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News about the Irish & Irish American culture, music, news, sports. This is hosted by the Irish Aires radio show on KPFT-FM 90.1 in Houston, Texas (a Pacifica community radio station)
April 10, 2006
Plan B Would Ignore NI Parties
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News About Ireland & The Irish
BB 04/09/06 Plan B would 'ignore' NI parties
IT 04/10/06 Millions Expected To Rally Against US Immigration Bill
BN 04/09/06 Donaldson 'Killed To Avenge SAS Killing'
BN 04/10/06 UDA Divided Over Possible Expulsion Of Shoukri Brothers
IT 04/10/06 Official Criticises Use Of Shannon For Attack Helicopters
IT 04/10/06 Holland Will Not Settle In Ireland, Says Family
BB 04/10/06 Irish Dancing Contest Kicking Off
SF 04/09/06 Doherty - 1916 Rising Was For All The People Of Ireland
IT 04/10/06 Proclamation Shook The World ‘16 & Still Challenges Us Now
RT 04/09/06 Ahern Opens 1916 Rising Exhibition
NP 04/09/06 Irish History On The Auction Block (A)
BN 04/10/06 Original Draft Of National Anthem Fails To Sell At Auction
IT 04/10/06 1916 Events: Ceremonies Countrywide
BN 04/09/06 Lightning Possibly To Blame For Man's Death On Mountain
BN 04/09/06 End Of 'Your Honour' For Judges
BN 04/09/06 Spire Finally Accepted By Dubliners
IT 04/09/06 Museum Digital Archive Wins Web Award
*************************
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/4893120.stm
Plan B would 'ignore' NI parties
Bertie Ahern has said if Northern Ireland's politicians do
not share power the British and Irish governments would
work to implement the Agreement.
The Irish prime minister told Sky news they want to restore
devolution.
But, he said if this fails London and Dublin would work on
implementing the Good Friday Agreement.
"Plan B ignores the politicians of Northern Ireland and the
deals and co-operation and partnership basis between the
two governments," he said.
"We would have to do that because we're the custodians of
the Agreement and we're the stewards of the process - but
that is not by a long shot our preferred option.
"What the Irish government wants to do is to work with an
assembly, to work with an executive to have the north-south
ministerial council, working with northern politicians on
these issues and working east-west between the two
governments."
On Thursday, the British and Irish premiers said the
Northern Ireland Assembly would be recalled on 15 May.
'No joint authority'
A deadline to restore devolution by 24 November was
unveiled in the "take-it-or-leave-it" plan, outlined by the
prime minister and the taoiseach in Armagh.
Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern said the assembly would be
recalled on 15 May with parties being given six weeks to
elect an executive.
If that fails, the 108 members get a further 12 weeks to
try to form a multi-party devolved government.
If that attempt also fails, salaries will stop.
The British and Irish governments would then work on
partnership arrangements to implement the Good Friday
Agreement.
Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain has said unionists
should not be concerned about any change to NI's
constitutional position if a deal cannot be achieved.
"There's no question of joint authority or anything like
that," he said.
The two governments' deadline for the deal will be written
into an emergency law due to be brought before Parliament
this month.
Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2006/04/09 11:15:20 GMT
© BBC MMVI
*************************
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/front/2006/0410/2423283606HM1IMMIGRATION.html
Millions Expected To Rally Against US Immigration Bill
10/04/2006
Two million people are expected to attend rallies in more
than 60 American cities today in protest against proposals
to criminalise illegal immigrants and those who help them,
writes Denis Staunton.
The demonstrations come three days after senators failed to
agree on a Bill that would give most of the United States'
estimated 12 million illegal immigrants, including tens of
thousands of Irish citizens, a chance to remain in the
country legally and eventually become US citizens.
Up to 200,000 protesters are expected to gather in
Washington, close to the Capitol, to demonstrate against a
tough anti-immigration Bill passed by the Republican-
dominated House of Representatives.
The Bill would make an illegal alien's presence in the US,
which is currently a civil violation, a felony punishable
by over a year in prison and would make giving humanitarian
assistance to an illegal immigrant a crime punishable by up
to five years in prison. Employers who hire illegal
immigrants could be fined up to $25,000 and a 700-mile long
fence would be built on part of the US border with Mexico.
The National Capital Immigration Coalition, which is
organising some of today's demonstrations, said illegal
immigrants, most of whom are Hispanics, wanted to remind
legislators of their power.
"Our goal is to stop anti-immigrant legislation from
becoming law and to pass real comprehensive immigration
reform that provides a clear path to citizenship, unites
families and ensures workplace and civil rights protections
for all," the group said in a statement.
Senate judiciary committee chairman Arlen Specter yesterday
expressed confidence that senators would agree on
immigration reform when they return from a two-week recess
and that today's rallies would show the extent of popular
disquiet over the proposal.
Republicans are divided over immigration reform, with
President Bush among those who favour a combination of
tougher border security and a temporary worker programme to
allow most illegal immigrants to stay. Conservative
Republicans reject what they call an amnesty for millions
who have lived and worked in the US illegally, calling for
better borders and a crackdown on businesses that employ
illegal immigrants.
Texas Republican congressman Henry Bonilla said yesterday
that Congress could introduce a guest worker programme at
some time in the future, but the priority now should be to
secure the border. "We have infiltrators coming in from the
Middle East, from China, gang members from Central America
that are moving into communities across the country. The
drug cartels are confronting law enforcement along the
border. We have an absolute crisis down there. A lot of us
want to support a guest worker plan down the road, but
first and foremost we have to secure the border."
© The Irish Times
*************************
http://www.breakingnews.ie/2006/04/09/story253316.html
Donaldson 'Killed To Avenge SAS Killing'
09/04/2006 - 16:10:33
Former associates of a feared IRA assassin killed by the
SAS may have murdered Denis Donaldson, it emerged today.
Detectives believe Sinn-Féin-man-turned informer Donaldson
was gunned down to avenge the shooting of Jim Lynagh.
Lynagh, 32, was among eight IRA men ambushed as they tried
to blow up a police station at Loughgall in Armagh in May
1987.
This is the main line of inquiry being pursued by the
Gardaí, security services confirmed today.
After it was revealed that Donaldson, 56, one of Sinn
Féin’s top officials, turned informer more than 20 years
ago, the republican movement knew his betrayal had
inflicted major damage, and that may have included briefing
his handlers on the IRA plot at Loughgall.
The SAS were lying in wait for the heavily-armed unit when
they arrived at the station with a 200lb bomb.
All the IRA members were killed instantly, including
Lynagh, from Monaghan, who had been wanted by police for
six years at the time.
He was heavily involved in many of the IRA’s operations
across Tyrone during the 1980s.
Lynagh was also suspected of involvement in the murder of
former unionist MP and speaker at the old Stormont
parliament Norman Stronge, and his son James at their
Armagh home in 1981.
“We are 80% certain that (Donaldson's) murder was planned
and carried out by those who were close to Lynagh,” a
security source disclosed.
“There’s also a 10% chance it was individual disgruntled
Provisionals; and a 10% chance that dissident republicans
carried it out."
Donaldson, a one-time prison confidant of IRA hunger-
striker Bobby Sands and head of Sinn Féin’s office at
Stormont, was buried on Saturday after a low-key funeral in
Belfast attended by less than 100 people.
Donaldson was shot through the front door of his son-in-
law’s dilapidated cottage, five miles outside the tiny town
of Glenties in Donegal last Tuesday. He had tried to
barricade himself in in his last moments, but after his
right hand was nearly severed by the first blast, the
killer opened fire again, shooting him in the cheek and
body.
*************************
http://www.breakingnews.ie/2006/04/10/story253415.html
UDA Divided Over Possible Expulsion Of Shoukri Brothers
10/04/2006 - 12:06:39
The leadership of the Ulster Defence Association is
believed to be planning a meeting later today to decide
whether to expel two prominent members from the
organisation.
The UDA's inner council is believed to be split over
whether to kick out Ihab and Andre Shoukri, two half-
Egyptian brothers from Belfast.
Andre Shoukri, who is believed to be one of the loyalist
group's so-called brigadiers, is currently facing charges
of extortion, blackmail and money-laundering in relation to
UDA activity.
During a bail hearing last month, a crown lawyer said the
28-year-old had spent more than £750,000 (€1m) in one
bookmakers' alone.
Ihab, meanwhile, is facing trial on charges of UDA
membership.
At least four of the UDA's brigades are understood to be
ready to support the brothers' expulsion, but others remain
loyal to the Shoukris, prompting fears that today's meeting
could cause a feud between the rival sides.
*************************
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2006/0410/2898613033HM4APACHEATTACK.html
Official Criticises Use Of Shannon For Attack Helicopters
Alison Healy
10/04/2006
The Department of Transport has said it was "dissatisfied"
that Shannon airport had been used by a cargo aircraft
carrying Apache attack helicopters between the US and
Israel in February.
A spokesman said the department would be reminding aircraft
operators that such military equipment was considered to be
weapons, thus their carriage through Irish airports or
airspace was prohibited unless an exemption was granted.
The aircraft, which stopped overnight en route from the US
to Israel, was carrying three Apache attack aircraft.
The Israeli government has a fleet of the Apache attack
aircraft. In February, one such helicopter killed two
people in Gaza city after it hit two cars carrying Islamic
Jihad militants.
The department spokesman said the cargo aircraft was not
due to land at Shannon on its outbound journey as it was
scheduled to fly via Iceland.
"Our inquiries have established that a last-minute decision
was made by the operator to route the aircraft through
Shannon," he added. "We are advised that this was done so
that a technical problem could be attended to at the
company's maintenance base at Shannon.
"The notification of the change of routing was not sent to
the Department of Transport."
The company in question, Volga-Dnepr, usually provided a
note to the Department of Transport in advance of flights
operating through Ireland, he said.
The department was notified that the aircraft had been due
to stop over at Shannon on the return leg of the journey
when it would have been empty.
However, the spokesman said that it had subsequently
learned "that helicopters were in fact carried on the
return flight through Shannon on 28th February".
Volga-Dnepr believed it did not need an exemption as there
were no weapons or munitions on the helicopters.
"The Department of Transport has informed the company that
the helicopters themselves and similar military equipment
whether air-, sea- or land-based are considered to be
weapons," the spokesman said.
The department would have to consult the departments of
foreign affairs, justice and defence and the Irish Aviation
Authority before granting an exemption under the Air
Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and
Dangerous Goods) Order, 1973.
"If any of those agencies objects to the exemption being
given, then the department will refuse to grant an
exemption," the spokesman said.
Green Party chairman John Gormley called for an
investigation into the matter by the Joint Oireachtas
Committee for Foreign Affairs.
On Saturday, the Irish Independent reported that the
Department of Transport and the Department of Foreign
Affairs had initially denied knowledge of the flight when
questioned by the newspaper.
Mr Gormley said this denial raised serious questions about
the role of the Department of Foreign Affairs.
If it was established that it had covered up the
information, "then the Minister for Foreign Affairs will
have no option but to resign", Mr Gormley said.
The cargo aircraft landed at Shannon hours before the US
president, George W Bush, made a refuelling stopover at the
airport.
© The Irish Times
*************************
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2006/0410/2584755599HM4HOLLANDRELEASE.html
Holland Will Not Settle In Ireland, Says Family
10/04/2006
The man named in court as having shot dead Veronica Guerin
almost 10 years ago will not settle in Ireland following
his release from prison, a family spokesman has said.
Patrick Eugene "Dutchy" Holland (66) was released from
Portlaoise Prison in the early hours of Saturday morning
after serving nine years of a 12-year sentence for drugs
offences.
He later flew from Dublin to Rome, where he plans to
undergo a lie-detector test as early as today.
He believes the test will back his assertion that he did
not shoot Veronica Guerin.
His nephew, James Holland, last night told The Irish Times
that although his uncle would return to Dublin later this
week for a series of planned media interviews, he would not
settle in Ireland.
"He has to find a place to live but it won't be here.
Settling in Ireland would be out of the question as far as
he is concerned after all that's happened and has been said
about him."
Mr Holland flew to Rome with his legal adviser, Giovanni di
Stefano, who claims to have advised a number of well-known
figures, including Saddam Hussein. A television crew from
Sky News Ireland accompanied them, according to James
Holland.
They recorded a series of interviews over the weekend,
which will be broadcast tonight. He also plans to do a
number of interviews with Irish newspapers in which he is
expected to repeat his claim that he was not the gunman who
killed Veronica Guerin.
Mr Holland, who was a member of the John Gilligan drugs
gang, was originally sentenced to 20 years, but this was
reduced in 1998 to 12 years after he appealed the sentence
to the Court of Criminal Appeal.
© The Irish Times
*************************
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/4893914.stm
Irish Dancing Contest Kicking Off
Thousands of the best Irish dancers from all over the globe
have descended on Belfast, for the highlight of the Irish
dancing calendar.
More than 4,000 competitors are at the week-long World
Irish Dancing Championships, which began on Sunday.
More than half of the competitors at the event are from
outside Ireland.
It is estimated that 250,000 people now take Irish dancing
classes across the world, thanks to the success of
Riverdance and the Lord of the Dance.
Some 314 schools of dance and 11 countries including
Austria, Hungary, France and the USA are represented in
Belfast.
More than 2,000 solo competitors and 2,000 team dancers
will take part in the eight days of events.
The programme is made up of 35 competitions across age
groups from under 11s to 21 years and over.
The 36th Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne (World Irish Dancing
Championships), in association with Celebrate Belfast 2006,
is taking place at the Belfast Waterfront Hall until next
Sunday.
One of the organisers, Seamus O'Shea, said Belfast was a
great place to host the championships.
"It is the most serious event in the world for Irish
dancers," he said.
"A lot of people mock the idea of a world championship as
though we are getting above our station.
"But it has turned out to be one of the most fantastic
events in the world - Belfast and ourselves have a
partnership that is going to continue."
Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2006/04/10 05:59:34 GMT
© BBC MMVI
*************************
http://www.sinnfein.ie/news/detail/13803
Doherty - 1916 Rising Was For All The People Of Ireland
Published: 9 April, 2006
Sinn Féin Vice President Pat Doherty, speaking at the
party's selection convention in Kerry North this weekend,
said 'The 1916 Rising was for all the people of Ireland.
The best memorial to the men and women of 1916 is an
Ireland in which the principles of the Proclamation are put
into effect - an Irish Republic worthy of its name."
Mr. Doherty said:
"Next weekend republicans across Ireland will gather
throughout the country to commemorate the 1916 Rising. This
will include, for the first time in many years, an official
State event in Dublin.
"But simply commemorating the events of Easter 1916 is not
enough. Learning the lessons of 1916 means putting the
issue of Irish unity at the top of the political agenda. It
means the Irish government driving forward a process which
will deliver national reunification.
"The 1916 Rising was for all the people of Ireland. It
belongs to no one group and nor should it. The actions of
the men and women of Easter Week 90 years ago were a beacon
of hope for oppressed people across the world. Their
proclamation was a visionary and revolutionary document,
which is as relevant today as it was then, especially given
that many of its aspirations remain unfulfilled.
We don't have a United Ireland - yet. We don't have a
society where all the children of the nation are cherished
equally - yet. But we in Sinn Féin believe that we can
achieve those aims and create a better society for everyone
on this small island - Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter,
people of all religions and none, Irish citizens and new
communities in our country alike, and we believe that we
have a strategy to get there.
"The best memorial to the men and women of 1916 is an
Ireland in which the principles of the Proclamation are put
into effect - an Irish Republic worthy of its name."
Commenting on the auctioning of priceless documents
associated with the 1916 Rising Mr. Doherty said:
"It is a disgrace that in the week of the 90th anniversary
of the 1916 Rising that priceless historical documents are
being auctioned off in our capital city. The Government
should immediately intervene with emergency legislation to
prevent this sell-out of our heritage." ENDS
*************************
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2006/0410/2927155639HM6BERTIESPEECH.html
Proclamation Shook The World In 1916 And Still Challenges Us Now
10/04/2006
Speech by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern at the opening of the
commemorative exhibition on the Easter 1916 Rising at the
National Museum, Collins Barracks, Dublin.
Today, Ireland begins a week of remembrance, reconciliation
and renewal. We remember, we commemorate and we celebrate
the lives, the sacrifices and the achievements of our
patriot dead. We do so in a spirit that is at once both
justly proud and wisely thoughtful.
Today, I have the privilege of opening the official
exhibition of the 1916 Rising. I want to thank Minister
John O'Donoghue for his strong interest and support of this
exciting project. The director of the museum, Dr Pat
Wallace, and the curators of this exhibition, Michael Kenny
and Sandra McElroy, have put together a fascinating montage
of life before, during and after the Rising.
Jenny Hodgson and Hannah Johnston have undertaken
painstaking conservation work on the artefacts on display.
I would also like to thank Kathleen O'Keeffe and the
O'Keeffe family, and Ita Kavanagh and Áine Uí Shuilleabhán
for their recent donations of 1916 artefacts to the museum.
And I would like to acknowledge Beverly Figgis, wife of the
late Walter Figgis, grandson of Art O'Muraghan, who was the
creator of Leabhar na hAiséirghe. You have all contributed
to a quality exhibition, enabling this museum to fulfil its
very important public role in recalling and explaining the
birth of independent Ireland.
I also want to thank those at the museum for your decision
to conserve the Asgard. The historic Asgard is
intrinsically linked to the Rising. Work will begin later
this year on its conservation and it is intended that the
vessel will be on public exhibition from August 2009.
We are privileged to have an important body of archival
material from the struggle for independence. Through the
work of the Military History Bureau, we have detailed
knowledge of what happened from a wide range of
perspectives.
The State also has a large body of material which has been
previously unavailable to scholars and the public. The
Military Pensions Archive, which relates to the "Old IRA"
pensions, number some 17,000 successful applications. These
are the detailed records of an entire movement and not just
the leadership.
To mark this anniversary, it is the Government's intention
to make this material available to all. Accordingly I have
the pleasure to announce that I am establishing a working
group, to be chaired by my department, that will report
back before the end of this year on the requirements to
preserve, archive and digitise these records, having due
regard to any privacy requirements.
Over the coming years and certainly in good time for the
100th anniversary in 2016, we will ensure that these
detailed records of a nation's struggle for independence
are properly preserved and made available.
The Government has planned this 90th anniversary
commemoration of the Easter Rising so that Ireland properly
remembers her past. In so doing, we, her citizens, can more
clearly understand the present and better plan for our
shared future. We do this to build upon the enduring legacy
bequeathed to us by the living generations of Irish men and
Irish women who in nine decades of struggle, independence
and achievement built a stable and a democratic Republic.
Because of their struggle and commitment, we are living
today through one of the most exciting times in Ireland's
destiny. The country we inhabit is an island of
unprecedented peace, prosperity and opportunity. An
independent Ireland, once an unlikely dream, is now
reaching its stride and beginning to fulfil the hopes of
those who fought and died for its foundation.
The freedom to plan, decide and implement the policies that
are transforming our country today cannot be taken for
granted. Just as nobody should seek to own Irish history -
nobody should seek to disown it either.
Our history is a shared legacy and a continuous thread.
From the Proclamation in 1916, to the Constitution in 1937,
to the ratification of the Treaty of Rome in 1972, to the
Good Friday agreement in 1998, the living generations of
Irish people have time and again renewed their hope in the
future.
These four cornerstones of independent Ireland in the 20th
century are the foundations of the future we are building
today and tomorrow.
The Proclamation of the Republic on Easter Monday was a cry
of radical idealism that shook the world in 1916 and that
still challenges us today.
It promulgated "religious and civil liberties, equal rights
and opportunities". In seeking "the establishment of a
permanent National Government, representative of the whole
people of Ireland and elected by the sufferages of all her
men and women", the Rising was a heroic quest not just for
national freedom but for women's emancipation too.
The Proclamation was the foundation of our independent
State. It began an era of nation building that lasted
through the formative years of the Free State and
culminated in the inauguration of the Irish Constitution in
1937.
Bunreacht na hÉireann began the longest period of
continuity under a written constitution enjoyed by any
country in Europe. This is a continuity we enjoy today. Our
Constitution is an enduring legal bedrock for our relations
with one another and with the State. It is a fount of
justice that has been very largely successful in its
intended aim of ensuring equality before the law.
In 1937, 21 years after the Proclamation, its adoption
marked Ireland's coming of age as a State.
Next year, Ireland will celebrate 70 years of
constitutional continuity and evolution in a strong and
stable democracy.
In 1972, we ratified the Treaty of Rome and joined the
European Economic Community in the following year. In so
doing, Ireland built upon her history of active membership
in the United Nations and took her place among the nations
of the earth. Through our membership of the European Union,
we have emerged as a confident and achieving nation, sure
of our place in the world.
Over a decade previously, Seán Lemass had opened
negotiations for Ireland's entry to the Community. He said
in 1961 that "Ireland belongs to Europe by history,
tradition and sentiment no less than by geography. Our
destiny is bound up with that of Europe". Advocating
Ireland's entry to the Community in the 1970s, Jack Lynch
summed up our choice as being "the choice faced by Robinson
Crusoe when the ship came to bring him back into the world
again".
The decision to join the European Union was the moment when
a confident and hopeful Ireland left behind what had become
the dated and sterile ideology of "ourselves alone".
The culmination of our shared achievement in the 20th
century was the Good Friday agreement. This was the unique
instance in Irish history of a revolution without a
rebellion. It was a milestone on the road to peace and
justice on our island. It provides the legal basis, by way
of an international treaty, for the peaceful reunification
of the island of Ireland with consent and by exclusively
democratic means.
Today, reconciliation is replacing rebellion. Peace is
replacing sectarian strife. A democratically agreed
framework for a shared future is replacing conflict on our
island.
Looking back over 90 years, we can say with confidence that
the living generations have sought to honour the sacrifice
of the men and women of 1916. Today, we face new challenges
- the challenges of success, of prosperity and above all
the challenge that we face to our values.
Patriots today are people who are at least as fully aware
of the needs of their community as they are of their own
individual rights. Whereas the rights of the individual
have been hard won and are rightly deserving of protection,
Ireland now needs to develop a strong and corresponding
sense of duty and of community. If our rights as
individuals embolden us to be strong, it is our
responsibilities to one another that remind us to be
respectful.
It is real and genuine mutual respect that builds a truly
strong society.
Citizenship cannot be delegated
or outsourced. Citizenship comes with duties as well as
rights. Being a citizen of this Republic means being
tolerant, being respectful of the views of others, having a
real civic responsibility and being welcoming to the new
Irish who are coming to make their home here.
Ireland has a deep tradition of active engagement by its
citizens in every aspect of our national life and culture.
During decades when the capacity of the State was limited
by a lack of resources, it was the commitment of the Irish
people that so often, formally and informally, provided
social services, community leadership as well as a sporting
and cultural life for our people.
Today, when the scarcest resource of all is time, this role
of active participation is being devolved to fewer and
fewer people. In the process, we all risk being
impoverished, especially those who opt out and leave the
responsibilities of citizenship to others.
We need to identify and understand how public policy helps
and hinders active engagement. We need to identify
practical steps to encourage more of our people to become
involved and to stay involved in the life of their own
community.
At the beginning of the 21st century, Ireland needs to
reimagine a new culture of active citizenship to build a
vibrant civic society.
Our Republic transcends the boundary of our personal
interests and our private property. The Republic is our
shared and common need, our interests and our expectations.
It is young and old, rich and poor, city and country,
Gaelgeoir and new arrival alike.
In this Republic we are citizens, not subjects. And, it is
as citizens that we remember our past, reconcile our
differences and renew our hope for the future. Our civic
duty calls on us to look beyond our purely private roles
and rights as consumers to our active roles and
responsibilities as citizens.
Active citizens shape strong societies. The more we involve
ourselves in shaping our society locally, the more our
society nationally will reflect and meet our needs.
Society is not abstract. It does not belong to others. It
is the sum of our actions and our choices as citizens. We
can sit back and allow this new Ireland to happen to us and
hope for the best. Or like the patriots we commemorate
today, we can commit ourselves to shaping a better future
for our children and our grandchildren.
We, the people, can imagine anew how to meet the challenge
of remaining a society that is marked by solidarity and not
by selfishness.
Few of us will ever be asked to die for our country. At the
beginning of this week of remembrance, reconciliation and
renewal, we should remember our parents and grandparents,
the living generations who succeeded Pearse, Connolly,
Clarke, Ceannt, MacDiarmada, MacDonagh and Plunkett.
They honoured their country by the lives they lived and by
the sacrifices they made - sacrifices they made for us, the
generations who succeeded them.
It is our challenge, indeed it is our calling as citizens,
to honour our country in the way we live and in the esteem
we attach to achieving the public good over purely personal
satisfaction.
This Easter, we must renew our republicanism by marrying
new ideas to steadfast values. We must begin a great
national conversation on what it means to be Irish, on the
values that we hold and on the hopes that we cherish.
We have a duty to honour the dead generations who have gone
before us. In the coming week, Ireland will again discharge
that duty. We also have a solemn duty to vindicate the
living generations who will come after us, to leave to
them, as was left to us, a country that has profited from
the continuing dedication, generosity and commitment of its
people.
© The Irish Times
*************************
http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0409/1916.html?rss
Ahern Opens 1916 Rising Exhibition
09 April 2006
The Taoiseach has said next Sunday's 1916 commemoration
will be a celebration of the Irish Army and of what Ireland
has achieved over the last 90 years.
Speaking at the opening of a new exhibition on 1916 in
Collins Barracks, Bertie Ahern rejected suggestions that
the parade could be seen as pro-IRA.
At the ceremony he called on Irish people to renew their
republicanism by marrying new ideas to steadfast values.
Mr Ahern said Irish people must begin a 'great national
conversation on what it means to be Irish, on the values we
hold and cherish'.
He said we have a duty to honour the dead generations but
also to vindicate the generations who will come after us.
The 1916 exhibition looks at the main events of Easter
week, as well as the wider historical context, from the
Dublin Lockout of 1913, through to the end of the Civil War
in 1923.
An original copy of the Proclamation of Independence,
donated to the Museum last month, occupies a central
position in the exhibition.
Mr Ahern also said next Sunday's commemoration of the 1916
Easter Rising will be an expression of the country's pride
at its achievements and a celebration of its egalitarian
ideals.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio's This Week, he said that those who
signed the proclamation and led the Rising refused to
accept limited devolution in a truncated Ireland within the
British empire.
The Taoiseach added that they had established the principle
that no country had the right to govern another without its
consent.
*************************
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5332680
Irish History On The Auction Block
(Listen -
http://www.npr.org/dmg/dmg.php?prgCode=WESUN&showDate=09-Apr-2006&segNum=14&NPRMediaPref=RM&getAd=1 )
Weekend Edition Sunday, April 9, 2006 · This month,
Ireland marks the 90th anniversary of a rebellion against
the British, known as the Easter Rising. Although the
violent uprising was unsuccessful, it is considered an
important stepping-stone in the eventual creation of the
Irish Republic.
Coinciding with the anniversary, two auctions houses in
Ireland -- Mealy's and James Adam & Son -- will hold a
joint sale of documents and memorabilia charting the
history of the Irish struggle for independence. The auction
takes places this Wednesday.
Fonsie Mealy, managing director of Mealy's Auctioneers in
Castlecomer, County Kilkenny, tells Liane Hansen about the
auction.
*************************
http://www.breakingnews.ie/2006/04/10/story253378.html
Original Draft Of National Anthem Fails To Sell At Auction
10/04/2006 - 08:06:46
The original, hand-written draft of the Irish national
anthem was reportedly withdrawn from auction last night
after failing to reach its target price.
The manuscript, signed by author Peadar Kearney, went on
sale at the RDS last night as part of an auction of
historic memorabilia to coincide with the 90th anniversary
of the 1916 Rising.
Reports this morning said bidding started at €300,0000 and
the document attracted a top offer of €460,000, but this
was still below the target price and the item was not sold.
However, the reports said it was expected to be sold later
today after negotiations with the bidder.
*************************
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2006/0410/2516316467HM61916EVENTS.html
1916 Events: Ceremonies Countrywide
John Downes
10/04/2006
Next weekend's military parade to mark the 90th anniversary
of the Easter Rising is just one of a number of events to
coincide with the occasion.
Last Thursday, Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea unveiled a
plaque at the Curragh honouring the signatories of the
Proclamation of Independence.
Meanwhile, many local and community organisations around
the country are organising their own events, including
lectures and exhibitions, to mark the occasion. Members of
the public are advised to check locally for details of
these events.
Dublin City Library is also planning to host its own day-
long 1916 commemoration on April 21st next, while An Post
is to issue a commemorative stamp.
Following a small wreath-laying ceremony in Kilmainham Gaol
earlier on Sunday, the parade will depart from Dublin
Castle via Dame Street to Westmoreland Street.
President Mary McAleese will then arrive at the GPO, where
the national flag will be lowered on the roof of the
building.
This will be followed by the reading of the Proclamation,
after which the Taoiseach will invite the President to lay
a wreath.
A minute's silence will then be observed in memory of those
who died, and the flag will be raised to full mast.
This will be followed by the playing of the National
Anthem, with the parade continuing on through O'Connell
Street to Parnell Square. Large screens will be placed
along the route for the public.
The parade will be followed by a State reception later in
the evening at Dublin Castle.
© The Irish Times
*************************
http://www.breakingnews.ie/2006/04/09/story253307.html
Lightning Possibly To Blame For Man's Death On Mountain
09/04/2006 - 15:15:29
The man found dead on the top of a mountain in Co Down may
have been struck by lightning.
Police say a post mortem on the body found nothing
suspicious.
The dead man, who is thought to have been in his 30s, was
found on Slieve Donard in the Mourne mountains yesterday by
a group of walkers.
A coastguard helicopter from Dublin brought police and a
doctor to the summit where he was discovered.
*************************
http://www.breakingnews.ie/2006/04/09/story253306.html
End Of 'Your Honour' For Judges
09/04/2006 - 14:49:05
Irish judges will be receiving a more simple address in the
future after a courts rules committee voted to dispense
with the British titles which have been used in Irish
courtrooms since the 1100s.
Instead of being referred to as "your honour" and "your
worship", they will now be known as "judge".
The Minister for Justice Michael McDowell is expected to
receive the proposed amendment this week and sign it into
law.
The new rules would then come into effect after the Easter
recess.
*************************
http://www.breakingnews.ie/2006/04/09/story253256.html
Spire Finally Accepted By Dubliners
09/04/2006 - 10:18:35
It seems Dublin's Spire is finally being accepted by
Dubliners.
A new survey published today shows that the controversial
monument has now taken its place alongside Clery's clock
and Trinity College as one of the main symbols of the city.
The Spire, which cost almost €5m to construct, went up in
2003 to replace Nelson's Pillar, which was blown up in
1966.
The research carried out by the Dublin City Business
Association also found that the capital has a number of
areas that are considered "no-go" after dark - including
the boardwalk along the Liffey, Connolly Street and Tara
Street.
*************************
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2006/0410/716253961HM2WATERFORD.html
Museum Digital Archive Wins Web Award
Leah McBride
10/04/2006
A digital image archive of the collection of Waterford
County Museum has won the best small museum website 2006 at
the Museums and The Web International Conference in
Albuquerque, New Mexico.
http://www.dungarvanmuseum.org/exhibit/web
William Fraher, curator of the museum, said: "We realised
there were lots of interesting photographs people had in
their houses and drawers . . . and maybe we should make an
effort to start a collection."
William Whelan, the museum's president, said there were
2,405 images on the website, with a goal of adding 50 more
each week. The images include photos, postcards, paintings
and drawings.
Mr Whelan and his brother, Martin, are software web
designers with Dungarvan web design company Déise Design.
They decided to take the digital archive route because it
gives people the most access for the lowest cost.
The museum's annual budget is €7,000, but the project was
created at no cost to the museum through volunteer work.
The Waterford County Library provides free server space to
store the digital images and the Heritage Council gave a
€2,800 grant to buy computer equipment.
William Whelan and his brother scan the images at large
sizes and use algorithms to bring them down to size. "If
there is a leak or fire or someone loses them, they can be
recreated perfectly," he said. "We're getting lots of
comments from experts outside our knowledge base. We're
getting lots of questions and mysteries answered."
By putting the images on line, more people know they can
send in historical images to add to the collection and more
experts have access to the growing collection.
© The Irish Times
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News About Ireland & The Irish
BB 04/09/06 Plan B would 'ignore' NI parties
IT 04/10/06 Millions Expected To Rally Against US Immigration Bill
BN 04/09/06 Donaldson 'Killed To Avenge SAS Killing'
BN 04/10/06 UDA Divided Over Possible Expulsion Of Shoukri Brothers
IT 04/10/06 Official Criticises Use Of Shannon For Attack Helicopters
IT 04/10/06 Holland Will Not Settle In Ireland, Says Family
BB 04/10/06 Irish Dancing Contest Kicking Off
SF 04/09/06 Doherty - 1916 Rising Was For All The People Of Ireland
IT 04/10/06 Proclamation Shook The World ‘16 & Still Challenges Us Now
RT 04/09/06 Ahern Opens 1916 Rising Exhibition
NP 04/09/06 Irish History On The Auction Block (A)
BN 04/10/06 Original Draft Of National Anthem Fails To Sell At Auction
IT 04/10/06 1916 Events: Ceremonies Countrywide
BN 04/09/06 Lightning Possibly To Blame For Man's Death On Mountain
BN 04/09/06 End Of 'Your Honour' For Judges
BN 04/09/06 Spire Finally Accepted By Dubliners
IT 04/09/06 Museum Digital Archive Wins Web Award
*************************
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/4893120.stm
Plan B would 'ignore' NI parties
Bertie Ahern has said if Northern Ireland's politicians do
not share power the British and Irish governments would
work to implement the Agreement.
The Irish prime minister told Sky news they want to restore
devolution.
But, he said if this fails London and Dublin would work on
implementing the Good Friday Agreement.
"Plan B ignores the politicians of Northern Ireland and the
deals and co-operation and partnership basis between the
two governments," he said.
"We would have to do that because we're the custodians of
the Agreement and we're the stewards of the process - but
that is not by a long shot our preferred option.
"What the Irish government wants to do is to work with an
assembly, to work with an executive to have the north-south
ministerial council, working with northern politicians on
these issues and working east-west between the two
governments."
On Thursday, the British and Irish premiers said the
Northern Ireland Assembly would be recalled on 15 May.
'No joint authority'
A deadline to restore devolution by 24 November was
unveiled in the "take-it-or-leave-it" plan, outlined by the
prime minister and the taoiseach in Armagh.
Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern said the assembly would be
recalled on 15 May with parties being given six weeks to
elect an executive.
If that fails, the 108 members get a further 12 weeks to
try to form a multi-party devolved government.
If that attempt also fails, salaries will stop.
The British and Irish governments would then work on
partnership arrangements to implement the Good Friday
Agreement.
Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain has said unionists
should not be concerned about any change to NI's
constitutional position if a deal cannot be achieved.
"There's no question of joint authority or anything like
that," he said.
The two governments' deadline for the deal will be written
into an emergency law due to be brought before Parliament
this month.
Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2006/04/09 11:15:20 GMT
© BBC MMVI
*************************
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/front/2006/0410/2423283606HM1IMMIGRATION.html
Millions Expected To Rally Against US Immigration Bill
10/04/2006
Two million people are expected to attend rallies in more
than 60 American cities today in protest against proposals
to criminalise illegal immigrants and those who help them,
writes Denis Staunton.
The demonstrations come three days after senators failed to
agree on a Bill that would give most of the United States'
estimated 12 million illegal immigrants, including tens of
thousands of Irish citizens, a chance to remain in the
country legally and eventually become US citizens.
Up to 200,000 protesters are expected to gather in
Washington, close to the Capitol, to demonstrate against a
tough anti-immigration Bill passed by the Republican-
dominated House of Representatives.
The Bill would make an illegal alien's presence in the US,
which is currently a civil violation, a felony punishable
by over a year in prison and would make giving humanitarian
assistance to an illegal immigrant a crime punishable by up
to five years in prison. Employers who hire illegal
immigrants could be fined up to $25,000 and a 700-mile long
fence would be built on part of the US border with Mexico.
The National Capital Immigration Coalition, which is
organising some of today's demonstrations, said illegal
immigrants, most of whom are Hispanics, wanted to remind
legislators of their power.
"Our goal is to stop anti-immigrant legislation from
becoming law and to pass real comprehensive immigration
reform that provides a clear path to citizenship, unites
families and ensures workplace and civil rights protections
for all," the group said in a statement.
Senate judiciary committee chairman Arlen Specter yesterday
expressed confidence that senators would agree on
immigration reform when they return from a two-week recess
and that today's rallies would show the extent of popular
disquiet over the proposal.
Republicans are divided over immigration reform, with
President Bush among those who favour a combination of
tougher border security and a temporary worker programme to
allow most illegal immigrants to stay. Conservative
Republicans reject what they call an amnesty for millions
who have lived and worked in the US illegally, calling for
better borders and a crackdown on businesses that employ
illegal immigrants.
Texas Republican congressman Henry Bonilla said yesterday
that Congress could introduce a guest worker programme at
some time in the future, but the priority now should be to
secure the border. "We have infiltrators coming in from the
Middle East, from China, gang members from Central America
that are moving into communities across the country. The
drug cartels are confronting law enforcement along the
border. We have an absolute crisis down there. A lot of us
want to support a guest worker plan down the road, but
first and foremost we have to secure the border."
© The Irish Times
*************************
http://www.breakingnews.ie/2006/04/09/story253316.html
Donaldson 'Killed To Avenge SAS Killing'
09/04/2006 - 16:10:33
Former associates of a feared IRA assassin killed by the
SAS may have murdered Denis Donaldson, it emerged today.
Detectives believe Sinn-Féin-man-turned informer Donaldson
was gunned down to avenge the shooting of Jim Lynagh.
Lynagh, 32, was among eight IRA men ambushed as they tried
to blow up a police station at Loughgall in Armagh in May
1987.
This is the main line of inquiry being pursued by the
Gardaí, security services confirmed today.
After it was revealed that Donaldson, 56, one of Sinn
Féin’s top officials, turned informer more than 20 years
ago, the republican movement knew his betrayal had
inflicted major damage, and that may have included briefing
his handlers on the IRA plot at Loughgall.
The SAS were lying in wait for the heavily-armed unit when
they arrived at the station with a 200lb bomb.
All the IRA members were killed instantly, including
Lynagh, from Monaghan, who had been wanted by police for
six years at the time.
He was heavily involved in many of the IRA’s operations
across Tyrone during the 1980s.
Lynagh was also suspected of involvement in the murder of
former unionist MP and speaker at the old Stormont
parliament Norman Stronge, and his son James at their
Armagh home in 1981.
“We are 80% certain that (Donaldson's) murder was planned
and carried out by those who were close to Lynagh,” a
security source disclosed.
“There’s also a 10% chance it was individual disgruntled
Provisionals; and a 10% chance that dissident republicans
carried it out."
Donaldson, a one-time prison confidant of IRA hunger-
striker Bobby Sands and head of Sinn Féin’s office at
Stormont, was buried on Saturday after a low-key funeral in
Belfast attended by less than 100 people.
Donaldson was shot through the front door of his son-in-
law’s dilapidated cottage, five miles outside the tiny town
of Glenties in Donegal last Tuesday. He had tried to
barricade himself in in his last moments, but after his
right hand was nearly severed by the first blast, the
killer opened fire again, shooting him in the cheek and
body.
*************************
http://www.breakingnews.ie/2006/04/10/story253415.html
UDA Divided Over Possible Expulsion Of Shoukri Brothers
10/04/2006 - 12:06:39
The leadership of the Ulster Defence Association is
believed to be planning a meeting later today to decide
whether to expel two prominent members from the
organisation.
The UDA's inner council is believed to be split over
whether to kick out Ihab and Andre Shoukri, two half-
Egyptian brothers from Belfast.
Andre Shoukri, who is believed to be one of the loyalist
group's so-called brigadiers, is currently facing charges
of extortion, blackmail and money-laundering in relation to
UDA activity.
During a bail hearing last month, a crown lawyer said the
28-year-old had spent more than £750,000 (€1m) in one
bookmakers' alone.
Ihab, meanwhile, is facing trial on charges of UDA
membership.
At least four of the UDA's brigades are understood to be
ready to support the brothers' expulsion, but others remain
loyal to the Shoukris, prompting fears that today's meeting
could cause a feud between the rival sides.
*************************
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2006/0410/2898613033HM4APACHEATTACK.html
Official Criticises Use Of Shannon For Attack Helicopters
Alison Healy
10/04/2006
The Department of Transport has said it was "dissatisfied"
that Shannon airport had been used by a cargo aircraft
carrying Apache attack helicopters between the US and
Israel in February.
A spokesman said the department would be reminding aircraft
operators that such military equipment was considered to be
weapons, thus their carriage through Irish airports or
airspace was prohibited unless an exemption was granted.
The aircraft, which stopped overnight en route from the US
to Israel, was carrying three Apache attack aircraft.
The Israeli government has a fleet of the Apache attack
aircraft. In February, one such helicopter killed two
people in Gaza city after it hit two cars carrying Islamic
Jihad militants.
The department spokesman said the cargo aircraft was not
due to land at Shannon on its outbound journey as it was
scheduled to fly via Iceland.
"Our inquiries have established that a last-minute decision
was made by the operator to route the aircraft through
Shannon," he added. "We are advised that this was done so
that a technical problem could be attended to at the
company's maintenance base at Shannon.
"The notification of the change of routing was not sent to
the Department of Transport."
The company in question, Volga-Dnepr, usually provided a
note to the Department of Transport in advance of flights
operating through Ireland, he said.
The department was notified that the aircraft had been due
to stop over at Shannon on the return leg of the journey
when it would have been empty.
However, the spokesman said that it had subsequently
learned "that helicopters were in fact carried on the
return flight through Shannon on 28th February".
Volga-Dnepr believed it did not need an exemption as there
were no weapons or munitions on the helicopters.
"The Department of Transport has informed the company that
the helicopters themselves and similar military equipment
whether air-, sea- or land-based are considered to be
weapons," the spokesman said.
The department would have to consult the departments of
foreign affairs, justice and defence and the Irish Aviation
Authority before granting an exemption under the Air
Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and
Dangerous Goods) Order, 1973.
"If any of those agencies objects to the exemption being
given, then the department will refuse to grant an
exemption," the spokesman said.
Green Party chairman John Gormley called for an
investigation into the matter by the Joint Oireachtas
Committee for Foreign Affairs.
On Saturday, the Irish Independent reported that the
Department of Transport and the Department of Foreign
Affairs had initially denied knowledge of the flight when
questioned by the newspaper.
Mr Gormley said this denial raised serious questions about
the role of the Department of Foreign Affairs.
If it was established that it had covered up the
information, "then the Minister for Foreign Affairs will
have no option but to resign", Mr Gormley said.
The cargo aircraft landed at Shannon hours before the US
president, George W Bush, made a refuelling stopover at the
airport.
© The Irish Times
*************************
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2006/0410/2584755599HM4HOLLANDRELEASE.html
Holland Will Not Settle In Ireland, Says Family
10/04/2006
The man named in court as having shot dead Veronica Guerin
almost 10 years ago will not settle in Ireland following
his release from prison, a family spokesman has said.
Patrick Eugene "Dutchy" Holland (66) was released from
Portlaoise Prison in the early hours of Saturday morning
after serving nine years of a 12-year sentence for drugs
offences.
He later flew from Dublin to Rome, where he plans to
undergo a lie-detector test as early as today.
He believes the test will back his assertion that he did
not shoot Veronica Guerin.
His nephew, James Holland, last night told The Irish Times
that although his uncle would return to Dublin later this
week for a series of planned media interviews, he would not
settle in Ireland.
"He has to find a place to live but it won't be here.
Settling in Ireland would be out of the question as far as
he is concerned after all that's happened and has been said
about him."
Mr Holland flew to Rome with his legal adviser, Giovanni di
Stefano, who claims to have advised a number of well-known
figures, including Saddam Hussein. A television crew from
Sky News Ireland accompanied them, according to James
Holland.
They recorded a series of interviews over the weekend,
which will be broadcast tonight. He also plans to do a
number of interviews with Irish newspapers in which he is
expected to repeat his claim that he was not the gunman who
killed Veronica Guerin.
Mr Holland, who was a member of the John Gilligan drugs
gang, was originally sentenced to 20 years, but this was
reduced in 1998 to 12 years after he appealed the sentence
to the Court of Criminal Appeal.
© The Irish Times
*************************
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/4893914.stm
Irish Dancing Contest Kicking Off
Thousands of the best Irish dancers from all over the globe
have descended on Belfast, for the highlight of the Irish
dancing calendar.
More than 4,000 competitors are at the week-long World
Irish Dancing Championships, which began on Sunday.
More than half of the competitors at the event are from
outside Ireland.
It is estimated that 250,000 people now take Irish dancing
classes across the world, thanks to the success of
Riverdance and the Lord of the Dance.
Some 314 schools of dance and 11 countries including
Austria, Hungary, France and the USA are represented in
Belfast.
More than 2,000 solo competitors and 2,000 team dancers
will take part in the eight days of events.
The programme is made up of 35 competitions across age
groups from under 11s to 21 years and over.
The 36th Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne (World Irish Dancing
Championships), in association with Celebrate Belfast 2006,
is taking place at the Belfast Waterfront Hall until next
Sunday.
One of the organisers, Seamus O'Shea, said Belfast was a
great place to host the championships.
"It is the most serious event in the world for Irish
dancers," he said.
"A lot of people mock the idea of a world championship as
though we are getting above our station.
"But it has turned out to be one of the most fantastic
events in the world - Belfast and ourselves have a
partnership that is going to continue."
Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2006/04/10 05:59:34 GMT
© BBC MMVI
*************************
http://www.sinnfein.ie/news/detail/13803
Doherty - 1916 Rising Was For All The People Of Ireland
Published: 9 April, 2006
Sinn Féin Vice President Pat Doherty, speaking at the
party's selection convention in Kerry North this weekend,
said 'The 1916 Rising was for all the people of Ireland.
The best memorial to the men and women of 1916 is an
Ireland in which the principles of the Proclamation are put
into effect - an Irish Republic worthy of its name."
Mr. Doherty said:
"Next weekend republicans across Ireland will gather
throughout the country to commemorate the 1916 Rising. This
will include, for the first time in many years, an official
State event in Dublin.
"But simply commemorating the events of Easter 1916 is not
enough. Learning the lessons of 1916 means putting the
issue of Irish unity at the top of the political agenda. It
means the Irish government driving forward a process which
will deliver national reunification.
"The 1916 Rising was for all the people of Ireland. It
belongs to no one group and nor should it. The actions of
the men and women of Easter Week 90 years ago were a beacon
of hope for oppressed people across the world. Their
proclamation was a visionary and revolutionary document,
which is as relevant today as it was then, especially given
that many of its aspirations remain unfulfilled.
We don't have a United Ireland - yet. We don't have a
society where all the children of the nation are cherished
equally - yet. But we in Sinn Féin believe that we can
achieve those aims and create a better society for everyone
on this small island - Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter,
people of all religions and none, Irish citizens and new
communities in our country alike, and we believe that we
have a strategy to get there.
"The best memorial to the men and women of 1916 is an
Ireland in which the principles of the Proclamation are put
into effect - an Irish Republic worthy of its name."
Commenting on the auctioning of priceless documents
associated with the 1916 Rising Mr. Doherty said:
"It is a disgrace that in the week of the 90th anniversary
of the 1916 Rising that priceless historical documents are
being auctioned off in our capital city. The Government
should immediately intervene with emergency legislation to
prevent this sell-out of our heritage." ENDS
*************************
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2006/0410/2927155639HM6BERTIESPEECH.html
Proclamation Shook The World In 1916 And Still Challenges Us Now
10/04/2006
Speech by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern at the opening of the
commemorative exhibition on the Easter 1916 Rising at the
National Museum, Collins Barracks, Dublin.
Today, Ireland begins a week of remembrance, reconciliation
and renewal. We remember, we commemorate and we celebrate
the lives, the sacrifices and the achievements of our
patriot dead. We do so in a spirit that is at once both
justly proud and wisely thoughtful.
Today, I have the privilege of opening the official
exhibition of the 1916 Rising. I want to thank Minister
John O'Donoghue for his strong interest and support of this
exciting project. The director of the museum, Dr Pat
Wallace, and the curators of this exhibition, Michael Kenny
and Sandra McElroy, have put together a fascinating montage
of life before, during and after the Rising.
Jenny Hodgson and Hannah Johnston have undertaken
painstaking conservation work on the artefacts on display.
I would also like to thank Kathleen O'Keeffe and the
O'Keeffe family, and Ita Kavanagh and Áine Uí Shuilleabhán
for their recent donations of 1916 artefacts to the museum.
And I would like to acknowledge Beverly Figgis, wife of the
late Walter Figgis, grandson of Art O'Muraghan, who was the
creator of Leabhar na hAiséirghe. You have all contributed
to a quality exhibition, enabling this museum to fulfil its
very important public role in recalling and explaining the
birth of independent Ireland.
I also want to thank those at the museum for your decision
to conserve the Asgard. The historic Asgard is
intrinsically linked to the Rising. Work will begin later
this year on its conservation and it is intended that the
vessel will be on public exhibition from August 2009.
We are privileged to have an important body of archival
material from the struggle for independence. Through the
work of the Military History Bureau, we have detailed
knowledge of what happened from a wide range of
perspectives.
The State also has a large body of material which has been
previously unavailable to scholars and the public. The
Military Pensions Archive, which relates to the "Old IRA"
pensions, number some 17,000 successful applications. These
are the detailed records of an entire movement and not just
the leadership.
To mark this anniversary, it is the Government's intention
to make this material available to all. Accordingly I have
the pleasure to announce that I am establishing a working
group, to be chaired by my department, that will report
back before the end of this year on the requirements to
preserve, archive and digitise these records, having due
regard to any privacy requirements.
Over the coming years and certainly in good time for the
100th anniversary in 2016, we will ensure that these
detailed records of a nation's struggle for independence
are properly preserved and made available.
The Government has planned this 90th anniversary
commemoration of the Easter Rising so that Ireland properly
remembers her past. In so doing, we, her citizens, can more
clearly understand the present and better plan for our
shared future. We do this to build upon the enduring legacy
bequeathed to us by the living generations of Irish men and
Irish women who in nine decades of struggle, independence
and achievement built a stable and a democratic Republic.
Because of their struggle and commitment, we are living
today through one of the most exciting times in Ireland's
destiny. The country we inhabit is an island of
unprecedented peace, prosperity and opportunity. An
independent Ireland, once an unlikely dream, is now
reaching its stride and beginning to fulfil the hopes of
those who fought and died for its foundation.
The freedom to plan, decide and implement the policies that
are transforming our country today cannot be taken for
granted. Just as nobody should seek to own Irish history -
nobody should seek to disown it either.
Our history is a shared legacy and a continuous thread.
From the Proclamation in 1916, to the Constitution in 1937,
to the ratification of the Treaty of Rome in 1972, to the
Good Friday agreement in 1998, the living generations of
Irish people have time and again renewed their hope in the
future.
These four cornerstones of independent Ireland in the 20th
century are the foundations of the future we are building
today and tomorrow.
The Proclamation of the Republic on Easter Monday was a cry
of radical idealism that shook the world in 1916 and that
still challenges us today.
It promulgated "religious and civil liberties, equal rights
and opportunities". In seeking "the establishment of a
permanent National Government, representative of the whole
people of Ireland and elected by the sufferages of all her
men and women", the Rising was a heroic quest not just for
national freedom but for women's emancipation too.
The Proclamation was the foundation of our independent
State. It began an era of nation building that lasted
through the formative years of the Free State and
culminated in the inauguration of the Irish Constitution in
1937.
Bunreacht na hÉireann began the longest period of
continuity under a written constitution enjoyed by any
country in Europe. This is a continuity we enjoy today. Our
Constitution is an enduring legal bedrock for our relations
with one another and with the State. It is a fount of
justice that has been very largely successful in its
intended aim of ensuring equality before the law.
In 1937, 21 years after the Proclamation, its adoption
marked Ireland's coming of age as a State.
Next year, Ireland will celebrate 70 years of
constitutional continuity and evolution in a strong and
stable democracy.
In 1972, we ratified the Treaty of Rome and joined the
European Economic Community in the following year. In so
doing, Ireland built upon her history of active membership
in the United Nations and took her place among the nations
of the earth. Through our membership of the European Union,
we have emerged as a confident and achieving nation, sure
of our place in the world.
Over a decade previously, Seán Lemass had opened
negotiations for Ireland's entry to the Community. He said
in 1961 that "Ireland belongs to Europe by history,
tradition and sentiment no less than by geography. Our
destiny is bound up with that of Europe". Advocating
Ireland's entry to the Community in the 1970s, Jack Lynch
summed up our choice as being "the choice faced by Robinson
Crusoe when the ship came to bring him back into the world
again".
The decision to join the European Union was the moment when
a confident and hopeful Ireland left behind what had become
the dated and sterile ideology of "ourselves alone".
The culmination of our shared achievement in the 20th
century was the Good Friday agreement. This was the unique
instance in Irish history of a revolution without a
rebellion. It was a milestone on the road to peace and
justice on our island. It provides the legal basis, by way
of an international treaty, for the peaceful reunification
of the island of Ireland with consent and by exclusively
democratic means.
Today, reconciliation is replacing rebellion. Peace is
replacing sectarian strife. A democratically agreed
framework for a shared future is replacing conflict on our
island.
Looking back over 90 years, we can say with confidence that
the living generations have sought to honour the sacrifice
of the men and women of 1916. Today, we face new challenges
- the challenges of success, of prosperity and above all
the challenge that we face to our values.
Patriots today are people who are at least as fully aware
of the needs of their community as they are of their own
individual rights. Whereas the rights of the individual
have been hard won and are rightly deserving of protection,
Ireland now needs to develop a strong and corresponding
sense of duty and of community. If our rights as
individuals embolden us to be strong, it is our
responsibilities to one another that remind us to be
respectful.
It is real and genuine mutual respect that builds a truly
strong society.
Citizenship cannot be delegated
or outsourced. Citizenship comes with duties as well as
rights. Being a citizen of this Republic means being
tolerant, being respectful of the views of others, having a
real civic responsibility and being welcoming to the new
Irish who are coming to make their home here.
Ireland has a deep tradition of active engagement by its
citizens in every aspect of our national life and culture.
During decades when the capacity of the State was limited
by a lack of resources, it was the commitment of the Irish
people that so often, formally and informally, provided
social services, community leadership as well as a sporting
and cultural life for our people.
Today, when the scarcest resource of all is time, this role
of active participation is being devolved to fewer and
fewer people. In the process, we all risk being
impoverished, especially those who opt out and leave the
responsibilities of citizenship to others.
We need to identify and understand how public policy helps
and hinders active engagement. We need to identify
practical steps to encourage more of our people to become
involved and to stay involved in the life of their own
community.
At the beginning of the 21st century, Ireland needs to
reimagine a new culture of active citizenship to build a
vibrant civic society.
Our Republic transcends the boundary of our personal
interests and our private property. The Republic is our
shared and common need, our interests and our expectations.
It is young and old, rich and poor, city and country,
Gaelgeoir and new arrival alike.
In this Republic we are citizens, not subjects. And, it is
as citizens that we remember our past, reconcile our
differences and renew our hope for the future. Our civic
duty calls on us to look beyond our purely private roles
and rights as consumers to our active roles and
responsibilities as citizens.
Active citizens shape strong societies. The more we involve
ourselves in shaping our society locally, the more our
society nationally will reflect and meet our needs.
Society is not abstract. It does not belong to others. It
is the sum of our actions and our choices as citizens. We
can sit back and allow this new Ireland to happen to us and
hope for the best. Or like the patriots we commemorate
today, we can commit ourselves to shaping a better future
for our children and our grandchildren.
We, the people, can imagine anew how to meet the challenge
of remaining a society that is marked by solidarity and not
by selfishness.
Few of us will ever be asked to die for our country. At the
beginning of this week of remembrance, reconciliation and
renewal, we should remember our parents and grandparents,
the living generations who succeeded Pearse, Connolly,
Clarke, Ceannt, MacDiarmada, MacDonagh and Plunkett.
They honoured their country by the lives they lived and by
the sacrifices they made - sacrifices they made for us, the
generations who succeeded them.
It is our challenge, indeed it is our calling as citizens,
to honour our country in the way we live and in the esteem
we attach to achieving the public good over purely personal
satisfaction.
This Easter, we must renew our republicanism by marrying
new ideas to steadfast values. We must begin a great
national conversation on what it means to be Irish, on the
values that we hold and on the hopes that we cherish.
We have a duty to honour the dead generations who have gone
before us. In the coming week, Ireland will again discharge
that duty. We also have a solemn duty to vindicate the
living generations who will come after us, to leave to
them, as was left to us, a country that has profited from
the continuing dedication, generosity and commitment of its
people.
© The Irish Times
*************************
http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0409/1916.html?rss
Ahern Opens 1916 Rising Exhibition
09 April 2006
The Taoiseach has said next Sunday's 1916 commemoration
will be a celebration of the Irish Army and of what Ireland
has achieved over the last 90 years.
Speaking at the opening of a new exhibition on 1916 in
Collins Barracks, Bertie Ahern rejected suggestions that
the parade could be seen as pro-IRA.
At the ceremony he called on Irish people to renew their
republicanism by marrying new ideas to steadfast values.
Mr Ahern said Irish people must begin a 'great national
conversation on what it means to be Irish, on the values we
hold and cherish'.
He said we have a duty to honour the dead generations but
also to vindicate the generations who will come after us.
The 1916 exhibition looks at the main events of Easter
week, as well as the wider historical context, from the
Dublin Lockout of 1913, through to the end of the Civil War
in 1923.
An original copy of the Proclamation of Independence,
donated to the Museum last month, occupies a central
position in the exhibition.
Mr Ahern also said next Sunday's commemoration of the 1916
Easter Rising will be an expression of the country's pride
at its achievements and a celebration of its egalitarian
ideals.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio's This Week, he said that those who
signed the proclamation and led the Rising refused to
accept limited devolution in a truncated Ireland within the
British empire.
The Taoiseach added that they had established the principle
that no country had the right to govern another without its
consent.
*************************
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5332680
Irish History On The Auction Block
(Listen -
http://www.npr.org/dmg/dmg.php?prgCode=WESUN&showDate=09-Apr-2006&segNum=14&NPRMediaPref=RM&getAd=1 )
Weekend Edition Sunday, April 9, 2006 · This month,
Ireland marks the 90th anniversary of a rebellion against
the British, known as the Easter Rising. Although the
violent uprising was unsuccessful, it is considered an
important stepping-stone in the eventual creation of the
Irish Republic.
Coinciding with the anniversary, two auctions houses in
Ireland -- Mealy's and James Adam & Son -- will hold a
joint sale of documents and memorabilia charting the
history of the Irish struggle for independence. The auction
takes places this Wednesday.
Fonsie Mealy, managing director of Mealy's Auctioneers in
Castlecomer, County Kilkenny, tells Liane Hansen about the
auction.
*************************
http://www.breakingnews.ie/2006/04/10/story253378.html
Original Draft Of National Anthem Fails To Sell At Auction
10/04/2006 - 08:06:46
The original, hand-written draft of the Irish national
anthem was reportedly withdrawn from auction last night
after failing to reach its target price.
The manuscript, signed by author Peadar Kearney, went on
sale at the RDS last night as part of an auction of
historic memorabilia to coincide with the 90th anniversary
of the 1916 Rising.
Reports this morning said bidding started at €300,0000 and
the document attracted a top offer of €460,000, but this
was still below the target price and the item was not sold.
However, the reports said it was expected to be sold later
today after negotiations with the bidder.
*************************
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2006/0410/2516316467HM61916EVENTS.html
1916 Events: Ceremonies Countrywide
John Downes
10/04/2006
Next weekend's military parade to mark the 90th anniversary
of the Easter Rising is just one of a number of events to
coincide with the occasion.
Last Thursday, Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea unveiled a
plaque at the Curragh honouring the signatories of the
Proclamation of Independence.
Meanwhile, many local and community organisations around
the country are organising their own events, including
lectures and exhibitions, to mark the occasion. Members of
the public are advised to check locally for details of
these events.
Dublin City Library is also planning to host its own day-
long 1916 commemoration on April 21st next, while An Post
is to issue a commemorative stamp.
Following a small wreath-laying ceremony in Kilmainham Gaol
earlier on Sunday, the parade will depart from Dublin
Castle via Dame Street to Westmoreland Street.
President Mary McAleese will then arrive at the GPO, where
the national flag will be lowered on the roof of the
building.
This will be followed by the reading of the Proclamation,
after which the Taoiseach will invite the President to lay
a wreath.
A minute's silence will then be observed in memory of those
who died, and the flag will be raised to full mast.
This will be followed by the playing of the National
Anthem, with the parade continuing on through O'Connell
Street to Parnell Square. Large screens will be placed
along the route for the public.
The parade will be followed by a State reception later in
the evening at Dublin Castle.
© The Irish Times
*************************
http://www.breakingnews.ie/2006/04/09/story253307.html
Lightning Possibly To Blame For Man's Death On Mountain
09/04/2006 - 15:15:29
The man found dead on the top of a mountain in Co Down may
have been struck by lightning.
Police say a post mortem on the body found nothing
suspicious.
The dead man, who is thought to have been in his 30s, was
found on Slieve Donard in the Mourne mountains yesterday by
a group of walkers.
A coastguard helicopter from Dublin brought police and a
doctor to the summit where he was discovered.
*************************
http://www.breakingnews.ie/2006/04/09/story253306.html
End Of 'Your Honour' For Judges
09/04/2006 - 14:49:05
Irish judges will be receiving a more simple address in the
future after a courts rules committee voted to dispense
with the British titles which have been used in Irish
courtrooms since the 1100s.
Instead of being referred to as "your honour" and "your
worship", they will now be known as "judge".
The Minister for Justice Michael McDowell is expected to
receive the proposed amendment this week and sign it into
law.
The new rules would then come into effect after the Easter
recess.
*************************
http://www.breakingnews.ie/2006/04/09/story253256.html
Spire Finally Accepted By Dubliners
09/04/2006 - 10:18:35
It seems Dublin's Spire is finally being accepted by
Dubliners.
A new survey published today shows that the controversial
monument has now taken its place alongside Clery's clock
and Trinity College as one of the main symbols of the city.
The Spire, which cost almost €5m to construct, went up in
2003 to replace Nelson's Pillar, which was blown up in
1966.
The research carried out by the Dublin City Business
Association also found that the capital has a number of
areas that are considered "no-go" after dark - including
the boardwalk along the Liffey, Connolly Street and Tara
Street.
*************************
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2006/0410/716253961HM2WATERFORD.html
Museum Digital Archive Wins Web Award
Leah McBride
10/04/2006
A digital image archive of the collection of Waterford
County Museum has won the best small museum website 2006 at
the Museums and The Web International Conference in
Albuquerque, New Mexico.
http://www.dungarvanmuseum.org/exhibit/web
William Fraher, curator of the museum, said: "We realised
there were lots of interesting photographs people had in
their houses and drawers . . . and maybe we should make an
effort to start a collection."
William Whelan, the museum's president, said there were
2,405 images on the website, with a goal of adding 50 more
each week. The images include photos, postcards, paintings
and drawings.
Mr Whelan and his brother, Martin, are software web
designers with Dungarvan web design company Déise Design.
They decided to take the digital archive route because it
gives people the most access for the lowest cost.
The museum's annual budget is €7,000, but the project was
created at no cost to the museum through volunteer work.
The Waterford County Library provides free server space to
store the digital images and the Heritage Council gave a
€2,800 grant to buy computer equipment.
William Whelan and his brother scan the images at large
sizes and use algorithms to bring them down to size. "If
there is a leak or fire or someone loses them, they can be
recreated perfectly," he said. "We're getting lots of
comments from experts outside our knowledge base. We're
getting lots of questions and mysteries answered."
By putting the images on line, more people know they can
send in historical images to add to the collection and more
experts have access to the growing collection.
© The Irish Times
----
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