Irish Democrat June 1979

FOUNDED
ORGAN OF THE CONNOtLY ASSOCIATION
3 Professor WaJ«h
on P. H. Pearse
4 Wolfe Tone
6 Songs
7 Books
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THE IRISH DEMOCRAT June 1979
June 1979
THE IRISH DEMOCRAT
I \ 1IRIT4IY
TODAY
WE WILL
MOT
BE VOTING
ON
JUNE 7th
S*.
T \EAR EDITOR,—Could I make
^ one or con.
comments undefr "EHficSde" hi
in the May issuefr.
Bather than th«i
mitted '

1
r
i j
h
m
Ireland—partition and
THERE is so much talk of
war and war-preparations
just at present that you would
suspect the powers that be
of trying to work up a war
psychology.
It is not done directly. It is
done by carefully setting: the
stage. A royal visits NATO
headquarters. A General says
our potential enemies are
arming like mad. Somebody
Invents some new horrific
weapon. Some Senator says
President Carter is not tough
epough. And the ordinary
man says "it looks as if
something's coming."
There's an oil shortage, out
of the blue. Theri we learn
of the countless millions Of
gallons which have been
poured into the saltmines in
the U.S.A. .
And there is frttte doubt
that the prime war-moitters
are the British Tories. They
have vast investments all
over the world. They are the
least national ruling- class Of
any country. The Garmanson
the other hand have Wttle
.stake outside their own country
and for all the talk sfcbt/t
the "iron curtain" r there is
virtually free trade between
west and east Germany. Likewise
the Americans who
would have to bear the brunt
of it are not too anxious to
world peace
then there would be no point
in clinging on to the six
counties.
It is clear that there is a
considerable field of common*
interest between the Irish
people and those in Britain
who are interested in - world
peace.
.... i-:
OW cah that interest express
itself practical?
H
What are the obstacles and
difficulties in the way 6f getting
the basic principle ofttie
thing more widely understood'?
With a view to discussing
that in an exploratory manner,
the Connolly Association
has called & conference
which will meet at : amat
Unity House, the premises of
the National Union of Railwayman,
EUstonRoad, on
Sunday June 24th.
If you are interested get in
touch with Eddie Cotoman at
283, Grays Inn Rodd, tendon
W.C.1., phone 01 837 4828:
TWERE was a bitter taste in
the mouths of workers in
one of Ireland's oldest stoeet
factories the Other week
when they learned that their
firm was going to close down.
precipitate conflict. The next
five years wilf be the most
dangerous for world peaqp,. j-em'ons sweet tactory in
for the people jri power at Drumcondra, Dublin, is to
isfiposlSEPS?
which we .Serve, the Irish ' -> Lemons sweet factory, a subpeople
.and the British worfc*: sidiary of a Liverpool frsm, is
ing class, likely to be affe one of the oldest confectionary
ted?
companies in Europe. Most of
In regard to Ireland; ./the woriwrsbavebeen 30-or 40
first «ng is to preserve years m the company. In
neutrally.There is na doubt future Lemons sweets will be
that much of the coolness supplied from Liverpool and
between London and
i*'that Mr. Lynch/will ndjt %
commit himself in advance
to take p^art in any war the
British establishment cares to
same time Irish
neutrality is endangered by
the situation in the six counties.
If the six counties were
Ived- how would thd
be fixed?
the cat that has
n let out of the.
years the IRISH,
T has been saying
that, the feason the Brffl»i
establishment wants to
on to the six counties is
cause of flieir war plans. Now
it has been frankly admitted
the NATO con*
itment.
v migW be thought that w«
i^could hardly Oxpect Bii
A
_ _ _ _
tain to give up the si*
counties if it would redu&i •^ajpldiil, of
r
flMfpHtltary capacity I''
U is V certain that thi|
will not, uhl
are, some other yi
reasons,
there are many im
DmImK — — — < • U
ontisn people, in
rade unions and elsewl
think the general
to war it «#
now u
H waa before
M m wffct did th
_ _ . ' could
been ^ paftled 'Withe
If a road to
;, w aa^HJUlM ^ afi' ; AJVI iljJ
armament couid
d
foun
ml
THE IRISH DEMOCRAT Jane 1979
UNITED IRELAND!
£ HAVE headed this article
"Remember Wolfe Tone."
Why? Because we are in danger
of forgetting him. Until the government
put a ban on all Irish
demonstrations the Connolly
Association walked to Trafalgar
Square every jrettr on the
Sunday nearest to June 20th.
So the lessons of Tone's life
and teaching were kept alive.
They were never so pertinent as
they are today.,
Theobald Wolfe Tone
was born in Dublin
in Vfc Wmu a
f»rote«taiHHe went
trame* a»il»wyer.
The French revolution
interest fit f«Hc«l .
polit iw art* lie beeuti e
EflglaM was the '
"hev«y-fiifig Murce
of our| |pnmil ill|. n
WHAT was hisaftswer?
In his own'wdrds it was
the Irish plant will be used as
a distribution^, point with a
small staff stilt kept on.
"The decision has been
taken
parent company",
said the Managing
Director, fa view &f fts biting
invasion of the Irish swpet
market ^ foreign manufacturers.:
.
This is
in a proc
casualty
going on
now, as o
firms have
foreign co
rules of
as a prop
sumption
"To unite the whole people of
Ireland, to abolish the memory
of past dissensions, and to substitute
the common name of
Irishmen in place of the denominations
of Protestant, Catholic
and Dissenter."
As a Protestant he became
secretary of the Catholic Committee,
and it was as a result of
his agitation that the Catholic
Relief Act was passed, winning
the greatest measure of emancipation
before the time of
O'Connell.
Wolfe Tone in the
course of his work
travelled- the greater
part of lrefftfl

' .'0»r ' f .
A 1
6 THE IRISH DEMOCRAT June 1979
PETER
CROWLEY
AS I roved one evening in the holy month of June
^ I strolled into-an old churchyard to view .a newrbuilt tomb;
I overheard an old man say as the tears rolled from Jits eyes :
"It's underneath that cold green sod brave Peter Growley lies.
men tell me, Peter Crowley, come tell me, tell me true,
Mthostepped iatft^Kitotvonoy Wood that day .along with you 1
» stood behind that twoadoak tree and fired that signal «gim?
i tough tand died for Ireland's rights ? 'Twas you,,my darling
son."
The man who fired that- signal gitn^Mont.to. hifejOMtn abode,
for many a weary mile he stioulctocedit thpvduh. and weary road,
Stfflandcold It's there you-a.atoiwntgeak.nMkOhrai,
'Bwnruse you were a Penlanmid Juut.fQiieM lor»li*orty.
: ... -.v..;'
Ifcewte oantrbida ^p^jfewjpfcso* I tavesm amse'to soy,
Ma#> t he almigbty~andh«*e r nat GddjaoarHMtaa y wiao m thaclay*
J© GOflcruer.Englifibt Dutch^and Bwm-a* Untstmionceuldalo.
(Tbis song <
ftffled in.a"
••n V
Wittl
i^ei^iXSeittTC^ss^js, 4he Eeaiao,
Slit,
(|||il, to ^he troad ^pulve pte
r
... i.'-j tr •
won't •^traWrvit'Jenf
»n get slack,
rsod -with * mighty CfflMortto' svith this. heinous beast
dier ^aitmriAeo «ns precarious
reams-in the hot Sargasso sea
Where raksoh 'jtecqoes -were idly
rollto'
Mm in the osiddle watch
The quarter.
She *almly ot
his
wife
the P&ace Ptoflei, iopie; arped, argaed, ate lem reconciling British rule demonStratl
in Irish" .
and* cftwtfe with mi thv the W. lot.
in the North with law ancL order va^mM
m ^ a^vim^tra M&tk $arts. . .:• j a •
>f tire effect of the t In MmW®*
But *S« Lyaght dld #eek tta
depopuiatiM w 1!&:mk
Mffieg mfefiBotir*, ent& taw*abWig jj# cwactio*,. sovfa Qtto
started*
kg are frequently voluntarily sheltered . Chdriie. ditions wh
was
it sttff have room Kerins^ who. was wante

THE IRISH DEMOCRAT June 1979
9
TWAVS IN THE PUB
BY
!
I
I
C
PRESIDENT OF
I.T.G.W.U ON
CONNOLLY
ONNOLLY saw that the
working class must
achieve sovereignty and political
Independence foe Ireland
fit it was ever to be in a position
to bring about radical
political and social change.
This was the heart of his message
to us today, said Senator
Fintan Kennedy, General
President of the ITGWU, at
the union's Connolly Commemoration
at Arbour Hill In
May.
"Connolly's trade unionism
revealed his deep
human concern for the
everyday realities which
working people had to contend
with," said Mr. Kennedy.
"He looked for shortterm
concessions which
would make their lives
- more bearable. From this
endeavour there developed
leglcally hit commitment
to national Independence
as a tremendous, democratic
step forward, which
, would er
of one nation by
and ertfpfeiii
ties of political advancefoy
the labour movement."
made from tbrte to
QNE of the things which most
intrigued me when 1 came to
England in 1951 was the attractiveness
and variety of the pub
names. We weren't entirely unacquainted
with the custom of
naming hostelries in Ireland, to
be sure, but it wasn't anything
like so widespread or so colourful.
You might think of a name
like the Wexford Arms for instance
(and that was far more
likely to be above a hotel door
than that of an ordinary pub)
or some historic sign like the
Brazen Head in Dublin . . . .
Limerick had to have a Treaty
Bar, of course, and Kilkenny an
Ossory House—while places like
Galway were more likely to
reflect American influence and
money by displaying signs such
as the Manhattan Bar or the
Jersey Bar. That was all right
and nothing very new to us but
for the most part it was the
real old traditional Irish thing
—P. J. Murphy Bar & Grocery
with underneath a few words
informing the public that a
licence had been issued to the
proprietor for the sale of beer,
wines and spirits.
In places like Galway, too,
the signs and. names would very
often be in Irish, in the old
ornate Gaelic script (which the
scholars tell us was not really
any more Irish than the lettering
which is used nowadays and
is known contemptuously to
many as an c 16 rdmhdnach) . . .
alas the worthy praQtice of putting
the name of the licensee
if^trm ttbovf Hhe '866? JggMtT?
to be losing ground now and .,
more's the pity.
But to get back to England:
it was fascinating to me at least
overlooked, ta^Jeam what a wide range of
some
namqs there were, the majority
W _ ..... of them seemingly hflving to do
of the with anitnals (Qlack Bulls, Bull's
sxJHGbads, Spotted flogs, Dogs- and
s and the like); varying
is, of royalty (King's Heads
Kip!4 4rms befog riyf§l^4
counterparts — not to mention
Dukes of York, Princes of Wales
and Lords Raglan if that be the
correct plural) and a fairly representative
collection of trades
of which the Artisan, Foundryman's
Arms, Tanner's and
Lamplighter are but a tiny
fraction.
Innocently perhaps, it seemed
to me that the name above the
door must denote something of
the character of the place inside.
I fondly imagined that, the
Foundryman would be rather
different from the Lord jHigh'
Admiral and that the Poacher's
Rest might reasonably be expected
to harbour some colourful
rural characters. It seemed
to me too that the Welsh Harp
might possibly provide something
in the way of good choral
singing and that the World's
End would provide something
even more exotic in the
entertainment line. Mo greidhn
do chiall a mhic as they say in
Irish (God help your head sonny
by way of rough translation). 1
was soon disillusioned. For the
clientele, or the patrons I should
say, of the Lord High Admiral
were no more maritime in their
outlook than the patrons of the %
Poachers Rest were country bred;
the Saracen's Head appeared to
be the exclusive sanctuary, of
thirsty Irish heavy-diggers while
gular lack of what at home we
called atmosphere. Now atmosphere,
1 know, is not easily
defined and as well as that it
may very often be something
of one's own creation, a flimsy,
tenuous thing made up of past
associations, of mutual feelings
and even of over-indulgence in
one's favourite brew. One man
may be completely oblivious of
another man's atmosphere and
1 know it used to surprise and
even annoy me quite a bit when
visitors to Kilkenny, for instance,
failed to find anything
especially memordble about the
atmosphere of the Marble City
Bar or were unmoved by the
lingering 19th-century air of
some place like Delia Lydon's
in Galway. But tn any event,
for my money, most of the English
pubs lacked atmosphere,
and innovations like the jukebox
which screamed Frankie Laine
numbers mercilessly at you all
night or the weird-looking object
which washed glasses automatically
(not to mention the
skittle board or the domino
games) served only to strengthen
my impressions end prejudices.
(Wowadays with the detestable
pool tables taking over
in every pub you visit the skittle
boards seem acceptably oldworld,
and who could object to
a .quiet gaaie of dominoes ?)
the Dublin Castle seemed to
But it wasn't only the atmosphere
of English pubs whisk I
cater only for local boot and
, „ , ... . found wanting. 1 must
shoe men Far from providmg Vfiere and notTthat I didn't think
anything by way of exotic much ^ b e e r ^ *
amusement the Worlds End ' *
.; WW most aeppmp^!
collection-bf oHt Bores I had iter
supped a fiint wm and the Nell
Gwy^n, ^f i t e
ddbr tufned oqt' to be
has ftiFttm unimaginable rea
son com* to be known as "gay".
-v In any case 1. was soan.'di$-.
illusioned with more than. the
pub. M ^ m seemed ; t&, me
tiling
MacAMHLAIGH
wicks (Natural) Ale and good
old Arthur G. In view of the
rationing here in Britain 1 suppose
it is only reasonable to
expect that the strength of beer
would have been affected but
in all fairness I must say that,
later on, when I came to appre~
date beer as distinct from stout,
I found local brews like Phipps*S
of Northampton or Warwick's
Best Bitter to be very good
indeed.
Fashions vary in drinks, of
course, and back in the 1950s
most of us Irish lads went in
for what today I would find a
truly nauseous mixture —the
stout and mild or Black & Tan
as it was known. The reason
for this I suppose was that
draught Guinness had not yet
beeome commonplace here in
England and we were, trying to
get something not toe different
from the old gargle we knew dt
home. Later on f&r^OiM reason
other combinations became
popular among the Irish here—:
the light arfi Bitl&r or the Light
and Red for imtqnce. Straight
beer or draught Guinness seems
to be the more general preference
today though te b^ sure
a lot of the "
i-
Um* Ud..,at
is the third month of our
appeal for fivers and unfortunately
readers, I am sorry to say
. it's been a disappointing month. I
know the holiday, season is
approaching and a lot of you will
be saving for your ptoet ill the
sun, but I must appeal. to all of
you;—please sink your hands a little
bit deeper into your pockets!
We rely ;a lot on our readers and
supporters to help us out In times
11 of financial ; trouble; ^ualifee the .
"Opposition", we do not have unlimited
resources at hand. The
British Qovera&ent were prepared
t^; spend 1.DOO million pounds of
public money last year, (your money
and mine), in order to exercise
political control over Northern
Ireland. Of course they did not give "
us the choice of whether we wanted
to contribute or not.
The Connolly ASSOClfrtien
asking for £5,000 thisyear/a mere
drop in the ooeatt to •cotipaitm^ -
Help finance us—make the right
choice and you can be assured that
your money wUl H^H mMoh
moreccn**^** ( .: "
Last month heralded the end of
our winter series of history lectures
on Ireland. We are sure that the
dost of providing these lectures
was well worth the end result. They
were consistently well-delivered and
well-attended and th,e degree et