Gerry Adams must be a relieved man this week. The Ombudsman’s Office have declared that the PSNI investigation into the Sinn Féin president was conducted properly and that the decision not to charge him for withholding information about his paedophile brother was not politically motivated.
Perhaps an equally relevant question might have been: was the arrest of Gerry Adams and his interrogation over four days by the PSNI politically motivated? It happened in the mouth of an election, as they say, and was widely interpreted in the republican and nationalist community as an attempt to influence the thinking of voters and consequently the election. In short, many people believe it was an example of political policing – an attempt to persuade people against voting for Sinn Féin. As it happened, the action boomeranged and support for Sinn Féin emerged stronger than ever.
If you look back over the last thirty or forty years, you’ll see quite a few other attempts to curb the growth of that party. John Taylor used voting figures to remind unionists that if they met three Catholics, one of them would be an IRA supporter. Back in the 1980s, Cardinal Cahal Daly did all he could to dissuade people from voting for the Shinners. And so it went. There was a documentary on RTÉ last night featuring the life and times of Tony O’Reilly. The newspaper magnate did all he could to block the growth of the party, with a string of attacks in his Indo papers on John Hume for having the temerity to talk with Gerry Adams. More recently, we had a man popping up during Martin McGuinness’s bid for the Irish presidency to accuse him, in front of conveniently present TV cameras, of bearing responsible for his father’s death. Then we had the sisters of Robert McCartney, the sister of Mary Travers, the Mairia Cahill case. Whether intentionally or as a by-product of their search for justice, all of these are linked by the prospect of damaging Sinn Féin in general and its leaders in particular. Alas, their efforts at tossing a sabot into the Sinn Féin machinery were no more successful than the famous poster of Ian Paisley with his sledge-hammer and the dramatic call to “Smash Sinn Féin!”. Fast-forwarding to the present, there are columnists north and south who never let a week go by without expending much keyboard energy on displaying the dirty linen of the republican party.
So why haven’t Sinn Féin buckled underneath so much determined and sustained assault? Hard to say. The Irish Times TV ad tells us ‘You are what you read’. Maybe Irish people prefer to be themselves rather than a soiled copy of the paper of record.
That says more about the Roman Catholics that vote for the terrorist party Sinn Fein/IRA than those who have suffered at their hands and confront them about the evil deeds they committed. Thankfully, Protestants in the main don’t support the paramilitary party, PUP. Two or three Council seats is the most they have now.
Shame on the Roman Catholic community for voting for murderers.
And you would describe the Parachute regiment as, William?
He would describe the Parachute Regiment as an upstanding, outstanding keeper of the peace Jude, because………there are none so blind as those who will not see. Simply by this man’s tone it is clear that it’s all the fault of the ‘Catholic’ Community. Such a man will never be dissuaded from his present opinions and to try and do so would be pure folly.
As for you Jude, excellent article as usual, keep up the good work, go raibh maith agat.
Grma, Gerard
William, you certainly have a lot to learn about your community. Need I remind you the majority of your community supported British state sponsored terrorism?
Just because “Protestants in the main don’t support the paramilitary party, PUP” doesn’t mean they did not support terrorism or terrorists.
Many in your community wore a uniform by day and a balaclava by night.
We’ll take no lectures from you!
Most Protestants have supported Unionist parties of various stripes and shades, most or all of which condoned and incited violence, including murder, against Catholics, ever since the founding of the NI statelet. Craig promoted sectarianism and allowed murderous pogroms against Catholics. Basil Brook urged discrimination and sectarianism. O’Neill, the first PM who tried to exercise tolerance, was driven out by hardline Unionism. Paisley’s long history of incitement of sectarian murder of Catholics began with the Malvern Street Murders and continued thereafter for just as many years as the IRA campaign, till he, like the IRA, let himself be converted to peace.
Levels of state collusion in murder of Catholics indicates that sectarian murder was unionist government policy both in Stormont and in Westminster. State collusion by ROI was slight in comparison and ROI has generally come clean on the occasional lone gardai who colluded in IRA attacks and that Arms Trial, long ago, which dealt with Dublin’s half hearted attempt to help NI Catholics defend themselves against murderous attacks by Protestants, including RUC and B Specials.
We are still waiting for Westminster and Stormont to come clean on their crimes. The PUP is the one honest party on the unionist side, unique in that it actually admits to the wrongdoing of the past and now chooses a better way.
Most unionists, unfortunately, still deny what they condoned with their unionist votes – the murder of their fellow citizens. It really is time they gave up their sanctimonious insistence that they don’t and never have supported murder of innocents. The record proves otherwise.
Meanwhile, don’t point out the mote in your Catholic brother’s eye without noticing the beam in your own.
Shame on you William for such brittle conceited self-righteous drivel. Your wish for Republicans to commit to perpetual political acts of contrition is a fools one. There has been an agreement where all Parties to the conflict here signed up to a compromise. Unionists have reneged on this accord with every possible act of bad faith and sabotage. I am no spokesperson for SF, indeed People Before Profit got my first preference and SF second, but it is plain to anybody that Republicans have did all the heavy lifting.
You say the electoral strength or lack of, of the PUP displays Political Unionism as bereft of shadows? Ian Paisley drummed up massive Afrikaner resentment against Catholics, led a UDA march, refused to condemn State Murder and was very quiet while the Killing Squads where scooping up Catholics for the UDA ‘Romper Rooms’, and the hatred grew. Robinson bereted led the Third Force in Balymena hills, Ken Maginnis exulted in extra judicial Murder,-ringing the odd Pheasants neck when the Gamekeeper wasn’t looking, John Taylor UUP expressed how he and most of Unionism had “…a sneaking regard for loyalist paramilitaries…”. Yes Johns’ use of the word,-Sneaking, just about sums up the old Afrikaner aloofness of your ilk. I’ll say little more William as you drone like a stereotype, lacking all concept of compromise, and regard to an Agreement reached between all Parties to move forward out of Conflict into a shared and equal place. Time to wise up William. Irish Republican aspirations are nothing to be apologetic for, and you are dealing now with an enlightened adversary to your ilk. Look up Robert Emmet, Anne Devlin, William Orr, Jemmy Hope, Thomas Russell, James Connolly, Jim Larkin, Ronnie Bunting, Bernadette Mac Aliskey nee Devlin, Joe Mc Cann…..Come back to Earth and know that there is nothing sneaking in the resolve of Republicans and the ideals of a progressive people.
GRMA Jude for another illuminating piece.
Do these endeavors to discredit the Republican Movement run deeper than smear campaigns ? Is there something in the psyche of these ” West Brits ” in the 26 counties , a longing to be held to Mother England’s bosom that makes them want to emulate everything the English do? The editorial in ” The Irish Independent ” 4th May 1916 began ” No terms of denunciation that pen could indict would be too strong to apply to those responsible for the insane and criminal rising of last week ” ,it continues ad nauseam finishing with , ” Yet the “rising” was a mere matter of hours, a miserable fiasco leaving behind its trail of woe and horror. Let the moral not be lost upon us or upon our rulers. Let us, in God’s name be done with revolution or thought of revolution in Ireland, whatever be its guise or pretext.” From the vilification of Roger Casement , right through every attempt made to redress the injustices inflicted on Ireland and the myopic interpretation of the cause of the recent bloodshed , this clique of nodding donkeys have continually berated anything that might bring re-unification to our country ! Why ?
They’ve got a terminal case of cultural cringe?
The words and deeds that stem from the likes of Ruth Dudley Edwards or John Bruton MBE suggest that it goes far beyond cultural cringe. Think of the indefensible such as Bloody Sunday or the murder of Pat Finucane and you’ll find RDE and her ilk with bone china cups in their hands, pinkies akimbo, cheering on British fascism.
The commentators are telling us now that Sinn Fein’s links with Syriza will scare Irish voters away. They haven’t noticed now much those links boost Sinn Fein’s hard left credentials at a time when Ireland is in sore need of a hard left party.
Not only are there columnists who never let a week go by, Esteemed Blogmeister, but there is even a Broadcaster-to-be who never lets a day go by without doing ditto.
Welcome to Lambaste Island !
Which obviously takes its title from Lambay Island off the coast of DOBlin. In 1921 that tiny island was the landing site of the Gordon Bennett Gas Balloon Race. Despite the landing site being considered dodgy in the extreme, on, erm, account of the prevalence of rabbit warrens on that off-shore speck of land.
The winners then were a pair of pilots from Belgium whose race started in Brussels. Which airwaved race if it were to be revived today would have, indubitably, as an odds on favourite, the Broadcaster-to-be. For, as a gaseous windbag he is truly in the non-pareil category, a class act out on his very own..
Pat Rabbitte (for it is he !), the Free Southern Stateen’s favourite pet rabbit, has hardly been off the airwaves these past couple of days as he embarks on a near-year long Farewell Tour. Saying Slan ! to the Dail before taking up an equally profitable jobeen as a Chat-show Host on Radio Denis O’Brien.
This is in the great and grating neo-tradition of recent long farewells in the FSS, e.g., those endless, ego-shaped ones of (genuflect) Drico and Paulie.
Indeed, it was difficult to avoid PR (who is his own best PR) as the carrot-chomping bore hopped from studio to studio, with his one-microphone fits-all spiel. Two names were prominent in this spiel: G.Adams (see above) and Yanis the Unflappable. Both, curiously enough, in the context of Brussels and what all the sprouting there has been about, of late.
Call it the hardline, finger-wagging Bawl-Out policy with regard to the feckless Greeks which has been adopted in unison by the purchased politicians, the procured press and the bought broadcasters South of the Black Sow’s Dyke.
The theory that his gift for rabbitting the line orthodox in perpetuo has (a) landed the broadcasting gig to be for the broadbottomed broadsider and (b) as a result, we will have our short ears lengthened even more to PR proportions due to the increased airtime being granted to the,erm, self-styled Oracle of Delphi.
(That would be Delphi, County Mayo, dala an sceil).
The logic of this theory is questionabale. As (b) does not necessarily follow (a). For it if did it would mean that PR would be hogging even MORE microphone time in his natural habitat of Radio Re-Educate and that is scarcely credible.
Involving, as it would, stress testing Einstein’s theory of time, tameness and the expansion of same. For such an impossibility to happen, it would require PR to actually invite Yanis the Unflappable (see above) on to his putative show and (gulp) go toe to toe.
Imagine !
Perkie’s inner quantitative-easing physicist for one, cannot. Tough-guy TD Pat’s favourite weapon, the eponymous rabbit-punch works only, it would appear, in theory. And when the punch bag is his only opponent.
Instead, Warbeck Minor has to make do with the near-year long prologue to the First Chapter of Malice in Underland. And imagine instead what characters will appear in the opener, called (tentatively) Down the Rabbit Hole.
At this remove one can make out (just about) a Whiter than White Rabbit with pink eyes running past. Now whether it is the Duracell Bunny or indeed the Energizer Bunny is impossible to tell.
But, wait ! The rabbit has taken a (gasp!) watch out of his (gulp!) waistcoat pocket. And to tell the truth the only time this pocket watch tells is, not a word of a porky: 19.89. (Translated into drachmas, that would be, let one see, yes: 20.29).
Though, let us consider the year 1989. A pivotal year in the evolution, not only of the FSS’s favourite pet rabbit, but also in the fortunes of the Worker’s Party, as the Duracell Bunny’s groupthink grouping were known at this time. PR first got elected to Dail Eireann.
Strange to think that is but 26 years ago when it somehow seems to feel like 260 years. Could it, perchance, be something to do with the ageing effect of too much Welching Rarebit on the menu?
Somewhere in the next decade the Duracell Bunny of the Worker’s Party morphed into the Energizer Bunny of the Democratic Left. Before finally or even Fine-ally landing on their paws for an extended pause as the Labour Party. And not just the LP but the Labour Party-in-Coalition.
Some folk still have problems differenciating between the Duracell Bunny and the Energizer Bunny. This is quite understandable as both are still pink of hue and their musical instrument of choice, a drum.
The drum ? Oh, yes. And not any drum, but the Lambeg Drum. (see above). This is made more understandable when one considers the first inanimate object one encounters in Underland is (just about visible) a, yes, jar which is labelled ‘ORANGE MARMALADE’.
It is clear from his carrot-scented utterances in the past that this particular preservative is a favourite food of PR and that he has obviously consumed quantities which could be construed as ‘vast’.
On the occasion in 2013 of the resignation of that eminently boo-able figure of ridicule, The Bishop of Rome, the Energizer Bunny was heard to harrumph, in his capacity as Communications Minister at the sending by RTE of a dozen (12) reporters to cover the resignation:
-I think that we would have managed to get a marvelous insight into why His Holiness decided to hang up his red shoes if we had done so with a somewhat less respresentation by RTE in the Vatican’.
One is not looking forward, on the sad, sad occasion when Queen Elizabeth the Seconded decideds to retire, to His Rabbit Holiness commenting with his delicately chosen words of discretion as to why ‘Old Mrs. Blue Rinse chose to hang up her crown’.
Yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that, the pink attired Engergizer Bunny iterated, re-iterated and re-re-iterated that not only is he in the pink of condition but that he is not, repeat, NOT a Trot. Never was.
Maybe not, but that does not necessarily mean he is not the cause of trots in others.
Anois, ca bhfuil an leithreas?/ Where is the Little Boy’s Room ?
FAG an BEALACH !
Perkie – you have left me unable to think of the dividing line between us as, not the border, but the Black Sow’s Dyke.How wonderfully earthy! Oh, and I of course adore the glancing intertextual references….
Jude, Are you sure its not the ‘glancing intersexual references’?
That too, sherdy…
GRMA, Esteeemed Blogmeister.
Not least for Taking a Stand against the Tides, including the Rip Tide of Redmondism, the Spring Tide of Shoneenism. .
There’s the Cusack Stand, there’s the Hogan Stand and then there’s – the Collins Stand.
Nice to have a season ticket in the Corporate Box of the upper tier of Ardan Ui Choileain rubbing shoulder chips with one’s fellow Elite Gougers while munching those scrumptious Southern Fried Chicken Goujons.
Not to mention tossing redundant drumsticks, apple cores and bottled abuse at the deserving tossers down below.
Ar aghaidh leat, a Mhaistir Ionuin Blog.
It would appear that some sections of the media are reluctant to challenge the clichés associated with white collar crime, “lessons learned”, “must not be allowed to happen again” or “time to draw a line and move on”. In spite of the rapid demise of the Celtic Tiger, off shore accounts continue to syphon cash from a variety of sources that make pyramid selling appear ethical.
How many days does it take for John Doe’s cheque to clear? What bank charges apply to John Doe if he overdraws on his account for one day? Would John Doe get a bank loan with interest repayable at less than 3%?
Hospital Administrator to patient – “Do you earn more than £5,000?”
Patient – “Some days I do, some days I don’t.”
Financial terrorists do not do balaclavas.
We are all sold the great Pyramid Scheme lolar….everybody in, everybody win?? As in all top heavy Pyramid Schemes….Greece is asked to have another Haircut now, feck, ya have to Marvel at the gall of these bastards with their terminological spins…close another crèche, and put but an overstretched skeletal staff on the Children’s hospice and the old woman having to find and sell more plastic bags, and when all their Ports are sold into the ‘Private Sect.’ Then control of their import and export facilities we will all concur like nodding dummies that Greece has taken the needed ‘Pain’. Two worlds on one planet. Haircuts and shaves, the Barber has control of the spin, and bouncers at the door.
I think (actually I hope) William is being disingenuos when he says Protestants never vote for what he calls the `paramilitary party`. They vote for the DUP and UUP and both those supported political violence. As far as anti Sinn Féin newspapers are concerned, the Belfast Telegraph knows no bounds in it`s hatred of the party in general and Gerry Adams in particular.
political policing,what was mcguinness doing standing shoulder to shoulder with their leader calling on people to inform,i think they have peaked as far as voting goes but its no matter anyway a united ireland is as far away as ever,people are being told now it was for equality,lol
And it is, Billy, is it not…? Just like the PUPs almost grasped under David Ervine…alas oul Hutchie has binned the books and bought some flegs. Can’t eat them as Ervine said, although James Connolly had said this prior to him…Equality, that word so feared. Fear, and fear of loss. A pact with the Tory Government later and all of Unionism has fallen into line like good little doggies. Such a pity the tide will eventually leave them stranded. At least the fleg industry is thriving….can’t have the immigrants coming in, but lets outsource our flegs from the factories in Bangladesh most of them come in from. So long as their slave labour workers don’t follow the money.
The timing of Adams’s arrest was decided by the man himself. He’d had a standing invite for months to attend the station voluntarily, which he took up two weeks before elections north and south. He then made a statement that required officers to arrest him – and a load of press releases/interviews/murals were suddenly ready to roar about the injustice of it all.
You couldn’t imagine a more transparent ploy to fool the paranoid faithful, although I suppose some are only too happy to be fooled.
“He then made a statement that required officers to arrest him” – what kind of a statement would that be , DD?