Never ask a question unless you know the answer first!

I would have loved to have gone to Arbour Hill today to mark the 95th anniversary of the execution of James Connolly but for family reasons I was otherwise detained. I wonder what Connolly would have made of Ireland (well this part of it!) almost a century after his death. Connolly believed strongly in strength and unity. I’m sure he’d weep if he knew that the successor to his ITGWU was being picketed in Wexford by the self-proclaimed successors to Pearse. Many of James Connolly’s family were there at Arbour Hill to see his direct successor as leader of the Irish Left Eamon Gilmore speak today. A century on a lot has changed but a lot remains the same.

Connolly was an able man who showed that it was always necessary to cut a deal so as to protect your interests. No better example than the Wexford lock Out, the centenary of which falls later this year. The object was that the workers would be represented by their own Irish Union in their case the ITGWU. Connolly visited here during the strike, I have a copy of a letter from him in Corporation St Belfast to Richard Corish in Wexford around that time. I showed Nessa Childers MEP the step from where he spoke almost a century ago. Connolly accepted compromise to end the lock out just as he did in Dublin in 1916 to prevent further suffering. He knew that eventually his objectives would be secured. The SF picketers posed the rhetoric question “What would Connolly say?”, Well here’s your likely answer

Wouldn’t it be great if some of those who organised the picket at SIPTU in Wexford actually joined a union and perhaps read up on Connolly’s life? In the re-conquest of Ireland Connolly said “If the old political parties must go so to should the divisions in Labour, we should work to for the obliteration of all divisions in the forces of Labour in the industrial field.” What may surprise some of those who proclaim Connolly as their inspiration is his belief in co-operation for the purpose of common regeneration! He talks about replacing suspicion and mistrust and difference in attitude between those who claim pity and those who are strong and self -reliant to enforce respect. Connolly was also critical of the gombeen men and their kind with their loud mouthed assertions of patriotism. The Re-conquest of Ireland was published over 100 years ago but is as relevant for the days we live in now as it was back then.

The logical follow on seems to me that perhaps its time to stop wallowing in misery and start uniting behind a policy? The backdrop to the lumpen detachment of Mayday are reports of children arriving hungry in school while parents cook by candle light in homes that are the subject of repossession cases at courts. Earlier this month the Master of the High Court criticised banks for pressurising some of their customers over repayments which in some cases were contributory factors in suicide.


Strikes me that James would have very little time for those in Wexford who used Mayday as a self seeking publicity stunt. Perhaps they would have been better off coming up with an alternative that would contribute to getting our country out of the mess it was left by the wealthy insiders, the sort of person who a century ago kept the country in penury. A century on a lot has changed but a lot stays the same.

Protests at Wexford Railway station

I was asked what I was doing by a councillor today outside O’Hanrahan Railway station in Wexford today as I stood with a placard on my shoulder. I explained that I was taking my placard for a walk! It was a beautiful Spring day in the south east, typically sunny.
So as we set off picketing we got support, waves and beeps of horns from well-wishers. The mood of the protest was humorous as we blew our train whistle and chanted, Rail against Closure! Save Our Train!
When the train came in we went to the side wall and blew and cheered until it was ready to depart. Then we stopped blowing as the guard waved his green flag and off they went. Over 30 people attended and that was good for a start. Next Tuesday we’re off to Bridgetown to protest as the evening train arrives.

I joked to a woman that with school restarting a good project for a few students in woodwork would be a coffin painted in the IE corporate colours for when we eventually take our protest to Waterford! Or maybe it wasn’t a joke?

All 4 provinces head to Leinster House for education cuts demo

Molesworth St was chock a block last night as thousands of parents, teachers, and some pupils gathered to vent their frustration and indeed anger at the budget cuts that Minister Batt O’Keeffe is determined to roll out in schools around the country. The demonstration was organised to coincide with Labour’s motion condemning the cuts most notably the impact on Pupil Teacher Ratio, the disadvantaged and special needs education. The meeting was addressed by the leaders of teacher unions, patrons and parents associations, as well as Labour leader Eamon Gilmore and Fine Gael’s Education Spokesperson Brian Hayes.

Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe is determined to press ahead full in the knowledge that the greens are on board despite their agreement prior to entering government to increase the spending on tackling disadvantage and reduce further the PTR. It is clear that FF & the Greens have the numbers to see off the opposition and will hang together rather than hang separately. As a teacher I take exception to the minister claiming that teacher unions are hysterical and scare mongering of the highest order. The facts are that school bus fees will rise to €300 per annum, Education for Special needs will be ignored and that English teachers will be limited to 2 maximum. Add to that the cuts in funding for LCVP, LCAP and Transition Year and the ban on substitution for colleagues absent on school business. This farcical plan will mean teacher reps unable to attend VEC meetings. I’ve already refunded money to 2 classes who had hoped to travel to a college laboratory in January. The suggestion that its only going back to 2007 is ludicrous, I remember 2007 very well, it was the year my soccer team won the Wexford Wicklow League Cup, in 2009 there will be no such competition, there'll be n soccer team. It is teams like this that make school tolerable for some pupils. when I go to watch Wexford Youths I take pride at how many ex-pupils play in the League of Ireland.

However the motion will further embarrass the Greens and FF. It is clear that next week will see farmers outside the Dail and this is a group that is well organised and will get a similar number to the gates of the Dail. In the back ground there’s also the possibility of protests by the disabled and I get the idea that for weeks to come the budget cuts will be a hot issue. Once Christmas is over and the fiscal position tightens even further as the banks call in the guarantee scheme and unemployment rises, I believe a supplementary budget is inevitable. Lets be clear it’s going to be like this all the way to the local elections in June. All the bluster about greens pulling out is just that, aimed at shoring up what’s left of their credibility.

Ask yourself this, if there was a general election and the greens succeeded in holding a number of seats who’d take them serious in any negotiations to form a government? Could you keep a straight face if sent to negotiate with Paul Gogarty? That may be in the future but what’s certain is that in the short term the issues that brought about 12,000 people onto the streets last night persist.

I was delighted to see a good representation from Co Wexford. The piece of video shows a number of parents from North Wexford marching immediately outside Leinster House. It was good to meet so many Labour colleagues; Cllr’s Michael Conaghan, Aodhán Ó Riordáin, Seán Ó HArgáin, Ged Nash and soon to be Cllr Maria Parodi as well as Roisin Shorthall, Eamon Gilmore, Ciaran Lynch and Michael D. Fianna Fail and The Greens may have inadvertently brought back to the Irish people a sense of community and collective concern. I wondered for an hour or 2 on budget day if Ireland had lost its sense of outrage as a result of economic affluence. Thankfully I was wrong. I’m barely audible with the noise from the demonstration. You can listen by clicking, unfortunately the FF & Green government is not for listening. On another note, I was pleasantly surprised as I drove up to Dublin to see that the hills around north Wicklow had a covering of snow. I'm dreaming of a white Halloween !