No 496 JUNE 1985 30p

NEUTRALITY STRUGGLE HOTS UP Cork wants no subs

FINE GAEL DIVISIONS LOOM THE plot to set up a West European super-state, closely linked with NATO, thus ending Irish neutrality, has run into rough weather, and it is to be hoped it will yet be rougher.

One factor has been the welcome firmness of Mr Charles Haughey who has indicated that the conference planned to follow the Milan "European Council" would be a waste of time.

There was great indignation at t h e a r r o g a n t w a y G a r r e t

* Fitzgerald handled criticism of his attendance at the Bilderberg conference, and he was forced to State that he was not trying to sell Irish neutrality.

Deadlocked G U A R D E D editorials in the quality newspapers indicate that d i s c u s s i o n s are p r o c e e d i n g between representatives of the Irish Republic and the British Government.

' All the indications are that they are not proving very fruitful.

T h e o b s t a c l e is B r i t i s h * intransigence, which in turn stems

from commitment to the war • plans of NATO. » |t seems that Garret Fitzgerald, for all his protestations to the contrary, has abandoned hope of landing any of the three Forum

I compromises, and would be content with helping to run the partition system for Britain.

Britain on the other hand wants no interference, but might just accept

' Fitzgerald in an advisory role. There are however other dangers.

These civil service contacts are being _ riven a name — the Anglo-Irish Council, and in view of the incorrigible West-Britishness of sections of the Irish civil service, there may be an effort to give this shadowy

a more permanent organis-form and thus create «n

means of bringing British to bear on the

GREEN PROTEST

This has become an issue in German politics. The notorious bogus socialist Herr Willi Brandt had the impertinence to state that Ireland should make a "full defence and military commit-ment" to the EEC.

Irish protests led to the intervention of the "Green" leader Miss Petra Kelly who has tabled a number of motions in support of Irish neutrality in the German Parliament.

When as part of the attempt to "soften up" the Irish people by accustoming them to the sight of NATO forces on Irish soil, five German submarines came into Cork harbour, they were met by CNI> protesters, who told the Germans to come without arms or stay away.

This military visit is particularly unwelcome at a time when West German Chancellor Kohl is toying with the notion of an a t t e m p t t o recapture E a s t Germany by force. In a speech not r e p o r t e d i n t h e B r i t i s h newspapers, but reported in the Irish, President Reagan, around the time he visited the Nazi cemetery at Bitberg openly called

City Hall, Chester

tor a crusade to establish German unity, that is to say to go to war.

WORLD WAR "A united G e r m a n y in a united

Europe" was Reagan 's message to the European assembly. It was a declaration of the objectives of world war three, which Reagan wishes to go down in history as the master-mind of .

The G e r m a n government is the mos t d e e p l y c o m m i t t e d to " E u r o p e a n u n i o n , " t h o u g h people in E n | l a n d may remember that it was the slogan of Sir Oswald Mosley's Fascist party.

However the plan ran into difficulties because while West Germany wanted Ireland to give up her neutral i ty , she was prepared to use the veto to defend her economic interests.

Propaganda against neutrality is being whipped up in Ireland. There are inspired letters in the n e w s p a p e r s . R a d i o E i r e a n n descended to the dc . ice of r e p o r t i n g M r H a u g h e y a s favouring an Anglo-Irish Defence Pact, whereas he had said nothing of the sort. This was stigmatized by the Irish Sovereignty Move-m e n t a s " c r e a t i v e n e w s management . "

Efforts are n o w being made by the war party to revive the "Irish C o u n c i l o f t h e E u r o p e a n Movement" , which has now engaged a full- t ime organiser paid out of funds sent to Ireland f rom

the cont inent . The object is to gain suppor t for "European Union."

UNCRITICAL But the manifest signs of

g o v e r n m e n t t r e a c h e r y a r e a la rming even members of the Fine Gael par ty , one of whom recently contac ted the ISM to inform them that the Taoiseach's uncritical suppor t of rootless supranat ional i sm was alarming members of his own party.

Among those coming out ever more clearly on the side of the nat ion is Mr Sean MacBride who scouts all this talk of a "European so lu t ion" of the six county quest ion, and has declared once m o r e t h a t t h e p r o b l e m is part i t ion, and that Britain should give up Irish terri tory.

ALEC DIGGES R.I.P.

AS this issue of the "Irish Democrat" was going to pressy came news of the death of Alee D i g g e s , Dub l in -born former International Brigader, one time secretary of the International Brigade Association. He was 71 and had been ailing for some time. H e sang at the Connol ly Association social on St Patrick's night. He had a sharp tongue and a sharp pen but was popular and widely respected.

TRIP TO CHESTER

IT was on February 11th, 1867, that hundreds of men assembled in the railway station at Chester to the extreme puzzlement of the authorities.

Some came by _ train from Lancashire, Michael Davitt among them, others from the West Riding of Yorkshire, but the bulk of them walked from Birkenhead.

Their purpose was to seize the armoury in Chester Castle, hijack a train, and drive it to Holyhead, and get the arms across to Ireland for a Rising.

The plan was revealed by the informer Corydon, but warning was conveyed and all got away but one.

NOW on June 23rd, 1985, Liverpool Connolly Association are to cover the same ground. The coach will be outside the Irish Centre, Mount Pleasant, at 2 p.m. on that Sunday afternoon but if there is a demand for it, a stop will be made at Birkenhead Central station.

At Chester arrangements have been made for a tour of the Fenian's proposed route, beginning at the station, and a local Irish historian will be present.

The Chester Irish Society are arranging a buffet at the annexe to the Catholic club at 6 p.m.. After refreshment and a brief historical talk, the evening will be spent at the club.

But owing to tachygraph rules, the bus must leave at 10 pm, so that members will have to put that last bottle in their pockets.

Also it is important to gel everybody back to Liverpool in time for the bus and rail connections.

Irish Society treasurer, Mr Gerry O'Hanlon of Dundalk promises a fine welcome, and we are expecting visitors

from London, Manchester and the Lancashire towns. Ample parking space is available at the Catholic dub.

The inclusive chargefor the outing is £3.50.

i» necessary. n' i i i

Faun P n o v l n c e s

D o o h s h o p

244 -246 Gray's Inn Road, London, WC1X 8JR

Telephone: 01-833 3022

Page Eight THE IRISH DEMOCRAT June 1985

HANDS OFF OUR SEA! H M 15th will s e e the c o n v e n i n g of a c o n f e r e n c e on the po l lu t ion and m i l i t a r i z a t i o n of the

Irish S e a . It is be inu c a l l e d b \ L iverpoo l C o n n o l l y A s s o c i a t i o n , and will o p e n at 2 . 0 0 pm at the

M i a f t s b u r v H o t e l at the f o o t o f Mount P l e a s a n t . 1 h e m a i n s p e a k e r w i l l b e M i

l ' a u l M c G h e e G r e e n p e a c e i H a r r o w ) . M i D e i m o t N o l a n ( G e n e r a l S e c r e t . n v , l u s h C N D . D u b l i n ) , a n d M i B e r n a r d M o f f a t ( ( e l t i e I e a g u e . P e e l , L i e o l M a n i

I l ie c h a i r m a n wi l l b e C o u n c i l l o r \ l e e D o s w e l l

I n t e r e s t e d p a r t i e s h a v e b e e n u n i t e d I r o n i l l o l v h e a d in t h e w e s t . n g h t r o u n d t h e c o a s t [<> H a m ) w - i n - l u n l e s s , a n d t h e r e m a \ b e \ i s i t o r s i r o n i S c o t l a n d a n d I r e l a n d

I h e M e i s e \ s ; d e C o u n t \ C o u n c i l h a s b e e n a p p r o a c h e d t o i t u n d i n g a n d it t h i s is f o r t h c o m i n g ii is h o p e d t o b e a b l e t o p u b l i s h a r e p o r t o t t h e c o n f e r e n c e in p a m p h l e t f o r m s o a s t o m a k e i ts f i n d i n g s g e n e r a i l v a v a i l a b l e .

I h e i n i t i a t i v e is t i m e l y . P u b l i c c o n c e r n is s w e l l i n g 1 h e l a t e s t p l a c e s t o r e p o r t c h i l d I e u k a e m i a d e a t h s a r e S o u t h p o r t , w h e r e a p u b l i c p r o t e s t m e e t i n g w a s h e l d , a n d P u n d a l k o n t h e c o a s t o t I r e l a n d w h e r e C M ) a r e t a k i n g t h e m a t t e r u p

It is p o i n t e d o u t t h a t t h e I r i s h s e a is t h e v e r y w o r s t p l a c e o n e a r l h t o l o c a t e t h e W i n d s c a l e d e a t h l a c t o r v f o i it is v i r t u a l l y a s t a g n a n t l a k e R a d i o - a c t i v i t y p i l e s u p a n d l i p P l u t o n i u m is w a s h e d u p o n t h e b e a c h e s w h e r e it i i l i p i e g n a t e s t h e s a n d , d r i e s t o a l i n e d l i s t a n d is e a r n e d i n l a n d b y t h e w i n d t o e n t e i p e o p l e ' s h o m e s i n d k i l l t h e n c h i l d r e n .

Ii is a l s o s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h e I r i s h Sea was c h o s e n because it w a s the w o r s t p l a c e T h e r a d i o - a c t i v i t v c a n n o t g e t o u t . a n d t h u s B r i t a i n is i in i e m b a r r a s s e d bv a w k w a r d q u e s t i o n s I r o m f o r e i g n

. i v e r n m e n t s w h o s e r e g u l a t i o n s , u e i n l m i t e l y m o r e s t r i n g e n t t h a n t h e B r i t i s h

I he g r e a t e s t s c a n d a l is t h a t t h e . s t e r n ; n t o r v

s ! i . n e u t r a l

I lie I r i s h g o v e r n m e n t h a s s o t a r p i o t e s t e d w i t h o u t s u c c e s s . I n v n o n m e i u m i n i s t e r L i a m k a v a n a g h h a s d e m a n d e d t h a t B r i t a i n ' s P a t r i c k J e n k i n s t o p a l l e m i s s i o n s . H e p r o m i s e s a l o n l e r e n c e t o d i s c u s s a c h i e v i n g ' n e g l i g i b l e l e v e l s . "

I i i s h d o c t o r s h a v e e s t a b l i s h e d a p o s s i b l e c a n c e r l i n k w i t h t h e n o t o r i o u s W m d s c a l e / S e l l a l i e l d p l a n t in C u m b r i a In o n e y e a r a l o n e t h e r e w e r e a c c i d e n t s a t t h i s p l a n t , a n d r e s u l t s o t t h e u n c o n t r o l l a b l e l i r e o t O c t o b e r P ' 5 7 ; n c s t i l l b e i n g m o n i t o r e d . I h e s p r e a d o t p o l l u t i o n h a s b e e n

c o n n e c t e d w i t h t h e b i r t h o l c h i l d r e n s u f f e r i n g f r o m D o w r i e s sy n d r o m e .

1 q u a II v a l a r m i n g i s t h e e v i d e n c e o t m i l i t a r y a c t i v i t y w h i c h t h r e a t e n s t h e s a f e t y o t s h i p p i n g .

I h e m a p o n t h i s p a g e s h o w s t h e s i t e s o t n o t e w e r t h a n t w e l v e m a r i n e a c c i d e n t s , o c c u r r i n g

Sustentation Fund \ B1 I b e t t e r t h i s m o n t h — b u t

t h e n t h e r e w e r e f i v e w e e k s l o r i t . A n d : t \ s t i l l £ 1 0 0 s h o r t

I h e h o l i d a y s a r e c o m i n g a l o n g n o w . s o t h e r e ' s g o i n g t o b e a l e a i I a m m a s , it t i l i n g s d o n ' t t a k e u p .

I n p a r t i c u l a r t h e C o n n o l l y A s s o c i a t i o n is a n x i o u s t o e n g a g e a n e w f u l l - t i m e o r g a n i s e r , a n d t h a t wi l l m e a n f i n d i n g £ 1 2 0 a m o n t h a p a r t f r o m e x p e n d i t u r e o n t h e w o r k

S o s p r e a d t h e n e t w i d e l y a n d p o p in a l l y o u c a n t o J a n e T a t e a t 2 4 4 G r a v s I n n R o a d , L o n d o n , W . C . I .

Our thanks to: M. Brennan £5, B. Callaghan £6, G. O'Donohoe £21.50, C. Maguire 40p, G. Rushe £5, D. MeLoughl in £4, E. Markham £2.50, F. Rushe £4.50, G. Ward £1, J. Kavanagh £3.20, J. Dovle £4, E. Moloney 50p, B. Crowley £2.50, K. McFarlane £4, K. P. M. Haldane £2, South London CA £27, M. Byrne £2, J. Roche £10, B. Farrington £20, G. Findlay £1, M. McGuire £4, B. Chambers £5, F. H. O. £10, M. Gaster £10, S. O'Neill £1.20, J. Douglas £1, P. J.

Cunningham £1.05, M. While £2.05, R. Smith £4, C. C. Knight £1, J. & G. Logan £5, J. Tate £25, supporters in South London £9.45, in Central London £1.68.

Total £203.08.

SUNK WITH ALL HANDS

D O Y O U r e m e m b e r the m y s t e r i o u s d i s a p p e a r a n c e o f a f i s h i n g vessel m a n n e d by l ive y o u n g m e n f r o m K i r k c u d b r i g h t ? A n d d o y o u r e m e m b e r how q u i e k l v it all d i o p p e d o u t of the n e w s ?

M a n x f i s h e r m e n a r e a d a m a n t t h a t t h e i r vessel t h e M h a r i I w a s d o w n e d b y a s u b m a r i n e . T h e y n o t e f i rs t t h a t the w e a t h e r w a s p e r f e c t , s e c o n d t h a t t h e r e w a s n o d i s t r e s s c a l f

T h e I r i sh g o v e r n m e n t is m a k i n g i n t e r n a t i o n a l s u b m i s s i o n s i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h t h e L a w of t h e S e a C o n f e r e n c e .

T h e thirteen r e c o r d e d s ink ings all t o o k p lace s ince N A T O s u b m a r i n e s s t a r t e d m a n o e u v r i n g in the s o u t h e r n Irish Sea in large n u m b e r s in 1981.

AFTER nearly 50 years, North London borough of Hackney unveils a memorial to the men who fought in ihe International Brigade in Spain. Pictured here are two Dublin men. Councillor Gery lawless, and Joe Monks (right) who is one of the men who fought.

INTERNAL SOLUTION

T H E firs! n o n - U n i o n i s t p a r t y t o a c c e p t the p r i n c i p l e o f a n " i n t e r n a l " s e t t l e m e n t in t h e s ix c o u n t i e s is t h e W o r k e t s ' P a r t y , w h i c h set o u t t h i s

a p r e s s c o n f e r e n c e in c o n c e p t Be l fas t .

Il aisi r u l e " as c o n c e p t .

W h i l e

d e c l a r e d f o r " s i n g l e p a r t y i f u n d a m e n t a l d e m o c r a t i c

the p a r t y h a s b e e n s t ead i ly m o v i n g to t h e r i g h t o v e r a p e r i o d o f y e a r s , so c o m p l e t e a r e v e r s a l of f o r m e r fa i th was no t e x p e c t e d .

JOHN DEERE, R.I.P. MEMBERS of Central London Branch, Connolly Association, bid a sad farewell last month to John Deere, a faithful member ov er many years. J o h n came f rom Gould 's Cross, Tipperary, an area with a rebel tradition. He emigrated to England in 1949 and worked at the House of Commons until he retired a few years ago. He was to die, alas, of heart failure, after two previous attacks. A gentle and modest man, but a true Irishman. John will be sadly missed . To his widow Bridget and his family we extend our sympathy.

[accident map V X

a r o u n d t h e I s l e o l M a n . o t ; the-D u b l i n a n d W e x f o r d c o a s t s , a n d a s f a r s o u t h a s C o r n w a l l .

T r a w l e r s h a v e b e e n s u n k , n e t s h a v e b e e n f o u l e d , a n d in m o s t c a s e s it h a s b e e n i m p o s s i b l e t o p e r s u a d e a n y a u t h o r i t y t o a c c e p t r e s p o n s i b i l i t y

T h e m o s t s c a n d a l o u s w a s t h e s i n k i n g o f t h e S h e r a l g a w h o s e c r e w o f f i s h e r m e n w e r e l e f t t o d r o w n

T h e r e is a n i n c r e a s i n g f e e l i n g a m o n g m e m b e r s o f t h e l i t t o r a l c o m m u n i t i e s t h a t t h e I r i s h S e a s h o u l d b e c o m p l e t e l y d e m i l i -t a r i s e d . P l u t o n i u m r e c y c l i n g s h o u l d b e s t o p p e d . It is w a r w o r k , a i m e d a t i n c r e a s i n g t h e A m e r i c a n a t o m b o m b p i l e . L i k e w i s e t h e r e s h o u l d b e a n i n t e r n a t i o n a l a g r e e m e n t t h a t n o e x e r c i s e s o r m a n o e u v r e s s h o u l d t a k e p l a c e e x c e p t s u c h a s a r e a g r e e d w i t h t h e I r i s h g o v e r n m e n t . S o m e w o u l d l i k e t o s e e m i l i t a r y a c t i v i t y c o n f i n e d s i m p l y t o r i g h t o f p a s s a g e .

M o s t a t t e n t i o n h a s b e e n p a i d t o P l u t o n i u m , b u t t h e r e a r e o t h e r p o l l u t a n t s , n o t a b l e C a e s i u m 1 3 7 . T h i s d e a d l y p o i s o n is m o r e m o b i l e

t h a n P l u t o n i u m , a n d h a s b e e n d e t e c t e d r o u n d t h e n o r t h c o a s t o f S c o t l a n d , a n d t r a c e s h a v e r e a c h e d t h e m o u t h o f t h e T h a m e s . It is o n l y a m a t t e r o f t i m e b e f o r e it r e a c h e s t h e c o n t i n e n t .

R a d i o - a c t i v c r c - p r o c e s s i n g o n t h e s h o r e s of t h e I r i s h S e a is g o i n g t o b e c o m e a m a j o r h e a l t h h a z a r d , a f f e c t i n g n o t o n l y t h o s e w h o l i v e o n i t s s i n u c s . b u t a l l w i t h i n w i n d -r e a c h . • w a t e r - r e a c h o f i t s p o i s o n - .

I u r t h e i d e t a i l s o f c o n f e r e n c e f r o m 0 5 1 - 9 2 8 - 2 4 5 3 .

Hi tow o f t M a n n ' s I

in t ow tilt M a n ( >i I - " • s -l1 ; s u b a. J C o a s l I I 1-s-h4l 3 M i \ e n t a n g l e d w i t h s u b m a r i n e — c u t s n c l , _ t , , \ \ ed t o r 3 m i l e s (S -4 - s4 ; 4 M l A She ra lga s u n k by H M S P o r p o i s e — f i s h e r m e n lott to d r o w n (18-4-S2i 5 M l \ C r i m s o n D a w n — n e t s e n t a n g l e d / t o w e d / l o s t n e t s (1K-4-S2) f> C i t e D ' A l e t h d i s a p p e a r e d o t ! W e x f o r d — It) crew l o s t ( 12 -1 -83 ) . 7. V Yacht s t r u c k b> s u b . be l i eved to be-l l M S O p o s s u m N. C i a b a n o r d i s a p p e a r e d wi th all crew I S u m m e r s2i V S u b m a r i n e B a s e C l y d e C o m p l e

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v T ,

It). J e a n n e de L o r r a i n e tov .ed b a c k w a r d s ( 3 - 2 - 8 4 ) 11. H M S S p a r t a n s n a g g e C \ l g r i e ' Ml ^

(2-12-N4) . 12. J o a n n e C s n a g g e C . n \ m y s t e r y s u b m a r i n e ( I4-S-S4i 13 ' M I N E A D R I I I ' — ( . . - ( g u a r d s c l a i m n o k n o w l e d g e I I 2 - ( - S 4 I .

T O N I C U R R A N R.I.P.

THE Connolly Association has suffered a grievous loss with the death of Mrs Antoinette Curran on May 28th after a long illness. She was 56.

Mr Curran was born in Hackney in East London, and educated at Trinity College, Dublin, which she left to return to London in 1950.

She was for many years a member of the executive council ot the Connolly Association,, and for several years acted as manager of the Irish Democrat Book Centre in Grays Inn Road, and as one of the trustees of the paper.

A woman of remarkable vitality, 'She w a s a lively and interest ing lecturer, and m a d e an immense impress ion on the nursing staff of H a m m e r s m i t h hosp i ta l . Here was a w o m a n in the last s t a g e s of terminal cancer who agi tated over the long hours the nurses were c o m p e l l e d to work thanks to the T h a t c h e r health cuts.

M r s Curran was a l i fe - long social ist and Irish republican with a remarkably c l ear polit ical head. S h e is survived by her husband Gerard Curran and by her t w o s o n s Niall and Conor , both students at the University of M a n c h e s t e r .

Liverpool Connolly Assoc ia t ion at i ts mee t ing on M a y 29th passed a reso lut ion of condolences with the f a m i l y .

T h e f u n e r a l t o o k p l a c e o n W e d n e s d a y , June 5th at Richmond, S u r r e y , arrangements be ing m a d e by her old friend Mr Bob Wynn, one-time ed i tor of the "Country S t a n d a r d " .

DHSS explains T H E L i v e r p o o l C o n n o l l y Association passed a resolution deploring the dismissal of Dr O'Shea f r o m her employment as a psychiatrist in Birmingham.

The resolution was sent to the DHSS, and the fol lowing is the reply that was received.

It is very much to be hoped that Dr O'Shea will be considered for fur ther employment as a locum tenens.

D e a r M r M o r t i m e r , Fur ther to m y letter o f 13th M a r c h I

a m n o w a b l e to reply in ful l t o y o u r recent c o r r e s p o n d e n c e a b o u t the case of D r O ' S h e a .

Y o u r c o n f e r e n c e ' s r e s o l u t i o n has b e e n n o t e d b u t a c c o r d i n g t o information we have received from the West Midlands Regional Health Authority Dr O'Shea retired from her f u l l - t i m e e m p l o y m e n t o n 3 0 t h November 1984. Subsequently, for a p e r i o d o f 3 m o n t h s (and s c h e d u l e d to end on 28th February 1985) she was appointed to a locum position, although her appearance in court on 9th January and subsequent remand in custody prevented her from performing any duties from that date. Nevertheless it was agreed that she would be paid by the health authority until 28th February . Although she was released on bail on 9th February it was thought that in all the circumstances it would not be appropriate to require her to fulfill the remaining part of her locum appointment.

I hope this helps to explain the position.

Yours sincerely S. T. Clarke

June 1985 THE IRISH DEMOCRAT Page Three

THE PROSTITUTION OF THE EUROPEAN IDEAL

By SEAN MacBRIDE, SC

The ideals of the European movement are being under-mined by NATO and the EEC. Where r1-* Labour stand?

SEAN MacBRIDE S.C. Irish T H E R E is no aspect of

Foreign Policy which has been m o r e m i s r e p r e s e n t e d , m i s -hand led , and misused than Ireland 's involvement in Europe. It has been made the excuse for endanger ing our neutral i ty, for p romot ing the interest of foreign mult inat ionals into our economy, for creating massive unemploy-ment and for their destruct ion of some of our well-established t radi t ional industries. Through Jack of an informed knowledge and policy in regard to European affa i rs , the Labour Party has allowed itself to become an agent for the prostitution of the European Socialist ideal. This, despite the fact that earlier Irish Labour leaders, James Connol ly , Tom Johnson , Luke D u f f y , Owen Sheehy-Skeffington and even William Norton and Brendan C o r i s h , h a d a f a r b e t t e r unders tanding and a t t achment to the socialist European idea.

Tha t f r o m the Middle Ages on-wards Europe became the centre of gravity of the world, culturally and economically, was the result of a series of historical accidents, and of the development of chris t ianism in Europe. Under the influence of Christianity it became the great centre of cul ture, ar t , l i terature and scientific progress. But, if it did provide such a leadership in the cultural fields, it also gave birth to colonialism and 10 the constant use of force to domina te weaker sections of the world.

It is thus, that the European c o u n t r i e s c o n q u e r e d a n d plundered Africa, Asia and the Americas. The major European powers — and indeed some of the smaller ones — divided the world between them for the purposes of exploit ing resources and slave labour throughout the world. This is how the wealth and influence of Europe was built. Because of greed and often jealousies, the European countries became more and more bellicose and fell out among themselves frequently. It is thus that Europe became the start ing point of most wars in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

The eradication of slavery, the growth of democracy, and the first gl immerings of the concept of h u m a n rights and human liberty, were a m o n g the factors that led to •he growth of socialism in Europe and that led a1 o to the growth of the Europe- .i Ideal. The concept was great ly speeded up by the rise of Fascism and by the ho r ro r s of the Second World War, dur ing which over 60 million h u m a n beings were slaughtered.

T H E European Movement was founded largely to remove the possibility of the use of force, or of the use of threats of force in inter-national relations so as to reduce the possibility of war; it was

opposed to the growth of militarism and military alliances. It also conceived that peace depended upon the adequa te protection of h u m a n rights — political, economic and social. Hence, f rom 1945 onwards , long before the establishment of the Council of Europe , a number of us were already working on draf t ing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convent ion for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamenta l Freedoms.

It may be said that peace based upon justice, the elimination of war, and protect ion of h u m a n rights and social justice, were the main political objectives of the European Movement . Coupled with these political objectives was a very strong determinat ion that E u r o p e s h o u l d d e v e l o p its spiritual, moral and cultural values, and that every effort should be made to protect and develop the plurality of the d i f f e r e n t n a t i o n a l i t i e s a n d ethnicities that compose Europe. Special emphasis was to be given to the promot ion of cultural and educational exchanges, and to the s tandardisat ion of social services.

T H U S when the Statute of Europe came to be draf ted and adopted , its preamble stated its objectives as follows:

"Convinced that the pursuit of peace based upon justice and in-ternational co-operation is vital

for the preservation of human society and civilisation;

Reaffirming their devotion to the spiritual and moral values which are the common heritage of their peoples and the true source of individual freedom, political liberty and the rule of Law, principles which form the basis of all human democracy."

The First Article of the Statute of the Council of Europe specific-ally provided that :

"Matters relating to national defence do not fall within the scope of the Council of Europe". It was not considered by the

E u r o p e 3 ! ! M o v e m e n t t h a t militai y ai: > inces should form the basis of any movement for the integration of Europe; at the insistance of Sweden and Ire-land, this was stated specifically in Article 1 of the Statute of the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe now consists of 21 States of which only six are not members of N A T O . Ea*;h of the 21 States that are members of the Council of Europe are also parties to the European Convention of Human Rights, and 17 of the 21 Member States of the Council of Europe have also accepted the compulsory jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights.

T H E Counci l of Europe was always intended to be the dominant European institution, and the one charged with the promot ion of greater European co-operat ion a n d integration But t h i s h a s b e e n d e l i b e r a t e l y forgotten and every effort is being made by the N A T O Member States, and the Members of the EEC to by-pass the Council of Europe. Instead of acquiescing in this covert denigrat ion of the Council of Europe , the Members of the Irish L a b o u r Party should have been first and foremost in promoting the Council of Europe, and in seeking to reinforce its influence in Europe .

Firstly, because representing 21 different states, it is much more representative of Europe than the EEC which comprises only 10 states. Secondly, because it is the only internat ional body in the world that provides the adequate protection of human rights, including f reedom of association and expression.

The E E C has now become a bargaining a n d a bartering counter which is frequently the subject of manipula t ion by some multi-national and bv different financial interests. In it, we suffer from the d r awback of being the only member of it which is not a member of N A T O . We also miss the constructive and useful influence of such countries as Austria, Sweden and Switzerland.

W H I L E originally, al though with some d o u b t , I favoured our becoming member s of the EEC. I thought that it would provide us with an escape f rom the strangle hold of our dependence upon the British market . I also thought that it would be of assistance to our agriculture. I have now come to the conclusion that it is in no small measure responsible for the disasters which our economy is now undergoing.

I am not clear to what extent this was inevitable or to what ex ten t th is is d u e to the mishandling and incompetency of our representatives at E E C meetings. It was always my impression that under the Rome Treaty, a weak economy had always the right to take special protective measures to protect its traditional small industries; these provisions have not been availed of and nearly all our small traditional industries have gone to the wall as a result. Our "Buy Irish" campaign is virtually non-existent.

Worse still, an E E C Committee presided over by a former Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs of the present Coalit ion Government , Senator Dooge, has produced a report proposing: 1 )close ties with NATO and Western European Union — the Western European Union is merely an offshoot of the N A T O military all iance; 2) tying together of economic and political q u e s t i o n s w i t h m i l i t a r y development in the world; 3) commitment by member-states (including Ireland) to a common weapons planning and procure-ment policy; 4) c o m m o n military material s tandards .

What is the a t t i tude of the present Coalition Government to this Report? How far have the L a b o u r m e m b e r s of t h e Government been consulted in regard to it? H o w far are the

members of the Labou r Partv in the Oireachtas conversant with these issues'? If they a re conversant with them, why are thev so silent in regard to them?

T H E R E is, 1 fear, a grace d a n g e r a t the present time, thatbv s teal th ,as part of a verv deliberate-policy, various e f for t s are being made by members of the Fine-Gael Party, and indeed possibly by others who are associated with the present G o v e r n m e n t , to erode our neutrality.

Lest there be any doubt , the Western European Union is a military alliance which provides by the Protocol adop ted in 1954 that :

Recognising the undesiiability duplicating the military staff ot NATO, the Council and its Agen-cies will rely on the appropriate military authorities of NA TO for information and a d v i c e o n m i l i -t a r y m a t t e r s . "

In connection with these matters it might be well if the members of the Administrative Council of the Labour Partv would look into the question ol the Irish public f igures, including members of the Labour Party, who are members of the American Trilateral Commission. Several Irish public figures are members of this somewhat mysterious commission in America, one of whose avowed aims are to involve-more closely countries "such as Japan and Ireland" into a closer relationship with N A T O . Several b o o v s and many newspaper ar .es have been published c o n c e r r i ng t h i s T r i l a t e r a l Commission which was founded by David Rockefeller and Henry Kissinger. British and American influences are hard at work in our political arena and the Irish Labour Party should be much more circumspect than it is in

regard to such matters. Who finances the activities ol the Trilateral Commiss ion and pavs the e x p e n s e s of the I r i sh Members?

A matter which has been completely overlooked as a result of the Cold War. has been that Europe is not limited to either the 10 countries that consti tute the EEC or the 21 countr ies that comprise the Council of Europe. Europe extends f r o m the Atlantic to the Urals and includes Russia. Hungary , East G e r m a n y . Czecho-s l o v a k i a , P o l a n d . Bu lga r i a , Rumania ; it was a lways one of the aspirat ions of the European Movement that ultimately, the central and eastern European countr ies which have socialist governments would gradually join into the Council of Europe. It was hoped that this would come about gradual ly with the easing of tensions and on a par t icular issue.

N O W that the Socialist States of Eastern Europe have accepted the UN internat ional Covenants for the Protection of Human Rights, it is possible to envisage a situation in which some , or all of them, would agree to subscribe to p o r t i o n s of t he E u r o p e a n Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamenta l Freedoms. I think that this is not as remote or as difficult as it may at first sound. The work of the European Commission and Court of Human Rights has earned respect fo r itself and I think that it would not be o' : of the question to p romote a parallel jurisdiction in the countries that are members of the Comecon. These a r e a m o n g the mat ters which the Irish l a b o u r Party should consider.

Above all, Ireland should make a serious effort to revitalise and use the Council of Europe as a real instrument for the protection of human liberty and for the promotion of disarmament and peace in the world.

* Reprinted from "Labour Left" by kind permission. Picture by Spiers.

P a g e F o u r THE IRISH DEMOCRAT J u n e 1 9 8 5

Republican Credo I O D D W D R E W S , former War of I ndeptndence veteran and head of C I E , recently sent a "Credo of an Irish Republican" to the "Irish Times". We ri produce it below:

"I believe in Irish republicanism as enunciated by Wolfe Tone. I believe in liberty, equality and fraternity within the Irish nation. 1 believe that our ci t izens are entitled to religious and political freedom. I believe that our six counties were taken from us by violence - by the threat of 'immediate and terrible war', i believe that this is at the root of the present conflict in the six counties . I believe that the British Army in the six counties is an army of occupation and that the R F C and the I T ) R are organised to be the armed auxiliaries of the British Army. 1 believe that it is treachery for an Irish government to assist or participate in maintaining the Border.

I believe that talk of a northern majority' is dangerous nonsense - the t Unionists' are a 20% minority of the

Irish nation and as such they will be » eleomed and cherished in a republic lor all-Ireland. All Irishmen would then be unionists - the union of Ireland. I

believe that if any amongst them cannot accept that they are part of the Irish nation and would rather go elsewhere, the\ should be assisted, generously, to do so. I believe that it would be much less expensive for the British and Irish governments to help their resettlement and to compensate them for loss of property than to maintain the present bloody impasse. It has proved so in other parts of the world.

I believe that history leaches us that there can be no peace in Ireland until Britain withdraws its army and administration. I believe that when such a withdrawal has been accomplished, the Hritish w ill have no better friends in Europe and in the world than their Irish neighbours. I believe that any so-called 'internal' settlement means that our six counties are ceded to Britain. I believe th it such a "settlement' will not bring peace but will ensure that for generation after generation there will be armed struggle to remove the British.

"I believe that the spirit of a nation can be repressed but it cannot be destroyed."

BACK TO CONNOLLY

Sean MacBride at Wicklow years

III I AST t ime c t m g in W i c k l o w

i g o , " S e a n

s p o k e .it a I own was 60

M c B r i d e to ld t h e

> p e o p l e vlien h e vv Inch t u r n e d o u t t o greet h im wl

c a m e d o w n f r o m D u b l i n to talk o n Ir ish n e u t r a l i t y in ear ly May .

1 he N o b e l I ' c a c e - P r i / e w i n n e r reca l led w o r k i n g to o rgan i se the r e p u b l i c a n m o v e m e n t in t h e s u r r o u n d i n g c o u n t r y s i d e d u r i n g t h e W a r of I n d e p e n d e n c e and the Civi l W a r .

" A t that t ime we were c a m p a i g n i n g aga ins t the a t t e m p t s by Bri ta in t o i m p o s e c o n s c r i p t i o n o n I re land

HOLOCAUST AS Ronald Reagan and German Chancellor Kohl commemorated the SS men at Ritburg. as well as their victims at Be I sen Concentration Camp, the President of West Germany, Richard Von Weizsacker spoke some words which show how the mass of decent Germans felt on the 40th anniversCry of the war.

The genocide of the Jews is withour example in history," he said. "The commuting of these crimes was carried out by a few. It was hidden from the eyes of the public. Rut every German could have seen what his Jewish fellow-citizens had to suffer-from cold indifference to hidden intolerance to open hate.

Who could remain unsuspecting about the burning of the synagogues, the plundering, the stigmatisation with the Star oj David, the withdrawal of rights, the unending violation of human dignity. Those who had their eyes and ears open, those who wanted to inform themselves could not have failed to see that the deportation trains were rolling. The nature and extent of the extermination exceed the human imagination. There were many ways of directing the conscience not to be responsible, t look away, to remain silent.

"And then, at the end of the war when the whole unspeakable truth about the Holocaust emerged, too many said they knew notning or had only an inkling of it. There is no guilt or innocence of a whole people because guilt, like innocence, is not collective. But all those who lived through that time with full awareness ask themselves today, quietly, about their involvement."

d u r i n g W o r l d W a r I. I r e m e m b e r w o r k i n g wi th R o g e r S w e e t m a n a n d T o m Cierard a n d C h r i s t y Byrne a n d Miss B a r t o n , s i s te r of R o b e r t Ba r ton . T h e State we w e r e s t rugg l ing t o es tabl i sh was o n e w h i c h we wan ted to p lay a nob le a n d f o r w a r d - l o o k i n g role in the wor ld . W e w a n t e d it to keep ou t ol imper ia l i s t ic c o n f l i c t s a n d to fo l low a cou r se of p r i n c i p l e d neut ra l i ty in fo re ign a f f a i r s . T o d a y the neu t ra l i ty a n d i n d e p e n d e n c e o f tha t S ta te is u n d e r p res su re a s neve r b e f o r e , " he sa id .

" I had m a n y d i s a g r e e m e n t s wi th M r D e V a l e r a w h e n he w a s gove rn ing th i s c o u n t r y " , s a i d Sean MacBr ide . " B u t he n e v e r j e o p a r d i s e d Irish neu t r a l i t y . H e s a w t h a t a policy of ac t ive , pos i t ive n e u t r a l i t y was the best o n e fo r smal l S t a t e s . I a m a f r a id that it is no t poss ib l e t o h a v e the s a m e c o n f i d e n c e in D r F i t z G e r a l d on this m a t t e r .

" I H A V E g r e a t respect fo r D r F i t z G e r a l d , b u t he h a s n o right to g o t o secret c o n c l a v e s in A m e r i c a like the B i lde rbe rg m e e t i n g , a t t e n d e d by N A T O gene ra l s a n d the leaders of the A m e r i c a n m i l i t a r y - i n d u s t r i a l c o m p l e x . In v iew of the a t t acks on I r i sh neu t ra l i ty m a d e by s o m e of its m i n i s t e r s l ike M r C o o n e y , it is a m a z i n g tha t t h e T a o i s e a c h s h o u l d t h i n k that t h e r e a r e n o g r o u n d s f o r g r a v e pub l ic d i s q u i e t . "

O n the s p i r a l l i n g a r m s race be tween W e s t and Eas t a n d the dr i f t t o w a r d s w a r , Scan M a c B r i d e said tha t he did n o t th ink t h e r e w a s exac t s y m m e t r y b e t w e e n the A m e r i c a n and the R u s s i a n p o s i t i o n s . Russ ia had a mi l i t a ry b u r e a u c r a c y a n d a poli t ical E s t a b l i s h m e n t , b u t t he re was n o

e q u i v a l e n t t o the M i l i t a r y - I n d u s t r i a l C o m p l e x w h i c h had s u c h a vested in teres t in the a r m s race in the Wes t . In A m e r i c a a n d Wes te rn E u r o p e the re w e r e v a s t p r i v a t e c o m p a n i e s d e p e n d e n t o n g o v e r n m e n t a r m s o r d e r s f o r the i r p ro f i t s . T h e y w o u l d m a k e mi l l i ons a n d mi l l ions o u t of a t h i n g like S t a r - W a r s , a n d b e c a u s e of t h e c h a r a c t e r of t h e W e s t e r n c o m p e t i t i v e sys t em all t h a t science a n d b r a i n p o w e r could h o t be easily c o n v e r t e d t o peace fu l p u r p o s e s in a s h o r t p e r i o d of t ime. In Russ ia , h o w e v e r , t hey cou ld c o n v e r t the i r a r m s i n d u s t r y to p e a c e f u l p u r p o s e s m u c h m o r e qu ick ly a n d eas i ly . " I say tha t even t h o u g h I a m n o t a s o c i a l i s t " , he sa id .

" M O R E O V E R , A m e r i c a h a d never been i n v a d e d a n d has n e v e r s u f f e r e d h u g e losses in war . R u s s i a h a s been i n v a d e d m a n y t imes a n d los t ove r 20 mi l l ion in W o r l d W a r 2. T h i s a c c o u n t s f o r a p r o f o u n d d i f f e r e n c e in p s y c h o l o g i c a l o u t l o o k b e t w e e n the p e o p l e of the t w o S u p e r p o w e r s . T h e r e can be n o d o u b t tha t t h e R u s s i a n s d o not w a n t a w a r .

" T h e real d a n g e r , h o w e v e r , is of w a r t h r o u g h acc iden t o r pol i t ica l m i s j u d g e m e n t . It c o u l d well be t ha t the sc ient i s t s of one s ide migh t d i s cove r s o m e w e a p o n t o wh ich the o t h e r side had no q u i c k a n s w e r — l e a d i n g the la t ter t o l a u n c h a p r e e m p t i v e a t t a c k t h r o u g h fea r of b e i n g a t t a c k e d itself. It h a s a l s o been c a l c u l a t e d tha t wh icheve r s ide s h o u l d l a u n c h an a t t a c k first w o u l d ga in a n a p p r o x i m a t e l y 3 0 % m i l i t a r y a d v a n t a g e ove r the o t h e r . T h e S ta r W a r s n i g h t m a r e , o p e n s u p m a n y poss ib i l i t i es of this k i n d of th ing h a p p e n i n g

"By defending neutrality and using it to get together with the o ther European neutrals, Ireland c o u l d throw itself on the side of the forces seeking to prevent war. T h e present drift o f events, on the other hand , with our Taoiseach attending Bilderberg conferences , was l ining us up a longs ide the N A T O camp.

"BY P U T T I N G neutrality in to the Irish Const i tut ion we w o u l d greatly strengthen the position here, and at the same time lenci encouragement to the f o r c e s f o r p e a c e a n d d e t e n t e throughout Europe.

"Peop le must realise their o w n power , for there is s o m e t h i n g everyone can do. The past f ew years has seen the Peace M o v e m e n t holding mass demonstrat ions and rallies all over the western world but there is a limit to what one can do that way. I n o w think that what is needed is the patient organisat ion of o p i n i o n in local communi t i e s , and the bringing to bear of that op in ion on local pol i t ic ians and public representatives.

" Y o u can show what can be d o n e in that way in Wick low" , said Sean MacBride . "By organis ing through your local C N D branch and by raising the neutrality quest ion in other c o m m u n i t y organisations, you can m a k e your local T D s and counci l lors responsible . You should write to them and phone them and go to see them. M a k e sure that they are kept informed o f e v e r y t h i n g w h i c h c o n c e r n s neutrality, and make them aware that y o u are there and care about these matters. If that is done all over the country , and if it is d o n e in other countr ies by their peace m o v e m e n t s , the force of public op in ion can yet reverse the arms race."

ALTHOUGH coalitionism survived the last Irish Labour Party conference, there are at long last stirrings at grass roots, as it begins to sink in that Labour's disastrous showing in the twenty-six counties is linked with its leadership's abandonment of the struggle for national independence.

That the Workers' Party, with its vigour and dynamism, has not engulfed it is not due to its own stamina, but to the fact that the Workers' Party has been travelling the same road, and therefore presents a competitor but not an alternative.

But now a grouping calling itself the "Labour Party Group for Irish Unity and Independence" has been established in parallel with the Trade Union organization established by Mr Sean Redmond.

Its manifesto says " We are only too aware of the accuracy of Connolly's prediction that partition would destroy the unity of the Irish Labour Movement... A united working class in a 32 county Ireland could become a dynamic political force, and ultimately result in the formation of a government pledged to uphold working class interests."

The manifesto stated that "Britain is responsible for the partition of Ireland . . . including the conferring on the Unionists of a veto on any constitutional change, thereby resulting in a political deadlock."

LETTER AS A fairly recent subsciber to your interesting and informative paper may I stick my neck out and make a suggestion. It is that you take out all or part of the S o n g s page and fill the space left with letters. I am amazed to find an Irish paper where the readership are not clamouring to have their say. I feel it would be better to publish the songs in a slim booklet several times a year for a small sum to cover the cost of production. In the paper the songs must often be thrown out whereas in booklet form it would be easier to keep them on a bookshelf.

In your M a y edition you deal inter alia with Irish Neutrality. I feel that this issue is go ing to come more to the fore in days to c o m e and we want every voice raised against it. To me this is Number O n e . N o promises of re-unification, trade concessions, a phoney sense of duty to the E E C or anything else must move us from the rock of Neutral i ty . If there is a nuclear war, Ireland neutral or committed will , with the rest of mankind, be destroyed. I do not want it to go down in history, if there is a history to go down in, that my country had any part in the mass murder of the human race.

Perhaps if you put my suggest ion about the songs page to your readers you would get a 'Democratic ' decis ion.

JOANNA ROCHE Milton Keynes

JOHN BOYD speaks on

"THE EEC, AND THE THREAT TO IRISH NEUTRALITY'

at the

LEE CENTRE, Aislibie Road. London. SE12

FRIDAY, JUNE 14th :: 8 pm South London Connolly Association

GREENS BACK IRISH NEUTRALITY P E T R A K E L L Y , leader of the West G e r m a n "Greens", sent a message of suppor* to Irish C N D and the Irish S o v e r e i g n t y M o v e m e n t o n the occas ion of the 40th anniversary of V E - D a y .

She urged them to stand by Irish neutrality and to resist the pressures which were now being brought to bear on Ireland from other EEC States in relation to neutrality. She said it would be a g o o d thing if a c o m m i t m e n t to permanent military neutrality were to be inserted into the Irish Const i tut ion, as this would encourage the peace m o v e m e n t throughout Europe, and she wished Irish C N D every success in its campaign to achieve this.

Miss Kelly and her co l l eagues have tabled a series o f ques t ions on Irish neutrality in the West G e r m a n Parliament. One asks what is the

attitude of the West G e r m a n government to Irish neutrality? Another asks whether the G e r m a n G o v e r n m e n t r e c o m m e n d s a m o r e thorough inc lus ion of the w h o l e island of Ireland within the N A T O early warning and t e l e c o m m u n i -cat ions system? A n o t h e r asks whether there are p lans within N A T O to deploy Cruise missiles in N o r t h e r n Ireland in the event of war? A n d another asks w h a t is the att itude o f the G e r m a n G o v e r n m e n t t o t h e suggest ion m a d e by T o n y B e n n a n d others that the m a i n reason for Brit ish involvement in Northern Ireland is strategic, h a v i n g to d o with Britain's N A T O c o m m i t m e n t s ?

Ques t ions put in the G e r m a n Bundertag o f t e n take quite s o m e t ime to be replied t o w e understand, but w e look forward t o the replies wi th interest w h e n they come .

J u n e 1 9 8 5 THE IRISH DEMOCRAT Page Five

LAGAN LIGHTS B Y S . O . D I O C H O I M

local election

P O L L I N G day for the local elections in the six counties last month was wet and unseasonably cold. Jus t over 60% of the electorate turned out to cast the transferable vote. They were electing 556 representatives to the twenty-six councils in the area. Whatever about the results of this part icular bout of voting, it is not often remembered that the very h o l d i n g of the e l ec t ion is significant of an advance in the long struggle for democratic r i g h t s a g a i n s t U n i o n i s t intransigence. During the years of the dead hand of Unionist control under the Stormont Parliament, it was not uncommon that up to 98% of rural council seats were uncontested. The councils then had considerable power of pat ronage in the distribution of housing, jobs, contracts etc. The main Unionist aim today is to turn back the clock to those days.

Looked at in the context of U n i o n i s t o p i n i o n v e r s u s Nationalist opinion the result of last m o n t h ' s election accords with

the mathematical calculations of the British Civil servants in the 1920s w h o worked out the plans for setting up the statelet. They settled on partitioning off six counties so that the political division within them would be about two-thirds Unionist and one-third Nationalist. Sixty years or so later this local election has produced that same result.

W I T H I N this political strait-jacket, where most things have been predictable until now, the main interest during the election was the Sinn Fein Party. They dominated the scene. The Official Unionists took 190 seats and the

ballot mania

T H E T R A D E S Union M o v e m e n t in the six c o u n t i e s , like m o s t o ther organ i sa t ions in the area, is bedevi l led by sec tar ian ism and frustrated by the Partition o f the country. This is because g o v e r n m e n t is based on the principle o f divide and rule a n d not on consensus . A f t e r Partition the Trades Unions were left with a legacy of divided loya l t i e s . In the six c o u n t i e s there are 6 4 U n i o n s with h e a d - o f f i c e s in Britain, serving 175,000 m e m b e r s and five u n i o n s with head-o f f i ce s in Dublin serv ing 8,000 members . In the republic there are 85 u n i o n s with 275,000 m e m b e r s and headquarters in Dublin a n d 30 unions with 53 ,000 members a n d their headquarters are in Britain. T h e Irish Trades U n i o n Congress d o e s the best it can to ho ld these t w o s t r a n d s together to serve the c o m m o n interest . It n o w appears that the Trades U n i o n s and their o f f i c ia l s , particularly in the six count i e s , m a y soon face p r o b l e m s which will d is turb their current methods of operat ing this invo lved system.

Mr D o u g l a s Hurd, the unelected direct ruler o f the six count i e s , is propos ing t o bring forward legislative changes a l o n g the lines o f those i n t r o d u c e d i n Br i ta in b y the E m p l o y m e n t A c t 1982 and the Trades

D U P h a d 142. T h e S D L P w o n 101 seats and Sinn Fein captured 59. This means that Sinn Fein has now established itself as a staying force in Irish politics for the forseeable fu ture , and not only within the confines of the six counties. Their performance in the local elections in the republic this month will be of great significance.

One of the main consequences of these election results is that it has put paid to the idea that an internal solution to the political differences in this area is feasible. If there were still elements in the SDLP contemplat ing going into NI Assembly they will now have to jettison that idea. Those within the Unionist ranks who may have been willing to discuss some form of "power-shar ing" will now abandon that approach.

Sinn Fein have representation on seventeen of the councils. The Unionists say they will not tolerate them or work with them in the councils. They have set up a united front to that end. There will be many scenes of emotion and c o m m o t i o n s t a g e d in these councils. They will have been encouraged in this attitude by the Under-secretary of state for NI, Mr Nicholas Scott who said: "British Ministers would certainly have nothing to do with Sinn Fein representatives so long as they regarded suppor t for what they called the a rmed struggle as part of their pol icy." It is not surprising tha t the Sinn Fein President, Mr Gerry Adams, is of the opinion that the British Government will eventually ban his political organisation.

Union Act 1984. The 1982 Act makes Trades U n i o n s l iable for d a m a g e s for unlawful industrial ac t ion and for injunctions to b e taken out against them, it a l so l imits c losed shop agreements . T h e 1984 Act requires secret bal lots t o endorse political funds , to e lect of f ic ia ls and to authorise industrial act ion . D U R I N G his s t int o f trying to rule this area Mr J a m e s Prior had consul tat ions with the employers and Trades U n i o n s a b o u t the feasibil ity of introducing these Westminster Acts. The c o m p l i c a t i o n s and resistance were such that he sensibly left the whole thing in a b e y a n c e . However the current Tory m a n i a for balloting within the Trades U n i o n Movement has resulted in D o u g l a s Hurd r e s u r r e c t i n g t h e s e c o n t r o v e r s i a l issues. He is m u c h more doctrinaire and rigid in o u t l o o k than Prior. Nevertheless it is probable that he will be forced to the s a m e conc lus ion as his predecessor. T o attack the Trade Unionists ' rights in the six count ies would require d i f f erent tactics than those used in Britain. For example , cou ld Mr Hurd siere the funds of the Dubl in-based U n i o n s , or for that matter the f u n d s o f the British-based U n i o n s in the republic? Would imposed bal lots within the Unions k e e p to a speci f ic issue or overspill in to the other sectarian issues that divide the six c o u n t y working class? Could Mr Hurd o r d e r a Dubl in Union to ballot its m e m b e r s ? His diff iculty is that the Trades U n i o n bodies are no more immune than other organisa-t ions from the e f f e c t s o f Britains national problem in Ireland.

Editor in Belfast

EDITOR of the Irish Democrat, Mr Desmond Greaves, addressed a May Day meeting on the subject of "Marx and Engels on Ireland" at the Conway Mill, Conway Street, Belfast on Bank Holiday, May 6th, under the auspices of West Belfast Branch, CPI.

The chair was taken by Mr Joe Deighan, and among those present were Mr James Stewart and Mrs Edwina Stewart, Father Desmond Wilson, Mr John McClelland, and Mr R. W. Heatley, together with many old stalwarts of the Labour movement.

Mr Greaves pointed out that Marx was British-based and was not concerned to advise the Irish on how they should conduct their campaign for national indepen-dence. Rather he accepted their aspirations as a fact of life and was concerned that the Brit ish government should take steps to make them a reality.

Early in his life Marx thought of seperation of Ireland from Britain was impossible. Further study convinced him it was inevitable. The decisive factor was probably the rise of Fenianism.

Answering a questioner who asked did Marx not declare that the Clerkenwell explosion was the worst thing that ever happened to the Irish movement, he said Marx was less abrasive than the questioner implied. He certainly expressed the view that blowing up a tailor's shop was not going to free Ireland. At the same time his sympathy was with the Fenians, as with all other under-dogs, and in no sense was he a pacifist.

The lecture is to be repeated under the auspices of the West London Connolly Association on Saturday, July 6th at the Acton Trade Union Club.

London Events A V A I L I N G o f M r D e s m o n d Greaves ' s presence in L o n d o n on J u n e d a t e s , L o n d o n C o n n o l l y Assoc ia t ion is arranging lectures.

T h e first, on the subject o f J a m e s C o n n o l l y , takes place in the D o u g l a s H y d e room at the Irish Centre , C a m d e n Square, at 8 pm on T u e s d a y , June 18th. This takes the place o f the usual branch meeting.

T h e second, on "Irish neutral i ty" takes place at Hanwel l Library, Cherington R o a d , W.7 at 8 pm on Thursday, June 27th, and the third, a l so o n the threat to Irish neutrality, will be at the B a r t h o l o m e w Centre , Barking Road , L o n d o n E .6 at 8 pm on Friday, June 28th.

BLACKBURN CONFERENCE A D E L E G A T I O N c o m p o s e d of p r o m i n e n t Ir ish T r a d e Union i s t s v is i ted L a n c a s h i r e in t h e week b e g i n n i n g J u n e 1st, w h i c h began with a w e l l - a t t e n d e d c o n f e r e n c e in B l a c k b u r n o r g a n i s e d b v t h e C a m p a i g n t o end i n t e r f e r e n c e in Irish a f f a i r s , a n d s p o n s o r e d by the B l a c k b u r n T r a d e s C o u n c i l .

C h a i r m a n was N e w r y - b o r n Mar t in G u i n a n of B l a c k b u r n L a b o u r Party w hose w o r k o n the E x e c u t i v e Counc i l of the C o n n o l l y A s s o c i a t i o n twenty y e a r s a g o is well r e m e m b e r e d , and a n o t h e r s p e a k e r c lose ly c o n n e c t e d wi th the A s s o c i a t i o n was M r Sean R e d m o n d w h o is n o w Gene ra l Sec re t a ry of the Ir ish Mun ic ipa l W o r k e r s ' U n i o n in D u b l i n , wi th him w a s Miss A n n e S teed o f t h e Irish T r a n s p o r t a n d G e n e r a l W o r k e r s ' U n i o n .

M r Noel H a r r i s p a i d a t r i b u t e to the d e d i c a t i o n a n d s e r i o u s p u r p o s e of Belfas t T r a d e U n i o n i s t s , b u t po in ted o u t tha t they were p l aced in c i r c u m s t a n c e s w h e r e they c o u l d not a l w a y s say w h a t they m i g h t wish to say . It was of vital i m p o r t a n c e that Br i t i sh T r a d e U n i o n i s t s s h o u l d say it f o r t h e m . T h e r e was n o " i n t e r n a l " s o l u t i o n t o the q u e s t i o n ol p a r t i t i o n W h a t was needed was tha t t h e British g o v e r n m e n t s h o u l d a n n o u n c e its i n t e n t i o n of w i t h d r a w i n g f r o m I r e l a n d . T h e n the U n i o n i s t s would h a v e t o face f resh f ac t s of l ife.

M r D e s m o n d G r e a v e s sa id that is w a s no t o b l i g a t o r y o n the British L a b o u r m o v e m e n t t o c o m m e n t on the m e t h o d s a d o p t e d by Ir ish p a t r i o t s to

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s e c u r e the l ibe ra t ion of then c o u n t r y . W h a t was i m p o r t a n t was tha t the Br i t i sh m o v e m e n t s h o u l d i m p r e s s on t h e B r i t i s h g o v e r n m e n t t h e i r r e spons ib i l i t y fo r the w h o l e of the m e s s a n d insist that they r e m e d y the g r i e v a n c e tha t they were o c c u p y i n g six c o u n t i e s of s o m e b o d y e l se ' s c o u n t r y .

M r Sean R e d m o n d d i s m i s s e d the idea t h a t it was poss ib le t o so lve the p a r t i t i o n q u e s t i o n by m e a n s of " w o r k i n g c lass p o l i t i c s " t h a t is t o say by r a i s i n g social a n d e c o n o m i c d e m a n d s a l o n e . T h e b o r d e r q u e s t i o n was w o r k i n g c lass pol i t ics , a n d whi le t h a t b o r d e r was the re ihe way to s o c i a l i s m in I r e l a n d w a s p e r m a -n e n t l y b a r r e d . Miss S teed sa id the b o r d e r s h o u l d be o p p o s e d even if the r e c o r d o f t h e D u b l i n g o v e r n m e n t on a n u m b e r of q u e s t i o n s , i n c l u d i n g m a t t e r s o f in teres t to w o m e n , was not of t h e bes t .

I h e s a m e even ing a r e c e p t i o n was he ld in the b a n q u e t i n g c h a m b e r of M a n c h e s t e r T o w n f l a i l , u n d e r the a u s p i c e s of the M a n c h e s t e r T r a d e s c o u n c i l , wi th Mr Scan R e d m o n d , Mr D e s m o n d G r e a v e s a n d Miss A n n e Steed s p e a k i n g aga in . T h e c h a i r m a n was t h e Sec re t a ry of M a n c h e s t e r T r a d e s C o u n c i l , a n d a m o n g t h o s e p re sen t were the f o r m e r s e c r e t a r y Miss F r a n c e s D e a n e , Mr j a m e s A r n i s o n of the M o r n i n g S ta r , Mr W i l f r e d C h a r l e s a n d M r s C h a r l e s , Mr S t a n C o l e , Mr Niall P o w e r of the 1 - a b o u r C o m m i t t e e o n I r e l a n d , a n d M r M i c h a e l M o r t i m e r , S e c r e t a r y of the L i v e r p o o l B r a n c h ol the C o n n o l l y A s s o c i a t i o n .

DEMOCRACY! F A T H E R D e s m o n d W i l s o n has launched a campaign against electoral harassment.

The British authorities professed to believe that Sinn Fein supporters proposed to go in for massive personation at the recent local elections, and they were determined to stamp it out.

So they decreed that nobody would be a l l o w e d t o v o t e w i t h o u t establishment of identity.

Fair enough. Bring something to show who you are. But wait, that w o u l d n ' t d o t h e m . C e r t a i n i d e n t i f i c a t i o n d o c u m e n t s w e r e allowable, others not. You could get by with driving licences, passports , medical cards or allowance books.

But married pensioners have only one name on their book. O n e or other was disfranchised. Free medical cards were not distributed in the run up to the election. S o the very young and the very old lacked identification and couldn't vote.

The workings of British democracy!

M «

Page Eight THE IRISH DEMOCRAT June 1985

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the lu r t f i i i br ight ly g l e a m i n g I a m s i t t i ng i d h d r e a m i n g l o r i t ' s p l e a s a n t to recall a g a i n I he joys t h a i long have f lown: \ nd I f ind u p o n re f l ec t ion I hat my f o n d e s t reco l lec t ion Is the f i d d l e r ' s l i l t ing music \ n d the d a n c i n g in ( . l e n r o n e .

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back I he d a n c i n g in ( . l e n r o n e .

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\ncl while . i t t i n g h e r e I ponder I ill inv in .i t is f i l led with w o n d e r Why u t e w i l e a v e tha i p l easu re I or a »(,rltl o co ld a n d lone; i )h. I n ish I \\ a s r e t u r n i n g II begin . .ga in l i f e ' s m o r n i n g Hi,i d r e a m l a n d only br ings me back I he danc ing in ( i l e n r o n e .

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\ I na b h a n . is tu d o m h e a r a i g h m o c h i a l l . \ I n a . is tu c h u a i g h g o d l u t h i d i r m e g u s D i a , \ L n a . a c h r a o b h c h u m r a . a l u i b i n c h a s t a n a g c i a b h . N a r b h f n e a r r d o m s a b e i t h g a n - u i t t na d ' f h e i c e a i l r i a m h .

: U M \ S M A C C ' O I S D F M . B H A 1 G H

SONG ^ O l L o r d s u p o n h i g h , w h o r u l e i r o n ; t h e s k y . L o o k d o w n o n o u r p u b s a n d b a r s I o r t h e p e o p l e w i t h i n , b o t h w o m e n a n d m e n \ r e n e g l e c t i n g t h e i r p i n t s a n d t h e i r j a r s : I h e c r a c k it is h a d a n d t h t a t m o s p h e r e s a d ,

f ve ry m a n h a s a f a c e l ike a m u l e : L o r a l l h e c a n d o is t o g r a b a n o u l d c u e Snd s t a r t p l a y i n g t h a t g a m e c a l l e d P o o l .

W h e n I w a s a boy it w a s a l w a y s m v j o \ T o g o t o t h e p u b e a c h n i g h t . W e h a d a r g u m e n t s , s c r a p s - t h e o d d k i l l i n g p e r h a p s \ n d e v e r y o n e t h o u g h t it w a s r i g h t ; W e h a d b a d g e r s a n d d o g s a n d m e n f r o m t h e b o g s \ n d y o u n g f e l l o w s a c t i n g t h e f o o l -\ h b u t n o w t h e r e ' s n o c r a c k , f o r e u r \ m a n - j a c k

H a s h i s a r s e in t h e a i r p l a y i n g P o o f . '

l o t h e r u r a l a l e h o u s e , a f t e r m i l k i n g h i s c o w s f ve ry c u s t o m e r m a d e h i s way \ n d i t ' s t h e r e h e w o u l d d w e l l ' a n d d r i n k t i l l h e f e l l

W h i l e t h e f i d d l e s a n d p i p e s i h e y d i d p l a \ W h i l e t h e j i g s a n d t h e r e e l s a n d t h e r a t t l i n g of hee l -\ n d t h e p o l k a s a n d s l i d e s w e r e t h e r u l e -Mi b u t n o w t h e r e ' s n o c h a n c e of a t u r i e o r a d a n c e

I o r e v e r y o n e ' s p l a y i n g a t ( V o l .

a g ^ m e t h a t ' s d e s i g n e d V w t h i s P o o l , y o u iyi11 f i n d . I o r a f o o l i s h i l l i t e r a t e lout \ o u p u t in f o u r b o b ; t h e n y o u p r e s s a n o u l d k n o b \ n d a b ig s h o w e r of b a l l s the \ c o m e o u t : I h e y ' r e p l a c e d o n t h e t a b l e arid r h e r t , if v o u ' r e a b l e 1 o s t i c k t h e m a l l i n t o a h o l t .

M o r e m o n e y g o e s in - t h e n v o u s t a r t o f f a g a i n l i l l y o u ' v e s p e n t eve ry b o b of y o u r d o l e .

In t h e I r i sh f r e e s t a t e , a l l t h e p e o p l e a r e b a t e f r o m w a t c h i n g a n d p l a y i n g t h i s g a m e l l i e i r n e c k s t h e y h a v e c r i c k s t h a t n o d o c t o r c a n f i x \ n d t h e i r s h o u l d e r s a n d b a c k s t h e y a r e m a i m e d . I h e i r a r s e s p r o t r u d e in a m a n n e r m o s t l e w d , I r o m b e i n g h o i s t e d a l o f t in t h e a i r And t h e i r e y e b a l l s a r e s o r e a n d d r i p p i n g w i t h g o r e And thev a c t in a m a n n e r m o s t q u a r t .

S o , if y o u m e e t a y o u n g m a n a n d h i s f a c e it is w a n A n d h i s e y e s h a v e a v a c a n t s t a r e . If h i s j a w - b o n e is s l a c k a n d his h e a d i s t h r o w n b a c k A n d he c a n ! te l l a c o b f r o m a m e r e . H i s n o s t r i l s d i l a t e d , h i s h a n d s c o r r u g a t e d . H i s m a n n e r s l i k e t h o s e o f a f o o l -T h e n y o u r shirt y o u c a n bet , t h a t v o u h a v e jus t m e t A m a n w h o ' s b e e n p l a y i n g at P o o l .

- C O N O ' D R I S C O L L

June 1985 THE IRISH DEMOCRAT Page Seven

THE COAL STRIKE "Scargilland the Miners", Michael

Crick, Penguin £2.95. 2nd edition. 17 2pp

THE FIRST edition of this book was published after the miners had been on strike for nine months. This, the second edition, was published in the week the miners returned, defiantly, to work. It's not about the year long struggle of communities to protect their jobs and futures. It's not about how the labour movement responded to the difficult times during the dispute. Nor is the role of the police and media examined. Indeed, the strike only begins on page 99.

Rather the book is about how the NUM shifted from beine a union that had never had a national strike since 1926 to one which struck in 1972, 1974 and 1984-8j . As such the book is full of details of caucus meetings, intrigue and maneouvre. Change in any organisation may involve such tactics but Crick creates the impression that these were the primary reasons for the shift in the union. There is some discussion on the miners' day release course to Leeds and Sheffield University, miners migration patterns and the establishment of the "Yorkshire Miner." These were clearly key reasons for the radicalisation of the largest coalfield—Yorkshire. B u t in t h e m s e l v e s s u c h o r g a n i s a t i o n a l c h a n g e s are insufficient to explain the shift in the union as a whole. Crick hardly

discusses the worsening economic climate from the late 1960s to the present dav. Pay was the reason for the 1972 and 1974 strike and jobs in 1984. Legitimate economic grievances surely had more to do with the changes in the N U M than did "conspiracies." WITHIN this perspec:;,c — changes made at the top—the book concentrates on leaders (especially Scargill) rather than the miners. Thus we learn a great deal about Scargill the person ( s h y , g e n e r o u s a n d h i g h l y intelligent) and of his relations with other leaders.

But we hear little from the miners' branches and lodges or from their communities. So, when the strike begins we get an "upside-down" view of that struggle. It was the miners' loyalty to tneir union, the womens support groups and the broad-based miners support campaigns that a l l owed the s tr ike to continue. We learn little of these aspec ts of the strike. Indeed, it was the miners—not Scargill, that took the difficult, but only possible decision, to return to work with their union intact.

Despite these failings the book provides a useful guide to the history and structures of the N U M and suggests potential problems facing the union in the wake of the strike. These are real problems but perhaps some good will come out of the strike. A new generation of leaders will be produced, the union may sponsor its first woman MP. (How about replacing Roy Mason and Don Concannon?) and the union may be more likely to take a progressive policy on Ireland in Labour party conferences.

TIM W ALSH

A F T E R the e x e c u t i o n of J a m e s C o n n o l l y in 1916 I r i sh M a r x i s m w e n t i n t o t e m p o r a r y ec l i p se . It w a s r ev ived b y C o n n o l l y ' s s o n , R o d e r i c k , w h o in 1921 s e c u r e d the l e a d e r s h i p of the s m a l l Soc ia l i s t P a r t y of I r e l a n d , a d e s c e n d a n t of C o n n o l l y ' s I r i sh S o c i a l i s t R e p u b l i c a n P a r t y , e x p e l l e d t h e m o d e r a t e l e a d e r s a n d t o o k it i n t o t h e T h i r d ( C o m m u n i s t ) I n t e r n a t i o n a l . T h e P a r t y w a s r e - n a m e d C o m m u n i s t P a r t y o f I r e l a n d .

I t o p p o s e d t h e " t r e a t y " o f D e c e m b e r 1921 a n d s o m e o f its m e m b e r s f o u g h t o n t h e R e p u b l i c a n s i d e in t h e civil w a r . T h e p a r t y d i d n o t f l o u r i s h , a n d the h o p e s of the " l e f t " f o r a t i m e r e s t ed o n J a m e s L a r k i n w h o r e t u r n e d f r o m the U S A in 1923.

H i s " I r i s h W o r k e r L e a g u e " f l o u r i s h e d n o b e t t e r . A t t e m p t s w e r e m a d e t o r e - l a u n c h t h e C P I , b u t w i t h o u t success . A r o u n d 1929 a f r e s h a t t e m p t w a s m a d e w i t h t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t of t h e R e v o l u t i o n a r y W o r k e r s ' G r o u p s , w h i c h u l t i m a t e l y c o a l e s c e d t o f o r m t h e s e c o n d C o m m u n i s t P a r t y o f I r e l a n d in 1933.

T h i s p a r t y n o t c h e d u p s o m e m o d e s t s u c c e s s e s in t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f t h e R e p u b l i c a n C o n g r e s s a n d a ve ry m a t e r i a l c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l B r i g a d e t h a t f o u g h t in S p a i n a g a i n s t F r a n c o a n d his G e r m a n a n d I t a l i a n b a c k e r s . It w a s p a r t l y

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WRITTEN BY AN ENEMY "Communism in Modern Ireland. The pursuit of the Workers' Republic since 1916". Mike Milotte. Gill and

MacMillan, Holmes and Meier Publishers. Inc. pp 326 np.

THE STORY OF WALES "When Was Wales?" by Gwyn

A. Williams. Pelican, £3.95. 132pp.

F O R ME the television set is more of an annoyance than an asset. The only programmes I actually switch on to watch are the repeats o f t w e n t y — o d d y e a r o l d "Avengers" and the Benny Hill Show. Readers will gather from this that I do not put any reliance on it as an informer or educator. However, I made an exception with the First episode of the Welsh history series"The Dragon Has Two Tongues" and stayed with it to the last episode.

Why? Well, first of all, although I have lived in Wales for sixteen years and have gleaned knowlege of various parts of Welsh history, I lacked a complete picture of how Wales developed through the a g e s . S e c o n d l y , a n d m o r e importantly, the programme was so aptly titled. Its presenters, Gwyn Alf Williams and Wynford Vaughan Thomas, were indeed two tongues of the "dragon." The voice of St George was entirely absent.

It is impossible to conceive of a British television series on Ireland or S c o t l a n d in which the "Unionist" point of view would not figure. Why was Wales treated so differently? The conclusion I have come to is that there does not ex i s t an " o f f i c i a l " Engl ish establishment version of the h i s t o r y o f W a l e s . W h i l e continuous attempts are made to wean the Irish and Scots away from their "nationalist" histories by presenting an alternative s cenar io to j u s t i f y Engl ish domination, the attitude towards Wales has been "to deny that the nation has a history,

SO THE versions presented by Gwyn Alf and Wynford were my first chance to come to grips with the story of Wales. Ido not think I

should be far out in suggesting that the same was true of thousands of Welsh people too. Having two presenters was a particularly good idea because it prevented any episode from becoming boring. Having two such worthy sparing partners turned the series into a delight. Basically, being two very sound and knowledgable Welshmen, they agreed on most things. For the sake of the concept they had to e x a g g e r a t e their d i f f e r e n c e s . Sparring partners, not adversa-ries.

The title of Glyn's book, "When Was Wales?", really sums up the main point of divergence between the two nrrators. Briefly, Wynford sought to trace a continuous thread from the days of the semi-mythical "Arthur" to the present day. Gwyn sees it as a series of political "explosions.' To precis the book into a short review is impossible. l e a n only give a few of my views on it.

In the programme, Gwyn e m p h a s i s e d the " M a r x i s t " angle—that history is made by the many, not the well-publicised few. The presentation in the book of the period from the eleventh to the sixteenth centuries certainly did not convey that message to me. The direction of the fortunes of Wales seemed to be determined by which of the currently wealtny families intermarried and with whom they formed alliances. Although it could be argued that in the social structure of those times the fate of the wealthy depended on the loyalty or otherwise of their subordinates. T H E WEST coast of Wales is now considered "remote." This is the E n g l i s h c o n c e p t , w h e r e remoteness is defined as distance from London.

For many centuries, until the c o m i n g o f t h e i n d u s t r i a l revolution, the coast of Wales was

the hub of the maritime trade and St Davids the natural capital of the country. It was the advent of English merchant capital that turned the trade routes to the east and made Chester, Shrewsbury and Hereford such important places for the Welsh economy.

From the sixteenth century onwards, London became the magnet for Welsh entrepreneurs and it would seem that the L o n d o n — W e l s h p l a y e d an important role in not only the Welsh economy but in the whole social and political life of Wales. It surprised me to learn that when the eisteddfodau, such a "Welsh" part of Wales's tradition, were established in their present form at the end of the eighteenth century, it was at the instigation of the London—Welsh and the first was held on Primrose Hill. THE BOOK brings the story right up to date. It ends on a depressing note. The events surround the devolution and EEC referenda and the apparently striking successes of the Conservatives in the 1983 general election seem to have taken their toll of the author's optimism. What hope is there for a nation when its Marxist historians despair?

Come on Gwyn! Get cracking on your next book "Pryd fe fydd Cymru Eto?"(When will be Wales

•again"). If you don't do it, who else will?

In conclusion, I must say that "When Was Wales?" has served me in the same way as did Tommy Jackson's "Ireland Her Own." It has given me a firm foundation on which to build the knowledge that breeds confidence in championing the cause of national indepen-dence. Wales and Ireland have much in common. A few pounds and a few hours of your time spent on this book will bring more than ample reward.

BRIAN WILKINSON

t h a n k s t o l o s s of c a d r e s in t h e S p a n i s h w a r t h a t t h e p a r t y f o u n d i tse l f c o n s i d e r a b l y w e a k e n e d , a n d u n d e r t h e c o n d i t i o n s of t h e s e c o n d w o r l d w a r c o n f i n e d to Be l f a s t .

T h e I r i s h W o r k e r s ' L e a g u e w a s f o u n d e d in 1948 in D u b l i n . T h i s b e c a m e t h e I r i sh W o r k e r s ' P a r t y a n d u l t i m a t e l y th i s f u s e d w i t h t h e N o r t h e r n e r s t o r e c o n s t i t u t e t h e C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of I r e l a n d .

C O M M U N I S M h a s t h e r e f o r e c o n t r i b u t e d a s m a l l b u t d i s t i n c t s t r a n d t o t h e w e b o f I r i sh h i s t o r y , a n d h a s p r o d u c e d n o t a b l e f i g u r e s s u c h a s R o d e r i c k C o n n o l l y , P a t r i c k G a f f n e y , S e a n M u r r a y , P e a d a r O ' D o n n e l l a n d E l i z a b e t h S i n c l a i r .

T o f i n d o u t w h a t t he se p e o p l e d i d , w h a t f u n c t i o n t h e i r m o v e m e n t p e r f o r m e d , a n d its r e l a t i o n t o I r i s h R e p u b l i c a n i s m as a w h o l e , e v e n if t h e w r i t e r t h o u g h t t h e w h o l e t h i n g m i s t a k e n a n d d e p l o r a b l e , w o u l d b e a s e r v i c e t o t h e p u b l i c .

M r M i l o t t e a c c u m u l a t e s m u c h i n f o r m a t i o n f o r w h i c h t h e r e a d e r is g r a t e f u l , bu t u n f o r t u n a t e l y f e e l s h i m s e l f c o m p e l l e d n o t o n l y t o s a y w h a t w a s d o n e bu t t o i m p l y a t e v e r y p o i n t w h a t o u g h t t o h a v e b e e n d o n e , h a d t h e I r i sh c o m m u n i s t s o n l y h a d t h e a d v a n t a g e s o f M r M i l o t t e ' s T r o t s k y i s t i n s igh t .

T h i s i n s igh t is e s s e n t i a l l y a n t i -n a t i o n a l . M r M i l o t t e i n v e i g h s a g a i n s t w h a t he ca l l s the " s t a g e s t h e o r y , " w h i c h d i s t i n g u i s h e s t h e s t r u g g l e f o r n a t i o n a l i n d e p e n d e n c e f r o m t h e s t r u g g l e f o r s o c i a l i s m , a n d i m p l i e s t h a t t h e f o r m e r t a k e s t e m p o r a l p r e c e d e n c e .

H E A S K S t h e q u e s t i o n " W a s t h e r e a n a t i o n a l s o l u t i o n to t h e n a t i o n a l q u e s t i o n , o r c o u l d it on ly be r e s o l v e d w i t h i n a n i n t e r n a t i o n a l r e v o l u t i o n a r y

process ' . ' " It w o u l d bo nice t o k n o w w h a t his a n s w e r w o u l d be . W h a t d o e s he m e a n b y an " i n t e r n a t i o n a l r e v o l u t i o n a r y p r o c e s s ? "

It is u n f o r t u n a t e the M r M i l o t t e j u d g e s h i s s u b j e c t m a l t e r in the l ight o f c o n c e p t s a s v a n u e as this .

T h o u g h , his p r e j u d i c e s a p a r t , t h e b r o a d o u t l i n e s ol the h i s tory c a n b e t a k e n f r o m th i s b o o k , t h e r e a r e v e r y m a n y e r r o r s of de t a i l . T h e I r i s h Ci t i zen A r m y w a s not " t h e f i rs t e v e r p r o l e t a r i a n ' R e d A r m y ' " L a r k i n d i d not l eave f o r t h e U S A " i m m e d i a t e l y " it was e s t a b l i s h e d , bu t near ly a y e a r la ter .

I h e b o o k a b o u n d s in e r r o r s o f de ta i l — f o r e x a m p l e the T o m Bell w h o w e n t t o I r e l a n d in 1930 is i d e n t i f i e d w i t h C o n n o l l y ' s o ' d a s s o c i a t e . T h e r e is n o c o n n e c t i o n . A n d M r A n t h o n y C ' o u g h l a n w h o w a s neve r a m e m b e r of e i t h e r t h e C o m m u n i s t s o r the I R A is no t l ikc lv to a p p r e c i a t e t h e i m p l i c a t i o n o n p a g e 265 t h a t w i t h Roy J o h n s t o n he w a s a " n e w c o m e r t o the R e p u b l i c a n r a n k s "

T h e s u b j e c t d e s e r v e s a d i s p a s s i o n -a t e s t u d y , b u t M r M i l o t t e is t o o o b s e s s e d by h i s o w n b r a n d of p o l i t i c s t o d o j u s t i c e t o t h o s e of o t h e r p e o p l e A p i ty . H e m i g h t hav e m a d e a j o b o t it

F e i e r e a n a c h

m^- y mm,, •• . .. . _ , . ~ • — - i

I F o u R P R o v i n c e s B o o k s h o p

ADDITIONAL TITLES

Page Eight THE IRISH DEMOCRAT June 1985

Peter Mulligan's peepshow A modest proposal

I R I S H O i l T h e I r i sh G o v e r n m e n t h a s a n n o u n c e d t h a t it will east ' f i n a n c i a l c o n t r o l s o n f o r e i g n oii c o m p a n i e s w h o wish t o dr i l l in d e s i g n a t e d a r e a s o n t h e wes t c o a s t oi I r e l a n d . P r e v i o u s c o n t r a c t s h a d s t i p u l a t e d t h a t 50 p e r c e n t ol c o m m e r c i a l p r o d u c t i o n s h o u l d g o t o the s t a t e r e s e r v e s . T h i s is s t a n d a r d p r o c e d u r e in B r i t a i n .

F o l l o w i n g t h e d i s c o v e r y of a l a rge oil f i nd o f f t h e c o a s t of C o r k it is now e s t i m a t e d t h a t t h e r e a r e l a r g e deposi t 1 -a l o n g t h e w e s t c o a s t . It is u n f o r t u n a t e t h a t t h e G o v e r n m e n t a r e n o t p r e p a r e d t o set u p a s t a t e c o m p a n y t o l o c a t e a n d m a r k e t t h e s e n a t i o n a l a s s e t s . F o r e i g n c o m p a n i e s will n o w p r o c e e d t o dr i l l a n d will t h e n e x p o r t the c r u d e oi l a n d r e - i m p o r t it b a c k i n t o I r e l a n d a t a cos t . W h a t a w a s t e !

" T H E W O R L D " Bank has cut o f f two million d o l l a r s worth of l oans to N icaragua b e c a u s e it has fal len behind by 90 d a y s in repaying s o m e of its d e b t " . - T H E T I M E S '

P E R F I D I O U S A I B I O N — I r e l a n d s ' t r a d e d e f i c i t h a s w i d e n e d f r o m 1 R E £ 4 0 0 m i l l i o n ( £ 3 2 8 m ) in 1978 t o o n e b i l l i o n I r i s h p o u n d s last y e a r . In t h e s a m e p e r i o d I r e l a n d s ' f o o d p r o d u c t s t r a d e s u r p l u s w i t h B r i t a i n fell f r o m I R E £ 4 2 4 m i l l i o n t o I R E £ 3 3 3 m i l l i o n . C o n t r a r y t o E E C r e g u l a t i o n s the B r i t i s h M i l k M a r k e t i n g B o a r d h a s b e e n o p e r a t i n g a d u a l p r i c i n g s y s t e m which h a s r e d u c e d t h e sa l e o f K e r r y g o l d t o B r i t a i n f r o m 47.(X)0 t o n n e s in 1978 d o w n t o a c u r r e n t 2 1 , 0 0 0 t o n n e s . T h e E E C h a s i n s t r u c t e d t h e Br i t i sh G o v e r n m e n t t o s t o p t h e d u a l p r i c i n g a n d t h e Ir ish G o v e r n m e n t a r e c l a i m i n g a m e r e .110 mi l l ion in d a m a g e s . A p r e v i o u s a g r e e m e n t w i t h t h e B r i t i s h G o v e r n m e n t t o s u p p l y I r i sh gas t o N o r t h e r n I r e l a n d w a s c a n c e l l e d by Br i ta in w i t h t h e loss of 1.200 g a s w o r k e r s ' j o b s in N o r t h e r n I r e l a n d .

B A N N E D W O R D S — The Nat ional Coal Board h a s announced that the word 'scab' is banned on their premises . Anybody heard using it is l iable to be s a c k e d " . - ' D a i l y Teleeraph'

S I N N I T I N V O T E S — 5 9 S inn Fe in c o u n c i l l o r s w e r e r e t u r n e d in t h e d is t r ic t c o u n c i l e l e c t i o n s r e c e n t l y h e l d in N o r t h e r n I r e l a n d . C o m b i n e d w i t h the fac t t h a t G e r r y A d a m s is a W e s t m i n s t e r M P f o r W e s t Be l f a s t t h e S inn F e i n p a r t y can n o w c l a i m t o r e p r e s e n t a c o n s i d e r a b l e p r o p o r t i o n of o p i n i o n in N o r t h e r n I r e l a n d . F o r t h e f i rs t t i m e S inn F e i n will h a v e c o u n c i l l o r s o n 17 c o u n c i l s , m o s t o f w h i c h w i l l b e d o m i n a t e d b y c o u n c i l l o r s l o y a l t o H e r M a j e s t y t b Q u e e n T h e b a l l o t b o x p r o g r e s s o f S i n n F e i n h a s u n i t e d B r i t i s h C o n s e r v a t i v e m i n i s t e r s a n d b o t h f a c t i o n s o f t h e U n i o n i s t P a r t y . Br i t i sh M i n i s t e r s b a s e d at t h e o l d U n i o n i s t s t r o n g h o l d o f S t o r m o n t C a s t l e h a v e s t a t e d t o t h e Br i t i sh p r e s s t h a t t h e y wil l n o t s ee a n y S inn F e i n c o u n c i l l o r s o r d e p u t a t i o n s . T h e Rev I a n Pa is ley h a s i s sued a s t a t e m e n t o n b e h a l f of t h e D e m o c r a t i c U n i o n i s t P a r t y a n d the Of f i c i a l U n i o n i s t P a r t y t h a t U n i o n i s t councillors will be making the lives of Sinn Fein councillors as unbearable as p o s s i b l e . W h e r e U n i o n i s t s a r e in t h e

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'' III A TCHER1SM isn 7 working' the chap with the beard said, relinquishing the wine bottle.

"No0" queried the other-the one in the torn windcheater-as he surveyed what remained in the bottle a mite gloomily.

"See for yourself," the bearded one told him, "Inflation's up again, unemployment is growing all the while, more imports than exports-all the signs are there, Thatcherism has failed."

"1 believe they're going to cut the dole, too" the man in the windcheater observed, wiping his lips and handing the bottle back to the bearded one. ' 'And this new rule _ that says you can't stay more than a

few weeks at one address, that you must move on to another town in search of work."

"That needn't worry you," the bearded one replied a little unkindily, "that applies to the young 'uns, not to old geezers like yourself."

"I'm not that old," the windcheater chap retorted. '' There's a fair bit of work left in me yet!" The bearded one forebore to comment on this but the look he bestowed on his companion might be fairly described as sceptical.

'Thatcherism has failed and it's time they scrapped it-got back to the concept of th Welfare Stale again. Here, have a slug!" The windcheater chap took the bottle and had his slug; it seemed to stimulate the thinking process. ' 'I always had a sneaking regard for Thatcher," he confessed. "She seems so sure of herself."

"A dubious virtue," said the bearded one.

"Her ideas, too, they seemed to me to have a certain validity."

"Would you care to elucidate?"

the man with the beard asked and his friend was nothing loth.

"Well she always said that you had to run a country like you ran a house-that you mustn't spend more money than you got in."

"Would that one could," the bearded chap said wistfully. "She said that a business must be profitable if it was to continue to exist and that as a corollary cf thai if the business ceased to exist unemployment must follow. Ergo the workforce must take less from the kitty in wages and thus, by working for less increased productivity and exports, and incidentally create more jobs... It seemed to me always that there was a certain beauty in that proposi-tion, that it had all the cogency of a mathematical equation!" The bearded one considered this grandiloquent statement for a moment and then he took the bottle back.

"Continue," he urged and the windcheater chap continued.

"By accepting less wages and increasing exports and produc-tivity, national prosperity would be ensured, employment would be increased and the recession would go quietly away. It seemed reasonable enough."

"But," objected the bearded one, "a lot of them are accepting lower wages-take a look in the Job Centre next time you're in town!-and the unions are licking their wounds, so to speak, scarcely a squeak out of them; the miners are beaten and the Coal Board is putting the boot in; redundancies and closures are the order of the day. Meg's had six years now, near as dammit, and your light at the end of the tunnel is as far off asever-an illusion, in fact! I repeat, chap: Thatcherism isn't working at all."

' 7 wonder," mused the other one, "if it could not be made to work."

"By what means, pray?" "1 haven't worked that out yet,

but I'm coming to it. First of all Td like to state the difficulties as I see them.'

' 'Proceed," said the bearded one. "The difficulty in this day and

age is that the cost of productivity is

such that it is hardly worth the manufacturers time carrying on with his business." "Indeed?" questioned the bearded chap a mite

frostily. Take newspapersfor example,

said the other. "Most of them are having a tough time but they could manage a lot better if they didn't have to employ so many workers-if, in short, they could automate much more than they have already managed to do. It is industry-if computerisation and automation could be given free reign then business might be able to thrive as it once did and the recession would be over."

"Pardon me if I'm wrong," the bearded man said with unnecessary suavity, "but would not the result of all this computerisation and automation-indeed is not the result of said computerisation and automation-be further, indeed, wholesale, unemployment?"

"Unavoidably," conceded the man in the torn windcheater with a longing look at the bottle.

"Mass unemploymen t?'' "Ifear so." "So what would the point be?

You're left then with a multitude oj people who are without work, without the wages that work brings in and without the satisfaction that the human psyche finds in work."

"Inescapably." "Is that a desirable situation

then?" the bearded man wanted to know before rather grudgingly handing over the bottle again.

"No, I wouldn't say that it was," the second man agreed. He coughed a little apologetically and went on:

"I have a solution, in fact, but you may not like it."

'' Try me,'' the bearded man said, retrieving the bottle.

"Well it's this," the other chap said a touch sheepishly. "You will agree that even with the improved productivity it would be a considerable strain on the resources

of the State to keep all those people on the dole.'

"I would appear so,' the bearded one said, looking sadly at the now-empty bottle.

"I'm going to speak about patriotism here for a moment," his companion said, again apologeti-cally.

"Patriotism?" "Of the highest sort! Not the sort

of patriotism that calls on a man to kill someone else for love of his country-for the common good-but the sort that calls for the supreme sacrifice."

"Tm not with you," the bearded man said bluntly.

"What I would ask," said the bearded chap, "is that a lot of these men and women who are, so to speak, surplus to requirements-those who have been automated or computerised out of a job- should do the decent thing." The decent thing? the bearded man said in puzzlement.

Td call it that! Voluntary liquidation is what Td like to call it-a humane and dignified programme of voluntary suicide that would get rid of all the unemployed. They would be asked to come forward, with all honour and dignity, of course, and to embrace death in a painless yet heroic manner. Their contribution to the good of the economy would be recognised by a grateful country and government, their names would be inscribed on a roll of honour and medals or other suitable mementoes would be given to their relatives." He paused for a moment and looked off into some hazy future where concern for the common good would prevail over the more selfish instinct for survival.

"I'm not saying it would be easy, you'd need a programme of re-education, but I think it could be made to work. What do you say?" The bearded man sighed and looked at the VP bottle lying on the gravel at his feet now.

"I wish to God we ftad another bottle," he said . , .

m a j o r i t y t h e y ( S i n n F e i n ) will n o t g e t o n t o c o m m i t t e e s o r b o a r d s , A c c o r d i n g t o the S u n d a y T i m e s o n e p o l i c e o f f i c e r h a s s t a t e d : " I t h i n k w e m a y well h a v e t o h a v e a p e r m a n e n t p o l i c e p r e s e n c e a t s o m e c o u n c i l m e e t i n g s . "

R E P U B L I C A N counci l lors have compla ined that many voters were turned away because they did not have the required ident i f icat ion to vote . S p e c i a l legis lat ion in Northern Ireland r e q u i r e s v o t e r s t o p r o d u c e ident i f icat ion as detai led in the l eg i s la t ion . This can be a Br i t i sh P a s s p o r t , a British issued driving l i c ence , Medica l card, ch i ldrens a l l o w a n c e book, . Ir i sh passport or m a r r i a g e cert i f icate .

M a n y voters turned up with bus p a s s e s , U B 40s ' , Birth c e r t i f i c a t e s , bank books , P S V and H G V l i cences . All w e r e turned away .

P R E V E N T I N G o r c r e a t i n g t error i sm? — a total o f 241 p e o p l e w e r e d e t a i n e d in N o r t h e r n I r e l a n d p r i s o n s u n d e r the P r e v e n t i o n o f T e r r o r i s m A c t 1984. T h e f i g u r e s c o v e r i n g the first three m o n t h s o f th i s year d i s c l o s e that 5 4 o f t h o s e d e t a i n e d w e r e later c h a r g e d wi th a var ie ty o f c r i m i n a l o f f e n c e s . E x t e n s i o n s o f t h e d e t e n t i o n orders f r o m t w o t o s e v e n d a y s w e r e a u t h o r i s e d by M r D . H u r d in 159 cases , c o m p a r e d with 5 3 3 in t h e w h o l e o f last year.

WHY NOT JOIN THE FIRSTERS? T H E C O N N O L L Y A s s o c i a t i o n is the o r g a n i z a t i o n t h a t s c o r e s firsts.

H o w ' s t h a t ? Wel l , he r e are a f e w o f t h e m : t h e

f i rs t Irish o r g a n i z a t i o n t o set o u t de l ibe ra te ly t o w i n the L a b o u r m o v e m e n t t o t h e c a u s e o f Irish i n d e p e n d e n c e ; t h e o n l y o r g a n i z a t i o n ever to call a s p e c i a l c o n f e r e n c e t o d i scuss h o w t o p e r s u a d e the great wave of I r i sh i m m i g r a n t s to jo in their a p p r o p r i a t e t r a d e u n i o n s ; the o n l y I r ish o r g a n i z a t i o n t o publ i sh a pol i t ica l n e w s p a p e r f o r over 45 years , t h a t is t o say t h e I r i sh D e m o c r a t .

A c h ! But t h a t ' s o u l d stuff! W h a t are you do ing n o w ?

T h e C o n n o l l y A s s o c i a t i o n is the f i rs t a n d on ly o r g a n i z a t i o n to d e v o t e a w h o l e s e a s o n o f l ec tures t o t h e

q u e s t i o n o f Irish w o m e n . It is a l so the first and o n l y

organ iza t ion t o cal l a c o n f e r e n c e o n the po l lu t ion a n d mi l i tar isat ion o f the Irish Sea. T h i s takes p l ace in L iverpoo l o n J u n e 15th.

S O with that e s tab l i shed we g o b a c k t o past records . T h e C o n n o l l y A s s o c i a t i o n w a s the first o r g a n i z a t i o n t o p in-po int civil r ights as a ra l ly ing cal l for so l idar i ty with the o p p r e s s e d nat iona l i s t s o f the six count ies . It w a s t h e first to warn o f the poss ib i l i ty o f Brit ish imper ia l i sm trying to d o a d e a l w i t h Fine Gae l to end Irish neutra l i ty . T h i s was a w a y b a c k in 1948 w h e n the p l o t was first ha tched .

A n d to the present day it r e m a i n s t h e first and o n l y Irish o r g a n i z a t i o n t o p r o v i d e sys temat ic e d u c a t i o n o f the

JOIN ME UP INTHECA Name

Address

Irish a n d their c h i l d r e n o n t h e facts o f Ir ish history.

T h e C o n n o l l y A s s o c i a t i o n h a s run a n Irish b o o k s h o p s i n c e 1966 . It w a s n o t the first Irish b o o k s h o p in L o n d o n . T h e first w e r e m e m b e r w a s r u n b y Mr F o w l e r a t T o t t e n h a m C o u r t R o a d . H e w e n t b a c k t o D u b l i n d u r i n g the w a r a n d s t a r t e d the S h a n a c h i e b o o k s h o p o n t h e quays . T h e n there w a s the Ir ish B o o k C e n t r e a t Vic tor ia . But the Ir ish D e m o c r a t B o k Centre las ted f a r l o n g e r than e i t h e r o f these a n d h a s n e a r l y t w e n t y y e a r s o f c o n t i n u o u s s e r v i c e t o the Irish c o m m u n i t y .

NOW this has been achieved w i t h o u t any f i n a n c i a l he lp whatsoever, except from members, friends and supporters. It has been achieved by ordinary people, who have given their time and effort, but also enjoyed themselves in the process, with social gatherings, outings, festivals and the like.

Perhaps you'd like to become a member of an organization with this unique record, we're trying just now to give our membership a boost so that we can appoint a new full time organiser and make things hum. So this is the time, and here's the opportunity. Write in your nameaad address, cut out the coupon and send it with £$(£}* half year) to244ways Inn^Road, London, WC1.