Longkesh Inside Out

Jimmy Campbell, third from left in this photograph taken in Compound 21 in 1987 was buried today after a long illness.  Tribute to follow. Read more »

THE GERRYMANDERING ALLIANCE PARTY.

On the 18th may 2011, Belfast City Council agreed to a 16 week public consultation, with regard to their policy of flying the National Standard of the United Kingdom 365 days a year at Belfast City Hall. This situation arose due to a complaint made to the EQIA, by the IRA representatives on Belfast City Council.

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Sinn Fein’s Latest Call for a Border Poll

 Patricia McCarthy and Mick Rafferty.

Gerry Adam’s in his article ‘Demographics and attitudes are crying out for a border poll’ (Irish Times 16/ 1/13) is as cited ‘the politics of fantasy’. Coming as it does after six weeks of rage and rioting of mainly loyalist, this cry from the Republican movement demonstrates a surprising lack of subtly and indeed reality. No national or ethnic conflict between people sharing the same territory has ever been solved by one side out growing the other particularly in a sensitive post conflict situation. The politics of head counting will not advance the peace process. The way forward as contained in the Belfast agreement, must be mutual respect for the traditions of the two dominant sides the planter and the gael.

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Welcome to new contributors Patricia McCarthy and Mick Rafferty.  Both are well known community activists based in inner city Dublin but with many years experience working with various Loyalist working class communities in Belfast and other parts of Northern Ireland.

Class, Flags and Identity

Ever since  Belfast City Council voted to fly the Union Jack on only designated days there has been turmoil in the city. This vote was itself a compromise proposed by those in the middle ground, the Alliance Party. The Nationalists wanted no flags flown at all and the Unionists wanted no change. This conformed to the historic Northern pattern that you don’t cast your vote, you vote for your caste. The compromise has brought Loyalist rage onto the middle ground andAlliancepoliticians have been threatened for apparently taking the nationalist side. This of course was a democratic decision. The issue of the flag was raised first at the Council’s strategic policy and resource committee on which the Nationalists have a majority. The result was 11 voted for a complete removal of the flag and 9 against a complete removal. This then went to a Council meeting on the December 3rd with the compromise proposal of the flag flying on 15 designated days being carried by 29 to 21.

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Border Referendum

As someone who is proud to belong to that section of the community which, the supposedly intellectual, completely baffled local media and the supposedly intellectual, equally baffled local politicians, consider to be the underclass.   I find it amazing that all our overpaid supposed political experts are sitting scratching their heads, completely baffled and asking the peaceful defenders of the National Standard, to provide  a solution to the problem which has been caused by the total incompetence, of these same self-profiteering supposedly intellectual political failures, from the middle and upper classes.

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THE BELFAST TELEGRAPH NEEDS TO REMEMBER THAT A GOOD LIAR ALSO NEEDS A GOOD MEMORY.

The Princess Victoria sank on the 31^st January 1953, one hundred and thirty three lives were lost, including a relative of mine.  In their 3^rd of January 2013 edition, the Belfast Telegraph has totally dishonoured the memory of these lost souls and desecrated their 60^th anniversary, by publishing a sensationalised and totally fictional picture of the Princess Victoria supposedly sinking, as a lifeboat pulled away from it. Read more »