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Famed Belfast Protestant Victims Campaigner Raymond McCord on His Meeting with the Lord Mayor of Dublin.

“Cathy McIlvenny from our cross-community victims group, the Truth and Justice Movement, is also from the Protestant-Unionist community in Belfast.

 Cathy’s sister was raped and murdered by the UDA, and her murdered sister’s son was murdered 20 years later by the UVF.

The Lord Mayor gave us his welcomed support for our proposed International Victims Conference and for a Public Inquiry into young Raymond’s murder.

On Friday, October 18, at a meeting with Gavin Robinson, Dup Leader, Gavin gave his welcomed support for our proposed International Victims Conference next year at Ulster University. The SDLP has also given their welcomed support as has the current Lord Mayor of Belfast Mickey Murray from the Alliance party.

This will be an event where victims from different countries throughout the world including Gaza and Israel will be invited to take part in. A historic first-ever event.”

 

October 18, 2024

IRISH CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING

Distributed to Congress by Irish National Caucus

Roisin Henderson. The Fermanagh Herald. Ireland. Oct.  16, 2024.

On Wednesday, October 27, 1976, in Pittsburgh, PA, I organized an Irish National Caucus meeting with Presidential Candidate Jimmy Carter—just six days before he was elected President of the United States. He made a magnificent, historic statement: “…it is a mistake for our  country’s Government to stand quiet on the struggle of the Irish for peace, for respect for human rights, and for unifying Ireland.”

It was the first time since The King-in Parliament has perpetrated the racist and anti-Catholic partition of Ireland, December 23, 1920, that a Candidate—just six days after being elected President—ever issued such words.

The British government went crazy, and worst of all, the awful  Garret FitzGerald, Irish Foreign Minister —who was referred to by  MI6 operatives as “dear Garret”— dutifully and cravenly demanded Carter to prove he was not supporting violence. The Boston Globe reported, “Irish Embassy officials protested vehemently to Carter aides.”… How utterly shameful and disgraceful. As I record in my Memoirs, My American Struggle for Justice in Northern Ireland  (2023.U.S.A.RE-PRINT. ON AMAZON),  had FitzGerald welcomed Carter’s statement like Taoiseach Albert Reynolds (God rest him)  welcomed Presidential  Candidate  Clinton’s statement on April 5, 1992, how much earlier the Irish Peace Process could have begun and how many precious lives could have been saved —because I always knew that the only thing that would curb England’s blood-lust, brutality, racism and anti-Catholicism was pressure from America. … And England knew this…So, England activated Fitz-Gerald to do its dirty work, as England always did throughout its racist and evil Empire.”

 

 

Thursday, October 17, 2024.

IRISH CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING

Distributed to Congress by Irish National Caucus

We all have to tell truth about what England

did and is doing in Ireland

Letters to Editor. Irish News. Belfast. Thursday, October 17, 2024.

By Fr. Sean McManus, President, Irish National Caucus. Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.

The just-published 420-page book The Barn, by Wright Thompson, is about the barn in which the 14-year-old black boy Emmett Till, visiting from Chicago, was tortured and executed/ lynched in 1955 in Mississippi, and about how so much was covered up, still to this day.

Indeed, the barn itself was not generally known as the actual murder site. About 15 years ago, I made a personal pilgrimage to the sacred sites in Mississippi where the civil rights martyrs were murdered: Emmett Till, Medgar Evers, the three activists murdered in Philadelphia (MS), James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, so forth and so on. (And cried silently at each site, just as I do at the graves of Irish patriots who gave their lives for Irish freedom).

But I did not know about the barn and only visited the remains of the store in Money in which Emmett had allegedly whistled at the white woman whose husband owned the store. That accusation, true or false, in those days, was enough to guarantee young innocent Emmett’s murder.

“For 855 years England has controlled Ireland’s present and past. And England is not going to tell the truth about what it did in Ireland or any of the countries it oppressed in its racist, genocidal empire.

Thompson says something that is very relevant to the discussion on the Legacy Act of The King-in-Parliament: “The more I looked at the story of the barn… the more I understood that the tragedy of humankind isn’t that sometimes a few depraved individuals do what the rest of us could never do. It’s that the rest of us hide those hateful things from view, never learning the lesson that hate grows stronger and more resistant when it’s pushed underground. There lies the true horror of Emmett Till’s murder… Which is why so many have fought literally and figuratively for so long to keep the reality from view.” (Page 12).

‘Pushing underground…’ That’s the story of the British Empire – the story of The-King (or Queen or Monarch)-in-Parliament… and the story of the Legacy Bill that King Charles III turned into the Legacy Act by his royal assent, which is all about protecting the crown forces and their political bosses (the king being the boss of bosses).

Because as George Orwell said: “Who controls the present, controls the past.” For 855 years – and counting – England has controlled Ireland’s present and past. And England is not going to tell the truth about what it did in Ireland or any of the countries it oppressed in its racist, genocidal empire. So, we all have to tell the truth about what England did and is still doing in Ireland.

I conclude by referring to another great book (which I made sure to mention in our constant Irish Congressional briefings): Legacy of Violence: A History of the British Empire (2022) by Harvard Professor Caroline Elkins.

How perfect is that title in the context of the Legacy Act of The King-in-Parliament. And the book blurb on the back page, in part, irresistibly declares: “[Professor Elkins] makes clear when Britain could no longer maintain control over the violence it provoked and enacted, it retreated from the empire, destroying and hiding incriminating evidence of its policy and practices.” And, please God, that is perhaps what the deplorable Legacy Act of The King-in-Parliament also heralds: England’s final withdrawal from Northern Ireland – enabling as the Irish National Caucus internet petition calls for: ‘Ireland, too, has the right to be one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.’ This magnificent petition now has 31,661 signers, with more than 1,000,000 petition views.

To sign the petition, go to this link: www.change.org/IrelandOneNation.

 

 

PRAISE FOR FR. McMANUS AND HIS WORK. McManus and his work

“Thus, McManus became Britain’s nemesis in America, the driving force that would eventually erode Britain’s influence within the U.S. government.”—Joseph E. Thompson. American Policy and Northern Ireland: A Saga of Peacebuilding. 2001.

“The Mac Bride Principles—a corporate code of conduct for American companies doing business in Northern Ireland—were launched by the Irish National Caucus on November 4, 1984. The Mac Principles both symbolized and effectuated the Caucus’ major campaign to stop U. S. dollars subsidizing anti-Catholic discrimination in Northern Ireland. The Principles became law in 18 U.S. states and numerous towns and cities. In October 1998, the MacBride Principles were passed by both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives and signed into U.S. law.  Chairman Gilman took to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to welcome this singular achievement, saying: “I want to make a special note regarding Father Sean McManus.  No one has fought harder against discrimination in Northern Ireland.  Father Sean single-handedly brought the MacBride fair employment principles to … enactment.”                                                — Chairman Ben Gilman (R-NY), October 1998.

“I know that Father McManus has moved the needle [on justice and human rights], and, Father, for that, I offer you, on behalf of the entire AFL-CIO, a sincere Thank you.”  — President Richard L. Trumka AFL-CIO, February 3, 2016.”

“Advising Congressman [Richard Ottinger, D-NY], and helping him in the talks [in Belfast] was Fr. Sean McManus, the Washington-based Redemptorist priest ordained in England and now a scourge of the British Government. The lime-and-so-da drinking cleric is not liked by British diplomats in the American capital, where he leads the Irish National Caucus, a lobbying group aimed at influencing American foreign policy with the target of Irish unity, freedom, and peace.”—“Americans in Ulster Maelstrom.” Daily Telegraph. London. August 18, 1983.

“The [MacBride] campaign is being run by the Irish National Caucus… The move, inspired by Father Sean McManus, who has been consistently opposed to British policy, is particularly well-timed. For even if the law is never passed, it provides an opportunity to link, however, tenuously, the issues of South Africa and Northern Ireland. The MacBride Principles also call for the same kind of affirmative action programs for Catholics which American companies already use in the employment of women and blacks in the U.S.A”— “New York Threat of Ulster Shares Boycott.” Will Ellsworth-Jones. The Times. London. January 6, 1985.

“Fr. Sean McManus is the man who put Northern Ireland on the map in America. As head of Washington-based lobby group the Irish National Caucus, which he founded in 1974, he continues to fight the fight over sectarianism and justice—British governments have been and gone, Fr. Sean is still here. He famously championed the MacBride Principles which called on US   companies investing in Northern Ireland to operate a fair employment practice. It made him a hate figure for Unionists and a constant prick in the side of the British.”—Richard Sullivan. Sunday World. Belfast. January 4, 2018.

“After being ‘transported’ out of London 1972, [Church and State] sent Fr. McManus to far-flung America. …They thought it was a safe enough place to banish him after he attacked the British Government and its policies in [Northern Ireland] in the early 1970s. But how wrong [they] were. Some political observers in America say he was light years ahead of his time when   he set up the Irish National Caucus to fight for justice and rights for [Catholics] back home in Northern Ireland.”—John Cassidy, Sunday World. Belfast. March 18, 2007.

“No one has done more than Father McManus to keep the U.S. Congress on track regarding justice and peace in Ireland. Indeed, I believe historians will record that no one since John Devoy (1842–1928) has done more to organize American pressure for justice in Ireland.”—Congressman Ben Gilman (R-NY), Chairman, House International Relations Committee. 2003.

“My American Struggle for Justice in Northern Ireland, and this Third Edition, is a hugely important book. It is probably the most significant memoir in the historiography of Irish-American nationalism since Recollections of an Irish Rebel (1929) by John Devoy.” —Washington Irish Committee.

“For the past nearly 50 years Fr. Sean McManus has been championing, almost single-handedly, the struggle for peace with justice for the partitioned six counties of “Northern Ireland.” His has been the constant voice keeping the U.S. Congress, international media, and the entire Irish-American community, informed and constantly up to date with the truth. He withstood attacks of the English Government for his relentless efforts in fighting for the ultimate adoption of the MacBride Principles. Fr. Sean’s ongoing work and efforts on behalf of Mr. Raymond McCord, a Protestant from Belfast, has become another example of his vital role in the search for peace with JUSTICE irrespective of one’s religion.“—Bob Bateman, Past National Historian, Ancient Order of Hibernians. AOH Liaison to the Irish National Caucus and Congressional Ad Hoc Committee for Irish Affairs (1976-1982). (Great-grandnephew of the Fenian Captain Timothy Deasy).

“[Fr. McManus] stood out against powerful forces in a fight for justice and fairness. I didn’t always agree with the causes he supported, but I admired his persistence, his courage, his relentlessness. And admiration that one person, almost alone, could make such impact on public policy in the United States.”—Vincent Browne’s speech at book launch in Dublin. 2011.

“Fr. Sean knows the history of the struggle for justice in Northern Ireland as well as anyone—he lived it. A very important book.”— Ray Flynn, former mayor of Boston and U.S. ambassador to the Vatican. 2011.

“Fr. Sean McManus has spent a lifetime leading the fight to achieve a peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland. That so many Americans and, particularly those in American government leadership roles, joined in the effort to achieve a peaceful resolution of the conflict is a credit to his courageous and inspiring leadership.”—Bill Flynn, Chairman Emeritus, Mutual of America chairman, National Committee on American Foreign Policy. 2011.

“The word I always associate with Fr. Sean McManus is adamantine (unbreakable):
Made of or resembling adamant. Having the hardness or luster of a diamond. I have seen him in action countless times on Capitol Hill, so I can fearlessly proclaim that his book will gleam with the luster of a diamond. Tolle, lege! [Take up and read].”
Tom Halton, Former Professor of Greek and Latin at The Catholic University of America.  January 5, 2011 

“A spiritual and magnanimous man, McManus is undeniably a brilliant tactician. His fine book chronicles a long and vibrant journey of an astute, intelligent, and politically committed mind in action. …Many elected American officials of all ethnic backgrounds were convinced by McManus of the urgency and legitimacy of the issue and became supporters of his unceasing efforts. His crowning achievement came when after a laborious campaign the MacBride Principles were signed into law by President Clinton.”—Joe Martin. Real Change. October 27, 2011.

“So, from Kinawley to the halls of Congress, your story—which    I thank you for—is hard to put down. May this year be one of deepening justice and peace for Ireland.”—Jim Douglass, noted author on nonviolence. January 8, 2012.

“Fr. McManus … has released this must-read tome for anyone interested in the long struggle for full Irish freedom … The book documents the priest’s successful struggle to incorporate the MacBride Principles (business ethics for American companies doing business in the north of Ireland) into U.S. law. This is not a work of fiction, though the herculean task Fr. McManus set for himself and his Irish National Caucus lobbying effort on Capitol Hill would appear to qualify as such.”—Bryan T. McMahon. The Ponchatoula Times. Florida. June 28, 2013.

“As a writer, singer, and performer of Irish ballads, I know the value of voice, words, and thoughts that expose injustice (as this book does). Over the last 40 years Fr. McManus has been the powerful voice that has kept the U.S. Congress involved in the struggle for justice and peace in Ireland.”—Derek Warfield, (Young) Wolfe Tones. 2011.

“The intrepid Fermanagh-born battler for justice, Fr. Sean McManus, has published the definitive book on    Irish-America’s fight for justice in the North of Ireland, including the epic MacBride Principles campaign.”—Máirtín ÓMuilleoir, Belfast Media, President of The Irish Echo. 2011.

No … U.S. initiative … [on Northern Ireland] would have come about had it not been for the activities of the Irish National Caucus. — Sunday News (Belfast), 1979.

“Perhaps the Caucus’ boldest success has been its efforts to create … The Committee for Irish Affairs.”—The New York Times. 1979.

“…The Irish National Caucus … has been influential in getting Congress to see Northern Ireland as a human rights issue.”—The Washington Post. 1981

“The MacBride campaign, directed by the Irish National Caucus won the support of the AFL-CIO and of several religious institutional shareholders including several Catholic orders and several major Protestant denominations.”—The Wall Street Journal.1988.

“It all started with Father McManus. When he came over here, we were all sympathetic to him.”—House Speaker Tip O’Neill (Irish America). 1986

“I support the Irish National Caucus because it represents a compelling voice for fair employment, legal justice, and lasting peace in Northern Ireland.”—Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II (D-MA). 1988.

“Dear Fr. McManus … I would be honored to be a Congressional Friend of the Irish National Caucus. I support your nonviolent work for justice and peace in Northern Ireland with full equality for the Catholic minority.  Additionally, I support continued American involvement in the Irish peace process.”—Rep. Joseph Kennedy, III, December 13, 2012.

“As Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for Irish Affairs, I … commend the Irish National Caucus for your steadfast advocacy on behalf of human rights …Fr. McManus is ‘The Apostle of Human Rights for Northern Ireland.’”—Rep. Mario Biaggi (D-NY). 1980.

“Thank-you [Fr. McManus] for your gracious invitation to become a ‘Congressional Friend’ of the Irish National Caucus. The warm welcome that I have received from the Irish people on my visits there has gladdened my heart and made me always hopeful that people throughout Ireland will live in a climate of peace and nonviolence.”—Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY). 2003; appointed U.S. secretary of state by President Obama in 2009.

“I am a Protestant (which normally I would not mention). However, I had to turn to a Catholic priest, Father Sean McManus, to seek justice for the murder of my son, Raymond Jr. Father McManus helped me get a powerful Congressional hearing into young Raymond’s murder and expose state collusion in his murder.”— Raymond McCord Sr., Belfast. 2011.

“Fr. McManus, from his Capitol Hill office, has been a prominent and influential figure in the quest for progress and peace with justice in Northern Ireland, blending knowledge of his native land with experience drawn from his years of dealing with the intricacies of the political system in his adopted one. His has been a unique role. Long may it continue.”—Ray O’Hanlon. editor of The Irish Echo. New York. 2011.

“Fr. Sean McManus is a man to be reckoned with when it comes to advocating causes.  His espousal of the  MacBride Principles back in the 1980s caused fits for the British government … McManus has also been a constant watchdog in Washington on Irish  affairs  and  has  been  hugely  successful  in setting the Irish-American agenda over the past 30 years.”—Niall O’Dowd. Editor of The Irish Voice, New York. 1990.

“The master … in publicity terms, is Father Sean McManus, a burly, plausible charmer whose Irish National Caucus has taken center stage …  the good Father has made himself expert in congressional lobbying techniques …  I  spent  a  long  and, to be perfectly frank, rather enjoyable afternoon with Father McManus in his Capitol Hill office … and it became clear that  he  hadn’t  been  raised  as  a  clerical  apologist  for    nothing.”—Christopher Hitchens, public intellectual, author of God Is Not Great, and The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice. The Spectator. England. October 5, 1985.

“We did not take him [INC President, Fr. Sean McManus] very seriously at first, but the MacBride Principles have caused serious problems and cost millions to try to counteract.”—A Senior British official in Northern Ireland—Sunday Life. Belfast).1992.

“The fanfare of publicity about new and tougher action against job discrimination, for example, is designed, at least in part, to help the British Government to counter the extremely effective campaign on the MacBride Principles which is being waged by the Irish National Caucus in the United States.”—The Irish Times. Dublin. 1987.

“I support the Irish National Caucus in its important work for justice and peace in Northern Ireland and would be proud to be associated with this worthy organization.”—Rep. Peter T. King (R- NY) 1994.

“It makes one want to stand up and cheer.” Author Sharon Chang, 2011.

“Northern Ireland’s most diligent champion in America.”— Sharon Chang. February 6, 2020

 

October 14, 2024

IRISH CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING
Distributed to Congress by Irish National Caucus

“This is a pitch-perfect editorial by ‘the newspaper of record’ (on the island of Ireland) regarding The Troubles in Northern Ireland—the Irish News of Belfast.

 Members of Congress and Irish Americans should find it very useful.”—Fr. Sean McManus.

Constitutional question will be decided by the ballot box

Irish News Editorial. Belfast, Monday, October 14, 2024.

The clearly expressed view of the electorate across all sections of our divided society is that paramilitary groups have had their day and have no contribution to make to any political decision-making process.

This is a simple reality, but what can only be described as mixed messages emerging from the loyalist sector over recent days indicate that it has yet to be fully grasped in some quarters.

A pro-union think tank, the Northern Ireland Development Group (NIDG), made a number of constructive points in its Reframing The Debate document, which was released to mark the anniversary at the weekend of the 1994 loyalist ceasefire.

The organization known as the Combined Loyalist Military Command, representing the UVF, UDA and Red Hand Commando, announced 30 years ago that loyalists would “universally cease all operational activities”, some six weeks after a similar move by the IRA. Both cessations were to be periodically abandoned, tragically resulting in the loss of more innocent lives, but the long-term momentum was only in one direction as the 1998 Good Friday Agreement demonstrated that paramilitary groups should be consigned to the history books.

Although some have continued to exercise a criminal influence in loyalist areas, the NIDG report raised the prospect that a final disbandment could be completed within five years. Dr. John Kyle expressed frustration over the slow progress, but was entitled to highlight the need for a wider social transformation which matched the vision of the much-missed Progressive Unionist Party leader David Ervine.

It was therefore perturbing to hear another former PUP leader, Brian Ervine, elder brother of David, say that paramilitary groups might continue in the background, “waiting on a time when they may be called upon”.

He summed up the confused thinking still present within some elements of loyalism when he attempted to justify his position by saying: “The problem is we can’t trust that the union is safe and we can’t trust government.”

It should be obvious to unionists, nationalists and the unaligned that putting any kind of trust in successive Westminster administrations has always been foolish, as the DUP discovered painfully through its shambolic association with Boris Johnson.

The union plainly could not have been safe since unionists lost what was designed to be their permanent majority at Stormont, and its future will be in the hands of the voters when a border referendum is finally called.

Everyone will have the opportunity to campaign for their preferred outcome and the constitutional question will be resolved through the ballot box rather than through the intervention of any shadowy loyalist figures.

 

“More  excellent work from Ciaran MacAirt. Please read.” —Fr. Sean McManus

Yesterday, Oct. 13, 2024, I [Ciaran MacAirt]posted an article in memory of teenager, Ciarán Murphy, to mark the 50th anniversary of his abduction and murder. His nephew, Niall Ó Murchú, and the Murphy family have been key supporters of our work for decades. There is also a terrible crossover between the McGurk’s Bar Massacre, Ciarán’s murder, and many more sectarian atrocities in the 70s, 80s and 90s.

TO READ THE ENTIRE STORY, CLICK OR PLACE INTO YOUR BROWSER–

Ciarán Murphy: 50th Anniversary of Ardoyne Gael (mcgurksbar.com)

Ulster-TV. ITV News. Belfast. Thursday, October 10, 2024

US President Joe Biden is “deeply committed” to legacy issues in Northern Ireland, Taoiseach Simon Harris has said.

Mr Harris and Mr Biden discussed various matters relating to Northern Ireland during a lengthy bilateral meeting at the White House on Wednesday.

The Taoiseach also told the US President about a reset in relations between the Irish and UK Governments.

In particular, they specifically discussed the controversial Legacy Act that included an offer of conditional immunity for the perpetrators of Troubles crimes.

The new UK Government has committed to repealing that provision and some other contentious aspects of the act, such as its prohibition on inquests and civil cases linked to the conflict.

“The president and I also had an opportunity to talk about Northern Ireland, talk about the fact that the institutions (at Stormont) are back up and running,” said Mr Harris after his meeting at the White House.

“I had an opportunity to brief him on the reset in Anglo-Irish relations that myself and Prime Minister (Sir Keir) Starmer have underway, and how I believe that will bring practical benefits for people across our island, and across the two islands.

“We specifically discussed the issue of legacy, an issue which I know President Biden is deeply committed to, in terms of making sure that we have a mechanism for families in Northern Ireland for victims to have truth, reconciliation, and justice.

“And I, obviously, reiterated my view and the Irish Government’s view that the current Legacy Act is not compatible with human rights and the current Legacy Act needs to be repealed and replaced and I acknowledged Prime Minister Starmer’s work in relation to that, and our wish to work with him on that.”

 

“God bless former President Jimmy Carter. He wanted to do the right thing regarding Northern Ireland. It was bad enough Carter had to deal with the awful Maggie Thatcher, as this article explains.
However, even worse, the dreadful Garett FitzGerald did all in his power to oppose Carter’s desire to help.
This Irish Central article makes important reading.”
—Fr. Sean Mc Manus.

Fr. McManus and President Carter, White House. April 11, 1980,  This photo is not part of O’Dowd’s article, which has a photo of Thatcher and President Carter that we do not have the license to publish.

Carter and Thatcher clashed strongly over US ban on guns to RUC

Niall O’Dowd. Irish Central. Oct .9, 2024. (Originally published February 2023.Updated October 2024.)

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s office announced at the weekend that Carter, 98, will receive hospice care at home and would no longer receive medical treatment.

Back in 1979, Carter was at the heart of a decision to ban US arms shipments to the hated Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) police force, an attitude that infuriated Margaret Thatcher who had just come into power. Strong Irish American lobbying led by the Irish National Caucus leader Father Sean McManus originally secured the ban. According to Irish and British diplomatic papers, Thatcher insisted that London should “no longer turn the other cheek” when faced with US criticism of Britain’s role in Northern Ireland, as the issue strained the allies’ “special relationship.”

The 1979 papers show that “Anglo-American relations came under pressure after the US government decided in July that year to withhold export licenses for the supply of arms to the Royal Ulster Constabulary.” The British government had ordered 3,000 .375 Magnum handguns and 500 .223 semiautomatic rifles from the Sturm Ruger Corporation of Connecticut.

Thatcher went to Washington on December 17, 1979, to push for the ban to be lifted. According to the Financial Times, Thatcher, the newly elected prime minister, remarked in a private meeting that it should be “brought home to the Americans that for so long as they continued to finance terrorism, American lives as well as those of others would be lost.”

The Times continues: “The relationship between Mr. Carter and Mrs. Thatcher became frayed over the issue, with the British leader schooling the US president on the conflict after he admitted not knowing much about the situation in Northern Ireland.”

Ms. Thatcher sent four papers detailing UK policy. In a letter, she told Carter: “It is an unhappy fact that perspectives on Ireland – and not only in the United States – are still apt to owe more to the 19th century than to the facts of the present-day world.” The minutes of her initial meeting with the president revealed that she “handled both the gun which the RUC at present used and that US model which was on order. There was no doubt that the American Ruger was much better.” President Carter said during the same meeting that he “would like to approve the sale but did not wish to be defeated in Congress or to have a major altercation with them.”

Irish state documents, released under the 30-year rule, revealed that subsequently, Carter urged US speaker Tip O’Neill to lift the ban on arms sales to the RUC at the request of Thatcher. According to Irish government papers, the exchange was the first substantive one ever between a US president and a British leader.

Speaker O’Neill refused and said any arms deals from the US to the RUC would benefit the IRA whose supporters would be outraged by the American move. IrishCentral History

 

 

IRISH CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING

Distributed to Congress by Irish National Caucus

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

MISSISSIPPI AND NORTHERN IRELAND

The just published large, 420-page book, The Barn, by Wright Thompson is about the barn in which the fourteen-year-old  Black boy Emmett Till, visiting from Chicago, was tortured and executed/lynched in 1955 in Mississippi, and about how so much was covered up, still to this day.

 Indeed, the barn itself was not generally known as the actual murder site. About 15 years ago, I made a personal pilgrimage to the sacred sites in Mississippi where the Civil Rights Martyrs were murdered: Emmett Till, Medgar Evers, the three activists murdered in Philadelphia (MS)— James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, so forth and so on. (And cried silently at each site, just as I do at the graves of Irish patriots who gave their lives for Irish freedom).

But I did not know about the barn and only visited the remains of the store in Money in which Emmett had allegedly whistled at the white woman whose husband owned the store.

Thompson says something that is very relevant to the discussion on the Legacy Act of The King-in-Parliament: “The more I looked at the story of the barn… the more I understood that the tragedy of humankind isn’t that sometimes a few depraved individuals do what the rest of us could never do. It’s that the rest of us hide those hateful things from view, never learning the lesson that hate grows stronger and more resistant when it’s pushed underground. There lies the true horror of Emmett Till’s murder …Which is why so may have fought literally and figuratively for so long to keep the reality from view.” (Page12).

That’s the story of the British Empire—the story of The-King (or Queen or Monarch)-in- Parliament … and the story of the Legacy Bill that King Charles III turned into the Legacy Act by his Royal Assent, which is all about protecting the Crown Forces and their political bosses (the King being the Boss of Bosses).

Because as George Orwell said: “Who controls the present, controls the past.” For 855 years—and counting—England has controlled Ireland’s present and past. And England is not going to tell the truth about what it did in Ireland or any of the countries it oppressed in its racist, genocidal Empire … So, we all have to tell the truth about what England did, and is still doing, in Ireland.

I conclude by referring to another great book (which I’ve mentioned before in an Irish Congressional Briefing) : Legacy of Violence: A History of the British Empire (2022) by Harvard Professor, Caroline Elkins. How perfect is that title in the context of the Legacy Act of The King-in-Parliament … And the book-blurb on the back page, in part, irresistibly declares: [Professor Elkins] makes clear when Britain could no longer maintain control over the violence it provoked and enacted, it retreated from the empire, destroying and hiding incriminating evidence of its policy and practices. … And, please God, that is what the deplorable Legacy Act of The King-in-Parliament also heralds: England’s final withdrawal from the Six Counties/The North/Northern Ireland—enabling as the Irish National Caucus Internet Petition calls for:’ Ireland, too, has the right to be One Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.’ This magnificent Petition now has 31,661 Signers, with over one million Petition views

To sign Petition, click link (or copy and paste into the Browser you use)— https://www.change.org/IrelandOneNation

 

‘