Date post: | 31-Jan-2017 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | paul-donnelly |
View: | 232 times |
Download: | 11 times |
Fortnight Publications Ltd.
Eternally VigilantAuthor(s): Paul DonnellySource: Fortnight, No. 288 (Oct., 1990), p. 7Published by: Fortnight Publications Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25552547 .
Accessed: 28/06/2014 18:01
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
.
Fortnight Publications Ltd. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Fortnight.
http://www.jstor.org
This content downloaded from 91.238.114.174 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 18:01:08 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
shoo-in 17 years ago but now it
is not so clear-cut.
Ms Robinson, a lawyer and
former Labour senator?she re
signed in protest at the exclu
sion of unionist views in the
creation of the Anglo-Irish
Agreement?is a long-time
campaigner on such issues as
family planning and divorce and
was an active opponent of the
constitutional ban on abortion
in the referendum of 1983.
Details of her work in these areas have been excised from
her official biography but will doubtless be raised?if only in
a whispering campaign?when the contest hots up.
Mr Curries prospects are
the most difficult to forecast.
Supporters speak of a brave
civil rights activist and coura
geous politician, detractors of a
northern carpetbagger. He
hasn't been helped by his party's selection cock-up. The
former Fine Gael leader, Garret
FitzGerald, turned down a
nomination, as did the former
deputy leader, Peter Barry, as
reported ly?did at least half a dozen others. And Mr Currie's
Mary Robinson?first on the
campaign trail
arm had to be twisted to get him to agree to run.
He fully intends (and can hardly avoid) bringing the northern issue into the cam
paign, if only to flush out the "partitionist mentality" of those
who would rather he stayed in
the north. He's been forced to
soft-pedal on articles two and
three, however, refusing to
outline a personal view.
First opinion polls, imminent
as we went to press, will make
interesting reading. * Mary Robinson will be speaking in
Queen's University Belfast on October 11th (social science building, 5pm), on
'Why Change the Irish Constitution?'
Emily O'Reilly
Eternally vigilant
FOR 18 months the students' union
at Queen's University in Belfast
has been in dispute with the univer
sity authorities over the introduc
tion of two full-time posts for
permanent staff in the union. The
two posts, a permanent entertain
ments officer and a union adminis
trator as a deputy to the existing
permanent secretary, have caused
bitter politicking between the un
ion and the university, with the
union arguing that both encroach
upon its constitution and hence its
autonomy. Most union anger has been tar
geted on the plan to impose the
permanent entertainments officer.
The union constitution provides for
a sabbatical officer to deal with the
union entertainments business, yet without adequate consultation
through the accepted channels the
university has tried to impose such
a post?so far unsuccessfully. Inter
views were arranged last March
but the union executive picketed all
the possible venues, causing disar
ray and cancellation.
The union also recorded a heavy
majority in opposition to the post in
a campus referendum?a fact the
university would like to ignore. In
principle the union has no objec tion to a permanent post: there are
many in colleges in Britain and
Ireland, but all have been posts created by the union concerned,
with the union controlling appoint ment and dismissal. The attempt by
the university to force the introduc
tion of the post is unprecedented and raises fundamental questions about its intentions towards the
future of the union.
The issue of a union administra
tor has been more difficult for the
union. At one time it had five per manent staff but, due to govern ment cutbacks, since 1986 this has
been reduced to one. The union
recognises the need for an adminis
trator, to deal with fire, health and
safety and so on. But the university has again overstepped the bounds, areas of the post's job description
infringing upon the duties of
democratically elected sabbatical
officers.
Interviews for the administra
tor post, although again picketed, went ahead last month. As term
looms, the campus looks ahead
nervously to what developments will shape the deteriorating rela
tionship between the union and the
university.
Paul Donnelly
Is binn beal ina thost??
paisti de naiscoil ur Ghaeilge
Gaeil Bheal Feirste
glorach ar
CUIREADH IDIR fhearg agus iontas arGhaeil Bheal Feirste nuair
a fuair siad amach go raibh na
deontais ACE bainte de Ghlor na
nGael ag Oifig Thuaisceart Eire
ann. Cuireadh lena n-iontas nuair a
fuarthas amach go rabhthas ag cur
i leith na heagrafochta seo gur de
thairbhe gaol bheith acu le forsaf midlffiula a cuireadh deireadh leis
an airgead. Ta an mafomh seo
dochreidte. Is doiligh a chreidbheail
go gcoscfadh OTE airgead ar ea
grafocht a raibh se de
phrfomhchuram uirthi an bhunsco
lafocht Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn
as a leitheid de chumadoireacht
bhreige. Ta se seacht n-uaire nfos
deacra an socru seo a thuigbheail
agus an t-eolas againn gur bhronn
an RUC ceadunas bailiuchain air
gid ar an ghrupa cheanna agus gur
thug siad cead do phriosunach
poblachtanach dul a dh'obair le
Glor.
Is rochuthail ar fad ata an focal
"buille" le cur sios ar an fheall seo.
Maeirfonn leis na hudarais an socru
seo a choinneail i gcrich brisfear
tuairim is fiche duine as obair,
deanfar an-dochar do na nafscoil
eanna Gaeilge agus do Ghaelscoil
nabhFal. Bfonnnnascoileannaag brath go mor ar oibrithe ACE 6
Ghlor na nGael agus gan na
hoibrithe seo cuirfear cos i bpoll lecuid mhor imeachtaf, mura
gcuirfear deireadh ar fad le roinnt
de na scoileanna.
Tuigtear go bhfuil fiosruithe ar
siul ar an bhomaite le fail amach an
fath go direach ar baineadh an t
airgead de Ghlor. Le linn do na
fiosruithe seo bheith ar bun is leir don uile dhuine go bhfuil meancog
mhor deanta ag Oifig Thuaisceart
Eireann ma shfl siad go nglacfaf go reidh leis an socru seo acu. Ta ta
cafocht leitheadach faighte ag an
ghnipa 6 pholaiteoirf as gach aon
chearn, on cheardchumann NUPE,
6 Aontas na Mac Leinn in Eirinn
agus, mar is gnath, 6 chosmhuintir
na cathrach. Ta feachtas laidir
leathan a chur ar bun le cinntiu
nach n-eireoidh le beart Oifig Thuaisceart Eireann. Beidh
todhchaf Ghlor na nGael i mBeal
Feirste ag brath ar rath an fheachtais
seo. Nf Glor na nGael amhain ata
thios leis an socru seo, afach.
Cuirfear leis an tarraingt ata ar
fhoinse airgid an Iontaobhais,
dream neamhspleach a cuireadh ar
bun ar na mallaibh, agus a bhfuil
roinnt ionsaithe deanta air ag Gaeil
sheanbunaithe agus ag polaiteoiri airithe. Is doiligh an naimhdeas seo
a mheas. Chuir cathaoirleach an
Iontaobhais, Seamus de Napier, litir
chuig Peter Brooke ag cur a
mhishastachta in iul agus ag iar
raidh go dtabharfaf an deontas ar
ais do Ghlor. Beart stairiuil e seo
nuair a smaointeitear go bhfuil beirt
Aontachtoir arbhord an Iontaobhais
agus go bhfuil siad ag seasamh
cheart na Gaeilge in eadan OTE.
Arsa Aodan Mac Poilfn,
stiurthoir an Iontaobhais, le Fort
night: "Nf thuigeann an tlontaobhas
cad chuige ar baineadh siar an
deontas. Goillean socru mar seo go mor orainn mar gheall ar an dochar
mor a dheanfas se don Ghaeilge." Lean an tUasal Mac Poilfn leis ag deimhniu nach raibh baint ar bith
ag an Iontaobhas leis an socru. Is
leir go bhfuil roinnt daoine ann a
fheiceann uisce faoi thalamh i
ngnfomhartha an rialtais. Ta se
soileir go bhfeiceann na Gaeil
sheanbhunaithe contuirt san Ion
taobhas, go speisialta, san sparan mhor ata acu on Central Commu
nity Relations Unit (dream ata ag maoiniu an nuachtain laethula, LA).
Tchftear don dream seo go mbeidh
deireadh lena"dtionchar" archursaf
Gaeilge agus da thairbhe seo
feiceann siad taibhsf san ait nach
bhfuil siad.
Pol O Muiri
FORTNIGHT OCTOBER 7
This content downloaded from 91.238.114.174 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 18:01:08 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions