Missed the Eurovision last night...........

Do to prior social commitments, I missed the Eurovision Song Contest from Moscow last night. It very much saddened me, but provided much hilarity within my social group as we marched from pub to pub, while all along the way I tried to catch updates and sneak a quick look.........

The 'not so United Kingdom' done better this year having to bring in the big gun, Andrew Lloyd Webber, to improve on last years very poor performance of finishing nearly last, or was it actually last place????

I admit that anything the 'UK' are involved in and subsequently lose at, kind of makes my day and may seem rather childish to some, but I make no apologies for this and any notion that I am somehow being 'unreasonable' in laughing at the failures of the 'UK' in mostly anything (be it athletics, football, Falkland Islands or even Afghanistan!).

I particularly blame my mother for the way I am. My mother was a great lover of athletics and during the 1970's & 80's Ireland had some world class long distance runners like Eamon Coughlan and John Tracy.............at the same time everyone remembers Coe, Ovett and Cram. There was hardly ever a time when all these runners did not come head to head and as we were forced to watch most of these races through BBC Television it lives strong in my memory my mother cheering on Coughlan and Tracy while the BBC commentators in the most jingoistic of terms provided the same for Coe, Ovett and Cram, and you could often hear the exasperation in their voices when some upstarts from a little country like Ireland, could have the audacity to finish ahead of them!!

So yes, I stand accused of cheering on everyone and anyone that the 'not so United Kingdom' come up against and make no apologies or feel any regret....Here's to you Eamon Coughlan....!!!!!!!!

A Liverpool Irish hero...................

This blog is not all about me and my thoughts as you've probably gathered, but also includes articles of interest that influence me and our community as a whole. Below is a very good article on John Lennon and how his 'Irishness' has been fairly successfully airbrushed from history, but more recently, this aspect to John lennon and his makeup is becoming more and more prominent..........and lets not forget, Liverpool airport is named after him!!!!..enjoy.....

John Lennon and the Irish question by Seán Mac Mathúna

Well it was Sunday bloody SundayWhen they shot the people thereThe cries of thirteen martyrsFilled the Free Derry airIs there any one amongst youDare to blame it on the kids?Not a soldier boy was bleedingWhen they nailed the coffin lids!

"Sunday Bloody Sunday" written by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in the aftermath of the massacre by British troops of civil rights protesters in Derry, Ireland during 1972
In my opinion, John Lennon should be recognised as the greatest Irish singer ever: his California-based biographer Jon Wiener after all said that Lennon "thought of himself as Irish." The Irish roots of the two main members of the Beatles, Lennon and Paul McCartney, has not yet been fully acknowledged, despite the fact that Lennon, like McCartney, also had two Irish Grandparents. Incredible then, considering how well known the Irish roots of the world's most popular duo of songwriters - they are for some strange reason, not listed for example in The Guinness Book of Irish Facts and Feats by Ciarán Deane (Guinness Publishing, Enfield, Middlesex, 1984).

The Beatles came from Merseyside - an area around the city of Liverpool which has the largest Irish population in England, mainly as a result of the exodus of people from Ireland during the Great Famine in the 1840's. Early in their career, the Beatles had played in Ireland three times: in Dublin and Belfast in 1963, and once again in Belfast in 1964. It was after the split of the Beatles in 1970, that both Lennon & McCartney began releasing songs about the Irish question - all of which were all banned by the BCC: McCartney wrote Give Ireland Back to Irish which became a hit single in 1972, and Lennon wrote Sunday Bloody Sunday, and The Luck of The Irish, both of which were on the album Some Time In New York City that was also released in 1972.

On one hand The Guinness Book of Irish Facts and Feats informs you, for example, that the Socialist anthem, The Red Flag was written by Jim Connell from Co. Meath in Ireland (d. 1929), and under the heading "Top-selling contemporary Irish and Irish-related popular music artists" it lists only U2, Van Morrison and Bob Geldof. Under the heading "The London Irish", it lists John Lydon from the Sex Pistols (whose father is a Gaelic speaker from Co. Galway), Boy George, Elvis Costello and The Pogues - but nowhere is either Lennon & McCartney, or the Beatles mentioned - but then again neither is another world famous Irish singer - Mary O'Brien - commonly known as Dusty Springfield.

Lennon - like another famous son of Ireland, Che Guevara Lynch - was more Irish than for example than either President Kennedy or Ronald Reagan, but l suspect that the main reason why the Irish state has not given these two proper recognition is because they were both regarded probably as dangerous revolutionaries and atheists - in Lennon's case, for example, he once sang about his opposition to the Catholic Church in Ireland, and expressed outright sympathy with the Irish Republican movement in his song Sunday Bloody Sunday:
Repatriate to BritainAll of you who call it homeLeave Ireland to the IrishNot for London or for Rome!

Lennon's grandfather, John (Jack) Lennon was born in Dublin in 1858, and like many Irish people after the Great Famine of the 1840's - when Britain allowed over a million Irish people to die of starvation - emigrated to Liverpool to seek better prospects of employment. There Jack married an Irishwoman called Mary Maguire and started a family. Sadly, their children, including Alfred, were orphaned early on and grew up in Liverpool orphanages. As his father Alfred Lennon walked out and left him at the age of 5, Lennon never knew either of his Irish grandparents or anything of his Irish roots. This is probably because he was raised by his mother's family, the Stanleys, were Welsh. In later years he became increasingly interested in his Irish ancestry. In 1975, John give his second son the name Seán, the Gaelic version of his own name.

Like many Irish people, John Lennon came from a musical family, in this case a long line of minstrel singers and crooners. His grandfather had earned his living as a minstrel singer, and his great-grandfather was also a known singer in Ireland. Alfred Lennon had also earned extra money singing as a young man also. The Lennon family tradition of crooning, which started back in Ireland, continued with John Lennon, and later through his own son Julian, who released his highly acclaimed debut album Valotte in 1984.

The Irish Question
However, while Lennon and McCartney had not focused upon their Irish roots during their years as members of the Beatles, it definitely attracted their attention after the break-up of the group. This had coincided with the emergence of a civil rights movement in the North of Ireland, which was to prove the catalyst for both Lennon and McCartney to write songs about the Irish question. What triggered this was the massacre by British troops of 14 unarmed civil rights protesters in Derry in 1972, which became immediately known as "Bloody Sunday". McCartney, who had just formed his new group Wings, released their hit single Give Ireland Back to the Irish just four weeks after Bloody Sunday on February 25th 1972. The BBC immediately banned the song, and as a result of the controversy and censorship, some Wings concerts in the UK were picketed, and the brother of Wings guitarist Henry McCullough, a native of Derry, was beaten up by loyalists. Shortly after this, Lennon recorded his song about the incident, Sunday Bloody Sunday, which appeared on his Some Time in New York City album:

Sunday Bloody Sunday (Lennon-Ono)

Well it was Sunday bloody SundayWhen they shot the people thereThe cries of thirteen martyrsFilled the Free Derry air
Is there any one amongst youDare to blame it on the kids?Not a soldier boy was bleedingWhen they nailed the coffin lids!
Sunday bloody SundayBloody Sunday's the day!
You claim to be majorityWell you know that it's a lieYou're really a minorityOn this sweet emerald isle
When Stormont bans our marchesThey've got a lot to learnInternment is no answerIt's those mothers' turn to burn!
Sunday bloody SundayBloody Sunday's the day!
Sunday bloody SundayBloody Sunday's the day!
You anglo pigs and ScottiesSent to colonize the NorthYou wave your bloody Union JackAnd you know what it's worth!
How dare you hold to ransomA people proud and freeKeep Ireland for the IrishPut the English back to sea!
Sunday bloody SundayBloody Sunday's the day!
Well, it's always bloody SundayIn the concentration campsKeep Falls Road free foreverFrom the bloody English hands
Repatriate to BritainAll of you who call it homeLeave Ireland to the IrishNot for London or for Rome!
Sunday bloody SundayBloody Sunday's the day! . . .
From the album Some Time In New York City (1972)

It was during this period that Lennon began to identify himself as Irish, rather than British or Welsh and began to openly support both the Troops Out movement and the Civil Rights movement in the north of Ireland. For instance, in his 1974 Walls and Bridges album, Lennon included a booklet contained a history of the Lennon name, in the form of the entry from Irish Families, Their Names, Arms and Origins by Edward MacLysaght. The name Lennon is an anglicised form of 'O Leannain' which historically has been common in counties Fermanagh and Galway. The entry ends with, "No person of the name Lennon has distinguished himself in the political, military or cultural life of Ireland (or England for that matter)", under which John wrote in this own handwriting, 'Oh yeh? John Lennon!'. However, in an updated version More Irish Families (Irish Academic Press, Dublin, Ireland, 1982), MacLysaght writes:
"(0) LENNON: Since the 4th edition of Irish Families was published John Lennon, an outstanding member of the Beatles group, assassinated in 1980, has become well known outside Ireland not only as a talented musician but also for his connection With the peace movement."

The FBI files on Lennon's Irish political links
In February 2000, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released files that indicated that they had investigated links between Lennon and New York-based Irish Republican activists in the 1970s. These are part of a 300-page Lennon file which the FBI had resisted releasing since his murder in December 1980. Altogether, 80 pages were released after a court settlement with Professor Jon Wiener, a California-based Lennon biographer and author of Come Together: John Lennon in His Time (Univ. of Illinois Press, 1984). Wiener said that the files include "the first solid evidence" that the FBI had an interest in Lennon's involvement in Irish issues, as prior to that he had not been aware of the FBI's connecting Irish Republican activists to Lennon in New York. It goes without saying that both MI5 and MI6 would have also had an interest in Lennon and his political activities, and would have shared information with the FBI and the CIA in this regard. In fact, Wiener says a further 10 documents still held by the FBI were "almost definitely" compiled with the help of MI5. The FBI claims that these 10 files are "national security documents" which originated with "a foreign government" (i.e. Britain). Wiener thinks that this probably has something to do with surveillance of Lennon's political activities in the UK as well as his arrest for possession of cannabis in 1968.

Lennon had got involved in Irish politics before Bloody Sunday in January 1972. He supported activists protesting against the policy of internment without trial, which was launched by the British army on 9th August 1971, and resulted in 342 people being arrested without charge in brutal dawn raids that netted very few IRA members, but for example led to the detainment of several members of the civil rights movement. The net was cast so wide and recklessly that within 48 hours 116 people had been released. However, 14 were "selected" by the British army and the R.U.C. to undergo a series of "experiments" in sensory deprivation and other forms of torture. It resulted in Britain being found guilty of using torture by the European Court of Human Rights for the second time - the only country in Europe which has this distinction (the other occasion was the torture of Greek Cypriot resistance fighters in the 1960's). Internment and the massacre at Bloody Sunday were the main reasons for many in the Nationalist community taking the decision to join the IRA and fight back. Lennon appeared at an anti-internment rally in London in August 1971, where he was photographed holding a sign that read: 'Victory for the IRA against British Imperialism !'" When asked how he reconciled his support for nonviolence with his sympathy for the IRA, Lennon stated:
"If it's a choice between the IRA and the British Army, I'm with the IRA. But if it's a choice between violence and non-violence, I'm with non-violence. So it's a very delicate line."
The FBI files also include an informers account of a meeting on February 6th, 1972, at the Irish Institute on W. 48th Street, New York, just seven days after Bloody Sunday. According to the FBI informer, some of the proposals included procuring weapons for the IRA, whilst another called for the boycott of British goods. But one thing that caught the FBI's attention was the willingness of Lennon to offer to perform at an "mass demonstration" organised by the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). The demo however, occurred sooner than expected - next day (February 7th, 1972) in a rally in Manhattan organized by the Transit Workers Union. Lennon joked at the rally how "the police were particularly cooperative as most of them were Irish". He then said that "The purpose of the meeting was to show solidarity with the people who are going to march tomorrow in Northern Ireland" Referring to his Irish ancestry, Lennon told the crowd, "My name is Lennon and you can guess the rest." He added that his native Liverpool was "80% Irish." Then along with Ono he sang "The Luck of the Irish," which was his second song written in reaction to Bloody Sunday:
The Luck Of The Irish (Lennon-Ono)
If you have the luck of the Irish,You'd be sorry and wish you were deadYou should have the luck of the IrishAnd you'd wish you was English instead!
A thousand years of torture and hungerDrove the people away from their land,A land full of beauty and wonderWas raped by the British brigands!Goddamn!Goddamn!
If you could keep voices like flowersThere'd be shamrock all over the world.
If you could drink dreams like the Irish streamsThen the world would be high as the mountain of mornIn the Pool they told us the storyHow the English divided the land,Of the pain, the death and the gloryAnd the poets of auld EirelandIf we could make chains with the morning dewThe world would be like Galway Bay
Let's walk over rainbows like leprechaunsThe world would be one big Blarney stoneWhy the hell are the English there anyway?As they kill with god on their side!Blame it all on the kids and the IRA!As the bastards commit genocideAye! Aye!Genocide!
If you had the luck of the IrishYou should have the luck of the IrishYou'd be sorry and wish you were deadAnd you's wish you were English instead!Yes you'd wish you was English instead!!
From the album Some Time In New York City (1972)

At the time of the rally, Lennon was already in contact with the office of Irish Northern Aid, in New York, an organization which raises money for the families of IRA prisoners and supports Sinn Féin. Furthermore, he assigned all the royalties from The Luck of the Irish to Irish Northern Aid. Although it has been claimed by the former MI5 spy David Shayler that Lennon secretly funded the IRA at the time, this was denied by Yoko Ono, who was said to be upset by newspaper reports that MI5 allegedly had "proof" that Lennon had given money to the IRA according to The Sunday Times (February 22nd 2000).

Whatever the controversy about Lennon's involvement with the Irish Republican movement and his support for Irish freedom, the fact is, he considered himself Irish and therefore should be recognised as such. As The Guinness Book of Irish Facts and Feats points out: "Irishness is not limited to the Island of Ireland". The Great Famine in the 1840's forced out millions of people over the decades that followed it - including Lennon's grandfather. From these people, there are over 60 million people worldwide who consider themselves Irish by heritage (43 million of which are in the USA). Lennon has recently been nominated in Britain the greatest songwriter and performer of the 20th century - it is a shame that Ireland has not bestowed this honour on him as one of it's most famous sons from the Irish Diaspora.



Original article: http://www.fantompowa.net/Flame/john_lennon_irish_roots.htm

Major speech by Adams..........

The following is a speech given by Gerry Adams MP this week re. Irish Unity. I think it is well worth reading as it gives a real insight into current Republican thinking and address issues such as working with Unionists and dissident republicans.........

Delivering Real Change - Published: 23 April, 2009 Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams speaking at a public meeting last night in Galbally, County Tyrone said:

"The goals of Irish republicanism are simply stated - Irish unity and independence; freedom, justice and equality. These are our national and democratic goals and everything we do is set within this context. Republicans can only achieve these goals if we have the active support of citizens across this island. That is what our strategy - our plan - is about achieving. It involves popularising republicanism.

It means making republicanism relevant to citizens in their everyday lives. It means delivering for people across a range of issues which are important to them. It means party building; that is building a strong empowered Sinn Féin organisation across this island.

It means campaigning on social and economic issues, on every issue related to equality. It means thinking nationally and acting locally. It means fighting and winning elections; negotiations; publicity. It means internationalising the struggle.

In summary, it is about building and using political strength to enable us to deliver real change and to achieve our national and democratic goals. Persuading Unionists Partition remains the great immoral interference with Irish national rights.

The Good Friday Agreement transcends partition. It is an all Ireland agreement. Is it good enough? As a settlement? No it is not good enough as a settlement. But then it does not pretend to be a settlement. However because it deals with the issues needed to bring about an accommodation, because it was capable of winning the support of all the main political parties on this island and because it opens up the potential for a settlement in the time ahead, democrats and republicans support the Agreement. Our responsibility is to work the agreement and to build on it in the future. That means defending the Agreement and engaging with unionism on every aspect of it. It means pointing out to them that the main principles are their legal guarantees of fair treatment in a new shared Ireland. It means persuading unionists of the merits of all Ireland co-operation and partnership. It means persuading them of the logic and good sense of Irish unity. This dimension of our work is about dialogue, good neighbourliness, consensus building. It is about eradicating sectarianism. It is about making friends with unionists. It is about nation building.

Organise for Freedom It is also about persuading the British government to do the right thing by Ireland. Lack of time prevents me from dealing with that dimension tonight. Suffice to say that we cannot expect or wait for the British government to do the right thing. We must organise for freedom. The British government will only leave Ireland, when the Irish people - together - demand that they leave. We also must be about maintaining internal republican unity and cohesion and building political alliances. I said earlier that we must act locally and think nationally. Let us be very clear about this. If we are not building locally then we cannot build nationally. I meet republicans all the time who complain about the slow pace of progress. There is validity in that. But struggle is like that, especially this phase of struggle and there really is no room for spectatorism or hurlers on the ditch at this time. We don't have to agree about everything. There is plenty of work to do and room for everyone to do it.

No Place for Militarism, Elitism or Ego Some former activists, including former IRA volunteers, hark back to the 70s or 80s. This is not the 70s or 80s. Some have formed armed groups which purport to be the IRA - the CIRA, the RIRA, Oglaigh na h Éireann, the INLA and the IRLA. None of these groups are the IRA. They have no right to hijack its name or to mimic its actions. They cannot match the IRA for ingenuity, resourcefulness, courage and capacity. The IRA took armed struggle as far as it was possible to take it. They fought when it was a time to fight and they took the initiative leading to an end to conflict and sued for peace when peace became possible by other means. Some involved with these so called dissidents may be genuinely motivated. But that is no excuse. Others are undoubtedly motivated by ego, self gain and opportunism. All actions have to be judged by how they advance the struggle. Militarism, elitism or adventurism is no substitute for strategy, good tactics or common sense. Some take exception to remarks by republican leaders and seize on these in an entirely self serving and negative way. Others threaten to kill us. Or they actually attack our homes or offices. Let me make it clear that Sinn Féin is not going to roll over and surrender our struggle to any of these elements. They will come and they will go and the struggle for freedom will prevail and persist and succeed. We will not be deflected.

Significant Progress has been made 40 years ago the Civil Rights movement began the fightback for equality and human rights. Much has changed since then. Significant progress has been achieved - not least in the fact that there are more republicans now and more Sinn Féin elected representatives today, than in the last 80 years. The Orange State is gone. Its legacy still exists in discrimination, in the inequalities and divisions which persist - not least here west of the Bann - but today republicans and nationalists have made major strides forward and the momentum for change continues. Of course, it may take time for some unionists to catch up with this changing reality but their leaders know that there is no going back to the old days of sectarian domination and two-tier citizenship.

Over a decade ago, when we achieved the Good Friday Agreement, I said that it would be a battle a day making the institutions work. Working and negotiating with the DUP is very like that. Only with some of their representatives the battles are sham fights - more style than substance. Remember this is a party established 40 years ago to oppose Civil Rights; a party which set its face against power sharing. This is a party which pledged to smash Sinn Féin. This is the party that wouldn't take its seats at the Executive table the last time the institutions were in place and which wouldn't attend all-Ireland Ministerial meetings. Where is it today? For the past two years the DUP has been at the Executive table; attending all-Ireland meetings; in government with Sinn Fein, and sharing the office of First and deputy First with Sinn Féin as equals. And their leaders are to be commended for this. But let's be clear about it all. Like the Afrikaners some unionists continue to oppose change. The DUP seeks to end power sharing - what it calls 'mandatory coalition'. They are reluctant partners. They don't like equality. They don't like democracy. They don't like being part of a system which they cannot dominate. But one of our tasks is to keep working with the DUP and other unionists because we believe that they are capable of doing bigger and better things.

As genuine democrats and republicans, we recognise the validity and wisdom of Tone's great call for the unity of Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter and we are committed to bringing this about. Popularise Republicanism In the meantime, as we progress toward that goal, we must ensure that the political institutions are soundly based and deliver equality and justice for every citizen. The relationship between the North of Ireland and Britain has also been fundamentally altered and an increasingly confident republican community is taking co-ownership, as is our right, of every sphere of public, political and institutional life here. A peaceful and democratic path to a united Ireland has been opened up. So, Sinn Féin's historic duty is to popularise republicanism, and to mobilise the Irish Diaspora across the world behind the demand for Irish unity.

For many people the dire economic situation is the number one issue today. Predictions of half a million citizens on the dole by Christmas give some sense of the difficulties facing working people across this island. I noted assertions by DUP ministers after the layoffs at Bombardier, FG Wilson and Visteon that there is little that a devolved administration can do in the face of a global crisis. I disagree. We can always do more. We can be imaginative and innovative. This is particularly the case today when the British Chancellor unveiled his budget. And if we have not enough powers, as the DUP appears to suggest, then it makes economic sense as well as political sense, that we should take whatever powers we need to do the job we are elected to do. Why should we be on the cusp of British Treasury concerns? Why not develop our own economic future across this island? Sinn Féin is working to build an economy which serves the needs of Irish society and not the other way around. While working to improve the quality of life in the here and now, we see a united Irish economy as the best

Who fear's to speak?

It's Easter Sunday and on this day my thoughts are always with the events surounding the 1916 Rising in Dublin against British rule. The Rising remains an inspiration for me and guides my political outlook and how I view the world. It is the case that one of the very first books I read as a child was 'Last Words'. Last Words is a compendium of the last written words of the executed leaders of the Rising to their wives, family and friends. Most of the material of the book comes from letters and statements gathered by many people involved both directly and indirectly in the Rising and it makes for heartbreaking reading at times. I urge anyone to seek a copy.

The Rising remains important for the Liverpool Irish as many of our brothers and sisters took part in the event. Some of the names of those men and women need to be remembered and not forgotten. So lets remember the Kerr family from Bootle, Neill and his three sons Tom, Jack and neill Junior, together with a contingent of volunteers lead by Liam McNeive and the members of the women's auxillary, Cumann Na mBan who represented the Liverpool Irish in the fight for Irish freedom..............

Congrats to the Ireland Rugby team for winning the Grand Slam. Although i'm not an rugby expert or regular fan, it was very heartening to see the scenes in Cardiff yesterday and also the fact that a 32 county Ireland team has been so successful...........judging from my walk through Liverpool city centre yesterday, there were literally hundreds of people out for the game, with Ireland rugby shirts on show everywhere............

Being Irish is not all its craic'd up to be................

Last nights Liverpool Echo newspaper http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/echo-letters/2009/03/19/anichebe-concerns-100252-23180267/ published a very interesting and thought provoking letter from Cllr James Noakes, Clubmoor Ward (Labour) reminding us that while alot of us were celebrating St Patrick's Day, members of our community don't have it so good. In his letter, Cllr Noakes was able to quote from extensive research on the health and social disadvantages suffered by members of the Irish community in England.


Irish Community Care Merseyside is a registered charity and been in existence in Liverpool since the 1960's helping and supporting newly arrived Irish people in this city and offering practical support to those already settled here, especially the elderly. Since its formation, ICCM has grown considerably and now has over 10 staff mainly funding by the Irish Government's DION funding but also from Local Authorities and PCT's etc etc and huge team of volunteer workers. It does provide an excellent service especially to Irish homeless, Travellers and Elderly within the community, with activities across Liverpool and the Wirral.

The work of ICCM and the disadvantage suffered by sections of the Irish community is not something that most of us would be aware of , or in fact, want to know about. It is true that while Ireland prospered economically for most of the 1990's and this decade and became known as the 'Celtic Tiger', this new found prosperity often bypassed the poorest sections of Irish society and as a result emigration continued to occur. Hence the need for such organisations and the need for us all to be mindful of those in need and campaign for better services for our community

More information on the work of ICCM can be had from the following link http://www.irishsocieties.org/about/affiliateinfo/communitycare/irishcommunitycaremerseyside

Happy St Patrick's Day....

Happy St Patrick's Day to everyone...........No parade today in Liverpool, but we'll still enjoy ourselves no doubt..........

As is standard, I take the day off work and the next day of course to get over whatever happens today. It normally starts with a big breakfast/lunch followed by a tour of Liverpool's city centre pubs. Ironically, I tend to stay clear of the Irish pubs as there's normally queues to get in in the first place, queues to get served and the queue is made worse as people start to double up on rounds, and that leads to more queues. Yes, it is very much cicular!!! Also, they are too full and last year a friend went outside to have a cigarette and the bouncers wouldnt let him back in, because it was too full!!!!

There will literally be thousands of people out to celebrate today even though it is a Tuesday and the sooner the economic and political leaders of this city catch on to this and recognise St Patrick's Day something akin to the Beatles festival with the potential to bring in huge revenues to the city over a period of 2/3 days, the better. Perhaps I should write them a letter........

So its Ireland Soccer, rugby and GAA county shirts as fitting attire for today. So it will be easy to spot us........I mean literally so easy to spot. So greetings to eveyone out today and remember, while your sinking your 15th pint of guinness.........there is no tomorrow.............................................................

Hold Your Nerve...........

Hold your nerve.............that's the response that needs to be understood and observed for the coming weeks in light of the killing of 2 British soldiers by the Real IRA 2 days ago. I know that a lot of people within the Irish community will be very uncomfrotable about what has happened and for those older enough to remember living through the war of the 70's, 80's and 90's it no doubt brings back very bad memories and feelings.

The war in Ireland brought put a huge amount of pressure to bear on the Irish community in Liverpool and elsewhere in this country. It brought hardship, fear of violence/retaliation, abuse, and scrutiny from the British State that has left its terrible mark upon members of our community to this day. For some, the war in Ireland meant learning more and developing a deeper understanding of the conflict outside of that expressed through Britain's media and taboloids and thus, being able to develop and express in a confident manner ones own views on the cause of such war i.e. the lack of justice, policing, and democracy in the six county state. However, for others it was all too much and lead to going underground, losing your accent, keeping your head down and with our children highlighting 'Englishness' and 'Britishness' as an identity that would avoid bringing trouble to your doorstep, rather than celebrating our 'Irishness'.

It is clear that the political landscape has changed and the once downtrodden and oppressed nationalists within the six counties have made huge gains through first its armed struggle and then through the Peace Process that developed during the early part of the 1990's and that there still exists a clear pathway to peace, justice and freedom through the institutions set up under the Good Friday Agreement. So hold your nerve, put your support behind the political process. Become involved in the debate. Do not shy away from engaging with those who seek a return to war and lets not allow the British government and the Unionist community to withdraw from this process and avoid their committments to this process. Fo they will try to avoid a settlement with nationalist Ireland at all costs, given the opportunity.

A lot has been gained since 1969 and alot more can be gained by supporting the process and in the end for those of us within our community that seek equality, justice and the unity of our country as our political aims, be confident, be proud and be free!

Irish Centre's................

Busy within the Irish community in Liverpool at present and it all seems to be happening at St Michaels Irish Centre, West Derby Road, Liverpool. The Liverpool public will be very aware of the previous existence of the Irish Centre at Mount Pleasant Liverpool, which was open from the early 1960's till the middle of the 1990's and was then lost due to various financial problems.......................no time at present to go into the history of the old Irish Centre now, but may do in the future at some point, as its a very long story!!!!!!!

Anyway, since 1998ish St Michaels Irish Centre has been up and running providing a great service to various Irish community organisations in Liverpool to meet and organise themselves. A lot of the former families that where involved in the previous Irish Centre were given the opportunity by St Michaels Parish to take over the existing building and run it soley for the Irish community as well as the locals. I have to say that the Centre has gone from strength to strength since that time and a lot of work has been done on the inside of the building to help modernise a very jaded and 1970's look. The people involved in running the centre deserve much credit for the work that goes into maintaining the building and also the activities that go there which include Irish language classes, Irish dancing and music classes, a flute band, a soccer team and a GAA football team and of course a great function room that all the groups regulalry use. There's also a nice little shop that sells foodstuffs from Ireland.

The centre is also great for watching sports on the tv's and always has GGA games a s well as live games featuring Celtic, Liverpool and Everton. Sunday afternoon is always special with an informal music/singing session happening or just occuring.......


Only problem that St Michaels always faces is that fact that while its only 10 mins from the city centre, alot of people think its in the middle of nowhere!!!!!!!!!! so its misses that passing trade that the mount pleasant building was always good at attracting............but hey ho, you can't have everything................St Michaels has a website http://stmichaelsirishcentre.org/ go down on a sunday and have the craic!!!!!

St Patrick's Day Liverpool

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm........you would think with Liverpool's history of Irish immigration and somewhat large Irish community that Liverpool would have a rather large, colourful and successful St Patrick's Day Parade????????

But it doesn't.......................

So why is that? well, the answers are numerous, but interact with each other and the result is no parade.

Firstly, there was a parade right until the late 60's early 70's.......run mainly by the Catholic Church. But of course, there was a fierce war in Ireland at the time and the Church thought it best not to organise anything, fearing that what was happening in the north of Ireland may happen in Liverpool. So fast forward to 1996. Irish Centre Cultural Co-operative (or whatever it was) decided to revive the parade and tie it in with the twinning of the city of Dublin with the city of Liverpool. Liverpool loyalist/orangemen and right wing racists very unhappy with this and decide to stop the parade in its tracks on Hope street. Stand off ensures and the parade marches around the block. As a result, some Irish form a flute marching band and since then there has been some form of 'parade' on St Patrick's day ever since.However, no where near the size of the New York, Dublin or Boston or even the Leeds parade has any Liverpool parade been............

It is true that since 1996 numerous 'organisations' have tried to stage a parade. However, none have ever managed to suceed, especially at involving the corporate/business end of the market..........and what also makes it difficult is that continually since 1996 any 'parade' becomes the focus of loyalists and orange order members, who generally turn up and spit hateful racist and sectarian abuse at whoever is marching...............

And the sad fact about all of this is that the centre of Liverpool is generally jumping for St Patrick's Day with the city centre pubs packed with people and nearly every pub fastooned in green, white and orange. It has to be said that thanks to Guinness, the profile of St Patrick's day has vastly improved over the past 10 years, with the company ploughing a huge amount of money into advertsing the day itself. It is probably fair to state that outside of New York, Boston and Dublin, Liverpool has the potential to stage one of the biggest St Patrick's Day celebrations in the world. It's a sad fact that it doesn't..........................

Welcome.........

Welcome to my blog...............

In short, a lot of what has been written of Liverpool and its Irish influence etc has all been written about...........mainly boring academic texts which give no real insight into the day to day life of Irish people in this city, both past and present.......

I hope my blog will add something extra to what it means to be Liverpool Irish today.........and lets get it straight from the start, 'Liverpool Irish' is an identity that can be shared by those born in Ireland who now live in this city and obviously those born in Liverpool (or else where) who maybe be 2nd, 3rd or 4th generation Irish....................

So, read on (if i ever manage to keep this up to date) and enjoy and learn more of the Liverpool Irish experience...................