A Hanging and an unmarked grave

I spent yesterday in Crumlin Rd Jail. It was an experience.

From Wiki:

“Tom Williams was hanged in Crumlin Road Gaol Belfast at 8a.m. on Wednesday 2nd September 1942. The executioner was the official English hangman Thomas Pierrepoint, assisted by his nephew Albert Pierrepoint. Afterwards Williams’ body was interred in unhallowed ground in an unmarked grave within the grounds of the prison. His remains were only released in January 2000 after the closure of the prison in 1996 and a lengthy campaign by the National Graves Association, Belfast.

Before Williams was executed he inscribed some messages on the backs of some playing cards. On one he wrote “To ever who receives this to pray for me always & pray for the cause for which I am dying. God Save Ireland….”^[1] Father Alexis who witnessed the execution spoke after to his friends in the prison chapel. “I met the bravest of the brave this morning”, he said, “Tom Williams walked to that scaffold without a tremor in his body. The only people who were shaking were us and the hangman. Father Alexis concluded by saying to the remaining prisoners, “I’ve one other thing to say to you. Don’t pray for Tom Williams, pray to him, for at this moment Tom is a saint in heaven.” ^[1]“

The tour was first class. my guide was knowledgable, friendly and excellent at his job. What struck me was the small details, particularly how fellow prisoners had etched in the raw grey stone wall the initials and date of execution of Tom above his unmarked grave. A small dignity denied him by the state that murdered him.

The inhumanity of the state that buried him could not not be more clearly compared with the empathy of his friends. It was moving.

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Competition Time

Time for something new!

There is a prize of a pint going for the best caption for this photo taken today which, taken in the context of the Obama speech where it was snapped, speaks volumes:

 

My entry? Sammy says ” I Surrrennderrrrr”

Bangor Fleadh 2013

It always struck me as odd how certain parts are determined as being one side orthe other in this part of the world. Therefore I am delighted that Bangor is playing host again to the Co Down Fleadh 2013. Last year it was confined to 2 pubs and a parish hall. It was a fantastic success. This year it has expanded to 6 pubs, a parish hall and there is a large banner as you enter the town welcoming all. That, my friends, is truly a whole new world.

I’ll be attending a few of the events and so will a few serious trad players including Sharon Shannon. I would encourage unionists also to attend, perhaps to witness that although our songs may be sad, even patriotic, they are not sectarian.

Tá fáilte roimh gach anseo

Life and Times 2012, the bits they haven’t told you yet

Strangely enough the Belfast Telegraph hasn’t run a headline on this. I’m sure most readers of this blog are aware of how assiduous the Bel Tel, not to mention some other blogs, are regarding their trumpeting of, as FJH would phrase it, “letsgetalongerism”. It is striking when compared with the 2011 census results how attitudes appear to have changed.

Apparently we’re now at 38% with a more Irish than British bias versus 39% more British than Irish. 6% are Neither and the magic 1% couldn’t give a monkeys!

I’m still waiting for Slugger or the Bel Tel to post an article on this amazing turnaround over the course of a year or to analyse the reasons as to why this may have happened. Perhaps we should start the discussion here?

Here’s the link to the data: http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/2012/Political_Attitudes/IRBRIT.html

	%
Irish not British	24
More Irish than British	14
Equally Irish and British	17
More British than Irish	16
British not Irish	23
Other description (please specify)	6
Don’t know	1

The BBC & ‘The Twelfth’

Guest post by Sammy McNally:

A complaint about the BBC Northern Ireland program ‘The Twelfth’ has been rejected by the BBC Trust (which operates independently from the BBC) on the grounds that although the annual Orange Order parade was ‘controversial’ it was not ‘highly controversial’ – and not a ‘major matter’. The complainant had argued that the BBC had broken its own guidelines on dealing with controversial subjects when covering last year’s 12^th July parade in Belfast.

(Full judgement here) http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/appeals/esc_bulletins/2013/apr.pdf

Had the Trust determined that the parade was either ‘highly controversial’ or a ‘major matter’ then the long running (50 years) outside broadcast programme would have been in breach of the much more stringent requirements on impartiality – and the tone of the programme, which the complainant described as ‘promotional’ would have required revision.

It is an interesting decision by the Trust – who took the view that the spectacle of the parade in the centre of Belfast should be evaluated separately from incidents involving the controversy surrounding the marchers either on their way to or on their way back from the city centre.

In relation to the‘Ardoyne feeder parade’ the Trust found that – “although there was concern at the time about the return of the North Belfast feeder parade, the editorial focus of the programme was clearly the cultural and festive aspects of the parade itself as it passed through the very centre of Belfast.”

Similarly, in relation to the sectarian tune playing outside St Patricks Church the Trust took the view that the focus of program was the city centre and the controversy surrounding this incident was therefore not a significant factor in their decision.

The Trust also cited audience expectation in explaining its decision.

“given the long-standing nature of the programme, the audience would have had clear expectations about what the programme would cover, and the approach taken was consistent with that taken in previous years. “

What is (arguably) disconcerting about this decision by the Editorial Standard Committee of the BBC Trust is that BBC program makers can apparently sidestep the stringent requirements for impartiality by concentrating on those aspects of an event which are not‘highly controversial’ and sidestep the requirements for ‘signposting’controversial subjects on the basis that the audience are aware of the program content because it had been broadcast previously in a ‘similar format’.

It is difficult not to believe that the Trust might have taken a somewhat different line if a parade in London – which was viewed as sectarian/racist by about half the citizens of the city, required the presence of hundreds of riot police, which led to a serious deterioration in community and political relations over the following months because of a sectarian/racist incident, which went through areas where it was not welcome and where the parade organisers had been ambivalent about upholding the law – had been given similar promotional treatment by BBC London.

In fairness to BBC Northern Ireland, they have made it clear that “detailed discussion was taking place at a senior level about the nature of the coverage in 2013” and it will be interesting to see if the programme, shortly returning to our screens, provides what might fairly be described as a fuller and a more rounded view of the nature of the parade and its implications for public order and community relations.

In the ‘background’ details supplied as part of its judgement the BBC Trust notes that “In recent years, the Orange Order, with support from Belfast City Council, has sought to rebrand the day as “Orangefest”, an event for the whole community” and in fairness also to the Orange Order they have striven to move away from the more offensive trappings and associations of the parade.

…but the Orange Order are still some considerable distance away from convincing many people (and perhaps a majority of the citizens of Belfast) that they could ever stage an inclusive event devoid of triumphalism and sectrainism – given the political and religious objectives of the organisation – but it is to be hoped (if not now expected) that BBC Northern Ireland would reflect that particular reality in its program coverage.

Moment of Truth

Is this a defining moment for the SDLP?

And by extension nationalist politics.

Over the past week we have witnessed a very public internal wrangle within the SDLP regarding the SPAD bill. Well respected old hands of the party, Brid Rodgers and Seamus Mallon have weighed in big style. This has weakened the hand of the leadership, namely big Al. It has also changed the power dynamic within the party. Note the silence of the likes of Conal McDevitt.

Sinn Fein have turned this into an internal nationalist debate about a heirarchy of victims and the essence of the Good Friday Agreement. Make no mistake this is about nationalist votes, hearts and minds. A fight, a very real fight, is going on within nationalism which touches upon raw issues.

At the heart of it is the definition of the word victim.

In my view this is a moment of truth which will define the direction nationalist politics may take going forward. My opinion, for what it is worth, is that the SDLP have made an unholy mess of this. Sinn Fein are capitalising on that mess and will benefit as a result electorally. Our memories are long and our capacity for forgiveness is not renowned.