Irish Congress of Trade Unions – Belfast Fight the Cuts Rally

Members of the Northern Ireland Fire Service
lead yesterday's march and rally
© Joe ÓNéill

Thousands of Trade Unionists in Belfast joined the hundreds of thousands of their comrades in Britain yesterday at rallies called to oppose government cuts in Public Services and jobs.

The march was led the members of the Northern Ireland Fire Service.

Amongst the speakers at yesterday’s rally was Peter Bunting, Assistant General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.

‘’On May 5th'', said Bunting, ‘’our local political class will be answerable to us, and we must ask them the right questions on the doorstep and in every public forum and ensure that they get the message. They can do more to stop the cuts than any other group in Northern Ireland and they have a duty to work with us to rebuild and retain that social contract with the citizens and voters.

The next Assembly and Executive ought to work with the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales to form a united front against the cuts in the parts of Britain which are almost Tory-free zones, and pretty soon we will be rid of the Liberal Democrats as well.

Look across the border. The Greens were obliterated by an electorate disgusted with their collaboration with Fianna Fáil. Any political party tempted to parlay with these Tories will suffer the same fate.’’

Bunting also called on Trade Unionists to support a rally against cuts in education to be held by Students and Lecturers in Belfast on April 6.

Micheál Martin - Has He A Mandate To Lead Fianna Fáil?

Micheál Martin

The resignation of Brian Cowen as Fianna Fáil party leader and Uachtaráin of Fianna Fáil on January 22, and the meltdown of the Fianna Fáil vote in the February 25 election, with only 20 TD’s returned, has left the party, and new leader Micheál Martin, facing an uncertain future. His position as the elected leader of the parliamentary party, but not as the elected leader of the Fianna Fáil party, and left holding the can for a reported mountain of party debt, leaves Martin and Fianna Fáil in an organizational and procedural nightmare.

The decision of Micheál Martin to challenge Brian Cowen for the leadership of the party, prior to Cowen’s resignation, and his subsequent entry into a leadership contest with three other cabinet members after Cowen’s resignation, so close to an election, might leave seasoned political operatives to question the credibility of his and their political prescience.

If any one in Fianna Fáil was paying attention, without a doubt, there were lessons to be learned leading up to the British General Election of last May, and the fate of the British Labour Party in that election. Advanced polling of the British electorate showed that voters were angry at the government, held them responsibly for the deteriorating state of the economy, were not enamored with the new leader of the Labour party, and were responding to pollsters that they were going to punish the government in the coming election. Certainly sounds familiar to the political climate in Ireland many months prior to the February 25 election.

In the lead up to the British general election, rumours abounded of challenges within the Cabinet to the leadership of Gordon Brown. Press speculation abounded that several Cabinet members were weighing up what effect that a new party leader would have on the electoral performance of the party, and if a new face and new packaging of the Labour message to an angry electorate would improve party fortunes at the polls. In the case of Labour Party, it appears that the calculation was made by those capable of a challenge to Gordon Brown’s leadership, that the situation was hopeless in terms of a Labour Party victory at the polls and that in the aftermath, Brown should carry the can, with the hope that he would do the proper thing after the election, and fall on his sword. All things considered, for any aspiring Leader, this calculation would appear to have a better rationale than a leadership challenge prior to an election in which every political bellwether was showing that they would be out of government with a large loss of parliamentary seats.

One major difference in what the British Labour Party have faced after their defeat last May, and what Fianna Fáil have now to face is, that barring a few bye – elections, the Labour Party have had the luxury of a year to settle on a new leader, and to prepare for their first major electoral contest in the forthcoming local government elections this May.

Micheál Martin, and Fianna Fáil have no such luxury. Under the Irish constitution, a Senate election must be held 90 days after the dissolution of the Dáil. The Irish Senate has long been a ‘’bully pulpit’’ for failed Dáil candidates and as a platform for aspiring younger members of all political parties to showcase their profile for future Dáil elections. Senate nominations are already under way and within days many members of Fianna Fáil were ignoring the sentiment of the party leader that nominations be restricted younger members of the party who could best benefit from Senate exposure as a means of running in the next Dáil elections. Unable to enforce his preferred option Martin has resolved the matter thus:

‘’ I have met with most of our Councillors, and discussed the forthcoming Seanad Election with them. I have made the case that the upcoming election is an important step in the renewal process.

Having consulted with our newly elected TDs and our National Executive, the following is the list of candidates that I am respectfully asking electors to give their highest vote to in the upcoming election: ‘’

Seán Connick - Agricultural Panel

Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill - Agricultural Panel

Senator James Carroll - Agricultural Panel

Cllr Mary Fitzpatrick - Administrative Panel

Thomas Byrne - Cultural & Education Panel

Senator Darragh O’Brien - Labour Panel

Cllr Jennifer Murnane O’Connor - Labour Panel

Averil Power - Industrial and Commercial Panel

Senator Marc Mac Sharry - Industrial and Commercial Panel

Cllr Kenneth O’Flynn - Industrial and Commercial Panel

With the new Taoiseach able to nominate 11 members of his choosing in the new Senate, the Fiannna Fáil representation will likely be reduced by more than half of the current 25 Fianna Fáil members.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, with 20 TD’s, Fianna Fáil just reached the quota required to nominate a presidential candidate in the October Presidential election. Prior to the electoral meltdown in February, several candidates had expressed an interest in seeking the nomination including; Bertie Ahern; Mary O’Rourke; Brian Crowley; and Mary White. But that was then. The Presidential election poses several acute dilemmas for Micheál Martin. The first must be the decision of whether or not to even run a candidate. A poor showing at the polls so soon after the General Election is not a result that any new party leader would want to envisage. Several other questions must be uppermost in Micheál Martin’s mind; can he get the candidate of his choice?; can he mobilize the Fianna Fáil party faithful in the strength required to organize an effective campaign?; Are the financial resources available for an effective campaign?

The timing of the next Ard Fheis is going to be crucial in the reconstruction plans of the Fianna Fáil party. Fianna Fáil has not held an Ard Fheis since February 2009. While the Fianna Fáil constitution states that ‘’The Supreme Governing and Legislative Body of the Organization shall be the Ard Fheis, which shall be convened annually, … there are provisions in Article 67 (1) that
‘’The Ard Chomhairle shall have authority to order the postponement of the Ard Fheis for a period not exceeding one year (Emphasis added) in:

(a) The case of a National Emergency,

(b) Exceptional circumstances, such decision, must be arrived at by a two-thirds ‘majority of the members present and voting at a Special Meeting summoned for the purpose, of which at least seven days notice shall have been given to all members thereof.

The constitution also states under Article 68:

The Ard Fheis shall assemble ordinarily in the first quarter of the year. …

If the Ard Chomchairle has not done so, within the next month, without an enabling motion under the above clauses, the Ard Chomchairle of Fianna Fáil may come dangerously close to being in violation of the party constitution.

In order to consolidate his position as party leader Micheál Martin will undoubtedly wish to be elected as Uachtaráin of Fianna Fáil at the forthcoming Ard Fheis. In theory, the position of Leader of the Party, and President of Fianna Fáil, can be held by two people. The situation of the parliamentary party and party machine being run by two people is a scenario that the holder of either position would not wish to be in.

In his statement on the Senate elections Micheál Martin also said, ‘’ I am also pleased to confirm that I have appointed my colleague Deputy Brian Lenihan TD as Deputy Leader of the Party, and Seán Ó Fearghail as Party Whip. I look forward to announcing further details of my frontbench over the coming weeks.’’ What many voting delegates at the Ard Fheis may be wondering is; Does Micheál Martin now have a mandate to lead Fianna Fáil post election? When he was elected leader of the parliamentary party, Martin faced an electorate of 77 members. As leadership elections are held by secret ballot and ballots destroyed afterwards it is difficult to guesstimate an accurate count through the stages of the PR voting until a winner is declared.

The parliamentary party now consists of 20 members. A review of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party might cause some concern for Micheál Martin. Of the 20, three, Barry Cowen, (Brother of the outgoing Taoiseach) Charlie McConalogue, and Robert Troy, are serving their first term. Brian Lenihan and Éamon Ó Cuív, both opposed Martin for the leadership contest. That is a total of 5 that can be confirmed, one quarter of the parliamentary party, who never voted for Martin as leader. Of the other 15, one, Dara Calleary nominated Martin for party leader. Of how the others voted in the different stages of the election, by secret ballot, we can never be sure.

Fianna Fáil members returned to the 31st Dáil.

John Browne - Wexford

Dara Calleary - Mayo

Niall Collins - Limerick West

Barry Cowen * - Laois – Offaly

Timmy Dooley - Clare

Seán Fleming - Laois – Offaly

Billy Kelleher - Cork North Central

Michael P. Kitt - Galway East

Brian Lenihan - Dublin West

Micheál Martin - Cork South Central

Charlie McConalogue * - Donegal North East constituency

Michael McGrath - Cork South Central

John J. McGuinness - Carlow – Kilkenney

Michael Moynihan - Cork North West

Éamon Ó Cuív - Galway West

Willie O’Dea - Limerick East

Seán Ó Fearghaíl - Kildare – South

Brendan Smith - Cavan – Monaghan

Robert Troy * - Longford – Westmeath

New Members *

At this stage it is impossible to gauge the mood of delegates who will attend the next Ard Fheis. That they may be in an ugly mood, and looking for answers, not to mention contrition, from the surviving elected leadership, on their handling of the party fortunes, and a roadmap for recovery, is a distinct possibility. Another possible scenario is that Micheál Martin could face a challenge for the position of Uachtaráin Fianna Fáil. If this challenge were to come from any of the others who challenged for the leadership, or another member of the parliamentary party, and, if it were to be successful, it would then pose the question: Does Micheál Martin have a mandate to lead Fianna Fáil? A lot of speculation no doubt, and some what if’s, but as the old saying goes, ‘’Twenty – four hours is a long time in politics.’’ Ask Brian Cowen.

St. Patrick's Day Parade, Belfast 2011

The Belfast St. Patrick's Day Parade left City Hall at noon today, led by Mayor Pat Convery and the St. Laurence O'Toole Pipe Band from Dublin, current World Pipe Band Champions.


The St. Laurence O'Toole Pipe Band
Tune Up in the grounds of Belfast City Hall
beside the Titanic Memorial
© Joe ÓNéill


Mayor Pat Convery greets spectators
at the Belfast St. Patrick's Day Parade
© Joe ÓNéill

Bloody Sunday - The Long March

Learning His History
© Joe ÓNéill


''The great lie has been laid bare.

The truth has been brought home at last.''

Thousands of people assembled on a bitter cold and windswept day, on the Creggan heights in Derry, for the annual Bloody Sunday march, down to the Bogside, and on to a rally in the Guildhall Square in the city centre.

The atmosphere on this march, the 39th, was unlike all the others. For the first time, the families and supporters of those murdered, terrorised, and traumatised, where celebrating the end of a long campaign for justice. Months earlier on June 15, 2010, on the steps of the Guildhall in Derry, an audience of thousands watched on a video monitor as the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, acknowledged the innocence of the victims of Bloody Sunday.

''No more,'' said the Bloody Sunday Trust, ''will the lies of the British establishment or the whitewash of the Widgery, be repeated to excuse the actions of the British Army on the streets of Derry on the 30th January 1972. What we have always known has been acknowledged and recognised Bloody Sunday was unjustified and unjustifiable.''

''From the lips of the British Prime Minister, the truth has been acknowledged. All those murdered and wounded on Bloody Sunday were innocent. We have always known that. Now the world does as well. All the victims of Bloody Sunday have been exonerated. Their relatives, friends and supporters across the world have been vindicated.''

The statement from the Trust concluded; ''Derry's stubborn refusal to accept the state's lies gave rise to the most remarkable justice campaign in modern Irish history, a campaign that reached a climax on the 15th June 2010, amid joys and emotional scenes in Derry's Guildhall Square. Derided and sneered at for years, told by defeatists to give up any hope of reaching success, the dark and difficult days of campaigning were at last vindicated, when the Bloody Sunday families and wounded announced to the world:

''The great lie has been laid bare.

The truth has been brought home at last.''

Sunday's rally was addressed by speakers; Chair John Kelly, Gerry Adams of Sinn Féin; Mark Durkan SDLP; a representative from the Ballymurphy Massacre Campaign; and Gerry Duddy; a Bloody Sunday relative. World renowned singer Mary Black concluded proceeding at the meeting.


Families and Relatives Head The March
© Joe ÓNéill


Still Campaigning
© Joe ÓNéill


© Joe ÓNéill


The Irish Diaspora
© Joe ÓNéill


L - R Deputy First Minister for Northern Ireland Martin McGuinness
President of Sinn Féin Gerry Adams pose for photographs with marchers
© Joe ÓNéill


Anti – Good Friday Agreement Republicans Turned out in Force
© Joe ÓNéill

INTRODUCING Dan ÓNéill AKA ODD BODKINS

Dan has granted Soñar permission to publish his ODD BODKINS cartoon strip.

ODD BODKINS ON Soñar. Vol. 2 No. 4





Select Image for Larger Viewing



© Dan ONeill

Hugh Daniel O'Neill

Thirty years ago Hugh Daniel O’Neill was described as, “an innovator, a creator and a professional troublemaker” in a Forward to a collection of Odd Bodkins.

For seven years his Odd Bodkins cartoons ran daily in The San Francisco Chronicle and in 350 other newspapers throughout the world. At its peak, the strip had a readership of fifty million.

When he was hired at age 21 —the youngest cartoonist ever hired by a national syndicate— he was given three simple rules: no religion, no politics and no sex in the strip. He did his best to comply — he kept sex out of Odd Bodkins.
http://www.danoneillcomics.com/
http://origsix.com/index.asp

Ulster Says No!

Trade Union Protestors at Belfast City Hall
© Joe ÓNéill

Thousands of Trade Unionists and their supporters marched in a rain swept down - town Belfast yesterday to protest impending public service cuts announced by the British coalition government last Wednesday.

Below are the comments delivered by Belfast - born Peter Bunting, Assistant General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.

Friends and comrades.

We gather here today, in our thousands, to send a message to those who rule us with threats and who generate fear through lies and spin.

Last Wednesday, George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Trust Fund Tax Avoider, claimed yet again that ‘we are all in it together’.

He then had the brass neck to claim that ‘those with the broadest shoulders should bear the burden’.

He then proceeded to place the entire burden of the deficit onto the least deserving and those least able to withstand the pain – the poor, the ill, young people, women and ordinary working families. The Tories and their enablers and their propaganda merchants talk about ‘fairness’ being at the heart of what they are doing.

Well, is it fair for a cabinet of millionaires to cut over £18 Billion from benefit claimants?

Is it fair for the investment banks and hedge funds who caused the crisis – to pay a measly two-and-a-half Billion, when we know that they are awarding themselves £7 Billion in bonuses?

Is it fair for those same banks to get back most of that two-and-a-half Billion through cuts in Corporation Tax?

Just like the businessmen who backed Osborne’s cuts this week. Between them, we know they pocketed over £14 million in obscene salaries this year. Is that fair?

Is it fair for the pensioners in Fermanagh and Omagh who have had their elderly care cut by 18,000 hours this year already?

Is it fair for the most vulnerable local families who need help, whose social workers and child protection staff are struggling with £6 million in cuts so far this year?

Is it fair for the people of Antrim and Mid-Ulster whose hospitals no longer have any A&E cover?

Is it fair for the students and graduates our economy needs, if it is to grow, to be saddled with tens of thousands of debt before their first pay cheque?

And this is happening before the cuts announced last Wednesday kick in.

The elite who created this crisis see workers, public services and the most vulnerable, as the bank of last resort when they need to be bailed out.

They think that taxes are for the little people.

Half of them should be in prison for wrecking the economy.

The other half should be in prison for tax dodging.

Shame on them for their greed and recklessness, and shame on the Liberal Democrats for providing a cloak of respectability for the Nasty Party which the Tories were and always will be, with or without Thatcher.


Gallows Humor by Equity Actors Union Member
© Joe ÓNéill

Shame on those Liberal Democrat collaborators for clapping George Osborne on the back after he condemned over half-a-million workers to the dole queues - What an obscene sight.

Over 30,000 public and private sector jobs are facing Osborne’s axe here in Northern Ireland, as he slashes away at the essential services which all of us rely on.

Shame on the CBI and the Institute of Directors, the so-called representatives of our struggling private businesses, for backing this ideological vandalism.

Shame on those bank economists who acted as cheerleaders in the press for unrestrained greed, and who now demand that the poor pay for the crimes of the rich. There are plenty of other, wiser, Nobel-prize winning economists who assert that the cuts are too fast and too deep and will plunge us into a deeper recession.

I will tell you what fairness is.

This is the most unequal country in Europe. If we imposed a mere 2 per cent wealth tax on the richest ten per cent, we could raise £78 Billion in a single year.

If we had a Robin Hood tax on speculation and the excesses of investment banks and hedge funds, we could raise billions more, and at the same time we would reduce the rewards for reckless gambling.

If we employed enough tax inspectors with the same political backing to pursue tax cheats as we have for chasing benefit fraud, then we could raise £123 Billion per year in taxes which are evaded, avoided or, unbelievably, not collected.

If those with the broadest shoulders really paid their share, we could wipe out this deficit in one year, not four.

You might think that tax cheats would excite our Minister for Finance. No, what annoys Sammy Wilson most is you being here today.

Sammy wants us to sit down, shut up and take our medicine – like good patients for his prescription of austerity and privatisation. However, this is not medicine, but poison.

This corrupt system, and its cheerleaders and its sponsors, is the sickness pervading our society, and by rallying here today, you are facing up to it with bravery and resolve.

They tell us that the government debt is unsustainable. It is 70% of GDP.

Most of that debt is owed to UK financial institutions that we bailed out.

It was at or above 70% of GDP for most of the 20th century. When it peaked at 250% in 1946, that government decided to invest to help the people and grow the economy.

They built the NHS, decent homes, the welfare state and delivered free education. This government wants to demolish that achievement - For ever.

It is time to shout ‘stop’!

It is time for investment in our economy and our society and our young people.

It is time for each workplace, every office and factory and farm, hospital ward and care home, to be guaranteed a future, free from fear and unfairness.

It is time to protect public services - not decimate them.

It is time for the young to reach their potential through a fair and efficient education system that rewards effort and not burdens ambition with a lifetime’s debt.

To this end, we will shortly be organising an economic conference, to which we will invite civil society organisations who share our vision and ethos, to develop an alternative economic strategy.

It is time to remind those politicians who argue for cuts, that we elected them to represent Northern Ireland and its citizens.

They received no mandate from the people of Northern Ireland to slavishly follow and implement draconian economic policies which will damage all of us for generations to come.

Not one Tory was elected from here, and precious few outside of southern England.

This is the message being sent today from Belfast, Edinburgh, Cardiff and the regions of England.

Together we will stand as the principled opposition to this Millionaires’ club – those in work, those without a job, those who care for their community, those who we elected to speak for us, those who showed leadership by signing the Joint Declaration from the devolved Administrations, warning Cameron and Clegg about the recklessness of their plans. By the way, Sammy signed that declaration of opposition. Maybe he should be here today, after all!

There are elections coming soon. It is time that Sammy and his ilk earned their seats not by their tradition, or even their political parties, but by how they acted in this crisis.

Elements of our political class pulled down the institutions for far less than the welfare of our poorest citizens, the education of our children, the care of our elderly and the jobs of our workers.

If the Tories want to worsen an economic crisis, let us see how they can deal with a determined opposition across these islands, in every part of this country.

Let us stand together, with our brothers and sisters in Wales and Scotland and, as a united Northern Ireland, shout, ‘STOP THE CUTS’!


© Joe ÓNéill


© Joe ÓNéill

Irish-Americans - They Haven't Gone Away You Know

Former President Bill Clinton
© Joe ÓNéill

A familiar refrain by your average Joe, directed at the political class in Northern Ireland is, ''stop the squabbling and get on with the job that you were elected to do''. To quote an old Bill Clinton quip, ''It's the economy stupid.'' that is foremost in the minds of your average voter, as concern for job security and bread and butter issues predominate the local political landscape, where the coalition government in Britain contemplate massive public expenditure cuts that will have severe repercussions for the Northern Ireland economy.

If there is one thing that politicians in Northern Ireland agree on, and unfortunately, this may be the only thing, then it is the importance of attracting American investment into the Northern Ireland economy.

In July, the American Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland, Declan Kelly, announced that US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, would host an economic conference on Northern Ireland in Washington DC this autumn. Former US President, Bill Clinton, will visit Northern Ireland on a fact-finding tour prior to the conference.

The more cynical amongst us might query the timing of this conference. Americans are due to go to the polls in November for the mid-term elections. President Obama and the Democrats face an electorate that is angry and frustrated with the lack of progress on turning the American economy around. Any and every advantage with large voting blocks is crucial to incumbent Democratic candidates. If President Obama does not realize the importance of the Irish-American vote, then you can be sure that Bill and Hillary Clinton do.

It is well to remember the previous much heralded US investment project for Northern Ireland, the Emerald Fund, launched with great fanfare in 2008, after an economic conference held in Northern Ireland. The fund, which was to provide some $150 million of investment from New York State pension funds, has to date delivered zilch. That is if you discount the reputed $3 million paid in fees to the fund's managers.

While most Irish-American political activists would be supportive of activities geared to promoting American investment in Northern Ireland, there remain those who have not taken their eye of the ball of continuing oversight of the human rights agenda, and the ending of partition.

Far less to the liking of Unionist politicians travelling to America this autumn will be the actions of activists in the American capitol, and in the State of California. Democratic Congressman Russ Carnahan, who chairs the Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight, last week held hearings on Northern Ireland. Father Seán McManus, of the Washington based Irish National Caucus, and Aideen Gilmore, Deputy Director Committee on the Administration of Justice, testified before the subcommittee.


L-R Congressman Russ Carnahan Father Seán McManus

Father McManus said, ''He (Congressman Carnahan) deserves great credit. Irish-Americans are deeply grateful for his support of human rights and equality in Northern Ireland.''

Ms. Gilmore in her testimony to the subcommittee said, “While a lot of progress has undoubtedly been made in Northern Ireland … We would urge continued vigilance and support for the protection of human rights and equality in Northern Ireland as a means of embedding and sustaining peace. ”


Aideen Gilmore

Meanwhile in California ... a joint resolution, SJR 27, on Irish unification, by Senator Leland Yee, Democrat of San Francisco, has passed its third reading with a vote of 30 – 0.


California State Senator Leland Yee

The preamble to the resolution states, ''This measure would express the California Legislature’s strong support for Irish reunification by all peaceful means and would urge the California Congressional delegation to support the final reunification of the island of Ireland by all electoral and diplomatic means necessary.''

The resolution in full reads;

WHEREAS, The logic of history, international law, human rights, and peace dictate the reunification of the island of Ireland, and the realities of the moment, including the Good Friday Agreement and the development of the all-Ireland institutions of governance, attest to this momentum; and

WHEREAS, In the past, the State Legislature adopted the MacBride Principles for Northern Ireland and offered its informal endorsement of the Good Friday Agreement among the previously warring parties; and

WHEREAS, The contribution of Irish-born and Irish Americans to this state and to this nation are legion; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly,

That the Legislature strongly supports Irish reunification by all peaceful means and urges the California Congressional delegation to support the final reunification of the island of Ireland by all electoral and diplomatic means necessary; and be it further Resolved,

That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the President pro Tempore of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the United States Secretary of State.