SCHOOL EDITION 29 MAY 2024 - Flipbook - Page 11
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OPINION
@Ddebreadun
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 22 2020
www.irishnews.com
11
ON THIS
DAY
JANUARY 15 1970
Civil Rights Leader Jailed
PRESSURE: Simon Coveney and Julian Smith and their teams did the heavy lifting on this occasion
Prospect of assembly
election brought touch of
realism to deliberations
S
UDDENLY politics has come alive,
north and south. In the north, after
three years of pathetic inaction where
the horizon looked grey and bleak,
power-sharing is restored. The necessary
compromises were made and, for once,
tribalism suffered a setback.
Once upon a time we had the Good Friday
Agreement but, last week, the Thursday Night
Draft caught the headlines.
It was a good idea to launch the New
Decade, New Approach document, as it
is officially known, three years to the day
since the collapse of the last power-sharing
executive. Indeed it was quite haunting
to listen to a repeat broadcast of Martin
McGuinness announcing that break-up with
the DUP in a voice so far removed from his
normally-vibrant tones: 10 weeks later he was
dead.
You could hardly get two leaders further
removed in outlook and background than
McGuinness and Rev Ian Paisley. If you had
predicted they would create one of the
most successful political partnerships in
modern times, your sanity would have been
questioned. But they both realised there was
no other option.
The same could be said of the current
Stormont rapprochement. The draft
agreement produced in February 2018
didn’t catch on, but at this stage we are
confronted with the Northern Ireland
equivalent of Brexit Fatigue. The British
electorate were bored and aggravated to
such an extent by the endless to-ing and
fro-ing over EU membership that they
responded readily to Boris Johnson’s
slogan: ‘Get Brexit done’.
Likewise it is fair to say that many
people in the north were so sick and
tired of the local political vacuum that
they were taking a fresh look at parties
Deaglán
DE BRÉADÚN
such as Alliance and SDLP.
Having reported in detail and even written
a book about the Good Friday negotiations,
I can attest that the role of Tony Blair and
Bertie Ahern (with Bill Clinton busily phoning
people in the background) was critical.
Ably assisted by the likes of Mo Mowlam
and an army of civil servants they carried
out the primary function of government
representatives on these occasions, namely,
to knock heads together.
Likewise, Julian Smith and Simon Coveney
and their teams did the heavy lifting on this
occasion. Holding out the prospect of an
assembly election if no deal was done brought
a touch of realism to the deliberations.
The implementation of the proposals on
the Irish language will of course be closely
monitored on all sides.
It is true that the new Irish language
Any repeat of such actions as
cutting the modest funding for
people to attend courses in an
Irish-speaking district will not
serve to prolong the life of the
newly-installed administration
commissioner’s activities will in principle
be subject to veto by the DUP first minister.
That’s one of the realities of power-sharing
but another reality is that any repeat of such
actions as cutting the modest funding for
people to attend courses in an Irish-speaking
district will not serve to prolong the life of the
newly-installed administration. That’s another
reality of power-sharing.
Not many people were aware that
legislation ruling out the use of any other
language but English in court proceedings
was repealed in England and Wales in 1863
but has remained in force in Northern Ireland
until now. We are told that the Administration
of Justice (Language) Act, passed by the
native – but not very representative -- Irish
parliament in 1737, is being scrapped. About
blooming time.
South of the border (and north-west when
you take account of Donegal) a pedestrian
and rather dreary political scene has acquired
a splash of colour with the prospect of a
general election in the very near future. There
is considerable excitement among the media
at least, although this has not spread to the
general public as yet.
The current administration led by Fine
Gael may give way to an alliance headed
by Fianna Fáil, but both major parties have
firmly ruled out a coalition involving
Sinn Féin. Yet some observers believe
there is a possibility, however remote,
that this could change when the votes
are counted, if the figures mean that
Mary Lou McDonald and her friends are
needed to form a government.
Don’t bet the house – or even Leinster
House – on it, but gaining power is often
a numbers game. Politicians don’t like
eating their words but there are times
when reality bites and you have to grit
your teeth.
ARMAGH Civil Rights chairman,
Niall Vallely was loudly applauded
as he was led away yesterday to
serve a four month prison sentence.
He had just lost an appeal against
conviction and sentence imposed
last November on charges arising
out of a People’s Democracy
demonstration in Armagh. Vallely
(27), a lecturer from Armagh, was
convicted at the local Magistrates
Court for assaulting a police
constable, blocking the road to
traffic and organising an illegal
parade through Armagh.
Judge R H Conaghan made his
decision after an all-day hearing.
PD and Civil Rights supporters
mounted a picket outside the court.
Cross-examined by Mr William
Doyle, QC for Vallely, Sergeant
Crowe agreed that the meeting was
in protest against the City Council
ban on the public attending its
meetings. The officer gave evidence
of the PD in Armagh having held a
meeting outside the City Hall on the
night of July 7. About 100 people
were present. Witness said that
Vallely told the crowd that before
dispersing they should march
through the town.
When the Sergeant agreed that
stones could not have been thrown
by the marchers and that there were
a number of people in Scotch Street
who were hostile to the marchers,
Mr Doyle asked – ‘Did the police
make any attempt to contain these
people, or were any prosecutions
brought against them?’ – Sergeant
Crowe: I cannot say that.
Constable Witford, a member
of the Reserve Force, stated that
he was standing at the corner of
Scotch Street when he saw the
defendant with a placard.
‘The next thing I knew I was
slightly dazed and was aware of
a pain in my shoulder’. Constable
William Hazelton said he saw Vallely
striking Constable Whitford.
Cross-examined by Mr Brian
Hutton, for the Crown, Vallely
alleged that he was ill-treated by the
police. He was not aware that he
had hit anyone. Vallely’s evidence
was corroborated by Eugene Cassin
who said that civilians in football
attire were lobbing missiles over the
heads of the police at the marchers.
Judge Conaghan said the
Magistrate had imposed a hard
sentence on Vallely but, if he did
not affirm it, the police would be left
unprotected.
Man Had Guns
‘for Defence’
FRANCIS Joseph Card (46),
shipping clerk, Kane Street, Belfast
was at the City Commission
yesterday given a suspended
sentence of twelve months
imprisonment on a charge of having
two loaded guns.
Mr James D McSparran, QC,
defending said that the possession
of the firearms was defensive.
During the [August] troubles Kane
Street had suffered a certain amount
of devastation and destruction and
was close to Bombay Street.
EDITED BY ÉAMON PHOENIX
e.phoenix@irishnews.com