Royal shame in Ireland

This afternoon the United Kingdom will enter a new dimension of shame and disgrace when Mrs Windsor inflicts herself on the Irish people and lays a wreath in the Garden of Remembrance - a quiet place for people to reflect on those Republican martyrs who gave their lives fighting centuries of British oppression.

Royalists in favour of the visit have argued the Queen’s arrival on Irish soil will underline the peace process. Rather sad then that Mrs Windsor will arrive at Casemont Aerodrome – an airfield named after Sir Roger Casemont, an Irish Republican who was hung for treason for trying to bring the Germans alongside the rebel movement in 1916.

Tomorrow, the Royals will visit Croke Park, the place where British machine guns opened fire on innocent Irish sports fans, killing 14 as they fired indiscriminately into the unarmed crowd. Their ‘crime’ was simple – they were Irish! After the visit, the Queen will attend Dublin Castle, the infamous seat from where Britain ruled Ireland for over 800 years. There she will enjoy Irish hospitality at a banquet in her honour.

Is it any wonder dissident Republicans want to blow the old battleaxe to pieces?

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not in favour of any kind of violent act against the old bat. The hard reality is that any act of violence against any human being is an atrocity against us all and should be condemned by any right thinking person. But I do understand the anger these dissidents feel when they look over the border at the Six Counties and ask the question – What do we have to do to reunite our country? How much more pain do we have to suffer before we can be free of the yoke of British rule?

Besides, blowing up the old thing won’t do any good. Sure you can get rid of one Royal, but they breed like gerbils and as fast as you get rid of one, six more come in behind. Charlie, Will, Harry … the list is endless.

On top of that, public reaction would harden against the Republican cause and even some of those inclined towards a free Ireland would be likely to swing the other way if you kill off the regal pensioner.

No, the way forward must be for democrats to expose the dishonesty of the British regime and show the world how two-faced British ‘diplomacy’ has been over the years. When Michael Collins came with his team to negotiate a settlement the option of a free Ireland was never on the cards and since those days the option of reuniting the Six Counties has never been on the agenda.

With the Royal visit taking place and members of the UDA being invited to the sticky bun fight we see again how Britain continues to turn its back on the legitimate rights of all Irish people. Rather than endorsing Protestant terrorists, the Queen should have been apologizing for the atrocities committed by the black and tans back in 1916, or by the ‘paras’ during the Troubles.

The Queen should be going to Ireland and mourning the deaths of the men and women who went on hunger strike or ‘on the blanket’ and died for Irish freedom.

Bobby Sands
Terence MacSwiney
Conor McElvaney
John and Peter Crowley
Thomas Donovan
Michael Burke
Michael O'Reilly
Christopher Upton
John Power
Joseph Kenny
Seán Hennessy

Just a few of the many names who gave their lives fighting British oppression.

James Connolly once said: If you strike at, imprison, or kill us, out of our prisons or graves we will still evoke a spirit that will thwart you, and perhaps, raise a force that will destroy you! We defy you! Do your worst!”

Well, the British military and Westminster combined did just that, but despite all their best efforts they could not suppress the legitimate rights of a people. As the Queen, the head of British government sets foot on Irish soil later today, she will do well to remember that.

Let us leave the final word of this entry to the great James Connolly. His words endure and have as much meaning today as they did when he first spoke them. May his memory endure and his words carried as a battle cry by all socialists.

“Ireland, as distinct from her people, is nothing to me; and the man who is bubbling over with love and enthusiasm for "Ireland," and can yet pass unmoved through our streets and witness all the wrong and the suffering, the shame and the degradation wrought upon the people of Ireland—yea, wrought by Irishmen upon Irish men and women, without burning to end it, is, in my opinion, a fraud and a liar in his heart, no matter how he loves that combination of chemical elements he is pleased to call Ireland.”