Cork republican graves

A chairde

Over the past number of years our association has carried out work on the following republican monuments and graves.

1 We have removed from the old Ashe Hall the plaques in memory of Volunteer John Joe Kavanagh and the 2nd Battalion1st Cork Brigade. The John Joe Kavanagh plaque was placed on the wall of the Old Cork Gaol near where he was murdered by Free State Special Branch and the Battalion plaque in the Republican Plot in St. Finbarr's cemetery.

2 A headstone has been placed on the grave of Volunteer Christopher Olden in St. Joseph's cemetery and restoration work carried out on the grave of Volunteer Eugene O'Connell in the same cemetery.

3 The monument at Leemount Cross to Volunteer Patrick Murphy has been extensively cleaned and tidied.

4 On Dublin Hill the Delaney brothers' monument has been cleaned.

5 The Volunteer Denis Spriggs monument on Blarney Street has been maintained.

6 The Republican plaque at Turners Cross has also been maintained.

7 The Republican Plot in St. Finbarr's cemetery has been cleaned every year. With almost 30 headstones this constitutes great labour expended annually.

The association would like to thank all those who by their voluntary labour have kept the Republican monuments in such good condition. We would also like to commend the various local commemoration committees who do such excellent work on monuments throughout the country, the numerous occupants of private dwellings who have maintained the plaques on their premises to the highest standard and the various commemoration committees we have worked with throughout the years. We would also like to gratefully acknowledge all the financial contributions we have received and especially the Cork Republican Commemoration Committee from whom we receive the bulk of our finance.

We remain committed to carrying out the work outlined above and welcome all those who wish to assist. Anyone wishing to help should contact us at the address below.

George O' Mahony (Cathairleach)
Cork Republican Graves Association
Ahern/Crowley Memorial Hall
136 Barrack St. Cork

Time for justice

A chairde,

The failure of the British Ministry of Defence to supply the current whereabouts of troops involved in the massacre of civil rights marchers to the Bloody Sunday tribunal once again demonstrates Britain's absurd minimalist approach in solemnly agreeing to a commitment only to deliver less than the bare minimum at a later date.

This minimalist approach, by continually snatching unrest from the jaws of peace, has helped keep mistrust and injustices alive in the north for a generation. It also serves, yet again, to reinforce the view that a third party referee, be it the US, UN or EU is an essential requirement regarding the implementation of any agreements with Britain.

Many recognise that a fundamental problem for Britain in the north is that its policy of supporting a sectarian statelet involved the maintenance of injustice, inequality and a very dirty war against innocent people hence the continuing need for secrecy by the MOD and NIO.

Nevertheless, this period is supposed to be now past and there is now surely no room for sleight of hand or chicanery by British Government officials who, as a matter of routine, opted to impose brutal repression instead of supporting equality, truth and democracy.

The people of Derry deserve, at last, to know the full truth and circumstances regarding how and why their loved ones died.

John Cleary
Avon
England

Money for people with disabilities

A chairde,

I notice that income tax receipts were up 10% on the same period last year; consumer spending has boosted VAT revenues by 15.7%; excise duties are up by 12.8%; higher profits have pushed corporation tax by 24%; and stamp duties have climbed by 33.6%. The economy is booming and there's no shortage of cash.

Why then are there 1439 people with a mental handicap on residential waiting lists?

Why are there 1039 seeking day care places?

The revenue costs of meeting this need has been put at £63.5 million over five years. This is chicken feed with all the extra money floating around.

These waiting lists could be wiped out in the morning if there was a genuine interest in this issue. It seems the Celtic Tiger has no teeth when it comes to people with disabilities.

Finian McGrath
Dublin

Open letter to the Grand Master of the Orange Order

Dear Grand Master of the Orange Order Mr Robert Saulters, in relation to the Drumcree march, we have seen reports of one of your statements to the press. You said that ``Drumcree would probably quieten down into a Greenham Common-type protest''. This letter is based on this quotation being accurate as reported in the Irish Times 14 July 1998 and subsequently taken up by Andy Pollack on 18 July in the Irish Times.

We take this use of our name as a serious matter.

Our camp has lasted almost 17 years and is still here. We work in all nonviolent ways against the nuclear weapons of our own country and all the nuclear weapons of the world. We believe the work is measured, nonviolent, vitally important for the whole of humanity. There have been different phases. The all-out effort to end the Cruise Missile deployment involved tens of thousands of women. The current determined opposition to AWE Aldermaston and AWE Burgefield and the whole Trident system is no less vehement and the same nonviolent methods are used.

By nonviolent direct action and by work in the courts, we mediate the dangers of Trident, its research, development and deployment in the ``so-called'' defence policy of Gt Britain. Scientists and international lawyers are brought to court to witness the veracity of our claims that the emissions of radioactivity from the production of Trident is a crime against the population and unacceptable according to international law.

We trust that this description of our work shows the `type' of emcampment we still run.

We object to being referred to in comparison to your encampment because you are a part of the British State. It is not for us to describe your encampment, that is a matter for you, but perhaps now you have had this brief description of our work you may wish to withdraw your allusion to us.

We look for; 1. Withdrawal of the statement; and 2. an apology which we would seek to publish in the Irish Times where the whole matter began.

Sarah Hipperson
Katrina Howse
Peggy Walford
Jean Hutchinson
Beth Junor
Margaretta D'Arcy.
Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp

Stop racist attacks

A chairde,

The scapegoating of refugees by both the Irish and British governments during the past year has intensified. Recently Jack Straw and the New Labour government announced a `tightening' up of asylum laws.At the same time the FF/PD government and in particular the Minister for Justice John O'Donoghue has claimed the majority of refugees are ``bogus'' and has been pushing for fast track deportation of asylum seekers.The majority of the 5,000 refugees in Ireland come from the Congo, Rawanda, Somalia, Bosnia, Nigeria and Romania, all countries ravaged by war, famine or civil strife.

We are told that there are `floods of refugees' coming into the country and they have been labelled `scroungers'. Today there are fewer refugees living in Ireland than there are Irish emigrants in Munich in Germany. Norway has a population equivalent to the South yet it takes in more asylum seekers per head of population.

Refugees are forced to depend on Supplementary welfare, the lowest means-tested welfare payment because the southern government is refusing them the right to work.

Poverty and the housing crisis has existed throughout the Celtic Tiger boom, long before refugees came to Ireland. The British and Irish governments are simply using racism to deflect attention away from their own failures.

The Anti-Nazi League has organised a major demonstration and concert in Dublin to combat the recent wave of racism and forced deportation of refugees. The March will also highlight the case of Congolese refugee Belmondo Wantete who is being victimised by Gardai and charged for a crime he did not commit. The March assembles at the Garden of Remembrance, Parnell Square at 2.30pm on Saturday 22 August.

Paul Smyth
Belfast