We have crossed the Rubicon!

Yesterday was the 8th May, D-Day! That's decision day so far as the Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle are concerned.

I wrote a blog about Policing and Justice just before the Ard Fheis and explained that my Cumann had decided to send the following motion to the Ard Fheis.

"This Ard Fheis mandates the Ard Chomhairle to set out, in public, the party’s position in relation to our involvement in the current policing structures should the British Government fail to devolve policing and justice powers by the 8th May 2008."

We sent the motion and it was overwhelmingly passed by the delegates at the Ard Fheis!

Now I bring this up because the 8th of May has come to pass and I have yet to see a public statement on this matter from Sinn Féin.

I'm sure that Republican's and others are waiting for a response from the Ard Chomhairle, an Ard Chomharle that has been mandated to do so by the supreme governing body of Sinn Féin.

Let's hope we get an answer soon; the motion hasn't gone away you know!

Cock and bull story!

I was rather amused when I read of the activities of a black magic sect in Congo. Seemingly the sect is going around shrinking the size of men’s penises in Congo!

13 sorcerers were arrested on suspicion of the offence in Congo last week. The offence, called penis snatching, occurs whenever the sect touch someone’s penis causing it to shrink. The penis thieves then demand money of their poor (come on guys all of you must feel some degree of sympathy for the poor bastards) victims for a cure! The cheek of it all!

You could imagine that if they were using these powers to help shrink some fat bastard’s gut they would prove pretty popular. In fact they would probably put a heap of plastic surgeons out of business.

However you are never going to be popular whenever you go around shrinking the size of people’s manhood! In fact the sorcerers narrowly escaped a number of lynching in the capital Kinshasa. This is not a new offence however. In Ghana 10 years ago, 12 penis snatchers were beaten to death by an angry mob of 27 victims.

Needless to say folks, the Congo will not be on my holiday list in the foreseeable future and anyone I see from Congo that looks like a witch doctor will be kept at arms (or should that be penises) length away!

IRA cleared of Paul Quinn murder

I see the latest IMC report has been produced and no doubt the SDLP and the criminal elements in South Armagh who have been conspiring against Sinn Féin will have had their hands slapped.

There is no evidence of IRA involvement in the murder of Paul Quinn, something we have been saying since day one.

Now before we start I place no authority in the IMC, I use this report because Dominic Bradley told us that the IMC assured him that the IRA was involved.

“it became clear from the gardaí, the PSNI and the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) that what the family had told me was the truth — the IRA was involved in Paul’s murder.”

Wrong Dominic!

I will produce the IMC report in full in relation to Paul Quinn here

4. THE KILLING OF PAUL QUINN

4.1 Paul Quinn, a young resident of Cullyhanna, County Armagh, was beaten to death on 20 October 2007 in County Monaghan. In addition to the tragic loss of life and the grief it has caused for Paul Quinn’s family the killing has given rise to speculation about the part which PIRA may or may not have played. It is because of this that we think it is right to comment at some length. We must emphasise however that we are constrained in what we can say about the incident lest we might possibly prejudice future legal proceedings

4.2 Within these constraints, our assessment of the incident is as follows:

- We think that the attack on Paul Quinn was planned and carried out by local people and that it arose from local disputes. Whatever the immediate reason for the killing certain aspects of these disputes go back some time and were not unconnected with continuing illegal activity;

So, Paul's murder was as a result of local disputes and not unconnected with continuing illegal activity?

Is this not what Sinn Féin and others have been saying since day one of this tragic and brutal murder?

Gerry Adams said the following “it is fairly obvious to me that this is linked to fuel smuggling and to criminal activity"

- A number of people were involved in the incident although they did not all necessarily play a part in the actual killing. Amongst those involved were people who had in various ways been associated with the PIRA at a local level, including as members of the organisation. Some of these people were accustomed over a substantial period of time to exercising considerable local influence, collectively and individually. This would have led such people to expect what they would consider as appropriate respect from others and to being able to undertake their activities – including criminal ones – without interference; they would find it very difficult to accept any waning in this influence and respect;

Note the key difference here which many people fail to grasp. "Had in various ways been associated with the PIRA at local level".

"Had" is past, not present!

I can think of one very prominent criminal gang in the Crossmaglen area who were once associated with the IRA, this same criminal gang were responsible for the murder of Oglach Keith Rodgers.

- The killing was clearly contrary to the instructions and strategy of the leadership of PIRA. It was also contrary to the interests of PIRA and to those of Sinn Féin. We are aware of no evidence linking the leadership of PIRA to the incident. In public statements and in debates in the Dáil and the Northern Ireland Assembly senior members of Sinn Féin have condemned the killing and have called on people to give any information they have to AGS and the PSNI.

4.3 In Section 3 above we do not attribute the killing to PIRA

This is crystal clear, the killing of Paul Quinn can't be attributed to the IRA.

This is for several reasons:

the local and personal nature of its roots; the absence of indications
either of organisational sanction or that it was in the interests of PIRA; and because it was contrary to the declared policy which PIRA has been following for over two years. We are reinforced in this view by the subsequent public remarks to which we refer above. The fact that some local members or former members or associates of the organisation were involved in the incident does not in our view justify attributing it to PIRA. In reaching this conclusion we are applying the standards we have consistently followed in respect of all kinds of paramilitary incidents, and to which we have referred in the past.

The same old mantra! Members or former members or associates, in effect anyone in South Armagh!

4.4 We recognise that the involvement of local members or former members or associates of the organisation in the way we have described is bound to raise questions about the level of control exercised by the leadership of PIRA. The PIRA leadership has had some difficulties in the past in exercising authority in South Armagh. Looking more widely in Ireland North and South we do not find evidence to suggest that this recent rejection of instructions is a general problem.

4.5 We wish to express our sympathy for the family and friends of Paul Quinn and our admiration for the courage they have shown in the face of this tragedy. We also applaud the way in which they have publicly opposed any suggestion of retaliation and have called on people to give any information to the police so that due process may be followed and justice may be done.

So there we have it, no evidence whatsoever of IRA involvement in the murder of Paul Quinn.

Lesbians are not mad on lesbians

I had a wry chuckle when I learnt that the Greek island of Lesbos are to go to court in an attempt to stop a gay rights organisation from using the term "lesbian".

The man spearheading the case, publisher Dimitris Lambrou, claims that international dominance of the word in its sexual context violates the human rights of the islanders and disgraces them around the world.

In court papers, the plaintiffs allege that the Greek government is so embarrassed by the term Lesbian that it has been forced to rename the island after its capital, Mytilini.

So it comes down to this, who really is a lesbian?

The 100,000 people living on Greece's third biggest island - plus another 250,000 expatriates who originate from Lesbos? Or women who engage in same sex activity?

The term lesbian came about because of the Greek poet Sappho of Lesbos. Despite the fact that she was a prolific writer of passionate poetry, so passionate that Plato lifted her up to the rank of muse, so little remains in tact today.

The only complete piece of her poetry left is "The Hymn to Aphrodite"

Lesbians (sexual kind) are incorrect to describe Sappho as homosexual. She was an aristocrat who married a prosperous merchant and she had a daughter named Cleis.

I personally can't see this court case working out. Lesbian, the sexual kind, has become a part of popular culture, for right or wrong.

Lá Bealtaine maith duit

I would like to wish all Balrog readers a happy May Day. A day when we celebrate the work of Labour and workers in general.

The origins of May Day however have their roots in Celtic culture with the festival of Lá Bealtaine. It was the herald of the summer months and Bealtaine and Samhain were the two main festivals in civil Irish life.

These festivals occurred in most Celtic countries like Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man etc.

I sometimes wonder is that why the Catholic Church choose May the 1st to be "Mary's day", a day in which to celebrate the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Church was quite good at taking pagan festivals and changing them to a Catholic feast day.

That aside modern May Day is a celebration of the Labour movement.

When you think of socialism in this country you have to look at men like James Connolly and Jim Larkin, the fathers of Irish Socialism.

Ní uasal aon uasal ach sinne bheith íseal: Éirímis.

Rose of Tralee

I have to admit, I don't like the Rose of Tralee festival. I consider it the intellectual, political and cultural equivalent of the "Lovely Girls" contest on Father Ted.

All that aside it would appear that Balrog and the festival will be entering a period of Détente this year, unlike other years.

The reason for this is very simple; my cousin has been selected as the Limerick Rose.

As you can imagine Rebecca is over the moon and even my suggestion to her that she should change her title to Stab City Rose did nothing to dent her jubilation upon her selection.

I asked her how as a Dundalk girl she could be considered a Limerick Rose; her reply was that her heart is in Limerick. I thought she meant flick knife but there is only so much ribbing I could give on one occasion. It just wouldn't be fair.

She now moves on to the regional finals in June in the hope of making it to the final in August.

She's the eldest of the Gaskin grand-children, I’m the second oldest though I'm a bloke so that makes me head honcho (that’s a joke feminazis).

I'd like to wish her well in the interests of family unity; my Aunt Mary is going to be hard to listen to though.

The Holy Goalie causes a stir

I see that Celtic Keeper Artur Boruc has caused a bit of a stir amongst the chattering class because of his celebrations at the Old Firm match.

After Celtic beat Rangers 3-2 Boruc took off his jersey and revealed a t-shirt of Pope John Paul II with the message of "God Bless the Pope".

Needless to say Rangers fans were none to pleased with this and neither was Danny Kennedy.

According to Kennedy

“The player should be ashamed of himself and the manager should reflect on his inability to condemn it and to deal with it properly."

This is not the first time that Boruc has courted controversy as he was once cautioned by the police for the heinous crime of "Blessing himself".

At the time the Catholic Church hit out along with Nationalist MSP and Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond who said

"The procurator fiscal has taken leave of their senses. I will be demanding an explanation for this,"

Artur Boruc is a devout Polish Catholic, and he blesses himself at the start of every match and at the start of the second half. He has always done this; it's not something that he developed when he began to play with Celtic.



I can't see how Boruc blessing himself is a problem; it's something that many Catholics do on a very regular basis. I always blessed myself before every exam, in fact I do it on a daily basis.

It doesn't matter if it's an ambulance/fire engine passing or just walking past a Catholic Church, I bless myself.

I have no doubt that Boruc wore the Pope t-shirt in order to piss off Rangers fans and I can't say that I blame him. As a very devout Catholic he has come in for some serious abuse from Rangers fans and players alike.

It was childish but hell rub it up them!

Red Army march on Moscow

It was a great night and a great goal from the fantastic Paul Scholes. I don't think I have any nails left and I must have smoked 20 B&H tonight as I watched Man Utd dispatch Barcelona.

I am overjoyed for Scholes, a United legend for many years, as he and Roy Keane missed our last final in 1999. This time he will be able to savour the moment himself.

I always watch Manchester United matches on RTÉ because the three bitches are hilarious to watch. I am of course talking about Brady, Giles and Dunphy. A sad mix of washed up, bitter and jealous old men.

Dunphy is visceral in his hatred for United, a sad reflection on a sad human being. I sometimes wonder if he's pissed most of the time.

It was great to watch him squirm at half-time and full-time, Bill O'Herlihy knows which buttons to press in order to set him off.



Our opponents will be chosen tomorrow night and I for one am praying for Liverpool. It's nothing to do with fearing Chelsea as I believe we are capable of beating either of them.

I want Liverpool because our victory will be all the sweeter with their scalp as well.

The Red Army marches on!

Abandon every hope, ye who enter here

I am always up for a bit of procrastination and as a result I came across this very strange on-line eternal judgement. I can only hope that the same result comes up in the after life.



The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to Purgatory!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very High
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Moderate
Level 2 (Lustful)	High
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	High
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Very Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	Low
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very Low
Level 7 (Violent)	Moderate
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	Moderate
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Very Low

Take the Dante Inferno Hell Test

Purgatory

"You have escaped damnation and made it to Purgatory, a place where the dew of repentance washes off the stain of sin and girds the spirit with humility. Through contrition, confession, and satisfaction by works of righteousness, you must make your way up the mountain. As the sins are cleansed from your soul, you will be illuminated by the Sun of Divine Grace, and you will join other souls, smiling and happy, upon the summit of this mountain. Before long you will know the joys of Paradise as you ascend to the ethereal realm of Heaven."

Don't fund them!

I haven't really ventured into the education debate up until now. That said the recent move by some elitist schools has changed all that.

I am the first to admit that at the start of all of this I didn't really see where Caitriona Ruane was going with her reforms but the last month or so has changed that for me.

Before I get into the entire debate on the future of education I think it only fair to outline my own experience.

I was one of the 30% of children for whom the 11+ didn't classify as a failure, I got an A. Up until the results day and even shortly afterwards I was fully expecting to go to my local secondary school, my parents were told that I had the brains to go to Grammar school but that my poor handwriting would stop that happening.

They were wrong.

After I got an A my parents felt that I would be happier going to a Grammar with the rest of my friends as they were all heading to the Abbey CBS. As a result the Principal of my primary school told me that she was not signing forms for me to go to a secondary school, in effect giving me the push I needed.

I have to say that bar a few quite nasty months at the end of my 7th year I loved my 7 years in the Abbey, I was always more academically inclined. Being a carpenter or an electrician held no sway with me. From almost my first day in the Abbey I decided that I wanted to be a Solicitor and that's the career path that I have followed.

I have no doubts that were it not for my time in the Abbey I would not be in the position that I am today.

It may sound weird but the 11+ made me realise that I wasn't a failure as I had very low self confidence after a very nasty experience with a poor teacher who told me that I was good for nothing.

The problem with the 11+ is that I was one of the lucky ones, for many other people it labelled them a failure at the age of 10 and that is criminal in my eyes.

While my parents didn't expect me to pass the 11+ they did expect my younger brother to pass. They fully expected him to be joining me in the Abbey, this didn't happen. I can still remember his tears at the time and it was heart breaking.

He went to the local secondary and is now in Uni training to be a PE teacher.

My youngest brother will be the last child to do the 11+ this September and his teacher, the same one that I had, said he has a good chance of passing. I am a bit concerned because he is already talking about going to the Abbey and studying law like me.

I'm concerned because the 11+ is lottery, it's a cruel lottery and most children don't benefit from it.

I am 100% opposed to the 11+ and I fully support Caitriona Ruane in the work that she is doing because I have seen the cracks that children fall through because of it.

I know young fellas at 18 and 19 who have left school and who can't read or write, I'm not joking. Imagine in this day and age a young fella leaving school with out basic literacy and numeric skills.

It's an outrage!

Many people have accused, Unionist's mostly, me of being a hypocrite. They argue that I have benefited from a Grammar school education yet I support denying that to others.

That isn't the case at all; I oppose the current system because most other children didn't get the same standard of education that I received.

I'm not the kind of person that believes everyone should go to University, I don't and it would be wrong to suggest that. University is not for everyone and some children would benefit from a more vocational style of education.

I want to see the bar raised for everyone, not just the top 30%.

I was disgusted when Lumen Christi College broke ranks and said they were imposing their own system. As far as I am concerned they are nothing more than a bunch of elitists and the Catholic Church should have come down on them like a tonne of bricks.

The principal of that school suggested that she had no right to ban academic selection. As the minister for Education she has every right and we are not going to let a minority of snobs dictate to the rest of us.
There are 229 secondary schools in the North; we are not going to let the minority dictate the rules for all.

If Lumen Christi is so concerned then they should go the whole hog and declare themselves a private school and stop taking public money.

If you want to be in our club you play by our rules, it's that simple.

I also see that a further 31 Grammar schools have rebelled and said they are introducing their own test. These state (Protestant) Grammar’s are going down a very dangerous and elitist road.

If I was the Minister for Education I would be doing more than pulling funding for their examination, I would be pulling their funding full stop.

Basil McCrea has revealed a Sinn Féin discussion document which suggests that if Caitriona Ruane fails to get the required consensus she will use existing legislative provision to issue guidelines and in effect bypass Stormont.

I couldn't have been happier when he did this and I was very impressed with John O’Dowd on let’s talk who said you can have Plan A the easy way or Plan A the hard way.

The DUP had the opportunity to take Education, the same as they did in the last administration.

Sinn Féin took the ministry because we believe in Education, we believe in the future of our children and I mean all of our children.

The 11+ has failed children in working class Protestant areas a lot more than most. Their political reps don't give a shit about them; they only concern themselves with the middle-class elite.

That is one of the major differences between Catholic and Protestants in the 6 counties, our attitude towards Education.

Catholics have always saw education as a way to advance and better your position in life, for too many years the Protestant working class have relied upon their religion and contacts.

Those days are over and the reality is that the only chance working class Protestants have is a Sinn Féin Education Minister. We are the ones who will ensure that their children get the Education which they are entitled too.

The opposition to Caitriona Ruane has nothing to do with policy, I have watched the DUP in the chamber and their opposition is thus.

She is a Woman, she is a Southerner, She is an Irish speaker and she isn't going to take shit from any of them

The sexist approach of the DUP is typical of patriarchal Unionism but it will not be tolerated by Republicans.

I wish Caitriona Ruane the very best of luck in her efforts to improve the lives of children on all sides.

Blue-Shirts just don't get it!

I see that Fine Gael are calling for a constitutional referendum to change Ireland's laws on underage sex and statutory rape.

This has been raised because of a case where a 27 year old got off on a charge of statutory rape.

The man admitted having sex with a 13 year old but relied on the defence of "honest belief"

Ireland's previous laws on underage sex were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court two years ago because they did not allow the defendant to claim he or she had made an honest mistake

Blue-Shirt TD TD Alan Shatter said the only way to change this is to provide an "absolute zone of protection for children" by having a constitutional referendum on the issue.

I have already looked at this issue when it first occurred two years ago; my view has not changed since then.

The 1935 act was a disgrace and it is quite right that the law has changed. The defence of honest mistake is not just a subjective defence; it also has a test of reasonableness as well.

That means should the defendant argue that he or she believed the person was over age, such a belief must have been a reasonable belief. That is where the objective test comes in and it's the only way to go.

The Blue-Shirts are playing to the gallery on this issue and living in cloud cuckoo land.

Shatter claimed "The law in this area can only properly be reformed if a Constitutional Referendum takes place to restore an offence of absolute liability in such circumstances. Fine Gael is fully committed to the Constitutional and statutory reforms necessary."

I'm sure that everyone is well aware of my views on rape but this suggestion by Fine Gael could very well lead to a denial of justice.

Having worked in bars and nightclubs for the best part of 10 years I can tell you with some authority that I have met many a young girl who looked and acted a lot older than her age.

Let's say a man meets a 15 year old girl in an over 18's disco, a very common occurrence with fake ID, and he honestly believes said girl is over the age. Should he be held liable to a charge of statutory rape if she consents to sex and lies about her age?

I don't believe so and I don't believe that this showboating by Shatter will materialise to anything.

Once again Fine Gael demonstrates their unsuitability for government.

So much for the age of innocence

I was going to post on this case when it was first reported but because the would be rapist had still not entered a plea I decided to keep my powder dry.

I am of course referring to the situation whereby a 14 year old has pled guilty to the attempted rape of a girl in North Belfast two years ago. His co-accused, only 15, pled guilty to indecent assault.

This is becoming an all too common occurrence, young teens engaging in this kind of sick and violent behaviour. Some people will point to the sexualisation of our society and the loss of innocence, that argument is horse shit in my opinion!

Rape is not about sex; it's about violence, domination and control.

I can't imagine what goes through any mans head when he rapes a woman, never mind a 14 year olds.

Has our society become that repugnant that this now seems like a common action? Has our legal system of passive resistance led to this kind of gendered violence and depravity?

When you consider that the Bill of Rights forum wish to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 18 it really makes you wonder what planet some people live on.

Parental responsibility is the issue here; parents have abdicated their responsibility in favour of child minders. They are so consumed with keeping up with the Jones's that their children have become lost in the equation.

I really do despair for the youth of tomorrow when you consider the youth of today.

Without remorse!

I wasn't surprised to learn that death driver Christopher McGinn's "remorse" in court was merely a tactic but I was surprised at his utter stupidity.

It seems that this young boy racer has left a message on his bebo page which states

"I'll be back and I'm not changing"

His bebo profile also contains a "joyriders' prayer" including the lines: "Lead us not into checkpoints but deliver us from traffic branch and speed traps."

Is that what Justice Hart believes to be remorse?

Mrs Shields said she had seen McGinn's Bebo profile and was outraged at what he had written there.

"He's just adding insult to injury, still letting people know that he's a mad boy racer - for that to still be on the site on the day he was sentenced is unbelievable,"

Stephen Shields' brother-in-law Ciaran Burns said he had "never known such a level of depravity".

"I honestly believe it was two fingers to both our families, to the police, the prosecution and the judge, and it was certainly his parting shot,"

It's very clear to me that justice is missing from this case, as it is from so many other cases. With that in mind and with what appears to be the utter incompetence of many members of the Judiciary I favour a new approach.

When we have devolved criminal justice powers I would like to see every member of the judiciary stood down and have them all re-apply for their jobs.

Let's look at their record and decide if they are fit to judge people and deliver justice in our society.

In my own opinion they are an absolute disgrace with a severe detachment from the community they are supposed to serve.

The law should serve justice, not the other way about!

Good for nothing!

That is the only words to describe Sunday World aka Sunday Lie 'columnist' Hugh Jordan.

It seems that Hugh has taken issue with the exclusive AP/RN interviews with legendary republican icon Brian Keenan.

Hugh has accused Brian of trying to re-write history as well as some other very personal attacks on the republican colossus. This is rich coming from someone who writes for a rag that only last week was fined in court for ‘slipshod’ reporting and contempt!

Brian Keenan is well placed to give his perspective on history. Hugh on the other hand is not. Where was Hugh when the war was on? Where was Hugh when Nationalists were left high and dry by the so called forces of law and order? Certainly not on the front line like honourable soldiers like Keenan were!

The attacks are all the more despicable and cowardly when one considers Brian's ailing health. This is the type of thing that gutter journalists like Hugh thrive on. This is a man after all whose only claim to fame is writing about loyalist paramilitary godfathers in one of the most ridiculed papers on the circuit.

One thing is for sure, people have a lot more respect for Keenan than the ever will for Hugh. Will Hugh's name be remembered in years to come? I think not! It would be best all round if Hugh stuck to writing fantastical stories about loyalist godfathers and lay off true heroes like Keenan!

Cosy Bedfellows

I see that the Stoops and FF had a grand bash at the Carrickdale yesterday. They were having a spot of breakfast in their now official capacity as ‘friends‘. In reality it is more of a master/minion relationship with FF the supreme masters.

Now this new friendship could raise a few eyebrows. The Stoops have always tried to portray themselves as the party of moral reckoning, the absolute authority on all things just. Indeed they have often been quick to dismiss republicans as criminals and gangsters.

Interesting this, saying as how they are now cosying up to the most corrupt party in the history of Irish politics. Haughey, Bertie et al are hardly an apt authority on morality. The Stoops have now aligned themselves with political gangsters and prostitutes. I suppose this is a curious new friendship, an amalgam of cute whores, corrupt bastards and career politicians.

I suppose the Stoops don’t really have much left to lose. Maybe the new proclaimed ‘friendship’ is their strategy for preventing their ‘friends’ from contesting elections in the 6 counties. Indeed such a move would signal the end of the near death Stoops.

Both parties to the friendship have been quick to quash talk of a merger. Does anyone honestly think Mark and his cabal of career politicians would abdicate control to Biffo et al? Not a fucking chance!

Maybe the Stoops should have thought about their friendship a little harder before shouting it from the roof tops. How are FG and Labour going to feel when they are canvassing for the Stoops in the 6 co’s now? Indeed the Stoops should look at some of FF’s other friends. One of their PD friends is rapidly turning the 26 co health service (if you can call it that) into an unholy mess.

But part of me is glad for the Stoops. They have no friends left in the 6 co’s but at least now they have found a nice friend that they can grow old and retire with. The Stoops and FF, they go together like peas and carrots!

An Irish session

I've been hit by what I believe to be a kidney infection so instead of my usual Friday night drinking I'm stuck in the house. How in the name of god do people sit in on a Friday night?



Pat Kenny and the Late Late Show I hear the grannies roar, I'd rather saw off both my hands!

Instead I'm checking through Youtube and I began to think about the Irish tradition of singing and the session.

As soon as the bar stops serving and the band stops playing there is always some bloke in the corner who starts the session.



I think we Irish are unique in many ways but one thing that always sticks out for me is our music. When we have a few drinks we always revert back to the old Irish songs about misery, despair, injustice etc

I was at a Basque cultural evening recently with a group from the Basque country and their music is quite different, uplifting and dramatic.

Some of my friends prefer the more recent "I, I, IRA" type of rebel ballad and while not averse to those kinds of ballads I have to admit that my taste tends to revert back to the more traditional rebel ballad, Kinky Boots and other classics aside.

I don't tend to listen to Irish Rebel songs unless I am at an Irish night or unless I am drunk, they are never quite the same when you are sober for some reason.

My own personal favourites are the Ballad of James Connolly, The Foggy Dew, Only Our Rivers Run Free, The Time Has Come, Boolavogue, Man from the Daily Mail and Irish Ways and Irish Laws.

It was one of the things I missed when I was in England, the traditional Irish session at those ungodly hours.

Justice?

I was deeply disgusted yesterday when I heard about the "sentence" that Christopher McGinn received for the killing of Gerard Fearon and Stephen Shields.

McGinn got 4 years in a youth detention centre/Holiday camp.

In effect he will only serve 2 years which equates as 1 year for each life that he took.

Some of you may remember me discussing this issue at the time of Gerry's death.

Let's look at the facts of this case first.

Gerry was a 26 year old lad from Dromintee and Stephen was a 44 year old father of two from Cloghogue.

On the night in question McGinn, then 16, was driving his £200 Toyota Carina at excessive speeds and was drinking. He claimed that he only had two bottles of WKD but the medical tests proved that was a lie as his blood alcohol level was high.

McGinn admitted in court that he had been driving since he was 14, had no license or insurance and have never even taken formal driving lessons.

So after pleading guilty to two counts of dangerous driving causing death, two counts of causing grievous bodily injury by dangerous driving, driving with excess alcohol and driving without insurance he gets 4/2 years in a youth detention centre.

Justice Hart is an absolute disgrace to the position he serves and his actions in sentencing McGinn will do nothing to curb the culture of death driving in this country. Make no mistake, that's what McGinn is, a death driver!

A car is a very serious weapon, under the control of the wrong person and in the wrong conditions. I view his actions on that night as akin to carrying a loaded gun.

My heart goes out to the two families with the delivery of this disgraceful verdict. In particular the Fearon family as I know them so well, Gerard's mother is a cousin of my Ma.

After the verdict yesterday Gerry's father Peter described the sentence as an "insult"

"The sentence isn't going to act as any kind of deterrent to stop other young men getting behind the wheel of a car drunk"

"We didn't expect justice but we certainly didn't expect to be insulted by a sentence of four years' detention in a holiday camp"

The judicial system in the country is an absolute disgrace, at a time when some communities are under siege from death drivers and anti-social behaviour what message are they sending out?

The sooner we have accountable local control of policing and justice issues the better, maybe then we will be able to place justice back into the Criminal Justice System because what we have at the moment is a bastardised monster which serves the whims of criminals.

My continued sympathy will reside with Helen and Peter, Gerry's brothers and sisters and his girlfriend Aveen.

He was a much better man than the dross now serving a few years in a holiday camp.

Yesterdays Men

I was listening tonight to a song by Glasgow Irish rebel band "The Wakes". They have a song called "These Hands". It was written about Vol James Maley, of the Scottish section of the 15th International Brigade. The song tells the story of Maley's exploits and how he is now old and reflecting on the battle at Jaramma.

The song starts with the line "Look at you old man sitting in your chair". This really got me thinking. I thought of how this is so relevant to aged republicans today.

The majority of the youth of today do not respect veteran republicans or look up to them. Much of this is down to ignorance of the dedication and sacrifice these heroes gave in pursuit of their republican goals. The war is over and the youth are quick to disregard the actions of our forefathers. It is disgusting.

They look on the old as a burden that should be seen and not heard, never mind taking time to reflect on the services republican veterans have given to the cause. All they see are old men and women and are oblivious to the price these people paid for their republican beliefs. This is a disgrace and a disservice to our unsung heroes. Personally I love being regaled with the tales of republican veterans. Indeed our struggle would be nothing without them and their commitment!

Personally I held veterans like Joe Cahill, John Joe McGirl and Owen Mc McCaughey in the highest regard. On the surface they may have appeared to be frail old men, but the history behind these men is remarkable. It really hammers home the sentiments of the old adage looks can be deceiving!

In my own area veteran republican Hugh Kennon was honoured for his services to the republican movement. Indeed Hugh epitomises the unassuming nature and modesty of that generation of freedom fighter. Hugh remarked that he felt he was not worthy of being honoured and that he felt that he was just an ordinary Irish man doing what anyone would have done in his position. Today’s republican youth can learn a valuable lesson from republicans like Hugh.

In an age where it is easy for some republicans to take their eye off the ball and get led astray by those with their own ulterior motives, we should look at the sacrifice of our veterans. We should look to return to the principles they endorsed and led by example with. We should use their example to rededicate ourselves to bringing our struggle to a successful conclusion!

Celtic Ireland

I don't know if any of you have had the misfortune of watching the totally abysmal BBC production, Blueprint.

In the programme they suggest that we are not really a Celtic country as the Irish never referred to themselves as Celtic.

Mon dieu!

The word "Celt" comes from the Greeks, who called the tribes to their north the "Keltoi", but there is no evidence that the Celts ever referred to themselves by that name. The Irish preferred the word Gael and it relates to the original Gaul in France.

I mean according to BBC if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck and looks like a duck it must be a rabbit.

The medieval "Book of Invasions" talks about Milesians and Fír Bolg arriving in Ireland. These have been identified with displaced Celts from Spain and Belgium. We also have DNA evidence which shows extreme similarities between Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish and Breton people.

Then again, what's science to the BBC when there are Irish people to annoy?

In the 4th century AD the Roman Avienus called Ireland "Insula Sacra" or Holy Island and its inhabitants "gens hiernorum", a Latinisation of the Greek word for Ireland, Ierne.

This is a modification of the word Ériu, which was an original Celtic word for Ireland and a root of the later Irish word Eire.

You see linguistics offer a much more stable and correct form of tracing history.

In the 2nd century Ptolemy drew up a map of Ireland, published in Geographia, and in it he listed the Irish tribes.

The Ulaid tribe was found in my own part of the country and Usdia in the south. The Monaig tribe was on the East coast and this tribe were also found in Gaul.

No matter how insecure some people are at their lack of identity that does not give them the right to deny others theirs.

Ireland has a long history of Celtic/Gaelic influence

1. Celtic Laws

Brehon Law was the law of the Celts and lasted for many hundreds of years. It was mostly oral and was first brought together under St Patrick in "Senchas Már". At that time laws which contradicted church law were replaced. It was a civil law as any notion of a state sponsored criminal system was foreign in Ireland. It's here that we find Hunger Strike used as a tool to bring shame on the person who owed a debt or a wrong which needed corrected.

The Synod of Birr enacted “Cáin Adomnáin”-the law of the innocents-in 697. It was enacted to guarantee the safety and immunity of various types of non-combatant in warfare.

Irish society under the Brehon Laws was male-dominated but women had greater freedom, independence and rights to property than in other European societies of the time.

Brehon law shunned capital punishment and was unique; fines were the order of the day

2. Celtic Language

Irish is the 3rd oldest written language in Europe, behind Greek and Latin. This is the one area which there is irrefutable evidence of a Celtic Ireland.

When you look at Scots Gaelic today it must be remembered that it is merely a variation of Irish and this relates to the way in which Scotland was established.

Dál Riata was a Gaelic kingdom in the glens of Antrim, the people of Dál Riata were referred to as Scotti (Latin for those who resided in Ireland).Their most successful colony was that of the Dál Riata in western Scotland .In the ninth century they took control of Pictland, to the east, and founded the united kingdom of Scotland.

3. Celtic Church

The difference between the Celtic Church and the Roman Church came to a head at the Synod of Whitby in 664.

In relation to Private confessional many Catholics may be unaware of the fact that it was the Celtic Church in Ireland which first introduced this. At that time the Roman Church favoured public confessionals with sackcloth and ashes but the Celtic Church shunned this.

I’m sure that Blueprint may convince some flath-eathers that Ireland is a not a Celtic/Gaelic country, the rest of us will laugh at the length that revisionists will go to in order to insult.

Rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic

I see that the PD's/West Brit Party have chosen a new leader in the form of Senator Ciaran Cannon.



He defeated Fiona O'Malley by 51% to 49%; talk about the bland leading the bland!

Cannon had this to say

"Within our ranks, we have people with the passion, the commitment, the talent, the knowledge and the experience to stage a major comeback."

We'll have to agree to disagree on that part.

He has said that the local elections next year would be a litmus test in deciding the future of the party.

My own personal view is that the PD's are in serious trouble and may be beyond the point of saving but only time will tell.

Sunday Lie gets slapped

I was delighted to hear that the gutter press got slapped in court recently. This relates to the news that the publishers of the Sunday World and its editor have been fined a total of £60,000 over reports it carried about two men facing trial by jury.

Jim McDowell and Sunday Newspapers limited were facing a contempt of court hearing which Brian Kerr described as the most serious of its type.

Brian said the paper had acted in an "astonishingly slipshod way".

"One is driven to the conclusion that the focus of the newspaper was on highly sensationalist reportage, couched in lurid and melodramatic language, rather than, as it should have been, on the checking of elementary facts,"

Of course, it's the Sunday World, that's what they do week in and week out!

Outside the court, McDowell said the newspaper "would continue to do its job".

What is that job exactly? They are nothing more than a mouthpiece for the old RUC and Garda Special Branch.

He concluded with "our job is to expose the godfathers of crime in this society and we will continue to do so to the best of our ability."

LOL, how does that tally when you have so-called journalists that snort more Charlie than an anorexic supermodel?

The Sunday World is a sensationalist rag and always will be. I couldn't be happier with this judgement.

To Hell or Coleraine!

That seems to be the war cry of those poor deluded DUP backwoodsmen in Coleraine.

DUP councillor Samuel Cole said, in response to a question about dividing up council positions, that democracy had to be defended as it had been fought for and won by Oliver Cromwell.



That's like suggesting that the Spanish Inquisition forms the basis for ecumenical dialogue.

Cole showed incredible naivety when he invoked the spirit of Cromwell.

To say that Cromwell is the most hated man in Irish history is not being dramatic, this religious nut engaged in a sectarian and hate filled blood lust throughout his time in Ireland. His actions during that time would be called war crimes or even genocide today.

I have always had a love for Irish curses as they are so descriptive, for example "Go ndeine an diabhal dréimire de cnámhdo dhroma ag piocadh úll i ngairdín Ifrinn" means "May the devil make a ladder of your backbone and pluck apples in the garden of hell".

Cromwell is unique in Gaelige culture as he has his own curse, "Malacht Cromail Ort" - Curse of Cromwell on you.

During his bloody conquest of Ireland we were left with mass evictions, killings and deportation for slave labour to Bermuda and Barbados.

We had the Penal laws in 1695 and the slaughter of men, women and children all in the name of his puritan madness. In fact during his time in Ireland the population decreased by 20% as a result of murder or exile.

He stole Irish land because of the £10 million that he raised under the Adventure Acts during the English Civil war and in order to pay off rich merchants he promised them Irish lands.

So not only was he a murderer but a hypocrite as well.

After the sacking of Drogheda he said "the righteous judgement of God on these barbarous wretches, who have imbued their hands with so much innocent blood". This was a lie as during the Rebellion of 1641 Drogheda was under the control of Royalists, not Catholic Confederates.

His actions in Ireland have resonated throughout history and led Winston Churchill to say this

"upon all of these Cromwell's record was a lasting bane. By an uncompleted process of terror, by an iniquitous land settlement, by the virtual proscription of the Catholic religion, by the bloody deeds already described, he cut new gulfs between the nations and the creeds. 'Hell or Connaught' were the terms he thrust upon the native inhabitants, and they for their part, across three hundred years, have used as their keenest expression of hatred 'The Curse of Cromwell on you.' ... Upon all of us there still lies 'the curse of Cromwell'".

This DUP idiot should be more careful before he invokes the spirit of Cromwell in the future; it's disgusting and deeply insulting to the Irish people.

James Joyce summed up Cromwell best in his iconic novel "Ulysses"

"What about sanctimonious Cromwell and his ironsides that put the women and children of Drogheda to the sword with the bible text God is love pasted round the mouth of his cannon?".

Dr. Patrick J Hillery

The funeral has taken place of Ireland's sixth President, Dr. Patrick Hillery. At this very moment his cortege is on its way to his final resting place with his daughter.

Let's be clear on this from the outset, as Hillery was a Lynch loyalist I would have had serious problems with the political direction in which he and his Fianna Fáil colleagues handled the crisis in the North.

Today is not a day for such discussions though; instead it's a time to look upon his successes.

His father fought in the Tan War and indeed the family home was burnt down by the Black and Tans. He stood for election in 1951 after much pressure from De Valera in his native Clare.

After nearly a decade on the back benches he was appointed as Minister for Education in Seán Lemass's new cabinet. He paved the way for free secondary education and also held the post of Minster for Labour before he moved on to Minster for External Affairs in Jack Lynch's government.

It was at this time that the troubles broke out in the 6 counties and Paddy Hillery irked the British by making a visit to the Falls Road. The British described it as "a serious diplomatic discourtesy" but Paddy Hillery said that as a Minister in the Irish Government he would travel to any part of the country that he wished, including Belfast.

After Bloody Sunday he travelled to the UN and made an impassioned plea for UN peacekeepers in the North.

He said that "a near neighbour was practising the arts of war in his country". This came to nothing but he shocked both the American's and the British by suggesting that he hadn't "ruled out turning to the East", at the time he was encouraging the government to set up diplomatic relations with the USSR.

Most people will remember his angry remarks at the 1971 Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis. This was after the Arms Crisis involving Charlie Haughey and Neil Blaney. Kevin Boland resigned from the cabinet in protest at Lynch's policy on the North and at the Ard Fheis he stormed the podium and challenged Lynch to one last show down.

While Boland was, quite rightly, lambasting Lynch Hillery grabbed the nearest microphone and challenged Boland. As Boland's supporters starting to chant for Kevin Boland Paddy Hillery roared the famous line, "Ye can have Boland but ye can't have Fianna Fáil".

Loyalty was an important quality for Paddy Hillery.

Hillery was Ireland's first European Commissioner and indeed negotiated Ireland's accession to the EEC.

As Vice President of the Commission with responsibility for Social Welfare he was the one who introduced equal pay for men and women.

In 1976, following on from the resignation of Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh as President, Patrick Hillery was chosen as the Fianna Fáil candidate to contest the election and was endorsed by most of the parties.

He was then re-elected in his second term and remarked that it was the only sentence in which after 7 years good behaviour you got another 7.

He was never elected as president because he was the only candidate on both occasions.

He held the independence of the Presidency as sacrosanct and in 1982 resisted pressure from Haughey to help bring down the opposing coalition government. In this instance Hillery put country before party, famously refusing to take phone calls from Haughey and others.

Paddy Hillery lead a life of public service, loyalty and integrity were bywords of that public service.

Upwards and onwards to victory!

It was with much interest that I read the Irish News interview with El Presidente last week. The interview concerned the 10th anniversary of the GFA.

In the interview Adams admitted that the conflict, in military terms at least, was "over done and dusted". Adams has often side stepped demands to make such a statement. I have heard his justification for this and it is valid. He said that by him making such a statement others would go out to try and prove him wrong.

However it was another point in the interview that really got me thinking. Adams said that when he goes as leader he believes that the next SF president should be "a southern politician".

He stated of how when he assumed the mantle of power in SF he was reluctant to do so. Furthermore he said that his reluctance was due to his belief that the SF presidency should always be filled by someone from the 26 counties.

This is where Gerry and I differ.

Not to adopt a partitionist mentality, but I must admit that I am a staunch advocate of having the presidency reside with someone from the 6 counties.

I can see the merits in Gerry’s view. We got decimated in the last Southern elections, showing a need to develop a competent and capable leadership down there. We simply were not ready to go into government and we had jumped the gun! We came up against parties that had been playing the politics of governmental power for the last 80 to 90 years, when in reality we have only been at it for about 10 or 15 years.

I agree with Adams that there are several realistic candidates in the 26 counties. Pearse Doherty has all the attributes of a leader and Martin Ferris is another republican I hold in high regard. However I believe the cons out weigh the pros on this issue.

My belief is ground in the empirical evidence that other ‘republican’ (and I use the term loosely) parties have gone into free fall after abdicating control to 26 county leaderships. The Sticks are nothing short of raving gangsters and lunatics, whilst the IRSP has shown more than ample evidence of what happens when control is stipulated by those in Dublin. The so called RSF and 32 CSC have not even been a blimp on the local politics scene since their inception. What have they done for their community? The problem lies in removing control over a struggle (albeit a political one now) from those in the firing line. These people voted against removing abstentionism and the GFA, whilst a lot of them were not in the firing line and returned home to Limerick or Wicklow or Dublin. Many of those who voted in favour had to go back to the firing line in areas like Ardoyne and the Short Strand.

It is my belief that the next SF leader should be from the 6 Counties. I would also like the leader to be a former military person. In this way the party can keep their radical, revolutionary cutting edge. Many have evinced a belief that SF are starting to lose this element. Installing a leader from the 26 Counties would indubitably further erode this. I would love to see someone like Conor Murphy or indeed Gerry Kelly as the next SF president. I believe that it is people of this ilk that have the ability to bring our freedom struggle to a victorious conclusion.