By Donal Lavery
Talking to taxi drivers is often a revealing experience – it permits one to
comprehend the issues “on the ground” for ordinary people. Of course there are
those who identify as Irish nationalists but who do not place the same
significance on Irish as others – after all, English is more economic in the
Anglo-sphere labour market whether we and I like or not.
However, we have a situation in the North where there is no Executive
government and we live under the unelected bureaucracy dominating the Civil Service
– who are not representative of the general population. This did not happen by
chance; our “government” fell apart due to a corruption scandal that arose from
a whistleblower in the DUP itself. No self-respecting politicians could
continue in such a predicament and expect the full confidence of the population
in the government they elect to serve them and their interests. Ministers, by
statute, must present before the nation for every item on their agenda.
And as it stands, we know that a “deal” was on the table with Sinn Fein and the
Democratic Unionist Party, but was blocked by right wing elements based in
Westminster challenging Mrs Foster over the conditions which would restore
“power-sharing”. That’s a matter for them in the DUP to sort out, and I hope
Mrs Foster has the courage of her convictions to face down those elements which
in their tyranny have already destroyed their party founder, Ian Paisley and
Theresa May. Their paltry position at Westminster is expiring and they know it.
An election is approaching; where a new British government will have such a
majority that it will “support” the Unionists with “Shakespearen
tragedy.”
While I appreciate that Mrs Foster, who is a candid and intelligent lady, is capable
(in my assessment) of reining in the right-wing, the issue of the Irish
language still stands. It is NOT going away by any measure and she knows it.
And while I genuinely welcome gestures by Mrs Foster and her party in attending
GAA events and reaching out a hand of friendship to nationalist groups and Catholic
schools at times, we need to get back to the reality of the fact that a
substantial section of our population demand their democratic linguistic rights
enshrined in law – an ever-growing group that has the euphoric vision of a genuine
Irish nation (that is “green, white and orange” in all that it does and says).
All we ask in our modesty, is for the same cultural rights as those who inhabit
a neighbouring island; with nothing to fear.
Now, the beauty of law in this respect is that it defines and protects rights,
standards and ethics of human conduct and behaviour. Without it, we would have
no civilisation and would still be confined to the swamp of ignorance. But we,
who identify as the indigenous people of this island, have a special
responsibility to preserve what is rightfully ours – our Celtic traditions, our
music, our sports, our dancing, our style, our food, our history, our outlook
and our native tongue. As I write this, it strikes me that I scribble in the
tongue of the coloniser; we wear British clothing, watch British television;
follow British sports; enact British economic policies. But ultimately, we
cannot forget who “we” are and where we come from.
As the bonfires and Orange parades pursue their annual occasions, we too must
exercise the full strength, clout and influence of our heritage here and abroad
– one which is admired the world over. As Mr DeValera opined, a nation that has
never accepted defeat and upon any blow took up the fight again. We, the Irish,
in the same vein as the Japanese, have adapted our culture of openness and
tolerance and respect to the world around us. People pay to see our dancers,
they visit to view our natural beauty, they yearn across the world for the
simple belonging and heritage to a small nation which has contributed so much
to the world at large by virtue of literature, gracefulness, scholarship and
the hand of God.
We possess no vice in what is a battle waged by one community against another
here – with the burning and destruction of our symbols by those who once took
our land and helped divide it into bondage. In the same respect, we hold no
grudge against the people who inhabit this small section of our island with us.
We want them to, in Pearse’s words, “be a part of an Irish government which
respects them as opposed to being the floor of a British parliament which
largely ignores them.”
Our goal in this, as Irish citizens (not subjects to an alien state) is to make
Irish and everything we hold dear about our identity, an integral component
that will adapt to any forces of “Globalisation.” Any deal to restore
“power-sharing”, must protect and enhance the cultural and emotive attachment
we place on our language; which is the basis and soul of our distinction as a
people. Given the huge factors at play with Brexit, it is only a matter of time
until the British state ends its jurisdiction on this island once and for all.
The border is now firmly on the ballot box, North and South, with the European
Union edging towards support for reunification (as it did when the Berlin Wall
collapsed).
But the barrier to our development, remains the genuine respect of our identity
by our neighbours. We are a sovereign nation, mutilated by a foreign regime,
and we will remain so to the end of time. As my late grandmother once said,
“Ireland was Ireland when Britain was just a pup; and Ireland will be Ireland
when Britain is buggered up.”
Whatever you do with yourself in this life, remember who you are and where you
come from; for victory is now in sight and a genuine Irish nation will emerge
from the wreckage around us.
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