I am ashamed.
Ashamed to be Irish today.
On Saturday, democracy in Ireland was suspended for several hours, as peaceful marchers were denied their right to express their opinion. And a mob of hard line republicans and Dublin scumbags (of which there is an epidemic level in our fair city) went on the rampage, preventing any semblance of law and order across large parts of the city.
I'm getting more and more annoyed as I type this.
Where to begin?
Well obviously blame lies with Republican Sinn Fein for apparently organising this little riot. I think it's about time that the party itself was ruled to be an illegal organisation, because clearly they have no interest in the freedom and inalienable rights of othjer people, or indeed their right to disagree. They need to be raided and closed down as a political party in Ireland. That may seem a little extreme, but what happened on the weekend is, I think, sufficient evidence that extreme action is necessary.
The other Sinn Fein (the ones with apparently no involvement in this fracas) needs to be told quite frankly by both governments that there will be no progress with regards to the North until the IMC have stated that there is not criminality associated with the IRA. SF needs to sign up policing in Northern Ireland and make a declaration in the Republic that they fully recognise the Irish Defence Forces and Oireachtas as the legitimate army and parliament of Ireland. The Dail needs to introduce an oath of affirmation to be taken by all Deputies in which they swear to recognise and uphold the Constitution.
Until all that is done, not one iota of progress should be promised by either Merrion St or Downing St.
There needs to be a full investigation of the Garda response to the threat of disorder on Saturday. While I cannot applaud enough the bravery of the guards on the beat that day, it would appear that people further up the chain of command seriously underestimated the risks that the parade would bring with it, and did not allocate sufficient resources.
There needs to be a massive increase in the number of Gardai on the streets in Dublin during the day and night time. The scumbags responsible for this destruction and wanton criminality are a small percentage of the thousands of knackers that shuffle around our streets day after day. They need watching properly.
The bastards who have so far been charged with various offences need to be tried by the Special Criminal Court, because I don't trust juries to convict them. And we need harsh prison sentences to be imposed to dissuade anyone else from ever trying this again. The Irish state is a mature, 80 year old democracy..this should not be tolerated, and should not be allowed to go unpunished.
As for the 90th Anniversary commemoration of the 1916 Rising..I don't think now is the time to be going about that. Whether it should be called off is a topic for another day, methinks.
What a sad day for Ireland.
Like most people in Ireland, I enjoy complaining about Aer Lingus whenever I can. I have had some fairly bad experiences traveling with the national airline. However, I would like to congratulate them on the dramatic fall in their fares over the past year or so. I think Aer Lingus is now the cheapest airline on the N. Atlantic. Americans can get to Ireland and back for as little as $200. For reasons I've never understood, the jouney in the opposite direction is always more. Still, I've seen fares as low as €228 round-trip to Boston for this autumn. That is less than half what we paid to go to the US after we first moved here in the early 1990's.
Sure service has suffered somewhat (particularly at Kennedy Airport), but it's still better than most airlines.
Now if only they would reinstate the half fare for children (which was eliminated only a few weeks ago and replaced with a 25% reduction for all children under 12) . . .
As if the weekend killing of two British soldiers was not enough of a strain upon the peace process I see that the dissidents have now killed a policeman in Craigavon.
It has just been confirmed on BBC
"A police officer has died following a shooting incident in Craigavon, County Armagh. The incident is understood to have happened near Lismore High School at Brownlow. Police came under attack while investigating suspicious activity near the school. "
It seems that the dissidents are intent on opening up the gates of hell for all Irish people.
I would just like to ask these people one simple question.
If, or perhaps more chillingly when, some Unionist Death Squad murder an innocent Catholic in retaliation for these killings are they going to accept that responsibility?
I'm starting to feel slightly angry at the moment and I never thought I would ever feel that reaction in relation to the death of a peeler.
I am convinced that we can gain a United Ireland through political means; I only wish I was as sure of heaven as I am of this.
I am also convinced that all these actions by the dissidents do is to undermine that political change.
Their actions will lead to only two consequences, more Irish sons and daughters in the grave and in jail.
These people have to be faced down, the Irish people need to decry in one clear and determined voice.
Not in my name!!!
It would be easy to sit back and say nothing, allow things to blow over and see what happens.
Republicans have never been shy about taking hard decisions; we have taken them at every turn.
We need to decide between what is right and what is easy.
These people can not succeed in allowing this country to slip back into chaos, they just can't!
A few days have gone by and the political climate of the North of Ireland has changed exponentially.
The last few days have been a real challenge to my belief system and my, what can only be described as, "historical Republicanism".
I was brought up in a family, village, area and community where those who choose the political path at the time of a Republican split were viewed as traitors.
This is one part of the new political dispensation that I have always struggled with, a nagging doubt at the back of my mind if you will.
The IRA was founded 90 years ago during the Tan War. When Collins and others signed the treaty with the British the IRA condemned them as traitors and treated them as men who had sullied the proud tradition of Republicanism.
At the time of the split with the stickies in 1969, the Provisional’s arose out of the ashes of the Bogside and Belfast. They denounced those who wished to play politics while our people in Belfast faced a loyalist pogrom from Unionist death squads, the RUC and the B Specials.
What followed was merely a continuation of the armed struggle that had begun when the Republic was proclaimed in 1916.
Today we find ourselves in a different situation and I find myself on the wrong side according to traditional Republican orthodoxy.
According to Republican history as soon as the movement turns political it splits and the one which heads towards politics is replaced by a new group of volunteers ready to carry on the fight against the British.
I have often wondered how I would face this moment when it came, as I suspected it would.
Republicans loyal to the Republican movement and the leadership of Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness all face this challenge to our core beliefs.
This week witnessed an historic first when Martin McGuinness declared these dissidents as "traitors to the island of Ireland".
Many within the Republican community were unsettled by this statement from Martin; indeed the dissidents were enraged beyond belief.
To describe a man/woman as a traitor in Republican circles is the ultimate taboo. It denotes touts and collaborators, those who oppose the very essence of Irish Republicanism.
I happen to think that Martin was right to say what he said, indeed it needed to be said to stop any potential leakage of support to these dissidents.
Martin is a former leader of Oglaigh Na hÉireann, a man who has dedicated his life to achieving a United Ireland.
His words are all the more significant because of the fact that Martin said it. Martin, more than anyone in the Sinn Féin leadership is the one who resonates in the Republican heartlands.
He has been very open about his involvement in the armed campaign and as a result he has the respect and trust of the heartlands.
The Irish people declared in one clear voice, North and South, in 1998 that the only way to a United Ireland was through politics.
That hasn't changed.
Thus these dissidents are acting against the clear wishes of the Irish people and that I can not support.
My nagging doubt has gone, I have chosen my side in this struggle for independence and I will let history judge if it was the right decision.
I can only follow my conscience.
Republicans need to stand united and strong against this threat to peace, against this threat to progress.
We can do no other!
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