27 November 1997 Edition

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Mála Poist

Views wanted



A chairde,

I am a journalist and writer and I am researching a book on the current revival of Irish nationalism, with particular reference to the role of Sinn Féin. I would be very glad to hear from An Phoblacht readers about this subject. I am happy to have letters signed or unsigned.

I would like to know if people agree that there is a renewal of nationalism, and if the rising vote for sinn Féin, notably among the young, is a signal of this. I would like to hear about why this is happening.

The point of this book is neither to disparage nor to propagandise for Sinn Féin, but to describe and analyse its apparently growing success. My intention is to reflect all views as fairly as possible. Mr Gerry Adams has said that Sinn Féin should be treated like any other political party, and I am interested in themes of wider political philosophy: for example, attitudes to European Monetary Union, or to sport. Young people tell me that there is a link between Irish nationalist supporters and Manchester United and I would like to know if this is so. (On sport, I openly admit that I am starting from a base of total ignorance.)

I have previously published a book about the culture of Catholic Ireland, which was highly praised by reviewers, and so of course the theme of personal attitudes towards the Catholic church (and, separately, the Catholic faith) is also of noteworthy interest.

Mary Kenny,
P.O. Box Number 5981,
Dublin 2.

Road protestors and jail



A chairde,

There is a certain amount of truth in the claim that English road protestors were wary of being arrested for their activities (Mála Poist ??) but that naive notion was shattered very quickly by bitter experience - and the movement learned swiftly.

In 1994, with the intention of gaining experience of anti-road camps so that it could be applied to the Glen of the Downs, I participated in the attempt to prevent the eviction of a stunning bluebell valley called Stanworth just outside Blackburn. It lay in the path of the M65 and became the longest eviction in anti-road history at the time.

Within minutes of the eviction beginning people were arrested and dragged off in the direction of Blackburn Jail. Some were freed and told to stay off the site, but others were placed in cold dark cells and ignored.

It occurred to some of us that those who had been arrested probably had no idea what was happening to them. Many came from comfortable middle-class families and weren't used to the kind of brutal treatment the British state was capable of using on people who challenge the system. So we decided that we needed to have someone waiting outside the jail to greet people as they were freed, after being charged, and try to cheer them up.

For some reason I got this job and for more hours than I care to remember I tried to present a happy face to those who emerged from the jail, their emotions in tatters. I bought them cups of tea and bags of chips and got them to talk about what had happened.

I'll never forget the image of the first person who came out, a young girl in her late teens. She was shocked and disorientated. After a while she went back to the site to collect her belongings. She was going home.

Gradually more came out and people were able to talk about their experience over tea and chips.

Some ignored the order to stay off the site and rejoined the protest. Others, like the girl, took the train or bus home. There's no doubt that this experience galvanised some people and they became hardened campaigners as a result, but it is probably also fair to say that some people went home and never got involved again.

Robert Allen
Martigny Cross
Switzerland

An Phoblacht
44 Parnell Sq.
Dublin 1
Ireland