Fr. McManus’ Partitioned Parish and Partitioned Country
The British government’s 1920 Government of Ireland Act (the “Partition
Act”) not only divided Fr. McManus’ country. It also divided his historic
parish of Kinawley—an area that has had an ecclesial presence since
the Sixth Century. Part of the parish is now in the artificially created
Northern Ireland, in County Fermanagh. The other part is in
Swanlinbar, County Cavan, in what later became the Irish Republic. The red
line in the graphic is England’s damn Border.
Fr. McManus was born three miles from the actual small village of
Kinawley, in County Fermanagh, in the townland of Clonliff— part of the
parish on the shores of Lough Erne and the banks of the River
Cladagh.
So, England’s partition of Ireland was never just academic or theoretical
to Fr. McManus. It was and is, instead, a deep scar and a deep wound on the
face of Ireland—with all the subsequent injustice, discrimination,
and suffering of The Troubles. (Even though much progress has been made
since the Good Friday Agreement, which Fr. McManus strongly
supports).
One of the current initiatives of the Irish National Caucus is the
Internet Petition, explained below. This Petition gives the worldwide
Irish an opportunity to show their opposition to the Partition of
Ireland, and their desire for solidarity, unity, reconciliation, equality,
justice, and peace on the whole island of Ireland.
IRISH PETITION — IRELAND ONE NATION
“Ireland, too, has the right to be One Nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
This Petition is entrusted to you—as it is to me— as a sacred trust. We
must get many thousands to sign it—it’s the least any concerned person can
do. It is free, just click and sign— https://www.change.org/IrelandOneNation
It is our honor, privilege, and duty to play our part in helping to create
a new, shared, Ireland— in the unity and solidarity of The Beloved
Community, with liberty and justice for all.
Our Petition—although inspired by, and based on, the famous American
Pledge of Allegiance—is universal in its appeal and intention, evoking
what is best in the human heart regarding the fundamental issue of justice
and peace. This Petition is consistent with the Good Friday
Agreement. Furthermore, national self-determination is a fundamental
American principle and is the right of every Nation. The
Petition is, also, inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s
teaching on The Beloved Community and by Saint Pope John Paul
II’s teaching that “peace is the fruit of solidarity.”
I ask the Irish-Worldwide —and all people of goodwill— to embrace this
Petition in their hearts, prayers, and action. And, of course, you do not
have to be Irish to sign. We welcome all supporters of international
human rights and national self-determination.
Let us help to build up The Beloved Community in the unity of a new,
shared, Ireland, for peace is the fruit of solidarity.
If you want to read background information on the Irish issue and the work
of the Irish National Caucus, a new edition of Fr. McManus’ Memoirs has
recently been published:My
American Struggle for Justice in Northern Ireland [Third U.S.
Edition 2019]. Available at IrishNationalCaucus.org and on
Amazon. See what others are saying about this book by clicking or pasting
in your browser this link — http://www.irishnationalcaucus.org/praise-for-memoirs-and-…/
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