CONNOLLY ASSOCIATION Annual CONFERENCE M … · M OCR AT (Incorporating "Irish Freedom") CONNOLLY ASSOCIATION Annual CONFERENCE The Garibaldi Cafe, Leystall Street, Clerkenwell Road

M OCR AT (Incorporating "Irish Freedom")

CONNOLLY ASSOCIATION

Annual CONFERENCE The Garibaldi Cafe, Leystall Street,

Clerkenwell Road (Near Holborn Hall)

Saturday & Sunday, 13th-14th Oct. Branches a re a sked to appoint Delegates

immediately. Visitors Welcome.

•w Series No. 9 New SEPTEMBER, 1945 Price 3d.

BIRDS OF A FEATHER

Big Strike WaveHits Dublin 50,000 Workers Pledge

Support By F L A N N CAMPBELL

Dublin. T H E end of the war has not b rought peace to Eire. S t r ikes have spread " f rom D u b l i n to the P rov ince s and industrial unrest is g rowing through-

o u t the country. Drogheda cement packers, Cah i r a n d C lonmel bakers, a n d Limerick dockers have resumed work , but as we go to press no settlement h a s been reached in the D u b l i n l aundry and butchers ' disputes, which are now entering their third month. K i lda re and D u b l i n f a r m labourers, w h o a r e d e m a n d i n g 2/6 an hour for threshing, are also restive. ' T W O T H O U S A N D Dubl in t e a c h e r s . ' back by 10.000 provincial m e m b e r s or-

u.mised in t h e I.N.T.O., will walk o u t t h i s au iumn un le s s t h e Gove rnmen t m a k e s las t minute concess ions . Unres t is g r o w i n g in the Dubl in p r i n t i n g trade, w h e r e a de-mand for a n e x t r a week's ho l iday is t he subject of n e g o t i a t i o n s .

B O S S E S ' C O M B I N E i J O far , t he b u t c h e r s ' and l a u n d r e s s e s ' de-n . ' ^ a n d s fo r a n ex t ra week's h o l i d a y w i th pay have m e t w i t h a blunt r e f u s a l to nego-tiate by t he bosses, who are n o w c o m b i n e d in a t ight f e d e r a t i o n of employers , on ly too reminiscent of t he i n f a m o u s E m p l o y e r s ' Federat ion of 1913.

Most s in i s t e r f e a t u r e of t h e p r e s e n t con-flict is t h e t i e -up between e m p l o y e r s a n d Governmen t . Mr . Sean L e m a s s h a s pub-licly s t a t ed t h a t h e does no t c o n s i d e r t h e time " o p p o r t u n e " for any e x t r a ho l iday , and G o v e r n m e n t spokesmen h a v e r epea -tedly opposed a n y genera l i n c r e a s e in wages.

Over 1,000 m e n are involved in t he butchers ' s t r i k e wh ich is now e n t e r i n g i ts n in th week. B l a m e for the b r e a k d o w n in negot ia t ions is p laced on E a s t m a n ' s , t h e big Eng l i sh m e a t combine, a n d on t h e powerful E m p l o y e r s ' Federa t ion w h i c h re-fuses to allow i t s m e m b e r s to n e g o t i a t e in-dependent ly .

Describing how he had met these "hard-faced employers," Mr. Jim Larkin, T.D., said his union had been told "in plain brutal terms" to surrender. When Miss Lou ie Bennet t , s e c r e t a r y of

the W o m e n W o r k e r s ' Union, w e n t to nego-tiate on beha l f of t he laundresses , s h e w a s met by a c o m m i t t e e of 12 employe r s , only two of w h o m were laundry owne r s . " I n

(Continued on Page Eight)

THEY READ U S IN BURMA

A N indication of the world-wide interest - ' in the " I r i sh Democrat" is the fac t t h a t during the pas t month we have received letters from readers in such widely separ-ated places as Burma, Australia. America, New Zealand, Belgium. France a n d Ger-many. There is hardly a town in t h e Bri t ish Isles in which our paper does not circulate .

Among the m a n y new readers of our paper Is Frank I ' a k c n h a m . Mr. P a k c n h a m is well-known as the author of "Peaec by Ordeal" —the story of t h e Treaty—and worker and adviser to Sir William Beveridgc, a u t h o r of the Oeveridge Plan.

It is well known tha t 'Irish D e m o c r a t " is the liveliest a n d most popular Ir ish political journal. If supplies of pulp were available, Us circulation would leap and our money problems would solve themselves, but unti l 'hat Happy day your contrblutions mus t roll In.

Put your back into It. readers! Don ' t leave 11 (o the o ther fellow, cos' mast likely he's leaving It to you.

How about a few more subs, f r o m home? Grateful t h a n k s to: Tjarry Lowther . Man-

chester, 15/-; Te r ry Flanagan. Dubl in . 6 -; Mr Tiafsa 1 / - ; F. E. Phelan 5 / - ; "Demo-c a t " Supporter* 14/6; Frank P a k e n h a m 16 -; Pat Dooley 10 -

I donations to Molly Hill, "Ir ish Democra t . " 'Vernier House, 150 Southampton Row, Lon-«fe>tv, W.C.2.

Eire Deserters Dismissed

Members of the Defence Forces or Reserve absent without leave for 180 days or more become automatically dismissed for desertion in time of national emergency, under an Emergency Powers Order made by the Government, with retrospective effect for the past six months.

Such deserters forfeit all pension rights and are disqualified for seven years from employment by the State, local authority, or any statutory board or body, and lose unemploy-ment contributions for service.

Another effect of the Order is that such deserters are no longer liable to apprehension or court-martial.

Free the Prisoners A M E E T I N G in Bel fas t , unde r t h e a u s -

pices of t h e G e n e r a l A m n e s t y C o m -mittee, a n d a d d r e s s e d by th ree m e m b e r s of the Six C o u n t y P a r l i a m e n t , ca l led u p o n the Br i t i sh G o v e r n m e n t to end police ru l e in the Six C o u n t i e s a n d af ford a g e n e r a l amnes ty to al l I r i s h polit ical p r i s o n e r s in Br i ta in a n d t h e Six Count ies . M e s s a g e s of suppor t were r e a d f r o m Na t iona l i s t s a n d La&our M.P.s a t S t o r m o n t .

Mr. H. Diamond, Socialist Republican M.P, for the Falls, who presided, said they were determined that the 64 Irish men and women serving sentences of from 10 to 20 years in English prisons would not complete these terms.

Replying to Mr . T. J . Campbel l , K.C. iNat.) a t S t o r m o n t , t he Minis te r of H o m e Affairs i Mr. W a r n o c k , K.C.) said t h e r e a r e no in te rnees in D e n y or A r m a g h Pr i sons .

In Be l f a s t t h e r e a re 82 a n d he hoped to be able to f r e e a f u r t h e r n u m b e r be fo re the end of t h e m o n t h . By t h a t t i m e t he G o v e r n m e n t ' s decis ion to release t he g r e a t major i ty of t h e i n t e r n e e s would h a v e been completed.

MR. SEAN LEMASS, Minister of Industry and Commerce, and SENATOR F. M. SUMMERFIELD, ex-President, Federa-tion of Irish Manufacturers , a t a recent d inner of Dublin business-men. General Mulcahv, Fine Gael leader, was also at the

dinner^

Stirring Tattoo

Scenes r £ i W E N T Y T H O U S A N D c h e e r i n g specta-

greeted the s p e c t a c u l a r Army which opened in Bollsbridge,

tors T a t t o o , Dub l in

T h e Pres ident , who on h i s a r r iva l was g ree t ed by a f a n f a r e of t r u m p e t s , said:

T h e mi l i t a ry t a t too a n d exh ib i t i on have been organised wi th two m a i n objec ts in view. T h e f i rs t is to a s s i s t in providing f u n d s fo r the Army B e n e v o l e n t F u n d to he lp i t to ca r ry on i ts m a g n i f i c e n t work, a n d t h e second, to a f fo rd a n oppor tun i ty to t h e public to see a t close q u a r t e r s the t e chn i ca l exhibi ts of t h e v a r i o u s army co rps a n d t he h is tor ica l e x h i b i t s of arms, weapons a n d equ ipmen t .

T h e F lag was up a t 8.30 s h a r p . T h e n the m a s s e d bands , di rected by M a j o r Sauers-weig, p a r a d e d on to t h e field a m i d wild e n t h u s i a s m . T h e s t i r r i n g m a r t i a l airs, p layed by h u n d r e d s of m u s i c a l instru-men t s , roused terrific n a t i o n a l feeling.

T h e pipers, d r u m m e r s a n d t r u m p e t s of t he music ians , and thei r c o l o u r s of green a n d blue a n d gold, m a d e a fine spectacle. As they ended thei r p r o g r a m m e with the " A f t e r Duty F a n t a s i a , " first t i m e played, t he g rea t badge of t he A r m y t h a t domin-a t e s t he eas t end of t he g r o u n d began to glow a n d t he first of t h e magn i f i cen t l i gh t ing effects began to flood t h e ground.

ONE MORE SHIP THIS MONTH

A N a s s u r a n c e t h a t the G o v e r n m e n t was aware of t he t ravel diff icul t ies a n d

were doing al l t h e y could to improve t h e services to I r e l a n d was given by Mr. G . R. St rauss . P a r l i a m e n t a r y Sec re ta ry to the Minis try of W a r T r a n s p o r t , when h e re-ceived Mr. H u g h Delargy, M.P., on behal f of a d e p u t a t i o n of I r i sh workers , a t t he House of C o m m o n s las t m o n t h .

Mr. Delargy said he understood one extra ship w i s to be put on immediately and more would follow In the autumn months. The possibility of Increased air services was also being considered.

The deputat ion, led by Mr. Flann Camp-bell, editor "Irish Democrat," interviewed the Si* County Members, Mr. Jack Beatt ie . ( labour) a n d Mr. Cunningham f Nation*!-

i s t ) , who said they h a d a l r e a d y raised the m a t t e r with the Minis ter ,

A s t a t emen t , s igned by M r . P. Clancy i Connolly Associat ion). M r . J . Doyle i T h a c k e r a y Hostel for B u i l d i n g Workers) , Mr. Alber t F rench (A.S.W.), M r . Bob Doyle 'Connol ly Associat ioni a n d Mr . F l a n n Campbel l (" I r ish D e m o c r a t " ) , welcoming t he G o v e r n m e n t ' s decis ion a n d s ta t ing t h a t t he Dun L a o g h a i r e — H o l y h e a d route be given first pr iori ty, w a s s u b m i t t e d to t he Minis te r of W a r T r a n s p o r t by Mr. Delargy .

I t w a s also urged t h a t Aer L ingus be a l lowed to resume its se rv ice to Croydon.

T h e Birmingham B r a n c h of the Con-nolly Aaeoci&tion is c irculat ing a petition r e q u e s t i n g better f ac i l i t i e s f or war wor-kers t r ave l l ing to I r e l and .

Welcome for New

Government ( B y our Political Cor respondent )

J ^ E P E R C U S S I O N S in Labour's election victory are already felt

in Ireland.

As the results were announced, Socialism was the main subject of discussion in Dublin's trams, clubs, coffee-shops and homes.

Though it is too early for big changes in the political situation, it is clear that Labour's triumph jn Britain will eventually transforms-Anglo-Irish relations.

BROOKE ' S S L O G A N A complete reversal of the old

party alignment may take place. In Belfast, Sir Basil Brooke

may look for a new slogan. Wolfe Tone's "Break the connection with England," is one of the most- -frequently suggested by Northern wits!

Near-Unionists, such as Dillon and Mulcahy, will no longer look with such sympathetic eyes on a Britain where- the top.

As the bad old Imperialistic tradi-tions fade out, we may expect a new spirit of friendship and co-operation towards Britain on the part of Irish Labour and progressive Republicans.

C H A N G E D A T T I T U D E TO B R I T A I N

It may be some years before full implications of the new policy be-come plain. But certain trends in Ireland are already obvious.

At a strikers' meeting in Cathal Brughat Street, spontaneous ap-plause greeted Mr. Jim Larkin, when he referred to the "new wor-kers' Government in Britain."

Th i s is probably the first time in I r i sh history in which a meeting of class-conscious Dublin workers has freely applauded a British Govern-ment.

A die-hard Unionist, when he heard that Churchill had been de-feated, said it was "the blackest day since Dunkirk."

Typical of Labour comment was an enthusiastic article by Mr. Luke Duffy, general secretary of the Irish Labour Party, who wrote: "The elec-tion will quicken political thought wherever men are free to think. Al-ready the results are being discussed and evaluated in every hamlet and town in Europe."

A Republican internee, not long released from the Curragh, now In the Labour Party, said: "For years we have regarded Britain as the most reactionary country In the world. Now it is we who lag behind. We must catch up and put a Labour Government into power ourselves."

T O N I C E F F E C T S ON I R I S H L A B O U R

In Irish trade union circles, an immediate result has been the weakening of William O'Brien's posi-tion in the Congress of Irish Unions.

It is not overlooked that the new Brit ish Foreign Minister, Mr. Bevln, was formerly secretary of the Amal-gamated Transport Workers, one of the main objects of O'Brien's veno-mous attacks as a "foreign" union.

One question widely asked is: " W i l l Mr. Lemass antagonise the Br i t i sh Government by bringing In legislation adversely affecting such unions which have their headquar-ters in England!" >

8 THE IRISH DEMOCRAT September, 1945

They're Fighters For Freedom

NO. 4—ALBERT FRENCH

ALBERT FRENCH

TN M r . de Va le ra ' s E i re o r S i r Bas i l

Brooke ' s Six C o u n t i e s i t m i g h t seem s t r a n g e to find a f o r m e r C a t h o l i c Nat ion-a l i s t f r o m the S o u t h a n d a f o r m e r Pro tes -t a n t Un ion i s t f r o m t h e N o r t h a c t i n g as c h a i r m a n and sec re ta ry respec t ive ly of t h e s a m e poli t ical p a r t y b r a n c h . B u t in the C o n n o l l y Associat ion i t s e e m s t h e most n a t u r a l t h i n g in t h e world.

I n W e s t London you will find Bob Doyle, D u b l i n e r an j l e x - m e m b e r of t h e Republ i -c a n Congress , a n d Albe r t F r e n c h , Be l f a s t b o r n a n d ex-member of a n O r a n g e Lodge, p r o u d to work t o g e t h e r in t h e s a m e cause.

For them it is no longer K ing James versus King Billy, South versus North, or Falls versus Shankhill, but the workers against the bosses—Socialism against Capitalism.

Dif f e r ences of re l ig ion, b i r t h p l a c e or up-b r i n g i n g m e a n n o t h i n g to t h e m now they a r e u n i t e d in a m o v e m e n t , w h i c h being in-t e r n a t i o n a l , knows n o b a r r i e r s of race or c r e e d .

P O G R O M S A G A I N S T C A T H O L I C S Born in Ballymacarrett , heart of Orange

Bel fas t , Albert French was brought u p a s t a u n c h Unionist.

It was the brutal breaking of the relief workers' strike in T932 by Sir Dawson Bates that first revealed to him how ugly was the face of Ulster Toryism.

For a young man filled wi th idealistic and humanitarian ideas it was an eye-opener to see armoured cars patroll ing the Fa l l s Road while brutal "B Specials" police b a t o n e d d o w n peacefu l unemployed demonstrations. (We should not forget t h a t Churchill has proposed to use these s a m e police to beat-up Greek Commu-nis ts . )

I n 1932 the great depression had reached Belfast. Shipyards were closing down, unemployment queues were leng-t h e n i n g and the Republ i cans were restive under the Special Powers Act. In Ger-many , Hitler was us ing the Jews as the scapegoat for the cr imes of capitalism. In the S ix Counties, Lord Craigavon used a s imi lar diversion to turn the people's eyes a w a y from their real problems. Pogroms a g a i n s t the Cathol ics became frequent. T h o u s a n d s of misguided Protestant wor-kers, their minds already distorted by the threat of unemployment, where whipped i n t o a frenzy by the beating of the Orange drum.

N O Q U A R R E L W I T H C A T H O L I C S I t was not an easy s i tuation for anyone

to keep a cool head and an open mind. B u t Albert French's inte l l igence was not clouded by out-of-date nonsense about the B a t t l e of the Boyne or the supposed "menace of the Papists ."

His wits sharpened by personal experi-e n c e of poverty and unemployment , it was n o t long before he saw through the smoke-screen of Unionist propaganda.

Realising that it was capitalism, not re-ligion, that divided the workers, he rapidly came to the conclusion that he had no quarrel with the Catholic workers, many of whom were in the same desperate plight as himself. Their real enemies were the big industrialists and landowners who exploited both Catholic and Protes-tant alike.

G R A S S G R E W IN S H I P Y A R D S His experience of Six County 'demo-

cracy was sh,ort—and not very sweet. Apprenticed to H a r l a n d a n d Wolff 's , h e

w a s laid off in 1932, a n d did noty get another job fo r t h r e e years .

Describing Bel fas t in t h a t gloomy period when It was becoming one of the worst distressed areas in the Brit ish Isles, he writes: "Grass grew In the shipyards , .and si lence settled on shops which formerly h u m m e d with activity."

(Continued in Next Column)

Dublin Teachers to Strike i f ages are not Raised

B y % \ \ K K E L L 1 i ; I R E ' S 12.000 S t a t e - p a i d e l e m e n t a r y J J school t e a c h e r s a r c r eady for s t r i ke a c t i o n .

War has been declared, and unless Mr. de Valera grants a last-minutes substan-tial increase in wages and pensions, Dub-lin's 2,000 school teachers will walk out after the summer holidays. The provin-cial teachers have agreed to raise a levy of £5 a head in support of the protest strike. Dublin Trades Council have declared they will support the strike and will appeal to parents not to "blackleg" by sending their children to "scab" schools.

A r e c e n t appea l by E i r e ' s Ca tho l ic bis-h o p s to t h e G o v e r n m e n t on behalf of t h e t e a c h e r s r e su l t ed in a n inc rease of Is. p e r week t o t h e t eache r s ' e m e r g e n c y b o n u s . T h i s is r e g a r d e d as a n i n s u l t i n g d i sc r imi -n a t i o n . because t h e E i re G o v e r n m e n t , in a d d i t i o n to g r a n t i n g t h e Is. inc rease to civil s e r v a n t s a n d t h e police, h a s g r a n t e d s a l a r y i n c r e a s e s r a n g i n g f r o m £22 to £ 7 5 pe r a n n u m to t he c o m p a r a t i v e l y h i g h e r p a i d civi l s e r v a n t s , a n d i n c r e a s e s r a n g i n g be tween 10 a n d 12 per cen t , to t he police.

E i r e ' s t e a c h e r s c l a im t h a t a l t h o u g h t h e i r w a g e s h a v e been v i r t ua l l y f rozen s ince 1938, t h e p u r c h a s i n g va lue of t he £ h a s d r o p p e d t o l i s . 6d. d u r i n g t h e w a r y e a r s .

A young t e ache r in t h e T w e n t y - S i s C o u n -t ies to-day. d e s p i t e five 10 seven y e a r s t r a in ing , receives in b o n u s a n d s a l a r y £175 12s. a year. I t s p u r c h a s i n g power is es t i -m a t e d a t £100 c o m p a r e d w i t h £147 in 1938. Th i s is less t h a n t h e wages rece ived by m a n y unsk i l l ed l abou re r s .

B O N U S CLAIMS

T h e teachers ' c a m p a i g n for a n i m m e d i -a t e s u b s t a n t i a l i n c r e a s e in bonus, p e n d i n g a n increase in s a l a r i e s a n d p e n s i o n s to b r i n g t h e m in l i ne wi th the B u r n h a t n scale ope ra t ing in B r i t a i n , h a s wide back -ing. They h a v e t h e un i t ed s u p o r t of al l Oppos i t ion P a r t i e s in t h e Dai l a n d m a n y of Mr. de Va le ra ' s o w n fol lowers in F i a n n a Fail , including, it is s a id , the M i n i s t e r of Educa t ion , f a v o u r a n inc rease .

Mr. M. P. L e n i h a n , a s s i s t an t g e n e r a l s ec re t a ry of t h e I r i s h N a t i o n a l T e a c h e r s ' Organ i sa t ion , to ld m e in Dub l in : " T h e t emper of the t e a c h e r s is very b i t t e r . T h e y a r e cons ider ing g o i n g on s t r ike a s t h e y feel they have n o t on ly been t r e a t e d un -ju s t l y but a r e t h e v i c t ims of d i s c r i m i n a -t ion."

An inc reas ing n u m b e r of Eire 's d i s sa t i s -fied, badly-paid t e a c h e r s a re seek ing e m -p loymen t in B r i t a i n .

When Dev Crushed the Blueshirts

VEN you, Sir, have occasionally to be rapped over the knuckles, a n d a n ef for t

made to prevent you f rom making broad s t a t e m e n t s t ha t may be un t rue . I n your las t issue you comment on a letter f rom F. E. P h e l a n (Royal Navy) t h a t h e labours u n d e r some delusions. If wha t you s ta te is ac-cepted a t its face value, i t can do i r reparable h a r m to our mutua l Ir ish cause in the post-war world.

You s ta te tha t Mr. De Valera never took any active moral s tand aga ins t Fascism. Th i s is a base, mendacious u t t e rance t h a t can only be due to colossal ignorance or a n urge to misrepresent the fac t s .

I would like to answer t h a t point. Not m a n y years ago in I re land a movement was in i t ia ted to the foref ront of Ir ish politics— the Blueshir ts . If ever a n organisat ion was Fascis t in its origin, policy and methods, i t

(Cont inued f rom Preceding Columni Poverty and a burning sense of social

justice turned him towards Socialism. His exper iences on that road were the usual ones of a class-conscious worker—activity in h i s trade union, jo in ing the Labour Party, election to the B e l f a s t Trades Coun-cil, s h o p steward in the shipyards, even-tual vict imisation and blacklisting.

G i v e n a new job in 1935 he was paid only 27s. a week. So like many another Ir i shmen in the same predicament, he de-cided to try hit. luck in Britain.

In Britain it was inevitable tha t h e should join the Connolly Association. And now, wi th the results of the elect ions show-ing a definite swing to the Left in Six-County politics, he can look back a t those early days with the knowledge that all t h a t e n t h u s i a s m and hard work was well spent . The seed is beginning to bear fruit.

F.C. (Next m o n t h : P. Early)

was. Like the fol lowers of Mussolini a n d Hitler, they carr ied guns , and their leader , General Eoin O 'Duf fy , was inclined to an t i -Semitism.

Mr. De Valera 's s t r o n g manoeuvres dis-banded tha t o rganisa t ion , which, h a d it been permitted to grow, m i g h t have swayed large numbers of Ir ish people to support F r a n c o in Spain. Like mos t organisations in I re-land, i t used religion to inveigle a n d sway the nat ion towards F r a n c o and many young i r i shmen went to S p a i n under t he filthily misrepresented s logan of the "Chr i s t i an Front ."

Your second po in t is about Mr. De Valera ' s policy of low wages f o r t h e workers a n d h igh wages for the capi ta l i s ts . Capitalism in any fo rm is a n a t h e m a to me, but a shor t bio-graphical note m i g h t he lp to clear u p your implication.

When I lef t Dubl in not long ago, the labourers' ra te in Dubl in was 1 9 an hour . In London it is only 1 /9 j a n hour despi te t he h igh cost of c igare t tes and drinks. In Dub-lin I could buy c iga re t t e s a t 1/5 fo r 20 a n d beer a t 8d. a p in t . And the t r adesmen ' s ra tes were even h i g h e r in Dublin t h a n in London when I le f t .

ANDREW KAVANAGH. 54 Alma Road, Wandsworth, S.W.19.

[No one will deny t h a t one of t h e f ines t things which Mr. De Valera ever did was to smash the Blueshir ts , but t ha t does not alter the fac t t h a t h e h a s never t aken any moral s tand aga in s t in ternat ional Fas-cism. I t is not t h e F i a n n a Fail Govern-ment which h a s ra ised the wages of Dub-lin building workers . I t ha s been t h e La-bour and t rade un ion movement which has done so, in f ace of bitter opposit ion from both employers and Government . Mr. Kavanagh m i g h t well take a t r ip to Dublin and see how the Government is backing the Employers ' Federation in t he present s tr ikes.—Editor ].

The Opinions of WILLIAM COBBETT

Edited by G. I). H. & M. Cole - 10/6

This wonderful selection is made from Cobbet t ' s wri t ings In his POLITICAL REGISTER over a period of 33 years. One of our greatest f igh te r s for democracy, Cobbet t had something to say on everything t h a t affccted the workers, a n d wha t he said is well worth while reading today .

340 Pages. Post Paid I I / -

Scnd 2d. for monthly catalogue to—

C E N T R A L H O O K S L I M I T E D 2 -4 P A R T O N S T R E E T - L O N D O N , W.C.1

KILLED IN BELGIUM have received the vul news

' ' tha t Sg!. Hiigan, who was a fre-quent contributor to the corn -pond-ence columns of this paper (see letter below) has been killed in an accident ill Belgium. To his wife uiul family in Castleford. Yorkshire, v»e extend our sincere sympathy.

Pte. J . McNamcra, of the 50lh t oy., Pioneer Corps, B.L.A., writes: "A good comrade and good democra t was the late Sgt. J o h n Hogan. He liked to write about the "Wild Geese" of l ie-land who had won honour on iorcign battlelields. Now he himself lies with them. I am sure tha t the readers of the 'Irish Democrat ' who read his con-tributions f rom t ime to t ime and knew his kindly na tu re and demo-cratic outlook will share t he deep sym-pathy which we extend to liis widow and family, and would like to contri-bute something to the f u n d which we have s ta r ted for their aid."

FRANCO THE FASCIST r p O - D A Y people throughout the world J - are shocked by stories of the Nazi murder camps, but we m u s t not forget that as far back as 1934-35 Fasc i s t cruelty was c la iming its victims.

Some people tried to convince us then that these atrocities were just "commu-n i s t propaganda," but we know better now. Have we forgotten how the val iant soldiers of the Spanish Republic were murdered? The Nazis were allowed to im-port their S.S. and murder gangs into Spain to he lp Franco a n d suppress the S p a n i s h workers anc trade unions. Y e t to some people Franco was a "great Chris-t ian gentleman." Have we forgot ten t h e defenceless Abyssinians w h o were s laugh-tered by I ta l ian Fascis ts?

Those days will never be forgot ten by l iberty-loving people. I t i s up to all of u s to see that the people are not deceived again.

Our salvation lies in Social ism. Our only hope is a world free f rom want a n d wars, in which there is fu l l employment , security, decent homes a n d education* for all.

JOHN HOGAN, Pioneer Corps, B.L.A., France.

PADDY AGNEW—PRINCE OF GENEROUS SOULS

A S a person who helped Paddy Agnew - 1 ' build the Labour movement in the Mourne Mountains , I was amused a t your idea of Mr. McSpar ran as a worker's advo-cate in the councils of Ulster.

At the Nationalist Convent ion where he was nominated to fight the seat, two workers asked whether, if he was re turned, he would speak for the working people. His answer was " T h a t if they d idn ' t like the way in which the Convention was r u n they could leave."

T h a t prince of generous souls, Paddy Agnew, may not be everyone's ideal of an M.P., but during his tenure of Pa r l i amen t he fought causes f a r f rom his own door-step when prouder names remained silent and safe.

The t r u th about these two seats is t ha t the pulpit pleaded for Mr. McSpar ran and thundered against Mr. Agnew. Your readers can draw their own conclusions as to who, in spite of the lessons of bygone days, rules the polling booths in I re land .

THOMAS FEGAN. 12 Lancaster Road,

Leicester.

MORE IRISH PAMPHLETS I N Bri ta in to-day the bookstalls a re full of

pamphle ts about the economic and min-eral resources of o ther lands.

Why cannot we produce some up-to-date pamphle ts on the same lines, only this t ime describing tlie undeveloped resources of our own count ry?

I). J . BKOSNAN. London.

A GOOD CAUSE I I ERE is 5/- subscription for f u r t h e r - I I issues of "Irish Democrat ." I take this opportuni ty of congra tu la t ing you upon the excellence of your paper—a great boon to those of us who have been awav f rom Ire-land for several years.

I hope to visit I re land when the war Is over. In the mean t ime I wish your paper every success and may it help to advance the good cause of the Labour movement in t h e old country.

JOHN McKINNEY (Fleet Air Ann).

September, 1945 T H E IRISH D E M O C R A T

IRISH DEMOCRAT ROOM 117, PREMIER HOI SI .

150 SOUTHAMPTON ROiV, LONDON, W.C.I

All communica t ions to be addressed to the Edi tor , F lann Campbell.

Te lephone No.: Ter. "!i(ii;

R \TE—Twelve Months ! -S i x Months 2 -

The Iliililin Strikes

T H E fact that with in a few weeks of the end of the war five strikes

have broken out and two more are threatened, is an indication of the widespread social discontent which prevails throughout Ireland.

In the S i x -Count ie s , 20,000 sh ipya rd

and aircraft w o r k e r s are threatened

with u n e m p l o y m e n t as a result of the

ending of w a r contracts, and S i r Bas i l

Brookes ' Gove rnment * apparent ly ,

has no p lans ready to meet the result-

ing industr ia l crisis. In Eire, the con-

trast between r is ing profits for the

capitalists a n d pegged wages for the

workers has become so g l a r i n g that

strikes have b roken out all over the

country.

In most cases, ow ing to the restric-

tive W a g e s Standst i l l Order and

anti-Trade U n i o n Act, Un ion demands

have been focussed main ly on the

question of ext ra hol idays w i th pay

and improved w o r k i n g condit ions.

On ly in the case of the teachers has there been a direct demand for b igger wages, a n d in this case the d e m a n d has met w i t h widespread publ ic s ym-pathy. It is everywhere recognised that the teachers are scanda lous ly underpaid. If the teachers str ike this a u t u m n — a n d their demands are then conceded—i t w i l l be interesting to see what f ace - sav ing formula the Gov -ernment pu t s f o r w a r d so as to pre-vent s imi la r c l a ims being put in by other sect ions of underpaid workers .

M u c h more than a fortn ight ' s holiday is i nvo l ved in the present struggle. ' T h e r e is an organised line-up of every rotten reactionary force in the count ry , " says Mr . J i m La rk i n , T.D. " I f we w i n , " he went on to say, "the whole work ing -c las s movement goes fo rward . If we fail every ga in the workers h a v e made in the last 25 years has been lost."

Labour ' s t a sk wi l l not be easy. A situation, such as exists, in w h i c h a disunited t rade union movement faces a c losely interlocked and power-ful comb ina t ion of employers is ful l of danger. I r i sh capi ta l i sm has emerged f r o m this war financially strong, and ruthless ly determined to mainta in its present pr iv i leged posi-tion. The Government , too, in its search f o r l o w costs and industr ia l efficiency ha s s ided with the E m p l o y -ers' Federat ion, which contains some of the most reactionary and Fascist-minded e lements in the country.

Lack of co-ordinat ion between the industrial a n d political w i n g s of the Labour m o v e m e n t has proved a g rave weakness in the present s trugg le. It is time, that the leaders of I r i sh La-bour learnt that the problems n o w be-ing faqefl a re too important a n d the tirpes too u r gen t for i n d i v i d u a l s — n o matter how long their record or how proud their reputa t ion—to take deci-sions by themselves. Col lect ive deci-sions, col lect ive leadership, a n d col-lective act ion are necessary if this fight is to be won.

Next month the eighth Annual Conference of the Connol ly Association will be held in London. C. D E S M O N D G R E A V E S , National Secretary, discusses the problems which will face Irish workers in Britain n o w that the war is over

PARTITION MUST NOT STAND IN W A Y OF SOCIAL REFORM

r I "Uf ce lebra t ions a re over. T h e bonf i res ' ll.iW died down. And now c o m e s the i.i!'- to apply wha t we h a v e l e a r n e d in

those tense wear ing years of s t rugg le . How c a n v.v re-build in such a way t h a t our new civil isat ion is a real a n d e n d u r i n g ti l ing, d i i l e r en t f r o m t h e s h a m e l e s s sc ramble for power a n d prof i t wh ich it h a s been in our l i fe t ime? Does ou r ex-per ience supply t h e answer? A n d wha t , coming n e a r e r home, are I r i s h m e n to con-t r ibu te to t h i s world-wide ac t iv i ty of re-hab i l i t a t ion . recons t ruc t ion a n d r e g e n e r a -t ion?

Our forthcoming Annual Conference, opening the Connolly Association's eighth year ol work on behalf of the Irish in Britain, will attempt to give an answer. But as one who has been closely connected with the development of policy during these difficult years. I welcome the oppor-tunity given by "Irish Democrat," of giv-ing these problems a preliminary airing.

T h e Connol ly Association, a s t i ie n a m e implies, ex is t s in order to app ly t h e Social-ist p r inc ip les first e n u n c i a t e d by J a m e s Connolly to t he problems a n d i n t e r e s t s of the I r i sh workers who live in B r i t a i n . I t is aff i l ia ted to no polit ical p a r t y , h e r e or in I re land , b u t follows beh ind t he com-m o n b a n n e r of Labour a n d Socia l Pro-gress.

B u t we know Connolly died in 1916. his life's work unf in i shed , cu t off a t the h e i g h t of h i s powers. We rea l i se how m u c h I r e l a n d h a s suffered f r o m h a v i n g to face the subsequen t t r ia ls w i t h o u t t he gu idance of t h a t i ncomparab le b r a i n a n d spir i t . Bu t for t h a t reason we a r e deter-mined t h a t his l ight shal l still sh ine , a n d t h a t h i s op in ions shall never be allowed to fossilise. We shal l not m a k e a s t a ined glass window of h i s memory . W e sha l l test each new event by the t o u c h s t o n e we have, a n d th i s shal l con t inua l ly develop t he finest t r a d i t i o n s t h a t I r e l a n d ever produced.

J U S T I C E FOR C O M M O N M A N For th i s reason we m u s t s ay t h a t the

exper ience of t h e war yea r s m u s t become incorpora ted in to I r i sh t h o u g h t . T h e les-sons of t he war a re clear. N e i t h e r p r in -cipal i t ies nor powers—and m a k e no er ror , not even the u r a n i u m bomb of t h e f u t u r e —can w i t h s t a n d t he d e t e r m i n a t i o n of t h e c o m m o n m a n i n t e n t on the v ic tory of jus-tice.

T h e few r e m a i n i n g Fasc i s t f lag s t a f f s j will be knocked down like n i n e p i n s . Re-

ac t ion c. nno t t r iumph , a n d th i s is a s t r u e of I r e l a n d a s ol a n y w h e r e in t he wor ld .

The Connolly Association has tried to be Ireland's friend without being England s enemy. Thousands have availed them-selves of its free advice and help on legal matters. In countless public meetings, and in meetings of trade unions and other organisations, the Irish point of view has been explained, a lead given to the Irish, a call given to the English to lay aside old prejudices and each in our own way now, strive for a world free from social or national oppression later.

P A R T I T I O N D E L A Y S S O C I A L R E F O R M

S o m e say Pa r t i t i on is a n i n s u p e r a b l e ob-s tac le to such col laborat ion. I t i s t rue t h a t P a r t i t i o n was i n t roduced in o r d e r to hold u p t h e course of social r e f o r m in Ire-land . a n d t h a t it succeeded in d e l a y i n g it. B o t h in N o r t h a n d S o u t h r e a c t i o n a r y Gov-e r n m e n t s arose. A whole g e n e r a t i o n ac-c u s t o m e d . to na t iona l division h a s been r ea red a n d vested in te res t s a r e e n t r e n c h e d on bo th s ides of the Border . B u t th i s be ing so i t is clear t h a t we c a n n o t d ispose of t he Borde r by t he s t roke of a pen. R a t h e r , shou ld we get a t t he ves ted in-t e r e s t s — t h e Unionis ts of t h e N o r t h a n d t he r e a c t i o n a r i e s of t he S o u t h — w h e t h e r t hey call themse lves F i a n n a F a i l o r F i n e G a e l ; w h e t h e r they a re g r e a t n a t i o n a l l eade r s or g r e s , n:>' onal robbers—al l who r ing f a l s e w h e n tested by Conno l ly ' s p r in -ciples.

W h o c a n excuse t h e u n e m p l o y m e n t in t he N o r t h , t h e d r ead fu l l abour cond i t i ons descr ibed by Connolly a n d n o d i f f e r e n t to-d a y ? W h o c a n excuse t h e flat r e f u s a l to s u s t a i n t r a d e or commerce w i th those ac ross t h e Borde r?

B u t w h o c a n defend the T r a d e Union Bill of t h e South . Mr. L e m a s s ' s clever m a n o e u v r e s t o spl i t Labour , t h e o u t r a g e o u s l i t e r a ry censor sh ip a n d t h e dep lo rab le h e a l t h serv ices?

W H A T K I N D OF R E P U B L I C ? W e a r e n o t worried by t he " c o n s t i t u -

t ional pos i t ion ." Mr. de Vale ra . r ep ly ing t o M r . Di l lon ' s s tupid a n d p rovoca t ive ques t ion , sa id "Eire is a Repub l i c . " a n d gave a n exp lana t ion fol lowing h i s pro-posed compromise t e rms of 1922, which showed h i s posit ion to be a s it was t hen , t h a t cf r. modera to r . His speech w a s well-chosen , ba lanced a n d exp la ined well e n o u g h w h a t Eire is.

i) l w h a t is Eire to become? A Repub-lic. \ e s . B u t what k ind of a Republ ic? W h a t is to be done in t he n a m e of the Repub l i c? A i e ch i ld ren to die of tuber -culosis, or go bare foo t t h r o u g h t he town and c o u n t r y s lums in t he Repub l i c? The ' social p r o g r a m m e is a l l - impor t an t , no t t he label. S t a t e s m e n in t he S o u t h have a g iave tespons ib i l i ty . A socially progres-sive S o u t h would prove a n i r res is t ible m a g n e t to t h e Nor th a n d t he B o r d e r would soon v a n i s h . T h a t is why we say, a n d have a l w a y s said, t h a t f a r f r o m h a v i n g to wait u n t i l P a r t i t i o n is abo l i shed for our social r e f o r m s — t h e process of social re-f o i m in h e a l t h , hous ing , d e m o c r a c y (going

| away wi th t h e T r a d e Union Bill a n d con-sorship in t h e South , g e r r y m a n d e r i n g a n d nepo t i sm in t he Nor th )—wil l be the one lever long e n o u g h to pry u p t h a t un-n a t u r a l d ivis ion f r o m the soil of t he coun t ry .

S O C I A L P R O G R E S S Possibly f ede r a t i on may be a necessary

s tage in w h i c h suspicions die down. B u t even t h a t s t a g e is no t yet . T h e p r e s e n t need is t h a t N o r t h and S o u t h find a com-mon g r o u n d in social progress , for th i s will m a k e col labora t ion a n inescapable necess i ty . T h e N o r t h e r n e lec t ions show signs of Union i sm weaken ing . T h e S o u t h e r n Pres iden t i a l e lec t ions show s igns t h a t t h e s u b m e r g e n c e of social in n a t i o n a l p r o b l e m s is end ing .

T h e r e will be work in B r i t a i n for some time. B u t mos t exiles w a n t to r e t u r n . C a n thei r voicc be h e a r d ac ross t h e C h a n n e l ? Can t h e l e t t e r s which go home, t he con-t ac t s m a d e a g a i n on ho l idays h e l p to draw the S o u t h o u t of i ts poli t ical i so la t ionism, the N o r t h f r o m its ing ra ined s e c t a r i a n i s m ? Can tire behaviour , inf luence , a n d con-s t ruc t ive e n t h u s i a s m of I r i s h m e n in Br i t a in win the newly-awakened British people t o a s y m p a t h e t i c understanding.

Much of this will depend on the Con-nolly Association and its members, how far we can show a road for Irishmen to travel to their aspirations, how far we can direct understandable impatience and in-

tolerance into constructive channels, how far we can create the broad, humane, pioneering spirit of Connolly, while incor-porating every day all that is useful in the intense transforming experiences of the mid-twentieth century world.

HWIUftMTS BY REP HUGH' You'll have to mind your step, Sir Basil

S T A M P S " I R I S H DEMOCRAT" and the Con-

' noUy Association regret tha t they eannot undertake to reply to the many enquiries received unless a s tamped envelope I* sea t with the enquiry.

"IVTILL anyone spare a hear tache for the tragic dilemma of blue-blooded Sir

ISasil Brooke, big landowner. Premier of the Six-County Par l iament and leader of the Tory J u n t a which still runs S to rmont?

Imagine his position. He is bound to go "step by s tep" in legislation with Westmin-ster. where a strong Labour Government now holds the reins.

He will, as Premier, have to sponsor So-cialist measures put on the S ta tu te Book by Clem Attlee. and pass them through Stor-mont. In doing so he will be in the un-natural position of depending on the Oppo-sition at Stormont to put the measures through in the teeth of opposition by his own Diehards, who will certainly be fiercely antagonistic. It would require the pen of Bernard Shaw, that master of paradox, to do justice to the situation.

"DEV" GETS A DANCE LESSON

MR. d e VALERA got oil on the wrong foot—literally and metaphorical ly—

when lie at tended the dance a t the Swiss Embassy in Dublin. Protests against his taking part in foreign dances flowed in from Garlic Leaguers.

The dropping of Dr. Dignan and his fol-lowers from the Committee of the National Health Insurance Society by Mr. MacEntee, Minister for Local Government. is a slap in the face for everyone who advocates social planning in Eire.

Dr. Dignan. author of the plan which bears his name, proposed a number of dras-tic remedies for some of the more obvious evils of present-dav life for working folk. MacEntee has persisted in regarding these as "Interference" with his Ministerial duties, so to save his dignity, men, women and chil-dren must continue to suffer hardship and Insecurity. Dublin Corporation, on the Initi-

ative of its Labour members, has protested against the Minister's s tand, a n d J im Larkin summed up the general feeling by saying t h a t when MacEntee was forgot ten the name of Dignan would be honoured. G E T G O O D GETS GOING

A PLEA for a new approach to t he ques--<' tion of Northern Ireland in ternees was made a t S to rmant by Robert Getgood. a new Labour recruit to the Opposition benches. ^

"Cut out all the resentment agains t the 26 Counties," added the Labour member, who said if the internees were guilty of any charge they could be tried in the courts .

Mr. Nixon (Ind.t related t he case of a man named Mulgrew who had been interned for six m o n t h s for the "crime" of helping an Ind. Unionist candidate to defeat a n official Unionist.

Mr. Warnock, K.C., Minister for Home Affairs, I am glad to report, ha s now re-leased a fu r the r batch of the 82 men in-terned in Belfast Jail. Derry and Armagh Prisons are now clear of internees, but more pressure will be required if Getgood's advice is to prevail. P A R T I T I O N ISSI 'E AT W E S T M I N S T E R I )ROF. SAVORY and Rev. Dr. Little, the I two Northern Ireland Diehard M.P.s.

will, I hope, meet their match a t ' W e s t m i n -stor in Messrs. A. J. Mulvey and P. Cun-n ingham. who af te r 10 years ' abstent ion, have taken their seats to fight Par t i t ion .

I had the pleasure of meeting them on I their first day in the Commons, where they were rapidly making themselves a t home, assisted by Jack Beattie.

" I t will br a strange experience for as not to be agin the Government ," said Mr. Mul-vrv, "bu t we are looking forward to i t ." The two M.P.s took the opportunity, by t h e way, of paying a visit to the India Lafcgue in Caxton Hall .

. I t was one of the Unionist members who, you may remember, rivalled the invention of the a t o m bomb by discovering tha t dur-ing the war with Germany U-boats were be-ing r u n on petrol supplied f rom depots on the I r i sh Coast. It p rov ide^ Par l i ament with its biggest laugt? for years.

YOU'RE WORTH JC100 (IN THEORY) I TNDER the heading, "Money Puzzles," the

" I r i sh T imes" points out tha t the people of I re land a re amongst the wealthiest in The world, if it were possible and desirable to realise the .£400 millions invested abroad. If this was done, more than £100 could be dis-tributed to every man, woman and child in the 26-Counties or would be available to turn t he s lums of our cities and countryside into an u n h a p p y memory and set the wheels of indus t ry busily at work.

The paper points out thai this state of affa i rs resu l t s f rom increasing exports of agricultural goods and decreasing imports.

The C e n t r a l Bank, in its recent report, described this as a "strongly favourable t rend." No doubt it increases the power and wealth of Ir ish capitalism, but w e si ill have the s lums and the increasingly ularing in-equalities of wealth and misery side by side in Eire.

ThLs aspec t of affa i rs doesn't seem to be worth comment ing on by Rev. F a t h e r Hayes, founder of Muintit na Tire. To a Water ford audience he said thai this year 's harvest was of vital interest to all and with the world on the edge of s tarvat ion every grain was necessary. He went on: "Men may ar ise preaching a so-called crusade of advancement , who will put in danger the food of t h e people."

No one wants to, one hopes, steal the people's bread but Is It any crime to preach a crusade of advancement?

T H E IRISH D E M O C R A T September, 1945

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Lnim'iil tor THOMAS DAVIS

I W A L K E D th rough Ballinderry in the spring-t ime, • When the bud was on the t ree; A n d I said, in every fresh-ploughed field beholding

The sowers striding free, Scattering broadside forth the corn in golden plenty

On the quick seed-clasping soil, "Even such this chy, among the fresh-stirred hearts of

Thomas Davis, is thy toil.'' [Erin,

I S A T by Ballyshannon in the summer, §f ® And saw the salmon leap;

A n d 1 said, as I beheld the gallant creatures Spring glittering from the deep,

Through the spray, and through the prone heaps striv-To the calm, clear streams above ling onward

"So seekest thou thy native founts of freedom, Thomas In thy brightness of strength and love." [Davis

I S T O O D in Derrybawn in the autumn, • And I heard the eagle call, Wi th a clangorous cry of wrath and lamentation

That filled the wide mountain hall, O'er the bare, deserted place of his plundered eyrie;

And I said, as he screamed and soared, "So callest thou, thou wrathful, soaring Thomas Davis,

For a nation's rights restored !"

| A N D , alas! to think but now, and thou art lying, M D e a r Davis, dead at thy mother's knee;

A n d I, no mother near, on my own sick-bed, That face on earth shall never see;

I may lie and try to feel that I am dreaming, I may lie and try to say, "Thy will be done,"

But a hundred such as I will never comfort Erin For the loss of the noble son!

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Y ^ U N G husbandman of Erin's fruitful seed-time, ' In the fresh track of danger's plough!

W h o will walk the heavy, toilsome, perilous furrow, Girt with freedom's seed-sheets, now?

W h o will banish with the wholesome crop of knowledge The daunting weed and the bitter thorn,

N o w that thou thyself art but a seed for hopeful planting Against the Resurrection morn?

Y O U N G salmon of the flood-tide of freedom ' That swells round Erin's shore !

T h o u wilt leap against their loud oppressive torrent Of bigotry and hate no more;

Drawn downward by their prone material instinct, Let them thunder on their rocks and f o a m —

T h o u has leapt, aspiring soul, to founts beyond their Where troubled waters never come ! [rSging

D U T 1 grieve not, Eagle of thy empty eyrie, ® That thy wrathful cry is still; A n d that the songs alone of peaceful mourners

Are heard to-day on Earth's hill; Better far, if brothers' war be destined for us

(God avert that horrid day I pray), >» That ere our hands be stained with slaughter fratricidal,

Thy warm heart should be cold in clay.

O U T my trust is strong in God, W h o made us brothers That he will not suffer their right hands,

Which thou has joined in holier rites than wedlock To draw opposing brands.

Oh, many a tuneful tongue that thou madest vocal Would lie cold and silent then;

A n d songless long once more, should often-widowed Mourn the loss of her brave young men. [Erin

| H , brave young men, my love, my pride, my prom-'Tis on you my hopes are set, [ise,

In manliness, in kindliness, in justice, To make Erin a nation yet;

Self-respecting, self-relying, self-advancing— In union or in severance, free and strong—

A n d if God grant this, then, under God, to Thomas Let the greater praise belong. | Davis

Sir Samuel Ferguson

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In his presence oil men stood more erect9—Pearse.

Thomas K I O T H 1 N G br ings out the sig-

nificance of T h o m a s Davis so well as this s ingle f a c t — f o u r separate his tor ians , all men of f ront- rank repute , but all differ-ent in time, t ra in ing, outlook and t emperament , agree that a radical turning po in t in the his-tory of Ireland came, in the middle of the 19th century , with the concur rence of t w o great tragedies — the potato-blight which b r o u g h t the Grea t Starvat ion ( the "Black 4 7 " ) and the death of Thomas Davis.

At first impact t h e r e seems some-thing horribly incongruous, ludicrous even, in such a conjunct ion. In itself and in its consequences the Grea t Starvation reduced the population of Ireland by one-half. Is such a calam-ity—the thousands upon thousands of deaths from famine , and famine ty-phus, the horrors of the revolt ingly overcrowded e m i g r a n t ship, t h e ghoulish bruta l i ty of the Qua r t e r Acre Clause, the c rowbar brigade of evicting squads — are these th ings fillingly weighed in one scale agains t the death of a s ingle man ?

Nobody s u g g e s t s s u c h a c o m p a r i s o n . W h a t the h i s t o r i a n s perce ive , and r e c o r d a s t r u t h compels t h e m , is t h a t if D a v i s h a d lived the re might have been no famine.

During the starvation Years, Ireland produced from its soil and exported to England and elsewhere, enough corn and cattle to have fed its whole population twice over. The real horror is not so much that Irish men, women and chil-dren died, but that they died tamely, starving instead of fighting to retain for their own sustenance the corn and cattle their own hands had raised.

A m o m e n t ' s r e f l e c t i o n will show, if t h e I r i s h people in m a s s h a d been ready a n d resolved to " f igh t fo r t h e ha rves t f r o m t h e b ind ing of the shea f to t h e loading of t h e s h i p " ias J o h n M i t c h e l a n d J a m e s F i n t a n La lor urged t h e m ) , in all p robab i l i t y t h e r e would h a v e teen n o need to c a r r y t h e s t ruggle b e y o n d t h o s e opening s t a g e s wh ich would h a v e s h o w n the I r i sh people to be uni ted, r e so lu t e a n d s t ead fas t , e v e n to t he dea th .

T h e point of t h e c o m p a r i s o n given by t h e h i s to r i ans is t h a t if Davis h a d lived t h e r e would mos t ly l ikely have been a un i ted , resolute a n d s t e a d f a s t I r i s h nation. W h e n D a v i s d ied , the last c h a n c e of such uni ty s a n k be low the horizon.

Read for the Bar r p H O M A S O S B O R N E D A V I S was b o r n

t he younges t c h i l d ( a n d only s o n ) of a n I r i sh m o t h e r by a n Eng l i sh f a t h e r , in Mallow, Co. Cork , o n t h e 14th O c t o b e r , 1814. His f a t h e r w a s a n officer- a su r -geon c a p t a i n - in t h e E n g l i s h Army, b u t h e died several m o n t h s before T h o m a s Dav i s was born.

Educa ted a t T r i n i t y College. D u b l i n , T h o m a s Davis, a f t e r t a k i n g his deg ree , read for the Bar . H e n e v e r prac t i sed a s a lawyer, f inding a m o r e congenia l voca t ion in journa l i sm a n d a u t h o r s h i p .

Despite his Engl ish paternity and his Protestent upbringing, he was passion-ately Irish and Nationalist in sentiment from his earliest years. He was one of the first to rally to O'Connell's agitation for a repeal of the Act of Union, and it was in furtherance of the cause of Re-peal (and of the nationality they under-stood Repeal to Imply and Involve) that he, with Gavan Duffy and John Blake Dillon, founded the "Nation" newspaper in 1841,

I t is no t s ay ing too m u c h tu Davis ' s work in a n d t h r o u g h Hit caused "a new soul to be b o m m a n d evoked a new sp i r i t t h a t , di s i ludes . h a s never fa i led to m a n . : to t h i s day .

O t h e r s a s well as Davis were ;•> wi th a f td p layed a big p a r t in i:.-of the " N a t i o n " a n d t h a t of the Y I r e l a n d " M o v e m e n t to which it g a v

C h a r l e s G a v a n Duffy , J o h n B a r -ton. J o h n Mitchel , J a m e s P in ta i l i. Wi l l i am S m i t h O 'Br i en . J o h n O IL T h o m a s F r a n c i s M e a g h e r a n d T'r. Dcvin Re i l ly—these a r e only a few i>: m u l t i t u d e of b r i l l i an t a n d g i f t ed mr . i f i rs t a n d l a s t were d r a w n into '.he , of the " N a t i o n . "

Ar i s ing out of t h i s company , p r .m t h r o u g h assoc ia t ion wi th t he ill-latet ing of '48, in wh ich " Y o u n g I r e l and m i n a t e d — a n d in t h a t f o r m exhaus t s e l f—and in assoc ia t ion , too, wi th Pi L a l o r — m u s t be a d d e d the n a m e s of J S t e p h e n s , J o h n O ' M a h o n y , T h o m a s CI; Luby, C h a r l e s K i c k h a m a n d J o h n O'L' the f o u n d e r s a n d l eade r s of t he Fi M o v e m e n t of '65 a n d '67.

is and the 'Nation' By T. A. Jackson

ctU-d it-ntan lines irke. ear'.'.

But nobody was quicker than 0 Con-nel to see the gulf, wide and deep, which separated his laudation of Gra t tans Parliament and Davis's.

o n e m i g h t p u t it in this way. O ' C o n n e l l '.lvssed the [ac t t h a t there h a d been a n

I: :sh P a r l i a m e n t , a n d t h a t it h a d been independent . D a v i s s tressed t he f a c t t h a t

: h ( i m p e r f e c t ) i ndependence a s t h e Irish P a r l i a m e n t possessed h a d b e e n ex-• i : ted f r o m E n g l a n d by "na t ive swords ' '— •:'..' a r m e d m i g h t of t he V o l u n t e e r s :

R e m e m b e r sti l l , t h r o u g h gcod a n d ill. How va in were p raye r s a n d t e a r s —

How vain w i th words, till flashed t h e swords

Of the I r i s h Volunteers .

By a r m s we 've got the r i g h t s we s o u g h t

T h r o u g h long a n d wre tched y e a r s : H u r r a h ! 'tis done—our f r e e d o m ' s won,

H u r r a h fo r t h e Volun tee rs !

rad ica l ly an t i -na t iona l , a s well a s an t i -democra t i c .

" T h e N o r t h began. tTie N o r t h held on T h e s t r i f e for na t ive l a n d .

Till I r e l a n d rose a n d cowed he r foes— G o d bless the N o r t h e r n L a n d . "

T h a t w a s t he note D a v i s s t ruck , repea-tedly. No m a n h a d a k e e n e r sense t h a n he of t h e f a c t t h a t t he O r a n g e O r d e r -t h r o u g h whose lodges E n g l a n d ruled Ire-land. a s indeed the Tory f a c t i o n still ru les the Six Count ies—was f o u n d e d original ly ' to u n d o t h e work of the Un ion which was achieved by the progress ive P r o t e s t a n t s of the N o r t h , o rgan ised in to t h e Society of Uni ted I r i s h m e n and led by Wolfe Tone.

An i n v e t e r a t e enemy to s e c t a r i a n i s m in all i ts f o rms , Davis never ceased to labour for t h a t re-union of t h e O r a n g e and G r e e n w h i c h he saw to be ind i spensab le for t he re -cons t i tu t ion of I r e l a n d as a na t ion .

What the Fenian Movement has meant for Ireland needs no tell-ing. A n d all the first generation bore witness that they drew their in-spiration primarily from the Nation, of Fenian leaders without exception and from the work of Thomas Davis.

G r e a t in h imself Davis was undoubtedly. Bu t even m o r e r e m a r k a b l e is t h a t quality in h i m which m a d e h i m able, without ef for t to evoke a respons ive s t ra in of g r e a t n e s s in o the r s—even t h o u g h they never m e t h i m in t he flesh.

Linked with Tone P A T R I C K P E A R S E . wi th une r r i ng in-' s t inc t , l i nks t he n a m e of Davis with

t h a t of Tone .

Modes t a s he was. Davis would have c la imed n o h i g h e r r a n k for himself than t h a t of a disciple of Tone, a re-discoverer of t he v i r tues a n d w o r t h of t h a t noble' b a n d - t he Un i t ed I r i s h m e n . Noth ing is more typica l of t h e work done by the "Na t ion , " a n d of Davis ' s inspirat ion the re in , t h a n t he t i t le of t he mos t famous poem it pub l i shed . "Who Fears to Speak of Ninety-eight?" Davis did n o t write thr poem, n o r did any of i ts more f a m o u s con-t r ibu to r s . I t was a s p o n t a n e o u s response f r o m a young T.C.D. s t u d e n t to the teach-ing a n d insp i ra t ion which t h e ' Na t ion ' radi-ated, a n d for wh ich Davis more t h a n any m a n w a s respons ib le .

Bu t to re-discover a n d still more lo vin-dica te t he m e m o r y of Tone , the United I r i s h m e n a n d t h e m e n of 98 was. in 1841 a f e a t r equ i r ing a gen ius a n d still more a courage equa l to t h a t of T o n e himself .

In t h e in t e rva l m u c h h a d happened. T h e r e h a d been t h e Union a n d Robert E m m e t ' s i l l - s ta r red insu r rec t ion . Above all t he re h a d been the r i se to f ame and d o m i n a n c e of t h e m a s t e r demagogue, Daniel O 'Connel l . Add these things t oge the r a n d we see t h a t Davis, s"ek:nu to r e a c h a g a i n t he point of d e p a r t u r e of '!»' Uni ted I r i s h m e n , had to s t a r t , in practice., a t a mora l a n d ideological level lar belo«| t h a t which the Un i t ed Ir ishmen wi re ablej to begin.

T h a t is why so m u c h of Davis ' s woik t u r n s upon a n ea r l i e r e p o c h — t h a i " G r a t t a n , t he Vo lun tee r s and t he men "l 82.

r p R U E , a n u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the P : ' " ; ; J whereby t he legis lat ive independence

or t he I r i sh P a r l i a m e n t had been achieved, w a s c o g e n t a n d effect ive for t he repeal " t he Act of Union, which h a d d> " ' t h a t P a r l i a m e n t . As such. O 'Connel l him-self could do n o o t h e r t h a n approve w since. In h i s own way, he was saying 11

s a m e sor t of th ing .

Noblest influence since Tone " T H E real Dav i s mus t have been a greater man even than

the D a v i s of the essays, or the D a v i s of the songs. In l iterary expression D a v i s wa s immature; in mind he w a s ripe beyond all his contemporar ies. I cannot call h im a very great prose wr i ter : I a m not sure that I can call h im a poet at all. But I can call h im a v e r y great man, one of our greatest men,

" N o n e of his contemporar ies had any doubt about his great-ness. H e w a s the greatest influence a m o n g them, and the noblest influence; and he has been the greatest a n d noblest influence in Ir ish h is tory since Tone.

" W h a t was it that made Dav i s so great in the eyes of two such men and two such different men as Duf fy and M i t che l ? It must have been the m a n ' s immorta l soul. T h e highest f o r m of gen ius is the genius for sanctity, the gen ius for noble life and thought. Tha t genius w a s Davis 's. Charac ter is the greatest th ing in a man; and D a v i s ' s character w a s such as the Apo l l o Be lv idere is said to be in the phys ica l order — I N H I S P R E S E N C E A L L M E N S T O O D M O R E E R E C T . "

Patrick Pearse

T h e h i s to r i ca l f a c t s t ressed by Davis could n o t be den ied . Bu t s t r e s s i n g it. sorted very ill w i th the p r o p a g a n d a of t he n;an who never t i red of say ing t h a t " t he liberty of t h e whole world would be too dearly b o u g h t a t t h e cost of a s ingle drop of blood."

Davis was sc rupu lous ly loyal to O 'Con-nell a n d h i s l e a d e r s h i p ; but he n e v e r mis-took O 'Connel l . personal ly , for t h e Repea l Association, a n d still less did h e m i s t a k e the Associa t ion for the I r i sh n a t i o n . There in lay t he roo ts of the f a t a l d ivis ion between O 'Conne l l a n d "Young I r e l a n d , " which became a n absolute r i f t a f t e r t he dea th of Davis .

There was an even deeper ground of division. O'Connell, for all his talk of Ireland and Union, was in fact and prac-tice, a Catholic sectarian. It was O'Con-nell who instituted the evil, demagogic practice ol subordinating the National Movement to the machinery of the Church and the expediency of the Helrarchy. For its purpose it was a cunning stroke of business to get his priests on his side as an order, and vir-tually to turn every parish priest and curate into a local organiser for his Re-peal Associsatlon.

P r o m t h e s t a n d p o i n t of t h e I r i sh nat ion, th i s w a s f a t a l . Nobody in 1841 envisaged a n y s u c h possibility a s t h e Pa r -tition, which b e c a m e an accompl i shed evil in our own t ime. Bu t Davis saw, wi th keen I n t u i t i o n — s h a r p e n e d by t h e f a c t t h a t he himself w a s a P r o t e s t a n t , a n d d e e p e n e d by h i s h i s to r i ca l knowledge a n d g r a s p tha t O 'Conne l l ' s l ine was d a n g e r o u s a n d

Roots of Nationalism

IN yet a n o t h e r direct ion, Dav i s depa r t ed r ad ica l ly f r o m the p u r e l y superf ic ia l

a g i t a t i o n a l m e t h o d s of O 'Connel l . He saw t h a t t he p r ac t i c e of s t r u g g l e for the f ree-dom of I r e l a n d as a n a t i o n needed, if it was to become a living a n d growing pr lng, roots deeply s t ruck i n t o t he theory of na t iona l i t y , in to a real knowledge of Ire-land, of I r e l a n d ' s po ten t ia l i t i e s , na t iona l and mora l .

T h e e d u c a t i o n a l work d o n e by Davis and by t he " N a t i o n " unde r h : s insp i ra t ion , was s t u p e n d o u s .

Most of it h a s had a n ab id ing effect . His c a r e f u l l y compiled ed i t ion of t he speeches of J o h n Ph i lpo t C u r r a n is a good example . C u m i n ' s m a g n i f i c e n t speeches were del ivered in de fence of the United I r i s h m e n .

Davis, by a d d i n g a n exce l len t h is tor ical i n t roduc t ion , with no less excel lent notes on each speech, t u r n s t h e volume in to a work as insp i r ing as it is indispensable .

K a r l M a r x was not a n easy m a n to please, nor did he in his b i r t h a n d c i rcum-s t a n c e s h a v e any special fac i l i t i es for t he u n d e r s t a n d i n g of t h i n g s I r i sh . Bu t th i s edi t ion of C u r r a n ' s speeches thri l led h im in to e n t h u s i a s m . He wr i t e s to his f r iend Enge ls i December , '69 >:

"You must get Curran s speeches edited by Davis. I meant to have glvon it to you when you were in Lontfon. It is now circulating among the English members of the Central Council

(I.W.WM.A.), and God knows when I'll see it again. For the period 1797-1800 it has ideas of importance, not only be-cause of Curran's speeches . . . but be-cause you will find quoted there all the sources of the United Irishmen . , . This period is of the highest interest scien-tifically and dramatically. Ireland came to grief, because in fact from the revolu-tionary standpoint, the Irish were too far advanced for ihe English Church and King."

i LL Davis 's work was of th is quali ty, ' a n d he c o m m u n i c a t e d his own h i g h

s t a n d a r d s of s c h o l a r s h i p a n d workman-s h i p to others .

P a t r i c k Pearse ha s a r i g h t to b2 cri t ical of Dav i s ' s prose a n d ve r se ; firstly, because of t h e sup reme excel lence of h i s own li ter-a r y work ; a n d secondly, because his aware-n e s s of Davis 's l i m i t a t i o n s a s a writer did n o t in the least p r e v e n t h i m f rom appreci-a t i n g h i s t rue worth a s a t eache r , a leader a n d a source of ideological inspirat ion.

W h e n , however, m e n u n f i t to tie t he shoe laces of Pa t r i ck P e a r s e , talk loftily of t h e need for " the Dav i s i s a t i on of I r i sh l i t e r a t u r e , " I confess m y pa t ience wears t h i n a n d anger rises w i t h i n me.

I t was due to Davis t h a t a fitting mem-or ia l s tone i a f t e r m a n y y e a r s ) was placed over t he neglected g rave of Wolfe Tone, in B o d e n s t o w n . Secondly, Davis ' s en thus i -i sm, more t h a n t h a t of a n y single m a n m h i s day . made for t he p o p u l a r recognit ion of t h e need for a Gae l i c revival, and par-t i cu la r ly for the re-discovery of the wor th of t he Gael ic l a n g u a g e a n d l i tera ture .

Studies Gaelic I I E R E a n o t h e r c o n t r a s t wi th O'Connell -* ar ises .

O 'Conne l l was pu re ly Gael ic in his o r ig in ; Davis a t best w a s only par t ly Gael ic . Davis -tried to p e r s u a d e himself t h a t h i s pa t e rna l f o r b e a r s were Welsh ( a n d the re fo re Celt ic) , but , as lyas t he case wi th Pa t r ick P e a r s e . h i s ances tors on t he f a t h e r ' s side came f r o m Devonshire.

O 'Conne l l was b r o u g h t u p in the Gael-t h a c t a n d could speak G a e l i c f luently f rom ch i ldhood . Davis h a d n o knowledge of G a e l i c unt i l he m a d e i t s a cqua in t ance t h r o u g h the scholar ly l a b o u r s of Whi t ley S toke r , O'Cleary, O D o n o v a n a n d O G r a d y whi le a s tuden t a t T r i n i t y , a n d a f t e r w a r d s t h r o u g h h is con t ac l s w i t h Clarence M a n -g a m

Y e t O'Connell desp i sed Gael ic a n d t h o u g h t it ough t to be al lowed to "die a n a t u r a l d e a t h " : while Dav i s , fired with en- -t h u s i a s m , never t ired of e n c o u r a g i n g i t s study.

T h e di f ference exp re s se s exact ly the d i f -f e r e n c e between the c lever polit ician, who sees no f u r t h e r t h a n a n inc identa l a n d super f i c ia l re form, a n d t he e a r n e s t t h i n k e r , worker and f i g h t e r , who labours to rouse a whole n a t . o n in to a radically s e l f - t r a n s f o r m i n g s t r u g g l e — i n t o a s t ruggle whose u l t ima te o u t c o m e would be' t h e r evo lu t iona ry ou tcome of a na t ion .

T HEN Davis died, it was, said Duffy , As if the sun h a d gone out ol t he \\

h e a v e n . "

S a m u e l Ferguson, h imse l f on a sick bed, wro t e with moving p a t h o s :

"I m a y lie and t ry to feel I am not d reaming .

I may lie and t ry to s a y : T h y will be done."

B u t a hundred s u c h a s I will never comfor t Fr in .

Fo r the lost of t he nob le son."

T o Duffy, F e r g u s o n , Mitchell a n d s c o r e s of others , t he s u d d e n dea th of D a v i s ifrom sdarlct fever), a f t e r only a few days' illness, came as a c r i pp l ing personal

Thomas Davis, poet, nation-

alist and famous editor of

the 'Nation,' was born

14th October, 1814, and

died 16th September, 1845.

loss. He was only 31 a n d he was so bad ly needed . B u t for us h e is a t h i n g ach ieved—dea th le s s a n d unden iab le . No t w h a t Davis m i g h t h a v e become, bu t w h a t h e was, is the t h i n g t h a t m a t t e r s to us.

He was nex t in success ion to T h e o b a l d Wolfe Tone, fo remos t apos t l e of I r e l a n d ' s r i g h t to become a n d be "A n a t i o n once aga in . "

He was almost unique in his day in his recognition that (to adapt a famous phrase) "The emancipation of the Irish nation must be achieved by the Irish nation itself"; that this emancipation must be sought for and envisaged as the ultimate outcome of a policy of self-re-spect, self-help and self-reliance, and must be the realisation of a collective struggle in which the body of the Irish people must participate.

He was a d e m o c r a t a s well as a l epub l i -can , s ince he saw t h a t I r e l a n d ' s s t i u g g l e fo r na t i ona l f reedom d e m a n d e d logically a l ecogn i t ion of t he equal right of all o t h e r n a t i o n s to s t ruggle for f reedom. Dav i s was as much an i n t e r n a t i o n a l i s t as he was a na t iona l i s t .

P e r h a p s he was s o m e w h a t Utop ian in h i s hope t h a t the I r i sh " g e n t r y " as a class, would prove capab le of t he e n l i g h t e n e d h u m a n i t y a n d self-sacr i f ice t h a t came ea sy to h im personal ly , but h e was c lea r - s igh ted e n o u g h to see t h a t t h e na t iona l ques t ion

• would never be a n s w e r e d sa t i s f ac to r i ly un t i l it h a d led to a n d m e i g e d in the ever p ro fo i i nde r ques t ion of the cond. t ion of t h e people, especial ly t h e labour ing c lasses in town a n d count ry .

Despite O'Connell (and for a time Mitchel, too), Davis urged "Young Ire-land" to work for an un derstanding with the English Chartists, as the real representatives of the English working people.

T h o u g h he was not . a n d a t t h a i tame could not be expected, to be a Social is t in t he m o d e r n sense, he w a s the t rue , h i s -tor .ca l a n d c o n n e c t i n g l ink be tween i h e J acob in R e p u b l i c a n i s m of Wolfe T o n e "and t h e Social is t R e p u b l i c a n i s m of . J a m e s Connol ly .

TONE ! D A V I S I C O N N O L L Y !

N A M E S OF P O W E R , THESE . P R O U D

S H O U L D THE N A T I O N BE W H O S E

CAUSE HAS B E E N C H A M P I O N E D BY

T H R E E S U C H M E N

AND P R O U D S H O U L D WE BE UPON W H O M D E V O L V E S T H E R E S P O N S I -B I L I T Y OF S E E I N G T H A T N O N E OF T H E M D I E D IN VA IN .

We S A L U T E T H E M E M O R Y OF T H O M A S DAV IS , NOT ONLY B E C A U S E IT P O I N T S B A C K TO THE M E M O R Y OF W O L F E TONE, B U T B E C A U S E IT P O I N T S F O R W A R D TO THE W O R & A N D M E M O R Y OF J A M E S C O N N O L L Y , W H I C H IT IS OUR D U T Y ANX).,<H!fl P R I D E TO K E E P L I V I N G AND P E R E N I -ALLY BEAR ^RU lT .

8 THE IRISH DEMOCRAT September, 1945

B o x i n g l i y l l o y l t 1

THORNTON QUITS IN THIRD ROUND PEER'S LETTER TO

•TIMES' HO! YHEVD C H A O S

BIG FIGHT F I A S C O j t i j A R T I N T H O R N T O N (Galway), Irish Heavyweight Champion, w a s

® boohed out of the r ing at the Theatre Royal, Dublin, on August 24th l a s t , when he tossed in the towel in the third round of his ten-round contest with Bruce Woodcock, the Brit ish Empire Champion.

T h r o u g h t h e t h r e e r o u n d s . T h o r n t o n n e v e r l a n d e d a b l o w : in i 'aet . h e m a d e n o s e r i o u s e f l ' o r t . T h e I r i s h c h a m p i o n w a s b e a t e n w h e n h e l e f t h i s c o r n e r in t h e f i r s t r o u n d .

T- S U A I t Y lie t ea r s out f r o m t h e sound cf t he bell, but th is t ime h e c a m e out

w i t h h i s ch in tucked well i n t o h i s shoulder ,

a c h a Ki-wi t h a

t he only

a n d in my opinion to avoid p u n i s h m e n t r a t h e r t h a n to h a n d it out ,

W O O D C O C K ON T O P Woodcock . looking every i n c h

p ion , opened the first r o u n d s t r a i g h t lef t to T h o r n t o n ' s eyes, exposed point , a n d wi th s eve ra l more, o p e n e d a cut over T h o r n t o n ' s eye, and r a i s ed a swelling. T ime a n d a g a i n Wood-cock l a n d e d s m a r t r igh ts , but f a i l ed to find a vii!n<'i able spot to end t he fight. At the end cf t he second r o u n d T h o r n t o n was st i l l cover ing up.

Early in the third round Thornton gave up the idea of fighting and stood back, to run out his tongue at Woodcock. This was something the Dublin fans would not tolerate, and kept yelling: "Fight, Thorn-ton, you're paid for it."

T h i s r id iculous a t t a c k of T h o r n t o n ' s wen t c n u n t i l the end of t h e t h i r d round, w h e n h e appea led to t he r e f e r e e , Mr. A. S m i t h , to s top the f ight , art'd M r . S m i t h qu i t e l i g h t l y re fused . H a l f - a - m i n u t e la ter T h o r n t o n ' s seconds th rew in t h e towel.

FANS D I S A P P O I N T E D I n h i s dress ing-room, a f t e r t h e f ight .

Woodcock was amazed , a n d r e m a r k e d : " I a m s o r r y it ended t h a t way . " T h o r n t o n r e m a i k e d a f t e r w a r d s : "I ' l l c h u c k it alto-

ge ther . I t ' s all very well for those out t he re s i t t i n g in the i r s e a l s boohing, but it would be a d i f f e r en t t h i n g if t hey were in there f a c i n g a c h u n k of g reased l igh tn ing like Woodcock."

T h o r n t o n h a s gone as f a r a s he will ever go in box ing . In f ac t , I a m sorry for t he I r i sh f a n s h e ever w e n t t h a t f a r .

J O H N I N G L E IS NEW C H A M P I O N J o h n Ingle , b ro the r of J i m m y , giving a

g r a n d display , bea t J i m m y Smi th , holder of t h e L igh t -we igh t C h a m p i o n s h i p of Eire. S m i t h , do ing a lot of h u g g i n g a n d holding, tr ied to sway the verdic t in t he last r o u n d w i th a te r r i f ic finishing ral ly , bu t was of no avai l , a n d Ingle received a well deserved verdic t .

G A M E "JOE B O Y " Joe "Boy" Coll ins p u t up a very game

fight a g a i n s t J i m m y Webs te r , the unde-f e a t e d e x - a m a t e u r f ly-weight . T h e Eng l i sh boy go t going ear ly a n d piled u p a n u m -ber of po in ts . Coll ins t i r ed in the s i x t h r o u n d , a f t e r being down fo r c o u n t s of n i n e a n d e igh t , a n d Webs te r , w i th a well-placed r i g h t to t h e jaw. p u t h i m down for the ful l coun t in t h e s even th r o u n d .

S P I K E M c C O R M A C K ' S N A R R O W W I N

Spike M c C o r m a c k (Dubl in ) very n a r -rowly bea t P a d d y Lyons , t he N o r t h of E n g l a n d C h a m p i o n , a f t e r a dull a f fa i r . M c C o r m a c k . a h e a d on p o i n t s up to the l a s t

.. a u n; . , 'Thai inns: nave neen i ve. ; r : o.. n > nin

IN C L E BEATS T O M M Y DAViS J i m m y Ingie • D u b l i n > beat Tommy

Davis . ; he Welsh Middle-weight Champion . T h i s w a s a n o t h e r e e m e s ; not wor th writ-i n s nboui .

Stadium Events (From "Box ing News")

{' 'HE con tes t which h a d t h e house really th r i l l ed was t he final i t em, an eight-

r o u n d s contes t be tween C l a u d e Denning-ton . e x - a m a t e u r a n d pe t p ro tege ol Ted Kid Lewis, and Jack W a r d , the perpe tua l m o t i o n exhibi t f r o m I r e l a n d . No one could descr ibe th i s a s a test ol boxing, s ince ne i the r d isplayed possess ion of any sc ien t i f i c equ ipment . W a r d , indeed, h a s neve r p re t ended to any . D e n n m g t o n had . in prev ious a p p e a r a n c e s , d e m o n s t r a t e d t h a t h e h a s more t h a n a n o d d i n g acquain-t a n c e wi th the ar t . t h o u g h h i s demons t ra -t ions h a v e also proved t h a t h e has, a dis-t i n c t t endency to i m p e t u o s i t y .

On th i s occasion, n e i t h e r Denn ing ton n o r W a r d had any r e s p e c t of tu tor ia l in-s t r u c t i o n . They j u s t w e n t for each o ther , s l a sh ing , swinging a n d h u r l i n g blows f r o m al l ang les . D e n n i n g t o n was. by a shade , t h e m o r e accu ra t e m a r k s m a n , thereby q u a l i f y i n g for the ve rd ic t . He won, a n d is e n t i t l e d to have a c h i e v e d a fea t of note, a s W a r d is a rea l ly a w k w a r d customer. St i l l , if D e n n i n g t o n a s p i r e s to become a second Ted Kid Lewis h e m u s t place more p o w e r in h i s punches .

,11.1. . . ••! i lo .yne .n l w l oti :

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le. .. lie I 01 : a \

ish Bna iiikin " I iir.sed ;.'< ers lo

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of 'I lies."

onriii i i r I r e l and .

a n d

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Hi

• •••••••••••••••••••••••I"1

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in LIVERPOOL please get in

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L a r k Lane 2051. • • • • • • •man ••••••••• •••••••EMMMBB ••••••••••••••••I •••••«••••••••••• •••••••••

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S O C C E R —

DU N D A L K h a v e a l m o s t comple ted the i r t e a m bui ld ing for t h e coming season,

a n d will rely on exper ienced players . L a t e s t a d d i t i o n s inc lude Victor Aitkin, a ha l f -back , who h a s been wi th B r e n t f o r d a n d prev ious ly p layed fo r G l e n t o r a n . a n d R. Rei l ly , t he f o r m e r B o h e m i a n a n d Shel-b o u r n e ins ide - fo rward .

T h e y now have e i g h t p layers . T h e o the r six a r e J . M a t t h e w s , D. F l a n n a g a n , Willie Fa l l on (who played w i th t h e m las t sea-son) , K i e r n a n ( f o r m e r She lbou rne a n d D r u m c o n d r a goa lkeeper ) , A. Dougles (ex-G l e n t o r a n ou t s ide - r igh t ) a n d D. Mc-D o n a l d . who played w i t h Lingfield . Pe t e r D o c h e i t y , M a n c h e s t e r Ci ty I r i sh I n t e r n a -t iona l ins ide - fo rward , h a s been placed on the t r a n s f e r list a t h i s own request . Born in D e r r v . Pe te r p layed fo r G l e n t o r a n be-fore b e i n g t r a n s f e r r e d to Blackpool in 1933; M a n c h e s t e r Ci ty secured h i m in 1936. the t r a n s f e r fee was £10.000. D u r i n g war-t ime h e ass i s ted Derby Coun ty .

C Y C L I N G — W. W a l s h (West B e l f a s t ) won t he 1,000

m e t r e s f l a t c h a m p i o n s h i p of Ulster , a t W a s h i n g b a y , Coal I s l a n d sports , ear ly las t m o n t h . J u n i o r c h a m p i o n s h i p w i n n e r s were : Hal f -mi le cycle, J . M c l n t y r e (Oun-g a n n o n i ; t h ree miles. S. Cul len i D u n g a n -n o n ) .

At Ki l le igh spor ts , OfTaly, T. J . D u n n e (Eag le C.C.) won t he one-mile a n d three-mile cycle. O t h e r w i n n e r s were E. M a h e r , j u n i o r , of Barnes , J . Higgins , J . Mul-rooney, a n d P. Can twe l l . Mick Anderson , B o h e r m e e n , added to h i s long list of t i t les t he fou r -mi l e yycle c h a m p i o n s h i p of Lein-s ter , a t t he N a v a n spor t s , with M. Milner , W e l s h I s land , t he t en -mi le c h a m p i o n of I r e l a n d , second.

S W I M M I N G — T h o u s a n d s l ined t h e quay to wi tness

e v e n t s in the M a r i t i m e Insc r ip t ion Re-g a t t a on the Lilfev a t O 'Connel l Br idge. Dub l in , recent ly .

T h e N o r t h Dubl in S.C. ca r r ied olf the s w i m m i n g honours , P. G. Condon , P. M u r p h y a n d J. C la re f i l l ing , the f i r s t t h r e e p laces in the 100 y a r d s open f ree style race , a n d with J . M u r r a n , won the squad-ion race , which provided a th r i l l ing l inish.

B lackrock College s w i m m e r s were a l m o s t level to t he last leg, b u t P. G. Condon p u t in a te r r i f ic f in i sh ing b u r s t Lo gain t he ver-d ic t for h i s club.

E d d i e Her ron , t he c h a m p i o n , gave a n e x h i b i t i o n of d iv ing f rom a special ly e r e c t e d board on O 'Conne l l Br idge.

W. H. Downing, the well-known English s w i m m i n g coach, gave a running commen-tary on the various methods of l ife-saving, performed by members of the Irish Life-Sav ing Society.

N e p t u n e beat Commercial by a canvas in the boat race.

D e t a i l s of the s w i m m i n g even ts were : 100 y a r d s h a n d i c a p : 1. P. G . Condon ( two s e e s ' ) : 2, P. M u r p h y (six sees . ) ; 3, J . Clare ' t w o sees.)—all of N o r t h Dub l in ; (79 1.5 sees.. 11 compe ted ) . S q u a d r o n race: 1. N o r t h Dubl in (J. C la re , P. Murphy, J . M u r r a n . P. G. C o n d o n i ; 2. Blackrock Col-lege; 3. C lon ta r f .

G O L F — J . Burke , Sou th of I r e l a n d golf cham-

pion . won the a l l - I r e l and Golf Champion-sh ip . w h e n he bea t Cecil Ewing, the K ing of Gol f , in t he W e s t of I r e l a n d .

T h e sub-commi t t ee of t h e P.G.A. (Eng-l ish i h a s cons idered t h e ques t ion of mem-b e r s of the I r i sh P.G.A. a n d the "Daily Mai l ' ' T o u r n a m e n t . I t h a s been decided, in view of t he P ress s t a t e m e n t , t h a t e n t r y fo r t h e "Daily Mai l ' ' T o u r n a m e n t will be accep t ed f r o m recogn i sed member s of t he I .P.G.A. . but it is p o i n t e d out t h a t all a r e e l igible to join the P.G.A., a n d it is hoped that , t hey will do so.

All S o u t h e r n B r a n c h profess iona ls w h o i n t e n d compe t ing a r e a s k e d commun ica t e w i t h N. Wilson ( B r a y G.C.) as soon as possible , and h e will make t ravel a r r a n g e m e n t s .

I t is an t i c ipa t ed t h a t a t least 18 I r i sh p ro fe s s iona l s will c o m p e t e .

Sports Meetings J. J. M A R R Y I L L — A L M O S T S M A S H E S

I R I S H M I L E R E C O R D A l t h o u g h ill a n d fo rced to sc ra tch f r o m

t h e fou r miles, w h i c h was run subse-que n t l y , J . J . M a r r y (Ba l l incur ry) w e n t w i t h i n 7 3-5 sees, of J . Doyle's mi le mi le record ( four m i n s . f9 sees.) a t t h e G u i n n e s s spor ts in D u b l i n recently.

T h e young T i p p e r a r y m a n ' s p e r f o r m a n c e in u n f a v o u r a b l e c o n d i t i o n s , a p a r t al to-g e t h e r f r o m the f a c t t h a t he was no t a t a l l a t his best, s t a m p s h i m as easily t h e b e s t mi ler the c o u n t r y h a s produced s ince Doyle re t i red .

D. G U I N E Y S M A S H E S T W O I R I S H R E C O R D S

D a v e Guiney s m a s h e d t he I r ish n a t i v e a n d al l-comers ' r e co rds lor the 16 lb. sho t w i t h a. p u t of 49 f t . 7 j ins. a t Bal lykin lar . Co. Down.

His p u t bea t s R. Rose ' s (U.S.A.) al l-c o m e r s ' record, se t u p in Kilmallock in 1908, by 4} inches, a n d D. Horgan ' s 41-years-old na t ive record , se t up a t Mallow by 9'i Inches.

T h e p u t Is, of course , s u b j e c t to ra t i f ica-t ion .

P A S S YOUR COPY ON TO A

FRIEND !

occasion to t rave l f r o m Dubl in T h e boa; a : r i ved a t Ho lyhead

a ' m idday , a n d by t h e t i m e m y luggage a n d passpor t h a d been i n spec t ed it was t h r e e p.m. T h e ac tua l i n spec t i ons took abou t one minu te , the r e m a i n i n g 179 m i n u t e s be ing spen t s t a n d i n g in a queue c a r r y i n g two sui tcases , w i th occasional a d v a n c e s ol a yard or so a t a t ime.

OBSTACLE RACE " T h e whole procedure r e semb led a very-

slow obstac le race (for w h i c h special t ra in -ing is r equ i r ed ) , over a c i r cu i tous course, d o w n a s ingle gangway , t h r o u g h dark pas-s a g e s a n d smal l open ings in wal ls ; a n d a t o n e p lace in. t he boat t h e r e was qui te a n a p p r e c i a b l e j u m p . T h e d imly- l i t sheds t h r o u g h w h i c h you pass r e s e m b l e the out -b u i l d i n g s of a pr ison or workhouse , a n d d u r i n g t he ' race ' you h a v e to p roduce no f e w e r t h a n five d i f fe ren t d o c u m e n t s , in-c l u d i n g t ickets .

" F o r t u n a t e l y at D u n L a o g h a i r e t he scene is b r i g h t e r , a n d t he 'obs tac les ' take less t h a n half t he t ime lo n e g o t i a t e .

" T h e whole a r r a n g e m e n t a t Ho lyhead r equ i r e e n t i i e r e o r g a n i s a t i o n by someone w h o h a s t ravel led a n d u n d e r s t a n d s com-f o r t a n d efficiency. Is t h e r e a n y reason , fo r i n s t ance , why. p a s s p o r t s a t any r a t e s h o u l d no t be e x a m i n e d in t h e boa t? Some r a d i c a l c h a n g e s a re nece s sa ry if we wish to welcome t ravel le rs to ou r shores . ' '

SUCCESSFUL MARITIME

EXHIBITION Bv JOHN IRELAND

| \ N E of the most instruct ive nat ional ' " events held for a long t ime was the colourful and well-laid-out Exhibit ion run in the Mansion House in the first ten days of August by the Maritime Ins t i tu te of Ireland.

The object of the Exhibition, and of the Ins t i tu te , is to arouse the nat ion 's aware-ness of its dependence, as a n island, upon sea t ranspor t , to emphasise t he need for a n adequa te nat ional mercanti le marine , and to win public support for the idea of an Ir ish na t iona l fishing fleet, capable of supplying the home marke t with a product which it sees usually only once a week, and of ex-port ing fish to the Cont inent .

It is pointed out t ha t Norway, Panama , Iceland, New Zealand and o ther countries with smaller populations and less shipyard equipment t h a n Ireland have become powers in the mar i t ime world, and thereby greatly increased their national incomes.

NORWAY'S EXAMPLE The work of the Ins t i tu te deserves sup-

por t , and the Exhibition certainly got it. Bu t in its propaganda and organising work one essential question has so fa r received scan t a t tent ion—seamen's conditions.

Without the active suppor t of organisa-t ions representing the officers and men of our small merchant navy, t he work of t he Ins t i tu te is unlikely in t he final analysis to succeed. Without the guaran tee of good condit ions for officers and men, the d ream of an Ir ish merchan t navy will never ma-terialise. The experience of Norway shows t h a t a first-class merchan t service and first-class service conditions are the two sides of one medal.

The Civil Service and the People

R. W. Rawl ings 7s. 6d.

The Struggle for F rench Democracy

Cyril Claydon 55.

1 he Life and Teachings of Frederick Engels

Zolda K. Coates

On Capital Frederick Engels

— Lawrence & Wishart

6s. -

(is.

September, 1945 THE IRISH DEMOCRAT 7

PAMPHLET* BOOK and VERSE edited bv E. JI. Boyle CIRCLE THAT CANNOT Uachtaran na hEireann

BE SQUARED •Hi. 1 a i r -minded c r i t i c cocks a wary eye

t l miscel lanies. T h e y a r e usual ly dil'-•o cri t icise in a l im i t ed space , f t is

•• .oiisly impossible to c o m m e n t 011 each I ' . r .bution. u n f a i r to se lect t h e worst , i mis lead ing to m e n t i o n only t i le best,

n.d t h e r e is very r a re ly a " u n i f y i n g pr in-te" on which cr i t ic i sm c a n be based a n d

:.-• se lect ion app ra i s ed as a whole . : Jead ing "The Circle," a N a t i o n a l M a g a -

ne of shor t s to r ies a n d i n t e r e s t i n g H-les by I r i sh wr i t e r s ( D u b l i n 1 - i , for

.n ter . 1944. I t h o u g h t t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n s • ie n a i v e a n d a m a t e u r i s h . T h e r e were

e m p t s to wri te m a g a z i n e s to r i e s a n d t ' i e l e s wi th an I r i s h f lavour , a n d there .,s s o m e ind i f f e r en t verse . T h e produc-

,'in was a p p a r e n t l y t h e o r g a n of a body •iling itself the D u b l i n W r i t e r s ' Circle: .i.l t h e Edi tor ia l No tes h a d t h e a u t h e n t i c na of t he Pa r i sh M a g a z i n e . T h e con-

' s for the issue f o r S p r i n g , 1945. were n n c h t h e same, a s indeed were t h e con-

nut tors . T h e r e s eemed l i t t le or n o t h i n g .:• a c r i t ic to say.

Bu t t h e Editor ial No tes do dese rve com-:: : -nt . T h e Edi tor f ee l s s a d d e n e d , a p p a r -- ntly. by the resul t s of a n a p p e a l f o r con-t i b u t i o n s made in t h e da i ly P re s s . Not

mure t h a n 50 per cent . , h e dec la res , were p to publ ica t ion s t a n d a r d . In view ol the n n d a r d th is seemed r a t h e r o d d : bu t h e

oes on to explain w h y t h e o f f e r i n g s were n s u i t a b l e : "One of t h e p r inc ip l e ob jec ts

if t he 'Circle' is to e n c o u r a g e a n d develop •he w r i t i n g of s h o r t s tor ies , a r t i c l e ^ etc.,

; t h e magaz ine type, p r e f e r a b l y in con-• i i iance wi th the I r i s h way of l ife, a n d

i r l a i n l v no t a n t a g o n i s t i c to t h e re l ig ious .:nd social codes of t h e g r e a t m a j o r i t y of

ur people . "We h a v e cons i s t en t ly a n d r epea t ed ly

ind ica ted t h a t no c o n s i d e r a t i o n whatso-. •. er will be given to c o n t r i b u t i o n s dea l ing wi th m o d e r n polygamy, m a r i t a l inf idel i ty ,

: t hose in any way sugges t ive of immor-.liny, in any, shape or f o r m . A n d yet, we have received a few c o n t r i b u t i o n s , whose . .u thors , a p p a r e n t l y in a d e s p e r a t e effor t to a t t r a c t a t t en t ion , e i t h e r in c h a r a c t e r • i ialogue or s i tua t ion , r e s o r t t o t h e des-picable device of a b f a t a n t a p p e a l to the mbr id l ed pass ions . W e r e p e a t t h a t we do

not w a n t such c o n t r i b u t i o n s . " A p a r t f r o m the f a c t t h a t t h i s ou tpour -

:ng m i g h t well h a v e been w r i t t e n by A m a n d a Ros (I p a r t i c u l a r l y e n j o y e d the a l l i t e r a t i on of "despicable dev ice" ) , i t does exp la in why so m u c h of t h e w r i t i n g in the

Circle" and , indeed, so m u c h t h a t is oeing wr i t t en for sa le in I r e l a n d to-day, is wor th less . P r e s u m a b l y t h e a u t h o r wi th . -ometh ing to say m u s t go e l s e w h e r e for a m a r k e t . He c a n n o t deaf w i t h religion, iwlitics, sex or " i m m o r a l i t y in a n y s h a p e or f o r m . " . . . . T h e r e is n o h o p e of squar-ing " T h e Circle." P .W.G.

The Misty Position of m/

Eire's First (lii^eis

POET REPLIES TO

ROME AT BAY THE B A R R I E R S A R E DOWN, " by Jack

L i n d s a y (Gollancz, 10/6). I T would be useless, even if i t were pos-1 possible, to give a n ou t l i ne of t he plot

of J a c k Lindsay ' s novel . I t is n o t so m u c h a s t u d y of c h a r a c t e r s l iv ing in t h e period A.D. 451 to A.D. 455, a s a s t u d y of the period itself. Indeed , t h a t is i t s g rea t e s t '.veakness as a novel. E a c h p r i n c i p a l char-ac te r a p p e a r s to be i n t r o d u c e d m o r e as a "type" or "pe r son i f i ca t ion" t h a n a h u m a n being. T h e b ru t a l l a n d o w n e r , Soll ius . h a s ins two c o n t r a s t e d sons , t h e o n e a typical ro i s te r ing soldier; t h e o t h e r a t h o u g h t f u l , Gentle boy, des t ined to b e c o m e a monk . Audax, a n o t h e r l a n d o w n e r ' s son, f i nds his f u t u r e in working fo r p e a s a n t e m a n c i p a -t ion: Prosper finds h i s in s t r i v i n g for worldly a d v a n c e m e n t .

All t h e i r adven tu re s , t h e i r c o n t r a s t i n g •>t liefs, hopes a n d f a t e s , s e e m to be illus-: r a t ing po in t s in a thes is . But. it is only a l t e r reflect ion t h a t we rea l i se t h i s : while ac tua l ly read ing t h e book w e - a r e l iving in • be period, convinced by t h e decept ive ease of Lindsay ' s prose, a n d h i s g i f t of m a k i n g the pas t come al ive a g a i n . And ' ' •a t is why we m u s t finally dec ide t h a t "The Bar r i e r s a re D o w n " is a good book. I' is t r u e t ha t L indsay is w r i t i n g m o r e of a i " tiod t h a n of people, b u t t h e pe r iod is of absorbing Interes t . I m p e r i a l R o m e is a h u n g a losing b a t t l e a g a i n s t t h e b a r b a r -

• ! n hordes : a world is pas s ing , a n d a world • being born.

I'lie problem for us," sa id Audax , "is to • d a def ini te p lan . . . a n u n d e r s t a n d a b l e

' " u r a m m e . . . a n appea l , a w a r cry, which 1 c a t c h up all t h i s m a s s of revol t ing

notion in town a n d c o u n t r y a n d give it "tistructivc purpose . T h a t ' s w h y they

' us, the oppressors , b e c a u s e they have '. s t em and we h a v e only a n emot ion . . .

; ->e world has got to h a n g t o g e t h e r some-a n d men will a ccep t t h e m o s t evil

' in so long a s i t ho lds t h i n g s toge-. . unless we show t h e m a n o t h e r

• . and not only show It in w o r d s -words remain only e m o t i o n . We have "n ' t building it up, o f f e r i n g a n al ter-

!• , : 'v«\ Words play t h e i r p a r t , of course, need the words, b u t we m u s t have

"(Is t ha t lead s t r a i g h t to ac t i on , to a l v of life, a f o r m of life. A fo rm , an

° 'San i sa t lon . " P .W.G.

I A S l ' month the people ol Eire voted in a J new President, and tha t c i rcumstance

adds impor tance to Messrs. Browne and Nolan's book, " f l i c President of I re land." Its au tho r . Michael M'Dunphv. is not only a barr is ter but was secretary to the la te Presi-dent Hyde. 'Hie result is a well-informed and fac tua l study of the presidential powers, duties and limitations.

•Seven \ ears ago, Dr. Hyde took up the pusii ;o:i us iirst President ol Eire without a n ckc. ioi i . He was a popular choice: a Pro-

I les lant , a patriot, a scholar, and above poli-ties. as the Taoseach said he should be. (In the selection of Mr. O'Kelly, however, a de-par tu re has been made f rom th is specific lo rmula t ion : Mr. O Kelly is certainly not

above politics"). It is difficult to find a const i tut ional paral-

leT lo the position of Eire's President . Like the Pres ident of the U.S.A., the candidate must be over 35; but Eire's president re-quires no residential qualification and the position is open to ei ther sex. He has no deputy either. Eire's president signs bills just as British kings; but his executive powers are considerably restricted, even more so t h a n that of the French president.

In Article 12 of the Constitution, it is laid down t h a t the President shall take prece-dence over all other persons in t he State, but he is in reality only a t i tu lar head of Sta te . I t is the Taoseach, Mr. De Valera, who receives foreign representatives, and it was widely noted tha t it was t he Taoseach

" T A L K I N G OF MUS IC , " by H. G . Sear • W o r k e r s ' Music Associa t ion) , l -

' " P H I S is a n inva luab le i n t r o d u c t i o n to a v a s t sub jec t . Mr. Sea r p a c k s more

i l l u m i n a t i o n in to h i s 28 pages t h a n m a n y w r i t e r s ach ieve in a book_ten t i m e s a s long. T r a c i n g t he evolut ion of mus ic in re la t ion to t h e o r d i n a r y ac t iv i t ies of socia l life, h e poses, a n d indi rec t ly answers , a decisive q u e s t i o n : "Sha l l music be t he p rope r ty of a few pr ivi leged p e r s o n s or sha l l i t be ours, t oo?"

W e a l so r e c o m m e n d to mus ic lovers t he m o n t h l y m a g a z i n e of t h e W o r k e r s ' Music Associa t ion , "Vox Pop," price 6d. I t s pro-d u c e r s a i m to m a k e it t he b r i g h t e s t mus ic m a g a z i n e in t he coun t ry , a n d w h a t i t a t p r e s e n t lacks in size i t fnore t h a n m a k e s u p in qua l i ty .

T h e Associa t ion h a s i t s h e a d q u a r t e r s a t 9 N e w p o r t S t ree t , London . W.C.2. I t exis ts to give t he widest section of t h e c o m m u -n i ty t h e o p p o r t u n i t y of p a r t i c i p a t i n g in m u s i c a l act ivi ty, a n d ind iv idua l m e m b e r -s h i p is 7s. 6d. pe r a n n u m .

CITY OF LIGHT t h e h i s to r ians of t h e w a r a g a i n s t Fas --L cism will h a v e p l en ty of m a t e r i a l . In

sp i t e of the pape r s h o r t a g e books a re al-r e a d y pouring off t h e p resses chron ic l ing eve ry aspect of t he s t rugg le , a n d t h e r e a re m o r e to come. I t m a y be t h a t t he mos t va luab le for r e f e r ence will be t hose whose a u t h o r s do not a t t e m p t c o m m e n t or ana ly-sis, bu t con ten t t hemse lves w i th "repor t -age . "

T h i s book, "Eight Days that Freed Paris," by Claude Roy, i l l u s t r a t ed by J e a n Rescho f sky (Pi lot Press , 6 -) is very un -pre ten t ious . I t is a first-hand accoun t of t h e r is ing of t h e P.F.I. , to l ibera te Par is , a n d it ha s the v i r t u e s a n d de fec t s of a n e w s reel. T h e wr i t i ng is su i t ed to the sub jec t , and the i l l u s t r a t i ons su i t the text. T h e book ce r ta in ly gives a n impress ion ot rea l i ty , of exc i t emen t a n d of vigour .

I felt , however, t h a t i t w a s r a t h e r ex-pensive, and t h a t i t m i g h t h a v e been-, a b e s t s e l l e r at , say 3 6; b u t n o doub t tltf pub l i she r s were u n a b l e to p r i n t a la rge e n o u g h edition to j u s t i f y a lower price.

SEAN B U R K E .

Partition Problem Tackled Again

WE have had several books on the Ulster question in recent years. Hugh

S h e a r m a n ' s "Not an Inch," a study of Lord t ' ra igavon, was writ ten allegedly f rom a non-par ty s tandpoint . Naturally enough, it was displeasing both to the Unionist and Nation-alist reviewers. This was followed by "Fif ty Years of Ulster," by T. J. Campbell, the Na-t ionalist leader, hailed by tha t party and coldly received by the Unionists. Now we h a v e " COUNTIES OF CONTENTION," wri t ten by a young Ulster Catholic and pub-lished by the Mercier Press, Cork, a t 7/6.

Th is book is described as an original study of I re land ' s main political prpblem and an "approach sincerely designed to find the compromise of understanding." The pub-lishers also claim tha t it shows clear think-ing. well-reasoned argument , and unbiased judgment .

All this would lead one to th ink that Mr. Kiely's was an outs tanding book indeed. It does not, however, reach such heights. The au tho r ' s sincerity is apparen t enough, but sincerity is not always synonymous with vi-sion. There is nothing original in the pro-duc t ion ; most of the ground has been cov-ered in Dorothy M'Cardle's "Republic" and o ther works.

Despite its claim lo objectivity, the book is quite tendentious. It is wri t ten from a strictly Nationalist and Catholic s tandpoint . Wri t t en during the war, there is no evidence t h a t the great menace hanging over the Irish people was not part i t ion but the pos-sibility of a Nazi victory over the democratic forces. Even Mr. De Valera tacitly recog-nised th is fact .

Mr. Kiclv covers the sorry history of par-tlon f rom the day the idea was first mooted. How ironic surely it is to th ink tha t it was a Celt ( the Cornish M.P., Agar-Rob-ar tes) who first mentioned the "solution" in Pa r l i amen t , and t h a t it was ano ther Celt

who l td the Government t h a t ini t iated the Act. There are copious c i ta t ions f rom the .speeches of the Tory leaders dur ing the dis-s ident days of 1913. But we have read mast of them before.

The author presents the fac ts as he sees them and satisfies himself t ha t part i t ion is a grievous affliction on the Ir ish nation. He draws no comparison between the different social services and the dist inct ly variant

' political trends in the two regions. Mr. Kiely's last words are t ha t he has a pet solu-tion for what his publisher describes as our m a i n problem. But modesty and pride for-bid him making this known.

The book begins well, but ta i ls off badly. Most of the later chapters are taken up with the defence of a production known as the "Orange Terror" which was banned in Nortel crn Ireland. This production was condemned by the Labour and Communist Press In Bel-fas t af ter its publication. It was issued by I he Capuchin Press in the South of Ireland in 1943 at a time when thousands of Catho-lics were working side by side with their Protes tant brethren in the foundries, air-c r a f l factories and sh ipyards in Belfast, when an energetic and united shop stewards' movement was in being and when the Union-ist and Nationalist workers were turning lo Labour. I need not stress the (act either thai in the summer of 1943 (lie Nazis were grinding down millions of Ca tho l ic , and Pro-testant in the camps and enslaved regions uiider their domination. The Eire censor was very sensitive about any reference to these enormities, but he didn't mind okaylnc a pamphlet whose only efTec would have be"!i to inflame the less enl ightened Protestant workers and possibly lead to bloodshed.

Mr. Kick 's book is brightly written and contains a useful resume of the part i t ion negotiations. It is. as I said, however, too tendentious to achieve Us sa lu tary object.

" K L O HAND."

n

Yd i -Dl 1G. no'eit ine! till eons.a;

a n a u,j; An Ui.'.-tite.ran na hEire.snn v . sent a message1 el condolence io the U.S A. on tlie death el Mr. Roosev. It: ii wa- die Taoseach, loo. who condoled officially v.nh the Nazis when Hitler 's ci-alli was an-

nounced. The President is not empowered to sign the credentials ot Eire'* r c p r c s t n u -tives m foreign countries. Under the Exter-na l Relations Act. which Mr. De Valera ik-cially summoned the Dail to pa;; a few-days af ter the abdication ol Edward VIII. these credentials are endorsed by the K i m .

Actually, Dr. Hyde's power was limited to the r ight to refer any act of the Legislature to the Supreme Court, which consists ol not less than live judges. For this he got a huge lodge in Phoenix Park . £10.000 a year, a n d a pension of £1.200 per a n n u m .

The President has a power considered unique by the a u t h o r : to refuse to dissolve Par l iament on the advice of a Premier. Dr. Hyde did not. of course, exercise that right dur ing his tenure. He accepted Mr. De Valera 's advice in May 1944. and proclaimed a General Election when F i a n n a Fail were defea ted .over the Transpor t Bill. The re-sul t s arc well known.

An invaluable book of re ference which should have a wide appeal . Reading Article Five of the Constitution, it is sa lutary lo be reminded tha t Eire is a sovereign, independ-en t and democratic Sta le . We must see-t h a t in future there is as much emphasis on democracy as there is on sovereignty.

E.M.B.

• n i l respet"

r e s i g n a t i o n eiioi us.

I l i i d " J u b i l o " reviewer .

"Aiv G od ! He li... ' f i l l s , i SlippOit.

il a: ; n n s h e d cry cf t hen c r i f . e s adowr. heiefoi 'e , w i t h r eg i s I acid i t n v o i c e

14.h.

.na

to t he review of m e in your Augus t issue, when L iam Reid. a s k s : " W h a t ;

to m a k e of the fo l lowing : — T i n t ; was a m i g h t y good film, we T h a t was a m i g h t y good film. A lmos t it was as good as t h e Civ;

W r a t h ' . " Well , b u t p a r d o n me whi le I ma!:e

l ace . Th i s is not how the piece. Jan, r e ads . If r eade r s c a r e to t u r n lo Sec Two. W a r Scene, in ••Jubilo," t hey wit. t h e piece begins:

T h a t was a good film, we sa id : T h a t was a m i g h t y good film. A nd so on. Poe t ry is i ndeed a n a r d u o u s

t a sk , Liam. I h a d "dis t i l led a n d con -d e n s e d ' t h a t word " m i g h t y " f r o m the first l ine long before the piece h a d ever c a u g h t you r eye or pa ined you r sense . Or a n y -body else's, for t h a t m a t t e r . I t was in t h e o r ig ina l manusc r ip t , b u t in the f i n i s h e d p roduc t , a s in the book a n d e l sewhere p u b -l i shed, it did not a p p e a r . I h a d b a n i s h e d il. 1 h a d evacua ted it hence . And h e r e you go a n d ca tch it a n d p u t i t back. T o o bad of you!

"Yes. but all t he s a m e . " some voices m u r m u r . " I t was a good film, w a s n ' t i t ? " " I t w a s a migh ty good f i l m ? " All r i g h t . All r i g h t . I 'm no t a r g u i n g . I 'm ju s t n o t a r g u i n g . T h e y c a n m u r m u r now. T h e i r d a y is pas t . F rance , in F r a n c e ' s own w a " . in t e a r s a n d w r e t c h e d n e s s a n d t r i u m p h , is be ing born aga in . I s l ibe ra ted , a n d will be f ree .

W i t h which bit of a d v e r t i s i n g fo r J u l y 14th. o therwise Ju i l l e t Qua to rze , 1943, a s i t s echoes came ac ross to t hese island's.

Yours, etc.. E W A R T M I L N E .

Ass ing ton . Suffolk. Aug. 7th . 1945. Mr . T. A. J ackson h a s a l so wr i t t en p r o -

t e s t i n g a g a i n s t our r ev iew of " Jub i l o . " W e hope to p u b l i s h h i s l e t t e r n e x t m o n t h , a long w i th a replv bv L i a m Reid . ]

The Earth and Man A L I T T L E sun, a l i t t le r a in ,

A so f t wind blowing f r o m the wes t . A nd woods a n d f ie lds a r e sweet a g a i n

A nd w a r m t h w i t h i n t h e m o u n t a i n ' s breas t .

So s imple is t he e a r t h we t r ead . So quick with love a n d l ife h e r f r a m e ,

T e n t h o u s a n d y e a r s h a v e d a w n e d a n d fled

A nd still h e r m a g i c is t he s a m e . A l i t t le love, a l i t t le t r u s t ,

A soft impulse, a s u d d e n d r e a m , And life, a s dry a s d e s e r t dus t .

I s f r e s h e r t h a n a m o u n t a i n s t r e a m . So s imple is the h e a r t of m a n .

So ready for n e w h o p e a n d joy, T e n t h o u s a n d yea r s s ince it b e g a n

Have le f t it y o u n g e r t h a n a boy. — S T O P P O R D B R O O K E .

WORTHIES OF TH0M0ND By Robert Herbert , Pery Square, Limerick (Two Series, 2 - and 2/6)

" INDIVIDUALITY is the keynote of t he -1- Ir ish character . How numerous were local personalities in t h a t fecund 18th-cen-tury epoch from which Mr. Herbcr l ha s dug up half-forgotten poets of Thomond! J o h n O'Tuomy, Francis Waller, J o h n C. McDon-nell, Daniel Hayes, Edward Purdon Thos . Condon, Thos. Dermody, Robert D.' Jovce, Donchadh Ruadh M a c n a m a r a . And how alive they were in their genera t ion! B u t lest you think his T h o m o n d Worthies made verses only, we meet the jolly barr is ter a n d t he Trini ty "Buck." the bri l l iant phvsician. and the studious priest ; t he preacher, poli-t ician and newspaper-man; the quixotic ac-tor. the eccentric au tho r and Ihe dist in-guished s ta tesman; the horse-lover, hedge-schoolmaster and rebel adven ture r—a galaxv of unique "characters" , as we in I reland a re pleased to describe them.

Limerick and Clare men will t h a n k Mr. Herbert for publishing this compendium of shor t lives of lhe most f amous men nat ive to those two counties. Covering a wide field, unti l the present day. he has. so far . com-piled almost 120 names, working t h r o u g h the alphabet .

Of course, such names as Smith-O'Brien, Fitzgerald. De Vere. O 'Gradv. are already-known as having shed lust re on Ireland as a whole and not merely on their own county . I was particularly pleased to see. however, in this handpleked assembly of men remem-bered locally for some streak of genius, my own favourite 18th cen tury painter, the Ennis-born William Mureadv, whose claim lo art ist ic greatness has been sirangelv over-looked. N.E.K.

8 T H E IRISH D E M O C R A T September, 1945

Nationalist M.P.'s take Seats in Commons a it t i t i o \ < o m m : m \ i : i »

A STATEMENT issued to the Press b\ Messrs. A. J . Mulvey and Patr ick Cun-

n i n g h a m . the two Nationalist M.P.s lor Ty-rone and Fermanagh, who took their scats in the British Par l iament , strongly condemns t h e injustice of Par t i t ion; protests against t h e ill-treatment of the minority 111 the Six-Counties. where a react ionary Tory minor-ity is imposing its will contrary to all do- I moeracy and justice, and hopes tha t now the \ Br i t ish people have realised the futili ty of J Tory methods in political and social a l t e r s I t he aue of privilege may be brought to an end in Ireland as in Britain.

TORY DIEHAKDS The old Tory diehards who controlled

British policy in regard to I reland and who have been directly responsible for the inst i tut ion and cont inuance of Parti t ion, a re no longer in power. The Brit ish people have a t last realised the fut i l i ty of their methods in political and social a f fa i r s and have elected a Government t ha t promises the adoption of more enl ightened and pro-gressive methods. Now we trust that Hie age of privilege may be brought to an end in Ireland as it has been brought to an end in Britain.

Par t i t ion remains the sole obstacle to f r i endsh ip between Bri ta in and I re land, and so long as it is permit ted to exist, mus t con-t inue to poison the relations between the two countries.

T h e vast majori ty of I r i shmen desire 10 live in peace and fr iendship with Britain. T h e mediaeval conception of Imper ia l policy a s instituted by Tory react ionar ies was "Di-vide and Conquer." This ha s always been t h e essence of the Ir ish question, and the par t i t ion of our country is the latest mani-fes ta t ion of this deplorable s ta tesmanship

and h a s resulted in setting up for six of our counties a virtual dic ta torship with all the Cont inenta l t rappings of secret and par ty police equipped with extraordinary powers.

Messrs. A. J. M u l v e y and Patr ick

Cunn ingham, the t w o National ist

M.P.s for T y r o n e a n d Fermanagh,

who recently took their seats in

the House of C o m m o n s .

r — 1

L A B O U R GAINS ONE S E A T IN SIX-COUNTY S E N A T E

I ABOUR has gained one scat as a result J of the Six-County Sena te elections. In-

dependent Unionists gained one and Nation-alists lost one seat.

Final results were: —

I nionisls—Mr. Wm. Barclay. Major J o h n C. Boyle. Mr. Gerald Browne. Rev. Prof. R. Corkey. Mr. Joseph C u n n i n g h a m . Mr. J . C. Glendinning. Mr. J. G. Leslie. Air. T h o m a s Nelson. Enniskillen.

Independent Unionist^-JIjr . W. M. Wilton.

Nationalists—Mr. T. S. McAllister. Mr. Joseph Maguire.

Labour—Mr. Wm. J. Smyth .

Those elected include th ree new members . Mr. Thomas Nelson iU . i . Mr. W. J . S m y t h 1 Lab.), and Mr. W. M. Wilton ( Ind. U.>

Mr. W. E. Stevenson. D u n g a n n o n (U. ' h a s already been elected in succession to Mr. J . R. Percivai-Maxwell. now M.P. for Ards.

Unsuccessful candida tes were Air. Samuel Haslott (Lab. ' . Air. J o h n Nugent 1 Ind. > and Air. John AIcHugh (Nat .)

The House in Merrion Square EVERY Southern I r i shman who came to

Bri tain during the W a r knows the Uni ted Kingdom Pe rmi t Office in Dublin. More than 180,000 people have knocked on t h a t familiar door in Merrion Square, been admi t t ed by the be-medalled a t tendant , waited nervously for their name to be called, uneasi ly made their way ups ta i r s to be cross-examined by an official who treated t h e m with a mixture of suspicion and con-descension, and a t length been issued with t he cherished visa which was to take them to the Promised Land (moryah! ) of Britain.

Here is a description of t he Pe rmi t Office by "Quidnunc" of the "Ir ish Times ," which will strike a famil iar chord in m a n y memor-ies:

EXILES I n the past few years one of the most in-

terest ing places in Dublin was t he United Kingdom Permit Office in Merr ion Square. Inside the hal l of th i s old house, under-n e a t h the posters showing t a n k s spitting fire and cruisers bat t l ing with mountainous seas, dne was in ano ther count ry—in a quiet ante-room of war.

Through this funne l passed t he 100,000 Irish men and women who went to work in Britain ' s factories. Taken t h a t way, as a statistic, they seem dull and impersonal. But when one was there, seated on the long bench in the hall beside them, every one 6eemed to be the hero of a small drama.

They stood in queues outside the door— ruddy-faced young men in blue suits and cloth caps, distinguished as countrymen by no special detail, and yet as obviously out of place on a city pavement as a new-born calf. For them the door which would be opened soon by an attendant with medal ribbons on his blue uniform was the e n t r a n c e to a new life.

OVER THE TOP Inside, separated along the seats, they lost

the superficial confidence that h a d sustained them when they were together outside. They sat uneasily, twisting the i r caps in their hands, more and more nervous as they moved up the queue, unti l a t last their names were called, and they heaved them-selves up to face the stairs and the official at the top.

H»e posters seemed to fasc ina te them. These pictures of a war wi thin whose reach they were about to go were a lmost terrify-ing. Many a one, no doubt, h a d a sudden shame faced hope t ha t his application would be refused, and tha t he would be able to return to the peace of Cork or Galway or Donegal.

The occasional fur-coated women, fret t ing at their inability to persuade the a t tendants of their Importance and to leave their place* in the queue, seemed out of place. They wanted to go to England for a visit, perhaps, or bo visit relations. They knew where they were going, and they knew they would come back. But for most of the hundred thousand thin was a leap into the unkmown. As they

, moved op the stairs they had the air o( men , who wfte goibg over the top.

NEXT MONTH SPECIAL BI CENTENARY ARTICLE

ON DEAN SWIFT, by J o h n I re land. AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with

Mr. Gilbert Lynch. President of the Irish Trade Union Congress.

"KELLY FROM KILLANE," a Short Story by Sheila May.

Also held over unt i l next month is a report of the activit ies of the Ir ish Workers' Social Club in London and the Young I re land Club in London, and several letters.

W e Have Tasted the Bread of Exi le By G E R A L D M A N G A N

A ' E R Y soon now we sha l l h a v e to dea l * w i t h t he bogey w h i c h h a s been in our

m i n d s s ince t he s t a r t of t h e w a r — e m i g r a -t ion . We came to E n g l a n d because we cou ld n o t live in I r e l and . W e swea ted in B r i t i s h f ac to r i e s a n d foundr i e s , on f a r m s , a n d a i r d r o m e s a n d bu i ld ing site, a n d i n t h e d e p t h s of t he e a r t h . W e lived in hos-te ls a n d c a m p s a n d good, bad a n d ind i f -f e r e n t "d igs" f r o m t h e Hebr ides to t h e C h a n n e l ; f r o m W a l e s to t he N o r t h S e a . W e so ld our musc les a n d even occas ional ly o u r b r a i n s a n d we s e n t o u r s u r p l u s c a s h b a c k a long the road we c a m e by, so t h a t o u r fo lks could e a t I r i s h food a n d d r e s s t h e m s e l v e s in I r i sh c lo thes .

POST-WAR B O O M

V e r y soon now it will be over. T h e m e n w h o used the t a n k s a n d g u n s a n d p l a n e s we bu i l t will be coming back. T h e y will be back in the i r own homes , if bombs h a v e l e f t t h e m any, a n d whe re sha l l we go n e x t ? I t m a y be t h a t t h e war boom will be fol-lowed by a peace boom, t h a t t he f a c t o r i e s will be filled in t he d a y s to come as t h e L a b o u r E x c h a n g e s were in t he days of t h e p a s t .

Poss ib ly t h e n we sha l l still be n e e d e d h e r e . Possibly d u r i n g t he c h a n g e over t h e r e will aga in be m o r e m e n t h a n jobs, a n d unless we a r e c o n t e n t to be used a s c h e a p labour in a n a t t a c k on improved w a r - t i m e working cond i t ions , we sha l l swel l the dole queues , we sha l l find our -se lves packed off h iggledy-piggledy back t o I r e l a n d , t ravel pe rmi t s , yellow i d e n t i t y c a r d s a n d all.

S C A R E D S T I F F ? n-19 p la in f a c t is t h a t mos t of us a r e

s c a r e d stiff of being s e n t back home. We want to stay in Britain, or go to Australia, or the States, or anywhere but Ireland. W e a re a n g r y a n d b i t t e r a n d r e s e n t f u l . T i l e teste of the b read of exile is in o u r m o u t h s . Maybe s o m e t i m e s we d o n ' t c a r e m u c h fo r t he t a s t e of it. M^ybe s o m e -t i m e s it t u r n s our s t o m a c h s , but i t f i l ls t h e m anyhow, a n d e a t i n g is a h a r d h a b i t to cure .

Wou ld we go back if we could do so w i t h d i g n i t y ? If we were su r e of a job a n d a h o m e a n d secur i ty in s i ckness a n d old age , m a n y of us would go back gladly. W e h a v e enough l iking for our own k ind sti l l , to p r e f e r I r e l and to a n y o t h e r place. T h e m e m o r i e s a n d t r a d i t i o n s we hold s t i l l m e a n s o m e t h i n g to us. T h e n a m e s in-voked by Eas t e r o r a t o r s Can still r a i s e a s p a r k in us. But we c a n n o t eat n a m e s and house and c lothe ourselves in tradi-t ions. It Is a pity that these vulgar mat-ters have to be considered, but that's the way it is.

CAPITALISTS' PARADISE If I were a capitalist I should head for

Ireland like a homing pigeon. My market

would be protected and guaranteed by taxes and monopoly rights. I could get labour dirt-cheap and treat it in accord-ance with its price. I could bleat my head off about individual freedom and the rights of property, and have a whole glib-tongued army to support me and point out the Importance of being satisfied with one's station.

Alas. I h a v e to work for my living. I look a t the S t a t e f r a m e w o r k f r o m below a n d it looks to m e l ike t h e scaffolding of a post-war workhouse . W e have e i t h e r got to tear it a p a r t a n d rebu i ld it wi th o u r Br i t i sh -made tools a n d Br i t i sh l e a r n e d skills, or live in i t a s i t is—and ro t ; o r we

c a n s t ay in Br i t a in , ou r ta i l s p e r m a n e n t l y be tween our legs; we t h e p roud I r i sh , t h e fighting Ir ish, who h a d w h a t i t t a k e s t o win our f reedom, to l ick a n empi re , a n d now ignominiously , ing lor ious ly a l low our c o u n t r y to bleed to d e a t h .

P E A D A R 0 D O N N E L L P e a d a r O 'Donne l l ' s s c h e m e m a y d o s o m e

good, bu t he knows, a s we know, t h a t i t is n o t enough. He knows , a s we know, t h e p l a n s for peace t h a t B r i t a i n h a s m a d e a n d which will t r a n s f o r m l i fe in t h i s c o u n t r y . A g o v e r n m e n t b a s e d o n a " L a b o u r a n d progress ive" m a j o r i t y will see to t h a t . W h o will say t h a t will n o t a f f e c t I r e l a n d ?

—With a c k n o w l e d g m e n t s to "Rev iew . "

Strike Wave Spreads to Provinces Larkin's Warning

— C o n t i n u e d f r o m P a g e O n e all our n e g o t i a t i o n s , " c o m m e n t s Miss B e n -ne t t , " these l a u n d r y owners , who m i g h t be best expec ted to a r g u e their own case , never once o p e n e d t h e i r mou ths . I n s t e a d , Cap t , Alan G o r d o n , a p rominen t sh ip -owner a n d b r o k e r a n d a m a n who h a d probably never p u t h i s foot inside a l a u n -dry, spoke for t h e employe r s as a whole . "

G R E E D Y E M P L O Y E R S

1 AUNDRY w o r k e r s ' d e m a n d s for a n ex t ra week 's h o l i d a y wi th pay a n d t h e

s tabi l i sa t ion of t h e ex i s t ing bonus a s a basic wage h a v e m e t w i th widespread pub-lic s y m p a t h y . C o n d i t i o n s in the l a u n d r i e s a re bad. T h e bas ic wage for a d u l t s is only 32s wi th a w a r b o n u s of 6s. fo r a 45-hou r week. T h e w o m e n work all d a y in a hot . s t e a m y a t m o s p h e r e . Cond i t i ons a r e overcrowded a n d unhyg ien ic , a n d t h e in-cidence of t u b e r c u l o s i s among y o u n g l aundry girls is h i g h .

T h e l a u n d r y o w n e r s ' c la ims t h a t in-creased cost of f ue l a n d soap p r e v e n t e d them g r a n t i n g t h e e x t r a week's h o l i d a y was exposed by a n official of t he C o u r t Laundry .

Noted for its progressive ideas, this laundry conceded the union's claims some years ago and has now resigned from the Dublin Laundry Owners' Asso-ciation over the strike issue. " I t is all a question of the rate of profit," ex-plained the official. " If the owner is satisfied with a moderate rate of profit, then he can afford to mak* the conces-sions. If he is greedy and wants a high rate of profit, then he obviously cannot give the extra holidays.''

Asked w h a t profile the Dublin laundries h a d made during the war, he s»id the figures were not known as aU the .laun-dries were pri ratwly owned.

50,000 T R A D E U N I O N I S T S P L E D G E S U P P O R T

LAUNDRY gir ls h a v e given t h e lead to o the r s t r ikers by t h e i r good h u m o u r ,

discipl ine a n d fighting sp i r i t . Shou t ing . "We w a n t L e m a s s , " a n d c a r r y -

ing s logans : "We d e m a n d a f o r t n i g h t ' s hol iday." 1,500 of t h e m recen t ly m a r c h e d t h r o u g h the s t r e e t s of D u b i n in o n e of t h e finest women 's d e m o n s t r a t i o n s seen s ince the days of C u m a n n n a m B a n .

Preceded by a p ipe b a n d a n d led by the Executive of the W o m e n W o r k e r s ' Union , t he procession, m a r c h i n g f o u r a b r e a s t , was abou t one-quar te r of a mi le long. I t m a d e a brave s i gh t a s i t m a r c h e d t h r o u g h the m a i n s t r ee t s of t h e ci ty. T ra f f i c a t O'Coii-nell Bridge a n d Col lege G r e e n w a s he ld u p for several m i n u t e s a s t he process ion wen t by, a n d t h e r e were s y m p a t h e t i c chee r s f rom c rowds of on lookers w h e n it was joined by a c o n t i n g e n t of b u t c h e r s f r o m the Worker s ' Un ion of I r e l a n d .

NEW F O R C E S C O M I N G I N T O S T R U G G L E

AT a big s t r ike ral ly , he ld in t h e Metro-pol i tan Hall , M r . J i m L a r k l n . T.D..

w a r n e d the a u d i e n c e t h a t t h e r e w a s a n organised l ine-up of every r o t t e n r eac t ion -a ry force in t he c o u n t r y . " B u t , " h e con-t inued amid t r e m e n d o u s a p p l a u s e , " t h e Dubl in T r a d e s Counc i l h a d p ledged the suppor t of Its 50,000 af f i l ia ted m e m b e r s , and every day n e w a n d f r e s h fo rces were coming into t he s t r u g g l e .

"If we win," h e conc luded , " t h e whole working-class m o v e m e n t goes f o r w a r d . If we fail, we lose eve ry ga in t h e workers have made in t he l a s t 25 years . "

IMntod by Riptejr PrinUng Society Ltd. (T.CJ-; tt-ptny. De*bj»~ and published by the'Bdltof. Piwnter HoUae. 180 Southarop-

' t o* Ho*. Ton don. W.C.I.

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