Rear their heads amid ceoil, craic and Fleadh Babies.

Mick Naughton gets well and truly caught up in the North Belfast festivities


It all began last Friday night... Well, that's what Bik told me this week as the various Belfast fleadhs continued at a hectic pace. Bik, by the way, was not playing or singing any of his or Bobby Sands's compositions, and he was definitely not buying big buckets of slack (that's pints of creamy porter to you more sober amadans). The man has forgotten nothing over 22 years of not buying the stuff!

The music was great in Molly Maguire's, over in the New Lodge, with musicans travelling the length and breadth of this fair land to be there. An accordion player from South Armagh by the name of Martin drove from outside Dublin to get there for eight bells. Another flute player came from somewhere in Mayo joining about 30 others in two cracking sessions in the same room.

All these came to see the war zone now that things are a wee bit quieter. The following day's Crossroads Ceili also saw a ceili ensemble drive from Dunleer, proving that that town does not just consist of a by-pass. That's what was needed, though, by some unfit types after the Waves of Tory and the Siege of Ennis was completed. These musicans were well rewarded for coming up - no fool, not with money, this was in north Belfast - but rather the sight of Turlough O'Neill and Sean Fleming telling two jeep loads of 3rd Batt Brit Paratroopers to turn away from the dancers. Imagine! Their cheek. Trying to enter the real third Batt area during a fleadh, never mind a cessation.

But it's not all lightness and music, despite The Bullet romping home again in the annual Ardoyne Grand Prix. The only West Belfast challenger crashed spectacularly at the `gap' in Brompton Park, much to the delight of the thousands of `northerners'. Amusement was also in evidence as Andytown News veteran Basil McLaughlin, whose paper had gallantly sponsored the event, tried to photograph the winning guider without getting in the Irish News stickers plastered all over it. OK, Basil, you know who to sponser next year and we'll not mention who is the brains behind this winning craft either.

So it was to back to sobreity for the debate everyone was waiting for on Monday night. `What `98 means to me'' was chaired in the `Star' Neighbour Centre by well known trade union organiser Patricia McKeown. On the panel was former UVF prisoner Billy Mitchell, now a PUP member, Peter Collins, the Mary Ann McCracken Cultural Traditions Fellow (why didn't a women get that plum?), Inez McCormick, campaigner for womens rights and senior trade union organiser of Unison, Sam Porter, local historian and Mark Langhammer, Northern Ireland Labour Party councillor in Newtownabbey. There were also three Shinner councillors, Danny Lavery, Mick Conlon and Paddy McManus, for a change taking a back seat in their own sanctum.

What followed was very interesting and revealing about the debate that is going on among some pro-unionists. Billy Mitchell was politely received, especially by the children of some UVF victims in the crowd. What was painstakingly drawn out over the next couple of hours was that some unionists would like to describe themselves as republicans. Not RTP's, but something along the road.

Confused? Well it goes like this and remember, this is in the context of the founding principles of the United Irish rebellion, `Equality, Liberty and Fraternity...and this is a summary of a lengthy quote:

``I am a unionist, but don't want to be a subject. I want to be an equal citizen, as subjects are not held equal in a monarchy, which demands unequal status of its subjects. Therefore how can I ask to be in a union which is a government headed by an unequal monarch?''

Some of what 98 meant exposed that contradiction and was well worth the effort of the organisers. An insight of what is to come? Let's hope so and imagine what those in the loyalist and unionist communities will have to radically examine when sitting down with republicans on 15 September.