Although the dreaded coronavirus has superseded politics as a matter of public interest, not to say obsession, we still need to keep an eye on the parties and what they are doing.
In the north, the report on the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme is looming and no doubt there are some fingers crossed at the moment, especially in the Democratic Unionist Party and, to a lesser extent, Sinn Féin. At a time when the rest of us are washing our hands literally, will the politicians be doing so metaphorically?
South of the border, although there has been increased talk about a temporary all-party administration to get us through the Covid-19 crisis, the slow bicycle race to form a long-term government continues. Despite the electoral surge for Sinn Féin, the most likely prospect at time of writing seems to be a loveless marriage between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, with the Greens and/or Independent TDs helping to achieve a Dáil majority. The word is that the Greens have been quite demanding, whereas Independents tend to be more focused on the needs of their parliamentary constituencies.
There is a certain irony about FF and FG engaging in a reluctant courtship, since we are just over two years away from the centenary of the Irish Civil War, which erupted in June 1922 and continued until May the following year. The forebears of these two parties were on opposing sides in that conflict which resulted in about 1,000 deaths or perhaps even more – the figures vary – including the loss of major leaders on both sides such as Michael Collins, Liam Mellows, Cathal Brugha and Liam Lynch, who could have made a substantial contribution to Irish society if they had lived.
It would be a healthy development in many ways if the old Civil War enemies were united under the same political roof although there are bound to be some who are still angry about an antecedent who was killed in that bitter conflict. However, the casualties were not confined to Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael circles: for example, James O’Connor, a grand-uncle of Mary Lou McDonald, was executed at the age of 19 years as a result of his anti-Treaty activities.
Another historical issue has featured in recent commentary on the Sinn Féin leader, namely her participation in a 2003 commemoration held in Dublin’s Fairview Park at a statue in honour of IRA leader Seán Russell (1893-1940). The main speaker was the late Brian Keenan who was convicted in 1980 of organising bombings in Britain in the mid-1970s, some 30-plus years after Russell, as IRA chief of staff, had initiated a similar venture.
However, the key point of criticism is not the fact that Mary Lou honoured a militant republican activist but that Russell had aligned himself and the IRA with Nazi Germany at the beginning of the second World War. Previously, in 1926, Russell had taken part in a mission to buy arms in the Soviet Union and was clearly not fastidious about the source of support for his activities, just as the IRA in later years was willing to accept arms shipments from Libya’s Colonel Gaddafi.
Brian Keenan later played a key role in the peace process. Rejecting criticism of the Russell commemoration, Sinn Féin pointed out that Eamon de Valera signed the German Embassy book of condolences after Adolf Hitler’s death. Indeed, Fine Gael’s first leader, Eoin O’Duffy, also headed-up the Blueshirts, a movement with strong fascist overtones.
I note also that Sinn Féin is currently being portrayed as a threat to the future of Irish rugby because its recent election manifesto pledged to phase out public subsidies in the Republic to private schools, which are a bulwark of the game. Mind you, some critics would assert that these schools are also a bulwark of social inequality.
Meanwhile, if the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael marriage doesn’t come about, don’t be altogether surprised if one or other of them starts making eyes at Sinn Féin. I like to quote Indira Gandhi’s saying that, “Politics is the art of acquiring, holding and wielding power.”
Email: Ddebre1@aol.com; Twitter: @DdeBreadun
