Sordid tale of Boston College IRA tapes should now be over - Death of Dolours Price means no prosecution possible for British

Dolours Price

In Friday's Boston Globe newspaper, columnists Kevin Cullen states that he believes that the death of Dolours Price, the dissident Republican, meant that the issue of the Boston College IRA tapes was now over.

Price died of a suspected overdose in her Dublin home. She had suffered from mental health issues for many years.

The British government had been seeking the tapes in an attempt to link Gerry Adams to the murder of Jean McConville, an alleged IRA informer who was killed in Belfast in 1972.

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Price had apparently fingered Adams on the tapes but what use the word of a clearly ill woman would have been was never explained.        

Cullen’s point was well made; the death of Dolores Price means she cannot give evidence against Gerry Adams in court which was the main reason why the British government wanted to seize the tapes.

The tapes were part of the Boston College Project which was intended to be an oral history of The Troubles but quickly turned into a Gerry Adams witch hunt led by project director journalist Ed Moloney who clearly holds Adams in great contempt for daring to sign up to the peace process.

Despite the fact that the Boston College project was allegedly an historical one aimed at creating an oral an archive of The Troubles the British government decided that their long time vendetta against Gerry Adams could be well served by seizing the tapes.

Read More: Boston College Irish tapes - the truth about Ed Moloney’s book and letting the cat out of the bag

Cullen pointed that without Price the tapes are no longer useful to the British and they and the U.S. government should now reach an agreement that no further tapes will be sought.

The timing is perfect as I wrote here last week. The new Secretary of State, John Kerry, is on the record as opposing the British attempt to gain access to the tapes.  Now is the perfect time for Kerry to make clear to the British that they should give up their efforts to get the tapes.

The episode has been a sordid one from the beginning with the initial efforts to get Adams by the researchers followed by the British government efforts to use historical records to cause problems in the peace process.

There is enough death and destruction attached to The Troubles to last several lifetimes. Cherry picking cases or fomenting historical feuds is a waste of time

With the death of Dolours Price this episode can now be brought to an end. Hopefully John Kerry will take the opportunity to do so in no uncertain terms with the British.

Not in our name -- Irish Americans deplore Dissident IRA killing --Time to stand up and be counted on slaying of prison officer

David Black

The murder of prison officer David Black in Lurgan, Armagh by dissident IRA members who ambushed his car, was not done in the name of Irish America.

This community has made clear for years now that it stands with the peace process and not with those who wish to continue to visit death and tragedy on the people there.

We agree with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who said "There is no justification for this outrageous and cowardly act. I offer my sincere condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Officer Black, who had a long and distinguished record of service."

It is a futile cause and a death in vain as it only solidifies the belief among the peace process parties and among Irish Americans that the current progress must continue.

It was never going to be a 100 per cent break with the past and violence but the killing of the prison officer, a Protestant, was yet another example of the lunacy at work in some quarters.

Does the killing of a prison officer or a policeman move the goal of a united Ireland one centimeter closer?

Of course not, quite the opposite.  Those who still take up arms despite the wishes of overwhelming majorities in both communities who support the process know that too.

It allows them their stupid delusions of grandeur that they are players in a conflict that has actually ended with  the Good Friday  peace agreement between all sides.

Nobel Prize winner John Hume referred to his goal as that of an agreed Ireland. As far as we can that has been achieved with a huge helping hand from Irish America and President Clinton and other presidents since.

Whether the future holds a united Ireland or the status quo depends on the future generations who will vote on such issues.

It certainly  does not depend on those who will wantonly take life in support of a violent ideal that has now receded into history.

It was heartening to see Northern Ireland’s two leaders, Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness issue a joint statement on the killing, condemning it in the strongest terms.

Such is the only way to proceed in the North. The peace process has now been operational in one form or another since the early 90s. A generation has grown up not knowing violence or the despair of earlier generations.

That is how it should be, persuasion by political means not violence remains the goal of all who wish the peace process well.

We here in America want to reiterate again these killers do not speak for the overwhelming majority of Irish Americans.

Latest "Get Gerry Adams effort" is led by deeply troubled woman -- Dolours Price has long history of mental illness after force-feeding

Political activist and former volunteer for the Provisional IRA Dolours Price
(Photo: Pacemaker)

Long ago and far away there seems little doubt that Gerry Adams was a senior figure in the IRA in West Belfast.

How could he not be? His neighborhood was under siege from the British Army and every able-bodied man back in the days when the Troubles were at their height was involved.

What is interesting about recent attempts to get Adams to admit the past is how the context is never given.

Decades of  complete Unionist misrule led to a tinder-box situation after civil rights marchers were batoned and beaten off the streets in 1968 and 1969.

It all  inevitably exploded and then all hell broke loose when the British Army was called in to defend the indefensible status quo we had Bloody Sunday and a fully fledged IRA campaign. That was the Northern Ireland that Gerry Adams grew up in

Dolours Price, now Gerry Adams chief accuser was caught up in it too, coming from a strong Republican family.

In March 1973 she was arrested on board a plane going to Ireland just as a 300 pound bomb detonated at the Old Bailey courts and one person was killed and many injured Her sister Marian was arrested alongside her.

Her time in prison did not go well. She and her sister went on a hunger strike and were force- fed for 200 days an horrific experience which has caused much of the mental trauma she experiences today.

Almost 40 years on, Dolours Price the former wife of actor Stephen Rea, is sadly still suffering the effects.

“She had a history of psychiatric problems and substance abuse,” said journalist Ed Moloney.

“She has been diagnosed with PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder], had been hospitalized repeatedly, and....(is)  taking strong psychotropic drugs.

Indeed, on the day she spoke to [The Irish News] she was on day leave from St Patrick’s psychiatric hospital in Dublin.” Moloney said referring to the controversial interview she gave  to that newspaper where she first alleged Adams sent informers to their death.

She is unrepentant about her past and makes no bones that she wants to destroy Adams and the process if she can.

The Irish Sunday Times quoted her this weekend  saying she defended her acts while in the IRA and actually enjoyed them. “It was an exciting time, there was no real order or structure to everyday life, the war had taken away all normal routine ... I should be ashamed to admit there was fun in it in those days,” she said.

The same Sunday Times article notes that in 2001, Price was found guilty  in a Dublin court of stealing prescriptions. “She seems to have an alcohol problem but is taking steps to address it,” said Judge Thomas Fitzpatrick .

Five years later Price was disallowed access to Maghaberry prison, where she was visiting a dissident republican prisoner “She was verbally abusive and threatening and was in no condition to be allowed into the visiting area,” said a senior Prison Service source.

She has also received three convictions for theft in recent years and has attempted suicide.

Little wonder Adams does not feel it is politic to pursue her accusations against him in court.

Last weekend he stated: “I am not of a mind to trail Dolours Price through the courts . . . she is unwell.”

Those who are putting her up to the statements she is making, given that she is a seriously ill woman have a lot to answer for it seems to me.

She should be allowed time and space to try and recuperate from her many problems It is sad to see her used as a “Get Gerry Adams” vehicle by sections of the media.

New IRA group a bad joke but no one is laughing - Delusion of grandeur that they can end peace process

A new IRA group wants to threaten the peace process.

Yesterday the widely respected Guardian newspaper led with a story that an organization calling itself the IRA, composed of different factions of dissidents, has come together and is intent on threatening the Irish peace process.

The group is a sick joke.

The new grouping, which simply calls themselves the IRA, came together in Derry and told a Guardian journalist that a new and combined campaign against British rule would begin.

To which I say horse droppings.

For over a decade various dissident groups have tried to reignite war in Northern Ireland and failed spectacularly.

The war is over, the troubles are part of history, the new political order has the overwhelming support of the majority of all the people of Ireland.

Clearly some of the dissident groups have developed delusions of grandeur that they can change all the facts on the ground.

Maybe these new Desperate Dans need reality checks, or should try Viagra to prove their manhood if they need to threaten to kill fellow nationalists as well as unionists to prove their macho muscle.

Someone needs to tell the new and disimproved version of the IRA that they are fighting a lost war, that the train left the station some time around 1998 with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

The GFA is an attempt to find an agreed Ireland where every group and party can find access to power and be part of.

The power sharing government of Northern Ireland has smany problems but when you consder the alternative – IE this new “IRA” then you realize we have a lot to be thankful for.

Gerry Kelly former IRA leader and now a Northern Ireland Minister puts it best.

“This is further evidence that they have no strategy and their aims are as clear as mud. RAAD, for example, have claimed to be an anti-drugs group who have now joined a larger ‘dissident’ group with different aims. This move appears to be more to do with egos and personal fiefdoms than anything else.

“That is not to say that they cannot be dangerous,” Gerry Kelly cautioned.

“They have in the past killed people, the majority of whom have been from the nationalist community. However, these actions can take us nowhere.

"Meanwhile, they are happy to risk the lives and liberty of young, impressionable people to achieve nothing.

“There is no community support for these groups. They need to desist and they need to realise that they cannot achieve a united Ireland in this way

Amen to all that.

Belfast's ugly peace walls are better left standing - US funding for effort to take them down is misguided

Peace wall, Belfast

The International Fund for Ireland (IFI) has allocated $3.8 million to take down the peace walls in Northern Ireland.

Bad idea.

The IFI money comes mainly from American taxpayers and this use of their hard-earned dollars makes me wonder what planet they are living on.

Northern Ireland is still decades away from being a totally normal society.

Yes, it is horrific that walls still have to be erected between warring communities, but hardly surprising.

Just last week a young Catholic man was almost murdered when he was beaten and chased when he found himself in a Protestant neighborhood.
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The peace walls serve a real purpose, dire though they might look and seem.

Northern Ireland has come a very long way. There are almost no deaths now attributed to The Troubles. A civil society is slowly growing up as well as a cross community government.

Those are magnificent achievements and the peace walls have played their part, ugly as it may seem.

Anyone who has spent time in Belfast knows how closely many of the warring communities live in close proximity to one another, especially in Belfast.

A wrong turn and you can find yourself, like the young Catholic man last week in hostile territory indeed.

On many of my visits there I relied on the graffiti and color of the curbstones, red white and blue in Protestant areas, to warn me if I had strayed.

The peace walls also protect during the marching season when the annual rush of blood to the head among Protestant marchers occurs and violence spikes.

Some day in the future the walls will come down but it it not imminent.

Which is why this is a waste of American taxpayer's money in my opinion.

The intent to do good is very clear and should not be denigrated.

But it clashes with the still sad reality in my opinion.

Sectarian killings could increase and tensions rise if the walls come down prematurely.

IFI money far better spent on cross community projects that will breed understanding and eventually friendship for the next generation.

The real truth about the Boston College taped IRA interviews

Gerry Adams (Sasko Lazarov / Photocall Ireland)

There is clear evidence that journalist Ed Moloney and researcher Anthony McIntyre knew full well before the Boston College IRA project began that they could not guarantee confidentiality or legal indemnity to the IRA members who participated in the oral history project.

Moloney and McIntyre are now trying to sue to stop the tapes from being handed over to the Police Service of Northern Ireland after a Boston judge found that Boston College had to surrender the interviews.

The judge found that they may contain information that police in Northern Ireland want to follow up with regarding crimes committed by the IRA.

McIntyre is on the record as saying that they had complete certainty from Boston College that the interview participants, all former IRA members or Loyalist members, had indemnity.
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Here is what McIntyre told a radio interviewer: “The assurances from Boston College were very firm."

“In 2000, when the project was first mentioned, I asked specifically, what would be the arrangements?

“I was told by the Boston College representative, whom I met in Belfast, that under no circumstances would they accept archival material into their library to form part of their archive if there was any possibility, the remotest possibility, of legal repercussions, for those who had donated their interviews.

“And they were very specific about this. The Loyalist researcher also asked them the same thing. And he was told it was firewalled against any legal incursion from the British.

“[Q:] Did you have that in writing? Did you have legal assurances?

“[McIntyre:] We had a contract in writing, a Donation Agreement, which was given to the people concerned, the people who were doing the interviews, which explicitly stated that they, at all times, would be in control of the release of the information and only they, and no one else, could release it prior to the death.”

How then does this gel with a Boston College affidavit introduced in the court which directly denies this statement?

The affidavit states, "Prior to the commencement of the project, Robert K. O’Neill, the Burns librarian (where the tapes were to be housed) cautioned Moloney that although he had not spoken yet with Boston College’s counsel, the library could not guarantee the confidentiality of the interviews in the face of a court order.”

Here is a fax from O’Neill to Moloney sent in May of 2000:

“A further affidavit states . . . each interviewee of the project was to be given a contract guaranteeing confidentiality ‘to the extent that American law allows.’”
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And here is what Jack Dunn, a spokesman for Boston College says:

“I think that our good friends in Ireland seem to lack a fundamental understanding of the American legal process. We fought the fight and the fight was lost. And our hope is that the second round of the fight may prove differently.

“I think what hasn’t been stated here is that when this agreement was reached, an agreement was signed between Boston College and Ed Moloney that stated that each interviewee is to be given a contract guaranteeing confidentiality to the extent that American law allows.

“That seems to be forgotten by Mr. McIntyre and Mr. Moloney. That they were told to tell the interviewees that the confidentiality would be given to the extent that American law allows…

“The (donation) agreement between Moloney and McIntyre is bound by an earlier agreement, Agreement ‘A,’ which states each interviewee is to be given a contract guaranteeing confidentiality to the extent American law allows.”

So Boston College is clear on that, and Moloney and McIntyre, either through legal inexperience or not checking properly, continued with the interviews on shaky legal grounds, which have now precipitated an almighty furor.

As I have written before, the Boston College project was deeply flawed form the start.

Both Moloney and McIntyre are arch critics of Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, and the only people interviewed were of the same opinion.

The lack of academic objectivity to begin with should have been clear to anyone who cared to check, as Boston College should have.

Now Moloney and McIntyre are defending the indefensible. They initiated a “Get Gerry Adams” project, roped in a gullible Boston College and it has now blown up in their faces.

Moloney and McIntyre can point the finger of blame not at Boston College or the courts but squarely where it belongs -- at themselves.

End to ETA war in Basque country a great boost for Sinn Fein and Irish peace process strategy

Arnaldo Otegi and Gerry Adams, 2007

The debate about Sinn Fein and their role in Irish politics will continue long beyond this current presidential election in Ireland.

But there is no question that they have now helped create another major opportunity for peace in the long running guerrilla war in Basque country on the French/Spanish border.

ETA, the IRA equivalent, have announced an end to their armed campaign after meeting with Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams and several other peacemakers, including former Irish leader Bertie Ahern and former UN Secretary Genera Kofi Annan.

It seems the lessons of the Irish peace process are many and varied and that its positive impact is still being seen worldwide.

ETA tried and failed to end their campaign several times, but this time it seems final. Their political wing Batasuna has been ineffective, unlike Sinn Fein in convincing ETA to take that last vital step.

That now appears to have changed

There is great credit due to all concerned.

Gerry Adams has welcomed the ETA announcement that they will end their armed conflict in Spain.

"I welcome the decisive and positive terms of ETA’s response to Monday’s ‘Declaration’ in Donostia-San Sebastian by the International Conference group.

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“Following our deliberations the International Group expressed the opinion that ‘it is possible to end, the last armed confrontation in Europe’.

“We called upon ETA to “make a public declaration of the definitive cessation of all armed action and to request talks with the governments of Spain and France to address exclusively the consequences of the conflict.

“I believe that their statement today meets that requirement and I would urge the governments of Spain and France to welcome it and agree to talks exclusively to deal with the consequences of the conflict.

“These next steps should be about promoting reconciliation, addressing the issue of victims and recognizing that a serious effort has to be made to heal personal and social wounds.

“There are other issues which will need to be addressed and which can act as confidence-building measures within the process.

“For example, among these are the issue of prisoners and of demilitarizing the environment and of respecting and acknowledging the democratic rights of all political parties and treating them as equals.

“At a time when Batasuna is banned and leaders like Arnaldo Otegi, who is totally committed in my view to peace, are imprisoned, the use of confidence-building measures by the Spanish state is very important.”

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Should Gerry Adams Step Down?

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 7/24/2009 2:25 PM EDT

Should Gerry Adams Step Down?

Mick Fealty, publisher of ‘Slugger O’Toole, an excellent blog forum on Northern Ireland affairs, and Fionnula O’Connor a respected columnist with the Irish Times have both remarked this week that Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has lost effectiveness.

Fealty goes so far as to say that Adams should resign from the leadership that at 61 his race is run and it is time for Sinn Fein to bring in anew generation of leaders.

Fealty writes “…. now might be a good time for Adams to call it a day, or at the very least announce he would like his post as president to become contestable. It could open the field to younger candidates perhaps more energetic and politically fluent with the southern polity, and signal the party's determination to follow a path of genuine restructuring and renewal.”

O’Connor points out that there have been many defections from the party in the south in recent weeks and that dissatisfaction with the Northern leadership is clear.

She points to the Adams visit to America recently to whip up support for a United Ireland as symptom of the problem.

“ Gerry Adams takes off abroad again, like a latter-day John Hume, but without the one-time network of powerful friends. The appeal to the Diaspora to crusade for unification may have more to do with finding a role for the displaced Adams than real expectations of enthusing recession-crushed Irish-America about a united Ireland.”

I think they are both wrong. Adams needs to stay for the future of Sinn Fein and the peace process. Right now there is a determined challenge from a hardline republican group to the peace process. Adams is needed, as always, to steady the grassroots and show the way forward.

There is no better strategic thinker either. I would disagree strongly with O’Connor that the Adams American trip was a waste. John Hume never did mass meetings, he had the same Washington coterie of powerful friends but he never touched the soul of Irish America the way that Adams has.

During his visit he reconnected Sinn Fein with Irish Americans, as witnessed by the large crowds he drew and created a new agenda for both sides

This week alone the California Democratic Party, largest in the nation, called for a united Ireland. A drop in the pond perhaps, but watch that ripple grow with legislatures from coast to coast.

It is no idle challenge Sinn Fein faces. Eirigi, which means ‘Uprising” has major spokesmen such as Brendan Mac Cionnaith head of the Garvaghy Road residents who fought a winning battle against Orange marchers in Portadown in the Drumcree crisis. He has been directly critical of Sinn Fein in recent weeks.

There are others in the south, including one of the resigned councilors who is said to associate with Eirigi.

Eirigi is a curious mix of hardliners who woke up too late and found the landscape utterly changed by the peace process and a fair few Utopian dreamers who continue to plug their paramilitary driven socialist all Ireland agenda although the tide has gone out many years ago.

The fact is that with Eirigi and others like them around the peace deal is not yet cemented; the last nails have not been hammered in the coffin of the bad old days.

You only have to go back to this month’s marching season incidents to see how fraught it can become so quickly. The Sinn Fein leadership has navigated through far harder shoals than this but you never know what could cause the seams to start ripping apart. This is no time for Adams to go.

Larry the Chef, the IRA, and the Setup

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 7/5/2009 10:41 PM EDT

Kafka would not get a look in with the ordeal that American Larry Zaitschek has undergone these past seven years.

The case against Larry collapsed dramatically in Belfast this weekend allowing the American to finally stay in his home land and not be extradited to Ireland on trumped up charges.

On St. Patrick's Day 2002, three men entered one of Northern Ireland's top secret bases at Castlereagh Police Station and stole vital information which allegedly included the names of secret informers and their handlers. It seemed like an IRA inside job and the search for scapegoats was on as a huge hue and cry ensued. Millions was spent rehousing officers and informers.

Enter Larry, a hapless American who had somehow got a job as a chef on the base and was minding his own business on the day in question. By all accounts he cooked a mean pastry.
Soon he was being fingered as the chief insider in the job and allegedly had links to the IRA,especially via a top Sinn Fein operative named Denis Donaldson, by all accounts a very casual acquaintance.

The cops turned up the heat on Larry, yet somehow allowed him to return to America. No sooner was he back than they wanted him extradited creating an international furor and lots of angry British headlines about the Yanks sheltering a major terrorist .

They forced his wife into a witness protection program and the extradition request meant he could not return to see see his only son, Pearse, who grew up without him being around.
Larry told the Belfast Telegraph that the two days after the break-in he was interviewed twice by police in Belfast.

"I was told: 'We're done with you in our inquiries. Good luck in America. Thanks for all your great food,'" he said.

"I left and came back to America. So everyone knew I was leaving. They were done with me. I left, and then this whole story was concocted."

Concocted it was. Master IRA man Denis Donaldson later turned out to a top British spy who was killed probably by IRA dissidents soon after. The connection between him and Larry turned out to be utterly bogus.

The statement from the Public Prosecution Office this week would have made Kafka proud. It reads in part: "After the original decision for prosecution (of Larry the chef) had been taken, new information came to the attention of the PPS through the chief constable.

"The PPS concluded that a duty of disclosure to the defence arose in respect of this information. It took all possible steps in conjunction with police to make it available.

"However, the chief constable has now confirmed that he is not in a position to make this information available for the purposes of disclosure.

"In those circumstances, the PPS has concluded that the test for prosecution is no longer met as the disclosure obligations placed upon the prosecution cannot be discharged and a fair trial could not thereby be achieved."

Translation: we have no case, we never had any case and we've finally decided to let this poor useful idiot have his freedom after destroying his life and his relationship with his kid.

What was the point of of the break in? It seems clear as day. Security elements opposed to the peace process staged it to bring about a major crisis which it did and almost toppled the fragile peace. They threw in a token and unlucky American called Larry the chef to muddy the waters further and concocted a bogus IRA connection. Now it has all come apart.

For Larry the vindication comes too late to rebuild the missing years with his son. But at least it gives him peace at last and no more fear of the knock on the door at dead of night to ship him back to trumped up charges in Belfast. For that at least he can be thankful.

Justice at last for Omagh Real IRA victims

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 6/8/2009 8:53 AM EDT

Welcome to O.J. Simpson justice Irish style. Remember O.J. was never convicted in a court of the murder of wife Nicole and her lover but a subsequent civil case found him guilty and bankrupted him.

Now a similar situation has taken place in Northern Ireland. Unable to successfully prosecute the alleged bombers in Ireland's worst atrocity, the relatives of the dead have instead won a huge symbolic victory in civil court.

It is a stunning victory for those who lost 31 loved ones on that awful day that will live forever in infamy.

A maroon Vauxhall Cavalier car was stolen from Carrickmacross in nearby Monaghan on 13th of August 1998. The car, filled with 500 pounds of explosives, was parked outside a clothes shop on Omagh's Lower Market Street on Saturday, August 15th.

It was the busiest day of the week in the Tyrone town, and shoppers were flooding the downtown area. There were two Spanish tourists, a woman pregnant with twins, even a visiting Mormon as well as ordinary Catholics and Protestants. They would all be blown to bits.

The bomb had been placed there by the Real IRA, the splinter group who disagreed violently with the IRA ceasefire and the move to politics by Sinn Fein. Just 13 weeks earlier the Good Friday Agreement had been signed between all the parties in the conflict. This was to be the Real IRA response.

Three phone calls were made warning of the bomb. The bombers said an explosion would take place on Main Street -- alas, there is no main street in Omagh. They said it was beside the courthouse so people were moved away from that area -- right into the area of the explosion.

There is an incredible photograph showing a man and a child on his shoulders standing beside the parked car just as the bomb is about to go off. The camera was later found among the rubble.

Mobile phone record later identified four men as the suspects in the bombing. They were Oliver Traynor, Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly.

The last three were those found culpable in the civil case on Monday. The other man found guilty was Michael McKevitt, the founder and leader of the Real IRA.

In a strange way Omagh was a turning point. The Real IRA were forced to call off their campaign after the bombing, so widespread was the revulsion. President Clinton and Tony Blair visited Omagh together and planted wreaths at the memorial.

It was the worst of times for Northern Ireland but somehow, from great evil came good.

The victory of the families is a similar story. At last they have some peace knowing that Justice Declan Morgan, set to be the be next Chief Justice there, has agreed with their findings as to who is responsible.

The families can now rest easier knowing a measure of justice has been done.

Who is Afraid of Sinn Fein --and Why?

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 5/31/2009 1:43 PM EDT

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny's quick move to disavow any chance of Sinn Fein working in government with Fine Gael after the next election is a major mistake.
Kenny made his comments after party election chief Frank Flannery refused to rule out a Fine Gael/Sinn Fein coalition in a newspaper interview
It smacks of hypocrisy ---there are members of the Labor Party who he would certainly enter into government who have IRA pasts -- step forward Prionsias De Rossa, favorite to win a seat in the European parliament and a former senior member of the Official IRA.
In Northern Ireland no less a political figure than Ian Paisley decided to trust in Sinn Fein and went into government with them.
If it is good enough for Ian Paisley it is surely good enough for Enda Kenny.
Sinn Fein have long since come in from the cold and the idea that they cannot be trusted in government is false in the extreme. It is an opinion peddled by the remnants of the anti-peace process crowd who were only happy when Sinn Fein was being demonized and mischaracterized.
Those people belong on the ash heap of history and Enda Kenny might join them if he persists in the face of the lessons of Irish history.
The Irish state is dominated by figures like Eamon De Valera and Sean Lemass who were militant IRA supporters in their early lives and later turned to politics.
Present-day Sinn Fein is no exception. The party has absolutely no interest in going back to violence and have played a huge role in securing the peace that Ireland now enjoys.
It is passing strange to see Fianna Fail jump on Fine Gael after the statement was made by Flannery. They above all, are a party utterly devoid of principle when it comes to gaining power -- which is the way successful parties thrive.
They went into coalition with Dessie O'Malley's Progressive Democrats party despite the fact that O'Malley had almost split Fianna Fail apart after forging ahead with his own party and deserting Fianna Fail.
Fine Gael need to develop the same ruthless streak. There are no strange bedfellows in Irish politics any more, just coalition partners you have never met. Fine Gael need to learn that message.

IRA Dissidents Still Dangerous

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 5/23/2009 11:04 PM EDT

I see that dissidents in West Belfast this weekend attempted to destroy the car of Bobby Storey,a leading Republican figure, who played a key role in getting the Republican movement to take part in the peace process.

It is just the latest in a slew of attempts by dissidents to pressure leading Republicans. A similar attempt to intimidate senior Sinn Fein figure Mitchell McLoughlin recently took place and Martin McGuinness has been warned that his safety is at risk because of the dissident threat.

I don't take these actions lightly. Clearly there are a group of young thugs about the place determined to get their kicks by trying to restart The Troubles. While their attempts to draw Sinn Fein in have been laughable so far that is not to say they are not capable of much worse given the right set of circumstances.

They have only to be lucky once and as we saw from the dissidents in the killing of two British soldiers and a policeman recently, the tinder box that was once Northern Ireland could possibly be re-ignited unless cooler heads prevail.

That was certainly the case after those murders. Sinn Fein and Democratic Unionist politicians discovered they had far more in common than what separated them when it came to keeping the peace on track.

The fear is that some more recent Republican defectors, who have far more expertise than those young thugs who try to destroy cars and disturb the peace, may latch on to the dissident factions and create a new and more dangerous militant group.
The reality of any post-conflict situation is that resistance to the settlement will continue for many years in some form or fashion.

I have no doubt that the Tamil tigers,no matter how much the government in Sri Lanka is claiming victory will reorganize in some fashion. Rarely do revolutions die a quick death. That is why we must stay vigilant and committed to the process in Northern Ireland to continue to achieve through peaceful means .

Boredom and a sense that all has been achieved which spells complacency is our greatest enemy. The thugs who tried to destroy Storey's car this weekend have a message to deliver. It is up to all of us to ensure it does not spread.

Chuck Feeney, Ireland's Secret Hero

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 5/16/2009 10:54 AM EDT

I'm just back from Dublin where I met with Chuck Feeney, the American billionaire who has given all his money away, much of it to Ireland.

I also had the chance to view the wonderful RTE program about his life and his incredible role in Ireland. It is called 'Secret Billionaire' and it contains extraordinary footage of Feeney from his childhood years, right up to the present.

It is based on Conor O'Clery's best selling book on the same topic. It is clear from viewing the film that Feeney is the greatest living Irishman --and one of the greatest living Americans too.

It has really only struck home in Ireland since the documentary aired just what an incredible contribution he has made to the country and to peace in Northern Ireland. Much to his chagrin he told me, he is now being recognized in the streets,and worse of all was recently upgraded on an Aer Lingus flight when the staff realized who he was. For a man famous for his personal frugality and need for anonymity that was a singular moment.

The breadth of his contribution to Ireland is astonishing. He more than any one individual is responsible for creating the educational revolution that fueled the Celtic Tiger boom of the past decade.He also played a massive role in the Irish peace process and continues to help cement the end of The Troubles by pouring tens of millions into vital cross community projects.

As the documentary makes clear he singlehandedly transformed third level education there, personally funding the development of the University of Limerick from scratch and also underwriting most of the growth of Dublin City University. His foundation, Atlantic Philantrophies has poured more than $1 billion into higher education there, at every step forcing the Irish government to match their grant giving and transforming higher education in the process

No less a person than former Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern states clearly in the documentary that without Feeney the educational revolution that underpinned the Celtic Tiger could never have been accomplished.

In Northern Ireland he played a critical role as the documentary shows. He was a key figure in securing the involvement of President Bill Clinton in the process, which transformed the drive for peace. He stepped up with his own money when Sinn Fein desperately needed an office in Washington to assure their own hard men that the peace process was working. It was a vital intervention.

You can count on the finger of one hand the number of billionaires who would have originally agreed to meet Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, then widely considered a terrrorist, in a safe house in Dublin at the height of The Troubles like Feeney did.

He did it because he wanted to understand the Republican viewpoint and felt it could help. I was at that meeting and will always remember that encounter between two of the most extraordinary men I have ever met.

The pages of history are written from such encounters and the more time passes, the greater the role a man like Chuck Feeney will be seen to have played in the transformation of Ireland.
Not that he wants that credit. I met him and his charming wife Helga in their cosy apartment not far from the city center this week. We sipped tea and watched Al-Jazzera where a special
program on the abuse of human rights in Burma was showing.

I could see the light of battle in Chuck Feeney's eyes as he watched the injustices unfold. He's a crusader for hope and justice in a world without much of either right now. Ireland has been so lucky to have known him.

A UNITED IRELAND -- A VISION TOO FAR?

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 5/5/2009 9:52 PM EDT

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams will shortly be in America to hear from Irish Americans about how a united Ireland can be achieved.

The party is convening forums in New York and San Francisco and inviting Irish American leaders to attend.

Hopefully the suggestions put forward will be practical ones. We can sing all the rebel ballads we like over here and wrap the green flag around us but it does not make a whit of difference on the ground back in Northern Ireland.
Sinn Fein are nothing but pragmatic and Adams is the best strategic thinker in Ireland. His vision and his discipline in following that vision brought us the Irish peace process more than any other Irish or British figure.
A united Ireland could be a vision too far even for Gerry Adams in the current climate. The only way for it to happen soon is for a majority of the population in Northern Ireland to vote for it and we are a long way off that now.
Even with the nationalist population increasing and clear indications that the peace process is gaining permanence we still need a large group of Unionists to come over to that Adams vision.

It is hard to see that happening absent a major move on the nationalist side such as Ireland accepting membership in the Commonwealth.

But the stumbling block will also be the people of the Irish Republic. Short of a major sea change it is highly unlikely that the issue will be of sufficient importance in their lives to focus real attention on it.

With an economic calamity likely to last for a few years at least, the process of survival will be uppermost in their minds--not great constitutional questions.
Adams will be aware of all that and I assume he will adopt his tactics accordingly. I'll bet he's thinking in small incremental steps, such as those he carried out so masterfully to bring about the peace process. The visit to America to plant the seed is just one of those

We have come a long way in a very short time. Sinn Fein are in government in Northern ireland with the Democratic Unionist Party . Think about that for a moment and imagine making that statement even a decade ago.
Now trace back the steps how that happened and see how incredibly well the process was managed from the Sinn Fein side.
In addition the physical border has essentially disappeared between North and South -- a vital psychological reality. Those are two steps that took place incrementally ove r many years now that they are accomplished they stand out as absolutely major developments.

One New Year's Eve many years ago I sat in a house in west Belfast with a half dozen or so people, working class Republicans all. There was conversation in three languages, Irish, English, French, there was such in depth discussion in all those languages of the issues such as French imperialism in Algeria,and the Boxer rebellion in China that I thought I had wandered into the middle of a Monty Python sketch such was the intellectual firepower.
These were the kind of conversations that were going on all the time for many years and were the kernel of where the Sinn Fein peace strategy arose from.

I suspect they are probably sitting around in those same small rooms nowadays having the same kind of post peace process conversations about how to bring a united Ireland about.

It may not be apparent to the rest of us yet, but I have a feeling it will. When Adams comes to America we may learn the first inklings.