In this the centenary year of the ending of the Irish Civil War, it can still provoke quite different, bitterly opposed interpretations among Irish people. Ireland did not in fact elude her historic misfortunes by virtue of the Treaty. A fratricidal war that in many ways was more vicious than the War of Independence.
It has been popularly blamed on de Valera but the responsibility was not his. It was anti-Treaty opinion among the then IRA which was to bring about the Civil War, organised and consolidated independently.
Under pressure from the malevolent Welsh Wizard Lloyd George, Collins give the order to bombard the Four Courts. Unlike the 1916 uprising in character, the struggle lasted the same length of time.
During the Civil War, both the Free State and the anti-Treaty IRA took actions they believed to be justified, but which the other side considered to be inexcusable. The memory of these very personal betrayals divided friends and relatives, and contributed to a long-lasting schism in Irish society. Quite apart from its ruthlessness, the Civil War bloodletting removed some of the most able and influential political activists on both sides. It had to end. In April 1923 de Valera signed a proclamation ordering a ceasefire. The struggle was over.
The republicans, though vanquished, saw in this a hint of hope, for the defeat of the other rebellion had led to the rebirth of the national spirit. The fighting had emphasised the differences over the essential future of the country and these were to crystallise into hatred which lasted for a long time. Republican Sinn Féin fell apart after the Civil War and when, in 1926, de Valera led a new party back into Dáil Éireann, there was a further split between those who supported the new party Fianna Fáil and those who upheld the formal assertion of the Irish Republic, set out in the 1916 Proclamation.
Partition was a central plank of the Treaty and a partitioned Ireland would follow within a reconstituted union of the United Kingdom which eventually revealed itself. It took a century and Brexit to fully reveal this as lacking in legitimacy and skill.
Interesting to read John Manley’s article (June 29) about a new book by Brexiteer Peter Ramsey, an economic academic, arguing that the north of Ireland must be jettisoned from the union and Ireland united in order for the UK itself to realise full national sovereignty: “You cannot have democracy without sovereignty – without a singular locus of accountable power that claims to represent all of the people within the territory and has the authority to do so.” And the DUP think they are an important part of the UK. A huge opportunity not just for Ireland, but for Britain as well.
JAMES B BARRY
Templeogue, Dublin 6
Deliberate incitement to hatred
After the bonfire in Moygashel, Co Tyrone, Irish society witnessed yet again the sectarian burning of Irish flags alongside a poster of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. This burning of the Irish tricolour in parts of Northern Ireland has become a global cultural phenomenon.
Many of these bonfires contain vast imitation funeral pyres adorned with nationalist and republican effigies of people who were voted for, in the main, by Catholics. We are told that these bonfires are inclusive celebrations of loyalist culture where everyone is welcome and respected. This “respect” does not appear to include the thousands who vote for the politicians whose images, names and symbols are consumed in numerous celebratory conflagrations.
Were Jewish, Muslim or black people’s representatives so depicted, it would rightfully be called racist. Why is it acceptable for nationalist and Alliance Party representatives to be so depicted? In the context of an explicitly Protestant celebration it is sectarian. Incredibly, many grand officers of the Orange Order are also Church of Ireland ministers. If the Orange Order and the Church of Ireland cannot come out and account for itself, are their ordinary members not afraid to openly protest this cancerous scandal?
Nowhere else in Europe would the annual ceremonial burning of many thousands of the national flag of a peaceful neighbouring state go virtually unremarked upon. What if, every Bastille Day, the Union Jack was burned across France, or if on St George’s Day the flags of Pakistan, Jamaica, or Nigeria were burned in British cities? There would be harsh diplomatic protests and predictable riots in the streets. But in the north of Ireland this systematic and deliberate incitement to hatred has been allowed to become an integral part of unionist culture.
TOM COOPER
Irish National Congress,
Dublin 2
Palestinians should be allowed to live in peace
Russia quite rightly has been excoriated by most of the free world for its invasion and laying waste to large swathes of Ukraine. Yet on our own doorstep in Europe we have a country which has also invaded its neighbour and for decades has been stealing its land, building illegal settlements, and no-one bats an eyelid. In addition to stealing its land Israel also attacks the Palestinians with its full military might, killing mainly defenceless men, women and children. Those who do try to retaliate and defend themselves are branded ‘terrorists’ and used as an excuse to mete out even more egregious violence.
If the West and America hope to have any moral and ethical credibility for their denunciation of Russia and other rogue states, is it not time for them to denounce Israel for its illegal occupation and make it clear that it will receive the same economic and military sanctions as Russia if it does not withdraw from Palestinian land and allow them to live in peace?
S CUDDY
Hollywood, Co Down
Impossible to reform RTÉ
There should be a cap on salaries for RTÉ’s entire workforce including the broadcaster’s ‘top talent’, aligned with public sector pay scales. As the National Union of Journalists and other RTÉ unions have argued, these top earners should be employed directly by RTÉ and not be on contracts negotiated by agents. Most RTÉ employees can never hope to earn such vast amounts of money and many are employed on precarious contracts. These workers, as with the general public, have been betrayed by their employers, the RTÉ Executive. I would argue that it is impossible to reform such a body, it has to go. We deserve much higher standards from our senior public servants.
This crisis should not be used as an excuse to further delay reform of RTÉ’s funding and further undermine public service broadcasting. Rather than providing a public service, the RTÉ Executive is more interested in maximising commercial revenues. The commercial wing of the broadcaster should be abolished along with the television licence, a regressive flat-rate fee. Instead RTÉ should be funded directly by means of progressive central taxation and taxes on social media platforms.
KIERAN McNULTY
Tralee, Co Kerry
