WE look at the stories that were making the headlines this week back in 1982
St Thomas’ (runners-up) versus St Mary's, Glen Road, in the Co Antrim Under-14 secondary schools’ final
Catholics cast half the vote
SINN Féin's decision to participate in elections and their determination to get supporters onto the electoral register seems sure to throw new light on to the Protestant-Catholic headcount controversy.
For if Sinn Féin succeed in convincing their supporters of the necessity for registering it is believed the Catholic vote in the Six Counties could amount to 45 per cent of the total electorate.
These break down into SDLP 18.8%, Sinn Féin 10.2%, Workers' Party 2.7% and Alliance 9.3%. That the majority of Alliance votes came from Catholics can be clearly seen from the fact that when Alliance candidates were eliminated their votes went mainly to the SDLP and vice-versa. Moreover observers also believe that the 20,000-plus spoilt votes are attributed mostly to Republican inexperience at the polls and the IIP boycott.
These Catholic voters would certainly more than offset the Protestant vote included in the Alliance percentage.
However, at the moment interest is focused on the question of how many nationalists are still not registered. A Sinn Féin spokesman yesterday claim- ed that “as many as 5,000” in West Belfast alone.
“These would be people of a strong Republican outlook who didn’t previously see any point in voting.”
The accuracy of this claim will be tested later this year when Sinn Féin launches a campaign to urge its supporters to register for the vote. This is in preparation for the 1984 battle against Gerry Fitt for the West Belfast Westminster seat.
And certainly information from the Belfast Electoral Office lends weight to the belief that many nationalist voters are not registered.
A spokesperson for the Electoral Returns Office told the Andersonstown News that the number of electoral registration forms returned from West Belfast is “as low as 30 per cent”.
“Forms are sent out annually at the end of August but there is always a low return from West Belfast generally,” she said.
However, anyone who was not on the electoral register this year can get their name added to the Provisional 1983 Registration lists in December.”
Heading off to watch Glasgow Celtic from Whiterock
Conradh demand language rights
THE following is a translation of a speech in Irish made by a representative of Conradh na Gaeilge at a function in the Andersonstown Social Club last week. The proceeds of the function will finance the Gaelicisation of street names in the St James' area.
A Chairde, I would like to briefly outline four areas in which Conradh na Gaeilgc is working and explain the demands we are making.
IRISH SCHOOL
Firstly, the issue of the Belfast Irish school. The school, established in 1971, now contains nursery and primary sections catering for over 100 children. Running costs per year are in the region of £50,000 yet the Scoil Ghaelach receives no help whatsoever from the Government. It is a basic civil right that people be allowed an education in their native tongue. Therefore we are demanding:
a. That the Education Authorities grant aid the Scoil Ghaelach.
b. That the Government carries out a survey to determine the demand for Irish-medium education.
c. That the Education authorities establish Gaelic schools and nurseries Iin areas where there is a demand.
STREET SIGNS
Secondly the Street Signs Campaign. In every nationalist area of Belfast there is a demand for Irish translations of street names to be erected. We are demanding that the City Council places street signs in Irish alongside the English signs in all areas where residents are in favour of this move.
TV AND RADIO
Also of concern to the Gaelic League is the appalling state of the TV and radio service for the Irish speaking community, for adult learners and for schools. Six times as many pupils here sit O-level Irish than sit O-level Gaelic in Scotland. However in Scotland they have over three hours of television and over 12 hours of radio every week while the Belfast Irish speaker is hardly catered for at all. Conradh na Gaeilge is demanding the following programmes:
a. Magazine style programmes on Radio and T.V. geared towards the Irish speaking public.
b. Educational programmes on Radio and T.V. for those who wish to learn Irish.
c. Educational programmes for schools on Radio and T.V.
PRISONS
Lastly and perhaps most importantly we will be tackling the anti-Irish language policy within prisons here. There is no recognition by the authorities of the fact that most prisoners use Irish as their first language. We will be supporting the application for membership of An Conradh by H-Block prisoners and promise backing for their language demands These are:
1. Full educational facilities for prisoners to learn Irish.
2. Right to send and receive letters in Irish.
3. Right to speak Irish during visits
4. That any right of prisoner to deal with the prison administration in Irish and recognition of the fact that Irish is the first language of the majority of Republican prisoners.
Paddy Morgan (Frank Allen Amusements) presents prizes at St Agnes' ABC to Terry Enright (St Agnes’) and Billy McComb (Corpus Christi)
Editorial
WE stated before the Assembly Elections, that 1982 could prove to be a watershed in political life here, and this has been borne out by Sinn Féin's success in the Assembly Elections. Their success was nothing less than phenomenal given their lack of experience in fighting elections, and the legacy of boycott which they had to overcome.
The election machine they threw together at short notice, was the envy of other long established parties, and the enthusiasm and energy generated by the young party workers rubbed off on the electorate.
We believe that Sinn Féin has the energy and dedication to replace the SDLP as the Nationalist community's representatives in many areas of the Six Counties, if they can build on this early success. This will entail very hard work on the ground on mundane issues of a local nature. These are possibly the most difficult issues for a political party to deal with, simply because they lack the lustre and headline catching attraction of statements on the national question.
The SDLP failed to deliver on any of its fundamental objectives, and is being slowly but surely rejected by the community. Monarchal pronouncements by John Hume on TV are no substitute for delivering the goods and the electorate are beginning to realise that.
The SDLP opted for what they thought was reasoned argument and moderate persuasion when confronting Paisley and his cohorts, and ended up looking meek and ineffective. Sinn Féin have the benefit of hindsight and should be able to avoid making the same mistakes. Paisley, Martin Smyth and all the rest of the Reverend gentlemen are not amenable to reasoned argument as far as Irish self determination is concerned, and must be confronted at every opportunity. This in the future could well be the basic difference in approach between the SDLP and Sinn Féin. If Sinn Féin can confront Paisley effectively in a principled manner, they will succeed, if not, they will fail just as the SDLP failed. Sinn Féin has been given a deserved bite at the political cherry, but if it is not to choke them, they must maximise the anti-Paisley lobby in the Nationalist community. In our opinion, the numbers game vis-a-vis Unionists and Nationalists, is only beginning, the myths of one million Protestants and half a million Catholics must be laid to rest as well as the majority and minority syndrome. The publishing of the census figures next year should show that these terms are misapplied and emphasise the necessity of the coming together of the Nationalist population with the common objective of exposing these myths no matter what our differences are on other issues.
Patsy and Gus Matthews (also St Clements, California), with friends and relatives Amelia Murphy, Henry and Peggy Fitzsimmons, Andy McKinney and Gerry Torbitt at the Carrick Hill function for ‘Wee Priest’ in Trinity Community Centre
