Scotland and Ireland within a Federal Kingdom.
It is clear from comments in Slugger that British Identity is being re-examined and questioned. But if Britishness is to fade away what will replace it? British Identity underpins and unifies UK constitution but with the devolution of governments to Scotland Wales and N. Ireland and the resurgence of Scottish nationalism the question now is to what extent is the United Kingdom still united? Devolution may prove to be the endgame for the UK and British Identity.
The key player in this is the SNP. A referendum for Scottish independence is now on the cards but the issue of a referendum is muddled by commentators. Alex Salmond is clear on the meaning of independence when h e said on a TV interview that he envisaged the Crown as Head of State in an independent Scotland like many other independent nations in the modern world. In this Alex is steering in the direction of a Federal Kingdom and away from a United Kingdom or a Republic. This would be a radical change in British constitution, a change to a federation which has been canvassed by Rodney Frazier in the book –Constitutional Reform – Reshaping the British political System--. To have Scotland part of a Federal Kingdom would require The Scotland Act similar in nature to the Australia Act 1986 and Trudeau’s Canada Act (patriation) 1982 which made these countries sovereign independent nations but with the Crown as Head of State. The Governments o f these countries are now in control of the police, the army, the navy, the air force and the civil service and have a distinct flag, anthem and Identity defined in Australian and Canadian passports. Since Australia and Canada now control their own constitutions they are in control of their own destinies. Scotland and Ireland should follow suit and take constitutional control of their own destinies within a Federal Kingdom with the Crown as Head of State the Irish being reconciled to a Crown reformed in the National Government of Ireland Act.
The Canada Act was pioneered by Pierre Trudeau but was opposed by eight provinces including Quebec led by Rene Levesque. These provinces feared a loss of provincial legislative power but they acquiesced to the Act after the supreme Canadian Court ruled against them (Quebec the exception). Prior to the Act the UK government at Westminster held the constitutional whip hand in the enactment of legislation for Canada. The Act removed the whip hand from Westminster and placed the whip in the hands of the central government in Ottawa. Legislation passed at Westminster in relation to Canada even with the Royal Assent is now as meaningless as legislation passed by Portugal. On signing the Act into law in Canada the Queen expressed regret at Quebec’s non-inclusion in the Act.
The notion of a federal Kingdom has profound implications for all Ireland. To have a Federal Kingdom of Great Britain and the Sovereign Nation of Ireland would require the passing at Westminster of the National Government of Ireland Act giving Ireland a written constitution making the country an independent sovereign nation within a Federal Kingdom with an elected Crown as Head of State in all Ireland the Irish being reconciled to an elected reformed Crown. The full nuts and bolts of a suggested National Government of Ireland Act can be found at www.authorhouse.co.uk What Scotland and N. Ireland needs is a Campaign for Constitutional Change CCC. The campaign should work to wards the removal of the constitutional whip hand from Westminster in enacting legislation for Scotland and Ireland so that Scotland and Ireland can be in control of their own destinies within a Federal Kingdom with the Crown as Head of State as is the case in the Sovereign Nations of Australia and Canada. Michael Gillespie
Sunday, 28 August 2011
Friday, 1 July 2011
Federal Unionism-EArly Sinn Fein
Fresh Thoughts on the Union a la Federal Unionism- Early Sinn Fein.
What is Federal Unionism-Early Sinn Fein?
Arthur Griffiths founded Sinn Fein in 1904. He envisaged a new Ireland with a dual monarchy for the Kingdom. In its early days Sinn Fein ended its Ard Fheis with –God Save the Queen---. Griffiths initially wanted Sinn Fein to be a party for all, Catholic and Protestant alike. In 1917 De Valera ousted Griffiths from the leadership of Sinn Fein and made the party Republican and supportive of violence. Crewed now by Republicans the Irish ship of state was lost at sea and ended up on the rocks of partition. Initially Griffiths didn’t think the idea of a dual monarchy through for if he had he would have found that a dual monarchy requires a Federal Kingdom. So in the 21st century Federal Unionism and Early Sinn Fein are one and the same thing. Hence the new concept of Federal Unionism-Early Sinn Fein
What is UK constitution?
“The constitution of the United Kingdom is a set of laws and principles under which the United Kingdom is governed.
Unlike many other nations the United Kingdom has no core constitutional document. In this sense it is said not to have a written constitution but much of British constitution is embodied in written documents with statutes court judgements and treaties. Other unwritten sources are parliamentary constitutional conventions and royal prerogatives.
Since the English Civil War the bed rock of British constitution has been the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty according to which statutes passed by parliament are the UK’s supreme and final source of law. It follows that parliament can change the constitution by passing new acts of parliament “
This description of U K constitution is taken from the Internet but it is dated. It is doubtful that the principle of Parliamentary sovereignty remains valid to day since the U K joined the E U and is subject to European law. Furthermore the sovereignty of Parliament is also diminished in the devolution of legislative power to Scotland Wales and N. Ireland. The parliamentary loss of sovereignty to Europe is a cause celebre with U K I P and with assemblies in Scotland Wales and N Ireland the union is no longer united but is quasi-federal. Hence a possible future for the union is outright federation. This will depend on the constitutional future of an independent Scotland. Alex Salmond has said on T V that in an independent Scotland he intends to retain the Crown as Head o f State like many other nations in the world that have the Crown as Head of State. This is a recipe for the complete federation of the union. The United States of America is a federated union with the American president as head of state for all American states, the states being of equal status, the one to the other. Such a federation could be appropriate for England Scotland Wales and Ireland with the Crown as Head of State for each of these states and the four nation states being of equal status within a Federal Kingdom.
The Constitution and Identity.
What is best understood about the constitution by the ordinary person is the Head of State, the Flag, the Anthem, and a Passport. Each one of these epitomizes the identity of each person collectively and individually. When a person in the U S A applauds the President or waves the Stars and Stripes or sings the Star Spangled Banner or holds an American Passport he or she is saying ---“I’m an American and I belong to the United States”---. While there are many cultures in America – Irish American, Spanish American, Italian American etc there is only one American identity the melting pot ensures that. Up to the late 20th century there was only one identity in the U K namely British but this unity is breaking down with the assertion of Scottish and Welsh identity in our time. In N. Ireland there are two identities being asserted by those in one community who recognise a Republican president as head of state, the Republican Tricolour as the national flag, Amhran na bhFianian as the Republican national anthem and hold a Republican Passport such a person is saying --- “ I’m an Irish Republican who belongs in the Republic of Ireland”---. On the other hand there are those who recognise the British Crown as head of state, the Union Flag as the British flag, God Save the Queen as the British national anthem, and hold a British passport as British identity. This person is saying—“I’m British and I belong to the United Kingdom”---. This division is fraught with the potential for violence. This violent division is clearly evident in Celtic/Rangers matches but further a field there is a history of violence in divided countries like the Tamils/ Sinhalese. Greek and Turkish Cypriots and between the Serbs and the Bosnians These people with a split identity are flash points for violence and communal division and the division is further complicated with difference in religious affiliation. N. Ireland is a clear example of this and if a genuine peace is to be found a common identity for the people of Ireland is essential. It is contended in this article that a common identity acceptable to all be it the Catholics of Kerry or the Protestants of Derry is feasible in the National Government of Ireland Act.
The Constitution and Culture.
Culture is a slippery concept which has taxed the minds of eminent scholars for centuries. Culture is all pervasive in society and Chairman Mao caught this when he wrote: - “ The people move in culture as fish move in water”.
To avoid its complexities only Irish and British culture will be considered in this article. Irish Culture is taken to be: - Language both Irish and English, literature both Irish and English, song and ballad both Irish and English Irish music Irish dance Irish Art, parades( St Patrick’s) Irish Legend and Mythology and Leinster House in Dublin.
British culture is not straight forward as it isn’t clear whether there is a distinct British culture or not. Poetry is a prime expression of culture and the difficulty with British Culture can be examined in English Poetry. Take these lines: -
“ Oh to be in England now that April’s there.”
“ Till we have built Jerusalem
In England’s green and pleasant land”
“ Scotland the Brave”.
Let Erin Remember the days of old”
In these lines if the words England Scotland and Erin are replaced with the word Britain the lines become phoney In Masefield’s poem “Cargoes” the word British is used to mean something inferior and second rate and has to do with trade. It would seem that Britain and British is apart from culture and is bound up with an identity concomitant with political power and economic strength A peoples’ identity symbol can change but that does not imply a change of culture. The American president can change but American culture remains the same. England/English Ireland/Irish Scotland/Scottish Wales/Welsh can be staked out with symbols of identity but in the last analysis this nomenclature is cultural. In N. Ireland there is an ungodly mix of culture identity and religion. There is a move afoot by Ulster nationalists to assert an Ulster culture as distinct from Irish culture. Ulster Scots is asserted as the language of Ulster. This is controversial but has Ulster Scots got a significant indigenous Ulster literature? Scottish dance has been adopted as the “national” dance of Ulster but there is no indigenous Ulster dance. There is the” folk” art of murals painted on gable walls but “ high” art such as the work of O Connor is usually classified as Irish art. Seamus Heaney has an Ulster background but is described as an Irish poet. If Michael Longley is an Irish Poet, a Northern Irish poet, an Ulster Poet or a British poet that is something he will have to work out for himself.
Orange parades have donned the cloak of culture in Orangefests but in reality these parades area toxic mix of culture identity and religion. If Orangefest parades are to be purely cultural then the display of the British Identity symbol, the Union flag should be discontinued and the Order’s membership should be open to Catholics. But the Order’s claim to culture is weak in that it hasn’t a literature other than the bible and has only a handful of sectarian orange songs. Ulster songs such as My Lagan Love, The Star of the County Down Kitty of Colerain and The Bard of Armagh etc are classified as Irish songs. A protestant Orange culture is as bogus as is British culture. If this crazy constitutional mix-up of identity culture and religion is to be sorted out, this can only be done in The National Government of Ireland Act, extracts of which will be given in following articles.
Michael Gillespie Federal Unionist-Early Sinn Fein
stian democracy within a
Extracts from the National Government of Ireland Act which gives a suggested constitution for an Irish Liberal Christian Federal Kingdom.
The full constitution can be found at"
www.authorhouse.co.uk
and the full Act runs to over 20,000 words.
Article Two
Extracts
• The Act should state that on coronation the Crown is Head Of State of the Great Britain And The Sovereign Nation of Ireland
• The Act should state that when the Crown is on Irish territory the Crown is known in Ireland as the Crown Irish and is head of state of The Sovereign Nation of Ireland.
• The Act should state that when the Crown is on Irish Territory the Crown is recognised as being Christian in belief in religious practice in moral outlook in behaviour and in speech.
• The Act should advise the Crown Irish not to confer any British Title or Honour on any Irish Citizen
• The Act should recommend that the Crown Irish to confer the honour of The Cross of St Patrick for men and The Cross of St Brigit on women for outstanding service to community or the Cross of St Columcille for outstanding valour in military or civilian service.
• The Act should advise the Crown Irish to restore the Irish Crown Jewels to Dublin Castle.
• The Act should state that the Crown Irish and spouse and the Heir to the throne and spouse can enter and reside in Dublin Castle but this freedom doesn’t extend to any other member of the Royal family.
Rights .
• The Act should confer on all Irish Citizens the Crown Irish right of prompt access to excellent health care both physical and mental.
• The Act should confer on all Irish citizens the Crown Irish right of access to a well disciplined creative imaginative education from infancy to old age.
• The Act should confer on all Irish Citizens the Crown Irish right of access to an environment that is clean healthy life promoting and pleasant.
• The Act should confer on all Irish citizens the Crown Irish right of access to a prompt fair trial based on evidence.
• The Act should confer on all Irish citizens the Crown Irish right of access to a nutritional diet.
• The Act should confer on all Irish Citizens the Crown Irish right of access to affordable local housing go good quality.
• The Act should confer on all Irish citizens the Crown Irish right of access to gainful employment.
• The Act should recognise the Crown Irish right to life from conception to the time of natural death
• The Act should recognise the Crown Irish Right of the individual to marry and raise a family.
• The Act should confer on the travelling people of Ireland all rights as those set out for Irish citizens.
• The Act should confer on all Irish disabled citizens the Crown Irish right of access to Irish territory in all its aspects.
• The Act should recognise the rights of animals.
Freedoms
• The Act should recognise two sets of freedoms
(1) Individual freedoms of freedom from, freedom to become and freedom to be.
(2) State freedoms such as freedom of thought mind and expression etc. The exercise of state freedom should be subject to Irish state law.
The Judiciary
• The Act should make provision for the Supreme Council of Irish Jurists to be elected by the members of the legal profession by means of a postal ballot.
• The council should consist of a judge who is representative of Ireland along with four judges representative of each of the four provinces.
• The Act should specify the duties of the Supreme Council.
The Government and Politics
• The Act should define Irish territory and Irish citizenship.
• The Act should state that the Irish state political Parties consist of: -
(a) The Irish Christian Democrats
(b) The Irish Liberal Democrats
© The Irish Social Democrats
• The Act should state that the state parties are funded by the state. Other parties are permissible but such parties must state publicly whether they are pro or anti the constitution.
• The Act should state that the National Central Government in Dublin is called Dail Éireann with constitutional powers devolved to the four provinces. The Houses of Representatives in the four provincial capitals should be known as: -
1. The Connaugh House of Representatives
2. The Leinster House of Representatives
3. The Munster House of Representatives
4. The Ulster House of Representatives
• The Act should state that Dail Éireann is separate from but co-equal to Westminster within the Federal Kingdom.
• The Act should prohibit the display of the Union Flag, the Irish Tricolour or the Starry Plough or the playing of the anthems—God Save the Queen or Amhran Na bhFiain on Irish territory.
• The Act should recommend that the Irish Tricolour be redesigned as The Royal Flag of Ireland and that the Irish National Anthem is A Nation Once Again.
• The Taoiseach should appoint a T D to be Secretary of State for Ireland with an office in Dublin Castle.
Further extracts from the National Government of Ireland will follow.
Michael Gillespie Federal Unionist-Early Sinn Fein.
Further extracts from the National Government of Ireland Act giving a constitution for an Irish liberal Christian democracy within a Federal Kingdom. The full written codified constitution is published at
www.authorhouse.co.uk
Article Three
Religion
• The Act should state that Church and State are separate the Church having no authority over the state and the State having no authority over the Church except that the clergy must abide by Irish state law.
• The Act should state that the official religion of the Irish state is Christian Ecumenism
• The Act should recognise the following denominations as Christian.
1. The Methodist Church
2. The Presbyterian Church
3. The Church of Ireland
4. The Roman Catholic Church
• The Act should state that these denominations are Christian in belief, religious practice, in moral outlook, in behaviour and in speech.
• The Act should state that these denominations are of equal status the one to the other.
• Since the Crown Irish is recognised in Ireland as Christian and Head of State hence the Crown Irish is head of Christian Ecumenism in Ireland.
Policing.
• The Act should make provision for the setting up of a two tier policing service in Ireland: -
1. The National police Service--- The Garda Siochana.
2. Four provincial police services: -
(a) The Royal Connaugh Constabulary
(b) The Royal Leinster Constabulary
© The Royal Munster Constabulary
(d) The Royal Ulster Constabulary
• The Act should
state that the Garda Siochana is under the control of the minister for justice in Dail Éireann and the four provincial police services are under the control of the representative for justice in each of the provincial Houses of Representatives.
The Army the Navy and the Air Force.
• The Act should define the territories known as the British Isles as The Isles of the North Atlantic.
• The Act should define the Army acting in defence of the territory IONA and of democracy as the Federal Kingdom Army.
• The Act should divide the Federal Kingdom Army into two commands which are separate and apart –
• The Royal Army whose personnel are Irish and whose maintenance strength and deployment is the responsibility of the Taoiseach.
• The British Army whose personnel are British and whose maintenance strength and deployment is the responsibility of the British Prime Minister.
• The Act should state that it is a constitutional imperative under the Act that personnel of the British Army leave Ireland and go to barracks in Great Britain with the Royal Irish Regiment becoming part of the Royal Irish Army.
• The Act should recommend that personnel of the Royal Irish and British Armies carry out short term joint training and military exercises on both British and Irish territories.
• The Act should state that when British Army Personnel are on Irish territory they are there as guests of the Irish people and in no other capacity.
• The Act should describe the Royal Flag of Ireland, the flag of the Royal Irish Army thus:-
• It is the existing tricolour with the Red Cross of St Patrick imposed on the white central panel. This divides the central panel into four parts. On the top part there is a simple Crown symbol in neutral colour. In the parts to the right and left there are Crown symbols in blue. In the bottom part there is the outline of a shamrock.
• The Act should state that the Royal Flag of Ireland is the National flag of Ireland and a symbol of the Federal Kingdom of The Sovereign Nation of Ireland and Great Britain. The Union Flag is the National Flag of Great Britain and is a symbol of the Federal Kingdom of Great Britain and the Sovereign Nation of Ireland. The Union Flag cannot be displayed in Ireland except when the British Army is present in Ireland on short term training exercises with the Royal Irish Army at the discretion and with the authorization of the British and Irish O.C.s.
• The constitutional arrangements for The Federal Kingdom Navy and Air Force is ditto for that of the Federal Kingdom Army.
The Orange Order
• IT is understood in the Act that in an Irish Christian Democracy Church and State are separate. On that understanding the Orange Order has two options –
• The Orange can declare its membership to be restricted to Protestants. In that case the Orange Order is defined in the Act as church and can therefore hold its parades on church territory only. The Order will be restricted to parade with protestant emblems only but not with state emblems. In the Act King William is defined as state and Christian. In that case the Orange Order should be forbidden to parade banners of King William on Protestant Church territory.
• IF the Orange Order declares itself to be State and Christian then: -
• The Order would be defined in the Act as The Royal Orange Order of Ireland.
• The 12th July would be declared a National holiday in Ireland
• Church services attended by members acting in an official capacity as Orange men and women should ecumenical in nature.
• The Orange Order should be free to parade anywhere on Irish Territory.
• Member ship of the Order should be open to all Christians.
• The Act should state that the Solemn Orange Promise be made thus: -
“I solemnly promise to be loyal to the Crown Irish and to promote such loyalty in the Community and Irish Nation
(Note Loyalty is a praiseworthy human attribute be it Loyalty to a spouse, family organization, Church, country or the Crown. The expression of loyalty is a human right which cannot be suppressed as it would be in a Republic)
I solemnly promise to uphold civil and religious liberty and promote such liberty in the community and in the Irish nation.
I solemnly promise to be law abiding peaceful and sober and to promote law fullness peace and sobriety in the community and in the Irish Nation.
I solemnly promise to be Christian in belief, religious practice, moral outlook, behaviour and n speech and to promote Christianity in the Community and Irish Nation.”
Schooling
• The Act should state that the official religion of Irish State Schools is Christian Ecumenism and the ethos of the schools is Christian.
• The Act should recommend that the curricula of Irish State Schools is: -
1. A National Curriculum in Christian Studies
2. A National Curriculum in Secular Studies.
Marriage
• Since Church and State are separate this raises difficulty with the enactment to divorce legislation in Ireland. To get around this the Act should state that marriage in Ireland is two fold: -
• An Irish State marriage contracted in a solicitor’s office.
• A religious marriage contracted in a Church Mosque Synagogue or Temple
• The State Marriage should be a legal binding contract drawn up by the Supreme Council of Irish Jurists. The State can dissolve an Irish State Marriage but not a religious marriage.
• The Act should state that the Crown Irish and Heir to the Throne are free to marry a spouse of personal choice but the spouse must be Christian in belief, religious practice, moral outlook behaviour and in speech.
The Family
• The Act should recognise the Family as the building brick of society and that a stable family leads to social stability. The Act should state that it upholds traditional Irish Christian family values.
Culture
• All cultures should be free to enter Irish Territory within Irish law. All cultures should be free to express their cultures in performance, entertainment, book or magazine, film or T V program, in song, in dance, in parade in dress in artistic display, in custom, in ritual, in religious practice and in speech.
• Irish Culture holds a special position in Ireland and the Act should recognise that Irish culture consists of the Irish and English language, Irish and English literature, Irish and English ballad and song, Irish dance, Irish music, Irish art. Irish mythology, legend, and folklore.
• The Act should state that in Ireland the Irish and English languages are of equal status.
• The Act should recommend that the Crown Irish and The Heir to the Throne’s immediate retinue in Dublin Castle be fluent in Irish and that the majority of the Secretary of State’s staff in Dublin Castle be fluent in Irish.
• The Act should recommend that the Heir to the Throne be introduced to the Irish Language from an early age so that he/she requires a working knowledge of the language. This is not a constitutional innovation but follows on from the established constitutional practice whereby the Prince of Wales has studied Welsh.
A further extract from the National Government of Ireland will follow.
Michael Gillespie Federal Unionist-Early Sinn Fein
Further extracts from the National Government of Ireland Act giving a written codified constitution for an Irish Christian Liberal Democracy within the Federal Kingdom The Full constitution is published at
www.authorhouse.co.uk
Article Four
The Period of Remembrance.
• The Period of Remembrance should be of the same duration as that in England. Those Irish Citizens who lost their lives in armed conflict either on Irish territory or abroad should be remembered with an appropriate ceremony.
• In Ireland the recognised remembrance emblem should be a white dove of peace.
Sport
• The Act should permit the playing of all sporting activities, athletic activities, games and Pastimes which are recognised internationally as being such.
• The Act should give special recognition to the Gaelic Athletic Association.
The National Graves of Ireland
• The Act should deem it appropriate to honour the dead in Ireland. For that reason a National Graves Honours List by the Supreme Council of Irish Jurists accepting suggestions from the general public. The Jurists should include in the National Graves Honours List the names of those who are dead but in their lives have excelled in specific walks of life.
• The maintenance of the National Graves is the duty of the Irish Guards stationed at Dublin Castle.
Visiting Heads of State and Foreign Dignitaries.
• The Act should make provision for visit by Foreign Heads of State and foreign Dignitaries.
• ON this understanding the Pope could make a state visit to Ireland.
• The Act should state that a foreign Head of state or Foreign dignitary can only be invited by the Secretary of State for Ireland. If the Secretary of State is to invite the Pope to Ireland the request for such a visit should be made formally by the Heads of the four Christian Churches to the Secretary of State in writing.
Christian Reconciliation Forgiveness and Peace.
• The Act should make provision for the setting up of Crown Irish State Christian Chapel of Forgiveness Reconciliation and Peace in Kilmainim Jail in Dublin This Chapel should be used for ecumenical services.
The Media
• The Act should recognise Radio Televis Éireann as the National television service for Ireland. Independent Television services can also be set up. Radio broadcasting should also be allowed nationally provincially and locally.
The Universities
• The Act should recognise the existing universities as the National Universities of Ireland.
The Unions
• The Act should recognise the Irish Congress of Trades Unions as the representative trades union body in Ireland. The Act should stipulate that all trades unions in Ireland affiliate to ICTU.
The Mail Service
• The Act should state that the mail service in Ireland be known as The Crown Irish Mail and that mail vans be coloured green
The Holding of Referenda in Ireland.
• The Act should make provision for the holding of 32 county referenda in Ireland. In such referenda the votes should be counted separately in the 6 and 26 counties. Under this provision a referendum would have three possible outcomes: -
1. Where there is a majority in favour of the referendum in both territories the referendum is carried.
2. Where there is a majority against the referendum in both territories the referendum is defeated.
3. Where the referendum is carried by a majority in one territory but defeated by a majority in the other the referendum is inconclusive.
• An Irish State referendum should be drawn up as follows: -
Do you wish Ireland to be: -
(a) A Sovereign Nation within a Federal Kingdom with the National Government of Ireland Act as its constitution?
(b) A Republic with the 1937 Republican constitution as its constitution?
• This referendum would have three outcomes namely: -
If (a) is carried in both territories Ireland is united as a Sovereign Nation within a Federal Kingdom.
If (b) is carried in both territories Ireland is united as a Republic.
If (a) is carried in one territory and (b) is carried in the other the outcome is inconclusive and Ireland remains partitioned with The National Government being the constitution of N. Ireland.
Michael Gillespie Federal Unionist-Early Sinn Fein
Article Five
The Implementation of The National Government of Ireland Act in N. Ireland/Ireland
To bring the Act into existence a moderate central voluntary alliance would need to come together at Stormont drawn from the UUP the SDLP and Alliance to act under the banner of Federal Unionism-Early Sinn Fein. The Federal Unionist-Early Sinn Fein alliance should become the official opposition at the Assembly. Federal Unionism-Early Sinn Fein should take as its political platform the reunification of Ireland by reforming UK constitution to the Federal Kingdom Constitution as stated in the National Government of Ireland Act. In this way Federal Unionism-Early Sinn Fein would strive to eradicate sectarianism in Ireland.
Federal Unionism-Early Sinn Fein wholly understands the importance of the economy to the ordinary person. In recognition of that the opposition party in the Assembly should enunciate a workable program of economic proposals on health, education, job creation, wealth creation, inward investment in manufacturing and in economic growth whilst criticising the administration of the block grant by the DUP?Late Sinn Fein mandatory coalition. The raison d’etre of the opposition at Stormont should be the replacement of the Sectarian clique in the Assembly with a non-sectarian government. What the Assembly badly needs is a determined opposition to oppose and get rid of the ultra-conservative sectarian OFMDFM by the use of liberal new thinking on the constitution to make a better future for all in Ireland
Michael Gillespie Federal Unionist -Early Sinn Fein
PAGE
What is Federal Unionism-Early Sinn Fein?
Arthur Griffiths founded Sinn Fein in 1904. He envisaged a new Ireland with a dual monarchy for the Kingdom. In its early days Sinn Fein ended its Ard Fheis with –God Save the Queen---. Griffiths initially wanted Sinn Fein to be a party for all, Catholic and Protestant alike. In 1917 De Valera ousted Griffiths from the leadership of Sinn Fein and made the party Republican and supportive of violence. Crewed now by Republicans the Irish ship of state was lost at sea and ended up on the rocks of partition. Initially Griffiths didn’t think the idea of a dual monarchy through for if he had he would have found that a dual monarchy requires a Federal Kingdom. So in the 21st century Federal Unionism and Early Sinn Fein are one and the same thing. Hence the new concept of Federal Unionism-Early Sinn Fein
What is UK constitution?
“The constitution of the United Kingdom is a set of laws and principles under which the United Kingdom is governed.
Unlike many other nations the United Kingdom has no core constitutional document. In this sense it is said not to have a written constitution but much of British constitution is embodied in written documents with statutes court judgements and treaties. Other unwritten sources are parliamentary constitutional conventions and royal prerogatives.
Since the English Civil War the bed rock of British constitution has been the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty according to which statutes passed by parliament are the UK’s supreme and final source of law. It follows that parliament can change the constitution by passing new acts of parliament “
This description of U K constitution is taken from the Internet but it is dated. It is doubtful that the principle of Parliamentary sovereignty remains valid to day since the U K joined the E U and is subject to European law. Furthermore the sovereignty of Parliament is also diminished in the devolution of legislative power to Scotland Wales and N. Ireland. The parliamentary loss of sovereignty to Europe is a cause celebre with U K I P and with assemblies in Scotland Wales and N Ireland the union is no longer united but is quasi-federal. Hence a possible future for the union is outright federation. This will depend on the constitutional future of an independent Scotland. Alex Salmond has said on T V that in an independent Scotland he intends to retain the Crown as Head o f State like many other nations in the world that have the Crown as Head of State. This is a recipe for the complete federation of the union. The United States of America is a federated union with the American president as head of state for all American states, the states being of equal status, the one to the other. Such a federation could be appropriate for England Scotland Wales and Ireland with the Crown as Head of State for each of these states and the four nation states being of equal status within a Federal Kingdom.
The Constitution and Identity.
What is best understood about the constitution by the ordinary person is the Head of State, the Flag, the Anthem, and a Passport. Each one of these epitomizes the identity of each person collectively and individually. When a person in the U S A applauds the President or waves the Stars and Stripes or sings the Star Spangled Banner or holds an American Passport he or she is saying ---“I’m an American and I belong to the United States”---. While there are many cultures in America – Irish American, Spanish American, Italian American etc there is only one American identity the melting pot ensures that. Up to the late 20th century there was only one identity in the U K namely British but this unity is breaking down with the assertion of Scottish and Welsh identity in our time. In N. Ireland there are two identities being asserted by those in one community who recognise a Republican president as head of state, the Republican Tricolour as the national flag, Amhran na bhFianian as the Republican national anthem and hold a Republican Passport such a person is saying --- “ I’m an Irish Republican who belongs in the Republic of Ireland”---. On the other hand there are those who recognise the British Crown as head of state, the Union Flag as the British flag, God Save the Queen as the British national anthem, and hold a British passport as British identity. This person is saying—“I’m British and I belong to the United Kingdom”---. This division is fraught with the potential for violence. This violent division is clearly evident in Celtic/Rangers matches but further a field there is a history of violence in divided countries like the Tamils/ Sinhalese. Greek and Turkish Cypriots and between the Serbs and the Bosnians These people with a split identity are flash points for violence and communal division and the division is further complicated with difference in religious affiliation. N. Ireland is a clear example of this and if a genuine peace is to be found a common identity for the people of Ireland is essential. It is contended in this article that a common identity acceptable to all be it the Catholics of Kerry or the Protestants of Derry is feasible in the National Government of Ireland Act.
The Constitution and Culture.
Culture is a slippery concept which has taxed the minds of eminent scholars for centuries. Culture is all pervasive in society and Chairman Mao caught this when he wrote: - “ The people move in culture as fish move in water”.
To avoid its complexities only Irish and British culture will be considered in this article. Irish Culture is taken to be: - Language both Irish and English, literature both Irish and English, song and ballad both Irish and English Irish music Irish dance Irish Art, parades( St Patrick’s) Irish Legend and Mythology and Leinster House in Dublin.
British culture is not straight forward as it isn’t clear whether there is a distinct British culture or not. Poetry is a prime expression of culture and the difficulty with British Culture can be examined in English Poetry. Take these lines: -
“ Oh to be in England now that April’s there.”
“ Till we have built Jerusalem
In England’s green and pleasant land”
“ Scotland the Brave”.
Let Erin Remember the days of old”
In these lines if the words England Scotland and Erin are replaced with the word Britain the lines become phoney In Masefield’s poem “Cargoes” the word British is used to mean something inferior and second rate and has to do with trade. It would seem that Britain and British is apart from culture and is bound up with an identity concomitant with political power and economic strength A peoples’ identity symbol can change but that does not imply a change of culture. The American president can change but American culture remains the same. England/English Ireland/Irish Scotland/Scottish Wales/Welsh can be staked out with symbols of identity but in the last analysis this nomenclature is cultural. In N. Ireland there is an ungodly mix of culture identity and religion. There is a move afoot by Ulster nationalists to assert an Ulster culture as distinct from Irish culture. Ulster Scots is asserted as the language of Ulster. This is controversial but has Ulster Scots got a significant indigenous Ulster literature? Scottish dance has been adopted as the “national” dance of Ulster but there is no indigenous Ulster dance. There is the” folk” art of murals painted on gable walls but “ high” art such as the work of O Connor is usually classified as Irish art. Seamus Heaney has an Ulster background but is described as an Irish poet. If Michael Longley is an Irish Poet, a Northern Irish poet, an Ulster Poet or a British poet that is something he will have to work out for himself.
Orange parades have donned the cloak of culture in Orangefests but in reality these parades area toxic mix of culture identity and religion. If Orangefest parades are to be purely cultural then the display of the British Identity symbol, the Union flag should be discontinued and the Order’s membership should be open to Catholics. But the Order’s claim to culture is weak in that it hasn’t a literature other than the bible and has only a handful of sectarian orange songs. Ulster songs such as My Lagan Love, The Star of the County Down Kitty of Colerain and The Bard of Armagh etc are classified as Irish songs. A protestant Orange culture is as bogus as is British culture. If this crazy constitutional mix-up of identity culture and religion is to be sorted out, this can only be done in The National Government of Ireland Act, extracts of which will be given in following articles.
Michael Gillespie Federal Unionist-Early Sinn Fein
stian democracy within a
Extracts from the National Government of Ireland Act which gives a suggested constitution for an Irish Liberal Christian Federal Kingdom.
The full constitution can be found at"
www.authorhouse.co.uk
and the full Act runs to over 20,000 words.
Article Two
Extracts
• The Act should state that on coronation the Crown is Head Of State of the Great Britain And The Sovereign Nation of Ireland
• The Act should state that when the Crown is on Irish territory the Crown is known in Ireland as the Crown Irish and is head of state of The Sovereign Nation of Ireland.
• The Act should state that when the Crown is on Irish Territory the Crown is recognised as being Christian in belief in religious practice in moral outlook in behaviour and in speech.
• The Act should advise the Crown Irish not to confer any British Title or Honour on any Irish Citizen
• The Act should recommend that the Crown Irish to confer the honour of The Cross of St Patrick for men and The Cross of St Brigit on women for outstanding service to community or the Cross of St Columcille for outstanding valour in military or civilian service.
• The Act should advise the Crown Irish to restore the Irish Crown Jewels to Dublin Castle.
• The Act should state that the Crown Irish and spouse and the Heir to the throne and spouse can enter and reside in Dublin Castle but this freedom doesn’t extend to any other member of the Royal family.
Rights .
• The Act should confer on all Irish Citizens the Crown Irish right of prompt access to excellent health care both physical and mental.
• The Act should confer on all Irish citizens the Crown Irish right of access to a well disciplined creative imaginative education from infancy to old age.
• The Act should confer on all Irish Citizens the Crown Irish right of access to an environment that is clean healthy life promoting and pleasant.
• The Act should confer on all Irish citizens the Crown Irish right of access to a prompt fair trial based on evidence.
• The Act should confer on all Irish citizens the Crown Irish right of access to a nutritional diet.
• The Act should confer on all Irish Citizens the Crown Irish right of access to affordable local housing go good quality.
• The Act should confer on all Irish citizens the Crown Irish right of access to gainful employment.
• The Act should recognise the Crown Irish right to life from conception to the time of natural death
• The Act should recognise the Crown Irish Right of the individual to marry and raise a family.
• The Act should confer on the travelling people of Ireland all rights as those set out for Irish citizens.
• The Act should confer on all Irish disabled citizens the Crown Irish right of access to Irish territory in all its aspects.
• The Act should recognise the rights of animals.
Freedoms
• The Act should recognise two sets of freedoms
(1) Individual freedoms of freedom from, freedom to become and freedom to be.
(2) State freedoms such as freedom of thought mind and expression etc. The exercise of state freedom should be subject to Irish state law.
The Judiciary
• The Act should make provision for the Supreme Council of Irish Jurists to be elected by the members of the legal profession by means of a postal ballot.
• The council should consist of a judge who is representative of Ireland along with four judges representative of each of the four provinces.
• The Act should specify the duties of the Supreme Council.
The Government and Politics
• The Act should define Irish territory and Irish citizenship.
• The Act should state that the Irish state political Parties consist of: -
(a) The Irish Christian Democrats
(b) The Irish Liberal Democrats
© The Irish Social Democrats
• The Act should state that the state parties are funded by the state. Other parties are permissible but such parties must state publicly whether they are pro or anti the constitution.
• The Act should state that the National Central Government in Dublin is called Dail Éireann with constitutional powers devolved to the four provinces. The Houses of Representatives in the four provincial capitals should be known as: -
1. The Connaugh House of Representatives
2. The Leinster House of Representatives
3. The Munster House of Representatives
4. The Ulster House of Representatives
• The Act should state that Dail Éireann is separate from but co-equal to Westminster within the Federal Kingdom.
• The Act should prohibit the display of the Union Flag, the Irish Tricolour or the Starry Plough or the playing of the anthems—God Save the Queen or Amhran Na bhFiain on Irish territory.
• The Act should recommend that the Irish Tricolour be redesigned as The Royal Flag of Ireland and that the Irish National Anthem is A Nation Once Again.
• The Taoiseach should appoint a T D to be Secretary of State for Ireland with an office in Dublin Castle.
Further extracts from the National Government of Ireland will follow.
Michael Gillespie Federal Unionist-Early Sinn Fein.
Further extracts from the National Government of Ireland Act giving a constitution for an Irish liberal Christian democracy within a Federal Kingdom. The full written codified constitution is published at
www.authorhouse.co.uk
Article Three
Religion
• The Act should state that Church and State are separate the Church having no authority over the state and the State having no authority over the Church except that the clergy must abide by Irish state law.
• The Act should state that the official religion of the Irish state is Christian Ecumenism
• The Act should recognise the following denominations as Christian.
1. The Methodist Church
2. The Presbyterian Church
3. The Church of Ireland
4. The Roman Catholic Church
• The Act should state that these denominations are Christian in belief, religious practice, in moral outlook, in behaviour and in speech.
• The Act should state that these denominations are of equal status the one to the other.
• Since the Crown Irish is recognised in Ireland as Christian and Head of State hence the Crown Irish is head of Christian Ecumenism in Ireland.
Policing.
• The Act should make provision for the setting up of a two tier policing service in Ireland: -
1. The National police Service--- The Garda Siochana.
2. Four provincial police services: -
(a) The Royal Connaugh Constabulary
(b) The Royal Leinster Constabulary
© The Royal Munster Constabulary
(d) The Royal Ulster Constabulary
• The Act should
state that the Garda Siochana is under the control of the minister for justice in Dail Éireann and the four provincial police services are under the control of the representative for justice in each of the provincial Houses of Representatives.
The Army the Navy and the Air Force.
• The Act should define the territories known as the British Isles as The Isles of the North Atlantic.
• The Act should define the Army acting in defence of the territory IONA and of democracy as the Federal Kingdom Army.
• The Act should divide the Federal Kingdom Army into two commands which are separate and apart –
• The Royal Army whose personnel are Irish and whose maintenance strength and deployment is the responsibility of the Taoiseach.
• The British Army whose personnel are British and whose maintenance strength and deployment is the responsibility of the British Prime Minister.
• The Act should state that it is a constitutional imperative under the Act that personnel of the British Army leave Ireland and go to barracks in Great Britain with the Royal Irish Regiment becoming part of the Royal Irish Army.
• The Act should recommend that personnel of the Royal Irish and British Armies carry out short term joint training and military exercises on both British and Irish territories.
• The Act should state that when British Army Personnel are on Irish territory they are there as guests of the Irish people and in no other capacity.
• The Act should describe the Royal Flag of Ireland, the flag of the Royal Irish Army thus:-
• It is the existing tricolour with the Red Cross of St Patrick imposed on the white central panel. This divides the central panel into four parts. On the top part there is a simple Crown symbol in neutral colour. In the parts to the right and left there are Crown symbols in blue. In the bottom part there is the outline of a shamrock.
• The Act should state that the Royal Flag of Ireland is the National flag of Ireland and a symbol of the Federal Kingdom of The Sovereign Nation of Ireland and Great Britain. The Union Flag is the National Flag of Great Britain and is a symbol of the Federal Kingdom of Great Britain and the Sovereign Nation of Ireland. The Union Flag cannot be displayed in Ireland except when the British Army is present in Ireland on short term training exercises with the Royal Irish Army at the discretion and with the authorization of the British and Irish O.C.s.
• The constitutional arrangements for The Federal Kingdom Navy and Air Force is ditto for that of the Federal Kingdom Army.
The Orange Order
• IT is understood in the Act that in an Irish Christian Democracy Church and State are separate. On that understanding the Orange Order has two options –
• The Orange can declare its membership to be restricted to Protestants. In that case the Orange Order is defined in the Act as church and can therefore hold its parades on church territory only. The Order will be restricted to parade with protestant emblems only but not with state emblems. In the Act King William is defined as state and Christian. In that case the Orange Order should be forbidden to parade banners of King William on Protestant Church territory.
• IF the Orange Order declares itself to be State and Christian then: -
• The Order would be defined in the Act as The Royal Orange Order of Ireland.
• The 12th July would be declared a National holiday in Ireland
• Church services attended by members acting in an official capacity as Orange men and women should ecumenical in nature.
• The Orange Order should be free to parade anywhere on Irish Territory.
• Member ship of the Order should be open to all Christians.
• The Act should state that the Solemn Orange Promise be made thus: -
“I solemnly promise to be loyal to the Crown Irish and to promote such loyalty in the Community and Irish Nation
(Note Loyalty is a praiseworthy human attribute be it Loyalty to a spouse, family organization, Church, country or the Crown. The expression of loyalty is a human right which cannot be suppressed as it would be in a Republic)
I solemnly promise to uphold civil and religious liberty and promote such liberty in the community and in the Irish nation.
I solemnly promise to be law abiding peaceful and sober and to promote law fullness peace and sobriety in the community and in the Irish Nation.
I solemnly promise to be Christian in belief, religious practice, moral outlook, behaviour and n speech and to promote Christianity in the Community and Irish Nation.”
Schooling
• The Act should state that the official religion of Irish State Schools is Christian Ecumenism and the ethos of the schools is Christian.
• The Act should recommend that the curricula of Irish State Schools is: -
1. A National Curriculum in Christian Studies
2. A National Curriculum in Secular Studies.
Marriage
• Since Church and State are separate this raises difficulty with the enactment to divorce legislation in Ireland. To get around this the Act should state that marriage in Ireland is two fold: -
• An Irish State marriage contracted in a solicitor’s office.
• A religious marriage contracted in a Church Mosque Synagogue or Temple
• The State Marriage should be a legal binding contract drawn up by the Supreme Council of Irish Jurists. The State can dissolve an Irish State Marriage but not a religious marriage.
• The Act should state that the Crown Irish and Heir to the Throne are free to marry a spouse of personal choice but the spouse must be Christian in belief, religious practice, moral outlook behaviour and in speech.
The Family
• The Act should recognise the Family as the building brick of society and that a stable family leads to social stability. The Act should state that it upholds traditional Irish Christian family values.
Culture
• All cultures should be free to enter Irish Territory within Irish law. All cultures should be free to express their cultures in performance, entertainment, book or magazine, film or T V program, in song, in dance, in parade in dress in artistic display, in custom, in ritual, in religious practice and in speech.
• Irish Culture holds a special position in Ireland and the Act should recognise that Irish culture consists of the Irish and English language, Irish and English literature, Irish and English ballad and song, Irish dance, Irish music, Irish art. Irish mythology, legend, and folklore.
• The Act should state that in Ireland the Irish and English languages are of equal status.
• The Act should recommend that the Crown Irish and The Heir to the Throne’s immediate retinue in Dublin Castle be fluent in Irish and that the majority of the Secretary of State’s staff in Dublin Castle be fluent in Irish.
• The Act should recommend that the Heir to the Throne be introduced to the Irish Language from an early age so that he/she requires a working knowledge of the language. This is not a constitutional innovation but follows on from the established constitutional practice whereby the Prince of Wales has studied Welsh.
A further extract from the National Government of Ireland will follow.
Michael Gillespie Federal Unionist-Early Sinn Fein
Further extracts from the National Government of Ireland Act giving a written codified constitution for an Irish Christian Liberal Democracy within the Federal Kingdom The Full constitution is published at
www.authorhouse.co.uk
Article Four
The Period of Remembrance.
• The Period of Remembrance should be of the same duration as that in England. Those Irish Citizens who lost their lives in armed conflict either on Irish territory or abroad should be remembered with an appropriate ceremony.
• In Ireland the recognised remembrance emblem should be a white dove of peace.
Sport
• The Act should permit the playing of all sporting activities, athletic activities, games and Pastimes which are recognised internationally as being such.
• The Act should give special recognition to the Gaelic Athletic Association.
The National Graves of Ireland
• The Act should deem it appropriate to honour the dead in Ireland. For that reason a National Graves Honours List by the Supreme Council of Irish Jurists accepting suggestions from the general public. The Jurists should include in the National Graves Honours List the names of those who are dead but in their lives have excelled in specific walks of life.
• The maintenance of the National Graves is the duty of the Irish Guards stationed at Dublin Castle.
Visiting Heads of State and Foreign Dignitaries.
• The Act should make provision for visit by Foreign Heads of State and foreign Dignitaries.
• ON this understanding the Pope could make a state visit to Ireland.
• The Act should state that a foreign Head of state or Foreign dignitary can only be invited by the Secretary of State for Ireland. If the Secretary of State is to invite the Pope to Ireland the request for such a visit should be made formally by the Heads of the four Christian Churches to the Secretary of State in writing.
Christian Reconciliation Forgiveness and Peace.
• The Act should make provision for the setting up of Crown Irish State Christian Chapel of Forgiveness Reconciliation and Peace in Kilmainim Jail in Dublin This Chapel should be used for ecumenical services.
The Media
• The Act should recognise Radio Televis Éireann as the National television service for Ireland. Independent Television services can also be set up. Radio broadcasting should also be allowed nationally provincially and locally.
The Universities
• The Act should recognise the existing universities as the National Universities of Ireland.
The Unions
• The Act should recognise the Irish Congress of Trades Unions as the representative trades union body in Ireland. The Act should stipulate that all trades unions in Ireland affiliate to ICTU.
The Mail Service
• The Act should state that the mail service in Ireland be known as The Crown Irish Mail and that mail vans be coloured green
The Holding of Referenda in Ireland.
• The Act should make provision for the holding of 32 county referenda in Ireland. In such referenda the votes should be counted separately in the 6 and 26 counties. Under this provision a referendum would have three possible outcomes: -
1. Where there is a majority in favour of the referendum in both territories the referendum is carried.
2. Where there is a majority against the referendum in both territories the referendum is defeated.
3. Where the referendum is carried by a majority in one territory but defeated by a majority in the other the referendum is inconclusive.
• An Irish State referendum should be drawn up as follows: -
Do you wish Ireland to be: -
(a) A Sovereign Nation within a Federal Kingdom with the National Government of Ireland Act as its constitution?
(b) A Republic with the 1937 Republican constitution as its constitution?
• This referendum would have three outcomes namely: -
If (a) is carried in both territories Ireland is united as a Sovereign Nation within a Federal Kingdom.
If (b) is carried in both territories Ireland is united as a Republic.
If (a) is carried in one territory and (b) is carried in the other the outcome is inconclusive and Ireland remains partitioned with The National Government being the constitution of N. Ireland.
Michael Gillespie Federal Unionist-Early Sinn Fein
Article Five
The Implementation of The National Government of Ireland Act in N. Ireland/Ireland
To bring the Act into existence a moderate central voluntary alliance would need to come together at Stormont drawn from the UUP the SDLP and Alliance to act under the banner of Federal Unionism-Early Sinn Fein. The Federal Unionist-Early Sinn Fein alliance should become the official opposition at the Assembly. Federal Unionism-Early Sinn Fein should take as its political platform the reunification of Ireland by reforming UK constitution to the Federal Kingdom Constitution as stated in the National Government of Ireland Act. In this way Federal Unionism-Early Sinn Fein would strive to eradicate sectarianism in Ireland.
Federal Unionism-Early Sinn Fein wholly understands the importance of the economy to the ordinary person. In recognition of that the opposition party in the Assembly should enunciate a workable program of economic proposals on health, education, job creation, wealth creation, inward investment in manufacturing and in economic growth whilst criticising the administration of the block grant by the DUP?Late Sinn Fein mandatory coalition. The raison d’etre of the opposition at Stormont should be the replacement of the Sectarian clique in the Assembly with a non-sectarian government. What the Assembly badly needs is a determined opposition to oppose and get rid of the ultra-conservative sectarian OFMDFM by the use of liberal new thinking on the constitution to make a better future for all in Ireland
Michael Gillespie Federal Unionist -Early Sinn Fein
PAGE
Monday, 13 June 2011
New Thinking
Ireland needs new thinking and a new constitution.
In his pep talk to the assembly David Cameron said nothing new. He told us yet again that the constitutional issue is settled. David should try selling that to the dissidents or if Sinn Fein members were surveyed on the matter how many would agree with the Prime Minster? But the constitutional issue is alive and active in Limavady. Boyd Douglas displayed a Union Jack in the council chamber and setting the cat among the constitutional pigeons reduced the chamber to disarray. The Assembly functions on the fallacy that the constitutional issue has gone away in the GFA. This agreement joins at the hip left wing Marxist Republicans with right wing Monarchists. This toxic constitutional cocktail would be poured down the sink in any other democracy but here a hoodwinked people have to drink it because our numbskull sectarian politicians can’t serve anything more palatable.
What is missing in Ireland is new thinking about the country. We have Republicans flogging the dead horse of an all Ireland Republic while Union Jack Unionists flog the dead horse of a United Kingdom. Both have been doing this for over 200 years. Isn’t it time the beasts were declared dead and buried? We now find that a young Sinn Fein Mayor of Belfast is displaying in the City Hall the failed Republicanism of the United Irishmen along with the failed 1916 Proclamation that partitioned the island. This young man is an arch Irish conservative without a new thought in his head. There is unashamed new thinking which sees the sectarian British/Irish problem as constitutional, the constitution needing reform in a new constitution expressed in The National Government of Ireland Act modernising the Kingdom as a Federal Kingdom for all. Where there is no new thinking the people perish. In the deadwood of old conservative thinking, people like Ronan Kerr perish.
Michael Gillespie
In his pep talk to the assembly David Cameron said nothing new. He told us yet again that the constitutional issue is settled. David should try selling that to the dissidents or if Sinn Fein members were surveyed on the matter how many would agree with the Prime Minster? But the constitutional issue is alive and active in Limavady. Boyd Douglas displayed a Union Jack in the council chamber and setting the cat among the constitutional pigeons reduced the chamber to disarray. The Assembly functions on the fallacy that the constitutional issue has gone away in the GFA. This agreement joins at the hip left wing Marxist Republicans with right wing Monarchists. This toxic constitutional cocktail would be poured down the sink in any other democracy but here a hoodwinked people have to drink it because our numbskull sectarian politicians can’t serve anything more palatable.
What is missing in Ireland is new thinking about the country. We have Republicans flogging the dead horse of an all Ireland Republic while Union Jack Unionists flog the dead horse of a United Kingdom. Both have been doing this for over 200 years. Isn’t it time the beasts were declared dead and buried? We now find that a young Sinn Fein Mayor of Belfast is displaying in the City Hall the failed Republicanism of the United Irishmen along with the failed 1916 Proclamation that partitioned the island. This young man is an arch Irish conservative without a new thought in his head. There is unashamed new thinking which sees the sectarian British/Irish problem as constitutional, the constitution needing reform in a new constitution expressed in The National Government of Ireland Act modernising the Kingdom as a Federal Kingdom for all. Where there is no new thinking the people perish. In the deadwood of old conservative thinking, people like Ronan Kerr perish.
Michael Gillespie
Socialism
Socialism and Ireland.
There are those in Sinn Fein who dream of a Socialist Republic in Ireland but the track record of Socialist Republics in the world isn’t good. At one time there was the USSR and there remains North Korea and Cuba. Those who dream of a Socialist Republic for Ireland are Sinn Fein conservatives. These people may say they are Marxist not conservatives but one can be a Marxist and a conservative. Stalin was a Marxist and a conservative who would countenance nothing other than the control of the USSR by the politburo of the communist party. How ever change came to the Soviet Union in Gorbachev’s new ideas of glasnost and perestroika. Democracy followed but this democracy is now corrupted with criminality. Change always needs new ideas. Change came to the Church in Luther’s new ideas on Christianity. Sinn Fein is devoid of new ideas.
This is not a rebuttal of Socialism but questions the package in which socialism is delivered. For those in Sinn Fein who dream of Ireland as an off shore Cuba in relation to Europe such a package would not be acceptable to the Irish people. Socialism in the package of a liberal democracy would be acceptable. The constitutional monarchy of Sweden is a prime example. Sweden is the wealthiest and most egalitarian country in the world due to the progressive insightful policies of successive socialist governments. Ireland as a liberal democracy within a Federal Kingdom constitutional monarchy could emulate Sweden and become a wealthy egalitarian society to be cherished by the people.
Michael Gillespie
There are those in Sinn Fein who dream of a Socialist Republic in Ireland but the track record of Socialist Republics in the world isn’t good. At one time there was the USSR and there remains North Korea and Cuba. Those who dream of a Socialist Republic for Ireland are Sinn Fein conservatives. These people may say they are Marxist not conservatives but one can be a Marxist and a conservative. Stalin was a Marxist and a conservative who would countenance nothing other than the control of the USSR by the politburo of the communist party. How ever change came to the Soviet Union in Gorbachev’s new ideas of glasnost and perestroika. Democracy followed but this democracy is now corrupted with criminality. Change always needs new ideas. Change came to the Church in Luther’s new ideas on Christianity. Sinn Fein is devoid of new ideas.
This is not a rebuttal of Socialism but questions the package in which socialism is delivered. For those in Sinn Fein who dream of Ireland as an off shore Cuba in relation to Europe such a package would not be acceptable to the Irish people. Socialism in the package of a liberal democracy would be acceptable. The constitutional monarchy of Sweden is a prime example. Sweden is the wealthiest and most egalitarian country in the world due to the progressive insightful policies of successive socialist governments. Ireland as a liberal democracy within a Federal Kingdom constitutional monarchy could emulate Sweden and become a wealthy egalitarian society to be cherished by the people.
Michael Gillespie
Sunday, 12 June 2011
Change
To find true peace the Irish will have to change.
Sinn Fein is now considering having the franchise extended to N. Ireland for the election of a Republican President. The party should first take on board the constitutional realities of Ireland. With the GFA which Sinn Fein signed up to, Ireland is divided into two statelets the one foreign to the other. In light of that the proposal for a form of joint sovereignty for Ireland is as nonsensical as proposing a joint sovereignty for the Iberian Peninsula with a joint Portuguese Republican president and a Spanish monarch. Had articles 2 and 3 of the Republic’s constitution not been withdrawn a rational case could have been made for joint sovereignty and the extension of the franchise for the election of a Republican President to N Ireland but since the crafty British aided by woolly headed politicians in Dublin had the articles removed the two statelets in Ireland are now clearly foreign to each other. This constitutional mess has been created by Tricolour Republicans and Union Jack Unionists.
To clear up the mess will require new thought and an acceptance that the traditional conservative thinking in both communities will have to change. It is said that the Irish are a very conservative people but to have change both communities will have to become receptive to new ideas and be open minded. Tricolour Republicanism and Union Jack Unionism will have to accept the necessity for the change of U.K. constitution to a Federal Kingdom constitution giving a new constitution for An Éire Nua peopled by Na Gaeil Nua who accept the Crown as Head of State. Clinging to traditional conservative thought on both sides leads only to intercommunal conflict and sectarian division.
Michael Gillespie
Sinn Fein is now considering having the franchise extended to N. Ireland for the election of a Republican President. The party should first take on board the constitutional realities of Ireland. With the GFA which Sinn Fein signed up to, Ireland is divided into two statelets the one foreign to the other. In light of that the proposal for a form of joint sovereignty for Ireland is as nonsensical as proposing a joint sovereignty for the Iberian Peninsula with a joint Portuguese Republican president and a Spanish monarch. Had articles 2 and 3 of the Republic’s constitution not been withdrawn a rational case could have been made for joint sovereignty and the extension of the franchise for the election of a Republican President to N Ireland but since the crafty British aided by woolly headed politicians in Dublin had the articles removed the two statelets in Ireland are now clearly foreign to each other. This constitutional mess has been created by Tricolour Republicans and Union Jack Unionists.
To clear up the mess will require new thought and an acceptance that the traditional conservative thinking in both communities will have to change. It is said that the Irish are a very conservative people but to have change both communities will have to become receptive to new ideas and be open minded. Tricolour Republicanism and Union Jack Unionism will have to accept the necessity for the change of U.K. constitution to a Federal Kingdom constitution giving a new constitution for An Éire Nua peopled by Na Gaeil Nua who accept the Crown as Head of State. Clinging to traditional conservative thought on both sides leads only to intercommunal conflict and sectarian division.
Michael Gillespie
The Constitution still rules the election roost.
During the campaigning stage of the election there was the spin that politics here are now about bread and butter issues. This was poppycock. There was a nationalist/Republican green sectarian constitutional vote along with a unionist orange
sectarian constitutional vote. The sectarian constitutional nature of the campaign came to the fore with Tom Elliot’s outburst about a foreign nation when in Omagh. Legal purists may argue using the British Nationality Act1948 and the Irish Act 1949 that Tom is wrong but these acts simply bring the law into line with the reality that the Irish and British people don’t regard each other as alien. But Tom was simply expressing the popular loyalist perception that the Republican Tricolour is the flag of a foreign nation. The Acts noted do nothing to dispel that popular loyalist perception and the Irish Tricolour is as foreign for them as the French and Italian tricolours. Once I had to post a parcel to Dublin and I expressed surprise at the cost. The clerk explained that Dublin is in a foreign country and that was the reason. It costs the same to post a letter to Donegal as to Germany or Moscow so if the Post Office treats the Republic as foreign why shouldn’t Loyalists? The culprits in dividing Ireland into two separate foreign statelets are Republicans not Loyalists. I know Republicans who regard the Queen as foreign and if Martin Maguinness doesn’t why won’t he meet her? All in all the constitutional conflict still rules the roost in Omagh. Tom Elliot has a low opinion of Sinn Fein. There are many like Tom in both communities. In a free country why can’t such people express their opinion? The British/Irish problem is deeply rooted in the Constitution and can only be resolved in a full-blooded reform of U.K. Constitution to a Federal Kingdom Constitution.
Michael Gillespie Derry Federal Unionist-Early Sinn Fein
During the campaigning stage of the election there was the spin that politics here are now about bread and butter issues. This was poppycock. There was a nationalist/Republican green sectarian constitutional vote along with a unionist orange
sectarian constitutional vote. The sectarian constitutional nature of the campaign came to the fore with Tom Elliot’s outburst about a foreign nation when in Omagh. Legal purists may argue using the British Nationality Act1948 and the Irish Act 1949 that Tom is wrong but these acts simply bring the law into line with the reality that the Irish and British people don’t regard each other as alien. But Tom was simply expressing the popular loyalist perception that the Republican Tricolour is the flag of a foreign nation. The Acts noted do nothing to dispel that popular loyalist perception and the Irish Tricolour is as foreign for them as the French and Italian tricolours. Once I had to post a parcel to Dublin and I expressed surprise at the cost. The clerk explained that Dublin is in a foreign country and that was the reason. It costs the same to post a letter to Donegal as to Germany or Moscow so if the Post Office treats the Republic as foreign why shouldn’t Loyalists? The culprits in dividing Ireland into two separate foreign statelets are Republicans not Loyalists. I know Republicans who regard the Queen as foreign and if Martin Maguinness doesn’t why won’t he meet her? All in all the constitutional conflict still rules the roost in Omagh. Tom Elliot has a low opinion of Sinn Fein. There are many like Tom in both communities. In a free country why can’t such people express their opinion? The British/Irish problem is deeply rooted in the Constitution and can only be resolved in a full-blooded reform of U.K. Constitution to a Federal Kingdom Constitution.
Michael Gillespie Derry Federal Unionist-Early Sinn Fein
Loyalist Ireland
Lets Include Protestant Loyalist Ireland.
In the letter 5th March J A Barnwell Dublin quotes Parnell thus: -
“No man has the right to fix the boundaries to the march of a nation.”
History in Ireland has demonstrated these words to be rhetorical bombast. Ireland as it is now constituted is not a nation (and isn’t likely to be) but is comprised of two statelets a 26 county statelet constituted as a Republic and a 6 county statelet constituted as being under the Crown. In this quote from Parnell J A Barnwell is trotting out the outworn shibboleth that Parnell was a Republican. Parnell was a Home Rule constitutional nationalist and if he had been offered a government for Ireland under the Crown he would have grabbed it with both hands. The same could be said of Pearse prior to the lunacy of 1916.
J A Barnwell favours self determination (so do I) but which self is to determine the destiny of Ireland? Is it to be a Catholic Republican self alone? Like all Republicans J A Barnwell has a blind spot when it comes to Protestant Loyalist Ireland. They don’t seem to exist but they do. Has that community not got the same right to determine the destiny of Ireland equal to Catholic Republicans? A hard-nosed politician would concede that they do. Since the Protestant Loyalist community in Ireland should have equal rights in determining the destiny of the nation then the reformed Crown will have to be part of it as Head of State of the Sovereign Nation of all Ireland within a Federal Kingdom. That is pragmatic realism far removed from the Republican dreamland of J A Barnwell in Dublin.
Michael Gillespie
In the letter 5th March J A Barnwell Dublin quotes Parnell thus: -
“No man has the right to fix the boundaries to the march of a nation.”
History in Ireland has demonstrated these words to be rhetorical bombast. Ireland as it is now constituted is not a nation (and isn’t likely to be) but is comprised of two statelets a 26 county statelet constituted as a Republic and a 6 county statelet constituted as being under the Crown. In this quote from Parnell J A Barnwell is trotting out the outworn shibboleth that Parnell was a Republican. Parnell was a Home Rule constitutional nationalist and if he had been offered a government for Ireland under the Crown he would have grabbed it with both hands. The same could be said of Pearse prior to the lunacy of 1916.
J A Barnwell favours self determination (so do I) but which self is to determine the destiny of Ireland? Is it to be a Catholic Republican self alone? Like all Republicans J A Barnwell has a blind spot when it comes to Protestant Loyalist Ireland. They don’t seem to exist but they do. Has that community not got the same right to determine the destiny of Ireland equal to Catholic Republicans? A hard-nosed politician would concede that they do. Since the Protestant Loyalist community in Ireland should have equal rights in determining the destiny of the nation then the reformed Crown will have to be part of it as Head of State of the Sovereign Nation of all Ireland within a Federal Kingdom. That is pragmatic realism far removed from the Republican dreamland of J A Barnwell in Dublin.
Michael Gillespie
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