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Showing posts from 2018

A hard border going to re-ignite the “Troubles”? give me a break!

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I have been reading various articles over recent weeks and months on Brexit and the “Irish Issue” most of them seem to contain subtle threats making references to how Brexit could re-ignite the “Troubles” in Ireland. The idea is that Irish Republicans will go back to war if the British tighten up their Border here, that a hard border will be a target and that all of a sudden hundreds, if not thousands of Irish people who are currently munching on Friday night Pizza and watching Netflix will suddenly get the urge to go and fight to get rid of it. What a load of old scaremongering, threatening and politically motivated CRAP Who are these people exactly that are going to go to war? are PSF led by Michelle O’Neill and the PIRA going to do it? Is the PIRA going to turn their coat once more and come back into existence to lead a new border campaign? Are “dissidents” going to see their ranks swell to the max, magically get a load of money, weapons, training and resources and go to town on th

Spirit of Irish Freedom Society commemoration address

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Address given 06/10/2018 in Fore Village, Co. Westmeath at the Spirit of Irish Freedom Society commemoration for  Vol. Patrick Thompson,  Vol. Paddy Dermody and Vol Michael Flynn. Firstly, I would like to thank the organisers of this commemoration for giving me the honour of addressing you all here today, the ongoing work, that the Spirit of Irish Freedom society do by commemorating patriots from the locality and surrounding areas is not only very important from a historical point of view, but essential for the ongoing campaign to re-establish the Irish Republic. We have heard from the Chairperson of the lives and sacrifices of the 3 men that we come to commemorate, Vol. Patrick Thompson, Vol. Michael Flynn and Vol Patrick Dermody are only but a few of the prominent Volunteers that hailed from this area, these 3 men dedicated their lives to the cause of a free Ireland, all of these men died while on active service for the Republic, 3 young fearless men who put their Country and

You can't mask the reality

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Monaghan based Republican Fergal Moore gives his insight and opinion into the recent onslaught of charges against Republicans for marches linked with Commemorations The last few years have seen many incidents of disruption and harassment by the RUC/PSNI of participants in Republican commemorations. Dozens have been arrested, charged, fined and imprisoned for remembering their patriot dead in public. Although this is not a new thing for veteran Republicans the heat has definitely been turned up of late after a period of mere simmering hostility from the state, comparatively speaking. This latest campaign by the British state and her auxiliaries is due to Republicans, rightly, refusing to engage with the Parades Commission which demands that they “give notification” of their intention to take to the streets to remember their dead. Bearing in mind that the Parades Commission reserves the right to impose conditions on parades which can effectively ban, them this “giving notificat

Border poll should be out of the question for Republicans

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Article published in An Spréach Magazine, a new quarterly independent Socialist Republican magazine formed by a collective of political activists. There is a counter argument to my article below but you will have to buy the magazine to read it! Magazine is available to purchase now through: www.anspreach.org Border poll should be out of the question for Republicans  So what exactly is wrong with a Border Poll and uniting the six-county northern statelet with the 26-county Free State? Isn’t that what we Irish Republicans have always wanted? A United Ireland? Well in one word – NO. This is a common misconception among the general public, you will hear people opposing a united Ireland based on the fact that in the Free State there is no NHS and other such aspects of the welfare state that are in the 'North'. Similarly, people also comment on how the Free State cannot 'afford' the north-east. I have lost count of how many times I have had to dispel these myths and expl

The Independence Delusion

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The attempts by Freestate parties such as Fianna Fail and others to introduce an “independence” day for Ireland is more than a tad premature and an exercise in historical revisionism. Firstly, and most obviously Ireland is NOT independent, Ireland is a partitioned Country, 6 of its counties remain firmly under British rule, we are still very much occupied by Britain militarily and culturally. The grip of British Rule is steadfast in the North and its remnants very much remain in the rest of the Country. I read with a mix of amusement and annoyance that The Seanad had passed a bill which sought to designate 21 January as the Irish Declaration of Independence Day. The bill seeks to formally recognise 21st January as "Declaration of Independence Day" as it was on this date in 1919 that the inaugural meeting of the first Dáil took place in the Round Room at Dublin's Mansion House. It is hoped by those who proposed it, that the bill will be passed in time for the cente

The Pursuit of Individual Rights is Overshadowing Our National Rights

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Guest writer Mairtin Mac Giolla Eoin, a former Republican Prisoner and current Republican activist from Derry gives us his thoughts on individual rights vs national rights I’ve been discussing this topic over the past month or so with some comrades, I feel that it would be useful to articulate my thoughts and the process that has lead me to the conclusion that our national rights are being overshadowed. First of all what do I mean by our national rights? Our sovereignty as a people and a nation is the foremost right; it is undeniable that we are a distinct people, with both a vibrant culture and language. Our identity has been suppressed for as long as we have been occupied and it can never be fully realised under British rule or via her surrogates in Leinster house. Secondly our right to an Irish Republic, despite some narratives a United Ireland is not the objective, as our country can be united under many guises, such as it had been in the past entirely under British Rule. There ar

Duleek memorial garden 10th Anniversary Oration

Oration delivered in Duleek, Co. Meath on the 10th anniversary of the opening of their hunger strike memorial garden Today, we remember in this memorial garden the 22 Irish republicans who gave their lives whilst on hunger strike. The first Irish patriot to sacrifice his life was Thomas Ashe with the last being Mickey Devine. When considering the lives of each one of the hunger strikers, aside from their heroic sacrifice, it is striking the commonalities they share. Each one of these men came to the decision to hunger strike after careful thought and consideration, each one fully realised the suffering their families would endure, yet each one selflessly recognised the need to make a stand for their cause with the last weapon they had at their disposal: Their body. Some anti-republican commentators and historical revisionists, are often quick to dismiss the act of hunger strike, advising that these noble patriots were desperate and misguided. At every turn, we must reject such com

100 Years of Votes for Women

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Article orginally written and published in An Larc quarterly magazine to coincide with 100 Years of Votes for Women It is now 100 years ago since Britain passed a law allowing women to vote for the first time, well for some women this was true, namely, only those who were over 30 and had property rights or a university education. That accounted for around 40% of all women in the “UK”. Ireland, in 1918, was united, albeit under British Rule, Partition was still a few years away and this affected everyone in the whole 32 Counties, the whole country including men. While women with certain criteria were allowed the vote, the act also changed the laws surrounding male votes, up until 1918 only men who were paying an annual rental of £10 and all those holding land valued at £10 or more were allowed to vote, this new legislation allowed for ALL men regardless of class, property ownership or education to vote as long as they were over 21 and for those in the British Military they could e

Michael Fagan (Invincible) commemoration oration

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Oration delivered in Collinstown, Co. Westmeath on Sunday 27th May 2018 for the 135th Anniversary of the death of Michael Fagan, Irish National Invincible. Organised by Michael Fagan Society & Spirit of Irish Freedom Society. Today, we gather to pay tribute to the memory of Michael Fagan, a great republican and member of the Irish National Invincibles who gave his life for the cause of Irish freedom 135 years ago. It is appropriate that the people of Collinstown keep the memory of their patriotic native son alive, not only for his heroic example in life, but also to remember the important contribution to Irish republicanism of the group he was a member of: The Invincibles. Fagan and four members of the Invincibles took part in the assassinations of the Chief Secretary of Ireland, Frederick Cavendish, and the Under-Secretary, Thomas Henry Burke, two officials of the British administration in Ireland. These assassinations took place in the Phoenix Park, on May 6th, 1882. The Invi

Tony Taylor's continued internment is an affront to Justice

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I originally wrote this piece in 2016, at that time Tony Taylor was interned for only 7 months, it is scandalous that two years later the contents of this article has not much changed, I have updated this article to reflect today’s situation. Tony Taylor, a Derry Republican has now been interned for over two years. Tony is a normal family man with a wife, children and responsibilities just like everyone else, he has been interned at the behest of the British Secretary of State in Ireland and has no charge against him, he has no case to answer and he has no trial to face. So why exactly is Tony Taylor in Jail? Why was he taken from his home and placed indefinitely in a prison cell? He certainly doesn’t know why nor does his family or lawyers; his predicament can be summed up with only one word - Internment! This is a word that in 2018 people are hesitant to use, it has an emotive history in Ireland, where hundreds of people in the 70’s had been wholesale subjected to internm