1916 speeches round-up…
MARTIN disagrees with Gerry and Peter – Stormont won’t be a ‘battle a day’ after all. We’ll see soon enough. The Deputy-First-Minister-to-be also said republicans “have now entered the end phase of our struggle” and the countdown was on to a united Ireland, though he didn’t mention when Year Zero would be. Meanwhile, in other Easter addresses by Sinn Fein, an election-conscious Gerry Adams focused on the south, lambasting parties there for not doing enough to bring about a united Ireland. You can read extracts from Adams’ and Gerry Kelly’s speeches here.
Did anyone ever come up with an answer to the question of why “republicans” commemorate the Easter “rising” on Easter Sunday, when the “rising” actually took place on Easter Monday?
Does it matter in the least Willowfield given that Easter is a moveable feast.
You don’t know, then?
No, I don’t and i couldn’t care less (I’m only a small r republican).
Thanks for your contribution.
Does the Commemoration include remembering and celebrating the incineration of innocent members of an all Ireland kennel club at La Mon House Hotel;the Protestant parishioners gunned down during Christain worship in Darkley Mission Hall;the mass assassination of a bus load of Protestant workmen at Kingsmills;the indiscriminate bombing of fellow citizens in Belfast on Bloody Friday.The time is coming soon when the truth of all these famous Republican actions will be revealed and we will know the part played by those currently maquerading as peacemakers and statesmen.Truth will out.The Republican movement is seen by Protestants as a bloodstained, squalid,cowardly, sectarian, fascist conspiracy that is sustained by its twisted hatred of its fellow citizens.
T.Ruth
T.Ruth,
1916 Commemoration – there’s a hint there about what was commemorated.
“The time is coming soon when the truth of all these famous Republican actions will be revealed and we will know the part played by those currently maquerading as peacemakers and statesmen.Truth will out.”
Great maybe we will also get the truth about who was behind loyalist activity in the 1960′s and given the current situation why did O’neil have to go?
Dear Ruth
If I was to proclaim the following, “The DUP is seen by Catholics as a squalid, cowardly, sectarian, petty bourgeois conspiracy that cheered on the loyalist paramilitary whilst they massacred their catholic neighbours, and is sustained by its twisted hatred of its fellow citizens.” what good would it do, true many nationalists might feel that there was some truth in it, but most would hope that they will be proved wrong in the future.
What ever one may feel about the GFA etc and imo it is a sectarian stitch up, it is a fact of life. So surly instead of stoking the flames of sectarian and religious differences, it might be better if we scribes did our job and held the shockingly awful leading politicians within Stormont who make up the leaderships of SF and the DUP to account at every turn.
For with respect it seems to me the road you have chosen is simply encouraging the type of debate that centers around, “your monster is worse than my monster.”
I suppose the question we all need to ask is what type of electorate votes for political parties who a large number of their fellow citizens, whether they be Catholic or Protestant regard as
“bloodstained, squalid, cowardly, sectarian, semi fascist conspiracy that is sustained by the twisted hatred of fellow citizens,” and more importantly what type of State founded and allowed to flourish for decades a State-let/Province within its national territory where such ideas were accepted as perfectly legitimate.
Regards
Mickhall,
“what good would it do” ?
Well, may be (just may be), it would go some way to achieving a genuine level of mutual understanding? To recount the horrors of the past does not necessarily have to result in “the type of debate that centers around, ‘your monster is worse than my monster’.†If it does, then that reflects a negatively competitive perception of the claims. Everyone should be afforded the opportunity to tell their story without the fear of their motives for doing so being criticized.
T.Ruth
Don’t mention IRA atrocities…. I mentioned them once but I think I got away with it!
Atrocities were committed on all 3 sides, but as Mick quoted a few days ago (approximately)
“The people have spoken, the bastards”.
We should not forget the past but neither should we wallow in it.
Brighter times are ahead for all of us, but only if we really want it. And I think most people do.
Waldeatrudis
If by that you mean a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, I am all for it. But not only will northern paramilitaries have to come before such a Commision, but also the security forces and their political masters. if this were to happen people may not only be finally able to draw a line underneath what has occurred, but also we will all know whose blood is on whose hands.
That none of the main participants are calling for such an inquiry, whether they be representatives of the UK State, paramilitaries or local politicos, but have been shying away from it speaks volumes.
T.Ruth is a troll. Don’t expect to get a debate out of him.
Those speeches were not very informative about the combatants of 1916…
T Ruth ,
Compare
‘The Republican movement is seen by Protestants as a bloodstained, squalid,cowardly, sectarian, fascist conspiracy that is sustained by its twisted hatred of its fellow citizens.’
with
‘The Unionist/Loyalist movement is seen by NI Catholics as a bloodstained, squalid,cowardly, sectarian, fascist conspiracy that is sustained by its twisted hatred of its fellow citizens.
Compare
The Republican movement was founded mainly by Protestants (Wolfe Tone/James Stephens/ John Mitchell, Robert Emmet etc etc etc’
with
The UnionistLoyalist movement was founded entirely by Protestants ( Edward Carson / Craig / Brookeborough etc etc etc )
In comparing the above should the ‘troll’ T Ruth not now admit that it’s Protestants who were/are primarily responsible for Ireland’s political woes from 1690 to the present day ?
Maybe it was’nt British rule in Ireland after all if the T Ruth was known!
Spare us ll from gobshites especially the Unionist variety
mickhall,
I agree 100%. I do feel that at an important part of such a process would not be the opportunity of everyone to tell the story alone. It is essential that the timing of such a commission is right. So long as mindsets are unrepentant, not for the actions of the passed but for the pain that has been caused, the efficacy of it’s role would always be questionable. If we take contributions by posters here on the Slug as a random sample of opinion, it is worth noting that an attitude of one upmanship remains, on both sides. Our politicians say one thing to the camera but, as we know, it doesn’t always filter down to the grass roots that quickly. I would like to see a “Truth and Reconciliation Commission†though I’m not sure the time is right just at the moment.
Well it seems that Republicans have put some kind of date on the formation of a UI as 2020 has been mentioned numerous times by Adams.
If a UI was formed in 1920 you can be sure that Unionists in 2007 wouldn’t probably exist never mind attempting to get parts of Ireland linked up to the UK again. I guess this is a key difference between Unionism and Republicism and for that I do give some respect to the Nationalist ethos.
Dave: If a UI was formed in 1920 you can be sure that Unionists in 2007 wouldn’t probably exist never mind attempting to get parts of Ireland linked up to the UK again.
Even taking that at face value, it’s hardly appealing to unionists, who don’t really want to march into oblivion, along with their identity.
But how can you possibly make the claim anyway? Even assuming that a million unionists would be no more hostile to an all Ireland state than 500,000 nationalists were to Northern Ireland, how do you suppose the republican ideology would put up with abstentionism, civil-disobedience and economic sabotage? Cheerfully?
“a million unionists ”
Holy shit, did i miss something?
http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/2005/Political_Attitudes/NIRELAND.html
considering 25% of catolics want to remain in th UK I think we’re on safe ground!! indeed, less than 25% population want a UI. happy days! no wonder unuinists never bother voting!!
Cahal: Holy shit, did i miss something?
You missed the reference to “1920″, apparently.
Reader
“You missed the reference to “1920â€, apparently.”
Nope, there are more unionists / Protestant community background (delete as applicable) people in Northern Ireland today than there were in 1920. In fact they have always been increasing since then and still were increasing at the 2001 census.
Of course I am talking absolute numbers, not proportions.
Ruth T. I hope you are not implying an analogy between 1916 and the activities of the Provisional IRA and dissident republican terror groups. They are completely different thing – 1916 was combatant against combatant – not indiscriminate slaughter.
“Of course I am talking absolute numbers, not proportions.”
You’re talking absolute something, but it’s not numbers.
Unionism isn’t an ethnicity, it’s a political view point. This isn’t 1920. A unionist is anybody who pro-actively endorses the union.
I would say the only way to do so these days (barring a referendum) is to walk into a polling booth and put an X beside a unionist candidate.
“considering 25% of catolics want to remain in th UK I think we’re on safe ground!! indeed, less than 25% population want a UI. happy days! no wonder unuinists never bother voting!!”
Fecking ‘catolics’! Worse than the ‘unuinists’ in my opinion.
Again, if you don’t vote, how can you be seriously considered a unionist? Can a child be a unionist or republican? We’ll see how many real unionists and republicans there are if there is a referendum. I don’t think there are even a million people on the voting register so we’ll hardly be getting a million pro-union votes.