Comments on The Pensive Quill: Republican Prisoners in Maghaberry Resume Protest ...

Robert, ‘The two Johns have resorted to invoking ...

2011-06-19T16:13:54.194+01:00

Robert,

‘The two Johns have resorted to invoking God for the purposes of justification.’

Crazy stuff. But god is often used to deny people their rights.

Nuala,

I am just glad somebody did a runner with the professor.

John,

‘Governmental authority was passed to successive Army Councils in 1938,1969 and 1986.’

Are you seriously suggesting that the Continuity IRA is the government of Ireland?

Robert, ‘why should Republican prisoners be facil...

2011-06-18T16:41:09.630+01:00

Robert,

‘why should Republican prisoners be facilitated with an enhanced regime over and above other inmates?’

No reason that would persuade you. For republicans it underscores the justified resistance to the manner in which the British have long maltreated prisoners whether in Ireland, during the Boer War or in the American War of Independence. History, tradition all play a part in it.

‘If the high proportion of eastern European inmates were to agitate for segregation should this be granted and on what
grounds?’

I would find no problem with it. It might make a lot of sense administratively.

Thanks Anthony, I also had a glitch on my end that...

2011-05-22T01:02:30.449+01:00

Thanks Anthony,
I also had a glitch on my end that is sorted out now until the next time.
As for the shit-man he is still on the loose burning everything British. It would serve his rants better if he posted in Irish.

Mackers, I thought nuj had done a runner with the ...

2011-05-21T20:05:22.615+01:00

Mackers,
I thought nuj had done a runner with the professor. More than likely they are trawling the net looking for unsuspecting sites, what about 'Leargas'?

Tain Bo a lot of people have had problems as of ...

2011-05-21T19:48:15.039+01:00

Tain Bo

a lot of people have had problems as of late getting on. There was a glitch on this article and we lost some comments which I hope to retrieve at some point.

Alfie,

the shit man has been screaming fascist censor at me. Has me in stitches. He is eating too many arse biscuits methinks.

Dixie said: Without the shackles of armed struggle...

2011-05-20T17:15:00.882+01:00

Dixie said: Without the shackles of armed struggle such minor things would send shock waves through Stormont as far as Westminster and I believe it would see the derailment of the PSF gravy train and more beyond.

Dixie, I completely agree.

For many years I've read news accounts of IRA (all versions) attacks. I often suspected that many of these were actually the black flag ops of others. These attacks make for bombastic headlines that sway voters in Ireland as well as the opinions of the international community.

And, these black ops lead to arrests and convictions. It's a trap.

I would love to see all the armed groups stand down. Disarmament would throw a huge monkey wrench into the Brit (and others'!) machines.

In addition, it would lead to certain groups coming off the US FTO list which would make these groups eligible for US donations.

I feel the AGFA groups would be very pleasantly surprised by the support they'd receive.

A win-win-win situation for sure.

Alec, Sinn Fein has gotten away with lying about t...

2011-05-19T22:49:44.785+01:00

Alec,
Sinn Fein has gotten away with lying about this issue for a year.
Were they lying to their own members about their role in supposedly reaching an agreement?

Dixie a cara cant fault your post or opinion,its a...

2011-05-19T22:13:45.690+01:00

Dixie a cara cant fault your post or opinion,its as Ernie O Malley said "give the people effective leadership and they will follow"sooner rather than later the different factions of republicianism must sit down together to form one cohesive organisation that can effectively challenge the psf/dup charade,I think personally that Eírígi may be the nucleus for such .

As a footnote to what I wrote above. Could you im...

2011-05-19T21:21:32.469+01:00

As a footnote to what I wrote above.

Could you imagine the impact of the type of protests against the Queen in Dublin, if the IRSP,RNU, 32CSM, RSF and Eirigi were doing similar protests against Tory cuts outside Stormont or City Hall? And we were seeing similar protests down the centre of Shipquay Street or Free Derry Corner, Dungannon, Newry etc?

Without the shackles of armed struggle such minor things would send shock waves through Stormont as far as Westminster and I believe it would see the derailment of the PSF gravy train and more beyond.

Given the right leadership that is.

The problem with we the Irish has not been the lac...

2011-05-19T20:58:29.953+01:00

The problem with we the Irish has not been the lack of willingness to fight the British but our inability to remain united in seeing the fight through until the end.

Irish history has endless examples of this going back beyond the Easter Rising and the United Irishmen. O'Donnell and O'Neill almost drove the English from Ireland after the Battle of Yellow Ford but couldn't get the support of other Irish lords to help achieve victory.

And beyond that again the story has been the same; disunity. That has always been our downfall.

And what is the point you may well ask. The point is; today we have various factions all claiming to want Unity but can't even come together as one group to begin to rebuild what remains of Republicanism.

And to be brutally honest the leaderships of these groups are all doing one thing, just like Adams and McGuinness before them, they are lying to their grass-root membership by claiming that armed struggle can remove the British.

It can't and won't remove them without the support of the Irish People. And attempting to recreate the past won't change that. Young Republicans spending the best part of their lives in jail won't change that, their lives will have been wasted by the time they get to realise they've been part of another misled generation.

Do the present leaderships wish to become as guilty of deceit as were the leadership of PSF?

1969 wasn't a rising against the British occupation it was a rebellion against Unionist misrule. The IRA was reborn because of it and they used the atrocities and injustices of the Brits that followed as the recruiting call for war against them.

The rest is history I've no need to repeat what we already know.

However the Brits have learned from the past. You can bet they'll not repeat what they see as 'mistakes'. They have the Provos sitting happily with the Paisleyites in Stormont running the statelet on their behalf. And people are happy; even while they pass on Tory cuts, that former enemies are doing it together.

Old Queen Maggie visiting Republican monuments in Dublin and speaking Gaelic is also part of the plan to, as Connolly said, rule by fooling.

So where do Republicans go from here? Do they continue to give the Shinners the smokescreen they need to hide behind which keeps them in power and that is continued armed struggle? The people want peace so why not give them what they desire and in turn leave the Shinners exposed for what they are?

Republicanism needs forward thinkers who can lead into the future not back to the past. It needs to realise that unity means all groups coming together to win the support of the people.

Republicanism doesn't need to enter Stormont but it can be shook to the foundations not by bombs but by the people.

Michaelhenry,Stormont is a British institution,you...

2011-05-19T08:20:26.211+01:00

Michaelhenry,Stormont is a British institution,your party is administering British rule,that is all the argument I need.The provisionals are upholding partition,not trying to end it.You claim that the provos are trying to end the prison crisis when they are the ones who put these men in gaol in the first place.You are constantly calling on people to become informers.The provos have murdered,beaten,threatened and intimidated Republicans to uphold British rule in Ireland.Only through force of of arms will Ireland be free.

Fionnuala The agreement was thrashed out between ...

2011-05-19T01:23:28.772+01:00

Fionnuala

The agreement was thrashed out between the NIPS and the prisoners with the help of two independent facilitators, none of whom are members of Sinn Fein.

Sinn Fein were simply not involved in any of this bar raising it with the "minister" as a matter of concern. But why let the truth get in the way of a good story.

I would pose two questions: if they were instrumental in securing the deal, as they claim,then why do we find ourselves back in a protest situation? How do they explain the failure of the NIPS to implement what was agreed to last August?

The families of the protesting prisoners will be seeking a meeting with them soon to find out what they are doing. Watch this space.

Robert, "I'm with the men of 1916 and th...

2011-05-18T23:56:30.901+01:00

Robert,

"I'm with the men of 1916 and the generations since on this one."

'It is 2011 John, the majority of people today are exercised more by the RPI than the GPO.'

I was referring to the belief of the men of 1916 in God, as expressed in the Proclamation. I don't think His existence can be annulled because it is 2011, a date calculated on His entry among us.

'Treat it as a revered Republican icon but don't let it be a justification for ,"...cowardice, inhumanity, or rapine"'

Of course it isn't a justification for those things. They are precluded by its terms.

John- Hope i have not hit a soft target- You sai...

2011-05-18T23:05:58.716+01:00

John-

Hope i have not hit a soft target-

You said- " As long as there is no oath it is alright to take a council seat "
There is no oath now in stormont- so is it alright with you that those assembly seats are took-

I don't mind the name-calling [ i have been called worse ] but where are your good arguments-

Alfie SF always refered to the 1918 election. SF t...

2011-05-18T21:30:12.438+01:00

Alfie
SF always refered to the 1918 election. SF today brought us the GFA and a huge majority 'today' in favour of what we now have. Stormont elections recently further endorsed that.

Using the 'no need for a mandate' dissident rationale now, would leave Unionists with a much stronger justification for recourse to 'war' than the nationalist fantasy island/united Ireland bunkum we've been fed.

SF brought us to where we are and somehow missed the celebratory dinner. No one misses them i dont think, ironically wonderful.

John McGirr, 'How do you square that one w...

2011-05-18T21:11:13.894+01:00

John McGirr,

'How do you square that one with the Proclamation?'

Anyone who wants uses god's name. It tells us nothing about what god thinks. Just what those who want to use his name think. Did god ever tell any of them anything? Tony Blair thimnks god told him to go to war in Iraq. Bollix, the lot of it.

When I hear those words you refer to in the Proclamation I think as Marty does; may as well invoke the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

John McGirr, "I'm with the men of 1916 a...

2011-05-18T21:10:28.826+01:00

John McGirr,

"I'm with the men of 1916 and the generations since on this one."

It is 2011 John, the majority of people today are exercised more by the RPI than the GPO. The Proclamation is'nt paying anyone's mortgage, filling up the car or putting clothes on their children's backs or food in their bellies. Treat it as a revered Republican icon but don't let it be a justification for ,"...cowardice, inhumanity, or rapine"

Alfie, Alfie, "If people don't want a w...

2011-05-18T20:26:51.088+01:00

Alfie,

Alfie,

"If people don't want a war for a 32-county republic, then what right have armed republicans to wage one on their behalf?"

The two Johns have resorted to invoking God for the purposes of justification. But even allowing for divine approval there is a certain illogical basis to the insistence of liberating people who do not want to be liberated from that which they have expressed a desire not to be liberated from.

Michaelhenry,You are the partitionist.The provisio...

2011-05-18T18:43:44.514+01:00

Michaelhenry,You are the partitionist.The provisionals are the ones administering British rule and locking up Republicans.You are a traitor just like Adams & McGuinness.Not once did I say it was wrong for Eirigi to do anything.I asked what do they expect to accomplish working in the British system.As long as there is no oath it is alright to take council seats.Do not put words in my mouth.Your party is not even a constitutional nationalist party,the provos are unionists.Encouraging people to join the RUC & become touts.Ourselves Alone,indeed.

Michael, "my-my- i smell a partition lover-&...

2011-05-18T15:57:28.945+01:00

Michael,

"my-my- i smell a partition lover-"

You must recognise that smell from having your nose up the Big Lad's arse so much!!!

John et al, If people don't want a war for a ...

2011-05-17T23:34:13.360+01:00

John et al,

If people don't want a war for a 32-county republic, then what right have armed republicans to wage one on their behalf? In the absence of repression, whence does this licence to go against the wishes of one's fellow countrymen come? I mean, if today's armed republicans can ignore the will of the people, then what would be wrong with unionists/loyalists doing exactly the same thing in a hypothetical united Ireland?

John- You think that Eirigi is wrong to take any ...

2011-05-17T23:32:42.751+01:00

John-

You think that Eirigi is wrong to take any council seat in the six counties-[ they would never get the peoples vote to do so ]
but that is still there right-

But you agree that r.s.f members can take there 26 county council seats- my-my- i smell a partition lover-

Alec, apologies, I was told no later than a few da...

2011-05-17T23:28:05.803+01:00

Alec,
apologies, I was told no later than a few days ago that Sinn Fein helped broker the agreement in Maghaberry.
I was told by a Sinn Fein MLA, that Carol ni Chuilin and Raymond Mc Cartney had played a significant part in getting the deal.
I totally believe your version of events, but why are people letting them make this claim?

It is an immutable,universal fact that the British...

2011-05-17T23:17:42.122+01:00

It is an immutable,universal fact that the British have no right to be in Ireland.Their presence is illegal,both in the eyes of God and in the eyes of man,as is the Free State Government.Governmental authority was passed to successive Army Councils in 1938,1969 and 1986.The right of Irishmen to take up arms in defence of The Republic cannot be disputed.One may not agree with it,but one can't deny it,either.

Anthony, I cannot help but draw an anology here w...

2011-05-17T23:02:09.098+01:00

Anthony,

I cannot help but draw an anology here with John's view and that of the Japanese soldier, Hiroo Onoda, who had to be coaxed from a cave on the Philippines 29 yrs after WWII!