‘MARCH MADNESS – St. Patrick’s Day in America’ by Michael J Cummings

 St. Patrick’s Day in America is never a quiet affair.  There are plenty of political and theological dust-ups, solemn and raucous processions and debates between hallucinatory academics  and jaded journalists.  A fun part of all this is identifying who is carrying the can for England’s agenda and what is missing from all the celebrations.  Let us begin.

Cardinal Dolan redeemed himself from last year’s outrageous remark comparing the IRA to ISIS.    In a letter to the faithful he cited England’s centuries of religious and economic persecution of the Irish people but couldn’t quite bring himself to their murderous role in the North from 1968-1998.  They said it couldn’t be done but the Dept. of State and Homeland Security repeated last year’s fiasco  by failing to admit Gerry Adams to a White House meeting to which he had been invited.  Can you imagine the terrorists that are entering this country if these two can’t clear a White House invitation list?  Were they checking with President Obama’s office or with London?

Just imagine how much British money is handled by Goldman Sachs.  Now you  know why each year they  provide a pithy throw away  political line to the media.   Opille Sgrizia of the banking powerhouse said investment  could be hindered if  Sinn Fein came to power.  The English compensation was not disclosed. Goldman Sachs “advice” notwithstanding,  leading Irish economist Jim Power gave a thumbs up to the positive benefits to ending partition.  So did Canadian economists at the University of British Columbia  who produced a report  titledModeling Irish Unification.  St. Patrick’s Day would have been a good time to discuss the prospect but British sensibilities being what they are no paper dared.

In the lead up to St. Patrick’s Day,  there is so much evidence of  British hypocrisy and Ireland’s obsequious groveling  that no amount of Guinness could help one forget it.  England announced the results of yet another of their “independent” commissions tasked with determining whether paramilitaries still exist in N. I. .  The august body consisted of two Queen’s Counselors and a apparatchik from MI-5 that  concluded …surprise, surprise…that the war in the North must continue lest other foreign powers  think Britannia no longer rules the waves.  Singing  from the British songbook, Ireland’s Foreign Minister Charles Flanagan told the press that relations with England have never been better.  He cited  as proof the exchange visits of two symbolic powerless political props,  the British Queen and Irish President.  Who knew peace and justice could be so easy?  Since 1998 there have been six agreements (Belfast, Hillsborough, St. Andrew’s, Weston Park, Stormont House & Fresh Start)  governing the North and the Irish people are still  no closer to securing truth or justice from Britain for their murderous deeds.

Sometimes it is the things that are missing from the celebration which are more significant.  For, example, yet another quality British television  documentary from Panorama  titled Britain’s Secret Terror Deals has not made it across the pond.  Trust me you will see  five years of Downton Abbey reruns before “our” Corporation for Public Broadcasting lists  such  ‘controversial’ material.  The head of Amnesty International in the UK , Patrick Corrigan,  spoke succinctly about British actions in the North.  His  words  failed  to make an appearance in U. S. media.   He said this  about the many  deaths of Catholics still without investigations:   “Killing people targeted by the State.  Using intelligence provided by the State and shooting them with guns provided by the State is not a security policy.  It is a murder policy.”    If I were the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post and tasked with protecting British interests and image I surely wouldn’t want my readers to see that in print.

The 100^th anniversary of the Easter Rising on April 24^th,1916 prompted some commentary in  in the Irish and American media.    The  recurring theme?  If only the Irish could have  first  sacrificed   themselves in service to His Majesty in the senseless slaughter of  WW I,  then London would have put Home Rule…not independence… into effect.  It was as  immoral a quid pro quo as could be concocted but par for the course for His Majesty’s Government.    Irish poet James Joyce  cited this promise of Home Rule as periodically appearing like a comet in the Irish cosmos that was “…vague, distant, but as punctual as ever,  tantalizing but never delivering.”

Missing from the March editorial pages  of any American paper were reflections  on the anniversaries of two  monstrous acts of British cruelty, cowardice and injustice:  the  security forces killing of attorney Rosemary Nelson (3/15) and  the 16 year false imprisonment  and then release (3/14) of the Birmingham Six.    Unremembered  except by their loved ones.

The British still rule the airwaves in America where   the Irish freedom struggle is often ignored or criticized.   The poet Liam Mac Uistin  foretold of this amnesia.   In the Dublin Garden of Remembrance off Parnell  Square, his words resonate with this fear.   “Oh generations of freedom, do not forget us the generation  of the vision.”  For the time being, UK spying, political smearing, media manipulation and anti-Catholic actions will likely suppress any Irish voice for unity or   freedom.  While in  America there will  always be St. Patrick’s Day parades,   soon, very soon, no one will be able to explain why.

Michael J. Cummings

12 Marion Ave

Albany, New York 12202-1814

518-650-6049