Léargas: A Podcast by Gerry Adams

• An open letter to my unionist neighbours | Fairytale of New York

  An Open Letter to My Unionist NeighboursA Chairde,I want to respectfully reach out to my unionist neighbours at this time of ongoing change on our island and continuous turbulence and conflict in parts of our world. We should count our blessings. Imperfect though it might be we have peace and the ability to work out our difficulties peacefully.This ability to find solutions is frustrated by the British government refusing at this time to permit us to exercise our right to self-determination. So, London continues to interfere in our affairs. In my view, and history supports this view, London will never govern us in Irelands interest. It never has. And it never will. How could it? It serves different national interests.Sometimes these coincide with the attitudes of political unionism. But when they don’t political unionism and its attitudes are set to one side by London. This has happened again and again. Betrayal has been followed by betrayal after betrayal. London is only loyal to the unionists when it suits its interests. Those are not my words. These are the words of unionist leaders. I do not think these leaders serve the interests of my unionist neighbours. Certainly not on social or economic issues or the daunting challenges of growing our peace process into a prosperity process. Or a new rights based citizen centred society. Of course, my unionist neighbours are entitled to vote for these parties or anyone else if that is their wish, and political unionism clearly has a deep rooted commitment to the Union with Britain. It used to have things its own way. Maybe some of its leaders still believe that is the case but it isn’t. They have lost their electoral majority. The Union is now very conditional and in the upcoming period there will be a referendum to decide the future.The extent of constitutional and institutional change is for the people of the island of Ireland to decide – democratically and without outside interference. The Good Friday Agreement makes clear that constitutional change requires consent, freely given and expressed in referendums North and South. So, political unionism will have its say. But so will the rest of us. On the basis of equality. All the unionist parties have agreed to abide by the outcome of this referendum. This ongoing continuum of change is about shaping a new Ireland, an agreed Ireland, and a new relationship with Britain that enhances our personal and community relationships, strengthens society, makes conflict a memory, ends sectarianism and creates real opportunities to improve the daily lives of citizens. It is about reconciliation and accommodation. It is about the North as a part of the island of Ireland again taking its place as a full member in the European Union.The Good Friday Agreement will provide the best framework of protections for everyone including and especially my unionist neighbours. The Agreement which was democratically supported in referendums North and South and is an all-island international agreement, already provides future protection for citizens.The Agreement guarantees that future governance arrangements will be “exercised with rigorous impartiality on behalf of all the people in the diversity of their identities and traditions and shall be founded on the principles of full respect for, and equality of, civil, political, social and cultural rights, of freedom from discrimination for all citizens, and of parity of esteem and of just and equal treatment for the identity, ethos, and aspirations of both communities; recognise the birthright of all the people of Northern Ireland to identify themselves and be accepted as Irish or British, or both, as they may so choose, and accordingly confirm that their right to hold both British and Irish citizenship is accepted by both Governments and would not be affected by any future change in the status of Northern Ireland.”<

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• Delivering Rural Health & Care In a New Ireland | The SS Al Rawdah | A Space in which Dialogue is Possible

  The SS Al RawdahFor the first time ever the families of many of the 207 Republican internees held on the Al Rawdah prison ship between 1940 and 1941 met in Belfast. 85 years after their loved ones were interned on the prison hulk the families came together for the launch of Tom Hartley’s insightful account of that period.At the beginning of his remarks Tom invited the relatives present to stand. There was spontaneous and sustained applause from the rest of the audience. It was an emotional moment, for the relatives and for those watching, in what was an evening of memory and recollection.Mary McConville whose Uncle ‘Rocky’ Burns was held on the Al Rawdah, introduced the event and Tom Hartley explained to the relatives and audience his motivation for writing the book and the forensic approach he took in collecting information. He also drew attention to the poignant fact that two days earlier was the 85 anniversary of the only prisoner to die on the Al Rawdah, John Gaffney, who fell from his hammock and hit his head.Tom reminded us all that following partition in 1920 the Unionist Regime at Stormont moved quickly to consolidate its power and to ensure that nationalists and republicans living in the North posed no threat to their domination. Legislation was introduced to gerrymander electoral boundaries, and deny hundreds of thousands of citizens, mostly nationalist, access to a vote in local elections. Local Councils with nationalist majorities became unionist controlled. Discrimination in employment and housing was built into the structure of the state.A Space in which Dialogue is PossibleLast week Queens University , Belfast and Dundalk  Institute of Technology (DkIT) announced a significant new partnership that will establish DKiT as a University College of Queen’s University. The all-island educational and economic potential is enormous. Last week also, the Good Friday Agreement Oireachtas committee was told that survival rates for children with congenital heart conditions on the island of Ireland now match the best results anywhere in the world. This is because of 15 years of co-operation between the health services North and South.To add to this good news, the Shared Island Unit announced an additional €50 million for projects and it emerged that a number of MEPs have written to the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola requesting special “observer” status for representatives from the North.The DUP leader Gavin Robinson immediately opposed the EU move. The perennial default position of the DUP and others within political unionism is to condemn and oppose any positive progress. This resistance to change is evident almost daily in the negative atmosphere that has been created in the Assembly, in the Executive and on local councils.The reality is that unionism has gone backwards to the ’NEVER, NEVER, NEVER’ stance of past decades. This resistance to change reflects the essential insecurity of political unionism.None of this is new. Anyone with a basic understanding of unionist history since the plantation, and especially since the Home Rule struggle of the late 19th century and into partition, understands this.

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• Remembering Friends | Solidarity with Palestine | Health in a New Ireland | Passport office for the north

  Philomena MulvennaPhilomena Mulvenna died in the early hours of last Friday morning. I have known Philomena and her husband Paddy for most of my adult life. Paddy and she were 72 years married and they had 7 children. Mrs Mulvenna protested with other women against military occupation and for decades on behalf of the political prisoners especially the Armagh women and the blanket men. The song sings unfairly, of the boys of Ballymurphy but all of us know that without the women of Ballymurphy, the struggle would have not succeeded as it has in this Republican heartland. Like working class Republican women throughout the North, these mothers and grandmothers, sisters and wives were unbreakable, indomitable and resilient.Brendan MurphyI was deeply saddened to hear of the death of Brendan. I had the pleasure of knowing him for decades, although I haven’t seen him in ages.Martin CollinsMartin Collins would not have been well known on this side of the Irish Sea. But in London he was central to many of the Irish organisations and campaigns, as well as the solidarity movements like Troops Out. Martin campaigned for decades against British injustice in Ireland. It was through this work that I often met him in London.Solidarity with the Palestinian PeopleTo mark International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People there will be an event in Ionad Eileen Howell/St. Comgall’s in Belfast on 29 November at 11am. This will involve a conversation between myself and Seanadoir Chris Andrews who recently participated in the Global Freedom Flotilla to Gaza.A Passport office for the NorthThe consistent refusal by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to establish a passport office in the North flies in the face of the very clear demand for such a service. Year after year the numbers of people in the North applying for an Irish passport has grown substantially. Last year over 128,000 people living in the six counties applied for an Irish passport.

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• Defending British interests | The battle for hearts and minds of Unionism | An evening with Jim Fitzpatrick

  Defending British interestsHilary Benn is the 25th British Secretary of State since the Conservative government of Ted Heath scrapped the Stormont Parliament in 1972. Whitelaw was the first. I met him during the London talks in July that year. There was then a gap of 23 years before I met another British Secretary of State, Patrick Mayhew. I have met most of the rest since then.The 25 were a mixed bunch both in ability and in temperament. Most we had never heard of before they were given the job. Many we never heard of again after they left here.  A few were friendly. Some, like Roy Mason, were wannabe generals or spymasters who bought enthusiastically into the counter-insurgency strategies of the spooks, Brit military and RUC. Some, like Merlyn Rees, were bumblers who hadn’t a clue about the North and probably didn’t care, and some were or thought they were, clever and devious. Most of them suffered from delusions of grandeur. I used to call it the English disease but that is probably unfair. Not all English people believe they have the right to rule other countries. But whatever their personalities or politics they all had one thing in common – they were here to defend British national interests – whatever the cost.The battle for hearts and minds of UnionismMichelle O’Neill honoured her commitment to be a First Minister for All when she chose to take part in Sunday’s remembrance day ceremony in Belfast. Deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly chose not to honour her responsibilities by refusing to attend this week’s inauguration of Catherine Connolly as the 10th Uachtarán na hÉireann. The two choices taken by both leaders’ highlight again the refusal by unionism to accept the core principles of equality and parity of esteem which are at the heart of the Good Friday Agreement.The battle for hearts and minds of UnionismMichelle O’Neill honoured her commitment to be a First Minister for All when she chose to take part in Sunday’s remembrance day ceremony in Belfast. Deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly chose not to honour her responsibilities by refusing to attend this week’s inauguration of Catherine Connolly as the 10th Uachtarán na hÉireann. The two choices taken by both leaders’ highlight again the refusal by unionism to accept the core principles of equality and parity of esteem which are at the heart of the Good Friday Agreement.

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• Celebrating our Language, Arts and Culture | Ról na nGael i dTógáil Éire Nua | The Olive is never just a Tree

  Celebrating our Language, Arts and CultureComhghairdeas to all of those who helped make Oireachtas na Samhna the huge success it was. Thousands of Irish language speakers from across the island of Ireland spent part of last week enjoying the music, dance, culture, arts, craic and discussions that are part of the oldest Irish language and arts event on the island of Ireland. The Waterfront Hall and other venues were filled with the very young to the not so young Gaels, all actively and enthusiastically enjoying the enormous diversity of Oireachtas na Samhna. Many took part in competitions, including sean-nós singing, sean-nós step dancing and lúibíní (poetic verses).A special well done to Máirín Nic Dhonnchadha and the leadership team which ensured the smooth running of an amazing and ambitious occasion. The presence of President Elect Catherine Connolly, due to be sworn in as Uachtarán na hÉireann next week was a special bonus. The Oireachtas was her first visit North following the presidential election. So too did the presence of Pól Deeds, the new Irish Language Commissioner, who along with Lee Reynolds the Ulster Scots Commissioner, will take up their posts next week.This is another important step forward. The Irish Language Commissioner will play an important role in enhancing the opportunities for the growth of the Irish Language.Ról na nGael i dTógáil Éire NuaCeann de na himeachtaí ag Oireachtas na Samhna eagraíodh é ag Coimisiún Shinn Féin ar Thodhchaí na hÉireann. Scrúdaigh sé go sonrach ról na nGaelgóirí i dtreo aontú na hÉireann.Cuir Tomás Ó Néill fáilte roimh an tionál ar son Shinn Fein mBeal Feirste. D’oscail Aisling Reilly MLA, duine den ghlúin úr seo sa chathair, an imeacht agus labhair sí ar na deiseanna romhainn fríd Aontacht – “deis fháis, deis cheangail agus deis ar rathúlachta chomhchoitinn”.Dúirt Aisling gur mór an seans go mbeadh ann don Reifreann le linn Uachtaránacht Catherine Connolly agus go bhfuil muidne, muintir na hÉireann i bhfad chun tosaigh ar an Rialtas. Lá i ndiaidh lae, tá níos mó daoine, eagraíochtaí agus grúpaí a rá go bhfuil dualgas ar an Rialtas i mBaile Átha Cliath tabhairt fán phleanáil agus ullmhúchán do reifreann agus d’athaontú na tíre.The Olive is never just a TreeThe number of people killed by Israel’s genocidal war on the Palestinian people of the Gaza Strip has passed 68,000, with a further 10,000 at least still buried under the rubble. Over 150,000 have been wounded, many of them permanently disabled.  The most recent figures on Israeli actions in Gaza reveal that the so-called ceasefire that began on 10 October is far from that. So far Israeli forces have violated the ceasefire on 194 occasions, including 55 shootings and 55 shellings. Other attacks have occurred since then. At least 226 people, including 97 children have been killed. What price the ceasefire?Last week, the Israeli government allowed some heavy machinery in to help in the search for dead Israeli captives. They continue to ban heavy equipment for the retrieval of Palestinian victims.Under the agreement agreed between the USA, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey humanitarian aid should now be flowing into the Gaza Strip. However, instead of the 600 trucks cleared to enter Gaza each day less than a quarter of this number are currently being allowed in. Critically trucks carrying frozen meat, eggs and livestock are still blocked. 

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