Impala Publishers Blog Page

Site traffic in December 2011 and Year 2011, by James O'Fee

nospam@example.com (James O'Fee) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 18:14:15 +0100

In December 2011 there were 102,308 Unique Visits to the Impala Publications blog, an average of 3,300 visits per day, rounded to 3.3 thousand. That compares with 2.4 thousand in the previous December, December 2010.

No comment.

Site traffic 2011 (2010 in brackets)
daily average in thousand Unique Visits

January 2.0 (2.6)
February 2.1 (2.7)
March 2.3 (2.9)

April 2.4 (3.2)
May 2.3 (3.4)
June 2.2 (3.5)

July 2.7 (2.8 )
August 3.1 (2.8 )
September 2.9 (2.6)

October 2.8 (2.7)
November 2.9 (2.2)
December 3.3 (2.4)

Blog Link

Site traffic in October 2011, Thursday, November 3. 2011

The Impala Publications blog is moving 6, by James O'Fee

nospam@example.com (James O'Fee) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 15:49:40 +0100

We have run out of space on this site and can no longer load photographs and images.

Consequently we are moving to

http://blog.impalapublications.com/

which our Web adminstrator thinks will be much improved and hopefully better. But please give us a little time to become accustomed to the new site.

There will be a transitional period during which Dr Ian Adamson OBE, High Sheriff of Belfast, will be posting on the original site (here) while I (James O'Fee) will be posting on the new site and becoming more familiar with its possibilities.

Blog Editor

€
ä ö ü Ä Ë Ö Ü ß ê î Î â Â ă Ă Ş Ţ Ç Ñ ş šŠ ţ ç Á É Í Ó Ú á é í ó ú À à è Ő ő ű ñ ï ë Ł źž ¡ ć ï æ û þ ð
Αα Ββ Γγ Δδ Εε Ζζ Ηη Θθ Ιι Κκ Λλ Μμ Νν Ξξ Οο Ππ Ρρ Σσς Ττ Υυ Φφ Χχ Ψψ Ωω ᾲ ᾴ ῂ ῄ ὶ ί ῦ ώ ύ

Valēte!, by Dr Ian Adamson OBE

nospam@example.com (Ian Adamson OBE) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:47:38 +0100

With the conclusion of my posts on The Posse Comitatus, I will no longer be posting on this site. I will continue to post and archive my material on my own site at
http://blog.ianadamson.net/ and link and post to the new impala publications site.. Ian Adamson

The Posse Comitatus 15, by Dr Ian Adamson OBE

nospam@example.com (Ian Adamson OBE) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 09:52:18 +0100

The Posse Comitatus 14, by Dr Ian Adamson OBE

nospam@example.com (Ian Adamson OBE) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 13:00:06 +0100

The Impala Publications blog is moving 5, by James O'Fee

nospam@example.com (James O'Fee) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 11:24:16 +0100

The Posse Comitatus 13, by Dr Ian Adamson OBE

nospam@example.com (Ian Adamson OBE) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 22:08:40 +0100

Northern Ireland Peace Process: Discussion
Thursday, 13 October 2011 Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement Debate ..Dail Eireann. Comhchoiste um Fhorfheidhmiu Aoine an Cheasta...Chairman/Cathaoirleach Dominic Hannigan,TD/FD

Deputy Seán Crowe: I welcome the witnesses. One of the things that is coming through is the lack of hope. Some communities in the South have similar problems. There was a debate in the Dáil yesterday on the community and voluntary sector and many groups referred to the lack of hope and change and the frustration and anger in some communities in terms of housing, a lack of jobs and so on. It is not something that can be transformed overnight.

It is helpful if someone listens. When no one is listening, especially those in power, frustration and anger develops. We have heard the phrase, “It passed off peacefully”, many times on television and radio, but it does not reflect the work done behind the scenes. It also does not mean that the inherent conflict is resolved. That is where the real work needs to take place. We talk about the conflict being endless but peace is still being built.

People feel let down. When there has been no investment and promises have not been delivered on, it is no wonder people feel angry, frustrated and let down. Is that where the seeds of future conflict lie, if people are not listening and there is no dialogue? If anything has come out of this meeting it is the fact that people at the coalface are talking. That is the important thing. Those with power and influence need to listen and respond to what is happening in the witnesses’ areas.

Deputy Robert Dowds: Cuirim fíor-fháilte roimh ár n-aíonna. I strongly welcome our guests. The work they are doing in bridging the boundaries between the two communities in Northern Ireland is very important. We should do everything we can to be supportive in that regard.

With regard to the commemorations that will take place on both sides of the Border in the next few years, whether we commemorate the events 1916 or 1912 or the start of the First World War, it is important we acknowledge each event with respect. As a Labour Party Deputy, I regard myself as a republican. I happen to be a southern Protestant and my family background is strongly Unionist. Two of my great-uncles, from Richhill in County Armagh, were killed in the Battle of the Somme. My great-aunt, who was my godmother, signed the Solemn League and Covenant as a very young woman. I do not agree with what she did but I respect the fact that she was doing what she thought was right. That is the sort of attitude that needs to inform all of us as we come to celebrate these events.

When I was a child in the Sunday school which was attached to our church, the teacher happened to be a Belfast Protestant. He was quite old when he was teaching me and was a veteran of the 1916 Rising. As a Northern Protestant he had fought in the GPO. I had great respect for him.

The respect issue is the really important one. Tá fíor-fháilte roimh ár n-aíonna anseo. Is breá liom a bheith ag caint Gaeilge, but I am very happy speaking English too. That is the sort of attitude that needs to inform all of us, from North and South.

Mr. George Newell: Our social ailments are no different from those of any working class area across the breadth of Ireland. The problem with our social ailments is that if we fall out with our neighbours in the next-door community, it could lead to guns and bombs coming out and people losing their lives. That is the major problem we have.

Enough credit has not been given to loyalist paramilitaries. They have been tagged with all sorts of names and labels, yet the level of social crime in our communities is nothing compared with that in other communities. It is very low. The PSNI, when dealing with loyalist paramilitaries, does not want to disclose that. It is a definite no-no. What we read in the Sunday tabloids about the names and things that have been attached to loyalist paramilitaries is all bad. There are bad apples in there. Like every community and organisation, there are bad applies. The greater majority want to achieve peace and to live in social happiness with their next-door neighbours.

One of the problems within Protestantism is the diversity that exists there. The Protestant, Unionist and loyalist community is so divided it is unbelievable. Everyone is wearing a hat. If you are a Protestant within the Protestant churches, you are divided by religion. There are a hundred different churches throughout Belfast. One of the latest churches to open in the Newtownards Road-Albertbridge Road area is the Upper Room Church. It got its name because it took over an old terraced house and because the ground floor could not be used, the church uses the upper floor. That is the problem we have within our churches. Within Unionism in general we take our political thoughts from the different political parties. Within loyalism there is the paramilitary angle.

The Shankill Road, where I come from, has a multitude of problems. There is not one Protestant high school in west Belfast. The closest is in the former Boys’ and Girls’ Model Schools in north Belfast. Thirty or 40 years ago, that was the closest thing to a grammar school. Now, because it is over-subscribed, academic achievement is almost nil. In east Belfast, Orangefield High School used to be one of best secondary schools in Belfast. It is less than 30 yards from a grammar school. Orangefield High School has been designated a special needs school because more than 50% of the young people attending the school are categorised as special needs. We have 16 to 18 year olds leaving school who can barely write their names. We also have men and women of 40, 50 and 60 who can barely write their names.

This problem is not exclusive to the Protestant community. I daresay it is across the community but it is a problem we suffer from. The existence of this problem and the fact that job opportunities are no longer being created in, for example, the shipyards, Mackies or Shorts means we have to deal with high levels of unemployment. That leads to forms of escapism. The only escape is to use alcohol or drugs or join paramilitaries. That is a major problem we suffer from. That is the level of life within our communities.

We hope that some form of education and job opportunities will be created, not only for the 30 and 40 year olds but also for the 14, 15 and 16 year olds who are leaving school. We need to give them hope, aspirations and job security. If they want to start a family, there must be opportunities to make a life for themselves and their children. I daresay this problem exists across the divide in republican or Nationalist west Belfast, across Belfast and across Ireland in general. We are fearful that when our community falls out, it does so with a bomb and a gun in the hand. We want to take that fear out of community politics. Otherwise, community situations can get out of hand.

To be continued

The Posse Comitatus 12, by Dr Ian Adamson OBE

nospam@example.com (Ian Adamson OBE) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 08:48:15 +0100

The Posse Comitatus 11, by Dr Ian Adamson OBE

nospam@example.com (Ian Adamson OBE) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 09:50:27 +0100

Northern Ireland Peace Process: Discussion
Thursday, 13 October 2011 Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement Debate ..Dail Eireann. Comhchoiste um Fhorfheidhmiu Aoine an Cheasta...Chairman/Cathaoirleach Dominic Hannigan,TD/FD

Chairman: I am looking at the clock and there are arrangements for the room at 1 p.m. I call on the remaining speakers to be as concise and brief as possible. I know they will facilitate me in this regard.

Deputy Brendan Smith: I join the previous speakers in welcoming our visitors. Great progress has been made since April 2008 with the signing of the Good Friday agreement. The remarks by Mr. Murray and Mr. Newell in particular were rather chilling especially with regard to sectarianism. Mr. Murray remarked that sectarianism was rampant at the interface and he spoke about the post-Good Friday agreement and the post-ceasefire generation. I assumed he was referring to people in their late teens and early 20s considering that August 2004 is more than 17 years ago and these people were born since that time or were very young at the time.

I found the remarks of Mr. Newell concerning. He spoke about nine and ten year olds being involved in conveying a sectarian message. Children of that age involved in sectarian activities and chants are not simply picking it up on the streets; they must pick up some of it at home as well from an older generation or their parents and this is especially concerning. Today, the focus is on Belfast and I understand that. Is sectarianism prevalent in Derry and other urban centres throughout the Six Counties?

Mr. Murphy, MP touched on another issue. Mr. Murray stated that the education system has failed many people from disadvantaged and less-favoured communities. Education is the enabler for people to get employment in normal times. If people are not participating in it and acquiring skills or particular expertise then they have no hope of getting employment either in difficult days or good days. Has provision being made for second chance education opportunities for young people in these less-advantaged areas? Do colleges of further education, third level institutions and the universities have access programmes for people from these communities to go on and study? Are we making progress in that regard? We can talk until the cows come home about commemorations and so on but education and employment are the fundamental building blocks to all of us having the proper appreciation of each others views and traditions on the island.

Chairman: I call on one person from the group, perhaps Mr. Murray, to respond. We are keen to take a further four questions.

Mr. Sean Murray: They were relevant and pertinent questions on the type of work we are involved in and I will address them as best I can. Culture is important to every perspective but so is the way we manifest and display it. We must learn to empathise with each other to some extent and learn how what we do will impact in terms of the perception of the other community if we do A, B, C or D. Let us consider parading, for example. Parading is not the issue; it is how and where one parades that makes it contentious. The key is to consider how we devise ways and means of getting this across to respective communities. No one wishes to undermine anyone’s culture because it is important to them but it is how one manifests it and the impact of manifesting that culture which matters. We must see if we can make it inclusive as distinct from exclusive. That is the challenge for us in future. I fully agree with one of the speakers who made the point that it cannot be triumphalist because that raises the temperature and the tension. Other perspectives suggest that we must do something similar in response but this allows the extremes to play a more important role and that is the last thing we want or need at present.

The matter of the interfaces and the lack of development and investment there was raised. Invest Northern Ireland has failed abysmally in attracting investment to these areas. This is about turning a challenge into an opportunity. The area I come from has cross-community forums and we took the view that we should do something about it ourselves. We approached the city council for money for an economic appraisal and we put together a concept or plan in terms of investment for the old Mackie site, which has been a contentious parade crossing and where there have been nightly riots in the summer. Something that was supposed to be a positive turned into a negative. We have put forward plans and the council has come back and indicated it is willing to put money into it. We have approached others as well. This is an example of where the community can come together and identify issues of mutual benefit and, rather than deal with contentious issues, we are dealing with something positive and promoting a positive dialogue. I hope that as an outflow from this positive dialogue we can deal with some of the more contentious issues. That is some of the work ongoing in Belfast at present.

Deputy Ferris posed the question of how to break down sectarianism. I wish I knew how we could do it but it is a key challenge for us. We must provide leadership. If I hear it in my community I must challenge it and if Mr. McDonald or Mr. Newell hears it within their community, they must challenge it as well. However, challenging it by itself will not break it down; we must deal with the sources. As the Deputy Smith remarked, if children of nine and ten years of age are adopting sectarian attitudes, where are they getting them from? They did not come out of the sky. What is influencing these children to expound them and what promotes sectarianism? This is a challenge for all communities to address. We must question if we are doing anything to promote, fuel or provide an outlet for sectarian feelings and how to combat this and we must do it in a way that does not impact on or that is not seen as an attack by one community over another. This is why the initiative must come from within each community and it must not be a question of one community trying to claim victory over another. This is where leadership and self-reflection is required, especially with regard to historic anniversaries.

How do we mark these anniversaries in a way that is not antagonistic? We must learn to empathise with the other community and try to involve the other community in these commemorations. Let us consider the 1916 anniversary. I have held this discussion with members of the Orange Order. It was revealing that in a discussion about next time there was to be a contentious parade in a certain area they asked me not to let members of their community know that they had spoken to me. That was the context in which we held the conversation. We are keen to do a joint exhibition whereby one group brings in their republican exhibition on Easter 1916 and the other brings in its exhibition on the Somme anniversary. Some good dialogue is under way and this joint approach is the way to deal with it but we should not under estimate the challenges in terms of people believing they have been left behind and who suffer from alienation.

As Mr. Murphy, MP outlined, the education process is one of the key challenges and issues we are trying to get to terms with in the Assembly and local governance and so on. Our young people have been failed in many ways, make no mistake about it. I spoke of talking to some of the training providers who said they had to deal with basic numeracy and literacy problems. I do not condone it but if a child is starting off in life lacking these essential skills with no job opportunities, is it any wonder we are having problems at the coalface? I assure the committee that the PSNI has made many arrests, but the question is whether they are proportionate. If not, they will engender community conflict. The riots have to be viewed in an anti-community context. They do not help the community. People who live within communities have to pick up the pieces afterwards and suffer the consequences.

It is not the best advertisement in the world for investment. They are some of the issues we have to deal with. We need to identify the core issues which fuel sectarianism and how we can devise strategies to combat them. If children are educated separately and live in separate housing estates, it is no wonder they espouse sectarian attitudes.

Professor Wesley Hutchinson: Deputy Ó Ríordáin referred to the importance of integrated education. I am 100% behind integrated education in Northern Ireland. Mr McDonald was reticent about the issue and had doubts about whether it was a good idea. Something has to be borne in mind with regard to integrated education in the North, namely, that one can choose to create a school if one wants to and one can also choose to move a school from one status to another. To my knowledge no Catholic school has done that. All the schools which have chosen to move and become integrated were originally state run, and therefore predominantly Protestant, schools. It might explain the reticence because when one is operating within a strictly binary logic, that kind of experience and transfer is automatically registered as a loss.

To be continued

The Posse Comitatus 10, by Dr Ian Adamson OBE

nospam@example.com (Ian Adamson OBE) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:09:16 +0100

The Posse Comitatus 9, by Dr Ian Adamson OBE

nospam@example.com (Ian Adamson OBE) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 12:47:40 +0100

The Shire Reeve's Tale:52, by Dr Ian Adamson OBE

nospam@example.com (Ian Adamson OBE) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 12:50:12 +0100

Last night, with James O'Fee ( Seamus O Fiaich), I attended the fifteenth annual Aisling Awards (Gradain na hAislinge) gala at the Europa Hotel, Belfast. I am the past Roll of Honour recipent for 2008. The guest of honour was an Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD, who headed a glittering guest list. I extended to him the Lord Bannside's best wishes, following our meeting with him earlier in the year.

The annual celebration brought together political, business and community leaders from across the city to raise a glass to the bridge-builders and local heroes of Belfast.

Accolades in a range of categories, including Culture and Arts, Belfast Brand, Business, Inter-Community, An Ghaeilge and Sport, were awarded at the event compered by Paul Clarke of UTV.

Highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Person of the Year Award – previous recipients have included Emma Groves, Inez McCormack, Naomi Long and Caitríona Ruane – by the Taoiseach to Geraldine Finucane.

A prestigious list of sponsors for the 2011 Aisling Awards was led by LBM and included the Park Centre, Sean Grahams, Cable & Wireless, the Kennedy Centre, Moviehouse, TG4, Tennents NI and Mercury Security Management Ltd.

Said Alison Sweeney of the Belfast Media Group: “This is a tough time for Belfast as the recession continues to bite, but we think that makes it all the more important to celebrate those who are building tomorrow’s Belfast. We are looking forward to a night which affirms our faith in the future and our belief in the genius and talent of the people of Belfast.”

Tonight I attended the annual Institute of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators dinner at the Reform Club, Royal Avenue Belfast, organised by Dermott Brooks of Andras House Ltd, 60 Great Victoria Street, Belfast,

The guest of honour was Ron Rosenhead MBE and his wife, President of Institute of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators, United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and Associated Territories. Ron is ICSA’s President and has served on the UK Committee, International Council and the Audit committee since 2010; previously he was a member of the Education Committee and has been Chairman and Treasurer of the Institute’s Wessex Branch/Group. Following a career in the Army he took up a Finance Director appointment and his portfolio of tasks revolves around property and asset management in the United Kingdom and United States. He is also a Trustee of two Army related charities.

The guest speaker was Jim Eastwood, 3rd Runner-Up in Sir Alan Sugar's The Apprentice Competition on BBC Television. And I sat between Sir George and Lady Moyra Quigley, two delightful companions.

The Posse Comitatus 8, by Dr Ian Adamson OBE

nospam@example.com (Ian Adamson OBE) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 09:01:29 +0100

Northern Ireland Peace Process: Discussion
Thursday, 13 October 2011 Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement Debate ..Dail Eireann. Comhchoiste um Fhorfheidhmiu Aoine an Cheasta...Chairman/Cathaoirleach Dominic Hannigan,TD/FD

Professor Wesley Hutchinson: I thank members of the committee for inviting us. I feel like an interloper because the others present are directly involved with these issues on the ground. I hope I will be able to contribute something more concrete as the discussions develop.

Listening to what was being said, what struck me was the emphasis being placed on young people and the increasing distance of the peace process from young people. That is most worrying. On the other hand, many of those in this room were considered as being beyond the pale 20 or 30 years ago and are now very much on board. No one has used the word “dissident” in the discussion, but I am wondering if the pressure that will be exerted on commemoration by people who might be on the edges of the various groups is not something we will have to deal with directly. Channels were developed during the peace process and these channels have become increasingly strong. We have heard how strong they are in terms of loyalist parades being chaperoned by Sinn Féin in the North. That is concrete proof of how things can change. I wonder what channels we can open up towards the edges, towards the people who are today beyond the pale and whose radical reading of history could cause a lot of trouble.

The loyalist and broader Unionist communities will have a particular responsibility in the next few years, simply due to chronology, as 1912 fell before 1916. Therefore, there has to be a real effort made among the loyalist community and the broader Unionist community. I sincerely hope the Nationalist community and its republican element will help them in furthering that debate.

Chairman: Thank you, Professor. I suggest we take four questioners together because many members are offering. I will call Deputy Ó Ríordáin, Conor Murphy MP, Deputy Feighan and Deputy Smith in that order.

Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I extend a welcome to our guests. It is great that they are here because I think this is the first time we have heard things from a Unionist perspective. We have been having meetings since the general election in February and there was a committee in the last Dáil, yet we never obtained such a perspective. Therefore, this is a very important day for us.

I will provide a Dublin perspective. My mother comes from the Border and my father from Dublin. He had absolutely no interest in anything to do with Northern Ireland. Whenever issues related to Northern Ireland were dealt with on television during the 1980s, it was turned off. There are many in the South who would not admit to this or think that is the reality and as such, we have to work on it.

I understand social exclusion, as I worked in Sheriff Street in Dublin’s north inner city for 11 years. I said at the previous meeting that much of the interface violence we saw on our television screens in places such as Portadown during the summer was something I recognised from where I worked. What we have are young people - generally young men - who are disengaged and disenchanted, who are looking for empowerment and something to get excited about. Where I work it is the drugs trade, anti-social behaviour, joyriding and so on that excites them. There is a level of convenience in the flag of sectarianism to which a young man could easily attach himself when he feels so disempowered because of his alienation from society. We were in the interface areas last week and it was interesting to see the two communities in the Tiger’s Bay area because there was so much that united them. They both have issues with housing, unemployment and anti-social behaviour, yet in one area it is green, white and orange on the kerb and red, white and blue in the other area. When we come to deal with commemorative issues, we should think about the social reality of what actually happened.

I had a grand-uncle who fought in the 1916 Rising. On one level, he is a family hero, but when we pick through his history, we find that he married a Northern Protestant and had to get married at 7 a.m. because effectively he lived in a sectarian 26 county state. There were no celebrations. He had two children, both of whom emigrated to England because there was no work to be found in this country. Whatever he had fought for in 1916 he felt was completely worthless at the end of his life. He believed all the pomp and ceremony associated with the rising amounted to a betrayal. Giving people a flag is not enough. They must have the dignity that comes with having a job, a home they can call their own, a family to love and area of which they can be proud. Flags and emblems, therefore, can be very dangerous.

I am coming back to the issue of sectarianism because in ten years we will still have the underlying problems. We have a problem at the moment in the 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland with religious influence in schools - the religious ethos and the fact that enrolment policies are Catholic-first. We had a meeting yesterday with some schools in Lucan, and it seems it is effectively the case, by design or otherwise, that one school has one racial identity while another school has a different racial identity. There is an African community whose children are graduating from one type of school and a white community whose children are graduating from another. What is the balance of rights? When does the right of a school to have a religious ethos supersede the right of a community to integrate properly? I have just come from a presentation given by the Integration Centre at which it was stated that school admission policies are a fundamental issue in our society. When Peter Robinson recently made a comment about admission policies in Catholic-ethos schools, which I fundamentally agree with, he was criticised by both Nationalist parties.

On the issue of social integration, there are some young men who apparently feel as though they missed out on the Troubles, looking at it as some kind of glorious past in which they wish they had been involved. This is an issue of disempowerment. With regard to the school system, I appreciate the comments of Mr. McDonald, who said he is not sure how he feels about integrated schooling. Could other people expand on the discussion on schooling and ethos and how this does not lend itself to a more integrated society?

It is fantastic that visitors are here, and they are very welcome.

To be continued

The Posse Comitatus 7, by Dr Ian Adamson OBE

nospam@example.com (Ian Adamson OBE) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 09:40:11 +0100

The Posse Comitatus 6, by Dr Ian Adamson OBE

nospam@example.com (Ian Adamson OBE) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 09:23:04 +0100