Together we can achieve “A United Ireland.”

All of us who believe that Ireland’s best future is unity have not just the right but the duty to assert this view and to plan for it. To argue otherwise is to try to undermine the Good Friday Agreement itself. It is more than 10 years since I first arrived in the United States. My visits since, and tenure as the Sinn Féin Representative to the United States have been a varied and incredible experience. Most of all, they have awakened me to the extremely loyal and powerful voice of Irish America.

I am a native of Belfast who remembers what life was like before the conflict and during it. I have been part of the Sinn Féin leadership for much of those years, including the past 15 years which have brought us to the promising times of today.

I deeply admire the Irish America that cares so much about Ireland. Without Irish America it is questionable where Ireland – any part of it – would be today.

It is with this frame of mind that I call on Irish America to join with us to forge the path to unity and freedom.

Sinn Féin is an Irish Republican Party. Our aim is a united, independent Ireland. We are not alone. Fianna Fáil, the “Republican Party,” has the same aim.

Fine Gael asserts itself as the “United Ireland Party” and the SDLP also supports a united Ireland. Indeed, former taoiseach Bertie Ahern recently declared that unification is “an imperative not an empty aspiration.”

The reality of this broad position is embodied in the Good Friday Agreement itself. Throughout the peace process, the legitimacy of the aim of unity was paramount and its inclusion in the agreement crucial. For the first time, in an international agreement between the Irish and British governments, there was an acknowledgement by the British government that the Irish people – and the Irish people alone – have the right to determine the future of Ireland.

The agreement makes clear that an end to partition, i.e. a “sovereign united Ireland”, is as desirable and politically legitimate as the status quo, and spells out how it will come about, i.e., by majority vote in referenda north and south.

There are those, mainly within unionism but also in the media and among an element of the establishment in the South, who either try to ignore this essential part of the agreement, or denigrate and dismiss it. Those who do use different tactics and arguments but generally assert that to raise the question will alienate unionists.

However, since the agreement and the peace process itself are about ending the discrimination and exclusion of republicans and nationalists and their values and hopes, which are valid and honorable, these arguments are both offensive and spurious.

For too long, any political opinion in the North that opposed the union was treated as criminal and treasonous. That, like so much that dominated life in the North, has changed forever.

All of us who believe that Ireland’s best future is unity have not just the right but the duty to assert this view and to plan for it. To argue otherwise is to try to undermine the Good Friday Agreement itself.

In addition, recent commentary, sparked I believe by Sinn Féin’s announcement event, or that people have “accepted an internal solution.” While these views can be aired, they are wrong and often insincere.

In this spirit, Gerry Adams recently called for a national conversation, to include the Irish diaspora, on how the goal of a united Ireland can be achieved. As part of this discussion, Sinn Féin will host two major conferences in the United States: New York on Saturday, June 13, and San Francisco on Saturday, June 27.

Gerry Adams will host the conferences, introduce keynote speakers and open it to the floor for contributions. I am confident that Irish America will take this opportunity to speak and provide ideas, initiatives and plans to carry this conversation into action.

Of course, achieving Irish unity is a major challenge. It particularly means that Irish republicans have to reach out to unionists. Our vision of a united Ireland is an Ireland where prosperity and equality are delivered in equal measure, an Ireland in which orange and green can build a common future in co-operation and harmony, an Ireland at peace with itself and its neighbors.

We intend to mobilize and organize with all those who see Ireland’s best interests served by unification, whether they support Sinn Féin or not. We will challenge those who pay only lip service to the goal of unity. We want the Irish government and those political parties who aspire to unity to begin to plan for it in an inclusive way.

And we want Britain to do the logical thing – and the best thing for both countries – that is assist in ending the partition of Ireland.

Lastly, we need Irish America to join in bringing it about.

There were invasions and settlements [or plantations in Ireland long before the Cromwellian settlement of Ireland from 1652 through 1660, but none was more effective or pietiless. Earlier attempts failed because the invaders or settlers were by and large incorporated into the Irish nation, adopting Irish laws and Irish ways. They became, in other words, "More Irish than the Irish." Oliver Cromwell's plan was devastating. All Catholics, rich or poor, were to be transported to the barely habitable Province of Connaught and the County Clare. All other lands were to belong to Cromwell's New Model Army soldiers who fought without pay for Irish lands. Investors in Cromwell's Irish wars were also to receive vast estates. English lords involved with the organization of the transportation became fabulously wealthy. Other land was reserved for the English government. The native Irish could expect to move to the west, or if they were unlucky, to be deportation to the colonies as indentured servants, where they were to be treated worse than the African slaves because the slaves were at least considered "property." The Penal Laws were in force and priests were often hanged if caught. If the Catholic population would convert to Protestantism, things would be different. But, they didn't. The Jesuit Father Quinn, writing to the Vatican from his hiding place in the mountains, lamented: "Wound follows wound that nothing be wanting to fill up the cup of sufferings. The few Catholic families that remain were lately deprived by Cromwell of all their immovable property, and are all compelled to abandon their native estates, and retire into the province of Connaught. The design, obviously, is to extripate gradually the whole nation, since no plan can succeed in shaking the attachment to the Roman Catholic faith." Sean O'Conaill, whose father had been active in the wars against the English in 1641 and died on the journey to County Clare, wrote bitterly in Irish to God: "Are you deaf, or whither are you looking? Was it not you who overthrew the monsters with your nod? What little to you the time that you are patient? Our faith is gone...there is not living but a spark." When Charles II was restored to the crown, ending the Cromwellian Parliament, the native Irish expected things to change. Nothing changed for the native people. Nevertheless, over the centuries, the only place in Ireland where the Cromwell's plantation took hold was in the north, and there only incompletely. Of the nine counties of Ulster partitioned N. Ireland is only 6 counties], only North Derry, Antrim, and North Down have a Protestant majority. A people who survived the wrath of Oliver Cromwell, surely proved themselves a nation.

Divide and Conquer In the eighteenth century, both the Roman Catholic and Presbyterians became interested in the democratic republican ideas that inspired the American and French revolutions. Catholics suffered terribly under English rule and the Presbyterians wanted a more democratic society. In 1775, the English Lord Lieutenant commented: “The Presbyterians in the north, who in their hearts are Americans, are gaining strength every day.” In 1779 the Presbyterians were described in the Stopford-Sackville papers as “violently attached to republican principles.” In 1791, the Society of United Irishmen, made up of Presbyterians, Catholics and Protestants, was formed with the objective of breaking the ties with England and establishing an Irish Republic. The English opposed the United Irishmen is several ways. They crushed with great severity the republican insurrection of 1798 in which Ulster Presbyterians, led by men like Henry Joy McCracken20and Henry Munroe, took up arms to strike for an Irish Republic and were joined by Irishmen of all denominations. They were assisted by a number of French expeditionary forces. The English propaganda represented the insurrection as an attack by Catholic France and a “popish plot”. Nothing was further from the truth. Most effective of all, the English promoted the establishment of the Orange order in 1795, a sectarian and exclusively Protestant society which soon instituted widespread terror. This was imperial “divide and conquer” at its worst. General Knox, commandeer of English forces in Ulster, wrote, “If I am permitted to encourage the Orangemen, I think I shall be able to put down the United Irishmen.” In reply, the English Chief Secretary, Thomas Pelham, approved the plan to increase the animosity between the Orangemen and the United Irishmen.” Later, Sir Robert Peel, Pelh em’s successor, endorsed the view, “I hope they may always be disunited.” Britain has done in Ireland what it did everywhere it has been, divide in order to conquer.

The Great Famine

Another attempt to eradicate the native population of Ireland occurred when in the autumn of 1845, a potato disease reach Ireland from America. One half of the people of Ireland were totally reliant upon the crop. The situation worsened when the blight spread during the wet spring and summer of 1846, causing an almost total failure of that year’s crop. In 1947, known as “Black 47″, many people had of necessity eaten their seed potatoes and the overall crop was almost totally destroyed. In 1848 and1849,the blight was a bit less severe.

During the famine of 1845 – 1851, it is estimated that over one million to one people died in Ireland of starvation and the diseases that followed in its wake. About one and one half million immigrated to Canada, Australia, the US, and England. The catastrophe was almost entirely born by the laborer and small farmers who, because of their circumstances under the heels of the English landlords, had nothing but the meager potato crop that they planted to sustain life. Everything went to rent and the barest necessities. During the height of the genocide, only one crop had failed out of the many that were unaffected and, of course, livestock thrived in Ireland. Relief efforts were stymied by the English government least the devastation should fall short of the desired expectations – the more Irish peasantry dead the better. They could make more money with sheep on the land than Irish people. As hundreds of thousands of Irish people were dying of starvation and disease, crops and livestock were actually exported out of the country to England. Even foreign relief was routed through English ports where they were taxed before they could reach Ireland. Humanitarian aid that civilized societies normally provide their own [one might speculate what would have transpired if an equivalent famine struck England) was denied the Irish on the grounds that it would spoil them in the future. Landlords wasted no time in legally evicting Irish tenants from their homes, even though there was no possibility to make rent payments. Eviction was likely to mean certain death with absolutely nowhere to go except to live in ditches or with already suffering family members. Emigration was the only option for the lucky, but they were prone to die of typhus or cholera as human cargo on the ghastly "coffin ships. Between starvation, disease, and death on the voyage
to American and elsewhere, it is estimated that one and a half million Irish died. The scale of suffering endured during this nightmare is difficult to imagine. The following account of a visit to Skibbereen in County Cork was written by Nicholas Cummins, a British magistrate, on Christmas Eve 1846: "On reaching the spot I was surprised to find the wretched hamlet apparently deserted. I entered some of the hovels to ascertain the cause, and the scenes which presented themselves were such as no tongue or pen can convey the slightest idea of. In the first, six famished and ghastly skeletons, to all appearances dead, were huddled in a corner on some filthy straw, their sole covering which seemed a ragged horsecloth, their wretched legs hanging about, naked above the knees. I approached with horror, and found by a low moaning they were alive - they were in fever, four impossible to go through the detail. Suffice it to say that in a few minutes I was surrounded by at least 200 such phantoms, such frightful specters as no words can describe, either from famine or fever.

The demonic yells are still in my ears, and their horrible images are fixed in my brain. "The same morning the police opened a house on the adjourning lands and two corpses were found, lying upon the mud floor, having been devoured by rats." A mother, herself in fever, was seen the same day to drag the corpse of her child, a girl about twelve, perfectly naked, and leave it half covered with stones. In another house, within 500 yards of the cavalry station at Skibbereen, the dispensary doctor found seven wretches lying unable to move, under one clock. One had been dead many hours, but the others were unable to move either themselves of the corpse." During the years of the famine, a decline of the population of Ireland set in, one which has continued almost to the present. In 1841, the population was 8.2 million; just ten years later, it had declined by nearly two million to 6.5 million. In 1976, the population of Ireland was 4.7 million. How could this mass evacuation from a beautiful, bountiful and beloved land, by a people who would almost rather die than to leave, be by chance? There is no greater argument for an independent, unitedIreland than the way the British government treated the Irish people during the famine years. The Fenians, the Land War, Labor, and the Gaelic Revival In the wake of the famine, the Fenians, or the Irish Republican Brotherhood, were formed in the late 1850's. They pledged complete separation from England. Thousands of young men joined the movement. Although it was a failure militarily, it established a new desire for freedom. It put hundreds of people behind bars, where they would endure with increasing bitterness towards their captors. There was much Fenian agitation and work being done in the United States as well. There was a fateful charge on British Canada in the name of the Fenians by elements of the Union Army shortly after the civil war and a Fenian submarine was made in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Most importantly, they were thinking about and working towards the independent Irish Republic. In Chicago, November 1863, the follow resolution was passed by the Fenian Congress: "Be it resolved - That we, the centres and delegates of the Fenian Brotherhood, assembled in this convention, do hereby proclaim the Republic of Ireland to be virtually established, and moreover that we pledge ourselves to use all in our influence, and every legitimate privilege within our reach, to promote the full acknowledgement of its independence by every free government in the world." After the famine, English landlords reigned supreme. In 1879, Michael Davitt founded the Irish National Land League with Charles Parnell as its president. In 1881, under unrelenting pressure, a land act guaranteed the three "Fs": fair rent, free sale, and fixity of tenure. The land war changed the face of rural Ireland by putting an end to the old system of landlordism; however, British political rule remained as imperious as ever. During the last decade of the 19th and the first two of the 20th, the workers of Ireland were organized by James Connolly and James Larkin. Conditions in Dublin and Belfast were the worst in Europe. In Dublin, 21,000 families lived in only one room. In 1913, Larkin directed a tram workers' strike which resulted in three people being killed. Then a federation of 400 Dublin employers refused employment to members of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union. British and continental trade unions and groups sent funds to relieve the distress of the 24,000 workers unemployed. While the 21 strike ended in failure, a workers' militia, the Irish Citizen Army, was formed by Connolly which was to play an historic role in the struggle for Irish freedom. The cultural organizations which were to have to have an impact in the coming revolutionary struggle were the Gaelic Athletic Association [GAA] and the Gaelic League to promote the Irish language which had declined after the Great Famine. In 1841, Ireland had over 8,175,000 people; most of whom spoke Irish. Irish sports and the language had declines precipitously after the famine. The Gaelic League championed the literary revival of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The outpouring of nationalist literature reached an emotional crescendo with the presentation of W. B. Yeats’ play Cathleen Ni Houlihan [a.k.a., "Mother Ireland"]. These organizations cannot be underestimated as catalysts of the struggle for independence The Irish Volunteers In 1913, the Ulster Volunteer Force, a quasi-legal army, was heavily armed with no resistance from the British government. When ordered to break up the illegal and provocative activities of the Ulster Volunteers, the British army refused, its officers threatening to mutiny. That’s why it is no surprise when the British army goes into the north of Ireland today to protect the nationalist community under attack, that it turns it’s guns on nationalists and ignores unionist violence. Later in the year, the Irish Volunteers were formed by Eoin MacNeill in reaction “to secure and maintain the rights and liberties common to all the people of Ireland without distinction of creed, class or politics.” This time the British didn’t look passively by. However, some arms, inadequate and antiquated at best, with the help of Irish American supporters and others, were procured and the Irish Volunteers began to train and organize. Soon WW1 was raging on the continent and the ordinary people of Ireland were divided and confused. The IRS and Sinn Fein As John Redmond was pulling together the constitutional Irish Party of John Parnell, the Irish Republican Brotherhood were regrouping and arming in secret for armed struggle. Republican political activists were also being organized by Arthur Griffiths, who founded the newspaper, The United Irishman. In 1905, disenchanted with Redmond’s party and totally distrusting the British home rule promises, Griffiths founded Sinn Fein and began to push his party into the political vacuum. “Ireland unfree shall never be at peace.” In 1915, the body of Jeremiah O’Donovan Rosa, an unrepentant Fenian who had emerged unbroken from nearly insufferable torments of years in British prisons, was returned to Ireland for burial. A massive, martyrs funeral was held. Padraig Pearse, poet, schoolmaster, and leader in both the Irish Volunteers and the IRB, gave a speech that today is seared in Irish minds: “Life spring from death; and from the graves of patriot men and women spring living nations. The Defender s of this Realm think they have pacified Ireland…The fools, the fools, the fools! They have left us our Fenian dead, and while Ireland holds these graves, Ireland unfree shall never be at peace.” The speech and the reaction to it was a turning point. The Easter Rising is the seminal point in the struggle for Irish sovereignty and is the focus to this day of yearly commemorations and re-commitmentto the Irish Republic sought by Pearse and Connolly.

The Rising of Easter Monday, 1916 It was a leisurely Easter Monday, a bank holiday, and the people paid little notice as scantily armed units of the Irish Volunteers and Irish Citizen Army deployed to take on a the British Empire. Only 1,500 men turned out due to the countermanding order from the Volunteer leader MacNeill. Only half were armed. The rest of the country were willing but effectively demobilized. Pearse and Connolly, with full knowledge they were engaged in a suicide mission, marched up Sackville Street to the General Post Office. They raised a flag that had never been seen before, a tricolored flag of green, white and orange, as Pearse read a proclamation that began: “Irish men and Irish women. In the name of God and of the dead generations from which she receives her old tradition of nationhood, Ireland, through us, summands her children to her flag and strikes for her freedom… We declare the right of the people to Ireland, to the ownership of Ireland … ”
Amazingly, the flag flew over the GPO for nearly a week under a fierce attack from immensely superior British forces. There was a terrible cost. Over 3,000 people were killed on all sides, including innocent civilians. The Irish Volunteers, Irish Citizen Army and British soldiers fought bravely. Dublin was in flames. With the GPO burning around them, Pearse issued a surrender order to save further civilian suffering and deaths. The leaders were given quick, military trials. Beginning Wednesday, May 3rd, and continuing through Friday, May 13th, the leaders were shot dead at a rate of four a day in Kilmainham Jail. Nearly all were educated by the Christian Brothers, some were poets, some painters, some educators – hardly a military man among them. Pearse said of himself, Thomas MacDonagh, and Joseph Plunket at the start, “If we do nothing else we shall rid Ireland of three bad poets.” James Connolly, severely wounded at the GPO, was the last of the 16to be executed. He was carried out to be shot, tied to a chair. The British imposed martial law and hundreds of captured rebels were imprisoned in England. Roger Casement, who was captured trying to smuggle arms into Ireland for the rising, was hanged in England on August 3rd. Through these brutal executions, the British had accomplished what the rebels could not; they enraged a lethargic Irish people against their oppressors. A great fire rose up that would carry the Irish people through the coming years of widespread suffering and open rebellion.

The Election of 1918 and Dail Eireann

The Irish Republic was endorsed by the Irish people — north, south, east and west– in 1918. In the British general election held in December, Sinn Fein won 73 out of the 105 Irish seats. Sinn Fein candidates pledged not to participate 31 in the Westminster Parliament, but to convene an Independent Irish Parliament, Dai! Eireann, which they did on January 21 st, 1919. The democratically elected representatives of the Irish people ratified the Irish Republic that was proclaimed in arms on Easter Monday, April 24th, 1916 in Dublin, and declared the Independence of the nation. Irish Declaration of Independence [Enacted 21 st January 1919 by First Dai! Eireann] ‘Whereas the Irish People is by right a free people: ‘And whereas for seven hundred years the Irish People has never ceased to repudiate and has repeatedly protested in arms against foreign usurpation: ‘And whereas English rule in this country is, and always has been, based upon force and fraud and maintained by military occupation against the declared will of the people: ‘And whereas the Irish Republic was proclaimed in Dublin on Easter Monday, 1916, by the Irish Republican Army, acting on behalf of the Irish People: ‘And whereas the Irish People is resolved to secure and maintain its complete independence in order to promote the common weal, to re-establish justice, to provide for future defense, to ensure peace at home and good will with all nations, and to constitute a national policy based upon the people’s will with equal right and equal opportunity for every citizen: ‘And whereas at the threshold of a new era in history the Irish electorate has in the General Election of December, 1918, seized the first occasion to declare by an overwhelming majority its firm allegiance to the Irish Republic: ‘Now, therefore, we, the elected Representatives of the ancient Irish People in National Parliament assembled, do, in the name of the Irish Nation, ratify the establishment of the Irish Republic and pledge ourselves and our people to make this declaration effective by every means at our command: ‘We ordain that the elected Representatives of the Irish People alone have power to make laws binding on the people of Ireland, and that the Irish Parliament is the only Parliament to which that people will give its allegiance: ‘We solemnly declare foreign government in Ireland to be an invasion of our national right which we will never tolerate, and we demand the evacuation of our country by the English Garrison: ‘We claim for our national independence the recognition and support of every free nation in the world, and we proclaim that independence to be a condition precedent to international peace hereafter: ‘In the name of the Irish People we humbly commit our destiny to Almighty God Who gave our fathers the courage and determination to persevere through long centuries of a ruthless tyranny, and strong in the justice of the cause which they have handed down to us, we ask His Divine blessing on this the last stage of the struggle we have pledged ourselves to carry through to freedom.’ Dai! Eireann also established a democratic program in which they declared to have Ireland “ruled in accordance with the principles of liberty, equality and justice for all.” A cabinet was appointed, courts established and the Irish Republican Army was brought under the control of the Minister of Defense.

British Suppression and Irish Resistance

In September 1919, a British military proclamation declared Dail Eireann “illegal”. All republican newspapers were suppressed. Both went underground. The British military unleashed a reign of terror which continued until the signing of a truce in Ju Iy of 1921. A British Labour Party commission reported in December 1920 that “the atmosphere of terrorism which has been created and the provocative behavior of the armed servants of the Crown, quite apart from specific reprisals, are sufficient in themselves to arouse in our hearts feelings of the deepest horror and shame.” The IRA fought back against British military terror using primarily guerilla tactics and a highly sophisticated intelligence system that stretched into the inner workings of Dublin Castle, the epicenter of British Raj in Ireland. Authorized by Dail Eireann, republicans and nationalists in several county areas, particularly in the south of the country, co-opted the operations of the state from the British occupiers, for example, running their own republican courts, providing police services, etc. This was accomplished under extremely adverse, hostile military conditions. The General Elections of 1920: the Last All Ireland Election On 15 January 1920, with most of the Province of Munster under Marshall Law, Ireland wide municipal elections took place under the authority of Dublin Castle. Sinn Fein had another resounding electoral victory. Even in the unionist controlled north, Sinn Fein returned majorities in Counties Fermanagh and Tyrone. Even Derry City returned a Catholic mayor. Throughout Ireland, Sinn Fein won 172 councils out of 206. The general election of 1920 confirmed the people’s will for independence. It was to be the last national election the Irish people as a whole were allowed to participate in to this day, and again they voted for national sovereignty and independence from Britain.

Black and Tans and Britain’s War Machine

Britain’s answer was to flood the country with murderous Black and Tans, Auxiliaries, and other criminal elements from their forces returning from Europe after W.W.llooking for a payday and mayhem. They also deployed tens of thousands British military personnel and modern equipment and weapons of war into Ireland to terrorize the peopleinto submission. American Investigating Team Reports [1921] British guilty of “Terrorism” A group of prominent Americans and elected officials, including two US Senators, most with very Anglo sounding names, went to Ireland and reported their findings. Report of the American Commission on Conditions in Ireland, New York, 1921: L. Hollingsworth Wood, Chairman; Frederick Howe, Vice Chairman; Jane Addams, James Maurer, Maj. Oliver Newman; Norman Thomas; Senator George Norris; Senator David Walsh, members.

Conclusions

We find that the Irish people are deprived of the protection of British law, to which they have they would be entitled as subjects of the British King. They are likewise deprived of the moral protection granted by international law, to which they would be entitled to as belligerents. They are at the mercy of imperial British forces which, acting contrary both to all law and to all standards of human conduct, have instituted in Ireland a “terror,” the evidence regarding which seems to p rove that: The imperial British Government has created and introduced into Ireland a force of at least 78,000 men, many of them youthful and inexperienced and some of them convicts, and has incited that force to unbridled violence. The imperial British forces in Ireland have indiscriminately killed innocent men, women and children; have discriminately assassinated person suspected of being Republicans; have tortured and shot prisoners while in custody, adopting the subterfuges of “refusing to halt” and “attempting to escape”; and have attributed to alleged “Sinn Fein extremists” the British assignation of prominent Irish Republicans. House burning and wanton destruction of villages and cities by imperial British forces under British officers have been countenanced and ordered by officials of the British Government; and elaborate provision by gasoline sprays and bombs has been made in a number of instances for systematic incendiarism as part of the plan of terrorism. A campaign for the destruction of the means of existence of the Irish people has been conducted by the burning of factories, creameries, crops and farm implements and the shooting of farm animals. This campaign is carried out regardless of the political views of their owners, and results in widespread and acute suffering among women and children. Acting under a series of proclamations issued by the competent military authorities of the imperial British forces, hostages are carried by forces exposed to the fire of the Republican Army; fines are levied upon towns and villages as punishment for alleged offenses of individuals; private property is destroyed in reprisals for acts with which the owners have no connection; and the civilian population is subjected to an inquisition upon the theory that individuals are in possession if information valuable to the military forces of Great Britain. These acts of the imperial British forces are contrary to the laws of peace or war among modern civilized nations. This “terror” has failed to reestablish imperial British civil government in Ireland. Throughout the greater part of Ireland British courts have ceased to function; local, county and city governments refuse to recognize British authority; and British civil officials fulfill no functions of service to the Irish People. In spite of the British “terror” the majority of the Irish people have sanctioned by ballot the Irish Republic, give their allegiance to it, pay taxes to it, and respect the decisions of its courts and civil official. The Government of Ireland Act and an Undemocratic Treaty In December 1920, Westminster passed the Government of Ireland Act setting up two separate parliaments in Ireland, both subservient to Britain. In the northeastern Six Counties, 80% of the powers of government were to reside with Britain and it would remain a part of the UK. The Twenty-six Counties were to receive colonial, dominion status, with Britain in charge of permanent military outposts at strategic locations, including the major Irish ports. No Irish person from any part of Ireland voted for this imposition of British parliamentary will. Unionists, who obviously approved of union with Britain [most of whom lived within 35 miles of Belfast], did not want the partition of Ireland. Irish unity under British rule was Unionism’s first choice. Legendary unionist leader Edward Carson at the time declared, “I know Ulster does not want this parliament.” But, it was finally accepted. And why not? They were not only provided every political, judicial, economic, social, and military/police advantage they would need to contain the huge Catholic minority, but with all the concomitant advantages of power: whatever decent jobs there were to be had and nearly total control of every1hing else. A partitionist government was also put to Dail Eireann representatives at talks during the IRA/British truce in London in December 1921. Under threat from British PM Lloyd George of “immediate and terrible war,” the Irish delegation signed a treaty which was not voted on by any of the people it would affect. The southern dominion state was imposed upon the Irish people by force of British arms. The Twenty-six County state was then established after a bloody, fratricidal civil war against Irish republicans, who have never accepted to this day the partition of their country. Both partitioned sections of Ireland suffered and suffer still from the British imposition of an unwanted Border. The Twenty-six counties, despite the current economic spike provided by the Celtic Tiger phenomenon for a very limited sector of the population, had little chance to thrive as it could have as a sovereign nation with the resources of the island of Ireland organized in the best interests of its people. Its economy and politics are still dominated by British institutions and ways of thinking and unemployment and emigration has been a plague upon its people. The Six-county area of north eastern Ireland [incorrectly termed Northern Ireland], cut off from the rest of Ireland by an international border, had never historically existed as an entity of any sort: political, religious, geographic, or economic. Sliced out of the nine counties of Irish Ulster, it was an artificial area designed to ensure a Unionist majority in a majority nationalist country. Even Lloyd George, the British PM responsible, called it “a frontier based neither upon natural features nor broad geographical considerations.” The inclusion of the other three Ulster counties of Donegal, Cavan, and Monaghan would have, according to Sir James Craig, the first PM of the Six-counties, “Reduced our majority to such a level that no sane man would undertake to carryon parliament with it.” In four and one half counties of the six, there was and still is a majority of the people for national independence. The numerical strength of Unionists in the remaining one and one half counties and the gerrymandering of the rest enabled them to permanently out vote the nationalist majority in the rest of the north east statelet. What was it like for Nationalist captured in the north? Sir Basil Brooke, northern PM, made a policy statement in 1933, a little over a decade after partition: “I appreciate the great difficulty experienced by some in procuring suitable Protestant labour but I would point out that Roman Catholics are endeavoring to get in everywhere. I appeal to loyalists, therefore, whenever possible, to employ good Protestant lads and lassies.” In 1934, Lord Craigavon famously expressed the unionist creed: “We are a Protestant parliament and a Protestant state. I am an Orangeman first and a member of this parliament afterwards.” Between 1945 and 1970, 1,589 local authority housing were built, but only 35% went to the desperately needy Catholic community and these were substandard and located for political advantage. Ghetto housing schemes were built everywhere. One unionist council member declared: “We are not going to build houses in the South Ward and cut a rod to beat ourselves later on. We are going to see that the right people are put into these houses, and we are not making any apologies for it.” In 1948, E.C. Ferguson, MP for Enniskillen, stated, “The nationalist majority in county Fermanagh stands at 3,604. I would ask the meeting to authorize their executive to take whatever steps, however drastic, to liquidate this nationalist majority.” In April 1969, figures of the Fermanagh County Council showed that, despite a Catholic majority, only 32 Catholics were employed in a force of 370 workers. In 1971, there were 74 school busmen employed by Fermanagh Education Commission, 3 were Catholics. Catholic disadvantage and discrimination was standard in every northern county whether there was a Catholic or Protestant majority or not. A Catholic male, head of a household was 2 and 1/2 times more likely to be unemployed than his Protestant neighbor regardless of what county either lived in. It was that systemic.
Catholic families were also gerrymandered into political catchments to diminish their collective votes. Only property owners could vote in any case. The majority of Catholics did not own the home or flat they lived in, while a good number of Protestant business people owned several properties and votes. This would never be tolerated in any other part of the “United Kingdom” or any other so called democracy. Irish Civil Rights Movement and Violent Suppression In the late 1960s, a civil rights movement, very much inspired by the US civil rights struggle, gained popular support among disadvantaged Catholics, but also among university students of all religions and progressive thinking Protestants. Their demands were simple, equality in employment, housing and at the ballot box. No one was seriously thinking about a revolutionary movement for national sovereignty, but it was soon became a matter of physical and logical necessity. The civil rights movement was hammered into submission from the church pulpit to the political bully pulpit. Radical Unionism responded with violence and bloody pogroms against their Catholic neighbors. Eight thousand refugees streamed into West Belfast and other Catholic districts, their houses in flames and under gunfire, to double up with families they hardly knew. Other vulnerable, mixed or predominantly Catholic areas came under fire in east and north Belfast and elsewhere. The map above is revealing is several ways. The first map shows the severe lost of Catholic population from starvation, disease and immigration during the famine years. Over one hundred and thirty years, the Catholic population consolidated and grew. Only TWO COUNTIES in Ireland have a Protestant majority: the Counties Antrim and Down. Partition was achieved through a cynical numbers game and it is held through a system of inequality. The partition of Ireland was wrong eighty five years ago and it is wrong today. Defense, War, and the Equivalent of 55 Viet Nams When an undermanned and very under armed IRA scrambled to defend nationalist neighborhoods under siege, the British army was called in to the Six Counties. Rather than defend the besieged nationalist districts as it first appeared, the nature of the British army intervention became obvious, to defend the status quo — and that was Unionism. British army guns soon were trained on Nationalist communities and they were not silent. Following a change of government in Westminster, the British army launched a punitive military action against the people of the Lower Falls areas of Belfast on the 3rd through the 5th of July 1970. An illegal curfew was imposed and four innocent men were shot dead by British troops. From July 4th onwards, all confidence in the British army as “peace keepers” evaporated. The troops were now identified as military agents of the pro-British Stormont regime, period. Between July 1970 and July 1971, the British army, in defense of or supported by armed Loyalist paramilitaries, made brutal attacks on nationalist area, shooting and killing scores of innocent Nationalist civilians. Defense of the nationalist areas was now being more successfully organized by the IRA, which also began to take retaliatory action against the British army. Sinn Fein began to organize the people around a program of political action. On August 9th, 1971, almost 300 men were arrested in dawn raids and interned without trial under the Special Powers Act. The men, most uninvolved in republican activism until then, were tortured and terrorized. Some never recovered. Not one Unionist extremist was interned. These men became known internationally, particularly in America, as “the men behind the wire.” Sectarian attacks against nationalist communities continued unabated. In 1971, Irish Northern Aid was founded in America to support the families of the internees and refugees burned out of their homes. The IRA and Irish Republicans now understood that nationalists in the north could neither be effectively defended nor achieve equality in a partitioned statelet under pro-British Unionist rule and British occupation. They commenced an aggressive struggle for national independence on a scale exceeding even that of 1919 through 1922.

Published: 12 August, 2005

To the British Prime Minister, British Government:

 Please Stop Ignoring the families of the victims of The Ballmurphy Massacre. This past year 2011-2012 is the 40th anniversary of the Ballymurphy massacre, A year when last January the torch was handed over from the bloody Sunday families to the Ballymurphy families.

 A year where we sat in Washingtonin Americafor a congressional Hearing shaming the British Government as we told of the war crimes carried out in our streets in August 1971.

 A year where in august alone we held over a dozen events to mark our loved ones anniversary’s including the Aisling Award winning play Ballymurphy the Aftermath which showed vivid and shocking accounts brought to life on stage of what happened here 40 yrs ago. We also held our annual march of Truth where people from all of Ireland, UK, Germany, Basque country and America marched supporting our campaign for Truth.

 We now have the support of the Catholic Church, the Irish Government, Sinn Fein, SDLP, members of Alliance party and also members of the US Congress endorsing our campaign.

 In December we had representatives inDublin, Stormont,London,BrusselsandWashingtonreminding them that we are still here and won’t be going away until we get an international independent investigation and a declaration of innocents

 The announcement by the Attorney General John Larkin that inquests are to be reopened into the deaths of 10 of the 11 people killed in the Ballymurphy Massacre of August 1971 is to be welcomed. The families regarded the re-opening of the inquests as a very important step on our journey for truth. But even a fully resourced and effective inquest will have limitations. It will be able to provide facts and gather crucial forensic, logistical and witness testimony evidence, but it will not be able to examines the causes, context and consequences of the Massacre and answer so many of the questions that must be answered. We believe that only an International and Independent Investigation can facilitate the discovery of the facts and provide an accurate historical account of the events of August 1971 on the streets of Ballymurphy.

Ballymurphy Massacre Families would like to restate their position on dealing with the deaths of 11 Innocent victims in august 1971. The only mechanism acceptable by the campaign group is an Independent International Investigation which looks at causes, context and consequences of the massacre. Any story telling or H.E.T. type process is not good enough

 OUR FIGHT FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE IS NOT OVER WE DEMAND

 1. Independent international investigation examining the circumstances surrounding all of the deaths

 2. The British government to issue a statement of innocence

 3. The British government to issue a public apology

 WE call on David Cameron to stop ignoring the Ballymurphy Massacre Families and meet us face to face. Set a date NOW!

 John Teggart

MOB 07512166867

c/o Frank Cahill Resource Centre

195 Whiterock Road

Belfast BT12 7FW

Email: admin@ballymurphymassacre.com

Tel: 00 4428 90585755

 An old vision of a New Ireland

 By Norman Hamill

 Wouldn’t it be good to put an end the long conflict between Orange and Green?

 The Good Friday Agreement is an interim solution. It’s a big step along the way.  We can choose our national identity. We can see ourselves as Irish or British or both. Structures are in place to safeguard our differing identities. The big questions about the longer term can be left to the democratic process.

 Unionists and nationalists are free to seek support for their respective causes.  Those of us who want to see the re-unification of Ireland have the chance, hopefully in a non-threatening atmosphere, to try to win new friends and to influence new people. It’s an opportunity we would be foolish to waste.

 The Society of United Irishmen was founded in Belfast in 1791. Its leading members were Presbyterians. Their aim was to unite Irishmen of all creeds to achieve reform and to break the link with England. In Tone’s famous words they wanted, “to substitute the common name of Irishmen in place of the denominations of Protestant, Catholic and Dissenter”. While it is true that the majority of Presbyterians were much less radical, even today a fair number of Presbyterians, including myself, are proud that their ancestors were active in the revolutionary movement, even though more recent ancestors tended to be unionists. (One kinsman escaped from the army by floating down the Bann in a barrel.)

 Is it a paradox that an ex-cop can express admiration for ancestors who played their part in the ‘armed struggle’? I can only say that at as a police officer I wasn’t following any political agenda. In any case, I’m a republican of the constitutional variety.

The partition of this island was a mistake for unionists, an injustice for nationalists and a tragedy for Ireland.

For unionists it was a mistake, although they did have rational concerns. Their fear that “Home rule would be Rome Rule” was substantially vindicated. Nationalist Ireland didn’t really try to separate church and state. Politicians were overly deferential to the bishops. Could this have happened if partition hadn’t happened? I don’t think so. A confident and assertive, much larger Protestant minority would have secured genuinely pluralist independence. Instead, unionists demeaned themselves by allowing themselves to be motivated by fear. They clung to the coat tails of their already out-of-date notion of England. The English didn’t want them and felt no reciprocal loyalty to them.

The people of this island have the right to determine their own future without interference. For this reason, nationalists who found themselves within the separated area had a real sense of injustice.

Lastly, partition was a tragedy for Ireland because it distorted both parts of the country. The south initially became a narrow, right-of-centre, agrarian theocracy. Meanwhile, the north acquired its “Protestant parliament for a Protestant people.” It became an unhealthy statelet contaminated by sectarianism. Without partition, a genuinely pluralist nation would have developed much sooner. And, diversity could have been the ‘salt’ to ensure higher standards in public life.

Despite today’s grave financial crisis the Republic’s modern industrial base remains strong. The north no-longer has an industrial base. Most unionists don’t realise that, despite a slow start, self-government in Ireland has been an economic success.

It’s not too late to put things right. Both parts of the country have grown further and further apart but we shouldn’t give up on the vision of a modern, tolerant, successful and re-united Ireland.

Important work ahead for the Irish diaspora

Editorial | By Gerry Adams | November 30th, 2011

 

                              Kevin Cullen asking the questions.

“Nice to see you two gentlemen again.”

Mike was our friendly conductor on the express train one Friday morning two weeks ago as we traveled from New York to Boston. His family roots are in Dungannon and Pomeroy. He’s a Tyrone man and proud of it.

As he introduced himself he flicked back his coat to reveal a small radio with its aerial wrapped in green, white and orange.

Coming out of the New York Times on the day before after a meeting with its editorial board I was stopped by one of the maintenance staff. He is a native of Blackrock in County Louth.

These two men are just two of the millions of men and women who make up the Irish diaspora in the United States. And there are many millions more scattered across the globe who are proud of their Irish roots and heritage.

It’s the one solitary advantage of being recognized. I meet the Irish everywhere. On trains and planes, in streets and hotels, in New York and London, and Perth and Jerusalem, and Capetown. Every townland and parish the length and breadth of Ireland has a son or daughter in the diaspora.

Many of them were represented at the Friends of Sinn Féin dinner which took place the night before our train to Boston. Over 800 Irish Americans packed into the Sheraton Hotel on 7th avenue to demonstrate their solidarity with the struggle for freedom and unity in Ireland, this through their support for Sinn Féin.

The host dinner committee had done it again. Despite the economic difficulties it was a packed house.

I was reminded of my first frenzied visit to New York which in part brought me to the same hotel. It was February 1994. Bill Flynn had organized a peace conference and the issue of a visa for me was causing headaches for the governments.

The British government was lobbying like mad to have the Clinton administration say no. As far as they were concerned, the North was an internal matter for the “United Kingdom” and everyone was told to butt out.

But Irish America was having none of it and launched its own intense lobbying campaign. As a result, I got a 48 hour visa for New York. One of the key events of that visit was a speaking engagement with hundreds of excited Irish Americans in the Sheraton Hotel. Some of those who organized that event 17 years ago were also involved in planning the Friends of Sinn Féin dinner. So, this 2011 FOSF event was an opportunity for a little nostalgia.

Your man and I arrived in Boston about 11.30 the next morning. It was a cold, crisp Boston morning and the train journey had been very pleasant. I like trains.

We were in Boston all of six hours. From the train station we made our way to the Seaport Hotel where I had to speak at an event organized by the Echo and then off to the airport for the flight to Dublin; a quick turnaround.

The annual Golden Bridges Awards is organized by the Irish Echo. It was the fourth year they had been held in Boston.

It is a really good project, one which is about creating connections between Boston and Derry and the Northwest of Ireland. I was there to be grilled by one of Boston’s best known journalists, Kevin Cullen of the Boston Globe. I also was delighted to applaud the honorees, wonderful, active citizens every one. All of them are a fine example and an inspiration to the rest of us.

Among the issues Kevin asked me about was the presidential election and the role of the Irish diaspora. The presidential election was a good result for the Irish democratic project.

Martin McGuinness also succeeded in placing Irish unity on the political agenda. Alongside other issues he also introduced into the debate the fact that Irish citizens living in the North and passport holders within the diaspora are denied the right to vote in presidential elections.

It is our view that they should have that right. The Irish government has said that next year it will hold a constitutional convention. This issue will be on the agenda. The Irish diaspora has to be part of that. You, dear reader, make sure of that!

I told the Golden Bridges audience that the Irish scattered around the world, and especially those in the USA, proved their worth as indispensable supporters of the peace process. They also have a vital contribution to make as we seek to reshape and re-imagine Ireland in the 21st century.

And as the centenary celebration of the 1916 Rising, and of the Proclamation approaches, there is a role for Irish America in commemorating these events.

The Irish in America, the children of the famine, – An Gorta Mór – financed the Rising. The Proclamation is not yet a reality. But it will be.

Ireland is an island in transition, in part because of the peace process, but also because of the economic crisis. There is an opportunity to build a new Ireland, a new Republic, and the diaspora can, and should, play a positive and constructive role.

The Green Tide Surges Forward

It is a measure of the sense of political urgency with which the Sinn Féin leadership views the economic crisis inIrelandand particularly the 26 Cos. that we decided to stand Martin McGuinness in the Presidential election.

 To borrow a phrase first used by the same political establishment which institutionalised the corrupt and gombeen practices, now a template for modern Irish politics and economic policy; the last 2 years in particular have been ‘GUBU-esque’ – grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre and unprecedented. 

The southern economy is now mortgaged to the IMF, ECB and EU. Fine Gael and Labour are recycling the same policies which wrecked the economy, while Fianna Fail try to ‘con’ us all that none of this had anything to do with them while in government. Meanwhile in the 6 cos the British Government has slashed 4 billion sterling from the northern economy.

 Currently there are 507,700 unemployed inIreland.

 Politics and economics are always about choices. TodayIrelandis a byword for what happens when the wrong choices are made.

 This economic crisis and the political establishment’s response to it are an anathema to republicanism.

 Instead we choose change. Our political strategy is based upon a vision of change in Irish society. It’s all about attracting, persuading and winning the popular support to make positive change in citizens’ lives, while advancing our vision of a new united Republic.

 The defining characteristics of modern republicanism are our strategy and leadership. So faced with crushing austerity, cutbacks, unemployment and emigration, it was an obvious decision to contest the Presidential election.

 We judged that Martin’s candidacy was the most strategic way to positively impact upon the prevailing political situation in the 26 Cos, and nationally. The decision was made carefully with due consideration to building upon the electoral and political alternative Sinn Féin has delivered since the February 2011 general election; providing leadership and a real political choice in the midst of the economic crisis gripping the country; and our overall strategy for change.

 Standing Martin in this election campaign was a bold move. And yes, it was a strategic initiative – unlike any undertaken before.

 It was also high risk, because the negative offensive from establishment politicians and media were inevitable.

 But the potential to popularise republican politics among a greater cross section of popular opinion, north and south, and to give voters the choice of positive leadership, in the face of hopelessness, far outweighed any reservations or doubts.

 Put simply; contesting this election was the right thing to do!

 Sinn Féin chose to give leadership.

 And, 243,000 voters vindicated that decision.

 Sinn Féin’s vote increased. New political momentum was injected into the party project in the south. The election agenda was set by Sinn Féin; republicanism was further mainstreamed, and the politics of a unitedIrelandwere popularised. It was also an election which energised republican people everywhere, throughoutIrelandand the Diaspora.

 Sometime after the February general election the Party leadership set an organisational and electoral growth target to achieve 13% share of the vote by 2014 in the south. That target was eclipsed by this Presidential election result in 8 months!

 But more, Martin McGuinness attracted an overall total of 391,000 first and second preference votes, representing 22% of all first and second preference votes cast.

 In fact, during 2011 arising from the general election, Assembly and Presidential election campaigns over 420,000 citizens gave their first preferences to Sinn Féin.

 A mighty result indeed. Testament to the steady application of Sinn Féin’s political strategy for change and its incremental, but growing relevance among our people. Vindication also, of our refusal to stay static, or to accept the status quo.

 Of course this takes time. Our trajectory is long-term.

 But consider: in 1982, at the outset of our electoral strategy Sinn Féin secured 10.1% and 1% of the vote respectively in Assembly and general elections north and south. Today our share % of the total vote is 26.9 and 13.7 north and south, respectively.

 All-Ireland politics were placed centre stage during this Presidential election campaign. Sinn Féin is now irreversibly part of the 26 counties’ political discourse. Our political message struck a massive chord with voters. And, through our work in the Oireachtas and political campaigns in the coming months, it will continue to do so. Simultaneously the Party’s focus in the 6 county Assembly and Executive continues to be on delivering and championing change and equality on a cross-departmental and all-Ireland basis.

 Sinn Féin strategy is never static. Republicanism has not advanced by standing still. We must constantly seek new political momentum; set new political challenges for ourselves; and, then adapt with appropriate electoral and organisational plans and programmes.

 We need to be very ambitious. Brave, and ambitious enough to always set the bar higher for ourselves.

 So what next for republicans?

 The next scheduled election will be European elections across the 32 counties, and council elections in the 26 counties in June 2014.

 Our electoral ambitions by then should be to achieve 500,000 first preference votes for Sinn Féin.

 Yes, half a million!

 To elect the maximum number of MEPs; and, a record number of county and town councillors in the south.

 But, that will mean building and regenerating the Party organisation; developing political and organisational capacity, and financial and human resources. Specifically Sinn Féin must:

• recruit more new members;
• expand the membership base; and in particular, encourage the formation of area Youth Committees;
• promote the national youth strategy at every level in the Party;
• devise and implement DEA and LEA based organisational and electoral plans north and south;
• focus upon localised electoral organisation, structure and training;
• increase our fundraising efforts;
• prioritise growth in sales of An Phoblacht in every county and city;
• integrate all of these tasks with the political strategies and work plans of the 6 and 26 counties Political Directorates;
• timeframe our approach to delivering on these programmes of work;
• and, ensure we do so on a strategic, national basis, with maximum political cohesion, at all times.

In the immediate term, our political, publicity and campaign focus must be upon challenging austerity, cutbacks and unemployment north and south; the 26 counties budget and ‘handover’ to the Anglo Irish bondholders; the potential for another European referendum aimed at undermining the 26 counties economic and fiscal sovereignty again; and, the British government inspired welfare reform measures, and continued contraction in the Treasury block grant to the 6 counties economy. Meanwhile, the campaign for a unitedIrelandneeds driven forward here and abroad.

 This Presidential campaign was the most ideological election in the south since 1922.

 The political fault lines of the 26 counties state were exposed – partitionism, graft and cronyism, gombeenism, and the ascendancy of a political, corporate elite with no regard for the welfare of citizens.

 Republicanism was energised by the campaign across the island. That translated into enormous practical support, especially in the north.

 Many from the diverse worlds of culture, arts, business, sport and civic society both north and south, publicly endorsed the leadership that Martin’s candidacy represented.

 A national conversation began through this outreach and interaction, which now needs to be continued by Sinn Féin. The language and concepts underpinning that conversation on a new Republic, and what it should mean politically, economically, culturally and socially need to be addressed by republicans, and mainstreamed within wider society.

 The challenge now for each republican is to work collectively to start that discussion within every sector of Irish society, and particularly, with unionist people.

 Moving forward from this election we need to actualise, and demonstrate our ambition for change in every way possible: to be inspirational – with the language we use, our political activism and campaigns, and the vision we promote.

 The republican project and vision for change was powerfully advanced by the Presidential election. Republican values went toe to toe with the hydra of partitionism, cronyism and gombeenism.

 Another milestone on the road to a new republic. A new Green Tide.

 But we also need to listen to what the people said during this election. And, we need to absorb the lessons of the campaign. Complacency is our enemy.

 This wasn’t just another election.

 New strategic opportunities now exist. They are national. In every county. But to continue successfully making change we need to raise the bar higher. There has never been a better time to popularise republicanism, to build the republican alternative, and grow Sinn Féin.

 We need to harness the potential this strategic initiative created, by applying ourselves with energy, organisation, unity of purpose, cohesion and renewed strategic focus.

 Let’s ensure it’s ‘game on’ for 2014.

 Change is the talisman of today’s republicans. Think about it.

 We are the change makers!

AOH Western Rep Mike O’Connor, Rita O’Hare, United Ireland Campaign Rep George Trainor, State President Tom Pahut and Bob Mehrens

             Montana welcomed Sinn Féin  Representative Rita O’Hare to the United States,  for the state’s 2011 Ancient Order of Hibernian’s convention in Missoula, Montana.  Rita, the keynote speaker emphasized the importance of a United Ireland. “Our objective is a republic that serves the needs of all the Irish people. The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and all its parts, cherishing all of the children of the nation equally.”

            Resolutions calling for Irish reunification by democratic, electoral means, as provided for under the Good Friday Agreement, have been adopted by the New Jersey General Assembly, Lawrence, Massachusetts, Boston, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Cleveland, Rockland County, New York, The California Democratic Party, The San Francisco Labor Council, and The San Francisco chapter of the Veterans for Peace.

            Campaign for a United Ireland representative George Trainor also addressed the AOH attendees. “We need to hear your voice. We need Montana to join the chorus of growing states, counties, cities and organizations whose voices are calling out for a United Ireland.”

            AOH Western Rep Mike O’Connor observed, “The United Ireland Campaign is very important to Montana because of its history. The Irish came to Montana knowing that they would never be able to return home.  It’s important that we support Irish unification.” 

            There are strong ties between Montana and Ireland. In 1919, when Dev Valera went on a tour of the United States to encourage support for Ireland’s fight for independence, over 10,000 Butte, Montana residents turned out to hear him speak. The next day, Valera addressed a joint session of the Montana State Legislature.

It is a pleasure for me to be here tonight amongst so many friends and well wishers.  It is a great honour to stand before the Irish people seeking their support to lead this great nation.

I believe in Ireland. I believe in the Irish people.

Traveling around the country in recent years I have become more and more outraged at the greed and corruption which has given rise to the greatest economic crisis we have ever faced.  It is a scandal that ordinary people up and down this island are paying for this every day while at the same time trying to keep a roof over their heads and food on their tables.

Who would have thought 150 years after the great land battles in Ireland after Davitt and the Land League that the prospect of eviction is looming again for Irish families.

Who would have thought 100 years on from the Dublin lock out when Connolly and Larkin stood with the people, that workers like those in Talk Talk in Waterford are once again being thrown on the dole queue without so much as a thank you in the Ireland of 2011.

The greed and selfishness that dominated so much of political and business life in Ireland in the Celtic Tiger years is responsible for the financial mess we find ourselves in today.

Those responsible for this state of affairs are not patriots. Patriotism is about country and people. It is not about self aggrandizement.

But greed and selfishness is not the Irish way — local identity, community and sense of place is what defines us as Irish people, knowing and helping your neighbour, being tolerant to those who are different.

As President I will be at the forefront of an Ireland reclaiming its true sense of identity. I want to give the Irish people back their confidence. We have seen the greed of powerful and wealthy groups dent the Irish spirit. We need to see genuine values replace a culture of individualism.

As President I want to see every citizen regain a sense of pride in their Irish identity. I want to highlight the importance of community and inclusion which are the cornerstones of Irish life.  Ireland can and should be a place of positivity where creativity and innovation are nurtured.

Too many cynics stand in the way of our country reaching its true potential. I want to see Ireland reclaim the greatness of the tens of millions of Irish people across the world who are the leaders and innovators in the countries in which they now reside. I will be a President for all the Irish people including the Disapora.  As a father and grandfather, I refuse to be part of the first generation of Irish people to hand this society on to the next in a worse economic state than it was given to us.

As President I will work tirelessly to fix what has been broken and to inspire everyone who is Irish or who has links to Ireland across the world to work together to make our country great again.  If the Irish people vote for me as their President they know what they will get. Throughout 40 years and more of political activism, on the streets of Derry, in Downing Street, in the White House, in the Assembly and on Good Friday I have sought to bring a set of basic principles to my work – commitment – leadership – patriotism – endeavour – selflessness and a deep commitment to Ireland and her people.

As President I will defend and promote Ireland. I will uphold the constitution. I will stand up for sovereignty and freedom.  Titles have never been important to me. Political office has never been about perks. The only thing about seeking or reaching high office which motivates me is how that office can be used to make a positive contribution to people’s lives.

That is why I have already said I will only take home the average wage and return the rest to the Irish people. It is high time those at the top shared the pain and showed a bit of empathy with the rest of us.

I reject the notion put forward by some that the President of Ireland is somehow a meaningless or powerless role. This does a grave disservice to the Presidents who have gone before – particularly I have to say both Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese – whose work as President has inspired and motivated so many Irish people both here and abroad.  People have asked me in the course of recent weeks why I want to be President — that surely it would have been easier for me to simply continue as Deputy First Minister in the North. And there may well be some truth in that.. But this isn’t about me – I am standing because ordinary people the length and breath of this island have inspired me to run and in turn I want to inspire them as their President.

I want to be a President that stands for working families; for those struggling to pay mortgages; for parents fighting for better support for their children; for those with disabilities; for those lying on hospital trolleys; for elderly people fearful in their own homes at night or making a decision this winter on whether to heat their home; for those talented young Irish people being forced to emigrate to far flung corners of the world.

What Ireland needs now is investment and jobs. As Deputy First Minister, I have, along with Ministerial colleagues brought thousands of new jobs to the north – I want to use my international reputation – my influence and skills to go to the boardrooms of major US corporations and elsewhere and help bring new jobs to these shores.I want to act as an ambassador for all those indigenous firms who have, despite the massive challenges, provided employment and generated wealth.

The period during the next Presidency will see the centenary of many defining moments in our history. It would be my intention as President to use the next ten years from 2012 and the centenary of the formation of the UVF, the Home Rule campaign and the signing of the Ulster Covenant and the anniversary of the 1916 Rising to transform this decade of commemorations into a Decade of Reconciliation.

The Decade of Reconciliation would celebrate the diverse nature of our society, celebrate the peace we now have and commemorate the events of 100 years ago which defined the direction of Ireland up to the present generation.  I believe that this is what the signatories of the 1916 Proclamation would have wanted.

We must continue to reunify the people of Ireland through reconciliation and respect. That is what will lead to an Ireland that is truly united. I am very confident in my Irishness. As President I will attend any relevant event to celebrate the different cultural views and political identities that exist in Ireland. There is a need for political maturity and tolerance of the differing views on this island throughout this sensitive period.

Outreach is not something that is confined to the North. There are many sections of Irish society who have felt excluded over many years. As President I want to reach out to them and make the Office of the President and the Aras institutions that they identify with and feel welcome in.  This election is about leadership. I am willing to stand up and be counted and this juncture in our nation’s history. I will bring passion, patriotism and pride to the Presidency. I want the Irish people to stand with me.