24 April 1997 Edition
Editor's desk
In February I brought to your notice the case of Celtic McCarthyite censorship when the Celtic Supporters Social Club in Glasgow's London Road cancelled a showing of Martin Meehan's play, Insurrection. The play, about James Connolly was deemed to be against Celtic's Bhoys Against Bigotry campaign.
The play's organisers sued and now I can report a successful outcome. Just minutes before it was due to be called in Glasgow Sheriff Court Small Claims Court, the solicitor for the club offered to settle. A few hundred quid was handed over and everyone celebrated a great victory for free speech.
In recent years there have been republican prisoners by the name of Spencer Tracy and Roy Rogers. The other side never seemed to have anyone to approach their star quality. Until this week when one Donald Doak was remanded in custody.
One of our regular readers is Sue Denham of the Sunday Times. She writes that paper's equivalent of Editor's Desk. And when, as deadline approaches and she wants a little filler, she often turns to the pages of An Phoblacht.
Last week she was at it again. This time she got stuck into Dara MacNeill, the writer of our Worldview page. She says we never write anything bad about the US when Sinn Féin ``is trying to curry favour on Capitol Hill''. Now, because George Bush and Ted Kennedy attacked Sinn Féin on St Patrick's Day, we are ``into anti-imperialist mode'', she tells her readers.
That is why we wrote about Cuba last week, she says.
It's nice that people think An Phoblacht has such power and influence in the White House. I can see our paper seller in Washington knocking on Bill's door. Bill buys the paper, flicks urgently to the Worldview page, sees us slamming the Cuban blockade and says, ``right, no more visas for those guys.''
Well Sue, it doesn't work like that. You should check our back issues. In the two months before Gerry Adams had his historic St Patrick's Day trip to the White House in 1995 we wrote about the Cuban blockade twice and criticised US foreign policy in two other articles.
But if we can't affect the political direction of Capitol Hill we can certainly ruffle feathers in Letterkenny Urban District Council. We sent a reporter to cover their monthly meeting on Monday of last week. When the councillors heard which paper our man was representing they immediately adjourned the meeting and went into private session to discuss whether An Phoblacht should be allowed to report their meeting.
Twenty minutes later the councillors emerged to address the hushed press gallery. They welcomed all the reporters and invited them into the meeting.
A victory for workers solidarity - the other reporters had threatened to walk out if our man had been excluded.
For some candidates, this election has been a chance to get fit. Reports are that Pat Doherty's leaping over gates and running up farm lanes has left him looking slim and (almost) youthful.
But the one candidate who has taken the fitness benefits of electioneering to great lengths is Gerry Adams. We have found this father of a famous GAA star getting in a bit of football practice in Cookstown and cycling for votes in Ardoyne. Tough work, these elections.
The play's organisers sued and now I can report a successful outcome. Just minutes before it was due to be called in Glasgow Sheriff Court Small Claims Court, the solicitor for the club offered to settle. A few hundred quid was handed over and everyone celebrated a great victory for free speech.
In recent years there have been republican prisoners by the name of Spencer Tracy and Roy Rogers. The other side never seemed to have anyone to approach their star quality. Until this week when one Donald Doak was remanded in custody.
One of our regular readers is Sue Denham of the Sunday Times. She writes that paper's equivalent of Editor's Desk. And when, as deadline approaches and she wants a little filler, she often turns to the pages of An Phoblacht.
Last week she was at it again. This time she got stuck into Dara MacNeill, the writer of our Worldview page. She says we never write anything bad about the US when Sinn Féin ``is trying to curry favour on Capitol Hill''. Now, because George Bush and Ted Kennedy attacked Sinn Féin on St Patrick's Day, we are ``into anti-imperialist mode'', she tells her readers.
That is why we wrote about Cuba last week, she says.
It's nice that people think An Phoblacht has such power and influence in the White House. I can see our paper seller in Washington knocking on Bill's door. Bill buys the paper, flicks urgently to the Worldview page, sees us slamming the Cuban blockade and says, ``right, no more visas for those guys.''
Well Sue, it doesn't work like that. You should check our back issues. In the two months before Gerry Adams had his historic St Patrick's Day trip to the White House in 1995 we wrote about the Cuban blockade twice and criticised US foreign policy in two other articles.
But if we can't affect the political direction of Capitol Hill we can certainly ruffle feathers in Letterkenny Urban District Council. We sent a reporter to cover their monthly meeting on Monday of last week. When the councillors heard which paper our man was representing they immediately adjourned the meeting and went into private session to discuss whether An Phoblacht should be allowed to report their meeting.
Twenty minutes later the councillors emerged to address the hushed press gallery. They welcomed all the reporters and invited them into the meeting.
A victory for workers solidarity - the other reporters had threatened to walk out if our man had been excluded.
For some candidates, this election has been a chance to get fit. Reports are that Pat Doherty's leaping over gates and running up farm lanes has left him looking slim and (almost) youthful.
But the one candidate who has taken the fitness benefits of electioneering to great lengths is Gerry Adams. We have found this father of a famous GAA star getting in a bit of football practice in Cookstown and cycling for votes in Ardoyne. Tough work, these elections.