Dark Place Indeed

By AM Saturday, January 4, 2014

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Chris Fogarty with a letter, an edited version of which initially featured in the Irish Echo on 11-17 December 2013.

*****

Brian MacDonald’s “A Dark Place” letter (Echo, Nov. 13 – 19) is a very lengthy smear of the revered Brendan “Darkie” Hughes (R.I.P.) in order to promote Gerry Adams and his sell-out of the Six Counties to Britain.

It reminded me of Brian MacDonald who, in acting for Adams, abrasively created dissension at the Noraid 1989 national convention in Toledo, Ohio.

MacDonald ordered all present to stop sending money to Ireland, whether for prisoners or their families, and to use it to fund the “diplomatic efforts” of two Chicagoans present at the meeting. These two worked closely together, one of them, J.B., later proved to be a British asset. After J.B. attended the Illinois MacBride Principles campaign planning sessions, his boss, Sam Vinson, contracted with British Consul General Mingay to lead the opposition to it.

Irish-Illinois won despite J.B.’s efforts.


I am indebted to The Irish Echo for its 1993 refusal to publish a series of MI5/FBI/J.B. smear articles against me that J.B had gotten published earlier in Chicago’s “Lumpen Times.”


At that Noraid convention MacDonald’s peremptory abrasiveness raised suspicions about him, his motives, and those of Gerry Adams. As early as 1986 the late, great Michael Flannery had spotted Adams as a traitor, but many of us ignored the signs, hoping to maintain Irish-American unity. When an attendee insisted that his Noraid branch would continue sending funds to Ireland, MacDonald replied; 'Go ahead, send it to Ireland; we’ll send it back here to the people we want to have it.'

A Chicago Noraid officer stood up and said, 'in that case we (meaning Chicago Noraid) are out,' and headed for the door, followed by the Chicago contingent. We packed into our cars and returned to Chicago. That is how Adams/MacDonald ended Chicago’s affiliation to INA. Chicago’s ex-Noraid formed branches of Flannery’s IFC and the revived Friends of Irish Freedom, though a rump Chicago Noraid, led by MI5/FBI moles, continued to support Adams and the transfer of Six County sovereignty to Britain.

The MI5/Adams’ Good Friday Agreement (GFA) comprised 67.5 pages of aspirational posturing, mutual contradictions and bafflegab; all except a half page of enforceable text that mandated the gutting of Articles 2 and 3 of Ireland’s Constitution that had laid permanent national claim to the entire island and its territorial waters and islands.

So the thereto disputed Six Counties were made undisputedly British, as were $billions in offshore hydrocarbon deposits.

Contrary to claims for it; the GFA did not “end the violence.” The violence has not ended. British torture and abuse of Irish POWs continue as in pre-Hunger strike days. As to the earlier bloodbath; it had peaked in 1972 (472 murders) and had greatly lessened (to 69) by 1984, a decade prior to the 1994 GFA.

MacDonald’s impact on that 1989 convention reminds one of DeValera’s destruction of Irish-American support during his 1919-1920 visit to America. Pieras Beaslai later wrote of it:

DeValera’s progress in America is the narrative of the development of a split in Irish-American ranks. Within 18 months, his efforts had culminated in a split, leaving two rival organizations, and even two Clan na Gael bodies. Twelve months after his return to Ireland, he was again the cause of a split in Irish National ranks, in the Dáil, Sinn Fein and the I.R.A. with lamentable consequences for Ireland.

Today in Chicago there are two Clan na Gaels, both moribund; the second of which, of Adams/GFA supporters, was set up in the late ‘90s but claims to be a century old.

The reason for the U.S. gov't support for the Brits and GFA instead of Irish-America?

The IRA don't have buccaneer bombers, they don't have aircraft carries, and we need to sew up the Britain's exchequer so as to free up the British army for use in our upcoming wars - against Islam. -  According to the head of the Britain desk at the US State Dept. in 1994. (Voices From the Grave, p. 450.)