Theodre Adorno was fascinated with how fascism and communism were shaping the world in which he lived. In his research he concluded one important finding, that fascists and communists have in fact the same psyche – an authoritarian personality, which is full of hostility, opposed to compromise, distrusting of others and immune to the disregard of those not deemed to be one of them. So, authoritarians exist on both the Left and the Right. I say this because having viewed the footage of how GARC members treated Fr. Gary Donegan, with all of their renown repulsive bile, infamous good manners and usual sort of hostility, which they heaped onto a well respected parish Priest, it struck a chord with Adorno’s conclusions.
GARC are a shady group which operates within a climate detached from the rest of society, based around extreme interpretations of “blood nationalism” and a lust for confrontation and division. They are not a resident’s group as claimed, rather a shadow political force on the fringes. These people want the Troubles to start up again, to reinforce their own egos and desire for war. Why? Because it adds meaning to their lives, gusto to their egos and gives them a raison d’etre in trying to exercise aforementioned dominance/legitimacy over the Ardoyne and wider community. These people, contrary to what they would have you think, actually desire the British military presence to be back on the streets of Ardoyne and Belfast, so that they can point to and justify whatever campaigns of chaos that would be prosecuted by Dissident splinter-cells which they align and fraternise with.
Make no mistake about it; They are the opponents of peace, reconciliation and harmony in the post-conflict Ireland of today and they obsessively look for and twist anything to try to reinforce two mistruths – 1. That nothing has really changed with the peace process and nationalists have thus apparently been “sold out” by their elected representatives, despite Catholics/nationalists now dominating all the professions and emerging economic, education and job opportunities which peace has afforded this land. And 2, that the Police are merely just recycled Loyalist death-squads in uniform. That’s an insult to the intelligence and memory of all those who remember and suffered the brutality of the RUC or B-Specials; who weren’t accountable to any Ombudsman, Policing Board, nor the public.
However, GARC is but one side of the extremist coin, with Willie Frazer and the “Protestant Coalition” being the other grouping that opposes the peace process and dialogue between the two communities on longstanding issues. Both of these fronts have more in common than they think; they each advocate a set of circumstances which would undoubtedly jeopardise the hard won peace between the two traditions on the island. Both want a return to militarisation, to justify their authoritarian efforts at opposing power-sharing and consensus. Both are led by people who demonstrate an extreme, insular and narrow perspective of the wider issues impacting on society here in the North. One feeds the ego and purpose of the other. It’s reciprocal. And they each need one another to create a climate in order to thrive.
What annoys many people in both communities is how these individuals use the “freedom of speech/expression” principle to justify what is really just thinly veiled hate speech – designed to whip up emotions and perpetuate divisions. This sort of rhetoric has led to violence in the form of the Loyalist flag protests and also the past rioting in Ardoyne during the Marching Season, with the tax-payer having to honour the costs of their irresponsibility. Now, I differ with the Catholic Church on many things, but I acknowledge that a Parish Priest is widely regarded as a member of the community who can be trusted to help ease communal strife and tensions (Fr. Alec Reid and Fr. Raymond Murray come to mind). The clergyman in question, Fr. Donegan, was subjected to a sickening and horrid litany of abuse from GARC and their affiliates. And fair play, he stood his ground with his usual gentlemanly courtesy and didn’t get bogged into an exchange of bile with the disgruntled “activists” (so-called) who were attacking him.
If these people consider themselves “activists”, then the question must be asked – in who’s name do they act and in what way? I know in my mind and in my heart, having been born and raised in North Belfast, that the overwhelming majority of residents in these areas not only do not condone that sort of behaviour but are repulsed and embarrassed by it.
I think the people of Ardoyne have suffered enough over decades of militarism, collusion, discrimination and the targeting of children and families on their way to school. They deserve to enjoy the dividends of peace and dialogue like any other area in the North. It does need more resources as an area. But the only way to do that here is via a pragmatic approach to exceptional issues which continue to cause discord between the two traditions. It isn’t going to be easy but it has to happen. Undoubtedly, the residents who’s homes have been devalued financially by the tactics of GARC, need to take another look at them and ask with scrutiny, “In my name?”, with a clear and coherent “I don’t think so!”. They need to be shunned.
The behaviour of GARC members today, both unjustified and unjustifiable, highlights a long overdue need for these sorts of protests and marches to be regulated and brought within the bounds of statutory legislation. No longer can a minority of individuals be allowed to smear the good name of our neighbourhoods with the kind of images, bad manners and footage the world was subjected to today. The solution to this sordid intimidation and bile has to be to levy either fines and penalties on the groups and members involved, or in more extreme cases, to hold them to account in a court of law for their behaviour. There needs to be a clear and unequivocal Code of Conduct for all groups and parades/marches, which can be robustly applied in the areas of contention and across the North as a whole. The Assembly needs to take heed of this, both Unionist and Republican alike, and legislate the necessary measures to stamp out what is really quasi-criminal behaviour masquerading as “activism and protest”, against the best interests of both residents and community harmony. Establishing a forum on parading and protests would be a start, to take cognisance of the views of the various groups and bands across our land, balancing this of course with the public interest clause and need for a shared society. If the Westminster Government needs to be involved in such a process then I would actually advocate sending GARC to directly negotiate with them, because we all know that whatever deal anyone else brings back will be attacked as a “sell out” by them. Such efforts may take time to deliver but any right thinking person who views the footage we seen today has one simple and short question on their minds;
“Who do these people think they are?”
Wholly accurate and thoughtful well researched piece.
There is no doubting but that GASCOIGNE is but a front and mouthpiece for a particular Dissident Faction.
I suffered at their hands myself over the past couple of nights and had to block my Twitter Account as a result of the most base , vile and insulting messages from some of them.
Now your talking ! Too many instances of the powers-that- be facilitating groups, and individuals, breaking the law. Just not sure if I have faith in the assembly sorting this anytime soon. I mean, surely, after twenty years, shouldn’t we be a long long way down the road from this ? The twaddell camp never should have been there, and the determination of no marrch, should have been the end of the matter. I was dismayed at the lack of respect for father Donegan.
Maybe they are republicans who resent the presence of a non Irish government here. Maybe they are trying to do something about it. I don’t know where you get your evidence that the nationalists are leading the employment field unless you mean the contented middle class who have always managed to do well and resent their little world being upset. The provos look upon the GFA as a stepping stone. The SDLP have a stated aim of a ‘re-United country. It looks as if the non Sinn Féin element are the only ones prepared to do anything about it.
“Maybe they are republicans who resent the presence of a non Irish government here. Maybe they are trying to do something about it.”
How do they think protesting about a short Orange parade will remove ‘the presence of a non Irish government’?
“The provos look upon the GFA as a stepping stone. The SDLP have a stated aim of a ‘re-United country. It looks as if the non Sinn Féin element are the only ones prepared to do anything about it.”
Again, how does protesting about an Orange parade advance a ‘re-United country’?
‘Who do these people think they are’?
These are the people who still live in Ardoyne and see the situation for what it is, rather than someone like yourself Donal, who got out of it years ago, and see it through rose-tinted glasses.
These are the people who were not admitted to the CARA/SF organised meeting, just in case they would vote against the cobbled-up ‘peace deal’ which they know from experience the Orange Order will break as soon as they find an excuse.
Maybe they did harangue a priest, but the priest was not acting for all the people of Ardoyne – he was acting for the CARA/SF sector – not a very priestly attitude.
As far as the alleged bad behaviour of GARC supporters is concerned – I hope you weren’t watching the Ryder Cup last night – your tender sensibilities would have been much more offended!
Adorno was a rubbish political theorist and worse music critic. In his latter capacity he was a German (or Mitteleuropa) chauvinist.
He was especially irked (he was the sort of person who was ‘irked’ rather than ‘irritated’) by the fact that America was becoming the fountainhead of music in the ‘civilised’ world – India and wee Ireland not being genuinely ‘civilised’.
Jazz (African American music in excelsis) was beyond the Pale – to use a heavily-freighted phrase. Irish ‘trad’,- Ceol an Uasail according to Ó Riada, was not worth his consideration, an unusual attitude for a German scholar of his vintage.
He was too lazy, or possibly too wise, to examine Indian music, or musics. There isn’t just one tradition in India, what we are used to is mostly from the north of the subcontinent.
Dee fennel and his cohorts saw not an orange parade walking up past Ardoyne but the end of his kudos and his claim to infamy trailing on the backs of those marching in that parade. What use now for GARC when the demands of the Ardoyne residents have been met
Very naive comment, Chris – do you trust the Orange Order enough to believe this is the end of the return parade?
Donal, you are being fanatical again, like you were a while back with People Before Profiit.
You seemingly have major issues with GARC – why do you not have the same disparaging view of CARA – are they a residents group? You state GARC is not a resident group – why? Who are you to define what is a residents group and what is not?
“That nothing has really changed with the peace process and nationalists have thus apparently been “sold out” by their elected representatives, despite Catholics/nationalists now dominating all the professions and emerging economic, education and job opportunities which peace has afforded this land.”
Yet again, Donal you are having to revert to generalised comments that are inaccurate. As we are talking about Ardoyne specifically, let’s examine the area:
– Ardoyne is one of the highest unemployment benefit claimants areas in the North;
– Ardoyne has one of the highest proportions of 16 and over claiming at least one benefit in the North;
– Ardoyne has one of the highest unemployment rates in the North;
– Young people achieving qualifications in Ardoyne rates amongst the lowest in the North;
– Ardoyne rates amongst one of the lowest in the North for higher education enrolment;
– Ardoyne is one of the highest areas for claiming housing benefits in the North;
– Ardoyne has one of the highest proportions of children living in low income families in the North;
(36% of children in North Belfast are deemed to be living in poverty)
– Ardoyne has high levels of crime and anti social behaviour despite being policed heavier than any other area, I assume;
– Ardoyne is an area that has limited public facilities – no leisure centre – any public amenity is privately owned. As I said in a previous posting, the only remaining secondary school a few years back closed it door amongst others in previous years.
Explain to me how Nationalists in Ardoyne are benefitting? Has things really changed or is that a perception? Are Nationalists in Ardoyne still facing the same problems they have done so for many years?
• St Gemma’s closed because local parents voted with their feet and stopped sending their children to it.
• You talk of generalisations and then go on to make sweeping generalization after sweeping generalization.
• You assume that Ardoyne is policed more heavily? Reason for the heavy policing presence on Crumlin Road was to enforce a Parades Commission decision to stop Orange Order return parade.
• No publicly owned facilities? Bone Hills pitches, Pitch ’n’ mitch, Community Centre, two major youth clubs, leisure facility at Girdwood. Or perhaps you want one in every garden? ABC Trust to turn St Gemma’s into a community facility, Parochial Hall Bone Community facility coming online at present, Grace Women’s Centre and Cancer Lifeline getting around £2m funding on Alliance Avenue.
• Just whose house do you suggest gets flattened in the area to accommodate your aspirations?
• Yeah, hold the front page there’s poverty in working class areas! Yeah like globally, and crime and drugs and educational underachievement, but hey let’s wish for a Republic and not work for it.
• Perhaps you might want to look around Ardoyne at all the positive work, like Holy Cross Boys School and the brilliant work they are doing for our kids. With, by the way support of the community and government, or doesn’t that suit the negative agenda?
• Or perhaps the £600k of funding into Ardoyne and St Paul’s youth clubs?
• Or the many alleygating community safety schemes?
• As for GARC, maybe when their associates or those wearing several hats stop extorting every contractor trying to build anything in the area we might just have enough money left over to actually improve the district.
• Holy Cross has only not been able to have two Masses since they opened and both due to Dissident bomb threats disrupting local people
• It was nice to see them protest on Saturday, nice for them to do their second protest in 19 months while CARA turned up to every single Orange Order parade to voice the communities opposition to sectarian marches.
• Maybe GARC are more comfortable with the murdering of local taxi drivers, the threatening of kids and taxing those in the drug trade to line certain pockets?
• See while the slabbers keep slabbering when there’s a camera about, the rest of us will get on with the work including campaigning for the 11 acre site at Hillview for homes, jobs, education, community facilities etc
• Our community’s a class community and our kids are brilliant and they have more and more opportunities and we need to keep battling for more day and daily, not once a year when some come out and rant and wave and then hibernate for the rest of the year.
• The coaches in sport, the teachers, the community activists the families the young people, our GAA teams playing at the Cricky, our soccer teams, our boxing clubs, our Irish dancers, our women, our clergy, our housing campaigners, our x-prisoners, our community is one to be proud of and now that camp poison is gone and the parades issue is dead, the cops have gone, it’s time for GARC to go and let the rest of us get on with our lives and all the challenges any post-conflict working class community face.
Áine, you paint a very hopeful picture of the area. Where do young couples and first time buyers choose to buy? Doesn’t that tell the real story?
Terrible presentation of GARC case (if they had one)
The abuse of the priest was shameful Abusing Gerry Kelly was par for the course as they hate him more than the Orangemen.Cannot GARC see that the Loyalists needed a way out?
Better to give them the way out of a stupid mess they contrived. The residents hand is strengthened for future parades. The Proud, Sensible residents of Ardoyne have won the day
Your few words sum up the analysis that I have heard from most people I have spoken to. Maith thú!
Of course GARC have a case, anyone opposing sectarian bigotry has a case. The priest wasn’t abused, but then we better steer clear of that topic of real priest abuse for fear of opening older and much, much more deeper wounds. Fr Donegan was challenged to make the case and rethink his claim that the march would not affect residents…he failed miserably to do either , but sure, let’s put the blame on GARC and Dee Fennell.
As for Gerry Kelly, people do have problems when a person turns full circle, unless of course your in the ‘business’ of turning full circle yourself….then of course your quite happy to go along with anything!!!
The bottom line with GARC is that they did not protest at the previous two morning parades, didn’t lodge an objection and just didn’t bother their butts getting out of bed. They actually held a protest against the Easter Monday morning parade on Easter Saturday because they had a function on the Sunday night and would not be able to make it early the next morning.
They have also failed to show at several morning parades since their foundation.
So, they are not against all Orange Order parades in the area, just a select few. Why, we may ask?
Well if you look at 99% of GARC utterances and social media output it is anti-Sinn Féin. That is basically their reason to be.
They have no leadership or vision.
What they need to accept is this is not 1969, the 70s, 80sor the 90s. The North is not in the state it was in. There is no Orange state any more and Saturday’s agreement by the Orange basically shows that to be a fact. The return parade is over and so is GARC.
Even if they do hang around they will literally shoot them selves in the foot because not only have they shown themselves to care little about what is best for the overwhelming amount of residents in Ardoyne but they’re behaviour and decision making has shown that they are actually stupid.
Anyone on here taking the GARC line would run a mile if they were to meet these people in real life.I can assure you that GARC types are to be found in small pockets throughout the North and are not held in great esteem by the communities they inhabit,
Aine
Given the fact that we were actually talking about factual pieces earlier, can you-produce anything that’s backs up your extortion and murder claims???
Jude did you not tell me earlier that you would not print anything libellous or slanderous in relation to any piece produced,and yet here you are allowing this woman ‘Aine’ to come on and accuse people of extortion and murder without one shred of anything that resembles evidence???
Starting to look as if you too are letting yourself be used Jude to play to Donal’s very anti Republican agenda…and as agendas go what this woman is stating on a public forum is really very serious..
Donal Lavery.
It would be great if could reiterated the ‘bile ‘ that was thrown at the good Padre. Dee Fennell pointed out in the unedited version of the video which I’m sure you could put your unbiased hands on, that deploying 600 armed police, crush barriers and wall to wall armoured vehicles and a chopper was hardly the sign of a consensus parade.
He also challenged….yes challenged Donegan to explain his bizarre theory that the residents would not be affected by that march. He was perfectly entitled to put that challenge given that the area was ring fenced and people hemmed in.
Something else, I would like you to articulate and even simply explain Donal what has actually changed here??? I would agree with GARC and any other group that state, the very injustices that brought the Provos to war and caused this state to erupt remain. In fact, the only difference now is, apologists like yourself are queuing around the block to defend it.