Sinn Fein cancels bomber commemoration

RandomName2 · 19-02-2021 12:23am #1

Shelved plan to salute 1996 bomber lays bare Irish fault lines

Sinn Fein councilor for Gorey Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin, a teacher at a local gaelscoil, had been promoting Sinn Féin online commemoration to mark 25 years since the PIRA bomber's death. The PIRA member died when the bomb he was carrying on a London bus, blew up prematurely (as IRA bombs were known to do) thankfully killing him, but unfortunately wounding several civilians, one of whom later died from complications.

Note that the planned commemoration was to do with the bomber, not the civilian (who was a Dubliner) who died.

Since controversy has arisen about the planned commemoration, it has now been silently cancelled. However the incident has raised questions about Sinn Fein's position in relation to past terrorism.

blanch152 · 19-02-2021 1:26am

RandomName2 wrote: »

Shelved plan to salute 1996 bomber lays bare Irish fault lines

Sinn Fein councilor for Gorey Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin, a teacher at a local gaelscoil, had been promoting Sinn Féin online commemoration to mark 25 years since the PIRA bomber's death. The PIRA member died when the bomb he was carrying on a London bus, blew up prematurely (as IRA bombs were known to do) thankfully killing him, but unfortunately wounding several civilians, one of whom later died from complications.

Note that the planned commemoration was to do with the bomber, not the civilian (who was a Dubliner) who died.

Since controversy has arisen about the planned commemoration, it has now been silently cancelled. However the incident has raised questions about Sinn Fein's position in relation to past terrorism.

Were you surprised?

I wasn’t.

There are no depths to which they won’t sink.

Rodney Bathgate · 19-02-2021 1:29am

Scum.

Phoebas · 19-02-2021 1:35am

RandomName2 wrote: »

However the incident has raised questions about Sinn Fein's position in relation to past terrorism.

I'm not sure that it has raised any questions about Sinn Fein's position in relation to past terrorism.

We know what their position is. They're in favour of it.

jimmycrackcorm · 19-02-2021 1:39am

It will be very interesting to see how a Sinn Fein government here will handle these situations. I think we will see after the next election. But it'll be very embarrassing from an international standpoint.

James Brown · 19-02-2021 1:46am

Phoebas wrote: »

I'm not sure that it has raised any questions about Sinn Fein's position in relation to past terrorism.

We know what their position is. They're in favour of it.

Agreed. I think a commemoration for the IRA dead might have been a better idea.
I can't understand why people still pretend they just found out SF and the IRA were linked and some ex-IRA are in SF.
Also SF don't apologise for the IRA nor pretend they didn't support them. It's a poor attempt at faux moral outrage to keep suggesting they do and are in some kind of an awkward spot or would feel embarrassed.

Phoebas · 19-02-2021 1:53am

James Brown wrote: »

Agreed. I think a commemoration for the IRA dead might have been a better idea.
I can't understand why people still pretend they just found out SF and the IRA were linked and some ex-IRA are in SF.
Also SF don't apologise for the IRA nor pretend they didn't support them. It's a poor attempt at faux moral outrage to keep suggesting they do and are in some kind of an awkward spot or would feel embarrassed.

It's because SF talk out of both sides of their mouths on the issue. They'll talk about how terrible it all was at the very same time as celebrating their comrades who were it's perpetrators.

slipperyox · 19-02-2021 1:54am

A teacher that has been taught.

Gatling · 19-02-2021 1:55am

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

It will be very interesting to see how a Sinn Fein government here will handle these situations. I think we will see after the next election. But it'll be very embarrassing from an international standpoint.

They will go the route of naming places and buildings after their killers calling them national heros followed by the volunteers commemoration day

jm08 · 19-02-2021 1:59am

RandomName2 wrote: »

Shelved plan to salute 1996 bomber lays bare Irish fault lines

Sinn Fein councilor for Gorey Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin, a teacher at a local gaelscoil, had been promoting Sinn Féin online commemoration to mark 25 years since the PIRA bomber's death. The PIRA member died when the bomb he was carrying on a London bus, blew up prematurely (as IRA bombs were known to do) thankfully killing him, but unfortunately wounding several civilians, one of whom later died from complications.

Note that the planned commemoration was to do with the bomber, not the civilian (who was a Dubliner) who died.

Since controversy has arisen about the planned commemoration, it has now been silently cancelled. However the incident has raised questions about Sinn Fein's position in relation to past terrorism.

First of all, the commemoration was being organised by the father of Edward O'Brien, who was killed. His family had no idea that he was in the IRA by the way. The family called off the commemoration because they were receiving threats and abuse.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40229735.html

By the way, O'Brien was the only one killed in the bombing. There were 7 people injured however. You should try and get your facts straight.

James Brown · 19-02-2021 2:00am

Phoebas wrote: »

It's because SF talk out of both sides of their mouths on the issue. They'll talk about how terrible it all was at the very same time as celebrating their comrades who were it's perpetrators.

Heard them talk about specific instances like that but not 'it all'.

James Brown · 19-02-2021 2:02am

jm08 wrote: »

First of all, the commemoration was being organised by the father of Edward O'Brien, who was killed. His family had no idea that he was in the IRA by the way. The family called off the commemoration because they were receiving threats and abuse.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40229735.html

By the way, O'Brien was the only one killed in the bombing. There were 7 people injured however. You should try and get your facts straight.

Thanks for clarifying. I should know better than to take some posters at their word.

jm08 · 19-02-2021 2:12am

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

It will be very interesting to see how a Sinn Fein government here will handle these situations. I think we will see after the next election. But it'll be very embarrassing from an international standpoint.

Plenty of precedence from the two revolutionary parties in the Dail (Fianna Fail and Fine Gael) to understand what happens.

Fine Gael executed about 80 civil war fighters when they came to power after the Treaty. Within about 10 years, Fine Gael had to take it on the chin and sit in the Dail with Dev as Taoiseach. Fine Gael have an annual memorial at Beal na Blath to commemorate Michael Collins who would have been the one that ordered the execution of the Anti-Treaty leaders. Whereas Fianna Fail/Fianna Gael were killing Irish people, at least the IRA had a foreign adversary.

jimmycrackcorm · 19-02-2021 2:18am

jm08 wrote: »

First of all, the commemoration was being organised by the father of Edward O'Brien, who was killed. His family had no idea that he was in the IRA by the way. The family called off the commemoration because they were receiving threats and abuse.

So, they had no idea he was in the IRA.
They don't like getting threats and abuse.
But his father was organizing a commemoration to reminisce that he was on his way to actually cause death.

Ever so slightly ironic.

jm08 · 19-02-2021 2:31am

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

So, they had no idea he was in the IRA.
They don't like getting threats and abuse.
But his father was organizing a commemoration to reminisce that he was on his way to actually cause death.

Ever so slightly ironic.

From the Irish Times:

O’Brien had known republican sympathies and used to sell An Phoblacht on the streets of Gorey, but his family had no suspicion he was involved in the IRA.
When he went to Britain in 1995, they thought he was working on a building site in Glasgow.
It was only when gardaí called to the family home after his death that his parents knew he was involved in the IRA.
The family later issued a statement through their solicitor unreservedly condemning all paramilitary organisations.

The statement said that O’Brien had had no involvement whatsoever in any illegal organisation while he lived in the family home in Gorey.
“Neither they, nor any member of their extended family, have, or have ever had, any involvement of any description with any paramilitary grouping,” the statement said.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/online-commemoration-for-ira-volunteer-who-died-in-bus-bomb-is-cancelled-1.4488821

No matter what he might have done, he was still their son. And this is how they were commemorating it (from Irish Times).

An image promoting the commemoration had superimposed the Tricolour with a photograph of O’Brien and the inscription “forever in our hearts” along with the Wexford GAA crest.

Looks more like they were aligning themselves with Wexford GAA rather than the IRA.

Of course Leo was lying again to the Dail:

Mr Varadkar said O’Brien’s family did not support the commemoration.

So, to summarise what I think happened (just from reading the Examiner and Irish Times).
1) Family of O'Brien were organisating an online commemoration.
2) They got abuse for it and decided to cancel it.

3) Their local Sinn Fein rep. helped them to publicise that it was called off.

Fine Gael hacks start spinning like no bodies business.

19-02-2021 2:37am

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

It will be very interesting to see how a Sinn Fein government here will handle these situations. I think we will see after the next election. But it'll be very embarrassing from an international standpoint.

It really won't.

World politics is chockablock with people/parties with connections to all sorts of ne'er do wells.

A Sinn Féin led government would be far from an outlier.

James Brown · 19-02-2021 4:13am

[Deleted User] wrote: »

It really won't.

World politics is chockablock with people/parties with connections to all sorts of ne'er do wells.

A Sinn Féin led government would be far from an outlier.

There's a lot of people have no idea about nor intetest in Northern Ireland A party with an association to an armed force which signed up for peace decades ago wouldn't be a thing.

Montage of Feck · 19-02-2021 9:16am

FG was never a revolutionary party, counter revolutionaries would be a better description. And when FF got into power under Dev they turned out to be even more conservitive.

CrazyFather1 · 19-02-2021 10:13am

To be honest at this stage who cares. Sinn Fein are just Sinn Fein.
This will happen all the time so getting all outraged about it each time will make no difference.

The people who remember exactly who they are will never vote for them. That's not going to change.

This constant slips just continue to remind all the rest of the voters who they are.
At this stage let them off, no point trying to attack SF, they do it all on their own.

All the shouting about "government of chaos", list out all the issues SF have had over the last 12 months and they are really neck & neck with the government.

In terms of actually doing any good for the people of Ireland, that is the biggest issue for SF. They have done nothing. The big insurance bill Pearse worked on since 2009 was a joke, every other political party could have wrote it in a few weeks and ended up in the exact same place.

Sunny Disposition · 19-02-2021 10:35am

Felt very sorry for the family at the time, bad enough to lose your son but to find out he was in the IRA too...
The condemnation of commemorations is politically motivated nonsense. Condemn the actions by all means, and I would have despised what the IRA were doing, but condemning the commemoration of the dead is nonsensical. Extending that logic there should be no anniversary masses.
The person being commemorated in this instance was little more than a misguided boy, drawn into the deep waters of Irish history. Understandably some people have no sympathy for him, at the time I hadn’t myself, but condemning other people for remembering him is still wrong.

celt262 · 19-02-2021 11:02am

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

It will be very interesting to see how a Sinn Fein government here will handle these situations. I think we will see after the next election. But it'll be very embarrassing from an international standpoint.

Anyone who ever hid guns/bomb making equipment/made bombs/planted bombs/carried out murder etc will be held in the highest esteem and there will be many events to celebrate their contribution to the cause.

McMurphy · 19-02-2021 11:04am

celt262 wrote: »

Anyone who ever hid guns/bomb making equipment/made bombs/planted bombs/carried out murder etc will be held in the highest esteem and there will be many events to celebrate their contribution to the cause.

Shinners beaten to it again...

Bubbaclaus · 19-02-2021 2:23pm

jm08 wrote: »

So, to summarise what I think happened (just from reading the Examiner and Irish Times).
1) Family of O'Brien were organisating an online commemoration.
2) They got abuse for it and decided to cancel it.

3) Their local Sinn Fein rep. helped them to publicise that it was called off.

I'm confused by this post. So SFs only involvement was publicising that it was called off? Who issued the "Volunteer" O'Brien promotional stuff then, given it was hardly the family?

tipptom · 19-02-2021 2:50pm

Gatling wrote: »

They will go the route of naming places and buildings after their killers calling them national heros followed by the volunteers commemoration day

Hopefully,be nice for our next new government to rename a few streets that was named after British terrorists with men and women who fought against impossible odds against the British terrorists in NI and gained some equality that they were never going to be given there.

The more the Irish Times and the rest of the Irish media try to subvert democracy the more certain it becomes

blanch152 · 19-02-2021 2:52pm

The family have the right to mourn their son in private and in a dignified manner.

The reason this has got condemnation is that Sinn Fein jumped on the bandwagon to turn it into a public commemoration of a terrorist, replete with IRA paraphernalia, logos and references to "Oglaigh na hEireann".

Gatling · 19-02-2021 2:58pm

tipptom wrote: »

with men and women who fought against impossible odds against the British terrorists in NI and gained some equality that they were never going to be given there.

The killed more civilians than soldiers by a significant number and when they got killed trying to carry out attacks they cried how unfair it was ,

walshb · 19-02-2021 3:01pm

SF need to cop the fook on and disassociate with this

I could kind of understand if it was 40 years ago when we were in very hostile times.

My jaysus, both sides have come such a long way to build peace and keep on progressing...

Man carrying a bomb on a bus to do possible untold damage....

Just leave it alone, SF....

21 years of age.....whole life ahead of him, and this is the road he took.....

I say this as someone who was never anti SF or anti IRA during the heat of the troubles....but we have moved on since then.,,,,there is no place for this now, nor this type of public endorsing commemoration.

19-02-2021 3:06pm

Gatling wrote: »

The killed more civilians than soldiers by a significant number and when they got killed trying to carry out attacks they cried how unfair it was ,

This is patently untrue,the ira killed 1200 security force members

The 600 or so "civilans",include circa 300 killed in attacks on retired members of security force

Only for likes of this young lad,willing to carry the fight to the english,particularly post ceasefire,they would be no good friday agreement

That being said,i do believe online commerations are a load of ****,and wouldnt watch one (would offline)but like rememberence sunday,people should be allowed commerate their dead

19-02-2021 3:16pm

walshb wrote: »

I say this as someone who was never anti SF or anti IRA during the heat of the troubles....but we have moved in since then.,,,,there is no place for this now, nor this type of public endorsing commemoration.

Theres a whole kind of sub-culture,that most people simply arent aware of surronding these commerations

Pre-pandemic times,they would be one on most weekends and likely a larger one,once every 3 months or so

walshb · 19-02-2021 3:19pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Theres a whole kind of sub-culture,that most people simply arent aware of surronding these commerations

Pre-pandemic times,they would be one on most weekends and likely a larger one,once every 3 months or so

I know. I see them on one.

Men dressed up in army gear n all..😖

tipptom · 19-02-2021 3:21pm

Gatling wrote: »

The killed more civilians than soldiers by a significant number and when they got killed trying to carry out attacks they cried how unfair it was ,

The native Irish were been murdered by civilians armed and sent by the British government/army.
You treat people like savages in their own home then you are going to get a savage responce eventually,the Catholics in NI took all these abuses up to the point of the British allowing civilians to burn them out of their homes

The British didnt care about this savagery because it was out of sight until they were given a taste of it in their own country and only REALLY cared then when their financial districts started getting inconvenienced

Now they have won the equality and are soon to be in government in both North and South i would not begrudge them a few street namings and i would have an issue with some of their policys and some of their members

Sinn Fein cancels bomber commemoration

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