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news report
 Sunday November 24, 2002 19:36 by ...
 Paul Durcan's comment on revisionist Sinn Fein not bothered with link and summary Poet Durcan sickened by Adams as the Santa Claus of Irish history IT WAS an attack from visceral depths, a gut-wrench of revulsion at a Sinn Fein publicity stunt. On the Pat Kenny Show, poet Paul Durcan aimed unflinchingly at Sinn Fein's most celebrated figurehead. In an open letter to Gerry Adams and taken from Durcan's diaries, the poet was pulling no punches. "The stomach of my soul seizes up and I wonder if the neighbours can hear me as I retch," he said. " . . . all those hundreds and hundreds of unique, individual human beings murdered, many of them much more interesting and decent people than you or I, Gerry Adams. All of them dumped into the trashcan of history, their rotting arms and legs hanging out of bins everywhere, on estates and on seashores and on derelict bogs." At issue was a photograph of Gerry Adams at Stormont, posing with the Sam Maguire Cup and the six-month-old son of Sinn Fein politician Michelle Gildernew. The shot, published on the front page of the Irish Times, was for Paul Durcan the culminating revisionism of 30 years of bloody history, transformed into smiling myth. "This marvellous photograph of you as a benign, handsome, gentle godfather . . . fills me with such despair that my eyes leak tears," Durcan said, "tears of anguish that you did what you did and that you have been rewarded with victory. I have no choice but to accept your victory but I cannot forgive you for what you did." Durcan recalled an incident when he was watching the television news in 1976 with his daughter Saorla, then six years old. On the screen was the image of a pool of blood, and the newsreader announced that a Protestant had been shot dead in Newry. Saorla looked up and asked her father, "What is a Protestant, Daddy?" "I cannot forgive you," Durcan told Adams in the broadcast. "It's not a matter of intellectual choice; I cannot forgive you." Though the Sinn Fein leader "had lawful ideals", the poet argued, none could justify even a single death. He recalled again the Newry murder in 1976. "Do you remember the man's name?" he asked. "Let us cradle that man's skull in the Sam Maguire cup . . . and, holding it up to the TV camera, let us contemplate the brain cells of his skull, the beautifully intricate structures of his grey matter, the circuitry of his pre-frontal cortex, the Plasticene of his frontal lobes." Durcan finished with a vision of the future, a leapfrog forwards to the time when the six-month-old Emmet Gildernew has reached the age of 18. Sinn Fein would by then be the strongest party in all Ireland, Durcan conjectured. "You yourself will be in your early 70s and you will be ensconced in Aras an Uachtarain as president of the Republic of Ireland, and all the people will be saying 'Isn't President Adams the best president we've ever had?"' said Paul Durcan. The poet questioned the decision of the Irish Times to print the publicity photograph so prominently. It showed Gerry Adams as a father-figure, he said, a model of benevolence, the "Santa Claus of Irish history, father of all that has been, is and is to come". He went on to describe the picture as depicting the Sinn Fein leader as "the Queen Victoria of modern Irish history, smiling dotingly at his Little Lord Fauntleroy popping up out of the silverware." "I refuse to accept it, now or ever," Durcan concluded. STEPHEN DODD |
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Comments (17 of 17)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17Paul Durcan has gained my lifetime admiration, not as an individual, but as a representative of the silent majority of people who have had to live with Adams and his ilk, and their butchery of a generation in our name.
How well Durcan describes what all decent people would wish to be able to say. Its unfortunate it was not said years ago, but of course we all know that he would have been shot, or intimidated, or had to move home. Thats peace for you.
The "poets" version of recent history is just a little one sided, I wonder has he written any really tear jerking "poems" dedicated to the bloody sunday victims, to Pat Finucane, Rosemary Nelson and the victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings?
Incidentally, there was no victory for any side in the northern conflict. SF simply realised that a United Ireland could never be achieved without the consent of the majority community.
Yes, but then you don't see the SAS murderers on TV with their wee kiddies portraying themselves as kindly and trustable interfaces between the capitalists and the masses do you? You don't see the Paratroopers leering at you and thanking you for your vote.
It's one-sided, but then so is the uncritical adulation that Sinn Fein and it's support for "armed struggle" get around indymedie.
you see plenty of ex brit army officers going into politics after serving in the north.
paddy ashdown, ids.
as usdual what we have here is pne sided condemnation.
nothing about the children murdered by the brits.
nothing about the loyalist daeth squads set up & armed by the brits. if dantes vision of hell is reality then durcan will join the hypocrites in their happy circle.
i still find it amazing that despite the millions of ordinary people massacred throughout the world by imperialism & their lackeys from 1970 - 1996, some still concentrate on condemning the ira.
"one murder made a villain, millions a hero"
porteus
The comments about his reaction to the SAS murders or the murders of Pat Finucane and Rosemary Nelson are to the point. You don't hear him about that. Or about Trimble's complicity with the UDA during the 1974 UWC strike, for example. One of the UDA's little gems at exactly that time was the simultaneous no-warning bombing in three locations in Dublin and Monaghan, killing thirty three people. It was carried out, with British intelligence complicity and back up (much too sophisticated to do on their own) by a gang comprising UDR, RUC Special Branch and British military intelligence personnel (The same british state pseudo-gang is thought to be responsible for at least 120 deaths, see link above.
Durcan wrote a poem in the wake of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings .... blaming the IRA!
The bombings in Dublin and Monaghan were claimed by the Portadown UVF, but it is known that there was also UDA involvement, as well as RUC Special Branch, UDR and Military Intelligence. See link below
Why is it that whenever someone raises the question of Provo attrocities they respond by raising the brutalities of others and never addressing their own.
It is valid for Paul Durcan to raise these issues because they were real. It is just as valid for others to raise the murders of Rosemary Nelson, Pat Finucane and many others because they too were real, but it is not valid to counterpose the two as if one somehow balanced out the other.
Nothing the Nazis ever did could justify the Dresden bombing by the British, but that doesn't in any way excuse the Nazis for their murderous and insane brutality.
Durcan is right. Adams and Co. have been raised to sainthood by official Ireland. Their massive publicity has helped them win five Dail seats and numerous council seats around the country. They have learned well from Albert Speer, Himmler and Goebbels. The people love pageantry whether it be swastikas and medieval knights in Nuremberg or tricolours and demonstrators on the Garvaghy Road or Ardoyne.
"Unser Tag Kommt - Tiocfaidh Ár Lá"
Your comparisons of the republican movement are as facile as they are ahistorical. No one denies that the provos committed atrocities, the same chattering classes you condemn for elevating adams nowadays (presumably for bringing one of the longest standing guerilla armies in the world into a peace process) were the ones who for decades poured this kind of slf-righteous scourn on the republican movement while sremaining silent about atrocities in which the british state had ahand or with which unionists were complicit.. for fear of giving offence
if thats what you're looking for alan, then isuggest you look no further than the people who want to march down the garvaghy road, the ardoyne & the lower ormeau rd.
funny how you attack people who just want to keep loyalists out of their area. catholics dont want to march down the shankill rd or the sandy row. you wont find murals celebrating the murder of protestants in republican areas. you will find numerous murals celebrating the murder of catholics in loyalist areas.
substitute the words jew or black for catholic & would you be supporting the right of the british national party or the national front to march through these areas?
and remember it is the loyalists who have links with the BNP & NF & combat 18.
if the Orange Order constitution forbade membership to anyone who had a black or jewish grandparent would you doubt that it is racist?
alan you have truly proved your loyalist credentials. now provide you're not a taig you'll be admitted to the purple arch of the orange order.
Pat you have neatly demonstrated the point I was making.
Firstly you assume I am pro-loyalist because I criticize the Provos. Wrong. I despise loyalism / unionism in all its forms. I am a Republican and I have no time for the anti-Republican politics of Sinn Fein.
And I have not expressed support for either Britain or the US. How could I as a Republican?
Sinn Fein often talk of the "Greening of Ulster" especially the western part of the Six Counties. This is a euphemism for the ethnic cleansing of Ulster Protestants. They've already been ethnically cleansed from much of Donegal, Monaghan and counties where they were once numerous.
Sinn Fein's future strategy in Northern Ireland is based on a sectarian headcount. Out-breed the Prods and we'll vote to join a United Ireland. Never do we hear serious talk of reconciliation among the people of this island to created a United Irish people as opposed to erasing a line on a map.
As for SF and the Nazis I think the analogy is valid. They may not be anti-Semitic (I'm not sure due to small number of Jews in Ireland) but they replace Jews with Protestants. Their tactics certainly mirror fascist tactics. Nailing victims to fences, kneecapping, beating with cudgels and baseball bats. Not to mention shootings. Horst Wessel would be proud of them.
the truth is that the Provos can't take it when these issues are raised. They defend themselves through attack. Anyone against them is a unionist, loyalist thug.
"Firstly you assume I am pro-loyalist because I criticize the Provos. Wrong. I despise loyalism / unionism in all its forms. I am a Republican and I have no time for the anti-Republican politics of Sinn Fein."
i assume you are a loyalist because you attack the people of the ardoyne & garvaghy road whose only crime is to want to live in peace.
"And I have not expressed support for either Britain or the US. How could I as a Republican?"
as a US republican you could. you have chosen to ignore the millions of victims of imperialism & concentrate on attacking the defensive violence of republicans.
"Sinn Fein often talk of the "Greening of Ulster" especially the western part of the Six Counties. This is a euphemism for the ethnic cleansing of Ulster Protestants. They've already been ethnically cleansed from much of Donegal, Monaghan and counties where they were once numerous."
you are turning reality on its head. catholics are being ethnically cleansed all over the six counties. the ruc/psni accept that 90% of sectarian attacks are carried out by loyalists.
there were no pogroms in monaghan & donegal as you well know.
"Sinn Fein's future strategy in Northern Ireland is based on a sectarian headcount. Out-breed the Prods and we'll vote to join a United Ireland. Never do we hear serious talk of reconciliation among the people of this island to created a United Irish people as opposed to erasing a line on a map."
this is a lie. interesting though that you think a protestant majority has a right to stay out of a united ireland but a catholic majority doesnt have a riught to join a united ireland.
"As for SF and the Nazis I think the analogy is valid."
how? you give no logical reasons.
"They may not be anti-Semitic (I'm not sure due to small number of Jews in Ireland) "
yes republicans are not anti semitic. loyalists are anti semitic. they took down the israeli flags when their english fascist friends were visiting. your comment about the size of the jewish population makes no sense.
"but they replace Jews with Protestants. "
you are turning reality on its head. catholics are being ethnically cleansed from large areas of the six counties.
"Their tactics certainly mirror fascist tactics. Nailing victims to fences, kneecapping, beating with cudgels and baseball bats. Not to mention shootings."
its loyalists who nailed the guy to the defence.
"Horst Wessel would be proud of them."
no he would be proud of the loyalists. they are the ones who sing the nazi songs.
"the truth is that the Provos can't take it when these issues are raised. They defend themselves through attack. Anyone against them is a unionist, loyalist thug."
i'm not a provo. i have many points of disagreement with sf.
but i will defend them against the lies & distortions put about by a southern unionist like you.
Pat C says he's not a Provo yet he accuses me of being a loyalist. I repeat I am ANTI LOYALIST.
He saying that my republicanism is that of the US Republican Party. What a load of horse shite. I am a Socialist Republican and proud of it.
Pat C hasn't responded to any of the real issues I raised, but merely seeks to attack my credentials.
I am not attacking the people of Garvaghy Road or Ardoyne, merely the provo agents provocateur who are stirring trouble. Nor do I have any difficulty condemning the UVF / LVF/ UDA thugs either. Unlike Pat C I do not equivocate.
Admit it Pat YOU ARE A PROVO
"Pat C says he's not a Provo yet he accuses me of being a loyalist. I repeat I am ANTI LOYALIST."
you show your anti loyalism in a strange way. you lie about the ethnic cleansing in the north being carried out by loyalists. i think you have shown yourself to be a loyalist.
"He saying that my republicanism is that of the US Republican Party. What a load of horse shite. I am a Socialist Republican and proud of it."
you have shown no socialism or republicanism so far.
"Pat C hasn't responded to any of the real issues I raised, but merely seeks to attack my credentials. "
i have dealt with all of the issues you have raised. i have exposed your lies.
"I am not attacking the people of Garvaghy Road or Ardoyne, merely the provo agents provocateur who are stirring trouble."
yes you are attacking the people of the garvaghy road & the ardoyne. you ignore the fact that these people elect republicans to represent them. you ignore the fact that 90% of sectarian attacks come from loyalists.
"Nor do I have any difficulty condemning the UVF / LVF/ UDA thugs either."
by your lies about the ethnic cleansing you are effectively supporting the UVF / LVF/ UDA thugs .
"Unlike Pat C I do not equivocate."
i dont equivocate, i tell the truth about ethnic cleansing. you lie.
1.you lie about the ethnic cleansing.
2.you lie about the % of sectarian attacks carried ot by loyalists.
3. you lie about the situation on the garvaghy road.
4. you lie about the situation in the ardoyne.
5. you lie about fascism. it is the loyalists who have links with fascists.
i have already exposed these lies of yours. but you just ignore it. you cannot handle reality.
"Admit it Pat YOU ARE A PROVO"
i am not a member of sinn fein. (if i was, i would hardly have been secretary of Libertarians Against Nice)
i am a socialist republican libertarian who defends the right of the republican community in the north to defend themselves against the ethnic cleansing being carried out by loyalist
by spreading your lies you have aligned yourself with the UVF / LVF/ UDA thugs & their fascist allies in the BNP, NF & Combat 18.
More Irish were killed in the first hour of the battle of the Somme that the republican movement has killed in the last 200 yrs. Durcan has discovered that people are killed in war. Shocking.
Durcan could have written his comments about any of the parties involved in the sad saga of Northern Ireland. It is equally applicable to all. The poem below describes war. The last line a possible reason why. Our "Ministers", elected or self appointed in our name have been responsible for carnage, death, and destruction of minds and communities. In my name..
It is a sad fact that no party, especially parties of persons using this board, can not admit their wrongdoing. So much for a "truth commission".How would it go, one side would still justify everything they did through lies and rhetoric.
I spent a year in former Yugoslavia during the civil wars, and met many Irish peace keepers, who were held in highest esteem. It is so sad that we can only "peace keep" abroad.
Enjoy the poem, and interpret to your own satisfaction.
Lullaby by William Blake
O for a voice like thunder, and a tongue
To drown the throat of war! - When the senses
Are shaken, and the soul is driven to madness,
Who can stand? When the souls of the oppressed
Fight in the troubled air that rages, who can stand?
When the whirlwind of fury comes from the
Throne of God, when the frowns of his countenance
Drive the nations together, who can stand?
When Sin claps his broad wings over the battle,
And sails rejoicing in the flood of Death;
When souls are torn to everlasting fire,
And fiends of Hell rejoice upon the slain,
O who can stand? O who hath caused this?
O who can answer at the throne of God?
The Kings and Nobles of the Land have done it!
Hear it not, Heaven, thy Ministers have done it!
How dare he compare a child, an innocent creature of Gods own hands, to a skull, breains leaking, a product of mans evil, this is disgusting and vile, as a poet he should know better than to juxtapose innocence with bruality on such a local scale.
DISGUSTING