Views wanted
A chairde,
I am a journalist and writer and I am researching a book on the
current revival of Irish nationalism, with particular reference
to the role of Sinn Féin. I would be very glad to hear from An
Phoblacht readers about this subject. I am happy to have letters
signed or unsigned.
I would like to know if people agree that there is a renewal of
nationalism, and if the rising vote for sinn Féin, notably among
the young, is a signal of this. I would like to hear about why
this is happening.
The point of this book is neither to disparage nor to
propagandise for Sinn Féin, but to describe and analyse its
apparently growing success. My intention is to reflect all views
as fairly as possible. Mr Gerry Adams has said that Sinn Féin
should be treated like any other political party, and I am
interested in themes of wider political philosophy: for example,
attitudes to European Monetary Union, or to sport. Young people
tell me that there is a link between Irish nationalist supporters
and Manchester United and I would like to know if this is so. (On
sport, I openly admit that I am starting from a base of total
ignorance.)
I have previously published a book about the culture of Catholic
Ireland, which was highly praised by reviewers, and so of course
the theme of personal attitudes towards the Catholic church (and,
separately, the Catholic faith) is also of noteworthy interest.
Mary Kenny,
P.O. Box Number 5981,
Dublin 2.
Road protestors and jail
A chairde,
There is a certain amount of truth in the claim that English road
protestors were wary of being arrested for their activities (Mála
Poist ??) but that naive notion was shattered very quickly by
bitter experience - and the movement learned swiftly.
In 1994, with the intention of gaining experience of anti-road
camps so that it could be applied to the Glen of the Downs, I
participated in the attempt to prevent the eviction of a stunning
bluebell valley called Stanworth just outside Blackburn. It lay
in the path of the M65 and became the longest eviction in
anti-road history at the time.
Within minutes of the eviction beginning people were arrested and
dragged off in the direction of Blackburn Jail. Some were freed
and told to stay off the site, but others were placed in cold
dark cells and ignored.
It occurred to some of us that those who had been arrested
probably had no idea what was happening to them. Many came from
comfortable middle-class families and weren't used to the kind of
brutal treatment the British state was capable of using on people
who challenge the system. So we decided that we needed to have
someone waiting outside the jail to greet people as they were
freed, after being charged, and try to cheer them up.
For some reason I got this job and for more hours than I care to
remember I tried to present a happy face to those who emerged
from the jail, their emotions in tatters. I bought them cups of
tea and bags of chips and got them to talk about what had
happened.
I'll never forget the image of the first person who came out, a
young girl in her late teens. She was shocked and disorientated.
After a while she went back to the site to collect her
belongings. She was going home.
Gradually more came out and people were able to talk about their
experience over tea and chips.
Some ignored the order to stay off the site and rejoined the
protest. Others, like the girl, took the train or bus home.
There's no doubt that this experience galvanised some people and
they became hardened campaigners as a result, but it is probably
also fair to say that some people went home and never got
involved again.
Robert Allen
Martigny Cross
Switzerland
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