tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post3347972154447936818..comments2024-03-29T09:38:08.662+00:00Comments on TPQ: ‘Moment Of Reckoning’ Upon Us AMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-82761731590014389632019-04-23T22:49:08.575+01:002019-04-23T22:49:08.575+01:00I suppose we will have to see on that but, going o...I suppose we will have to see on that but, going off of Facebook and the attitudes visible over there, I’m not sure it’s likely. Perhaps there will be movements to address what needs addressed behind the scenes — it’s probably the best we can hope for. Deleting all social media apps off my phone before bed and taking a break from the internet tomorrow. Don’t think I could stomach our pathetic Sean Bresnahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06842180620284317746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-3941371487500183342019-04-23T20:59:56.662+01:002019-04-23T20:59:56.662+01:00Sean - the heaviness of heart with which that is w...Sean - the heaviness of heart with which that is written says more than the words. It is a truly despairing situation. Prior to the Derry bombing it seemed people were listening to some of the arguments being made by Saoradh. Now, they have been painted into a corner with their own brush. I hope the people I know in Saoradh will step up to the plate with moral courage and say what needs said. AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-64135547191770338502019-04-23T19:53:53.227+01:002019-04-23T19:53:53.227+01:00Indeed. But while I’ve already tried to convince p...Indeed. But while I’ve already tried to convince people of that reality, for years, it seems they will only come to this realisation of themselves and in their own time — most likely, sadly, after God knows what damage has been furthered on folk as Lyra McKee.<br /><br />I recall the responses to the appeals of yourself, Tommy, Dixie and the like a number of years back and the responses I was Sean Bresnahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06842180620284317746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-44851890974966425132019-04-23T18:47:04.231+01:002019-04-23T18:47:04.231+01:00Sean - thanks for that.
If "We can achieve ...Sean - thanks for that. <br /><br />If "We can achieve the Irish Republic now through democratic programmes", it would be better to persuade the armed groups of that point rather than trying to persuade them that they are not the IRA. Although at this point I think they will not be persuaded of either. AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-87863096879416263212019-04-23T15:01:47.857+01:002019-04-23T15:01:47.857+01:00To be honest Mackers my head’s fucking exploding a...To be honest Mackers my head’s fucking exploding at this point, with all that’s been going on and the discussion around it. I’d venture enough has been said on my part, save this. Whatever those involved in the construction of today’s statement might claim, they are not the IRA and that needs to be clearly understood. Whether an esoteric analysis or whatever, what was the IRA stood down in 2005, Sean Bresnahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06842180620284317746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-20948440832736720232019-04-23T14:04:32.795+01:002019-04-23T14:04:32.795+01:00Sean - the Provisional IRA stood aside, shed itsel...Sean - the Provisional IRA stood aside, shed itself down, quit its war but never really went out of existence.<br /><br />For those of us who believe the IRA is a tradition rather than a property, we are dealing with a body called the IRA that is doing serious damage to republicanism in terms of not only how it is perceived today but also of how the history is perceived. <br /><br />When people, AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-30948783614463983222019-04-23T13:50:17.605+01:002019-04-23T13:50:17.605+01:00Just to say that the reply above was to one that’s...Just to say that the reply above was to one that’s posted below. I don’t know whose reply was posted to the wrong box but just to make that clear.Sean Bresnahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06842180620284317746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-35950076744948199332019-04-23T12:58:17.948+01:002019-04-23T12:58:17.948+01:00That is precisely what I’m saying, Anthony — remov...That is precisely what I’m saying, Anthony — removing the fig leaf that the IRA was not disbanded, effectively (no matter if we agreed with that process or not), and that we are now dealing with a further manifestation of Óglaigh na hÉireann is, in my view, critical to doing just that. Surely that is obvious, given the theoretical proposition put forward by those concerned — i.e. not only do theySean Bresnahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06842180620284317746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-5929736839759873112019-04-23T12:17:27.857+01:002019-04-23T12:17:27.857+01:00Sean - this is unpersuasive. The IRA had not serve...Sean - this is unpersuasive. The IRA had not served its purpose but failed in its purpose. It failed to get the British out of Ireland on its terms and settled for the slight possibility of getting them out on Brit terms. It could never have put the Brits out on its terms but to push the fiction that it stepped aside to allow something else to move the struggle forward is just that - a fiction. AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-53655188372893869812019-04-23T10:53:37.215+01:002019-04-23T10:53:37.215+01:00Yes it is not entirely accurate to say the IRA sto...Yes it is not entirely accurate to say the IRA stood down, Anthony, which is why I said it effectively stood down — which it did. At the time in question, everyone involved was told the war was officially ended and to mount only democratic strategies towards achieving the Republic going forward. As far as I’m concerned, that was a stand down and, indeed, the logical extension of TUAS and to whereSean Bresnahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06842180620284317746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-90491809454638927342019-04-23T09:38:50.691+01:002019-04-23T09:38:50.691+01:00Sean,
stories and narratives help give shape, ord...Sean,<br /><br />stories and narratives help give shape, order and direction to an often random, sometimes disorderly and occasionally chaotic world.<br /><br />In the beginning we tell our children fairy tales. Then we create Gods and guardian angels. We temper their everyday existential angsts and realities by encouraging optimistic fantasies; in service of this we call forth tooth fairies, Henry JoYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04161613445053833181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-72593938039488489762019-04-23T08:34:41.859+01:002019-04-23T08:34:41.859+01:00I wont disagree that there isn't the stomach i...I wont disagree that there isn't the stomach in the 26 counties for a 32 democratic Irish Republic for the reasons both yourself Anthony and HJ made...political, financial...whatever. Just before Lyra was murdered there was a MORI Poll that showed only <a href="https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/brexit/frankiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00452424095829736700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-88489435787958622312019-04-22T21:32:24.178+01:002019-04-22T21:32:24.178+01:00Sean - there is no one level of desire on the part...Sean - there is no one level of desire on the part of the Irish people regarding an independent 32 county Irish Republic. They want it to varying degrees. The country has moved away from our vision as much as it has moved away from the Church's. I guess they all still want to go to Heaven and a United Ireland but are no longer prepared to listen to the preachers. I know that is facetious but AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-74056476909735272252019-04-22T20:04:18.326+01:002019-04-22T20:04:18.326+01:00I honestly think we can be more positive in our af...I honestly think we can be more positive in our affirmation of Republicanism than that, HJ, though I can imagine what you’re saying carries weight. What you are reflecting, then, needs considered without question. Below is something I’ve chalked down before in respect of what you’ve alluded to — i.e. it is an effort to bridge the reality that Republican political theory is largely an unknown to Sean Bresnahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06842180620284317746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-63542586620742273542019-04-22T19:52:54.062+01:002019-04-22T19:52:54.062+01:00Sean - the IRA is gone is something said by everyb...Sean - the IRA is gone is something said by everybody that wants to keep the title deeds for themselves. The Dublin government have always stated that no one but their own defence forces are entitled to bear the name Oglaigh na hEeireann. The Provisional IRA has gone but there are other IRAs including the Official IRA. The other IRAs accept that the Provisional IRA stood down (which is not AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-76567577627350051252019-04-22T19:18:47.428+01:002019-04-22T19:18:47.428+01:00Sean,
AM's piece on Lyra's killing must...Sean, <br /><br /><br />AM's piece on Lyra's killing must have seemed startling to you as it indeed must have to other former comrades ... but I'm fairly certain that his position with regards to the righteousness, legitimacy, effectiveness or otherwise of the Provisional IRA's campaign are an accurate reflection of broad based public opinion that exists here in the 26. <br /><br Henry JoYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04161613445053833181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-9843410030122263742019-04-22T19:14:28.077+01:002019-04-22T19:14:28.077+01:00The IRA is gone Mackers. I don’t feel we can look ...The IRA is gone Mackers. I don’t feel we can look on it as though it were a tradition. What you are really doing in that respect, while likely not intended, is affording space to those concerned to title themselves Óglaigh na hÉireann, when quite simply they are not. Some of their members, indeed many of them, may and were have been IRA Volunteers but that alone can’t make them the IRA. They Sean Bresnahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06842180620284317746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-83716947758256767582019-04-22T17:44:58.165+01:002019-04-22T17:44:58.165+01:00Sean - when wish is parent to the thought there is...Sean - when wish is parent to the thought there is a tendency to see what is not actually there. None of what you have seen over the years has actually materialised. Hope is always last to die. A 32 county constituent assembly seems nowhere near a remote possibility. We have the Dail and Stormont (some of the time) and the chances of them being usurped by something most regard as airy fairy are AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-28239457388718239032019-04-22T15:48:38.157+01:002019-04-22T15:48:38.157+01:00Anthony, I’m seeing today a range of references ac...Anthony, I’m seeing today a range of references across a range of people to the idea of a 32-county constituent assembly, at which the political form and structure of a ‘new Ireland’ can be determined towards — something that’s been advocated from the wilderness but is now gaining currency. As I’ve long argued, arriving at such an assembly is how we realise the Republican object. Republicans in Sean Bresnahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06842180620284317746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-66605200211639777562019-04-22T15:08:21.555+01:002019-04-22T15:08:21.555+01:00Sean - republican ideology is close to what people...Sean - republican ideology is close to what people want if by that we mean a united Ireland. But people value other things above republican ideology and if republican ideology does not address them with strategies rather than slogans, it will remain marginal. Something that seems valued even greater than republican ideology is opposition to obligatory nationalism. This brings us right back to theAMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-68466349136694461782019-04-22T14:19:04.147+01:002019-04-22T14:19:04.147+01:00By the same token, it should be added, those who h...By the same token, it should be added, those who have since destroyed the Republican Movement, post the embrace of TUAS, have fostered an environment most certainly worthy of the description defeat. But while they and the British have done their work well, the road is long — and it is still before us. Every step forward, no matter how small, is a step closer to its endpoint. We will get there in Sean Bresnahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06842180620284317746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-45082543857404936972019-04-22T14:06:07.082+01:002019-04-22T14:06:07.082+01:00HJ, Republican ideology is not as far removed from...HJ, Republican ideology is not as far removed from the wants and needs of the ordinary people as you mistake it to be. It is, after all, a relatively basic thing — it stands over the notion that Ireland should be an independent 32-county republic. I think the overwhelming majority of Irish people support that same notion and would support it, indeed, if ever given the opportunity. I think if we Sean Bresnahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06842180620284317746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-28555615355972986632019-04-21T21:01:33.851+01:002019-04-21T21:01:33.851+01:00Sean,
I respect your commitment to moving 'fo...Sean,<br /><br />I respect your commitment to moving <i>'forward now using only democratic programmes'</i>. Unfortunately there are other 'republicans' who are not as committed to exclusively peaceful means. <br /><br />Your efforts alas will be tainted by their actions.<br /><br />But all that said, continue with your efforts if that's what 'floats your boat'. There&#Henry JoYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04161613445053833181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-29845488205495470152019-04-21T14:37:39.394+01:002019-04-21T14:37:39.394+01:00I hear you HJ but the underlying point to the arti...I hear you HJ but the underlying point to the article is that the war is long over and Republicanism needs to build the ‘new phase’ spoken of, but not delivered on, at the time it was ended — and that article was written over a week before the grim happenings in Derry on Friday night. I have been labouring this point for years.<br /><br />What you might not realise is that, while very much of a Sean Bresnahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06842180620284317746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-77924252855766518582019-04-21T01:19:48.089+01:002019-04-21T01:19:48.089+01:00Sean,
I'm sure you're well aware of the o...Sean,<br /><br />I'm sure you're well aware of the old trope that 'a week is a long time in politics' ... Whatever quandary 'Republicanism' was in last week it's in a much deeper and darker hole now.<br /> <br />The senseless events leading to the death of Lyra McKee, indecently followed by the vulgar displays of men and women in combat fatigues at the 'Saoradh'Henry JoYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04161613445053833181noreply@blogger.com