A few years ago on TV Seamus Mallon recalled asking Tony Blair why he was talking to Republicans and how he was scandalised, shocked and traumatised when Blair explained that Republicans had guns. A lesson, if ever there was one, of Realpolitik for Slow Learners. Perhaps Mallon thought then and still believes that James ll fled […]
March, 2016
John Bruton and “the gun”
I’ve never thought of John Bruton as a dangerous truth-teller, but this morning I do. Well, a partial truth-teller. By now you’ve probably guessed what he’s telling truths or half-truths about: the Easter Rising. He says several things about the Easter Rising, notably that Ireland could have achieved independence without violence: “The same principle of […]
WOULD I REALLY BE SAFE TO COME OUT IN TODAY’S PLURALIST IRELAND? by Donal Kennedy
After many years examination of my feelings and beliefs I’ve finally decided to come out as an admirer of Eamon De Valera. So list to my tale ye Gobshites, and despair!. From 1941 to 1964 when I lived in Ireland, Dev seemed as permanent as the Mountains of Mourne. My father used give Fianna Fail his priority votes (under PR), not with any […]
The Easter Proclamation: the dream remains a dream
So – did you enjoy the day? It was a big thing in Belfast but an even bigger thing in Dublin, judging by the RTÉ coverage. Virtually every member of the state’s armed forces was involved in parading O’Connell Street or flying overhead or trundling past in tanks. The crowds watching on a chilly day […]
SOME RAG-TAG ARMY! by Donal Kennedy
From: Donal Kennedy To: letters <letters@sunday-times.co.uk> Sent: Sun, 27 Mar 2016 13:20 Subject: Some Rag-Tag Army! I’m surprised that a such a fine historian as Piers Brandon could describe the 1916 Insurgents as a ” rag tag army.” In 1966 you profiled one veteran, Maurice Collins,whom I knew as child in the 1940s.Recently I’ve read on-line […]
‘Seeing Beyond 1916’ By Randall Stephen Hall
Song attachment “The Green and Blue” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-P7AljltBw I grew up in North Belfast during the Troubles. I was about 11 when the Troubles broke out in 1969. From then until now I’ve learned and seen many things living in Northern Ireland and reaching the age of 58. The divided nature of our […]
“History’s a whore”.
“History’s a whore. She rides the winners”. – Stewart Parker If you want evidence for Parker’s assertion, take a look at some of the newspaper coverage of the Easter Rising. The gush-fests of today we can take as read. The Belfast News-Letter 4 May 1916: “No terms of denunciation that pen could indict would […]
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: UNIONIST LEADERS 1910-1914 by Donal Kennedy
During the conscription crisis of 1918 a pamphlet “A GRAMMAR OF ANARCHY” was published in Dublin. It took its title from a comment by UK Prime Minister Herbert Asquith of October 5th 1912 on the recent Unionist rally in the grounds of Blenheim Palace and was published when Lloyd George was leading a coalition government […]
Sean O’Casey: counter-revolutionary
As I write this I’m listening to Diarmuid Ferriter on Raidio Uladh/Radio Ulster, talking about Sean O’Casey’s The Plough and the Stars. It stirs memories in me. I first discovered Sean O’Casey in 1964 – two years before the fiftieth anniversary of the Easter Rising. I was studying in UCD for my Master’s in English, […]
David Ford and remembering the Easter Rising
Centenary commemorations aren’t compulsory – you don’t have to go to them except you want to. That is, if you’re a private citizen (or subject). If you’re a politician, it begins to get a bit more complicated. Then you have to think: where do my loyalties lie? Am I the representative of all of the […]