Relaunching national consciousness
MacBride Principles activist Oliver Kearney, Father Des Wilson, Fianna
Fáil dissident Nora Comiskey, Green Party member Patricia McKenna,
veteran union activist Matt Merigan and artist Robert Ballagh were
just some of those on the platform at a press conference held in
Buswells last Friday.
Chaired by Richard Greene, it was explained that at a meeting on 11
September, a group of people concerned at the current state of affairs
in Ireland had come together and elected an ad hoc committee to
organise a major conference on Saturday 20 January in Liberty Hall in
Dublin.
The objective is to have as wide as possible section of people
represented at the conference and to have a sufficiently large and
broad attendance to launch an Irish National Congress.
The organisers believe that a consensus is emerging from the
encouraging number of replies received so far that what is needed is a
non-party political organisation to unite people from all political
parties and none who believe that the key to peace and freedom lies in
the British Government making a declaration that they will withdraw
from Ireland and allow the Irish people to achieve national
self-determination.
Over 2,000 individuals, organisations and community groups have been
contacted. The organisers hope that this will be the beginning of a
serious attempt to create a non-party political framework to remove
the deep feeling of alienation in Irish society, North and South.
Phoblacht, Thursday 14 December, 19?
![[An Phoblacht]](http://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/aprn.gif)