Victory Day

After 37 years, and its longest ever military operation the British Army will be closing down two more bases and returning to a peace time status. In that 37 years the men and women of Oglaigh na h'Eireann fought the best equipped army in Western Europe to a standstill. In that time the British have conceded the principal that following a succesful yes vote in a referendum the 6 Counties then the island of Ireland will be re-united politically, this given the demographics of the six counties is simply a matter of time .

Just as importantly civil and political equal rights for nationalists has been won, with representatives of Sinn Féin in the highest offices in the 6 Counties administration. Also institutional discrimination has been effectively illegalised, the hated RUC disbanded, and the right of unionist mobs to terrorise nationalist communities has been severely curtailed.

This transformation of the 6 counties from a sectarian bigoted statelet with nationalists being the second class citizens to today where it is gradually more and more being integrated into the political, economic and social life of the rest of Ireland , could NOT have occurred without the political progress of the Republican movement in combination with the cutting edge provided by the volunteers of Oglaigh na h'Eireann.

Today is a day that unionist reaction vowed would never happen without the destruction of Irish Republicanism, far from being destroyed Irish Republicans are in government. Can anyone doubt that this seismic shift from 'not wanting a Catholic about the place', to having to share power with Republicans on a basis of equality and mutual respect was primarily the achievement of the nationalist people of the six counties and their unbowed and unbroken army, Oglaigh na h'Eireann.

Theres a Valley in Spain.....

I have always had the greatest of admiration for the men and women who undertook to fight fascism in Spain between 1936 and 1939, and many of you will know that a guerilla war continued long after Franco's fascism took power, as featured in the wonderful film "Pan's Labyrinth".

One webpage I like very much is this one which features some great photo's from the battlefield of Jarama, quite near Madrid....Salud!

http://www.comms.dcu.ie/sheehanh/photos/jarama.htm

Time to Get Started

Oh Well Here We Go....

I have long considered blogging to be a further indicator of the increasingly individualistic culture which pervades the western world, in some ways a close relative to whatever demon fuels the endless drivel of the 'celebrity culture' which predominates so much of what passes for culture these days.

I have succumbed however to this activity since I felt that it was particularly futile to post occasionally on others blogs and be ignored, when I could have my own blog and be ignored.

Apart from that I will be attempting to posit the notion that there are still some of us who are believers in the possibility of a world that is run more rationally, than the purely 'for profit' mayhem which predominates today. The title of the blog speaks for itself, but I think you will find that I am surprisingly different in my take on things than perhaps the pigeonhole you may have already put me in might suggest.

So stick around and I shall hopefully get to know some of you a bit better, and some of you may get to know that an unrepentant red like a good bottle of Shiraz can be a worthwhile companion on occasions, you may not enjoy what I write, and you may well not agree, but I hope you will read what I write with an open mind