Support for Donegal Celtic decision
A chairde,
The Centre for Human Rights supports the decision by Donegal
Celtic Football Club to withdraw from its fixture against the RUC
and applauds the players and committee for their sensitivity to
the feelings of the people of West Belfast.
Given the RUC's record of abuse and the violation of the rights
of the people in West Belfast, it would have been unwise to give
this organisation any recognition or credibility on the sporting
field. No doubt the players are disappointed but they made this
courageous decision on principle and on conscience and they have
won the respect of the people in West Belfast for their
sensitivity.
This was not purely a sporting matter but a matter of concern for
the whole West Belfast community that has suffered systematic and
deliberate abuse and the violation of their rights at the hands
of the RUC. Just as sports persons in South Africa chose to
boycott the Apartheid regime it is the responsibility of the
whole community, including sporting organisations, members and
players to make a moral decision, according to their consciences,
to boycott equally discriminatory bodies in the north of Ireland.
The people of West Belfast expressed their genuinely held, deeply
felt concerns, based on their own experiences of the RUC, over
the past week to Donegal Celtic. To suggest, as some have done,
that this amounted to pressure, intimidation and threats is
deeply insulting to the people of West Belfast.
ne Monaghan
Centre for Human Rights
Springhill
Belfast
Not all wars are equal
A chairde,
Forgive me for sounding cynical but are people in the media
getting carried away with themselves on the commemorations of the
war dead? I am referring to all the hype and the hidden political
agenda regarding the 50,000 Irishmen who died in the First World
War.
By all means let us not forget them. However let's get off stage
regarding celebrations by their political masters.
The people who sent these young men out of the trenches to be
slaughtered should be charged with war crimes. They were like
lambs to the slaughter. They were also conned by the British
establishment at the time.
I am particularly annoyed at the silence of our liberal media to
the 1798 commemorations. It's rather strange when thousands of
people walk through our capital city honouring the men and women
of 1798 in a magnificent colourful display yet it's ignored by
our national media. The revisionists have not gone away, you
know.
Finian McGrath
Dublin
Media priorities
A chairde,
On Saturday 31 October a 35-year old Catholic man, Brian Service,
was brutally gunned down by a [loyalist] splinter group.
Whether this was done because of the refusal of Trimble and
company to take the Good Friday Agreement the promised stage
further, we do not know. One thing it certainly does show is that
the people breaking the peace process are not republicans; they
are standing firm in the face of great provocation and even
killings.
Little has been said by the British media about this outrageous
act against a totally innocent man. All they seem to want to talk
about is the decommissioning issue.
There was, for instance, a disgraceful interview by John
Humphreys (``On The Record'') where he asked Gerry Adams if he was
not inviting violence over decommissioning, completely ignoring
the fact, until Gerry Adams reminded him, that an innocent
nationalist has been assassinated. Wasn't that violence?
This kind of behaviour by the British media is extremely
insulting to the nationalist people of the north of Ireland, and
indeed to decent thinking people. As Mr Adams pointed out to
Humphreys, ``They (Catholics) do not figure much on the Richter
scale''.
This is very similar, in fact, to the way black South Africans
were treated until the overthrow of the racist white regime.
When will the British media begin to show both sides of the
situation in Ireland?
Val Cardwell
Lost friend
A chairde,
Please could you print my appeal to help me find a really good
friend of mine I lost touch with six years ago.
Does anyone know where Christopher ``Chris'' O'Sullivan is? He's
about twenty four years old, about six feet tall, dark hair. He
was last living in West Belfast in 1993.
He played in either the Eire Nua or Billy Reid band and came to
Glasgow in May 1989 and 1992. I've lost his address and I'm dying
to hear from him again.
If you know Chris or maybe you are Chris, please, please get in
touch.
Kathleen McLean
Royston
Glasgow
Band in the USA
A chairde,
I read with interest the story ``Eire Nua to play in the USA''.
But I'm sorry to say that they are misinformed when they say, ``A
lot of bands tried but never made it, we want to be the first''.
In 1977 an accordian band travelled to New York and in 1978
Andersonstown's ``Piobairi Uladh PB'' spent two wonderful weeks in
New York and surrounding states.
Piobairi Uladh on arrival in New York played twice a day every
day plus night time engagements and had within the band a very
good Irish dancing team, who performed with the band at functions.
The band was invited back in 1980 and was ready for the off when
the loss of some members owing to studies left us with no choice
but to cancel our trip.
We were invited back again (1997) but sadly lack of playing
members, again forced us to decline.
Piobairi Uladh are celebrating their 25th anniversary on 27
November in the Felons Club, everyone is welcome. We would like
to wish Eire Nua RFB good luck and hope they achieve their goal
and get to the States and hope they enjoy themselves as much as
we did.
Piobairi Uladh Pipe Band are looking for members, male and female
to train as pipes and drummers.
Band rooms at St Paul's Handicap, Beechmount Avenue, 7.30 Monday
nights.
Vincent Wilson.
Hutchinson
A chairde,
Having watched an interview with Billy Hutchinson on TV3 I was
alarmed to hear some of the statements he was coming out with.
Suggesting that 9 out of 10 people in the streets felt like David
Trimble and did not wish to see ``the IRA in the form of Sinn
Fein'' in any new assembly was outrageous.
In fact, if Mr Hutchinson bothered to look at electoral results
together with general street feeling on both sides of the border
on the subject the figure would be closer to 9 out of 10 people
DO wish to see such an outcome.
I also feel it a bit rich to hear a UVF leader refer to ``Sinn
Fein-IRA''. I think Billy would be well served remembering his own
history and the history of his own organisation renowned for its
many outright sectarian attacks.
While other aspects of the interview were quite frank and
insightful I think it quite hypocritical to hear such outbursts,
given his past.
John
Dundalk
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