- I don't often comment on other people's blog posts out of professional courtesy. As every Blogger has the right to express their views on the net. Today however, I feel the need to make a few points regarding Gerry Adams TD's latest post, 'The Good Old IRA' on his Leargas Blog.
It concerns the legitimacy of what is termed the 'Old IRA' and the 'Provisional IRA'. Adams states that there is little difference between the old and provisional IRAs'. Like Deputy Adams, I too was one of the thousands of Irishmen who attended the proper burial of Irish Patriot, Óglach. Kevin Barry and his nine Óglaigh Na hÉireann comrades dumped unceremoniously into ready made graves after their unlawful executions by the British in 1920. I was there with my brother and nephew to pay homage to the ten courageous Volunteers who gave their lives in the pursuit of Irish freedom. We later met our dad and grandfather in O'Connell Street as we watched sorrowfully as the remains of the ten lads made their way into St. Patrick;s Cathedral for a decent Mass. The entire day was pretty emotional to say the least as they deservedly were given a State funeral. Many Republicans present commented on the hypocrisy of successive Free State Regimes who ignored the ten Volunteers lying inside the walls of Mountjoy Gaol in Dublin, decades after British Occupation Forces had left the city.
In his post, Adams rightly points out the hypocrisy of Southern Irish Parties such as, Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and the Labour Party in their endorsements of the Old IRA and hatred of the Provisional IRA. There are many examples of dubious public statements by Dublin Government Ministers praising the actions of the 1917 - 1922 IRA during countless commemorations held by the Free State. Any Irish Newspaper have thousands of pages of articles relating to their crass phrases.
What is confusing about Adams' post is his focus on the Provisional IRA and his holding-up of it as some kind of superior organisation to previous generations of Volunteers. He claims the return of ten out of fifteen of those people disappeared by the Provisionals as some kind of victory secured by Republicans. In my opinion, the disappearing of fifteen citizens in the Seventies is an immoral stain on the Republican community across our country. These acts were disgraceful and only served to undermine the legitimacy of it's Campaign to restore national Irish sovereignty. There was no justification for disappearing anyone, regardless of their alleged crimes. Their families were denied the right to bury their loved ones, in what seemed like collective punishment for relatives. I urge anyone with relevant information on the whereabouts of those still missing to bring it forward and end their families suffering.
Another baffling aspect of Deputy Adams' post is his chastisement of Free State Ministers about their selective revisionism etc. I'm old enough to recall armed attacks against the Officials by the Provisionals throughout the Seventies that often led to the untimely deaths of fellow Volunteers. Threatening condemnation of Bernadette McAliskey when she stood in the European elections in 1979 and some of the harsh words expressed at the time. Intimidation, harassment and the beatings of SDLP Activists during the Eighties and Nineties by Provies. The demonisation of INLA/IRSP members and supporters both inside and outside the various Gaols, North and South. I also cannot forget the hundreds of British troops and RUC men by the Provisional IRA Units in the recent Conflict. Was it revisionism when Martin McGuinness stood outside Stormont Castle alongside a Unionist Leader and a senior member of the RUC/PSNI called the Volunteers who killed two British soldiers in Antrim; 'Traitors to Ireland'?
It is evident from successive Irish elections held since 1918 that the electorate didn't vote in favour of armed attacks against the British State in Ireland. Every single IRA organisation including, the Provisionals conducted campaigns to resist British rule. One cannot support armed struggle between 1916 - 2005 and not endorse similar attacks on occupation forces afterwards! Is it not revisionist of Adams and his Leadership to disagree with the endorse these attacks, they must also agree with the Masserene ambush? According to International Law, the two British soldiers executed in Antrim were part of an occupying force in Ireland and their presence was an act of aggression against the Irish people. Whether we agree or disagree, matters not a chairde. The Provisional Movement like it's counterparts in Fine Gael and Fianna Fail. They have links to the IRA and as such, will always be charged with engaging in hypocrisy and revisionism. It's called Irish politics and we should not shy away from these issues.
The reality is that ever since English invaded Ireland there has been resistance to its occupation. The Irish people have a legitimate right to engage occupation forces in armed attacks because their presence on Irish soil is aggression. Britain continues to occupy six Irish counties and as such ambushes are inevitable. It doesn't matter if resistance fighters are part of an IRA, INLA or ONH organisation. No amount of Draconian Legislation, Special Prisons, Non-Jury Courts, Criminalisation Policies, Demonisation, Hypocrisy or Revisionism will change that fact. The only way to secure genuine peace in Ireland is for Britain to restore an Irish National Democracy, Free from Foreign Interference. with Social, Political and Economic Freedom. Anything less will only postpone armed resistance campaigns as history has taught us all.