgment held that his activit ies were within the definit ion of political, being "carr ied o u t in a f r amework of a struggle f o r power in Nor thern Ireland. " T h e y were also carried o u t " said the judge , with the o b j e c t o f p r o t e c t i n g t h e nationalist par t of the popula t ion f rom a t t ack on the par t of the " so -called loyalists who are resisting reuni f ica t ion ."

It has n o t escaped notice that the Du tch cour t holds a more liberal view of political activities than would be held in Dubl in .

Brendan McFar l ane is also a long-s tanding member of the Republ ican movement and was in the no to r ious H-block dur ing the

•time Bobby Sands was on hunger strike. In his case the cour t agreed to ex t rad i t ion in respect of an offence he completely denies, and he is appea l ing against the decision.

Peter Mulligan's peep show

independence, break down the neutral i ty of the Twenty-Six coui.ties and extend her influence over all Ireland. Unlike the Nor the rn Assembly the Brits canno t dissolve Dail Eireann. But th rough the present subservient government in Dublin a n d its involvement in the Anglo-Ir ish Agreement they have succeeded so fa r in smothering the fo r th r igh t debates in the Dail chamber which a r e s o n e c e s s a r y o n t h e s e i m p o r t a n t issues.

EMIGRATION NOW that emigration is once more becoming a burning issue in Ireland, the Irish in Britain Representation Group has published, and formulated a policy consisting of ten proposals which they hope will prompt debate on this important subject.

They are strongly critical of the "vacuum of policies" emanating from Dublin, and urge the Irish community in Britain to take the matter up, as well as the exiles in the USA, Canada and Europe.

Copies are obtainable from Mr Eddie White at 245a Coldharbour Lane, London, SW9 8BR.

LICENCE TO KILL — In December, 1984, six known R e p u b l i c a n sympathisers were sought out by the RUC and shot dead. There then followed a police and media campaign to protect those concerned from prosecution. Lies, silence and red herrings were the order of the day. But ultimately an English policeman was brought in to investigate. As usual records went missing, notes were altered, memories were vague and the innocent protected their kith and kin. But John Stalker, the then deputy chief constable of Greater Manchester was not to be put off by the conspiracy to protect the guilty. At this stage more powerful elements came into the play and Stalker himself was withdrawn from the inquiry and suspended from duty for his association with a Conservative businessman who had allegedly some 'criminal friends'. The report was then vetted and handed over to the next pawn in the game Colin Sampson the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire with instructions that he should complete the investigations with all haste as the smell was beginning to sting the nostrils of the public and he s h o u l d t h e r e f o r e a v o i d a n y insinuation that the RUC and 'others' were a party to a cover up and smear campaign to protect the killers. An appropriate report was duly compiled and handed to Sir P. Myers, the Inspector of Constabulary. The media were given the usual 'leaks' to keep the public 'informed' of progress. It now seems that no less than 40 members of the RUC "will be recommended" to face disciplinary charges including m u r d e r a n d p e r j u r y . T h e recommendations also state that two Superintendents should be suspended immediately.

U L S T E R D E F E N C E R E G I -MENT — formed in 1970 as part of the British Army in Northern Ireland. The Ulster Defence Regiment remains the local backbone of the British military presence in Ireland. Senior NCO's continue to receive 'anti-personnel' training in British base camps. Since the regiment was formed over 35,000 loyalists have received training and are allowed to keep the state-issued firearms at home. The nine battalions number 7,000 officers 70 per cent of which are under the age of 27 and hold down two jobs in an area with the highest unemployment in Europe. To-date 14 officers have been convicted of sectarian killings. Currently 5 serving officers are awaiting trial for the murder of Adrian Carroll in October 1983.

MORE MONEY THAN SENSE — the US Congress have given approval for 120 million dollars to be donated to the British Government for use in Northern Ireland. The 'aid package' fo r the British colony will provide 50 million this year and 35 million instalments in the next two years.

POVERTY AND THE CON-SERVATIVES — A report published by the Child Action Poverty Group and the Low Pay Unit states that poverty has increased by 50 per cent since the Conservatives came to power in 1979. They aplsodisclose that 11 million people in Britain now live on or below the poverty line. GUARDIAN.

THE POWELL PUZZLE FOR ENGLISHMEN. — "The puzzle is how a man so deeply imbued with Englishness could have transferred his allegiance to a group of self-styled 'British' Irishmen in defence of the union between Northern Ireland and Westminster." GUARDIAN.

...... —1J • . • ,, * 'flu^-- * jwaj

Page Six IRISH DEMOCRAT September 1986

] The Price of My Pig , Ji\ the year twenty-nine, when the weather was fine

Oh I straight took my way to the sweet fair of Trim For to sell a swine it was my design She was plump fat and fair and complete in each limb The swine was as mild as a lamb or a child You could whip her all over the globe with a twig And the truth for to tell I sold her right well Three-ten was the price that I got for my pig With me toor-an-ih-ahdee-dee, toor-an-ih-ah-dee-dee

toor-an-ih-ah-dee-dee fon-dee-dee-i.

Clapped the cash to me thigh and a glass to me eye, To the streets I did fly like a sporting young buck, When a sporting young dame that belonged to the game, Oh, she up to me came to be sure for good luck, She gave me the wink to go in for a drink, She inveigled me then to dance Phoenus's jig It was at the wheel round that she slipped her hand down, And she left me quite scarce of the price of me pig with me toor-an-ih-ah-dee-dee, toor-an-ih-ah-dee-dee

toor-an-ih-ah-dee-dee fon-dee-dee-i.

Ah, be Tara, be Screen, be the bog of Armeen, Be Paddy McGee, be the high hill of Howth, Be the church, be the bells, be Paddy McKells, To swear any more do you know that I'm loth If the Lord of Mayo he but heard of me woe Well I'm sure he would come in a chaise or a gig And search Ireland round till that jade would be found And he'd clap her in pound for the price of me pig* With me toor-an-ih-ah-dee-dee, toor-an-ih-ah-dee-dee

toor-an-ih-ah-dee-dee fon-dee-dee-i.

IRISH SONGS

PADDY AND THE ASS YOUNG Pat Molloy's an Irish boy, he came from sweet County Clare Says he "I'll go to London to see the wonders there; I've oft times heard that London was a very pretty place, So bedad, says he, I'll go and see if that's the blooming case."

Pat shook hands with all the lads and kissed his colleen dear, He left the sod, he did by God, and never shed a tear;

.. Says he "My lads I'll know the road if ever I am sent Up to that mighty place they call the House of Parliament."

When Pat arrived in London he was taken by surprise. For the size of that great city fairly dazzled Paddy's eyes. While dodging on quite easy meditating to himself He met a ragged cockney with a donkey selling delf.

Now this ragged ill-bred cockney wouldn't let poor Paddy pass. Saying "Come and speak to your brother" as he pointed to the ass. "Bedad," says Pat, "I never knew I had a brother here," And with that he stooped and he whispered into the donkey's ear.

When Pal was speaking to the ass, now boys what did he do? Well, he spat the tobacco juice in his ear, he did, bedad, 'tis true. The ass went mad, upset the cart, smashed all the earthenware And bejapers boys, the cockney he went crazy on the square.

Well, he shouted for a policeman to take poor Pat in charge. Saying "Seize this Irish vagabond, for he should not be at large." "Begone, you English spailpin," cried Paddy with a smile, "For you took me to be an ass 'cos I come from Erin's Isle."

No before the magistrate poor Pat he had to stand next day l'o account all for his crime he asked him what he'd to say. "Bedad," says Pat, I'm charged with more than ever 1 did,

,1 just spoke to my brother and I did what I was bid."

"Well now," says the magistrate, "don't you know the ass went mad? "Well indeed I do," says Paddy, "and I'm sorry too bedad." "Be careful" cried the magistrate, "we'll have no nonsense here, Just come and tell us every word you whispered in his ear."

"Well indeed I will" says Paddy, "that request I can't refuse, for I've oft times heard that donkeys they were very fond of news: I thought I might say something the old donkey's heart to cheer And now I'll tell you every word I whispered in his ear."

"I told the ass," says Paddy, "that we had our wrongs redressed I"hat noble decent Irishmen no longer were oppressed. We got rid of all the landlords, Ireland to ourselves we had. And when the donkey heard that news, bejasus he went mad."

To hide his face the magistrate lie had to stoop his head. For he coukh't stop from laughing when he heard what Paddy said. "Good hidt to you, bold Pat," says he, "a deter rogue you are, And for your clever answer I'll dismiss you from the bar."

Edited by PATRICK BOND

THE SHANDON BELLS

With deep affection And recollection I oft-times think of Those Shandon bells, Whose sounds so wild would. In the days of childhood, Ring round the cradle Their magic spells O n this I ponder Where'er I wander And .thus grow fonder, Sweet Cork, of thee; With the Bells of Shandon, That sound so grand on The pleasant waters O f the river Lee.

I've heard bells tolling Old 'Adrian's Mole' in Their Thunder rolling From the Vatican And cymbals glorious Swinging uproarious In the gorgeous turrets O f Notre Dame; But thy sounds were sweeter Than the dome of Peter Flings o'r the Tiber, Pealing solemnly Oh! the bells of Shandon Sound far more grand on The pleasant waters O f the river Lee.

I've heard bells chiming, Full many a clime in, Tolling sublime in Cathedral shrine; While at a glib rate Brass tongues would vibrate; But all their music Spoke naught like thine. For memory, dwelling On each proud swelling Of thy belfry, knelling Its bold notes free, Made the bells of Sbandon Sound far more grand on The pleasant waters Of the river Lee.

There's a bell in Moscow While on tower and kiosk O ! In Saint Sophia The Turkman gets, And loud in air Calls men to prayer From the tapering summit Of tall minarets. Such empty phantom I freely grant 'em; But there is an anthem More dear to me -'Tis the bells of Shandon That sound so grand on The pleasant waters Of the river Lee.

DANNY BOY O H Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling

From glen to glen and down the mountainside, The summer's gone, and all the roses falling -

'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide But come you back when summer's in the meadow,

Or when the fields are hushed and white with snow, It's I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow.

Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy I love you so.

But if you come, and all the flowers are dying, If I am dead, and dead I well may be,

You'll come and find the place where I am lying, And kneel and say an Ave there for me;

And I shall haar, though soft you tread above me, And all my grave will warmer, sweeter be.

And you will bend and tell me that you love me And I shall rest in peace until you come to me.

If I should live, and you should die for Ireland Let not your dying prayer be all for me,

But say a prayer to God for our sireland, And He will hear, and surely set her free;

And I will take your pike and place, my dearest, I'll strike a blow, though weak that blow may be To aid the cause which to our hearts is nearest

And I shall sleep in peace when Ireland's free.

THE BANTRY GIRLS' LAMENT Oh who will plough the fields now A A A A

And who will sell the corn And who will watch the sheep now

And keep them neatly shorn? And the stack that's in the haggard

Un-threshed it will remain Since Johnny went a threshing

All in the wars of Spain.

And the girls from the Bawnoge In sorrow may retire

And the piper and his bellows G o home and blow his fire

For Johnnv, lovely Johnny He 's sailing o'er the main ^ ^ b ^ g ^ l

He's along with other patriots To fight the King of Spain.

And the boys will surely miss him When Moneyfnore comes round

\nd they grieve that their brave Captain Is nowhere to be found.

And the peelers must stand idle Against their will and grain

For the gallant boy who gave 'em work Now peels the King of Spain.

And at wakes or hurling matches Your likes we'll seldom see

Till you come home again to us t ^ i f f t ^ t ^ A storin gheal mo chroi

And won't you trouble the buckeens Who show us great disdain

Because our eyes are not as bright As those you'll meet in Spain.

And if cruel fate does not permit Our Johnny to return

His heavy loss, we Bantry girls Will never cease to mourn

We'll resign ourselves to our sad loss And die in grief and pain

Since Johnny died for freedom's sake, „ ^ — — In the foreign land of Spain.

JIMMY MO MHILE STOR BLIAIN an taca seo d'imigh uaim run mo'chleibh. Ni thiocfaidh se abhaile go dtabharfaidh se cursa an tsaoil. Nuair a chifeadh e rithfead le fuinneamh ro-ard ina chomhair agus chludod le mil e, is e Jimmy mo mhile stor.

Blonn mo mhathair is m'athair ag bearradh is ag bruion liom Kin. Taim giobaithe, piocaithe, ciapaithe, craite de m'shaol. Thugas taitneamh don duine ud dob 'ftiinne is dob idle sno agus chuaigh si ar bord loinge, is t Jimmy mo mhile st6r.

Utchadsa chun coille agus caithfead ann an ctinid die de m'shaol san ait n i beidh einne, ag tisteacht le ceol na n-tan ag bun an chrainn chaorthainn mar a bhfisann ann ftar go leor ag tabhairt taitnimh don daine ud, is t Jimmy mo mhtle st6r.

September 1966 IRISH DEMOCRAT Page Seven

66 I REMEMBER she and her husband had been killed in the London blitz. There was no trace of the house.

"We tramped the streets of London looking for work and eventually got started at Woolfs Rubber factory. We stayed with Mrs Gosling for about a year.

"We immediately threw our-selves into the work of the Re-publican Congress which had established a London branch, and worked with Sean Mul-grew, Tommy Patten, Mick Kelly, Alan McLarnan, Leslie Daiken and Frank Corrigan. We used to sell the Republican Con-gress paper outside Linacre Road Catholic Church where Father Fitzgerald was always very friendly to us.

"At the time of Frank Edwards's dismissalfrom Mount Sion school in Waterford, Bishop Kinane issued a pas-toral to the effect that no Catholic could lawfully belong to the Republican Congress. This was featured in the English press at the time. In correspond-ence with the London Council of the Congress, Father Fitz-gerald stated that he respect-fully differed from his Lordship and wished the Republican Congress well. By now he was parish priest of Willesden Green." WOOLF'S rubber factory was a

non-Union job. Conditions were pretty rough even when they moved to new premises in Southall. Peter was joined by two more of the Power brothers and with Jimmy O'Leary began to organise secretly. As a result Peter O'Connor was awarded the bronze medal of the TUC. The Union was the National Union of General and Municipal Workers. The chairman of the branch was a Welshman called Jones, and the Secretary was Thomas Stearne who lived at 7, West End Road, Southall.

Peter O'Connor severed his connection with the IRA as a result of the Bodenstown affair of June 1934. A group of Protestants from the Shankhill Road, Belfast, carrying the Republican Congress banner, were attacked and prevented from laying a wreath.

"This action on that day" said Peter, "confirmed the views I had held for a long time pre-viously that by concentrating on the military aspect of the fight for freedom to the exclusion of the politics of revolution, a large and sincere section of the working class would become disillusioned, thereby postponing the final reckoning." On Saturday, 19 December,

1936, Johnny Power, Paddy Power, Jackie Hunt and Peter O'Connor, all from Waterford City, left Victoria Station, London, en route to Spain to join the ranks of the International Brigade in defence of t/ie Spanish Republic. Their com-panions were English, Scottish and Welsh workers led by Peter Kerrigan of Glasgow.

"We crossed the channel and arrived in Paris at 9 am, Sunday, 20th December. We left foe Figueras, the Spanish bonier torn at 7 pm on t^e 21st, and travelled h ff m m-app roved road over the

• by a French-, ft m$ Ut-

terly cold, frost glistening every-where, and we travelled part of the way without lights, but finally reached Spain where we burst into revolutionary song." The party went on to Albacete

where Peter spent Christmas day on guard duty in the Bull Ring. Albacete was the most demoralis-ing place in Spain, a haven for deserters, saboteurs, black marketeers, spies, fifth-columnists and rumour-mongers. They were glad to be out of it.

BUT hardly had they arrived at the training base of Madrigueras when Peter O'Connor went down with typhoid fever. As a teetotaller he would not drink the wine. But the water was not wholesome. He remained there until January 2nd, 1937.

"On 12th January all the Irish comrades were summoned to a meeting to decide whether we would remain a section of the British Battalion or join the American Lincoln Battalion who were based at Villanueva de la Jura . . . About forty-five at-tended and by a majority of five decided to join the Lincoln Battalion. The main reason given by those who wanted to join the Americans was because of the wrongs done to the Irish nation by the English in the past.

"Those of us who were politi-cally conscious, particularly Charlie Donnelly, Johnny and Paddy Power and myself, pleaded pas-sionately for a distinction to be made between antifascists from England and British im-perialUm . . . It was an under-standable political mistake. 1 have nothing against the com-rades who voted to join the Lincolns, except that some of them may have had a little too much vino and did not follow the arguments for and against." The Irish column joined the

Lincolns at their base on 20 January 1937, and on January 29th Peter O'Connor was appointed Group Leader of the James

. Connolly unit attached to the Lincoln Battalion. On February 9th he was again struck down by Typhoid, but though not fully recovered moved up to the Jarama

front on February 16th. As they were moving forward in single file, Peter spotted and exchanged greetings with Mossy Quinlon of South Parade Waterford who was with a British unit. He was killed in combat shortly afterwards.

On February 19th there was heavy artillery bombardment, and the brigaders were glad of the presence of Bill Henry from Belfast who had been in the British army during the first world war. His coolness under attack was a source of encouragement. The first casualty was C. Edwards who was killed.

"On 23 February our battalion took part in the first attack on the Fascists' lines. It was very dork and die olive groves were lit up with rifle and 99H9 chine-gun fire. We advanced too far but we dug in where we were. Paddy Power was just near me. We were in a trench cut off from the main Hues. It was here that Charlie Donnelly, Eamon Mc Grotty, and the Rev A M Milliard were km* '** dkm

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 McLarnan from Dublin was wounded." THE unit held its ground until

February 26th without food. Finally they fought their way back to the main line. On 27th they attacked again led by Eddie O'Flaherty and Paid Bums. Jackie Huntfrom Waterford was wounded in the ankle and Bill Henry the great Belfast Protestant was killed together with T. T. O'Brien. But the line was held and the road to Madrid was barred. It was during this time that Charlie Donnell's body was found. He had deep wounds in his right arm and side. Johnny Power, Paddy Power and Peter O'Connor, carAed his body down the hillside. He had been killed on February 23rd, and was "one of the best known and lovable comrades and a great Irishman."

"On March 20th I received a letter from my brother Jimmy informing me of my father's death. He told me that when my father heard that I had gone to Spain to fight Fascism he said he was glad I had the courage of my convictions.

"On Easter Monday, March 29th, we held a unique concert in the front lines to com-memorate the 21st anniversary of the rising of 1916. Irish, American, English, French, Belgian, Bulgarians, Greeks, Czechoslovaks, Spanish and Russian all took part and I read the proclamation.

"On April 5th in one of our attacks on the Fascist lines, Hugh Bonar from Folcorrib, Dungloe. Co Donegal^ our Ass. Section leader was killed by my side. He died instantly with an explosive bullet in the head .. . On the 18th I was appointed to take his place as /tss. Section Leader."

THE Connolly unit had five days of well-earned rest on leave in Alcal de Henares and took part in the May Day parade. But on May 4th leave was suddenly cancelled and they returned to the front. On May 12th a memorial meeting for James Connolly was held in the front line.

"On June 1st, Mick Kelly and I were given permission to travel through the lines for the purpose of collecting money for the 'Irish Democrat' (Dublin) which at that time was in bad financial straits. We went through the section of trenches held by the British and Dimitroff Battalions and collected a total sum of 3455 pesetas and a Scottish pound note. I still hold the permits for that collection signed by M. W. Hourihan, Battalion Commander and Paul Bums our. Company Com-mander." On June 28th the Lincoln

Battalion was ordered to stand to before what was likely to prove one Of the most decisive engagements of the war. The three Power Brothers were all present, and as heavy casualties were expected Peter O'Connor and Johnny Power got in touch with Frank Ryan wd insisted that Paddy and Billy should be sent home. They went under protest. The big offensive began on itk My 1937 at 5 am. The Fascists were routed and- the battalion moved fptmrd eM day. Johnny Power and ghnttf- J^ogmm toammM titflttttii&d ith All^b

WRONGLY CONVICTED ERROR of judgement. The truth about the Birmingham bombing. Chris Mullin, Chatto and Windus, pp 278, £10.95. T H I S well wr i t ten b o o k obl iges the reader t o re tu rn to those days in 1974 a n d recreates vividly the events of tha t t ime. T h e r eade r will f ind himself f r o m the s tar t c a u g h t u p in the events which were to lead to such t ragic consequences fo r bo th the d e f e n d a n t s , their famil ies and the Bri t ish legal sys tem. T h e t ru th of the m a t t e r is tha t in 1974 the police were not e q u i p p e d to deal with t e r ro r i sm a n d the tried a n d t e s t e d m e t h o d s o f in te r roga t ion a n d inqui ry which they would no rma l ly e m p l o y on rout ine invest igat ions were to be a b a n d o n e d in f a v o u r of b ru ta l i ty , fear , t e r ro r , m a n i p u l a t i o n a n d the m a n u f a c t u r i n g of evidence.

It is a sad c o m m e n t a r y tha t those in to whose h a n d s are ent rus ted the policing a n d the protec t ion of the c o m m u n i t y should resor t t o me thod? which d i f fe r little f r o m the accusa t ions they were la ter to level aga ins t the Bi rmingham 6.

In a sense one could see the q u a n d a r y in which the pol ice were placed. T h e y d id no t believe tha t

legs. George Brown, Manchester Trade Unionist and working class leader was killed.

BUT for a second time the Battalion had advanced too far and was in danger of being cut off. They were ordered to fall back and came under very heavy cross fire. Mick Kelly from Ballinasloe was killed by a sniper's bullet. Peter O'Connor was now the only Irishman left in line. He told Frank Ryan that all the others had been killed. It was then that the slow retreat took place in scorching heat and under immense aerial artillery, anti-tank and anti-aircraft bombardment. German Junker aircraft constandy raked the terrain with machine-gun bullets.

It was at the end of diis episode that Frank Ryan ordered Peter O'Connor to return home. He was back in Albacete on August 31st, and went to see the British Consul General, who happened to be an Irishman from Tipperary. Emergency passports were provided and on September 7th he left Paris for London where he called on his old friend Sean Mulgrew.

"Sean was one of the stalwarts of the Republican movement. He was one of those imprisoned with Frank Ryan and George Gilmore during the Cosgrave Coercion Act of 1931 and re-leased when De Valera came to power in 1932. He was an active member of the short-lived Saor Eire and Republican Congress. He died suddenly at Heathrow airport in 1979 when boarding a plane to visit his daughter and sister in America.

"I left London on Saturday and arrived home on Sunday 19th September 1937 after an absence of just thrto yean, bat what an eventful three yean. I was returning home with the pledge of the International Brigade on leaving Spain firmly in my mind, We at*, returning to our respective coun-tries not for celebrations in our honour, not to rest, but to caatinar the fight m helped to mfe if Spain. W* «* JMffMJU fmM A^M^B M » »

tried a n d tested police m e t h o d s would be successful in a case o f this n a t u r e . They did believe t h a t there w a s evidence to c o n n e c t some of the Birmingham 6 wi th explosives a n d as a consequence t h e y e m p l o y e d i n t e r r o g a t i o n m e t h o d s which they cons ide red jus t i f ied aga ins t persons w h o m they a s s u m e d were ha rdened IRA men. T h e b o m b i n g s were hor r i f ic but so w a s the t reatment mee ted out to the Bi rmingham 6. T h e m a e l s t r o m of violence which the b o m b i n g themselves had c r e a t e d was t o be carried on wi th f r igh ten ing pace in police s t a t i o n s and in W i n s o n Green Prison w i t h , a p p a r e n t l y , no-one capab le of s topping it.

BY ALASDAIR LOGAN . T H E b o o k highlights the

infect ious na ture of v iolence which l ike a fores t fire j u m p s f r o m one place ( o r in this ease p e r s o n ) to a n o t h e r .

T h e legal system which is supposed t o be the bas t ion on which the defendant can rely failed these men and socie ty m o n u m e n t a l l y . The initial f a i l u r e of the so l ic i to rs to note in de ta i l the in jur ies t ha t their clients h a d suffered w a s n o doub t in pa r t d u e to the f e a r t ha t this case c r e a t e d and la ter o n a t the trial that f a i l u re was to be c o m p o u n d e d in a m o s t terr i fying w a y .

T H E a b s e n c e of c o n f i r m a t o r y tests was disregarded a n d the defence f a c e d with the p rob l em of f i n d i n g c o m p e t e n t e x p e r t witnesses since most, if n o t a l l , s u c h w i t n e s s e s were e i t h e r G o v e r n m e n t employees o r ex-G o v e r n m e n t e m p l o y e e s a n d b o u n d by the Official Secrets A c t , p roduced li t t le o r nothing wh ich could s t a n d in the way of t h e p rosecu t ion a n d the judge. T h o s e who have the temerity to po in t to the de f ec t s in the forensic ev idence were t o see the i r evidence r educed to r idicule b y M r Justice Bridge. T h e d e f e c t s in Doc to r B l a c k ' s e v i d e n c e w e r e u s e d w i t h devas ta t ing effect against h i m by bo th p r o s e c u t i o n and the j u d g e as was D r H a r w o o d ' s a t t e m p t t o cover u p f o r pr i son officers f o r t he assaul ts u p o n the defendan ts .

T o m Sargant, the former Secretary o f Justice may be correct w h e n he said to Paddy Hih in a letter:— "In a case like yours, so many reputations are at stake that in m y view the obstacles to overcome are insuperable."

It is to b e hoped that the Wor ld in Act ion programme on this case and this excellent book together with the passage of time and the fact that there are at least t w o other cases emanating from 1974 which are wide 'y regarded as miscarriages of justice namely , the Gui ldford Bombing case a n d the case o f the Maguire Seven will persuade the public at large a n d the authorit ies that this is a case which urgently requires review.

Like the Guildford B o m b i n g case, as Chris Mullin ably demonstrates , the confess ions have all the hallmarks of b e i n g false. Like the Maguire Seven case, as the b o o k demonstrates, the forensic evidence would on close analysis appear to amount to 1

far less than a n adequate standard of proof.

A small point of criticism. O n e would l iked to have seen the interviews conducted by M r Mutter w i t h t h o s e a c t j a t l y responsible for the b o j n & n f i done in such a way as t o b e admissible in law.

n

P f » n o [ l i g h t IRISH D E M O C R A T September 1986

Super now out at grass

J I M G I B N E Y , f o r m e r Sinn Fein na t ional o r g a n i s e r , is serving a twelve-year jai l sentence in the Six Coun t i e s on the u n c o r r o b o r a t e d w o r d of pa id pe r ju re r Kevin M c G r a d y . T h i s is despite the fact tha t in the recent appea l by Loyalists in the case of the in fo rmer Bennet , all those held on the u n c o r r o b o r a t e d evidence of paid per jurers were f reed. O n e law fo r the Loyal is ts it seems, a n o t h e r fo r an active S inn Fein man w h o is n o w in the f o u r t h year of his twelve-year sen tence .

A par t icular ly cynical fea ture of the appeal sys t em is that whereas the appeals by G ibn ey a n d a fe l low-pr isoner , J o h n M c C o n k e y , were dismissed, appea l s by two o the r s , Brian D a v i s o n and Peter McKie rnan , w h o have a l ready completed sen tences of five and f o u r years respectively were a l lowed on the g r o u n d s that i n fo rmer M c G r a d y ' s evidence was u n c o r r o b o r a t e d .

J im G i b n e y ' s appea l was d i s m i s s e d b y a t w o - t o - o n e major i ty . T w o of the Diplock j u d g e s upheld the ex t r ao rd ina ry verdict of trial j u d g e Lord Lowry tha t Gibney ' s a l leged nervous and a n g r y reaction when c o n f r o n t e d b y i n f o r m e r M c G r a d y in Cast lereagh cons t i t u t ed " s u p p o r -tive evidence" . At the trial no c o r r o b o r a t i o n , e i ther forensic or eyewitness, was p r o d u c e d t o back u p M c G r a d y ' s a l lega t ions .

T o m King a n d Peter Barry have h in ted that the Hi l l sborough accord would b r i n g the paid pe r ju re r system t o a n end. But the fac t that it is still in full swing is shown by the release last m o n t h of Budgie Allen, j u s t t w o years tf t to s e r v i n g a 1 4 - y e a r s e n t e n c e imposed in 1984 f o r admi t t ed involvement in sec ta r ian murder s of nat ional is ts .

Fol lowing his arrest Budgie Allen implicated 47 people on 226 charges including f o u r sectar ian murders . In c o u r t he admi t t ed tha t by giving evidence he h o p e d -t o get a reduced sentence and f inancia l and o t h e r help f r o m the R U C . His release a f t e r two ye&rs shows he wasn ' t f a r wrong.

MECHANIC AND MONARCH

I ACTION HERE THE English journalist, Chris Mullin, whose book Error of Judgement shov that the Birmingham Six have framed, is not optimistic that the Home Office will release them. "Frankly I think that they will find a way of explaining away the forensic evidence", he says.

He is urging the Irish government to make overtures to Whitehall about the case. "Every time the British Government asks for more co-operation on security matters or seeks an extradition, Dublin should remind them that there are 15 to 16 people in Britain prisons who have been wrongly convicted of terrorist offences."

In an interview with Home Office Under-Secretary David Mellor, Chris Mullin refused to name the real I | perpetrators of the 1974 Birmingham] bombing whom he traced and inter for his book. "I gave my word that 1l not reveal their identities and I nati shall stick to this," he says. .

i "The important thing anyway is not pat the real people who did it got away, but that six innocent people have spent 12 years in prison for a crime they didn't commit." T .

I It is to be hoped that the frish government does act, but there is w r y reason why the British Labour and Liberties movement and the community should put on a agitation.

Printed by Ripley Printers Ltd (TV), Nottingham Road, Rip)ey, Derbys, and published by' Connolly Publi-cations Ltd, 244 Grays Inn RoM,; London WC1. Telephone: 01-833-3022

I Ni^lKE, perhaps, a great many o) Britain's most ardent royalists 1 can remember very well the day on which King George VI died. I was buying a pair of socks in a Northampton draper's when one shop assistant said to the other, a young woman, 'The King's dead.' ' Oh no,' the young woman wailed, 'that means there'll be no cinemas open tonight!'

An an immigrant Irishman it would have been impertinent of me to have rejoiced over what in those days appeared to be the inevitable decline of British Royalty but there was evidence a-plenty then that this was how things were going. I was w orking as a member of a ballast gang on the now defunct Bedford-Northampton line in the early part of 1955 and one day the Royal train was due to pass the point where we were riddling dirty ballast; a railway inspector came along shortly before the train was due to arrive with instructions that we were to remove ourselves behind some nearby hedges and remain strictly out of sight until the Queen and Prince Phillip had gone by - on no account were we to show ourselves, the inspector insisted.

A good third of the gang was Irish but the majority was not and the remarks they tossed about concerning the royal visitors on that occasion were of a kind you rarely hear today. There is no doubt at all that the Monarch was held in much less esteem back in the early 1950's here in England than it is today; smutty stories abounded about Britain's first family in those days and workers were forever grumbling about the expense of supporting the growing clan. The British Royals may not evoke the same breathless response in the populace as a whole as the British media would have us believe but

By DONALL MacAMHLAIGH

there is precious little criticism of the Royals now and quite definitely no smutty stories . . . That Queen Elizabeth II is the architect of this quite remarkable about-turn is hardly in doubt for with a shrewdness which most politicians might envy she turned the gathering tide of anti-royalism (after a few initial blunders, to be sure!) into a fairly general and wholehearted acceptance of the Monarchy and its many hangers-on. It is remarkable that the British Monarchy is more popular today than it was when Victoria ruled and in spite of the seemingly sage predictions of political writers like Hyde Park veteran Frank Ridley and the irrepressible Willie Hamilton the Royal Family is more securely enthroned (if I may use the expression) than ever it has been since the absolute power of kings gave way before the growth of democracy.

Twenty three years ago when Queen Fredericka of Greece visited Britain a sizeable demonstration took place to voice opposition to her well-known fascist views and the British Queen did herself no good at the time by her spirited defence of the Greek Royalty; nowadays the Queen is cast in the role of conciliator and though a great many Britons might not lose much sleep ov&r the break-up of the Commonwealth popular feeling is discernibly with her against Mrs Thatcher' who has inadvertently assumed the role of wrecker.

AN uninitiated visitor to Britain, seeing programmes like the often-scurrilous Spitting Images series, might conclude that the Royal

Family here was held in scant regard - but that visitor would be quite wrong. Many of our own Irish institutions of which no one would dare make such fun are far less securely anchored, and far from damaging the image • of Royalty entertainments like Spitting Ima^e serve to endear it to the bulk of the people -an own goal if the object of the exercise is to detract from them in any way/ What strikes me most today after all my years here in Britain is how ordinary working folk very rarely indulge now in the kind of censure and criticism of Royalty that was commonplace thirty years ago; at the very most, if someone does start denigrating them, there will be a mild rejoiner that 'you gotta have someone' and they do serve to hold the country together. It is hard to believe that in this age of space travel and the nuclear threat a seemingly archaic institution like monarchy could not only survice but show every sign of enduring and spreading out to encompass more and more of what even thirty years ago many Britons referred to contemptuously as hangers-on. A hundred years ago the British Monarchy was less secure than it is today and in the century before that'Tom Paine, in his Rights of Man declared that 'It requires some talent to be a mechanic; but to be a kin&requires only the animal figure of a man - a sort of breathing automaton. Monarchy is the master of fraud which shelters all others.'

WHATEVER about the truth or otherwise of that contention it is hard to accept that monarchy in Britain today is inferior to any

A CHARA, MAY I compliment the Irish D e m o c r a t f o r i t s f r e q u e n t references to the Irish movement in America and to all democratic movements here? Too often in publications from England one senses the editors either don't believe the "other America" exists or view it as negligible.

In this spirit I wish to correct an error in your comments on the recent U S Senate ratification of the U S - UK Extradition Treaty. It wasn't the case at all that "Irish-A m e r i c a n oppos i t i on to the E x t r a d i t i o n T r e a t y l a r g e l y evaporated after the Libyan a f f a i r . " In f a c t , oppos i t ion intensified, since everyone knew it would be harder to win in the jingoist climate created by Reagan's raid on Libya. Despite very hard work, we were beaten.

Why? I would point to the following causes: the overall strength t>f the Right, which owns the White House and the major media and which, especially after April 15th, whipped up "anti-terrorist" hysteria that stampeded many Senate Democrats. Also, after Hilbborwgh, the Ijrish government switched from a

Convention on Terrorism. The Irish government's position is key to that o f S e n a t o r s K e n n e d y and Moynihan. The American Bar Association, cultivated by the British government in the last few years, lent considerable weight to the pro-Treaty effort . At the last critical moments there were tactical differences among some Ir i sh -Amer ican l o b b y i s t s that allowed cowardly Democrats to declare a defeat to be a victory.

T H E IRISH fcause is not the only one suffering setbacks in a dismal summer in which Reagan's foreign policy seems to grow more warlike and reactionary every day. The peace movement was narrowly defeated when the House caved in and funded aid to the contras. The ant i -apar the id m o v e m e n t was dealt a blow when Reagan, again, repudiated s a n c t i o n s against Pretoria.

I liked your headline evoking John Brown, the great white abolitionist Though the ruling slaveowners hanged him in 1859 for attempting an armed insurrection

Extradition Treaty position Witt its accession to the European

to free the slaves, his soul went marching on. Pity that his name was unmentioned in the shameless carnival of national chauvinism the G r e a t P r e v a r i c a t o r R e a g a n presided over during the fourth of July weekend in New York harbour. Brown could not know on the gallows that after a great civil war in 1860-65, slavery would be abolished. Would it be presumtuous for those of us here struggling in the belly of the beast today to nourish similar hopes of a sharp reversal in democratic fortunes? Democracy in America is not, with John Brown, mouldering in the grave. It is oil the defensive. But there are powerful d e m o c r a t i c and revo lut ionary traditions among the American people. The last word has not been heard yet.

The Irish Democrat's inter-n a t i o n a l i s t o u t l o o k g i v e s encouragement to those working for an America that is not, as at present, the main instigator of evil in the world, but as it once was, a bearer of humanity's hopes.

"MEIRICEANACH", U S A

COUPON Please send me particulars of membership of the Connolly Association

Name

Address.

Cut out and post to: CONNOLLY ASSOCIATION.

244/246 Qray hm H—d, London WC1

•nechanic; the present monarch has displayed a degree of shrewdness and imagination in consolidating and perpetuating the institution she represents that many a politician, left or right, might envy. And while her concern that the Common-wealth does not fall asundetis no more than common good sense in that it provides a role and a justification for an ever growing royal family, who can doubt that, even deprived of the common-wealth, Elizabeth Regina would find some way to ensure that royalty survived okay? If her successors can muster the astuteness that has characterised most of her reign then it is afair bet that there will be an occupant in Buckingham Palace for quite some time to come.

ANYONE who read Girseacha i nGeibheann the prison book of the Gillespie sisters, Aine and Eibhlin, will know how vindictive the prison authorities - and the Government -can be towards Irish Republican prisoners. The Gillespie girls were model prisoners, earning maximum remission for their excellent behaviour, but the authorities persisted in their spiteful attitude towards them to the very end. Their father died shortly before their release and it would have been consistent with usual prison procedure to have the girls altdwed out on parole to see him - or later to attend his funeral. Both requests were refused and the Gillespies did their time, proclaiming their innocence to this day.

More recently there was much concern about the quite needless frequency of the strip searches to which Martina Anderson and Ella O'Dwyer were subjected - as many as sixty odd in a month without recourse to printed figures - but at least it was believed, I think, that

.following their conviction and the cessation of the daily visits which they had been entitled to on remand, the strip searches would have stopped, too. This does not appear to be the case, however, for according to the latest release by the Irish Prisoners Appeal (dated August first) in the interval between the girls being transferred from Brixton remand centre to Durham jail they had to undergo as many as two strip searches a day during the week and double that amount at weekends - this without their having visitors at all! ' I

It is notoriously difficult to arouse the interest of the British public in things like the ill-treatment of prisoners and this must be doubly difficult in the case of Irish Republicans - many of whom, after all, have wreaked death and destruction on innocent people in British towns and cities. But then neither does the British public show much concern over the wretched conditions which obtain in British prisons generally (attd in this they are no different frqm the people in Ireland - or perhaps in any other country, fop that matter). If, as has been saiif', the treatment of convicts iflr an indication of the ttatf tf a civilisation the concl~~~ drawn that bot _____ have some way to go yet untords

sbrr^mmmtmmtt V DONALL Mac/.

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