THE delay in building the new Casement Park is totally unacceptable. Like many Gaels of my age I grew up with Casement. I played there for our school teams and enjoyed sports days as well. I have watched umpteen games over the decades. Until 2013. That was the last time Casement Park hosted a game. On June 10, 2013.
That was the Ulster Senior Football Championship quarter-final between Antrim and Monaghan. Since then the site has been derelict. A sullen lump of waste ground. Antrim Gaels have been denied the use of our county ground and a generation of young athletes are being denied the right to play there. It is a disgrace.
The history of failure to build the new Casement and all the twists and turns, of mistakes and upsets and setbacks, would take too long to record here. But what is for sure is that the delay now rests with the Minister of Communities, Gordon Lyons, the DUP and British Secretary of State Hilary Benn.
The DUP are fighting a sham fight – one doomed to failure – over the Irish language as part of their electoral strategy. Casement is also now a victim of these machinations. But, unlike the Irish language, there was no widespread public or street campaign in support of Casement.
I am glad to hear that this is now going to start. Next Saturday, April 12, the day of the Antrim v Armagh senior football game at Corrigan Park, there will be a protest. Gaels and other sports fans are being asked to assemble at Rossa Park at 9am before leaving at 9.30 to walk the short distance to Casement Park, where a protest will be held. This columnist welcomes that initiative. Bígí linn ansin.
Arson assaults on the Mournes and Belfast Hills are a threat to us all
THE blue skies and warm weather of recent days is a reminder that spring will soon give way to summer. Everywhere the trees and flowers are coming into bloom and the dark evenings are retreating as our daylight hours increase. Regrettably, this change in weather also brings with it acts of vandalism, in particular the setting of wildfires that present a real danger to hill walkers and the natural flora and fauna.
The huge fires on the Mourne Mountains at the weekend were a depressing reminder of this behaviour and of the dangers they present. Over recent days 100 firefighters fought around 150 wildfires in Down and Antrim. Some of the fires stretched for miles destroying forestry and property and in the Hilltown area homes had to be evacuated. The Silent Valley Mountain Park, a favourite for visitors, which had just opened after a nine-week closure because of Storm Éowyn, was again closed to the public.
Fires on the Black Mountain have become more common in recent years
For the firefighters, the high winds meant that the danger in the Mournes was especially challenging as they battled to contain the blazes. They deserve our thanks and solidarity for their exhausting work protecting our natural environment and the lives and livelihoods of local people.
But it isn’t just the Mournes, with their spectacular mountain tops and ridges, rivers and streams, forests and gorse-covered hillsides, separated by miles of stone walls that are under threat. Summer brings similar destruction to the Belfast Hills. How many times have the people of Belfast looked up at Black Mountain only to see fires dotted across the hillside with their smoke trails stretching for miles? The fires and the huge amounts of smoke they generate present a real risk to the lives of hill walkers and wildlife.
A lot of effort has gone in over recent years to the conservation of the Belfast Hills and of the Mournes. I occasionally walk the Black Mountain trails along with many others. The scenery is spectacular. The Belfast Hills are a constant in the lives of all of us who live in this city. All parts of Belfast can see the Hills. The Black Mountain or Sliabh Dubh. The Divis and Colin Mountains or An Colann and An Dubhais. Wolf Hill and Cave Hill or Beann Mhadagáin. There are other hills across the metropolis. The Craigantlet and Castlereagh hills. These slopes hug Belfast in one long, soft, green embrace. They are the backdrop to the city and the main natural feature, particularly of the west of Belfast.
That these should be threatened by the actions of a small number of arsonists is unacceptable. I would urge everyone to be vigilant in protecting our hills and mountains.
Unity the best insulation from icy blast of economic turbulence
US President Donald Trump has initiated the most dangerous trade war of modern times. His widespread imposition of tariffs threatens untold damage to the world’s economies. In the USA the stock market has declined sharply and senior economists are warning of a deep recession. These too will adversely impact world economies. There is no indication that President Trump intends to change direction. On the contrary, he appears to be digging in.
The consequence for many countries will be serious, but the danger to Ireland, with its two economies, a 20 per cent tariff imposition on EU goods and a 10 per cent tariff on goods coming out of the North, is even greater. The Southern economy, linked as it is to the EU, will respond as part of the European Union. The North is handcuffed to a failing British economy and to a British government which has already demonstrated through its recent economic budget that it couldn’t care less about the people of the North.
So how do we face up to a deepening trade war and potentially one of the worst economic recessions in generations? The initial answer is to build on the growing all-island trade that is already benefiting the two economies. We need what Seanadóir Conor Murphy last week described as a “serious collaborative approach from the Irish government and the northern Executive to protect businesses and the all-Ireland economy.”
A crucial next step would be an early meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council. The fact is that it was the close working relationship between the Irish government, the Executive and the European Union which was critical in charting a course through the Brexit debacle. In the longer term, Irish unity is the best response to the disruption that Trump policies and geopolitical tensions are causing.
Albanese reappointment a victory for humanity
LET me congratulate Francesca Albanese, who despite a despicable campaign by Israel and its allies to have her sacked, will continue in her role as UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories until 2028. She has been a champion for the people of Palestine as Israel’s genocide continues to kill and wound hundreds every day.
Last Saturday, April 5, was International Palestinian Child Day. It was an appropriate opportunity to draw attention to Israel’s deliberate genocide of children in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Over 17,000 have been killed. Many thousands more have lost limbs. Tens of thousands of children in Gaza have lost one or both parents since Israel launched its genocidal war. Children have also been deprived of shelter, food, and water. And currently Israel is blocking essential aid and medicines from entering Gaza.
Whatever other issues there may be in the news cycle today, we must never forget the Palestinian people and we have to continue to campaign on their behalf.
In our millions we are all Palestinians.
