Our Day Will Come

Having read yet another cynical piece by John Spain, I have to say that as events in the occupied counties unfold he is becoming more and more irrelevant.

I have always been amused at the small bunch of West Brits who just can’t see through their own distortions of the story at hand. The truth is that by the time this letter reaches print there will be a definitive statement that will be unmatched in any struggle in history and indeed will be historic.

I can only imagine that Michael McDowell, John Bruton and the Cruiser (if he’s still alive) are having a huddle right now to decide on the next bit of pro-Brit cynicism!

We are all guilty of getting caught up in the hysteria and band-aid approach to so-called terrorism, whether it is in the form of a color coded alert or a backpack being rummaged through by untrained and underpaid police officers.

However, to get to the root of this malaise we have to ask ourselves, are Muslims born bad or perhaps are they justified in reacting to a wrong?

Could some of this be attributed to Americans upholding horrible regimes such as the house of Saud, buzzing bombers over Mecca and Medina or supplying arms and supporting the Israelis in their occupation of Palestine?

Of course Israel itself was founded on acts of so-called terrorism. Menachin Begin himself killed 91 people in a hotel bombing in Palestine (no warning). He was subsequently rewarded with a new state, cabinet post and Nobel Laureate award.

Nelson Mandela would have gotten his hands a lot dirtier if he hadn’t been shuttered away for 27 years, and now we are lining up to kiss his ass. Where would the daddy of all insurgents George Washington figure in this equation? I’m almost afraid to ask.

Truth be told, the Provisionals have ended their war, and honorable it was. They epitomize true freedom fighters and abided by the rules of war, by giving aforementioned warnings, etc.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair all but made that distinction, and I would bet that given a definitive choice the people of London would prefer the IRA bombings of commercial targets combined with a set ideology rather than what they are facing right now, which has been fostered in at least some parts by their own government’s involvement in Iraq and just general support of the neo-con agenda here in America.

Can I trust Mr. Spain and his cohorts to write in a flattering way about perhaps our future Nobel Laureate, if not president? Incidentally, Mr. Spain, I know you are not gung-ho about the lovely Irish language so let me sign off by saying, “Our day will come.”

Deesie Coogan
Astoria, Queens

They’re No Heroes

Can someone please explain why the IRA are being lauded by top politicians on down for their so-called “historic” statement giving up their armed campaign?

The IRA said they will no longer act like a pack of terrorists and thugs — and that’s what they are, just ask any of the families of their thousands of victims — and we’re supposed to think this is some sort of grand gesture? Aren’t we all supposed to act like normal human beings in life anyway?

The IRA says they’ll give up terrorist activity, and they’re the greatest thing since sliced bread. If I say I won’t go out bombing and maiming people, does that make me a hero, too?

Please, give me a break! These people deserve nothing but scorn, and long stints inside a small jail cell.

John K. O’Halloran
Chicago, Illinois

It’s Marbh (Dead)

In an April issue of the Irish Voice I commented on the stupidity of people spending time and money for the purpose of learning Gaelic. For this I was portrayed as cranky (?) and concern was expressed for my wife having to live with (someone like) me.

A second woman wrote that I should stay out of the Republic of Ireland unless I wanted to get carsick trying to read all the Gaelic road signs. Another reader wrote that I should calm down before I hurt myself.

Hopefully these three women, who have probably never been out of the United States, read John Spain’s column a few weeks back titled “Gaelic is Marbh — Dead!”

Mr. Spain used approximately 1,450 words to say what I said in 180 words, but he probably gets paid by the word and so it’s to his benefit to elaborate every chance he gets.

To cap this off take a look at the articles in “Ireland’s Eye,” when the Gaelic word Gardai has to be defined in parentheses as police. I rest my case.

Jerry Hoosier
Orange, California

Dervan’s Anti-Keaneism

In the issue of July 13-19, Cathal Dervan named his Irish soccer team of the last 20 years. While I agree with most of the selections, one must wonder whether his dislike of Roy Keane as a person clouds his view of him on the field.

We are all very aware of Dervan’s affection for Mick McCarthy and his views on the Saipan disaster. But hand on heart, how can anyone and especially someone who considers himself a soccer expert not include Roy Keane in a selection such as this.

If we are going to go do a Ronnie Whelan versus Roy Keane comparison as Dervan does in his column, why don’t we? Dervan says Whelan scored often for Ireland.

While we all love that magical goal Whelan scored in the 1988 European Championships, the fact is that Whelan scored 3 times for Ireland and Keane has 9 times. Keane has achieved more in the domestic game plus he also single-handedly dragged Ireland through the 2002 World Cup qualification.

So when making a selection such as this, Dervan should not have let his dislike of Keane on a personal level affect his selection.

Martin Spellman
Queens, New York

Why So Violent?

When reading reports in the Irish Voice of the latest violence in Northern Ireland between Catholics and Protestants, I am very disgusted.

Ireland claims to be a Christian nation (I wonder.) Yet the violence has been going on for years.

A non-Christian asked me why the hatred and destruction goes on. I told her my answer — that’s what Christians do best.

Thomas Boyle
Morris City, New Jersey

Paisley’s Misstep

The public reaction of firebrand Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Ian Paisley to the IRA announcement that they now seek Ireland’s reunification solely by peaceful means was an uncharacteristic misstep in his decades-long crusade to marginalize Irish Republicans in the media and claim the moral high ground.

Rather than heralding the IRA’s action as a “surrender,” remarks that would have surely served to undermine the announcement with some Irish Republicans and further solidify his standing within the hardline Unionist community, he chose instead to focus on the decision of the British government to begin their own demilitarization by dismantling spy posts and scheduling troop withdrawals.

Dr. Paisley now claims that the scheduled British military withdrawal justifies the DUP’s continued opposition to serving with Sinn Fein and the other parties in the Assembly created by the Belfast Agreement.

Such an irrational position that a massive British military presence needs to be maintained despite evidence to the contrary demonstrates only that the DUP have simply run out of ways to demonize the political aspirations of their fellow citizens and thereby continue to create excuses for their own failure to represent their constituents in a re-established Assembly.

The people in the north of Ireland deserve better from their elected representatives, and the rhetoric of the past becomes even more hollow in the new political landscape created by the IRA’s historic announcement.

Charles Daniel Shields
National Board Member
Irish American Unity Conference
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania