Let's see, where to begin...
We have all seen a pronounced change in the ANC since becomeing ligit. I dearly love our brother Nelson Mandela, but remember when he was a COmmunist? Funny how easy it is to become a politician after being a freedom fighter, and if you think the Provos committed untinkable acts, you have not studdied the tactics of the ANC. Now, unlike others on this site, who in other posts concidered the ANC victemisers who ended a reasonable governemnt and brought anarchy, I feel the ANC was created by the barbarity of the South African government. However, it seems the ANC is now being shaped by diplomacy, conformity is the begining of the greatest evils, read Hanna Errant.
Yes this is a folk music site. Folk music is the voice of the working class, and as such, in order to be good little folk singers, we have to be informed (to the poster who wonders why we are disscussing this). For the same reason, though I think Conrad the Peasant often makes disingenuous arguments, I think he plays a real role in making those of us who play in the Irish tradition better informed musicians.
Now as to the lack of support in the free state, that is a very interesting process, which several scholars have traced varrious reasons for, including the role Finna Fail played in funding the split in the IRA, not because they were repblican, but for the concession that the Provos split with Cathal Goulding's direction in Dublin. One has to do a huge dance around history, to see a difference between the IRA of the 1970's and the 1913-21 period which brought an end to Irish people being west british, Now, that is not a problem for a lot of people with Irish passports today, who would be happy to be subjects rather than citizens. But that is because, unlike northern catholics, they don't inherit 90% unemployment and searches in the middle of the night by violent troops, or arrest without warrent or trial or the torture in the jails or all the miriad of other disgraces which brought about the IRA in the first place. England created the IRA in the forges of Long Kesh, in the same way the South African aparthide government created the ANC. Now, with the entry onto the world political stage, I agree with Burnadette Devlin McCaulisky, we are going to see the same kind of 180 degree shift in direction by once worker's leadership in Irish Republicanism.
I never met an IRA or INLA volunteer who "wanted to be a war hero". However, I never met one who wanted to fight for nationalist reasons alone, in every case, like Joe Doherty, the O'Hara brothers, Bobby Sands, their inspiration to insurection was torture in a british cell after the non-violent movement for basic rights was first destroyed by loyalist vilence, and in the face of violence in support of loyalist violence by the RUC, the IRA rearmed to defend their communities against roiting cops as in the battle of Bogside. I remember a north Irish journalist watching police ransaking houses in Derry, stopping himself when he picked up the phone to call for help - who do you call when it is the police destroying your neighborhood?
To bring it back to music, "only the very safe can talk about wrong or right. WHen forced to chose, some will chose to fight."
For you in the free state who shake your head at the IRA and say, what evil fellows. Where would you have stood when the British army burned cork? The difference is it is not in your back yard today.
We all, all ... even Brendy and I, have every day to look into our hearts at the same time as looking into the facts and examine the past to make a new future.
Let's keep it polite here though, we have a great luxury to be able to disscuss things in this community of caring folks, who, at the end of the day can share music together.
Slan
Is mise, LE MEAS!
Larry