“Narrative” – I detest that in-vogue word, but it does describe what seems to be vital to unionism and the British government. Their story of the Trouhles is that the IRA started it, were finally beaten into submission after a horror-gallery of atrocities, and that the brave men and women who stood against them should be honoured by the Queen.
Which unionists claim this? Well I’ve never heard a unionist politician tell the story any other way. Or the British government.
But all that is now at risk, due to a huge over-reaction by the British government. You’ll know that the Bloody Sunday Inquiry took as long as it did and cost as much as it did because the British government were hanging on to documents that would have made clear what actually happened that day. Name a killing involving nationalists/republicans and you’ll find as often as not the British government is in there, hugging vital documents to its chest. Ballymurphy, Pat Finucane, the Glenanne gang killings – Britain produces the ‘national security’ card every time.
But this time they’ve overdone it. In December 1971, a bomb exploded in McGurk’s Bar, killing fifteen people. It was a loyalist bomb, but naturally the ‘security forces’ claimed it was an IRA bomb that had gone off accidentally. That’s now accepted as the lie it was.
Ciarán McAirt, who’s written The McGurk’s Bar Bombing, Collusion, Cover-Up and a Campaign for Truth has requested under the Freedom of Information Act that he have access to a file from the British army headquarters relating to the death of his grandmother, Kitty Irvine. The document is thought to be held in the National Archive in London, and might well throw light on the RUC’s knowledge of the McGurk’s Bar atrocity.
The response of the British authorities? No, Ciarán, you cannot have access to that file. And the grounds? “Health and safety.” And will the document ever be made available? “Come back in 2056” is the answer. No, that’s not a misprint.
When the British executed the leaders of the Easter Rising, they swung the Irish population’s sympathies firmly behind the revolutionaries and the course of history was changed. The British government, with this judgement, are making it clear that something very shady was going on around the McGurk’s Bar explosion, so shady that your grandchildren, let along Ciarán McArt, will be lucky to get a glimpse of the file.
So how did that IRA-to-blame-for-everything narrative run again?
You will hardly be surprised to hear, Esteemed Blogmeister, that the morally superior Souper Stars of the Free Southern Stateen share/d a common diagnosis with their follow bluenosis Yunes on the other side of the Black Sow’s Dyke.
As every Southern ‘initiative’ from Section 31 to the Peace Train underlined, mainlined and branchlined.
THE CORRECT KNORRITIVE
The Peace Train was a painfree invasion
An Orange B. Special kind of persuasion;
While Section 31
Removed the gun
Of Brittania from the,erm,military equation.
I am afraid,Jude, that you make the assumption that we are dealing with honourable,decent people who are just trying to do the ‘right thing’ for us all. After all they stepped in to keep the warring factions apart – as fair minded referees – and what happened? We turned on them. Such ingratitude! Of course, you can’t really be surprised. If I had the dirt that they have in their cupboards I would be loath to open them to anybody.
Hansard, 19 July 1991 vol 195 records the following comments:
Harry Barnes (Derbyshire, North-East)
“The peace train left Belfast at 11 am yesterday and, following a ferry crossing, finally arrived at Euston at 7.14 am today…It seemed entirely appropriate that activities that had been effective in Ireland and Northern Ireland should be extended to this country to show that we are not prepared to knuckle under in the face of paramilitary activity here…We must say to those who are involved in those activities,
You must do as others in Northern Ireland have done. You must reject that technique and return to the use of parliamentary activity and pressure and to legitimate methods.”
The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Dr. Brian Mawhinney)
I join the hon. Gentleman in condemning all those who involve themselves in acts of terror and violence…
One cannot help but agree with Dr. Mawhinney, however, It would appear that the train due at 2056 is running late.
Alas the British establishment will never admit the entire truth even when they divulge some truths. The narrative must be maintained; militants republicans must at all times be thrown to the wolves. The public will not fathom or cope with the very idea, and evidence, that the British state were active in some of the worst atrocities in Ireland and maybe Britain.
Under the guidelines/advice of frank Kitsons handbook on counterinsurgency, the British state set to work on undermining and suppressing the northern uprising. Simply by injecting more fear into mindset of the public they believed they would crush any broad movement that challenged the status quo. One only has to check the timeline of the initial years of the troubles and the questionable atrocities within it, attributed to either republicans or unionists: McGurks bar, Dublin/Monaghan bombs, Miami showband, kingsmill are examples were the British state forces are suspected of having a played a serious role in.
The Miami showband for example, if it had been successful from a British terrorist point of view, wouldve injected more suspicion and sectarianism into both communities(a definite tactic of Kitson/British state). Added into the mix, overt British state terrorism eg Bloody Sunday and ballymurphy sprinkled with covert British soldiers carrying out false flag attacks on both sides of the community(openly admitted by former British army members), will easily have you reaching the British states objectives I.e fear and shock.
Btw I can understand British/unionists/letsgetalongerists silence in not demanding the truth/inquiries into atrocities alleged to have been carried out by ‘their side’ but for the life of me I can’t understand why they aren’t demanding the British govt hold inquiries into Birmingham/Guildford pub bombings? Are the British seriously worried about the feelings of Irish republicans by not revealing what they know? Or are they worried that they don’t want the public to know something else that may perhaps reflects badly on the British establishment? Irish republicans a big enough to take criticism, so why do the Brits pass up an opportunity to throw them to the wolves a bit more? Something to hide?
“Which unionists claim this? Well I’ve never heard a unionist politician tell the story any other way. Or the British government”
Have you any sources for the Government saying it was all the IRA’s fault?
” You’ll know that the Bloody Sunday Inquiry took as long as it did and cost as much as it did because the British government were hanging on to documents that would have made clear what actually happened that day”
Its important to remember many Unionist politicians still reject the conclusion the Bloody Sunday Inquiry came to, despite overwhelming evidence. Gregory Campbell is sometimes on his facebook bemoaning the cost of it and questioning the conclusion. Though a political failure when he stood for election, Willie Frazer put up a video at the time basically “warning” David Cameron not to prosecute the soldiers who committed the murders. In a very funny video, Willie is seen red faced, flustered, clearly upset at the findings. I believe its still on youtube.
Political Unionism has just as much to hide as the British Government does. Arlene Foster is blocking funds for inquests because “she doesn’t want a rewriting of history”. She and the SoS are both being took to court by victims families. Basically she’s openly saying she is stopping the truth coming out because she doesn’t like it. The relationship between the DUP and UDA historically and even up to the present is very strange. Ulster Resistance, formed by the DUP, even gave weapons to the UDA which were used in 100 murders. The very fact the UDA was LEGAL for years despite countless sectarian murders tells a tale of its own. The early UUP and UVF were also very cosy. Gusty Spence even said he was paid by Unionist Stormont to “start a sectarian war”. I believe in that interview Jude did with the Lawyer involved in the Loughinisland Massacre, the Lawyer stated that the guns used were stored in an Orange Hall. One RUC officer involved in the investigation was described as a “good apple in a rotten Orchard”, in reference to the amount of Collusion by the RUC/Special Branch.
No wonder Unionism fears the truth coming out…..
“The response of the British authorities? No, Ciarán, you cannot have access to that file. And the grounds? “Health and safety.” And will the document ever be made available? “Come back in 2056” is the answer. No, that’s not a misprint”
Its nothing new and was expected, its delaying tactics but regardless we must put as much pressure on the British Government as possible, including asking the US Government to help. What other state in the World would repeatedly refuse to release documents on an atrocity where over 30 innocent people were murdered? The Irish Government have repeatedly asked for disclosure on the Dublin/Monaghan bombs and the British Government have refused to the point where its common knowledge that everyone knows they were involved in some way or maybe even did it themselves.
I firmly believe that the truth always comes out. Our issue here is Time. The British Government is delaying things as much as possible in order for certain people to die in order to escape Justice. As Danny Morrison said the paper trail is going to lead back to Downing Street and that’s when a blanket amnesty will be implemented.
The Truth will come out and the extent of Collusion will shock even some Republicans. Even the likes of the Shankill Butchers couldn’t have done what they were doing unless they had a lot of help…..indeed the Orange Order still have a Shankill Butcher in their ranks to this day…..
““Narrative” – I detest that in-vogue word, but it does describe what seems to be vital to unionism and the British government.”
So, I need some help here.
Did I just read an anti-narrative, or an alternative narrative?
Maybe the British are scared of Ciáran getting a paper cut, or maybe it’s just that they don’t want the public ( British too ) from seeing the truth of their involvement in the atrocities that were part and parcel of our trouble’s. Why do they hold back information on the Birmingham bombing, and even some inquiries like 15yr old Arlene Arkinson, and Kincora? We here in the 6 counties know they were involved in the Glenanne gang’s attack on Dublin and Monaghan bombings, and the sectarian murder’s in the border area’s. When are the British Government going to man up, and finally put the grieving relatives mind’s to rest?
Jude,
Thank you very much for raising awareness of the McGurk’s Bar campaign and, indeed, legacy issues in general.
We have taken the British Ministry of Defence and the Information Commissioner’s Office to tribunal in London in a few weeks but have managed to retrieve this snippet from the file – proof that a British bomb expert did indeed tell British HQNI that the bar was attacked (after RUC created and disseminated black propaganda about our loved ones). http://mcgurksbar.com/bomb-expert-mcgurks-bar-attacked/
You may ask though – what are they hiding now? I will cover just that in court in London soon after the 45th anniversary of the atrocity. I believe that what they are hiding is much more damning.