A Tangled Web

All Mouth and No Trousers



The title of this blog represents part of a common Yorkshire saying. I'm including it today because 5 million Yorkshiremen the length and breadth of the county are celebrating 'Yorkshire Day.' I also thought it would be a suitable heading for the gibberish published in The Blanket by Paddy Lismore. Even by the standards of that woeful rag, Lismore's barely-concealed emotional outburst masquerading (very poorly) as respectable journalism leaves a lot to be desired.



Articles by republicans usually follow a particular pattern, and this codswallop is no exception. First off, we have the usual contortion of historical facts tailored to republican sensibilities and the fuelling of nationalist 'Oirish' MOPEry. We then have a number of inaccurate stereotypes levelled at the broad pro-Union community. Finally, Lismore exhorts republicans in the 'Free State' to begin putting in place the mechanisms designed to bring about a 'united Ireland' (IRA-lovers of the world unite!!).



Nationalists always forget to tell us, of course, that Ireland was never a 'united' piece of territory except when its was - in its entirety - a part of the United Kingdom. 'United' nations are held together not only by a commonly recognised form of governance, but by historical, cultural , political and social sentiment. Given that Ireland has never experienced any of these commonalities for something in the region of 2000 years, I have yet to see how a 'united' territory can emerge. The term 'united' additionally implies the coming together of two territories as equals. But, as we all know, the concept of 'equality' in this scenario is way off the Richter Scale. To Irish separatism, a 'united Ireland' means a take-over of Northern Ireland by the Republic; the consequent subsumption of Ulster British culture; and the enforcement of an Irish ethos on 1 million people who do not, cannot, and will not, subscribe to that same ethos.



Is Lismore actually advocating ignoring all tracts of domestic Irish, British, European and international law to create a Catholic, Gaelic Nirvana? Does he really believe people should not 'abide by international treaties' signed by the governments they elected? I believe a person of Yugoslavian origin had the same opinions: he was called Slobodan Milosevic. Should Lismore's aspirations come to pass, we might very well see the island of Ireland reduced to the killing fields witnessed in the Balkans throughout the 1990's. Advocating the same territorial desires as those of a Serbian fascist speaks volumes about the sick nature which underpins so much Irish republican discourse. Moreoever, Lismore's unwillingness to project his revolutionary principles beyond the end of his pen, indicates a man more adept at writing than fighting.