Freedom yet again

Following on a previous article on Freedom and Democracy, it is to be noted that in Late Sinn Fein’s recent Ard Fheis, the word – Saoirse—was emblazoned in the background. As noted in a previous article the word –Saoirse—as used by Late Sinn Fein is as meaningless as ---Uhuru---as used by the Kenyans in the 60ties. The 1801 Act of Union remains in place in the 6 counties and Hugh Orde can sleep soundly in the knowledge that the primary function of the P.S.N.I. is fulfilled, the 6 county undemocratic sectarian unwritten enforced constitution being now more secure than it ever was. It is now duly and finally enforced by a permanent British garrison and by an armed P.S.N.I. Hugh Orde can now relax knowing that partition is copper fastened and sectarianism institutionalised. Having conceded the constitution to the P,S.N.I. Late Sinn Fein is now willing to participate in the secondary function of the P.S.N.I. which is the maintenance of civil law and order and be happy with a placement at Stormont. Gerry Adams recommends that Republicans join the P.S.N.I. How this is going to work constitutionally is impossible to tell. As policemen and women it will be their constitutional duty to enforce the 1801 Act of Union but as Republicans it will be their duty to oppose it and get rid of it. In such a set up Republicans in the police will lead a schizophrenic existence.

By taking Right Wing Union Jack Unionists, the D.U.P., as bedfellows at Stormont Late Sinn Fein has exposed the attempt by P.I.R.A. to overthrow the Act of Union by brute force as just another Republican failure, a futility, and a farce and at the same time have exposed the tragedies of the hunger strikes at Long Kesh as just another Republican folly. In truth ---Saoirse--- as used by Late Sinn Fein is clearly as bogus and false as was ---uhuru---in Kenya.

However Federal Unionism—Early Sinn Fein still holds steadfastly to freedom in Ireland and holds to the truth that freedom is needed as never before but not of the bogus--- Saoirse/Uhuru--- sort. In the National Government of Ireland Act freedom is given its modern meaning as accepted by forward thinking people. In the Act there is given a list of “freedom froms” and in this list there will be found ---freedom from disease---as a basic freedom of the individual. What Ireland needs to be freed from in the 21st century is from the social disease of sectarianism, bigotry and intolerance. If the Irish are to be united in freedom they must first be liberated from the social disease of the country—sectarianism---.

Sectarianism is rampant in the mentalities of Late Sinn Fein and of Right Wing Union Jack Unionism There isn’t a protestant in the ranks of Late Sinn Fein nor is there a Catholic in the ranks of the D.U.P. In the case of Late Sinn Fein sectarianism runs deep in its history and pedigree. Late Sinn Fein takes as its ancestry the Catholic sectarian uprising of 1916.In that debacle there wasn’t a Protestant in the leadership or in the ranks; the Protestant Roger Casement is associated with this period of history but one swallow doesn’t make a summer. If the full truth were known about 1916 and it isn’t, it could be that the leadership and the ranks held to the sectarian bigotry that to be Irish one must be a Catholic, convert to Republicanism, and have a paranoid hatred of all things British especially the Crown. But to look at the whole picture and be fair there is the counter sectarian bigotry which says that to be loyal to the Crown, one must be protestant and British and convert to Right Wing Union Jack Unionism and live by the Act of Union and have a paranoid hatred of all things either Catholic or Irish. This sectarian bigotry, which is rampant in Ireland, has kept the communities at one another’s throats for generations. Ireland needs liberation from this mindset and when thus freed the island will be at peace and will be unified. Only Federal Unionism Early Sinn Fein can point the Irish in this direction in the National Government of Ireland Act. If this Act were in place in Ireland, Ireland would a sovereign nation like Canada. Canadians are loyal to the Crown and such loyalty is no barrier to Canada being a Sovereign independent nation within the Commonwealth. As a sovereign nation Canada has one head of state, the Crown, one Canadian flag, one Canadian anthem, and one Canadian passport giving a Canadian identity. Thus in Canada there is no inconsistency in being loyal in being loyal to Crown and in being Canadian because the Canadian constitution allows that. But in Ireland one cannot be loyal to the Crown and be Irish because the constitution doesn’t permit that either in the 1801 Act of Union or in the 1937 constitution in the 26 counties.

In the National Government of Ireland Act Ireland would be constituted as an Irish Christian Liberal Democracy within the United Kingdom and in an Ireland constituted in this way there would be no inconsistency in being loyal to the Crown and in being Irish. The constitution would allow that. Under such a constitution the people of Ireland would enjoy true freedom, not a bogus freedom like a shout of ---Saoirse / Uhuru---in the streets. The highest form of freedom that the individual can aspire to is---freedom to be--. In an Irish Christian Liberal Democracy the individual could aspire to freedom in its highest form namely freedom to be Irish to one’s heart’s content and at the same time the individual should be free to be loyal to the Crown to one’s heart’s content.

Republicanism and Nationalism (Nationalism being a half way house to Republicanism) hold that self-determination can only be realized in a Republic. But self-determination can equally be realized in a Monarchy. This is true of the Monarchies of Norway and Sweden

To develop this concept of the freedom of the individual the needs of Ireland in the 21st century can be listed as follows and these can only be fulfilled in Federal Unionism Early Sinn Fein.

1. The repeal of the Act of Union 1801

2. Its replacement by a new Act of Union, the National Government of Ireland Act in which the U.K. constitution is reformed and restructured in Ireland making it acceptable to all, be it the Catholics of Kerry or the Protestants of Derry.

3. The Act should define Ireland as a Sovereign Nation within the United Kingdom with a reformed Crown as head of state.

4. A federal structure of government in Ireland with a central government in ~Dublin, Dail Eireann, with powers devolved to four provincial Houses of Representatives

5. One state religion for all---Christian ~Ecumenism

6. A reform of the Orange Order

7. The British Isles redefined as The Isles of the North Atlantic.

8. Emmet’s epitaph to be written, Ireland being a 32 sovereign nation.

There is little point in disillusioned, disenchanted and disgruntled Republicans lamenting the sell-out by Late Sinn Fein in the six counties. That was inevitable. Republicanism has been tested to destruction by P.I.R.A.in the six counties and have shown it to be flawed, faulty, and defective and should be rejected. It is the thrust of these articles that traditional Unionism, Nationalism, and Republicanism are all flawed, faulty, and defective and should all be thrown out and replaced by the new stock of Federal Unionism Early Sinn Fein. So all is not lost. Federal Unionism Early Sinn Fein, which is a synthesis of Nationalism, and Unionism, remains with its solution to the Irish problem.

Michael Gillespie

Freedom and Democracy

Freedom and Democracy

Uhuru Freedom

In 1920 Kenya became a British Colony. In the early 1960 ties there was an uprising by the Kikuyu tribe led by the Mau Mau in a terrorist campaign and in the ensuing violence Britain left Kenya and granted it independence. In 1963 Jomo Kenyatta declared Keyna a Republic and in the ensuing celebrations in Nairobi the people danced in the streets chanting --- Uhuru i.e. Freedom. But this heady declaration died the death. Under British rule the country was prosperous but with independence due to bad government and economic recession the country became one of the poorest in the world In 1969 Keyna became a one party oppressive state and freedom and democracy were abandoned. I quote this case of freedom and democracy in Keyna to illustrate that a chant of ---- uhuru – in the streets doesn’t guarantee freedom and democracy in the state.

Saoirse Freedom

It was an unattainable pipe dream of Republicans in the troubles in the six counties that violence would drive the British Army into the Irish Sea and Loyalists with them. An all- Ireland Republic would be set up and in celebration the Republicans of Belfast would dance in the streets chanting ---- Saoirse--- Saoirse. --.This Republican pipe dream proved to be a delusion. But even if that dream had been a reality a shout of --- Saoirse—in the streets would not have been a guarantee of freedom or democracy in the state.

There is an element in Late Sinn Fein that envisages the future of Ireland to be a Socialist Republic and therefore a one party state as the Socialist Republics in the world are one party states. This is evident in Eire Nua on the lightest of readings and verbiage about freedom in a document is no guarantee of freedom in the state.

Late Sinn Fein still labour under the delusion that for a democracy to a democracy all that is needed is a free vote. For a democracy to be a democracy the state must have a constitution, which is accepted by all, and freedom must be enshrined in the constitution in writing and democratically ratified by the people.

In the constitution proposed for a United Ireland within the U.K.given in the National Government of Ireland Act published in the NATIONAL GOVERNMENT OF IRELAND ACT freedom is enshrined in the constitution and cannot be denied. For Republicans freedom is a shout in the street and nothing more. It is a shout about freeing one green field from bondage by bomb and bullet with a shout of ---Saoirse—and just as a shout of ---Uhuru--- guaranteed nothing in Nairobi so is a shout of---Saoirse—in Belfast equally vacuous.




Freedom in the 21st century



On a modern analysis of freedom in a present day liberal democracy freedom has a dual nature.

(a) Individual freedom.

(b) State freedom.

These are dealt with in The National Government of Ireland Act Article 4. Individual freedom is threefold.

(1) Freedom from
(2) Freedom to become
(3) Freedom to be

Freedom From

While the Republic of Keyna began with a shout of --- uhuru---nowadays in that country individual freedom is non- existent. It has to be understood that the enjoyment of individual freedom depends upon the health of the state economy in which one lives. While many individual “ freedom froms” are listed in The National Government Act c.f. Article 4 such “ freedom froms” as freedom from poverty, want, hunger and disease etc are absent in Keyna. But it has also to be recognised that individual freedom was absent for generations in the 26 counties due to the third world nature of its economy for decades c.f. Angela’s Ashes.

Freedom to Become

Like freedom from, freedom to become depends upon the state of the economy in which one lives. The economy determines the nature of the schooling system and in turn this determines the realization of freedom to become in the state. In Keyna freedom to become is non-existent for the impoverished majority. Freedom to become was also limited for generations in the 26 counties due to the nature of the economy, the 26 counties statelet being the last in the West to introduce a universal secondary tier of education in the state. In the past many young people left the 26 counties and went to England to benefit from the free education there.

Freedom to Be

Freedom to be is the highest form of individual freedom and it in turn is also dependant on the economy. One can aspire to be a plumber but if one cannot find work as a plumber because of a scarcity of work opportunities in the economy then the plumber’s freedom to be is being violated. Freedom to be is limited in Keyna but freedom to be was also limited for decades in the 26 counties due to the third world nature of the economy and there was massive emigration to find work abroad.

This account of individual freedom brings to mind the Marxist dictum: -

“ Art, science, philosophy and politics are the froth on the crest of the economic wave, when the wave breaks the froth will reform and restructure”

Marx did not include freedom in his dictum but he should have. The economic wave has broken in the 26 counties in recent times and freedom has reformed and restructured. But even if wealth levels have increased spectacularly since the 1990ties and because of that individual freedom has blossomed nevertheless there remain pockets of poverty in the state from which the people need to be freed. The blossoming of pockets of poverty from which the people need to be freed. This blossoming of individual freedom ha\s nothing to do with a shout of ----Saoirse--- in 1916 but has all to do
with the south being a member of the E.E.C.by which the economy in the south was kick started.

State Freedom

A rebellious adolescent may take freedom to mean—one should be free to
. do as one pleases. This view of freedom won’t do for the state. Freedom requires a definition. The following is suggested:-

Freedom is the mature exercise of the will in the pursuit of either good or evil with full intent.

Because the person can do evil freedom must be subject to the law. As noted in the article on Federalism, the eminent English philosopher J.S Mill understood freedom to mean that in a liberal democracy one should be free to do as one pleases, provided that in doing so one doesn’t injure, hurt or offend someone else. By implication this means that freedom should be subject to the law.

After the inception of the 26 county statelet freedoms of thought, mind, expression, and speech were suppressed in a state that was priest ridden and under the thumb of the Catholic Church. A catholic Dail Eirteann sat in silence while this suppression was practiced. In truth home rule was Rome rule. Now in the south with a rising tide of wealth, freedom of thought, mind, expression and speech are accepted. The power of the Catholic Church is on the wane due in part to sex scandals. In the National Government of Ireland Act a plethora of freedoms are listed.c.f.Article 4. Freedom is not of one ilk----uhuru---saoirse--- but is of many kinds.

It is hoped this article and others will emphasise the central nature of a constitution in a democracy. It is the conviction of Federal Unionism – Early Sinn Fein that the Irish
Problem is in essence a dispute about the constitutional nature of the island, should it be a Republic or should it be under the Crown? Freedom is too important to be left to self – appointed zealots of the – uhuru—saoirse--- type freedom but should be written into the state constitution where both individual and state freedoms can be rationally understood and democratically accepted by all.

It is still the conviction of Federal Unionism – Early Sinn Fein that the problem in the 6 counties can only be resolved constitutionally in a new reformed U.K.constitution which ideally should be as acceptable to the protestants of Kerry as to the catholics of Derry. If such a constitution is not acceptable to the people of the 26 counties then it can become the written constitution of the 6 counties making that state stable and democratic c.f.Article 22 The National Government of Ireland Act. However if the island is ever to be united that will only come about in a U.K.context. That is the only way to a United Ireland and there is no other way.


MICHAEL GILLESPIE FEDERAL UNIONIST – EARLY SINN FEIN

The novel --THE WAY IRELAND OUGHT TO BE-- is a fiction derived from the author's composite life experiences. The novel relates Dr Quinn's struggle in a psychiatric clinic to discover his true self and his true identity as an Irishman. In this struggle he creates the NATIONAL GOVERNMENT OF IRELAND ACT as the solution to the Irish problem.The novel is a companion to this series of articles in this Blog and is recommended reading. The novel can be bought in through any bookstore in the U.K./Ireland or from an book agency on the Internet.

Selection at Eleven in Northern Ireland

Now that the constitutional monstrosity the assembly is in place in N. Ireland and has bedded in, as some one who calls himself a Federal Unionist – Early Sinn Fein, it is my belief that the assembly will eventually shake itself apart due to inherent constitutional contradictions. In the meantime it may be useful to look at an aspect of government in the six counties (N. Ireland) –namely selection at eleven.

I first came across academic selection in an official capacity when I was Belfast President of the Irish National Teacher’s Organization during the Harold Wilson administration and dealing with academic selection at the time was part of my remit as union president. It was my firm belief then as it is now that selection is a sine qua non of education. What remains to be decided is at what age selection should take place and who should do the selecting.

The age of selection at eleven is quite arbitrary. That age was set up following the 1948 Education Act, which looked forward to universal secondary education. At that time compulsory education ended at 14. In the secondary schools that were to come into being, the government decreed that secondary schooling should be at least 3 years so the age set for selection was eleven. So selection at eleven is quite arbitrary, but even so for right wing Union Jack Unionism selection at eleven is sacred and is carved in stone.

The I.N.T.O. at that time campaigned for the abolition of the eleven-plus and for the introduction of comprehensives in the six counties (N. Ireland) but this was defeated by a powerful grammar school lobby. My personal position was that selection at eleven be abolished and that pupils be given the opportunity of selecting themselves and should not be divided into sheep and goats by the state. With that in mind and in the knowledge that selection is a sine qua non of education I backed a system of all ability Primary schooling with transfer to an all ability middle school at the age of eleven with compulsory schooling ending at 16. In this system, selection which I stress is an essential part of education, should take place at 14 the pupils being supported at 14 by careers advice along with an academic profile of each individual pupil, beginning in the primary sector and continuing into the second year of middle schooling. At 14 the school should be streamed into academic and vocational groups. For the first two years of middle schooling the classes should be of mixed ability with class setting being allowed to cater for slow and fast learners, as is the practice in primary schooling. The aim of the middle school should be to turn out a school population that is literate and numerate At 16+ those with an academic bent should move to sixth form colleges. This system of education is similar to the system of education in Craigavon in N.Ireland as of now.

The school curriculum should allow two forms of knowledge---Know that – and Know how. This would in keeping with the revised curriculum at present being muted for schools, the emphasis being on Know How. The distinction between Know That and Know How may be made in this way. For example, I know that a car has four wheels, a steering wheel, seats back and front, that cars are of different colours and that they should be taxed and insured. All of that is--- know that--- about a car and is in a way useless knowledge. What is meaningful is knowing how to drive a car or knowing how to fix a car when it breaks down and that is useful knowledge. Know How has to do with the learning of procedures. A competent driver knows how to proceed along a highway and a competent mechanic knows how to proceed in repairing a car. A 21st century economy requires Know how from its population and know how requires instruction. Traditionally-- Know That-- has been taught in schools but that form of knowledge is only of use in quiz shows. What should be of significance in modern education is learning how to proceed in the academic disciplines or in vocational skills.

It is evident that Right Wing Union Jack Unionism is hell bent on retaining selection at eleven. Be that as it may it is difficult to understand how the right wing in the six counties can reconcile selection by the state with right wing philosophy. It was Margaret Thatcher’s purpose in being Prime Minister to roll back the state. The Right Wing in the six counties should roll back the state out of the lives of children by allowing them to select themselves. The state should be kept out of it. The right wing is inconsistent in this but then they are consistent in being sectarian.

In all of this one must look at education in the inner city and education in the suburbs. When looking at inner city education I have in mind Late Sinn Fein (as distinct from my Federal Unionism – Early Sinn Fein) Late Sinn Fein having adopted a sectarian stance in relation to the protestant Shankill. I have heard Late Sinn Fein on the T.V. claim that the abolition of the eleven plus and the introduction of comprehensives is the cure all for low academic standards on the Shankill. More recently I heard Ms Ruane repeat this after a N.A.S/U.W.T. conference in Belfast but in singling out the Shankill in a problem that is an Inner City problem, Ms Ruane is being sectarian.

At the time I was President of the I.N.T.O. in Belfast I was also doing research into numeracy in the inner city in Belfast at the Faculty of Education at Q.U.B. The neighbourhoods selected for research were (1) The Shankill ( a protestant inner city enclave) (2) The Lower Falls (a catholic inner city enclave) (3) The Donegall Pass ( a protestant inner city enclave) (4) The Markets.(a catholic inner city enclave) The research looked at Basic Numeracy and Overall Numeracy at the end of Primary schooling.

Basic Numeracy This took as its criteria the ability to do simple addition subtraction, multiplication and division. The research revealed that over one third of the school population couldn’t do these basic operations at the end of primary schooling and were thus innumerate. When the statistics were tested rigorously for significance the performance of pupils in Controlled Schools (protestant) did not differ significantly from the performance of pupils in Maintained Schools (catholic) so the levels of innumeracy among pupils on the Shankill do not differ from the Levels of innumeracy among pupils on the Lower Falls. So why does Late Sinn Fein single out the Shankill when it comes to an Inner City problem in education. Does Ms Ruane and Late Sinn Fein think that innumeracy has something to so with religion and politics?

Overall Numeracy This level of numeracy was established in a wide-ranging test of mathematical knowledge at the end of Primary Education. When tested for significance between Maintained and Controlled Schools it was found that pupils in Controlled Schools out-performed pupils in Maintained Schools. So why does Ms Ruane knock the Shankill by singling it out? But there are swings and roundabouts in all of this. It has also been established in research that pupils in Maintained Schools out-perform pupils in Controlled Schools in verbal ability.

To take a still wider view of education one must look at inner city schools in relation to schools in the leafy suburbs. Had the research indicated been carried out in schools on the Malone it would be expected that pupils on the Malone would out-perform pupils in the Inner City. While this anomaly is true of Belfast it is also true of all cities in Ireland, in Great Britain, in Europe and in America. It was originally thought at the time of Harold Wilson that comprehensives were the corrective to this anomaly but this did not prove to be the case in England and Wales. There is now talk of bog standard comprehensives in England but these tend to be situated in the Inner City. Comprehensives in the suburbs tend to do well academically. The current Labour Government have tried to rectify this by having the state invade the classroom in telling teachers what to teach and how to teach it. It is now thought that this is making matters worse. It could be that the cause of the anomaly is due to the relative values that inner city families and suburban families place on educational attainment.

This is the problem that Ms Ruane will have to tackle in the six counties and there is no simple answer to it. So what is the point of Ms Ruane and Late Sinn Fein in singling out the Shankill for special note? To do that is raw sectarianism.

The Catholic Church has also climbed on the bandwagon of selection. Fr Farren argues that selection is an infringement of the catholic school ethos. Such hypocrisy! When it comes to selection the Catholic Church is a major culprit by insisting that children be taught apart in separate catholic and non-catholic schools. It is high time that integrated schools took over, and the teaching of divisive sectarian denominational religion was replaced with the teaching of unifying Christianity in all schools.


Michael Gillespie Federal Unionist --- Early Sinn Fein

Hearts and Minds

As noted in another article published in this Blog the ex- Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is on record in Dail Eireann in claiming that after the St Andrews agreement the constitution is settled in N. Ireland and is now off the table. That may be the wish of a partitionist but the people of the six counties ( N.Ireland) see the matter differently. Living in the six counties one can observe two heads of state involved, two national flags being flown, two anthems being sung, two passports being travelled on with two conflicting identities. A state thus constituted is unstable and is prone to intercommunal strife and verbal harangue. The evidence of this can be observed in the peace walls, and kerbstones painted red white and blue and green white and orange that disfigure Belfast.

But despite the wishful thinking of Bertie the constitutional issue burns deeply in the six county psyche. Watching Hearts and Minds on television on Thursday 7th February two antagonists were at one another’s throats over the flying of the Union Jack and the display of U.D.R. and R.U.C. plaques in the council offices at Banbridge (N. Ireland). The antagonists were Bob Collins of the Equality Commission and Drew Nelson of the Orange Order. The bone of contention with the Orange Order was that unionism i.e. Right Wing Union Jack Unionism, was being striped of its cultural heritage in the removal of British symbols from the council offices. Bob Collins who has the air of an establishment “do-gooder” about him, claimed he was promoting good community relations in having the symbols removed as they were offensive to a section of the community. And so this old hoary argument over constitutional symbols rumbles on despite Bertie but it should be evident to any impartial observer in all of this that the constitution lies at the heart of the Irish problem and a mere twiddling at the margins of the constitution by establishment “do-gooders” creates more problems than it solves. Federal Unionism – Early Sinn Fein maintains that the U.K. constitution needs radical reform. It could be that it is the strategy of establishment “do-gooders” to cool the communities into an acceptance of sectarianism and partition as the status quo on the island.

Entering into the dispute, the presenter Noel Thompson quoted a survey in Life and Times about attitudes to flag flying in N. Ireland which found that 60% of the survey in the six counties couldn’t care less what flag is flown. There are of course lies dammed lies and statistics and if Noel genuinely believes this glib statistic he should put it to the test by first walking up the Falls in Belfast, waving a Union Jack and then walk up the Shankill waving a tricolour in the probability that he is 60% safe. When Noel wakes up in hospital with both eyes 100% black he will then fully realize the falsity of his statistic. In all of this one is reminded of John Hume’s father’s advice to his son that one cannot eat a flag. While this an indubitable truth nevertheless a flag is a small but vital part of a constitution in that it symbolizes the collective identity and loyalty of the people of a country, to wit the Stars and Stripes in America and the Tricolour in France, There is the E.U, flag but a European identity and loyalty have still to emerge.

Accepting that as the raison d’etre of a national flag one can look at Noel Thompson’s statistic in another way. If 60% of the people of the six counties couldn’t care less what flag is flown in the six county state what are the implications of that? It is best to examine this with some parallel examples. Suppose it were true that 60%of Americans couldn’t care less whether it is the Stars and Stripes or the Hammer and Sickle that flies on the White House the implications of that for America would be catastrophic. In effect the majority of Americans would be giving the American Constitution the fingers. The same would be true for France if 60% of the French couldn’t care whether the French or German flag is flown on the Elysee Palace. To look at the matter nearer home what if 60% of the people didn’t mind whether the Tricolour or the Union Jack is flown on the G.P. O. in Dublin? In that case the people of the twenty-six counties would be giving the 1937 constitution the fingers. So Noel Thompson’s statistic implies that a majority of the people in the six counties are giving the six county constitution the fingers. This reinforces Federal Unionism – Early Sinn Fein central thesis that the six county constitution is in an advanced state of decay and is in need of radical root and branch reform. Such reform can only be enacted in a 32 county context, not in a six county context c.f. Article 22 the National Government of Ireland Act.

Those given, flags aren’t sacred and immutable. They are man made and being such can be remade by man. Maud Gonne designed the Irish tricolour with the approval of Arthur Griffiths in the early days of Sinn Fein. Civil service boffins at Whitehall designed the Union Jack and the Cross of St Patrick was invented in 1801. Hoping that Maude isn’t turning in her grave, Federal Unionism – Early Sinn Fein has given a redesign of the Irish tricolour in a form acceptable to all. The detail of this can be found in Article 9 of the National Government of Ireland Act. Rather than put two constitutional irreconcilables together in Stormont it is preferable and sensible to put the two national flags associated with Ireland together and then synthesise nationalism and unionism in a lengthy Act.

Another contributor to Hearts and Minds made a defence of the Assembly noting that the two party coalition as at Stormont is the norm of Governments in Europe. He took Switzerland as the prime example of a coalition government representing four cantons with four languages. What the contributor didn’t tell the viewer--, did the first minister in the Swiss government, or in any other European government, have a track record of insulting and reviling the sincerely held religious beliefs of a significant section of the electorate or did leading politicians in Switzerland or elsewhere in Europe have a track record of involvement with the gun the bomb and the bullet? Hearts and Minds neglected this.

Leaving Hearts and Minds aside, the constitutional issue glows hot in another facet of Irish life. This is the verbal conflict between the F.A.I. and the I.F.A. over the question should soccer players born in the six county state be eligible to play for the twenty six county state. This again highlights the fact that the constitution is a hot potato for the people. If Bertie Ahern is to be believed and the six county constitution is settled then the six county state is foreign and apart from the twenty-six county state, in that case, by the F.I.FA. ruling that soccer players as players can’t migrate between nation states, then by F.I.F.A, soccer players born in the six county state must play for the six counties. That is the constitutional reality of the Island but that reality remains a bone of contention with the people. However if Articles 2 and 3 of the twenty-six county constitution had not been repealed (a stupid blunder made by a boneheaded Dail Eireann) then in that case the Republic could lay legitimate claim to six county born players. However with the repeal of Articles 2 and 3 the I.F.A. can claim all players born in the six counties and could insist that such players travel on a British passport to foreign football venues. Such a practice would be constitutionally rock solid.

All of this is not an essay of despair. The island is now in a constitutional mess created in past and current times by Republican and Union Jack Unionist zealots. There is only one way, and only one way, out of this mess and this way is pointed out clearly by Federal Unionism – Early Sinn Fein. What Ireland now needs is a written democratically acceptable U.K. constitution endorsed by an island referendum. For those to whom an unwritten militaristically enforced constitution is unacceptable, such people should mount an organized peaceful opposition to the existing constitution in the six counties and in so doing challenge the Orange Order who flaunt in the face of those who don’t want it, a constitution that has to be enforced by an armed garrison and an armed P.S.N.I. Nor will it do to have establishment “ do–gooders” cool us all into an acceptance of sectarianism and partition. A radical reform of the U.K. constitution is called for in the National Government of Ireland Act leading to a Sovereign Nation of Ireland united within the United Kingdom. That way and only that way lies a United Ireland enshrined in the hearts and minds of the people. The Government of Ireland Act partitioned the Island only the National Government of Ireland can unite the island.

Michael Gillespie Federal Unionist—Early Sinn Fein


Note The National Government of Ireland Act can be found in the novel THE WAY IRELAND OUGHT TO BE published by Authorhouse and can be obtained through any bookshop in Ireland or the U.K. or book agency on the Internet.

The Bishop Says No

Listening to Paul Mc Fadden on Radio Ulster on Friday 11th July I was heartened to hear that the Bishop of Derry had refused to sign a petition calling for the disbandment of dissident Republicans namely the Real I.R.A., the Continuity I.R.A. and the Irish Liberation Army.

When it comes to drafting a petition it is useful to know who are the draftees. The community supposedly drafted the petition under consideration but a community cannot draft anything. An individual or group of individuals within a community can only draft a petition and the individuals who drew up this petition seem to be faceless. A number of listeners to Paul Mc Fadden stated, and correctly so, that the prime movers in the drafting of this petition was Provisional Marxist Late Sinn Fein. In this petition Late Sinn Fein is tightening its grip on the Creggan.

The bishop is correct in saying the petition doesn’t go far enough. It is true that the Provisional I.R.A. seem to have said farewell to arms for the moment but the army council remains in existence. The petition should call for all groups to disband, Republican and Loyalist, and vanish into the history books.

But even that doesn’t go far enough. Unrepentant members of terrorists groups and those who have flirted with terrorists groups now rule over us at Stormont. We are now ruled by an unholy alliance of Marxist Republicans and Right Wing Union Jack Unionists. A petition in the six counties should call for the disbandment of the assembly and urge the setting up of an assembly composed of brand new faces that do not carry with them a luggage of mayhem, of murder and the bomb.

But even that doesn’t go far enough. A petition should stretch right back into Irish History condemning Tone and the violence of 98 (98 was riddled with sectarianism) and Pearce and the Catholic sectarian uprising of 1916 (There wasn’t a protestant to be found in the leadership or in the ranks) and The Battle of the Boyne. Beginning with that a petition should call for the disbandment of sectarianism in Ireland.

All of that may be considered a tall order but even so, it is a must for a new future in Ireland. Federal unionism Early Sinn Fein places such a new future in Ireland on offer in its thinking. Its analysis places an unwritten undemocratic U.K. constitution as the cause of Ireland’s current sectarian divisions. The constitution, which remains intact but is imposed in the six counties, is rejected by the overwhelming majority of the people of this island and by a significant minority of the people of the six counties. On the other hand the twenty-six county Republican constitution is rejected by a significant minority of Protestants in Ireland because a Republican constitution wounds the cultural psyche of protestant Ireland which is loyalty to the Crown. For these reasons Federal Unionism – Early Sinn Fein places the U.K. constitution at the centre of the Irish problem and an unwritten imposed constitution lies at the heart of the sectarian nature of the Irish Problem since 1801.

A written reformed democratic constitution, which can be lived with by all, can only be drawn up in a United Kingdom context. Such a constitution will require the drafting of the National Government of Ireland in the six counties. The main outline of the Act can be found in the novel---THE WAY IRELAND OUGHT TO BE--- published by Authorhouse.

So the bishop of Derry has got it right in saying that the petition doesn’t go far enough. The distance to be travelled stretches far back into Irish history. The Patriots in 18th century pressed for the parliament in Dublin to be separate from but co-equal to Westminster under the Crown. Such a stance was constitutionally moderate and if this had been developed with patience Ireland would now be a united sovereign nation in a U.K. context but this moderate position was swept aside by the stupidity of 98. One hundred years or so later Griffiths put forward the idea of a dual monarchy. Had this idea been developed with patience Ireland would nowadays be a united sovereign nation in a U.K. context but this moderate was swept away by the stupidity of 1916.

In the late 20th century a peaceful constitutional reform was called for in the Civil Rights Movement but this was swept away by British and Republican violence. If Captain O Neill had been allowed to introduce modest reforms in N. Ireland and if Ian Paisley had shaken the hand of Sean Lemass as he did with Bertie Ahern in later years there would never have been trouble in the six counties and they would have remained within the U.K.

What we have now is a constitutional monstrosity at Stormont composed of former terrorist, those who have supported terrorism and those who have flirted with terrorists, each adept at manipulating sectarian politics. If the sickness of sectarianism is to be eradicated in the whole of Ireland, this can only be done in the constitutional reforms of the National Government Of Ireland Act

Michael Gillespie Federal Unionist – Early Sinn Fein

Solving the Irish Problem peacefully and democratically, using only the force of reason.


The author of this article belongs to no political party or political grouping and is independent of such. T he author is not a politician but is a teacher and writer and as such is interested only in ideas. The author dissents totally from traditional Unionism, traditional Nationalism, and traditional Republicanism seeing all of these as failed entities in Ireland which are well past their use by dates and should now be thrown out and the shelves restocked with new fresh attractive improved political goods. The nature of these new goods is indicated in the previous article to the----The Blog-----THE WAY IRELAND OUGHT TO BE-----and is Federal Unionism Early Sinn Fein.

The approach made in this article to solving the Irish Problem is the method used by engineers in solving a problem. To solve a problem an engineer first of all draws up a solution on paper and then implements the paper solution on the ground. These articles in—The Blog------ are the solution to the Irish Problem on paper It is the conviction of the author, a conviction sincerely held, that the Irish Problem is solvable in the 21st century in the National Government Of Ireland Act (cf the novel THE WAY IRELAND OUGHT TO BE ) and is solvable in no other way. The reader is reminded that the solution to problems using only the force of reason, and not brute force, is the civilized way of doing things

It is noted that Ireland has been a problem for centuries and down the centuries there have been vain attempts to solve the Irish Problem by brute force. There was the attempt made by Elizabethan English armies to solve the problem by brute force. The English armies came and went but the Irish Problem remained. An attempt was made to solve the problem in the plantation of Ulster. Ulster was planted by brute force but the Irish Problem remained but in a worsened state.. A brute force attempt was made to solve the problem in the 1641 rebellion. The rebellion achieved nothing and the Irish Problem remained. King William came to Ireland and victory went to him at the Boyne but even so the Irish Problem remained unsolved. The Penal Laws came and went but they solved nothing. Cromwell came and applied brute force to the problem on a massive scale. Cromwell went and the Irish Problem remained. A brute force attempt to solve the problem was made by the United Irishmen but this brute force attempt worsened the problem. In this debacle in Irish history what has never been evaluated or measured has been the nature of Wolfe Tone’s I,Q. There was a scarcity of intellectual capital among the United Irishmen and this scarcity remains among Republicans to the present day. All that is extant is the 18th century sentimental idea of catholic protestant catholic and dissenter being united in the name of Irishman. Wolfe Tone saw this happening in a Republic but only in a Republic but to unite catholic protestant dissenter in a Republic was as impossible in the time of Tone as it is now, because a Republic wounds the cultural psyche of protestant Ireland that is, loyalty to the Crown. It is the contention of these articles that catholic protestant and dissenter can be united in the name of Irishman in The National Government Of Ireland Act ( cf the novel THE WAY IRELAND OUGHT TO BE)within the United Kingdom under the Crown. Republicans have been banging their heads against a brick wall in looking for a United Ireland in a Republic It is the contention of these articles that the Republican ideal can only be realized under the banner of Federal Unionism- Early Sinn Fein.

The United Irishmen and the 98 rebellions were a divisive disaster in Ireland. In the parish I come from, protestants and catholics were buried in the same graveyard, protestants to the left and catholics to the right in the18th century In the parish there was a protestant United Irishman called Caldwell. When this man came to be buried the protestant community wouldn’t allow him to be buried in the protestant side of the graveyard so he had to be buried on the catholic side. So much for unity. The parish was divided along sectarian lines then as it remains to the present day.

But the disaster for the country in 98 lay in the fact that the United Irishmen had no picture in their minds of a governed nation except that there would be no Crown and catholic protestant and dissenter would unite but what the nature of the nation would be and what its constitution would be, acceptable to all, is an historic mystery. The Patriots on the other hand had a concept of nationhood, which gives a picture in the mind of a governed nation, but this was swept aside and trampled underfoot by brute force Republicanism and then airbrushed out of Irish history. But a concept of a nation, which should be acceptable to all, can now be given in the National Government Of Ireland Act (cf the novel THE WAY IRELAND OUGHT TO BE ) derived from the thinking of the Patriots who saw a government in Ireland separate from but co-equal to Westminster under the Crown.

Following the United Irishmen there came the tragic 1801 Act of Union in which another brute force attempt was made to solve the Irish Problem by ramming a Right Wing Union Jack Unionist unwritten and undemocratic constitution down the throats of the Irish. Ireland was now ruled by protestant elite, which was anti-Irish, anti-catholic, and oppressive and undemocratic. The Irish Problem worsened.

In 1916 another attempt was made to solve the Irish Problem by Republicans, using once again, brute force. This was an attempt to overthrow the Right Wing Union Jack Unionist Constitution by violence in a Catholic uprising and the uprising was sectarian in nature being catholic. There wasn’t a protestant to be found among the leadership or in the ranks. The uprising ended in failure and solved nothing but the brute force execution of the 1916 leadership by the Right Wing as a salutary warning to the British Empire compounded and worsened the Irish Problem. It is noted that 1916 was sectarian in nature and being also Republican the uprising wounded the cultural psyche of protestant Ireland that is loyalty to the Crown.

Pearce’s Proclamation is much vaunted in Republican circles but in no sense is it a constitution for a new nation. It is in reality a concoction of ideas thrown together to morally justify an armed uprising against the existing Constitution. The Proclamation gives no picture in the mind of the nature and style of the new state as could be found in the concept of the Patriots or as can be put forward in the National Government Of Ireland Act (cf the novel THE WAY IRELAND OOGHT TO BE) by Federal Unionism Early Sinn Fein following on from Griffiths. What Pearce had in mind in reality for a new state is anyone’s guess other than the new state should be a Republic in a vague sort of way.

Following on from 1916 there was a further attempt to solve the Irish Problem by brute force in a feud between Michael Collins and the I.R.A., and the Right Wing Union Jack Unionists the Black and Tans. Again this ended in failure and the island was partitioned into two unacceptable statelets a catholic statelet in the 26 counties with a catholic government for a catholic people and into a 6 county statelet with a protestant government for a protestant people.

This outcome was fought over in a brute force civil war, which again solved nothing and contributed nothing to Ireland except that there emerged in Ireland a tweedledum and tweedledee political parties that have no meaning or currency outside the 26 counties and have no currency of any kind in Europe. What emerged in Ireland out of all of this was a sectarian nondescript pseudo-English illiberal statelet in the 26 counties and a Right Wing Union Jack Unionist statlet in the 6 counties which was anti-Irish anti- catholic and oppressive.

In the period under consideration Late Sinn Fein claimed a moral victory and the moral support of the people for the use of brute force in Ireland in the 1918 election. Not everyone in the country shared this rose tinted view of Late Sinn Fein. W.B.Yeats didn’t share this outlook. In ---The Second Coming--- written in early –1919—the poet has a jaundiced view of the –1918 election.

The Second Coming

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.


Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in the sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour comes round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

In this poem Yeats is casting a cold eye on Ireland in January 1919 an Ireland in the aftermath of the 1918 general election. The poem begins with an image of instability and of something being out of control in the image of the falcon and the falconer. Yeats is also conscious of the collapse of the centre in Ireland this collapse of a constitutional centre is looked at in the article-----THE WAY IRELAND OUGHT TO BE--- and is traceable back to the 18th century. In this poem Yeats has a vision of a monster emerging in the country and the monster was born in 1921 with a collapse of the centre and the polarization of the country into two constitutional extremes. So not everyone saw Ireland through rose tinted Republican spectacles after 1918.

In the late 1960ties the civil rights came into existence in N. Ireland to challenge the excesses of Right Wing Union Jack Unionism. The C.R.A. was peaceful led by the moderate John Hume but was heavily infiltrated by brute force Republicans. The civil rights movement was put down by brute force Union Jack unionism and from this the Provisional I.R.A.emerged who made an attempt to overthrow the constitution of N. Ireland by force. In this brute force attempt, which ended in failure and in the defeat of Republicanism, the I.R.A., committed crimes against humanity and crimes that are an affront to high heaven. In a brute force attempt to defend the constitution of N. Ireland Right Wing Union Jack Unionism in turn committed crimes against humanity and crimes that are an affront to high heaven. Crimes that are an affront to high heaven are wilful murder.

So far this article contains jottings on attempts to solve the Irish Problem by brute force all of which have ended in failure but there have been a few attempts to solve the problem peacefully and by the force of reason. The first of these was an attempt to solve the problem peacefully and in a reasonable way by the Patriots in the 18th century This grouping pressed for an Irish parliament that was separate from but co-equal to Westminster under the Crown. It is the view of this article that that is the first and best concept of Irish Nationhood but this concept was swept away in the brute force rebellion of 98.

O’ Connell Butt and Parnell made efforts to solve the problem in a reasonable and peaceful way but these efforts were defeated by Right Wing Union Jack Unionism in the 19th century

In the early 20th century Arthur Griffiths made another attempt to come up with peaceful and reasonable solution to the problem. Arthur Griffiths was a monarchist and he saw a solution being affected in the notion of a dual monarchy. It doesn’t seem that Griffiths thought this notion through, but when it is, as it can be in the National Government Of Ireland Act, it leads to a Sovereign Nation Of Ireland in a Federal United Kingdom. Arthur Griffiths concept was swept aside by the brute force Republican---- De Valera and he made Sinn Fein, Republican and violent. This is late Sinn Fein. In doing this De Valera set Sinn Fein on a wrong course in Ireland and this ended with the defeat of violent Republicanism in N. Ireland.

There is now a new approach to the problem in N. Ireland by Republicans in the Belfast Agreement, the St Andrew’s Agreement and the Peace Process. But is this the solution to the Irish Problem? Surely not. Late Sinn Fein in N. Ireland has abandoned all pretext of solving the problem. Instead they are now eager to prop up a Right Wing Union Jack Unionist statelet in the six counties. Late Sinn Fein now accept without protest the presence of a garrison of 5000 English troops et al to impose and ram down the throats of those who don’t accept it---- a Right Wing Union Jack Unionist undemocratic unwritten Constitution That is the function of a garrison of English troops et al in N. Ireland as it was through out the British Empire in its heyday. The English garrison is backed by an armed P.S.N.I. What N. Ireland now needs is a written democratically acceptable U.K.constitution. Federal Unionism-Early Sinn Fein in the National Government Of Ireland Act( cf the novel THE WAY IRELAND OUGHT TO BE ) can put this in place. Late Sinn Fein have strained at the bit to set up shop at Stormont and pocket there, a largess of the English bounty In the same way Late Sinn Fein while refusing to recognise the Crown pressed for and have in the past pocketed a largess of English bounty at Westminster. Late Sinn Fein are now the arch hypocrites of current politics and are now lost in the jungle of Irish history and lash around there like a pack of brain damaged gorillas.


It is high time the Irish began to celebrate and glorify sweet reason as the solution to problems. Pearce is associated in the public mind with violence and the blood sacrifice but Pearce was a more complex character than Republican historians make him out to be. In this passage taken from the writings of Pearce he is considering a reasonable peaceful and non-violent approach to the Irish Problem.

“Negotiations with the Orangemen might be opened up on these lines. You are creating a P rovisional Government Of Ulster- make it a Provisional Government Of Ireland and we will recognise it and obey it.*** Hitherto England has governed Ireland through the Orange Lodges: Now she proposes to govern Ireland through the A.O.H. You object; so do we. Why not unite and get rid of the English? They are the real difficulty; their presence here the real incongruity” Irish Freedom 1914

If this overture to Ulster Unionism had been reciprocated it could have been that Pearce would have been satisfied with a government for Ireland under the Crown but in this passage Pearce makes clear what his bottom line was. It was ---English Out. Late Sinn Fein put their feet in it by calling for--- Brits Out--- in N. Ireland and in so doing outraged the Protestant community who see themselves as British. Federal Unionism- Early Sinn Fein, like Pearce in this quotation, envisages an Ireland based on a synthesis of Unionism and Nationalism and these can be synthesised in the National Government Of Ireland Act and for Federal Unionism- Early Sinn Fein the bottom line is Pearce’s bottom line, which is--- English Out. Federal Unionism- Early Sinn Fein should not rest at ease until the last English soldier leaves the six counties.

Late Sinn Fein are at sea and are directionless living as they do in an acceptance of partition and sectarianism. In doing so partition has been copper fastened and sectarianism institutionalised. For as long as these two remain, for so long the Irish Problem remains unsolved. Federal Unionism- Early Sinn Fein is a return to the fundamentals and first principles of Arthur Griffith’s Sinn Fein and to Pearce’s bottom line---- English Out and is a rejection of De Valera’s Late Sinn Fein.

There remains two outstanding issues in the solution to the problem’

(a) The presence of a garrison of English soldiers et al in the six counties.

(b) The presence of a protestant community in Ireland whose long-standing tradition has been, and remains, loyalty to the Crown.

If the National Government Of Ireland Act were in place ideally in the whole of Ireland, or else in N. Ireland, then it would be a constitutional imperative that the English garrison leave Ireland and take the Union Jack with them. In this Pearce’s bottom line would have been met.

The issue of the Crown in Ireland is more complex. To have the Crown as Head of State ideally in an all Ireland context, is historically speaking a tall order but not impossible. In Great Britain the Crown is constitutionally central and neutral and while Britain’s constitution is unwritten and undemocratic nevertheless it carries with it the overwhelming acceptance of the British people. The Crown in Ireland has been a different kettle of fish. With the Act Of Union 1801 the Crown in Ireland was hijacked by Union Jack Unionism and the Crown in Ireland was seen as a protestant Crown for protestants and became associated with right wing oppression.

“Another martyr for old Ireland another murder for the Crown “ Kevin Barry

Against the famine and the Crown I rebelled they cut me down
Now a prison ship lies waiting in the bay The Fields of Athenry

This 1801constitutional set up continued in N. Ireland and there the Crown was seen as a protestant Crown for the protestant community and was seen as an oppressive figure by the catholic community, This constitutional anomaly of the Crown in Ireland can be corrected in the National Government of Ireland Act (cf the novel THE WAY IRELAND OUGHT TO BE) by defining the Crown as constitutionally central and neutral and by defining the Crown as Christian in Ireland..

But loyalty to the Crown bears further scrutiny. Loyalty is a praiseworthy human attribute be it loyalty to friend family organization institution or country. As a human attribute loyalty should be free to be expressed and not suppressed as loyalty to the Crown would be in a Republic. There is no inconsistency in being loyal to the Crown and in being Irish. Those Irishmen who fell in Flanders bear testimony to that. These Irishmen were the true heroes of Ireland and in their loyalty to the Crown were not diminished as Irishmen in any way and should be held up as models for Irish youth. In contrast to those Irishmen those men who blew up buildings and people in N.Ireland and shot their neighbours in the back and in the head in the pursuit of a perverted political philosophy, these men have besmirched the name of Irishman and in no sense can be thought of as role models for Irish youth. In Ireland the minds of generations of the communities have been poisoned by the twin propagandist lies put around by Right Wing Union Jack Unionism and Republicanism, these lies asserting on the one hand that to be loyal to the Crown one must be protestant, wave a Union Jack, carry a British passport and sing God Save The Queen. The Canadian people are loyal to the Crown and do none of these things. In Ireland on the other hand there is the counter propagandist lie that to be Irish one must be catholic, wave an Irish tricolour, sing a Soldier’s Song and carry a Republican passport but one can be Irish and do none of these. Under the National Government Of Ireland Act Irishness would be given full recognition and full freedom of expression just as loyalty to the Crown would be accorded the same freedoms.

But another fear might linger in the minds of some in the idea of the Crown becoming head of state for an all Ireland. Ireland, it might be feared, would become a neo-colonialist state. Such a fear would be ill founded. In the Act the United Kingdom would be defined as the United Kingdom of the Sovereign Nation of Ireland and Great Britain or vice versa. Also in the Act the parliament in Ireland, following on from the 18th century Patriots, would be defined as being separate from, but co-equal to Westminster under the Crown. In Canada the Crown is Head of State but Canada is not a neo-colonialist state but is a sovereign nation recognised as such by the United Nations. Canada has its own distinctive national identity with its own government its own flag its own passport and an anthem of its own; in the Act all of that could be set down for Ireland.. But Ireland doesn’t have to be an imitation of Canada In the Act there could be designed for Ireland a unique national identity in Ireland being created as ----An Irish Christian Liberal Democracy----. An Irish Nation thus designed in the Act would be unique and distinctive in the U.K., in Europe and in the world. In an Ireland with the Act as its written constitution there could come about a nation fulfilling the wishes and the desires of all of the Irish people and the island could become a land of hearts desire.

There could also be those in Republican circles who might see the Crown as English and foreign. While that might hold among extremists, the ordinary man and woman in the street know differently. Jack Charlton in Ireland was English but was seen by the Irish people as being one of us. The English don’t regard the Irish as foreign. Terry Wogan in England is Irish but is thought of as being one of us. By the same token the Crown in Ireland while being English could be thought of as one of us.

This article outlines the historic nature of the Irish Problem and details the author’s conviction that the problem is solvable in the National Government Of Ireland Act and in no other way. The approach to solving the problem is the approach of an engineer to problem solving. What is contained in these articles to ---The Blog--is the solution on paper. If the paper solution were to be implemented on the ground that would have to be done in N. Ireland under the banner of Federal Unionism Early Sinn Fein. The flag of that party is the Royal Flag Of Ireland and is the existing tricolour with the Cross Of St Patrick and a simple crown, harp, and shamrock, imposed on the white central panel This flag should be defined in the Act as the National Flag of Ireland and a symbol of the United Kingdom of the Sovereign Nation Of Ireland and Great Britain The author contends that a deal struck in Belfast and in Scotland between constitutional irreconcilables, Late Sinn Fein and Right Wing Union Jack Unionism is no solution to the Irish problem and will never be The reader is reminded that the solution to problems using only the force of reason is the civilized way of doing things

Federal Unionist- Early Sinn Fein.

Michael Gillespie