Vincent [Visitor] in response to: Hunger Striker Profile 2: Francis Hughes

Vincent [Visitor] — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 19:32:00 +0000

One part of Hughes history which many of his admirers always forget to mention is , that he was also a robber theif. Hughes and his brother Roger (now deceased) once stole a huge sum of money from their own father Joe. It was just approx two yeara or so before they left Clady school. The father like many in those days was a small farmer of sorts, and when he sold his livestock at local markets , he was paid in cash as was the case then, and like most farmers also then kept their money in safe places in the home. Hughes and his brother by chance found his secret hideing place, and started to take regular amounts from the stash. They were quite popular with the other youth of the area as they were always flush with money . The theft went on for months , with the father not checking his stash but simply adding to it with more from his lvestock sales. After approx 9 months or so their luck ran out. Their father Joe finally noticed that much of his cash was missing. He called in the local police , and great suspicion was cast upon several near neighbours. The police quickly establihed the two culprits and suddnely its was brushed under the carpet. Its is said locally that Joe their father never forgave particulary Roger as he was a year older than Francis. Roger soon left school and headed of to England were he resided untill his death several years ago. Most local are aware of this unsavoury event in Francis Hughes history but only speak about in hused tones as it were. Just thought it was time the record on Francis Hughes included this unspoken or unwritten part of his life.

irishmark [Member] in response to: Hunger Striker Profile 2: Francis Hughes

irishmark [Member] — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:04:29 +0000

Beano, I know you are a unionist, and that I respect. But as a dual citizen of Ireland and America, and a great love of the whole of Ireland I do have, I regard you as a fellow countryman with just as much rights to the island as I have now or ever will. So that said, I see you have a good deal of disdain for the hungerstrikers. You say that people should consider there so called "crimes". But let me ask you this, what if the situation were reversed? What if it were Loyalists carrying on a struggle against the Irish government being treated the same way the Republican prisoners were being treated by the pro-british staff at the maze? How would you think of them then? Would you regard them the same as Republicans regard the 10 now? If so, then ok, I can have a better understanding of your point of view in that since. Bobby Sands had the largest non-state funeral in Irish history. My great uncle attended his funeral. In comparison, I cant think of a Loyalist/unionist that ever received the same Honor in comparison. If there is one, than I would rest my case. It was five basic demands my friend, the same ones the loyalist prisoners deserved just as much. But our difference of oppinion doesnt have to interfere with the mutual respect I possess for you or anyone else with Irish connections. I would like for you to consider and look at the movement I advocate called "Eire Nua". I think it would work well for unionists in a United free, and sovereign Ireland and would depose any fears they would have of being absorbed. I just dont see why one country has to rule another and believe me I feel the exact same way about American occupation of smaller countries as well. I post now the breakdown of Eire Nua as follows:

NATIONAL IRISH
FREEDOM COMMITTEE
presents
Eire Nua
a
New Beginning

Contents
,, Introduction – The Irish Nation
,, Eire Nua Background
,, The Proposed Eire Nua Constitution
,, Implementation of the Eire Nua Program
,, Eire Nua versus the Good Friday
Agreement
,, The U.S Visa Denial Ploy
,, Stakeholders
,, A New Beginning

Introduction
The Irish Nation

Historical Facts
• Through 1169 - united under the Ard-Ri (High
King) and the provincial kings of Ulster,
Leinster, Munster and Connacht.
• 1169 to 1922 – occupied and under the control
of Norman, English and later British forces.
• 1922 to the present - partitioned by Britain into
two sectarian states, The 6-county Northern
Ireland State, and the 26-county Irish State.

The Partitioned Irish Nation
• The British government ignored the results of the
general election of 1918 wherein the people of
Ireland as a whole voted for a slate of
candidates advocating a free and united Ireland
• The six-county Northern Ireland State was
created by the Government of Ireland Act of
1920. This act by the British parliament was the
first step in partitioning Ireland into two
sectarian states.
• The Irish Free State was created by the Anglo-
Irish Treaty of 1921. This British treaty, imposed
on the remaining twenty-six counties, copperfastened
the partition of the Irish nation.

A divided Ireland resulted in civil war, ethnic
cleansing, sectarian murders, emigration, poverty
and economic stagnation.
• Draconian laws including non-jury courts,
internment without trial, special military tribunals,
secret police and military units, and censorship
have been used in both states to silence
opponents.
• In 1978, the British government was found guilty
of human rights violations by the European Court
of Human Rights.
• The Irish 26-county government was reprimand
by the European Court of Human Rights for their
use of repressive measures against its citizens.

Eire Nua Background

What is Eire Nua?
,, Eire Nua (New Ireland) would replace the
present political entities and governing
administrations created by the British
partition of Ireland
,, Eire Nua would incorporate the four historic
provinces of Ireland into an all-Ireland
Federal Republic

The Historic Basis
,, The four historic provinces of Ireland are
Connacht, Munster, Ulster and Leinster. The
origin of the provinces predate Christian Ireland
,, The significance of the provinces lies in their
diverse culture, economic and historic identities
that are still evident and important in Irish life
today.

The Proposed Constitution

Bill of Rights
,, Would recognize the fundamental dignity and
importance of the individual with a basic right
to be treated as a unique and inviolable human
being.
,, Guarantee the right to life, liberty and security
of person.
,, Guarantee the rights of citizenship, civil rights,
equal rights, workers rights and equal
protection under the law.

Proposed Government
Structures
,, Would provide for a federation of the four
historic provinces of Ireland under the
coordination of a national government.
,, The devolution of powers through provincial
governments to local councils.
,, Citizen participation in their own governance
at all levels of government.

An Independent Judiciary
,, Ensure that the Supreme court as guardians of
the constitution would guarantee judicial
safeguards including the power of judicial
review.
,, Ensure that the government would not
circumvent the constitution for political or other
reasons.
,, Ensure that the court of law would remains a
neutral arena and that verdicts would be based
on all the evidence and rendered by a jury of
peers

Separation of Church and State
,, Prohibit the State from supporting, promoting
or granting special status to any religion
,, Guarantee the right to hold any or no religious
beliefs without prejudice in either the public or
private arena
,, Guarantee that religious morality would not be
legislated to the detriment of non-conformists
or others with differing values

The Implementation
of
Eire Nua

Constituent Assembly
,, The sole function of the Constituent assembly
would be to draft a new Constitution.
,, The Constituent Assembly would be representative
of the whole people of Ireland and would be
elected by the suffrage of the adult population.
,, The draft Constitution would be submitted to the
people in referendum for ratification.
,, The ratified document would become the
fundamental law of the land.

British Withdrawal
,, A commitment by the British government to
withdraw from Ireland after the Irish people have
adopted a new Constitution.
,, A cessation of hostilities coupled with a return to
barracks of all military personnel.
,, A commitment by the British government to
remove all its military hardware.
,, A commitment by the British government not to
arm pro-British para-military organizations during
the withdrawal process.

Release of Political Prisoners
,, Individuals imprisoned for purely political
reasons in Ireland, England, Scotland and
Wales would be freed unconditionally.
,, For individuals imprisoned elsewhere, a
representation would be made for their
release as a gesture of goodwill and
friendship.
,, For individuals who engaged in sectarian
killings or who choose innocent civilians as
their primary target, their cases would be
subject to judicial review to determine their
status.

Eire Nua
versus
the Good Friday Agreement

The Eire Nua Initiative
• Eire Nua is a political initiative that provides for
the reunification of Ireland in the context of a
British withdrawal from the occupied six counties
of Ulster.
• Eire Nua provides for an all-Ireland Federal
Republic incorporating the four historic provinces
of Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connacht
• Eire Nua provides for new government structures
to replace the existing Irish 26-county
government and the Northern Ireland 6-county
government created by the British to administer
the partition of Ireland.

The Good Friday Agreement
• The GFA is a restatement of the Government
of Ireland Act of 1920 which annexed six Irish
counties into the United Kingdom.
• The centerpiece of the Agreement, the power
sharing executive is a compilation of earlier
failed Agreements repackaged in frilly English
lace.
• The GFA allows the British to retain
sovereignty over six Irish counties and
required the Irish government to relinquish all
constitutional claims to these six Irish
counties.

The U.S. Visa Denial
Ploy

The U.S Government’s Visa Ploy
• The U.S. government’s visa policy as applied to
Irish political activists is based on their stance
with respect to British initiated ‘peace
arrangements’ for the occupied six counties of
Ulster.
• Activists who support British initiated ‘peace
initiatives’ are granted visas, those who oppose
and offer competing solutions are denied visas.
• This U.S. government’s visa ploy has been in
effect for the past 25 years. Since the unveiling
of the GFA more Eire Nua proponents have
been added to the list.

The Consequences of Visa Denials
to Proponents of Eire Nua
• Since 1974, visas have been denied to expert
proponents of the Eire Nua peace formula to enter
the United States to explain its provisions to the
American people.
• This U.S. government’s policy denies the American
people an opportunity to compare the Eire Nua
peace formula to the British arranged Good Friday
Agreement (GFA).
• The suppression of the Eire Nua peace formula
leaves the American people with the impression
that there is no viable alternative to the British
arranged GFA.

Stakeholders

The British Government
• Amongst other reasons the British government fears
that a withdrawal from Ireland would precipitate the
break-up of the United Kingdom of England,
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• The British realize that Eire Nua is a comprehensive
Irish authored initiative for peace based on a British
withdrawal from the occupied six counties of Ireland
• The British oppose the promotion of the Eire Nua
initiative in America by RSF representatives whom
they fear would pose a serious threat to their public
relations campaign that touts their ‘peace-keeping’
role.

The 26-County Irish Government
• The 26-county Dublin government’s role is to
maintain the status quo i.e. the partition of
Ireland, an arrangement that has served and
enriched its leading politicians since 1922.
• The Dublin government fears and opposes Eire
Nua because it provides for the maximum
devolution of power to provincial and local levels
in a united Ireland, thus, eliminating their center
of power in Leinster House.
• The Dublin government supports the GFA
because it maintains the status quo and opposes
Eire Nua and would replace their corrupt system
of government.

The 6-county Government
• The 6-county (Stormont) government’s role, not
unlike that of the 26-county government, is to
maintain the status quo, i.e. the partition of
Ireland, a power arrangement that has served
and enriched its leading politicians since 1920.
• The Stormont government support the GFA
because it guarantees and protects the status
quo.
• The Stormont government vehemently oppose
any other solution, i.e. Eire Nua, that would
replace their sectarian and repressive form of
government.

A New Beginning

,, The National Irish Freedom Committee believe
that the Eire Nua program is based on sound
and honorable principles incorporating fair and
realistic plans to achieve national unity within
the framework of an independent Irish
Republic.
,, The NIFC further believe that Eire Nua will
guarantee all of Ireland’s people true freedom,
a home for its children and a new beginning.

beano [Member] in response to: Hunger Striker Profile 2: Francis Hughes

beano [Member] — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 20:23:32 +0000

It doesn't matter if you disagree, the man chose to kill himself by refusing to eat. Whatever reasons, real or imagined, he had for doing that do not alter that fact.

If people insist on remembering these guys, fine, but let's remember everything (like their crimes maybe?) and not be selective.

Seamus McManus [Visitor] in response to: Hunger Striker Profile 2: Francis Hughes

Seamus McManus [Visitor] — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 04:12:57 +0000

Thanks for remembering Francis, but as you describe Francis as suicide on the 12th of May I disagree, Irish tradition calls for killing ,by the crown forces due to unacceptance of ten men who would not have been put in the situation ,if invasion and oppression had not taken place.

Paul [Visitor] in response to: Hunger Striker Profile 2: Francis Hughes

Paul [Visitor] — Sat, 20 May 2006 06:06:40 +0000

Thank you for remembering Francis Hughes. Your eulogy for a true hero will live with me forever.

Everything Ulster - Latest comments on Hunger Striker Profile 2: Francis Hughes

Vincent [Visitor] in response to: Hunger Striker Profile 2: Francis Hughes

irishmark [Member] in response to: Hunger Striker Profile 2: Francis Hughes

beano [Member] in response to: Hunger Striker Profile 2: Francis Hughes

Seamus McManus [Visitor] in response to: Hunger Striker Profile 2: Francis Hughes

Paul [Visitor] in response to: Hunger Striker Profile 2: Francis Hughes