30 October 1997 Edition
Editor's desk
Given our paper's exposure of Garda brutality a couple of weeks ago it was interesting to hear that Garda Commissioner (and former Branchman) Pat Byrne said this to students at Clonakilty Community College in West Cork at a prize day recently: ``A police strongman of yesteryear used to address those guilty of public order offences - `Will you come in peace and or in pieces?' The message implied was always effective. I'm sure there is no need to emphasise that stories like this are never true.''
Oh yes they are.
Saturday's Irish Times had a very peculiar page layout in its Weekend section. On the page of book reviews a review of ``The Blueshirts and Irish Politics'' had a picture of top Blueshirt Eoin O'Duffy and alongside it pictures of John Hume and Gerry Adams. Intrigued at a possible connection I immediately read through the review. No mention of either of the leaders of Northern nationalism. It was only later that I saw that two books by and about Adams and Hume respectively were on the same page but ruled off from the photographs.
Given the anti-Northern sentiments among the chatterers this past month, you could get paranoid in this town.
Consider these two statements, made in the past week. First, one by Ruth Dudley Edwards, historian and friend of the Orange Order: ``In the last few years I've been to many parades and have come to know many Orangemen, Apprentice Boys and members of the Royal Black Preceptory. Most of them are exceptionally decent, honest people, yet they have been demonised and traduced by the brilliant propaganda techniques of their opponents, by their own inability to make their case articulately, and by their inherent suspicion of PR.''
And then this reference to sectarianism in Scotland by the exceptionally honest David Trimble at his party conference: ``Were there ever in Northern Ireland, even under the 50 years of Stormont, sectarian abuses of power like that at Monklands in Scotland? I don't think so.''
The scary thing is that they both believe what they said.
Last Friday was the first time any British Direct Ruler has attended a Belfast City Council meeting and maybe it was the first time a few home truths were stated.
The hour-long session had its interesting moments but covered plenty of familiar ground. It only came alive after UUP leader on the Council, Fred Cobain asked if Mo Mowlam agreed with Tony Blair that Sinn Fein and the IRA were ``inextricably linked.''
Mowlam's agreement had Alex Maskey on his feet reminding her that the British government was ``inextricably linked to the British Army, the RUC, and by extension loyalist death squads''. He also reminded Mowlam of the loyalist agent Brian Nelson case when a Colonel in her army spoke glowingly of his invaluable assistance to their cause. That cause, Mo was left to ponder, saw nationalists, including leading human rights lawyer Pat Finucane, gunned down.
Oh yes they are.
Saturday's Irish Times had a very peculiar page layout in its Weekend section. On the page of book reviews a review of ``The Blueshirts and Irish Politics'' had a picture of top Blueshirt Eoin O'Duffy and alongside it pictures of John Hume and Gerry Adams. Intrigued at a possible connection I immediately read through the review. No mention of either of the leaders of Northern nationalism. It was only later that I saw that two books by and about Adams and Hume respectively were on the same page but ruled off from the photographs.
Given the anti-Northern sentiments among the chatterers this past month, you could get paranoid in this town.
Consider these two statements, made in the past week. First, one by Ruth Dudley Edwards, historian and friend of the Orange Order: ``In the last few years I've been to many parades and have come to know many Orangemen, Apprentice Boys and members of the Royal Black Preceptory. Most of them are exceptionally decent, honest people, yet they have been demonised and traduced by the brilliant propaganda techniques of their opponents, by their own inability to make their case articulately, and by their inherent suspicion of PR.''
And then this reference to sectarianism in Scotland by the exceptionally honest David Trimble at his party conference: ``Were there ever in Northern Ireland, even under the 50 years of Stormont, sectarian abuses of power like that at Monklands in Scotland? I don't think so.''
The scary thing is that they both believe what they said.
Last Friday was the first time any British Direct Ruler has attended a Belfast City Council meeting and maybe it was the first time a few home truths were stated.
The hour-long session had its interesting moments but covered plenty of familiar ground. It only came alive after UUP leader on the Council, Fred Cobain asked if Mo Mowlam agreed with Tony Blair that Sinn Fein and the IRA were ``inextricably linked.''
Mowlam's agreement had Alex Maskey on his feet reminding her that the British government was ``inextricably linked to the British Army, the RUC, and by extension loyalist death squads''. He also reminded Mowlam of the loyalist agent Brian Nelson case when a Colonel in her army spoke glowingly of his invaluable assistance to their cause. That cause, Mo was left to ponder, saw nationalists, including leading human rights lawyer Pat Finucane, gunned down.