Simple Simon!
By Sean O'Donaile
As Republicans we have become used to others inventing fantasies
and tall tales about our activities - Branchmen coming to your
Mammy's door to tell her you were suspected of being a member of
the IRA; Evening Herald headlines about the IRA smuggling drugs
and Sunday Times running tall tales about the dog and its mother
being on the Army Council.
With the demise of Section 31 and the coming of the Peace Process
we've begun to believe that we might get a fair hearing, but
Channel 4's atrocious documentary A Great Hatred (Wednesday 15
October) brings us back to the bad old days of lies and more
lies. One might argue we shouldn't give credence to these types
of ``documentaries'', but unfortunately people actually believe
this nonsense.
Sunday Times journalist Simon Sebag Montefiore endeavoured to
link Sinn Féin with every wrongdoing in this country since its
foundation, including the Limerick pogroms of 1904 and the German
bombing of Belfast in 1940.
The tale of the Limerick pogroms is disturbing and indeed
interesting in its own right and Montefiore could have developed
this theme and looked at the problem of racism in Ireland today.
Instead he chose to enforce his own prejudices and
misconceptions.
In the summer of 1901 a number of Lithuanian Jews stopped in
Limerick en route to America and quickly settled into local life
earning money from selling blankets etc. Local Christian
capitalists began to feel the pinch and enlisted the support of
the local clergy who were all too willing to put an end to this
``most miserable tribe...who had wormed their way into business''
...and needed to be ``turned out''. The lumpenproletariat were
assembled, Harryville style and soon burned out the 40 or so
Jewish families.
At around the same time Arthur Griffith, who would be seen as
more of a Fine Gael father figure, was warning us of the ``hideous
Yiddish'' ...who had ``tainted the purity of the Irish race''.
Unfortunately Montefiore forgets to remind us that Sinn Féin was
in its infancy in 1904 and certainly played no part in these
pogroms. Furthermore the Sinn Féin of Griffith bears no
resemblance to that of Adams, whose members have a strong track
record in their communities in support of travellers and
refugees.
He then jumps to World War 2 and republican attempts to procure
arms from Germany in 1940. He again forgets to remind us that
Chamberlain had as recently as 1938 shook the hand of Hitler.
Furthermore the Irish, as with most of Europe, was unaware of the
terrible deeds at Auswicz and this did not come to light until
1945. Indeed many Irish supported the Germans in the same way as
some of us cheered against the British in the Malvinas War of
1982. He also omits to tell us that most republicans were
interned in the Curragh Concentration Camp during this time.
Poor Simon completely loses the run of himself when he enlists
the expert analysis of Eoghan Harris, David Ervine, Hugh Lewsley
and Joe Hendron, who finish by telling us that Protestants are
being ethnically cleansed. Again Montefiore forgets that Ervine's
colleagues have long been in contact with the National Front, and
the Orange Order, as recently as last month, were marching with
Combat 18.
Shame on Channel 4 for lumbering us with such nonsensical
drivel... please spare us!
Unfortunately the current Presidential race is also becoming a
throwback to McCarthyism with our old friend John Brutal leading
the charge against those dastardly Northerners, who should go
back to the back of the bus.
The Dublin media are currently shamelessly running with the ``who
supports Gerry'' story, which is a smokescreen for anti-Northerner
racism, which is still firmly implanted in the Blueshirt
mentality. The Late Late Show (RTE, Friday) gave us another
helping of the Famous Five with Gay Byrne setting the
anti-nationalist agenda yet again.
In fairness to McAleese, she came across as the strongest of the
candidates, followed by Mary Bannotti, who unfortunately is
endorsed by John Bruton, and might otherwise have been a half
decent proposal.
Poor Adi Roche was still listing and despite her strong stance on
neutrality etc seems to be sinking after telling us she wants to
turn Aras an Uachtarain into the Willy Wonka factory.
Derek Nally had taken time off from bugging phones (allegedly)
and harassing Republicans to be deceived by our man Eoghan, who
told him to lose weight and stop looking like a cop - how do you
do that?
Dana should go back to the Eurovision - or she might get a job
selling `An Phoblacht' in Derry.
yway, I thought Gerry Adams was already President.
On a lighter note Kilkenny supporters were telling us on First
Among Equals (RTE Radio 1, Mondays) that DJ Carey should be
President - he certainly is on Noreside after his hurling heroics
of the summer. Carey is also a accomplished handballer and soccer
player but he says ``there's more to life than hurling'' - now that
wouldn't get him elected in a lot of places.
BBC ran a two-part Omnibus on The Fame and Shame of Salvador
Dali on Monday and Tuesday last. Dali, the great surrealist
painter and exhibitionist, died a recluse in 1989. Even when he
achieved worldwide fame he was consumed by feelings of shame and
inferiority. He wrote underneath a picture of the Sacred Heart of
Jesus: ``Sometimes I spit for pleasure on the portrait of my
mother''.
He told the Pope he was a mystic.
He supported Fascism and later Franco.
He accused his sister of being a lesbian.
He was obsessed with castration, coprophilia, voyeurism,
impotence and masturbation, which found expression in his work,
and he said he liked it when his friends died. If that's what it
takes to be a genius I'm happy to be a simple pleb.
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