Léim an Mhadaidh

BBC is reporting that there is a row in Limavady Council over bilingual uniforms – Irish/English – for staff. Apparently, some employees are unhappy with Irish being on the uniform. UUP are saying that council should drop its Irish-language policy while SF are saying it is a matter of equality.

It goes without saying that the Irish-language debate is one of the most poisonous that there is – trust me on this one. However, Limavady is, syllable for syllable, Irish. Rendering it as Léim an Mhadaidh on uniforms simply recognises the original spelling. I can understand why some staff might be reluctant to identify with the Irish language but surely a small logo will do no harm to anyone?

Perhaps, those on the council who support Irish could go an extra inch and have a logo that says: Limavady/Léim an Mhadaidh/Leap of the Dog. According to Patrick McKay’s A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names, the origin of the name lie “in a legend about a dog belonging to a chieftain of the O’Kanes (O’Cahans) which jumped a steep gorge of the river Roe carrying a message of danger to the O’Cahan castle…” Would there be enough in that to show that there is no hostile content in the Irish?

Anyway, I wish I could offer some valuable insight but am just totally and utterly depressed by the whole thing.

Fianna Fáil will fight on

I suspect that talk of a Fianna Fáil meltdown will prove wide off the mark should there be a general election in the Republic. One of the things that has struck me about FF members is their total and utter loyalty to the party. In fact, they make some SF loyalists seem sensible! Remember that FF likes to describe itself as a national movement and they alone have supporters throughout every social class in the Republic. Times are undoubtedly hard for them at the moment – and rightly so – but they are the most formidable and effective party that the 32 counties have ever seen. They may take a hiding in the media and at the polls but they will not be beaten into oblivion. There is a saying in Irish: is doiligh drochrud a mharú/it is hard to kill a bad thing. Is doiligh Fianna Fáil a mharú!

Sinn Féin - the glass is not broken

More than enough has been written about last week’s SF ardfheis, so I will note only this. I don’t think Gerry Adams has a clue when it comes to promoting his party – and it is his party – in the Republic. In my experience Southerners become very irked when being told what to do by Northerners. Partition has wrought its own damage over 80 years and the last 30 years of conflict have added to that estrangement. Appointing Mary Lou McDonald as vice-president makes little sense to me as she simply lacks the populist touch that Southerners like in their politicians and, given that she could not secure a seat in the Dáil last time out, strikes me as a bit desperate.

That is not to say that they are finished; the glass may be half full or half empty, depending on your point of view, but the glass is not broken at the very least. They have enough money and discipline to keep themselves relevant but it will be a case of swings and roundabouts for the foreseeable future. I think Pearse Doherty will yet win a seat in Donegal for the Dáil. I heard, anecdotally, that one FF TD in Donegal was texting everyone in a panic during the last general election that he was in trouble and needed their votes.

Doherty could – like FG’s Joe McHugh in the neighbouring Donegal dáilcheantar – see himself elected next time out. McHugh used his time in the Senate very wisely and got himself into the Dáil very handily; Doherty is doing the same. (And don't forget Doherty was given support by the Labour Party in his bid for that Senate seat which leaves the door very, very, very partially ajar for future co-operation.) That said, there will be no breakthrough on a grand scale for SF and they will have to fight for every vote. Nonetheless, a handful of seats in the Republic will still be worth much more than a handful of Westminster seats.

Also, I noticed that SF are running a former student of mine, Tomás Ó Searcaigh, as one of their EU candidates. Tomás is a councillor in Dundalk and I taught him Irish during my very brief career as a teaching assistant at QUB. He is bright, articulate, intelligent and good humoured. In short, he would be an asset to any party. Watch out for the name – he is just the kind of candidate who could swing more people behind SF in the Republic.

Unimpressive Ulster Unionists RIP

I am totally and utterly unimpressed by the Ulster Unionist-Conservative tie-in: Ulster Conservative and Unionists - New Force. I think that it is only a matter of time before the whole UU enterprise goes belly-up. I just can’t see this challenging the DUP’s appeal to regional identity and their version of Britishness amongst unionist voters. While I am unimpressed with the politics of the move, I am equally unimpressed with the name. No party in the North should have the word ‘force’ in its name. We have had more than enough of that.

Have to admit to that I am very anti-Conservative too but that might be a hang over from watching Lindsay Duncan in BBC2’s drama, Margaret, last night. Being reminded of the whole Thatcher nightmare was bad enough but, equally worse, was to be reminded of just how vile the Conservative party are. Seriously, who wants to vote for these people – even the ‘modern’ version?

Anyway, UUP RIP is the message for today.

Always Midnight, never dawn

Mourid Barghouti is a Palestinian poet, long exiled from the land of his birth, and currently living in Cairo. His latest collection, Midnight and Other Poems (Arc Publications), is a fine work that deserves a wide readership. (The book also includes an essay on the author’s life and circumstances, a handy introduction for those who may not be familiar with Barghouti’s memoir, I Saw Ramallah.)

Midnight is a long, moving poem but not an arduous read. The blurb describes it as a “montage of images of the land of his birth and the strong emotional responses to which these images give rise” and it is one of the most accomplished poems I have ever read. Lines jump out at the reader, images so strong, stark and moving that they almost induce vertigo:

Your heart has stopped
yet the earth beneath you pulses.

Your blood now circulates
outside the confines of your body.

Or when a house is destroyed by the Israeli army:

My grandfather’s cloak gets hooked
on the bulldozer’s teeth.

Midnight is astounding in its ability to shift the reader from one scene to the next while ensuring that the narrative effect of the work is not lost. The shorter poems too are filled with heart-wrenching moments depicting the plight of Palestinians. Barghouti writes that:

Death
stays up, active
for our sake.

In It’s Also Fine, he writes:

It’s also fine to die in our beds
on a clean pillow
and among our friends.

Nor does he shirk the difficulties of being a writer living under the wary eye of Arab governments in Interpretations:

A poet sits in a coffee shop, writing.
The old lady
thinks he is writing a letter to his mother,
the young woman
thinks he is writing a letter to his girlfriend,
the child
thinks he is drawing,
the businessman
thinks he is considering a deal
the tourist
thinks he is writing a postcard,
the employee
thinks he is calculating his debts.
The secret policeman
walks, slowly, towards him.

Dual - to twine, braid, interlace or coil

I doubt that cultural cross-Border pollination comes any sweeter than the wonderful sounds to be found on Dual (Machair Records), the new album by Éamon Doorley, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, Julie Fowlis and Ross Martin. Dual is Scotland and Ireland at its musical best; its two countries speaking the one language of song. The notes on the cd state: “Dual in Scottish Gaelic and Irish means to twine, braid, interlace or coil. It also means one’s inheritance.”

None of the artists need any introduction to lovers of traditional music. Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh’s work with Danú speaks for itself and for those unfamiliar with traditional singing in Scots Gaelic, Fowlis is one of the best and most exciting voices to emerge from that scene.

The album is a collection of traditional songs and tunes from Ireland and Scotland and it is impossible to praise it enough. Do not be put off if you don’t speak Irish or Scots Gaelic. I don’t speak Scots Gaelic either but have Fowlis’ albums (available easily on Amazon) and there are just wonderful to listen to. The sleeve notes and the emotion she generates in her singing is more than enough to let you know what is happening. In fact, come to think of it, I don’t speak Italian but it doesn’t stop me loving Madama Butterfly and I don’t speak Portuguese but I would be lost without Mariza and her fado singing.

So, jump in and buy Dual. The aficionado will love it for its depth, range and innovation and, if you are new to traditional music, it will be love at first hearing.

Mol an óige and they will make music!

Comhar values

For the past few months, I have been acting as Interim Editor of the monthly magazine, Comhar (pronounced ‘core’). It is actually the second time I have edited the journal which has been on the go for over 60 years and deals mainly in current affairs and literature. I have to say that I am thoroughly enjoying the experience. The February issue is now out and I have started working on March’s edition. (Yes, there is no rest for the wicked.)

There are a number of things that have struck me about the magazine. The amount of good will that there is towards Comhar has been humbling. There is no doubt – without sounding like a total hippie – that Comhar has captured some sort of energy and its spirit simply refuses to die. People have been more than happy to contribute and the range of material available has been first class. Certainly, the number of talented young writers is very heartening and it seems that the printed word has not entirely lost its attraction to the Facebook generation. In addition, more established writers have not been found wanting and are giving the whole enterprise a little gravitas and name recognition. I can’t thank the various writers enough for their support and, while they have done so much to put the magazine back on track, there remains much work to do.

Certainly, Comhar has the chance to regain its place as a very significant forum for contemporary writing in Irish and complement the work that is being done by the weekly newspaper Foinse and the monthly internet mag Beo! There is certainly a niche there for Comhar – material that is too long for a newspaper or that does not make for easy reading on the Internet but which can, over the proverbial cup of coffee, provide the reader with something substantial.

Of course, reading this on the Internet you might be tempted to try and read Comhar on-line. You won’t be able to at the moment as we have not established an on-line presence and still rely on subscribers and shop sales. That said, the designer, Ciarán Ó Súilleabháin, has done a great job in making the printed artefact very attractive to the eye. It may be old-fashioned to admit it but there is something comforting about actually holding a magazine in your hands as opposed to simply viewing it on-line. Still, Comhar will develop an on-line presence at some stage and the board's magazine are talking about it.

In the meantime, if you are passing Waterstone’s in Belfast or Eason’s in Dublin, the magazine should be available. The current issue has Monsignor Réamonn Ó Muireadhaigh (Raymond Murray) writing on Colombia; editor of Foinse, Seán Tadhg Ó Gairbhí on his experiences in Washington DC the day Barack Obama became president; Gabriel Rosenstock’s wry look at what is happening on Mother Earth; a review of Seán Mac Mathúna’s Hula Hul by critic Fionntán de Brún and regular columnists, Rachel Ní Fhionnáin and Mícheál Ó Ruairc.

Don’t be shy about getting some old-fashioned ink on your fingers. It won’t do you any harm and Comhar would be grateful for the support.

Bí ag léamh.

Chatting With A Terrorist

It was revealed at the Billy Wright Inquiry today that slain loyalist terrorist Billy Wright paid a visit in the early 1990s to 'Reverend' William McCrea to say that he believed he was going to be killed by the state. Mr McCrea later shared a stage with the loyalist leader.

Surely Mr McCrea has some explaining to do. What was he doing chatting to Billy Wright? The DUP's unique selling point for many years was their apparent opposition to terrorism, yet we find that one of its senior figures was talking to this scumbag. Would he have got into a conversation with an IRA or INLA man at the time? I doubt it. So why would he speak to Billy Wright? Indeed, why would he share a stage with him at the height of his killing spree?

Answers on the back of an election communication postcard please.