Mná agus Fir na hÉireann

Beautiful piece of music that, isn’t it? I first heard Paddy Moloney & the Chieftains perform it on The Old Grey Whistle Test in about 1975 and I’ve loved it (and them) from that moment on.  Mná na hÉireann, translated as Women of Ireland, was composed by Seán Ó Riada, though the most famous version is the one by The Chieftains  that appears on the soundtrack to Stanley Kubrick’s film version of William Makepeace Thackeray’s novel Barry Lyndon. What I didn’t realise until very recently is that Mná na hÉireann is not just an instrumental, but is actually a poem by the eighteenth century Ulster bard, Peadar Ó Doirnín -:

Tá bean in Éirinn a bhronnfadh séad damh s’mo sháith le n-ól

S’tá bean in Éirinn s’ba binne léithe, mo rafla ceoil no seinm théid;

Tá bean in Éirinn s’níorbh fhearr léi beo

Mise ag léimnigh no leagtha i gcré s ‘mo tharr faoi fhód.

Tá bean in Éirinn a bheadh ag éad liom mur bhfaighinn ach póg

O bhean ar aonach, nach ait an scéala, is mo dhaimh féin leo;

Tá bean ab fhearr liom

No cath is céad dhíobh nach bhfagham go deo

S’tá cailín spéiriúil ag fear gan Bhearla, dubhghránna cróin

Tá bean a dearfadh da siúlainn léithe go bhfaighinn an t-ór

Is tá bean 'na léine is fearr a méin no na tainte bó

Le bean a bhuairfeadh Baile an Mhaoir agus clar Thir Eoghann,

S’ní fhaicim leigheas ar mo ghalar féin ach scaird a dh'ól

I don’t know what the words mean and frankly Google ‘s translation* is of no help whatsoever . However, if the poem’s message is half as beautiful or profound as Seán Ó Riada’s melody, then it deserves both equal recognition and equal acclaim.

Frankly, now is a time when all women of Ireland should be celebrated, supported and indeed venerated, especially in the wake of the appalling litany of abuse and exploitation that the McAleese Report in to the conditions that existed for more than half a century within the walls of the appalling, hateful Magdalene Laundries has uncovered. Rather than just individual testimonies and accounts of time spent in those dreadful institutions, where wholly innocent girls and young women, often themselves the desperate victims of abuse, poverty, neglect or circumstance, were sent to a life of domestic servitude from which there was no escape other than suicide or living as a fugitive, the McAleese Report provides a chilling official narrative in to the whole shameful business of systematic, institutional degradation. 

As is so often true of the seemingly endless parade of Irish social scandals and stories of shame from Partition onwards throughout the 26 Counties, in the absence of cruel England to assume the role of evil oppressor, blame must be equally apportioned to both the monstrous Catholic Church and the State itself, in the guise of their functionaries within the various  Free State governments of corrupt cute hoors who took social conservatism to a whole new level, mainly because they were obsessively and passionately wedded to De Valera’s chauvinistic, clericophilic constitution that didn’t always deliver the Ireland that we dreamed of.

In the case of the women who survived the Magdalene Laundries, a further slap in the face for these injured victims of church sponsored and government supported abuse came courtesy of Enda Kenny’s initial mealy-mouthed response to the damning evidence in the McAleese Report, which he had the craven temerity not to use as the basis for an immediate, heartfelt apology from the State to all victims. Bear in mind, Kenny’s initial inability to apologise came on the back of the case of Savita Halappanavar, denied an abortion and thus condemned to an outrageous and unnecessary death, from septicaemia, directly as a result of the illegality of abortions in Ireland. Savita’s death came twenty years after Ireland’s shame over the X Case, when a 14 year old pregnant rape victim was denied the chance to travel to England for an abortion. Remember also, the 1984 Kerry Babies Tribunal and the intimidatory, hectoring stance of An Garda Síochána in Cahirciveen towards any unmarried mother in the area.

Despite Kenny’s eventual blubbering apology, which he claimed was as a result of private reflection and nothing to do with the avalanche of negative media coverage directed towards initial his lack of concern for the victims, as well as opinion polls that show the unspeakable Dev’s Diehards in Fianna Fail building up a head of steam over Kenny’s Blue Shirts, no amount of compensation will give these women their youth, their health, their dignity or their privacy back. They deserve compensation, but they also deserve compassion and support. Indeed there are other female victims of male aggression in Ireland, in particular, Clare Daly TD, who deserve both compassion and support from the very people in whose name she dedicated her entire adult life and for whom she has even done time in prison. It makes me think of The Second Coming, in which W. B. Yeats commented -:

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity.

Daly, a former member of the Socialist Party (NOT the currently dormant World Socialist Party of Ireland, a companion party in the World Socialist Movement – see www.worldsocialism.org ) was elected to Dáil Éireann in the 2011 General Election for the North Dublin constituency. At that time the Socialist Party was part of a broad consensus known as the United Left Alliance (Comhaontas Aontaithe an Chlé), which resulted in the return of 5 left leaning TDs to Leinster House. These 5 also included Richard Boyd-Barrett and one-time Socialist Party member Joan Collins of People before Profit, in Dún Laoghaire and Dublin South respectively, Séamus Healy of Workers and Unemployed Action in Tipperary South, as well as Daly’s Socialist Party colleague, the unmarried former priest, Joe Higgins. ULA’s elected representatives also included Higgins’s successor in the European Parliament, Paul Murphy who, as per the rules of that institution, assumed the role of MEP when Higgins nominated him as his dauphin on abdicating his seat in Brussels, as it is Socialist Party policy not to have more than 1 elected role per member. In an email to me, Higgins’s Dail assistant Oisin Kelly confirmed that this was always the intention of Joe Higgins on winning the European seat, if he were subsequently elected to the Dail. Consequently smart arsed posters on www.politics.ie who tried to compare the Higgins to Murphy exchange as being somehow comparable to the Kim il-Sung to Kim Jong-il succession were clearly being wickedly mendacious, if amusing. Certainly Socialist Party policy and practice seems a more straightforward route of succession than the one adopted by Joe’s former employers in the Vatican, who still haven’t sent the call out to a certain Mr Hewson of Vico Road.

The volatile nature of Irish parliamentary politics in the wake of the 2011 election that saw a Fine Gael / Labour coalition, the almost complete humiliation of Fianna Fail, the obliteration of The Green Party and the elevation of Sinn Fein to fourth party status. This still meant that, ULA aside, there were 14 independents in 31st Dáil Éireann. Admittedly some of them were fashioned from the most appalling type of gombeen DNA, such as the latest Healy-Rae down in Kerry, but there were and still are socially progressive independents who would have gladly worked with ULA to fight against the direct and indirect taxation, welfare cuts and bank bailouts that Kenny was set on. Independents such as Luke “Ming” Flanangan in Roscommon, John Halligan in Waterford, who was deeply involved in the campaign against the household charge and, most controversially, Mick Wallace; the man behind Wexford Youths, were all prepared to work with ULA to provide a coherent opposition to the coalition’s swingeing austerity drive.

However, as with any Irish political silver lining, there’s a maelstrom of dark clouds to deal with. Within 2 months of being elected, Wallace’s financial affairs came under the spotlight; in response to media questions, he admitted to having knowingly falsified his VAT returns, claiming he did so to continue to be able to employ people in his construction business. It emerged the underpayment Wallace had engaged in was by the small matter of €19m; unsurprisingly, he claimed he didn’t have the money to hand and would face complete ruin if he was chased for it. In the end, he made a settlement of €2,133,708, though there is an on-going investigation in to his personal taxation liability; don’t hold your breath for the outcome though. 

Following these revelations, Wallace was almost entirely rusticated by the independent group in Dáil Éireann, though he had made one lasting friendship and a political ally in Clare Daly; this was a new pals’ act that did not go down well in the Socialist Party and you can see why. For a self-professed mass revolutionary party to have one of its newly elected TDs cavorting with a tax-dodging wide boy with appalling dress sense was not on. To those of us outside the Socialist Party, the idea that the consenting adult you share your bed with can be grounds for expulsion may be mystifyingly intrusive, but I guess we’re probably just being bourgeois in thinking that Mick Wallace is Little Musgrave and Clare Daly Lady Barnard.

While Wallace was not a member of the ULA, he was known to be close to certain other ULA TDs and not just Daly. One who had no time for him was Seamus Healy, who immediately called for Wallace to resign his seat, describing his behaviour as "completely and absolutely wrong and unacceptable.” Clare Daly refused to support this call, presumably as she was now attempting to serve two masters in the shape of her political home and her new partner. Because of pressure placed on her as a result, Daly resigned from the Socialist Party on 31 August 2012. In a statement, the Socialist Party said it believed Daly had resigned because “she placed more value on her political connection with Independent TD Mick Wallace than on the political positions and work of the Socialist Party." This claim was dismissed by Daly as "absolute nonsense,” but her departure was final.

Daly stated that she intended to remain a member of the ULA as an independent, which is how she still describes herself on her personal and Dail websites. The Socialist Party responded with a statement on 3 September questioning her future membership of ULA as she had “already inflicted serious damage on herself, and some damage on the Socialist Party and the United Left Alliance.” On 8 October 2012 Daly appeared on Tonight with Vincent Browne and was questioned on her reasons for resigning from the Socialist Party. She stated that "not enough attention was being put into...the building of the ULA," and referring to "plenty of reasons" for her to believe this to be the case over a long period of time, which sounds as unconvincing on paper as it did when she spoke the words. Crucially though, Daly also condemned "the actions" of Mick Wallace in avoiding payments of VAT. However this was not enough for Joe Higgins or Seamus Healy.

On 2 October 2012 the Workers and Unemployed Action Group withdrew from the United Left Alliance. Healy stated that WUAG's calls for Wallace's resignation had been blocked on a number of occasions by another party in the alliance, which could only have been the actions of People before Profit TDs Boyd-Barrett and Collins. Healy further cited concerns over "factional activity" by the Socialist Workers’ Party (the ideological home of Boyd-Barrett and Collins), which it claimed was attempting to boost its own membership at the expense of the ULA. However, the ULA was effectively done for in December 2012, when the Socialist Party stated "we will be diminishing our participation in the ULA.” Finally, on 26 January 2013, the Socialist Party, who would probably be a perfect fit for the slogan ourselves alone if another Irish political party hadn’t already commandeered it,  announced they were withdrawing from the ULA, which is now down to 3TDs, but with strengthening links to certain of the socially progressive Independent TDs alluded to previously.  The Socialist Party probably regard the likes of Halligan and Flanagan as wishy washy mealy mouthed bourgeois reformists.

Two days after this decision, Clare Daly’s car was stopped by Garda in Kilmainham on Dublin’s southside, frightening close to the canal when one considers Daly’s parallels with Rosa Luxemburg. She was breathalysed, but the Garda administering the test claimed the machine had not worked properly, though more likely it provided a result that displeased him, at which point Daly was handcuffed, thrown in the back of a van, driven to Kilmainham Garda Station and kept in a locked cell. All of these events were referred to as “established procedure.” They were nothing of the sort of course; it was state condoned oppression, targeted specifically against a left wing activist who had stood up against police brutality in the past. The wrongful arrest and illegal imprisonment of Clare Daly who had committed no offence, as a urine test showed she was 33% below the alcohol level having had one hot whiskey for a cold, can only be seen as a deliberate attempt to further discredit her in the eyes of the Irish electorate.

Since this event (you can read more about it at http://www.claredaly.ie/statement-from-clare-daly-td/#more-1362), support and compassion for another Irish woman who has been a victim of state sponsored thuggery has been forthcoming from all her political allies, though not publicly from her former colleagues in the Socialist Party, as far as I can tell. However, in the email alluded to before, Oisin Kelly states “the Socialist Party oppose any victimisation by Garda of anyone and oppose inproper (sic) conduct by Garda such as leaking information to the press.”  Did someone from the Socialist Party feed information about her whereabouts that night to Garda Síochána, as was alleged on www.politics.ie by some of the more swivel-eyed conspiracy theorists from the former Workers’ Party? I don’t know, but I very much doubt it. Certainly, the Socialist Party have proved themselves not to be slow in coming forward over both Garda brutality and legal matters in the past.  In 2012, legal advice was sought over criticism of the expense claims of Daly and Higgins, when it emerged their travel expenses may have been used for travelling to anti-household charge meetings across the country, outside of their Dublin constituencies.  It was subsequently confirmed by the Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin that they were entitled to make these claims. The ULA and Socialist Party stated at the time that the story was a "manufactured controversy" and part of a "vindictive smear campaign by Independent Newspapers." Therefore, I feel sure they would not seek to blackguard Clare Daly in this manner.

However, it would be helpful if Joe Higgins, who so eloquently brought the Irish politicians and rapacious fiscal conmen to book for the hypocrisy that allows them to shed their crocodile tears over the Magdalene Laundries and maintain a complicit silence over the continuing penury visited over millions of ordinary Irish people by the greed and incompetence of those in charge at Allied Irish Bank, gave unequivocal support to Clare Daly, another female victim of human rights abuses by the Irish State, over this latest fiasco. If such support has been made clear and I’ve missed it, I apologise and will amend this blog accordingly.

I would also say that guidance on the unacceptable nature of male violence towards women, in any context, may be of great help to the Socialist Party’s rank and file; some of whom seem to excuse Paul Gascoigne’s violent and abusive conduct towards his ex-wife, on account of the fact Gascoigne was born in to a working class family, though others would argue with justification that Gascoigne was of the lumpenproletariat. Male domestic violence, whatever class the perpetrator hails from, is unacceptable; end of debate.  It may be too late for the Socialist Party to mend fences with Clare Daly or the rest of the ULA, but lessons must be learned about gender politics and the abuse of power within domestic and family relationships, in Ireland and elsewhere. To absolve Gascoigne of responsibility because of his roots, while at the same time denouncing David Beckham for donating his salary from Paris St. Germain to a local children’s charity as a bourgeois act, is frankly wrongheaded at every possible level.

Talking of Frank, I’m somewhat taken aback by Lampard Junior signing a publishing deal to write children’s books; having read the opening two chapters of his turgid 2006 autobiography Totally Frank, I struggle to believe he can make his prosody complex and fluent enough to engage 7 year olds. Even more astonishing, he is to incorporate some of his current team mates as characters in his books: Poorly Peter with his protective headgear in case he should fall, Pacifisto de Mierda the £50m hit man who is scared to shoot and, worst of all, Jaytee the scumbag racist who steals everyone’s girlfriend and whose family shoplift for a living.

It makes me glad to turn my attention to Irish team sports to get away from politics for a while. As we await the start of the 2013 League of Ireland, the 2012/2013 Irish League, a competition I know little about, continues apace. Except for one small detail; the Crusaders versus Cliftonville game was postponed on 16 February, not because of the weather, but because Loyalist Flegs protestors wouldn’t allow the game to go ahead. Since life in the north has returned to a semblance of normality, football has kept pace with the changes. While Linfield still see themselves as some part of a Blues Brothers alliance with Rangers and Chelsea (the Micky Droy version rather than Juan Mata era it has to be pointed out), almost all Irish League clubs have sought to distance themselves from an undoubtedly segregated and indeed sectarian sporting map of the past.

While many clubs can do nothing about their geographical location, which was always as much of a keynote definition of religion, politics and the like, as asking someone to pronounce the eighth letter of the alphabet (haitch for Catholics and aitch for Protestants) or where they went to school or, bizarrely, how old their granny was (the number given would be the number of the Orange Lodge the speaker was a member of, unfeasibly enough), it is certainly true that community inclusivity is a philosophical imperative and not just a glib catchphrase these days. For example, the likes of Crusaders and Cliftonville have sought to depoliticise their games; their clash is referred to now as the North Belfast derby, which is as good, and as neutral a name for it as any.

Unfortunately the No Surrender lot, sounding as ever more implausible, anachronistic and vindictive as John Vorster or P. W. Botha, will not do their farcical campaign any good at all. I’m sure Sir Edward Carson’s cause will have been advanced by a couple of hundred bladdered, bawling Union Jack waving clowns lobbing bricks at the PSNI outside of a football ground, pissing off residents, supporters and politicians  as they did so. The encouraging news for Crusaders and Cliftonville is that the entire Irish League is behind them. Whether it is football, GAA, rugby, hockey or tiddlywinks, cross community and cross border sports co-operation and participation is a fact of life on the island of Ireland.

As my mate Peter from Bangor points out, rugby truly is an all island game; the desperate defeat to England would have been as keenly felt in Moyross as it was on the Malone Road. To dismiss the 15 man code as a garrison game is anachronistic to say the least. However, if the rugby isn’t going well, there’s always time to think about the football, by which I mean soccer as the GAA is only doing the leagues at the minute and no-one’s really bothered about those.

The 2013 Airtricity League kicks off on 8 March, with 20 teams taking part. Typically enough, we’re looking at a 12 team Premier Division, where they play each other 3 times and an 8 team First Division playing a quartet of contests. All well and good so far, but the devil as always, is in the detail. The vacancy caused by Monaghan United’s resignation midway through last season has been filled by Cobh Ramblers, who dropped out of the League in 2008 for financial reasons. The Corrib Triangle has been resolved by a continuation of the unsatisfactory situation of last year; Galway United remain in abeyance, while Mervue United and Salthill Devon, back at Drom and no longer referring to themselves as SD Galway, are in the First Division. Limerick have taken their place in the Premier Division, having been granted a licence. Initially, the only bone of contention reseds with Dundalk, who were only granted a provisional Premier Licence, but further financial checks allowed them to satisfy the criteria, at the expense of Waterford United, play off losers last season, who had hoped to get the gig.

Looking at the Premier, it is hard to see anyone other than Sligo Rovers for the title, though Derry, Shams and St. Pat’s will be worthy competitors. Cork, Bohs, Shels and Drogheda seem destined for midtable mediocrity, while Limerick, Bray, UCD and Dundalk will look upon survival as a major success. In the First Division, surely it must be time for Waterford to finally win promotion, though Longford, who are now playing at the City Calling Stadium, named after the recruitment firm who sponsor them and employ Keith Gillespie who will be playing out his last season for de town in 2013, and perhaps Cobh will have their say. Athlone and Finn Harps have history, tradition and very little else going for them, while Mervue, Salthill and Wexford will continue to have less spectators than players.

While we await the opening Airtricity fixtures, the EA Cup and the Setanta Cup have swung in to action. In the former, Mervue United defeated Cockhill Celtic in the first round 2-1, while the Mayo League lost 4-1 at Castlebar to Finn Harps. Meanwhile the Setanta Cup remains as unwieldy as ever. It comprises 12 sides, 6 from each league, with an equal split of 4 from each in round 1 and the remainder given a bye to round 2, with the whole competition over 2 legs apart from the final. In round one, the League of Ireland held the upper hand; Drogheda United had the biggest win, 8-2 on aggregate over Portadown (including an impressive 5-0 away win in the Citadel), though Cork City weren’t far behind, easing past Cliftonville 6-2. The other two ties were tighter; Shamrock Rovers had to win 2-0 at the Showgrounds to defeat Coleraine 2-1, while the sole success for the Irish League saw Glentoran shade St. Patrick’s Athletic 1-0 on aggregate.

 

The second round saw Cork defeat Crusaders 4-1 on aggregate, while in the other 3 ties only the first leg has been played. Derry versus Drogheda, in the only all-League of Ireland tie, ended up all square at 1-1, while Sligo banjoed Glentoran 5-1 and in a tie where I’d like to see both sides lose, Shamrock Rovers saw off Linfield, 4-1. It all suggests a semi-final quartet entirely from the League of Ireland.

Every Friday night, and some Saturdays as well, I’ll be providing score updates at https://twitter.com/PayasoDeMierda though there’s also the enticing prospects of live games on www.rte.ie  with Limerick v Cork at 5.15 on Sunday 10 March and Shamrock Rovers hosting St. Pat’s on Friday 15 March at 7.35 for starters. Also, the fabulous www.extratime.ie tells you everything you need to know about the Irish domestic game.

* Google’s less than helpful translation of Mná na hÉireann -:

A woman in Ireland granted Chad ith ox s'mo of the drinking

S'tá woman in Ireland gray cliff s'ba my music rumor or enters the playing;

A woman living in Ireland s'níorbh prefer

Me jumping or set in clay 's my another great jaw.

A woman in Ireland who would envy me if I got naught but a kiss

O lady fair, is not strange to hear, they my faculty;

I prefer a woman

No battle a hundred of them will never get

Scenic girl S'tá area man without English, so ugly

Woman gray would da siúlainn say that I find the gold

The woman is' the best tresses shirt or cow wealth

Female Warden to bhuairfeadh Home and program country Eoghann,

S'ní fhaicim jet cure for my disease to drink