A Letter from Ireland
a Chara,
Greetings from Ireland. I am home after a week of events in Nashville, Cincinnati, and Chicago. While the focus was on Irish Unity, we also had the opportunity to learn more about the cities, their histories, and people.
The civil rights history of Fisk University in Nashville and the Underground Railway Museum in Cincinnati are inspiring examples of the power of people to stand against injustice.
Both Cincinnati and Chicago hosted Irish Unity Commissions in Irish Centres that had previously been schools. The halls and former classrooms had been repurposed, echoing with the sound of Irish music and dance. Their walls held the proud histories of Ireland and Irish America. Books on Ireland filled the shelves around tables at which tea, craic, and stories were shared. Both centers were a credit to the community and the role of the Irish in America.
In Chicago, we visited the site of the Haymarket Massacre from May 4th, 1886. It was to be a peaceful gathering by workers to secure an eight-hour working day. An unknown assailant threw a bomb, and the police returned fire. By the end of the day, seven police officers and four protestors were killed. Following the killing, eight anarchists were convicted of the attack, four were hanged, and one died by suicide. Subsequently, the trial was heavily criticized, leading to the Governor pardoning the three living defendants. Support for these accused came from across the world, including Irish writers Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw. The May Day workers’ holiday celebrated across the world marks these events in Chicago
It was fitting that the histories of the civil and workers’ rights campaigns and Irish Unity came together in Chicago. In Union Park, a statue of James Connolly stands proud. Connolly was a labor leader in the city. He stood against injustice and on the side of workers and marginalized communities. On returning to Ireland he became the military commander of the Irish Volunteers during the Easter Rising. Although fatally wounded, days later he was tied to a chair and executed by a British firing squad.
Standing at the foot of his statue in Chicago I was thinking of Connolly and his writings. A quote came to me that I had not thought about in years, “We believe in constitutional action in normal times; we believe in revolutionary action in exceptional times.”
The second part of the quote had been a searing call to arms during a time of conflict. But we now live in a time in which the Good Friday Agreement was passed by 72% in the North and 94% in the South. The Agreement by any measure is the will of the vast majority of the people of Ireland.
It provides for unity referendums North and South and a peaceful pathway to the republic for which Connolly gave his life. The opportunities we enjoy were denied to Connolly. Now is the time for constitutional action he recommended.
Have a great weekend
Ciarán
Ciarán Quinn is the Sinn Féin Representative to North America. Each week he writes a letter from Ireland with news and analysis. It is featured in the weekly Friends of Sinn Féin USA Newsletter. Be sure you are subscribed to stay up to date.
