The talk was meant to be about their respective books, Stakeknife's Dirty War and The Yank.
I was very reluctant to go because of the AOH but it was a chance to meet up again with Richard, Bernie and their two lovely daughters, Berni and Stephanie, as well as John and his wife Debbie, so I agreed.
I was very reluctant to go because of the AOH but it was a chance to meet up again with Richard, Bernie and their two lovely daughters, Berni and Stephanie, as well as John and his wife Debbie, so I agreed.
Last night myself and Sharon turned up at the hotel, as did Danny McBrearty. The receptionist had told us that everyone was having a meal in the dining room so we waited.
When they began to trickle out I noticed that Martin Galvin seemed to be in a state of panic. Then the O'Rawe family came out and we greeted each other warmly. When John and Debbie emerged, John was like a man who had lost his phone or his wallet, he was clearly distracted.
John then told me that he and Martin Galvin had a row in the dining room over what he could or could not say about the GFA.
"I'm damn sure," he told me, "that I'm going to be told what I can nor can't say!"
As it turned out I would have really regretted not turning up when I heard how the talk went. Richard gave an excellent outline of his book and talked about the dirty war.
Then John took to the stage. To cut a long story short, he gave the AOH a lesson on the history of Irish Republicanism, then proceeded to tear the GFA to shreds. The admiration I already had for John Crawley was increasing by the minute.
I was surprised to see that many in the AOH delegation were clapping him as he spoke. But what I didn't realise was that John was causing a few arses to open and close up front.
After John had finished saying what he had to say, Danny McBrearty rowed right in behind him telling of the surreptitious moves by McGuinness, in particular, to suss out who would be relied upon to tow the leadership line and who had to be pushed out.
Before anyone else got a chance to speak a big guy at the front got up and put an end to things, saying that it was time to move out of the conference room. It reminded me of Séanna Walsh silencing the Palestinians at the Europa Hotel meeting.
The ordinary members of the AOH were then milling among us thanking us for our service and wanting photos taken. I wondered what they'd think when they eventually got round to reading both books.
Afterwards we gathered in the hotel bar for a few drinks. Sharon and myself, Richard and his family, John and Debbie and Danny McBrearty. When I say a few drinks, for the most part they were non-alcoholic drinks. There wasn't a member of the AOH delegation to be seen, they had clearly been ushered off to their rooms before anymore damage could be done. Only Martin Galvin remained and he appeared to be suffering from PTSD.
After a while I noticed that John and Debbie had disappeared from our company and when I asked, Martin Galvin told me that they had gone to a bar around the corner. That was rather strange, I thought, they didn't even tell us that they were going.
Come 10.30 we were going our different ways, the O'Rawe family, as well as John and Debbie had been booked into the hotel by the AOH delegation and we were going home.
Then, when I got outside, I was told what had really happened to John and Debbie. The two guys who were in charge of the AOH delegation - Martin Galvin was not one of them - had pulled John aside and told him that they weren't welcome at the breakfast table the next morning. John and Debbie went to their room got their belongings and took the long journey home.
Neither I nor Richard had known a thing about it and I believe that it was held back from us knowing what our reactions would be should we have found out while inside the bar.
The AOH are heading off to Belfast this morning, I believe, with their check books. The two big guys will be hoping that their money can buy a rebuttal of the truth they didn't want their members hearing in Derry.
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Thomas Dixie Elliot is a Derry artist and a former H Block Blanketman. Follow Dixie Elliot on Twitter @IsMise_Dixie |
Who knows what 'strategic alliance' Martin hoped to either forge or build upon with the AOH. He acted as if he wasn't fully conversant with John's often-expressed position and commitment to it.
ReplyDeleteIt appears there was a serious miscommunication between the two men, two men whose political positions alas seem increasingly less relevant.
" Séanna Walsh silencing the Palestinians at the Europa Hotel meeting"
ReplyDeleteI'd never heard of this until just now and I was a little shocked I have to say.
He was also part of the Belfast City Hall SF Council group that unpardonably abstained from a motion to expel the Israeli ambassador. It is very disheartening when an activist as committed as he has undoubtedly been lends themselves to this type of thing.
DeleteAs usual, the Shinners are following their sacred Mantra:
ReplyDelete"First to thine own wallet be true".
Especially the millions of dollars put in there by deluded, sentimental Americans.
The full quote from Shakespeare is below:
"This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man."
This, of course, could be written in Ancient Sanskrit, for for all the chances the Adams gang would have of understanding it - never mind applying it.
Stevie..
ReplyDeleteYou can read about Palestinian activists ‘thrown out’ of Sinn Féin ‘solidarity rally’ in Belfast hotel (Belfast Telegraph) and then listen Willaim Crawley TalkBack (Spotify).....
The following morning Mary Lou was on Sky News being interviewed and she never once mentioned it.