Deaths of the Hunger Strikers shone a spotlight on Ireland’s fight

Speaking at Republican Sinn Féin’s commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the 1981 H Block Hunger Strikes held in Cork City on Saturday August 20th the President of Republican Sinn Féin said:

“This year we mark the 30th anniversary of the deaths on hunger strike of ten young Irishmen in the H Blocks of Long Kesh. The heroism and idealism shown by these otherwise ordinary young Irishmen was anything but ordinary. It was of a magnitude few can match. Their deaths made the world sit up and see that here in Western Europe was a small nation still struggling under the yoke of colonialism and imperialism.

“The background to the 1981 Hunger Strike lies in the British Government’s policy of criminalising Ireland’s historic fight for freedom and the determination of Irish Republicans to resist.

“Fasting was used as a method of protesting injustice in pre-Christian Ireland, where it was known as Troscadh or Cealachan. It was detailed in the contemporary civic codes, and had specific rules by which it could be used. The fast was often carried out on the doorstep of the home of the offender.

“As a political weapon it first came to the fore in the early 20th Century. The Women’s Suffrage movement employed hunger strike as a means of protesting their imprisonment and this was a method of resistance soon adopted by other political activists most notably in Ireland and India.

“On September 25 1917 Tomás Aghas became the first Irish Republican to die as a result of Hunger Strike whilst being forced fed in Mountjoy prison.

“In all 22 Irish Republicans have died on Hunger Strike in British and Free State prisons and internment camps in the years from 1917 to 1981. Each succeeeding generation of Republican prisoners have asserted their status as political prisoners and in doing so asserted the political nature of the struugle they are engaged in.

“Cork City too saw its Lord Mayor place his body on the altar of freedom. Terence MacSwiney endured a hunger strike of 74 days dying in Brixton Prison in London on October 25 1920. Like that of Bobby Sands 61 years later MacSwiney’s sacrifice and death threw the spotlight of the world on Britain’s occupation of Ireland.

“In a letter to Cathal Brugha written as he began his hunger strike MacSwiney gave a glimpse of the inner peace and resolution he felt about the sacrifice he was about to make: ‘If I die I know the fruit will exceed the cost a thousand fold. The thought makes me happy. I thank God for it. Ah Cathal, the pain of Easter Week is properly dead at last.’

“Four other sons of Co Cork would like MacSwiney use their bodies as the final weapon of resistance to British Rule. Michael Fitzgerald, Joseph Murphy, Denis Barry and Andy Sullivan.

“Each of the 22 who paid that ultimate sacrifice from Tomás Aghas to Mickey Devine – the 30th anniversay of whose death we remember today – did so not only to vindicate their right to political status but also to vindicate Ireland’s right to take her place among the nations of the earth.

“In 1998 the Provisionals under the terms of the Stormont Agreement signed away the rights won on the back of the sacrifice of Bobby Sands, Mickey Devine and their comrades. As a result today young Irishmen in Maghaberry Prison are enagaged in the same struggle against the same enemy for the same principle. Locked in their cells for 24 hours a day, these young Republican POWs are engaged in a ‘Dirty Protest’. They are being denied the right to legal or family visits. Even their right to post letters has been denied them. In August of last year an Agreement – independently mediated – laid the basis for a just settlement. Despite this the Stormont Justice Minister and his regime reneged on this Agreement and have instead forced the Republican Prisoners to return to protest. We are calling on people to come out in support of their right to political status and rally behind their demand for an end to the dehumanising practice of strip-searching and controlled movement.

“Events over the past months have told us more about the reality of British Rule in Ireland than any words we could express or write. The arrest and charging of the President and Vice President of Republican Sinn Féin on July 6 in relation to a march for Republican veteran Martin Corey held in Lurgan on January 23 is part of a deliberate targetting of Republican Sinn Féin by both the British and 26-County States. Our newly appointed Publicity Officer Geraldine McNamara had her home in Tipperary raided by the 26-County Special Branch on June 30 and her mobile phone siezed. In May two members of Republican Sinn Féin were arrested and charged with an interview they gave to Channel Four News in September of last year. Other members are also being chraged with participating in the same march while the RUC/PSNI have issued warning letters regarding the Easter 1916 commemorations in Lurgan and Armagh. An attempt to silence the message by locking up the messanger.

“When Loyalists attacked nationalist homes in Belfast’s Short Strand in June the response of the RUC/PSNI was to arrest two nationalists while within days Stormont First Minister Peter Robinson was negotiating with the UVF who carried out the attacks.

“We welcome the release of veteran Republican Brendan Lillis on August 18. But we also point out that he should never have been imprisoned in the first place. He was held in appalling conditions in Maghaberry Prison for no other reason than the vindictiveness of the British Government and the Stormont Regime. His internment without trial was a gross violation of his most basic human rights.

“We repeat our demand for the immediate release of Martin Corey – another veteran Republican – who has been interned without trial since April 2010. At the end of July he was told that he must serve a further four years in prison. Martin Corey served 19 years in Long Kesh making him the longest serving prisoner there. Despite this he is in Maghaberry today simply because he refuses to compromise with the occupier of his country.

“In the last week in July five nationalists were arrested in a high profile swoop, which the British Colonial Police trumpeted as being linked to the death of RUC/PSNI man Ronan Kerr in April. All were released within two days without charge. One of the men was in the US at the time of the attack in which Ronan Kerr was killed. Yet another case of ‘round up the usual suspects’.

“The Six-County State can never be either normal or democratic. It is inherently sectarian and a stumbling block to a New Ireland.

“If we wish to truly honour Bobby Sands and his comrades we can only do so when we remove the last vestiges of British Rule from Ireland along with the new imperialism of the EU/ECB and the IMF who seek to enslave our people politically as well as economically. A New Ireland based on the federal proposals set out in Éire Nua can make the All-Ireland Republic of 1916 a reality for all of the Irish people.
Irish Republicans are the true revolutionaries capable of fanning the flame of freedom and in the words of Terence MacSwiney: ‘scorching up hypocrisy, deceit, meanness, and lighting all brave hearts to high hope and achievement’.”

An Phoblacht Abú

Release Brendan Lillis now!

The refusal of David Ford to release Brendan Lillis exposes the shallowness of Ford and his ilk when they talk about human rights and civil liberties. When Ford opens his mouth again with more sanctimonious sermonising his words should be dismissed for the weasel words that they are. Brendan Lillis is suffering from a very serious disease called ankylosing spondylitis, which leads to a curvature in the spine and causes the body to produce excess bone mass. To leave the politics of the issue aside for a moment on purely humanitarian grounds Brendan Lillies should be released immediately.

One can only judge a state or a society by how it treats its most vulnerable. In the 26 Counties we have witnessed the litany of reports of ill treatment of the both the young and the old. In the Six Counties the case of Brendan Lillis is just another example of how for all its boasting about its championing of the rule of law and human rights when it comes to dealing with the Irish people Britain just can’t break the habits of the coloniser when dealing with the colonised. Imprisoning Brendan Lillis even from the point of view of Stormont and Westminster (something I find very difficult to do) serves no purpose whatsoever. It is purely vindictive and a case of extracting the last pound of flesh from a man who in the distant past had the temerity to assert his country’s right to national independence.

On a political level the treatment of Brendan Lillis speaks louder than any words we could write or speak about the true nature of the Six-County State and its relationship with the nationalist people. The Provisonal spin-doctors have written countless words about the “new dispensation” and a “new police force”. All of this is merely dross to hide the fact that it is all a sham. What we have is thttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhe same old British wolf dressed up in the lamb’s clothing afforded it by the 1998 Stormont Agreement. The bottom line here is that the Six-County State is fundamentally sectarian and undemocratic. All of its institutions will reflect this including its police force no matter what name it is given. This is true of any state.

But to return to the issue at hand. The bravery and unstinting commitment shown by Brendan Lillis’s partner Roisin Lynch is a testament to the strength of an ordinary person when thrust into extraordinary circumstances. The case of Brendan Lillis is the human side of all of this. His continued imprisonment is above politics and is a question of one of the most basic rights – the right to life and dignity as a human being. Release Brendan Lillis now!

http://thesingingflamedesdalton.blogspot.com/

Six-County State is an obstacle to a New Ireland

Speaking at a commemoration of the 1981 Hunger Striker Kevin Lynch in Dungiven Co Derry on Saturday August 6 the President of Republican Sinn Féin Des Dalton said:

“Here in Dungiven in North Derry we stand with pride in commemoration of Kevin Lynch. One of ten young Irish men who by their sacrifice and heroism captured the imagination of Ireland and the world, reminding one and all that ‘Ireland unfree shall never be at peace.’ Along with Kevin we also remember his fellow Derry men, Patsy O’Hara, Thomas McElwee, Francis Hughes and Mickey Devine. Like Co Cork, Derry saw five of her sons endure the long and lonely path of the hunger strike. Using their bodies as weapon of last resort at which to strike at British occupation.

“Kevin Lynch was born in the village of Park – eight miles from here on May 25 1956. He was the youngest in a family of eight. In his teens he moved to Dungiven or Dun Gheimhin (Given’s Fort) with his family. Like his father and brothers Kevin was a builder by trade. He had a passion for all things Irish and this was reflected in his love of Gaelic games and particularly hurling. He played right half-back with St Patrick’s Hurling Club in the inaugural Feile na nGael held in Thurles Co Tipperary in 1971. Despite only having had his appendix removed ten days prior to the competition Kevin was instrumental in his club winning their division over the two days. He captained Derry to an All-Ireland U16 title in 1972.

“He also played football and took up boxing as well. The fact the local hurling club was named in his honour reflects the esteem with which the Gaels of Dungiven held and still hold Kevin. Living in such a strongly nationalist community he quickly came face to face with the harsh reality of British Rule as experienced by the nationalist people of the Six Counties. This included a beating he and nine other young men suffered at the hands of the British Army as they returned home from a dance.

“His keen sense of justice and principle soon led him to become active in the struggle to end British interference in Ireland when he joined the INLA. Kevin was active with his local unit in acquiring arms right up to his arrest on December 2 1976. Following his arrest Kevin suffered a severe beating in the infamous Castlereagh interrogation centre following which he was charged with possession of weapons. Following a year on remand in Crumlin Road Jail a Diplock non-jury court sentenced him to 10 years. He at once took his place in the ranks of the ‘Blanket Men’ in the H Blocks of Long Kesh. He brought with him to the H Blocks the qualities, which marked him out on the hurling or football field: courage; loyalty and a will to win.

“Kevin Lynch like his comrades was determined that the British machine would not break them or criminalise the struggle for Irish Freedom. During a visit with his parents he told them: ‘If they took everything else away they’d never take my principles.’

“Kevin joined the first hunger strike of October to December 1980 for the last five days. Once it became clear the British had reneged on the terms agreed for ending that hunger strike the men in Long Kesh were more determined than ever to see their fight through to a finish. Kevin was among the first to volunteer for the second hunger strike, which began with Bobby Sands on March 1. On May 23 Kevin began his long hunger for justice. During the 26-County Elections in June of that year he contested the Waterford constituency where he won more than 3,753 votes as an H Block candidate. Towards the end of his hunger strike Kevin Lynch declared that what he and his comrades were engaged in was an extension of the war against British Rule that was being waged outside: ‘I am a soldier. We’re all soldiers. We’re fighting a war – and our war is in here’. Kevin Lynch died on August 1 1981 following 71 days on hunger strike.

“In 1998 the Provisionals under the terms of the Stormont Agreement signed away the rights won on the back of the sacrifice of Kevin Lynch; Bobby Sands; Patsy O’Hara; ;Mickey Devine and their comrades. As a result today young Irishmen in Maghaberry Prison are enagaged in the same struggle against the same enemy for the same principle. Locked in their cells for 24 hours a day, these young Republican POWs are engaged in a ‘Dirty Protest’. They are being denied the right to legal or family visits. Even their right to post letters has been denied them. In August of last year an Agreement – independently mediated – laid the basis for a just settlement. Despite this the Stormont Justice Minister David Ford and his regime reneged on this Agreement and have instead forced the Republican Prisoners to return to protest.

“The actions of the Brtitsh State over past months have exposed the reality of British Rule in Ireland despite the lies and spin of the Provos and their apologists. The arrest and charging of the President and Vice President of Republican Sinn Féin on July 6 in relation to a march for Republican veteran Martin Corey held in Lurgan on January 23 is part of a deliberate targetting of Republican Sinn Féin by both the British and 26-County States. The oppsoition of both the Six-County PPS as well as the RUC/PSNI to bail for both Des Dalton and Fergal Moore shows the clear intention was to intern both RSF’s President and Vice President.

“Our newly appointed Publicity Officer Geraldine McNamara had her home in Tipperary raided by the 26-County Special Branch on June 30 and her mobile phone siezed. In May two members of Republican Sinn Féin were arrested and charged in relation to an interview they gave to Channel Four News in September of last year. Other members are also being charged with participating in the Lurgan march while the RUC/PSNI have issued warning letters regarding the Easter 1916 commemorations in Lurgan and Armagh.

“It is evident that the undiluted message of revolutionary Irish Republicanism delivered by Republican Sinn Féin is feared by Westminster, Stormont and Leinster House. It is a message and a cause whose roots lie deep within the hearts of Irish people. The age-old tactic of locking up and silencing the very idea of Irish freedom has failed in the past and history teaches us will fail again today and in the future.

“When Loyalists attacked nationalist homes in Belfast’s Short Strand in June the immediate response of the RUC/PSNI was to arrest two nationalists while within days Stormont First Minister Peter Robinson was negotiating with the UVF who carried out the attacks.

“While all of this is going on a gravely ill man, Brendan Lillis is being held in appalling conditions in Maghaberry Prison. He is imprisoned for no other reason than the vindictiveness of the British Government and the Stormont Regime. Shame on David Ford and the rest of his junta. The continued internment without trial of Brendan Lillis is a gross violation of his most basic human rights. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Brendan Lillis.

“We also demand the immediate release of Martin Corey – another veteran Republican – who has been interned without trial since April 2010. At the end of July he was told that he must serve a further four years in prison. Martin Corey served 19 years in Long Kesh making him the longest serving prisoner there. Despite this he is in Maghaberry today simply because he refuses to compromise with the occupier of his country.

“In the last week in July five nationalists were arrested in a high profile swoop, which the British Colonial Police trumpeted as being linked to the death of RUC/PSNI man Ronan Kerr in April. All were released within two days without charge. One of the men was in the US at the time of the attack in which Ronan Kerr was killed. Yet another case of ‘round up the usual suspects’.

“The Six-County State is a gerrymandered remnant of British Rule. It can never be a platform from which to build a New Ireland. It is an obstacle to the progress of the Irish people towards the All-Ireland Republic of Easter Week. We believe our proposals for a Federal Ireland contained in Éire Nua provide the basis for true All-Ireland democracy.

“Kevin Lynch; Patsy O’Hara; Francis Hughes; Tom McElwee and Mickey Devine all laid down their young lives so that the Irish Nation might live. Their faith was a Fenian Faith, which would brook no compromise with the invader. To keep faith with the ideals for which they lived and died is our solemn duty. Bobby Sands left this advice for future generations: ‘If they aren't able to destroy the desire for freedom, they won't break you. They won't break me because the desire for freedom, and the freedom of the Irish people, is in my heart. The day will dawn when all the people of Ireland will have the desire for freedom to show. It is then we'll see the rising of the moon.’”

An Phoblacht Abú