In a blog on 16 August 2026 entitled “Patrick Murphy gets carried away” Jude Collins explains why the IRA came into existence in the early 1970s and continued until the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement when an alternative course was proposed and accepted. In a response to Jude’s clearly argued article the anonymous Eugene57 had this comment to make:
“I almost threw up when I got to paragraph four and read the sickening defence of the IRA. I recommend the author (Jude Collins) read this article in yesterday’s Irish Times written by Ann Travers.”
Many people have suffered as a result of the war in this country –including members of my own family -but I do not go on about it as if we were the only ones to suffer. We are now living in a time of peace. We are on a journey of Reconciliation which will bring about Irish re-unification. That is the outworking of the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.
Some of the greatest enemies of progress and of Irish reunification are not Unionists but people like Eugene57 who wrote the above comment on Jude Collins blog.
These self-righteous people are stuck in the past. They do not want to move forward. They want to live in the past and when someone like Jude Collins tries to explain why there was a war here against the British state they try to accuse him of defending the IRA when all he was doing was explaining how and why the IRA came into existence. When an army comes into existence or occupies another country you can expect murder and mayhem.
What a growing number of self-righteous people we now have in Ireland -unable to make distinctions and unwilling to understand our history of oppression. I would prefer an honest Orangeman or Orange woman any day.
We would all like that justice, peace and independence could have been achieved without bloodshed-but that’s not the way this world works. In an ideal world change would be possible by non-violent methods –but that depends on the governments and the rulers and those opposed to change. They are the ones who are primarily responsible for the deaths that nobody in their right senses wanted.
Joe, I read your article with interest, and I recognise that you have many years of lived experience in Northern Ireland, as well as many years of helping people in very difficult circumstances. That is highly commendable.
I have less direct experience as much of my life was spent in southern Ireland and England. However, one can have well founded principles without having direct experience. For example, I was always opposed to Apartheid and went on many protests, and yet I had never been to South Africa.
I have always believed, and will always believe that every action by the IRA during the last 60 years was both morally wrong and politically wrong, as well as being counter-productive. Thankfully the overwhelming majority of the people of Northern Ireland agreed with my moral principles during the darkest years. In the 1983 general election, the political party that openly supported republican violence got 5.9% of the vote. In the 1987 general election, support for that party was still stuck at 5.9%.
Joe, in your last paragraph you wrote “We would all like that justice, peace and independence could have been achieved without bloodshed…” The implication being that bloodshed brings about peace and justice. Thankfully 95% of voters in Northern Ireland completely disagreed with your viewpoint as demonstrated by election after election during the Troubles.
There were many alternatives to the violence of the 1970s and 1980s. There was the political system (with its flaws), the judicial system, peaceful protests, working with civic and religious groups, trade unions, as well as working with wider international bodies like the European Community (as it was known then), the United Nations and organisations like Amnesty International. But not once single action of the IRA during the Troubles was morally justified or morally justifiable.
My Northern Ireland heroes are Mairaid Corrigan, Betty Williams and John Hume, as well as the numerous people who took great risks during the 1970s and 1980s to set up integrated schools. If there was one change I could make to Northern Ireland in the morning, it would be to bring all our children together in integrated schools, as well as abolishing the segregated teacher training system in Northern Ireland.
You’re talking balls Eugene. You could’nt even get the SF % vote correct so we’ll take anything you say with a pinch of salt.
Shame on you for singling out a person like this Joe. You talk about British oppression.Jude was a teacher and lecturer for 30 plus years in the British occupied North, and is probably enjoying a well deserved generous pension. Does that sound like oppression to you? It’s time we stopped perpetually playing the victim card in the North and moved on.
None so blind! comes to mind