Monthly Archives: June 2013

“FOR GOD?–AND ULSTER?”

Young Jason Burke, recently entered a very interesting article concerning our Loyalist Working Class Culture. As one of the old Volunteers of the early seventies, I was very interested in reading the opinions of one of the young men, on whom our countries political and geographical future depends.
Possibly it is a sign of the times, hopefully it was unintentional youthful inexperience, but in listing his four main components of our Culture, Jason neglected to include the main cornerstone and rock, upon which the unshakable foundations of our Loyalist Working Class Culture has been constructed.
I am of course referring to our Protestant Faith and the sincerely sworn oath of our Fore-Fathers, “For God and Ulster”.
To our Fore-Fathers this Sacred Oath, was much more than mere words on a badge or a casual throw away drunken slogan and those of us today who casually, carelessly, and unthinkingly misuse this Sacred Oath, do so at our Countries peril.
The long troubled history of the Nation of Israel, should be a perfect lesson for us all on just how dramatically a Nations fortunes can rise or plummet, as a result of its peoples sincerity or lack of sincerity, with regard to our Creator.

During the past conflict, many of us who originally proudly proclaimed, “For God and Ulster,” slowly but surely excluded God from the equation, as we sought to repay indiscriminate sectarian terrorism, with an even greater dose of indiscriminate sectarian terrorism.
Slowly but surely in defence of the democratic right of the people of Northern Ireland to decide their own future and despite our original sincerity, we foolishly, gradually abandoned the moral high ground in the pursuit of, the satisfaction of revenge.
The end result of this distancing of ourselves from God was that, most of us eventually ended up in Long Kesh or dead.
With greatest respect to young Jason and Davy Ervines dear Wife, I sincerely believe that it is not a return to the culture of obsolete, totally useless languages, such as Irish and Ulster Scots, that our young people need.
I believe that what is required, is a sincere return to the basic Cultural Foundations of, our Protestant Faith and the sincerity of the Sacred Sworn Oath of our Fore-Fathers, “For God and Ulster.”
The totally useless, obsolete Irish  language, has long been used by the Roman Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic education boards, as a means of deliberate legalised discrimination, to deny Protestant teachers employment in Roman Catholic Schools, while at the same time Roman Catholic teachers have been able to seek and receive employment, throughout the entire education system.
I have absolutely no objection to anyone learning Irish or Ulster Scots at their own expense, in their own time, however I believe that, obsolete totally useless languages, train-spotting, tiddly winks and blow-football, should not be unwillingly subsidised by the vast majority of taxpaying non-participants.
Jason rightly points out that Irish was once a part of upper-class Protestant Culture, at a time when the vast majority of the Protestant Working Class, were unable to write in either English or Irish. It was however never a part of Loyalist Working Class Culture.
In reality the return of the Irish Language is about as culturally desirable to Working Loyalists, as a return to sitting with frozen clinkers in a leaking outside toilet in the back yard, on a freezing cold winters night with a damp ink-smudged page of the Belfast Telegraph for a toilet roll.
Personally I have absolutely no desire for the return of either.

Charlie Freel. 

MLK: A SHRINE OR RECONCILIATION CEBTRE?

Why are the DUP so intent on facilitating SF’s motion of a shrine for the justification of IRA violence and murder ? Only those within the DUP can answer this , yet they remain silent when challenged by victims and those opposed to anything other than the Maze being raised to the ground . It’s evident that they’re on the defensive , at present they’re attacking anyone from the unionist community with such venom not seen since the attacks on Trimble’s UUP a decade or more ago. We see puppets for Robinson attacking those who speak out against their agenda to go ahead with this centre, which will include the actual hospital wing were Sands died . Only today we had Jimmy Spratt calling victims groups nutters and Donaldson recently stated that he’d had family members murdered too , a poor excuse to justify the DUP’s stance I must say , but yet , who hasn’t ? Is his families victims above mine or yours in that his opinion is more worthy than any of ours ? If the DUP would listen to the growing list including the loyal orders , victims groups , all the unionist political parties bar the UPRG and groupings such as the UDA , they’d realise that bar their party alone and those connected to the UDA no-one wants anything except the bulldozers to occupy the Maze . Are the DUP so caught up in this power sharing appeasement that they don’t realise that the likes of Bik McFarlane , Gerry Kelly , Dermot Finucane etc will be catapulted into world wide stardom for their exploits when the prisoners from H7 escaped , Kelly shot an officer from point blank range in the head , Finucane stabbed 2 officers more than 3 times each , numerous others inflicted untold violence onto unarmed officers without hesitation in injuring them to the point that 27 officers received serious injury. Without doubt this was a great plan , executed to precise detail and I’ve yet to mention the hunger strikes etc which the IRA gained great support from. Do you honestly believe anyone is coming to the Maze to view loyalism or prison officer life ? Seriously ? Are the DUP so misguided that they don’t know this or do they and they’ve made some deal with SF ( not for the first time ) regarding another subject which allows SF to have the Maze as their own ? Who knows apart from those within the DUP. I see no reason why the hospital wing were Sands etc died should be kept , listening to Donaldson say it’s not part of the Maze redevelopment I’ve this question , why keep it then ? Are the DUP denying that SF/IRA are not going to turn the Maze into a shrine to hunger strikers and that escape let alone trying to justify IRA men as pow’s instead of criminals? I’ve heard that Republicans are planning to invest into tourism, like the open top double decker bus kind of set up , only involving those who served time in the Maze taking the tours and they’re going to target Irish America , sounds about right if you think about it , cruise ships will be targeted on arrival to Belfast , something I suspect is starting to develop as a taxi driver told me that he took visitors to the international wall in West Belfast and that his visiting fare was told that when they return in 5 years they’d be able to go to the Maze to view the great escape and were Sands died with those who fought the Brits and brought them to their knees. Is this what we’re going to have happen to something that should , in my opinion , be ripped apart and torn down , respect , shared future , equals etc , all SF language , how about respecting your victims and halting this project now before we have people taking out judicial reviews etc as to why it shouldn’t/should go ahead .The only outcome I see is to hold a poll , quite simple , who is for , who is against , a simple yes or no , bring your Id to your local council office , register and vote for or against redevelopment , winner takes all so to speak , the message is quite clear from the Unionist community , tear down the Maze now , I actually believe that the Maze shrine has always been Sf’s agenda and they opposed the national stadium being there so they could have what we’ve ended up at today , a shrine to the IRA cause . In closing, i refer to the words of David Ervine, quote,  ” Bulldoze it, too much pain, too many victims, it is a blot on the landscape. Lets bring down the curtain on this part of our history”.

THE MAD MONK

Redefining A Culture

Posted by Jason Burke on Jun 19, 2013 in Politics N. Ireland | 0 comments

Thia article first appeared on www.jasonburkehistory.com

Republicans (specifically Sinn Fein) have continually posed a question to the Protestant/Unionist/Loyalist community; “What is your culture?”. The PUL response over the years has been far from convincing. Within the nationalist community a perception exists that unionism/Protestantism is void of any substantial cultural heritage, and this belief has led some individuals to ask a similar question of themselves; “What is our culture?”. This has occurred to such an extent that northern unionists have almost brainwashed themselves into believing that they possess no tangible culture, and it continues to this day as PUL’s will readily tell anyone who will listen that they are in some way lacking a cultural identity.  The PUL community can be assured that an identity is within their grasp, if only they could be brave enough to embrace it.

Today it appears that PUL culture can be narrowed down to Ulster-Scots, Orangeism, Loyalist marching bands, and historical achievement/sacrifice.  These four strands are at times inextricably linked which can hamper any potential exploration of diversity and in turn cements the pigeon holes in which we are placed.  It is important to note that not every unionist has an Ulster-Scots background, nor is he/she a member of the Orange Order, or has sufficient free time to play in one of the 700+ marching bands in the province.  Does this mean that these people do not have a cultural identity? Surely not.

Politicisation of the languages (amongst other things) by Republicans, and also by mainstream unionists, has created an entrenchment of cultures in Northern Ireland, whereby unionists are almost being force-fed Ulster-Scots as ‘their’ culture and being scaremongered into believing that everything Irish and Gaelic is to be resented and feared.  These same unionists need to be aware of their own history when it comes to the Irish language, as it was in fact Ulster Protestants who were the principal custodians of this language until the movement was infiltrated and hijacked by revolutionary republicans, namely the Irish Republican Brotherhood.  It could be said of the 18^th and 19^th centuries that the Irish language belonged to the educated Protestant people as it was they who comforted it during it’s hour of need. Ironically, Catholics in those days were forced by some churches to say their confessions and mass in English as Gaelic Irish was not acceptable.  Today the East Belfast Mission are providing Irish language lessons on the Newtownards Road.  Linda Ervine (wife of former PUP leader Brian Ervine) is the Irish Language Development Officer at EBM and deserves immense credit for her foresight and bravery in ensuring that this programme continues.

In terms of music the PUL community will forever be associated with it’s marching bands fraternity, where without doubt the talent is above and beyond what any outsider can ever imagine.  The myth that these bands simply ’kick the Pope’ and exist to intimidate Catholics could not be further from the truth.  I recently conversed with a Catholic school teacher who plays a flute in Loyalist band, this individual was happy to endorse my argument that the marching bands do not exist simply to offend others, and if anything quite the opposite is true.  Many scores of music have crossed the political divide and are used by Loyalist bands,  recently I have heard bands play Rakes of Kildare, Dear Old Donegall. When Irish Eyes Are Smiling, Lough Erin’s Shore, and The Gael amongst many others.  It leads me to assume that a process has already begun whereby Irish traditional music can be more widely accepted into Protestant/Unionist/Loyalist culture, whether knowingly or unknowingly this is a progressive step which will only add further ingredients to the PUL culture.   There is no shame in admiring music that belongs to a shared island, that music is as much yours as mine.

It is often mentioned that Northern Ireland is working towards a shared future, but it must also be remembered that we come from a shared past and unfortunately some have taken a greater share than they are entitled to.  Republicans will continue to apprehend particular elements of the past which are not ’rightfully’ theirs, Saint Patrick is an important example, the 1798 rebellion is another, but that should not scare off anyone wishing to engage in associated events.  Saint Patrick’s day tends to be met with some hostility from unionist quarters due to the flag waving antics of those who participate, but the only way this can be changed is by taking part and actively re-claiming a share of the Patron Saint who was nether Protestant, Catholic, or even Irish. Imagine a St. Patrick’s day parade where the magnificent Dunloy Accordion Band could lead the procession through Belfast… Why not?

With regards to the 1798 rebellion Belfast Protestants honoring Wolfe Tone at Bodenstown in 1934 were attacked by nationalist Tipperary IRA men who seized their banners.  One of these proclaimed “Wolfe Tone Commemoration 1934 – Shankill Road Belfast Branch – Break the link with Capitalism”. The resulting melee was described as “A Day of Shame”.  Two men carrying the banner, William Tumilson and Jim Stranney, later died in the Spanish Civil War.  Fifty years later in 1984, socialists, including some from the Shankill Road, returned to re-enact the parade. Protestants/Unionists/Loyalists should seek to re-engage with those episodes of the past which have eluded them more recently.

Imagine loyalists combining the language movement (Irish and/or Ulster-Scots), with music (traditional Irish and/or marching bands), Orangeism, Protestant faith, shared history (including British History), and the various strands of Ulster-Scots/Irish culture, the result is a new redefined culture with an undoubted substance for the PUL community to buy into. Ulster Protestants are in a remarkably fortunate position, for they are able to identify themselves as both British and Irish.  Some folk from around the world would give anything in order to be able to label themselves one or the other but Ulster Protestants have turned their noses up at the chance to embrace both identities thus far.

It leads me to believe that the PUL community has a wealth of cultural attributes in it’s midst while accusations that this community is void of culture is nothing short of psychological belittlement.  It is my belief that the unionist people can successfully set about a process of redefinition and reclamation which will lead to a healthy, confident future for PUL culture.

(John Coulter, Irish Daily Star)

Stop wasting cash on the integrated education myth and pump the money into the well-run existing Catholic and State schools.

If I was a Yank, I’d be an avid Tea Party campaigner, but even I had to commend the well-composed Waterfront speech by President Barack Obama – until he went off the deep end on integrated schooling!

If integrated education was the solution to the Irish conflict, surely someone over the past 800 years of sectarian strife in Ireland would have thought of it by now?

But Obama has gone home, and life in Fermanagh has returned to normal – except all the swivel-eyed loons and trendy lefties under the sun will now be screaming about ‘integrated schooling’.

We already have had an outstanding integrated education system operating successfully in our Northern universities and colleges of further education – affectionately still known locally as the ‘Techs’ – for over a century.

So why do we need to waste millions of taxpayers’ hard-earned cash building new ‘integrated’ schools as if by the wave of this magic wand, all the bitterness and hatred will mysteriously disappear?

Waken up and smell the coffee! The reason many integrated schools are successful in the North is not because they bring Protestants and Catholics together – it’s because they have very good teachers.

As an education journalist, I travelled the length and breadth of the North and found dozens and dozens of examples of terrific quality teaching and facilities in Catholic and State schools.

But it’s time to face a reality check on the way forward. The key to ‘integrating’ our Protestant and Catholic young people in the classroom has been achieved by the ‘Techs’ and our magnificent universities. That’s the model to follow.

The red tape body, the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education, should be disbanded immediately.

Shoving Catholics and Protestants together in a single classroom is not the solution. The answers lie in who does the teaching, and what is taught, not where they are taught.

Faith is still important to many families in the North. There is the real danger that oddball secularists and militant atheists will hijack the ‘integrated’ education bandwagon to eradicate Christian teaching in our schools.

The Catholic Bishops need to put down their foot down hard and fight to retain the Maintained sector.

In State schools, Christian morning assembly and prayers form an inspirational start to the day.

Many ‘Techs’ and the universities have thriving Christian Unions. Stormont has plans to create a single education authority for the North.

That’s fine, provided it does not mean that our existing Catholic and State schools will be left short of good teachers and physical resources.

What is needed is an integrated curriculum so that students can learn about their history and culture from their teachers.

Sectarianism can only be contained; the bitter medicine is that it will never be fully eradicated.

Is the legacy of Obama’s G8 visit that we will have to listen to a bunch of self-appointed ‘do-gooders’ preaching to us on the merits of ‘integrated’ education?

These people need to remember the maxim – if it ain’t broken, why fix it?

Leave the Catholic and State schools alone and let the teachers get on with what they do best – teaching, not healing the rifts of eight centuries! That’s the politicians’ job.

June 25, 2013________________

This article appeared in the June 24, 2013 edition of the Irish Daily Star.