Motion.

In his inaugural address to the Dublin and the City Council, the Lord Mayor Councillor Gerry Breen gallantly broached the idea of a China Town at Parnell Street.

The Parnell family had a wide international dimension. Charles Stewart Parnell’s father was Anglo-Irish and his mother was from New Jersey, United States. Parnell’s great grandmother was a Tudor and was distantly related to the British Royal Family. His great grandfather opposed the Act of Union in Grattan’s Parliament.His brother farmed in Alabama. Parnell was elected an MP for Meath and later Cork,Mayo and Meath. He was dubbed the uncrowned King of Ireland and his funeral to Glasnevin Cemetery in October 1891 was a monster event with an attendence of about 200,000. Parnell Street, Parnell Square and Parnell Monument are situated in this area of the city. Parnell Street and Square were formerly Great Britain Street and Rutland Square respectively.The Parnell Monument was unveiled in 1911. I propose that the City Council consider designating the immediate vacinity centred around that area as “Parnell International New-Irish Town” in recognition of the multiethnicity of the businesses and traders in that area which reflect the presence and vitality of the new Irish recorded as greater than 10% of the population in the last census.

I urge you to please read this:

I would like to nominate Christine Buckley for THE FREEDOM OF THE CITY AWARD and am not sure what procedures and measures I need to take to ensure that this may be possible; although I am aware as Lord Mayor you can nominate people for Freedom of the City. Christine will be 65 years old next year and I think it would be very fitting for her to receive this most prestigious award after 26 years fighting for justice for the most marginalised in Irish society; survivors of institutional abuse.

Last year Christine won the Ireland Involved Award which is part of a European-wide initiative to recognise the work of volunteers. Christine as Irish Volunteer of the Year then went on to represent Ireland at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Saturday 5th December 2009 on International Volunteer Day. She was awarded the Trophee Europeen du Benevolat in the European Parliament in Strasbourg along with the title “European Volunteer of the Year” in recognition of the years of work to raise awareness of institutional child abuse. She gave a most powerful speech and I was very proud to be part of that most momentous occasion.

As you are aware Christine has campaigned tirelessly on behalf of victims of institutional abuse for more than 26 years and is truly a remarkable selfless woman. Christine spoke privately about these atrocities in 1984, and then went public in 1992. Dear Daughter (Louis Lentin) was televised on 22nd February 1996 and yet again Christine spoke of the horrors. In 1999 we had States of Fear (Mary Raftery). Prior to this Christine had attended meetings with Bertie Ahern and the then Minister for Education, Micheál Martin.

Further meetings followed which culminated in An Taoiseach’s (Bertie Ahern)apology on behalf of the State and the people of Ireland to all victims of institutional abuse on the 11th May of 1999. This was followed by the establishment of a nationwide counselling service, a Commission of Inquiry into Institutional Abuse and the establishment of the Redress Board. From that first meeting with the former Taoiseach, it was obvious that not only did Bertie Ahern listen but more importantly, he believed everything Christine had said.

In 2000 during a further meeting with An Taoiseach, Christine explained the difficulties survivors were encountering in trying to access records to help them find their parents, siblings and extended families. Again, Bertie Ahern listened attentively and in 2001 Origins- a tracing service was set up by Barnardos. This has led to numerous survivors being reunited with siblings who poignantly were separated at the time of their incarceration. In some cases, survivors have been reunited with their mothers.
Centres have been established such as Aislinn Education and Support Centre in Dublin and Right of place in Cork together with others in the UK and again Bertie Ahern played a pivotal role in that regard.

In 2004 following another meeting with An Taoiseach Christine expressed concerns about vulnerable survivors receiving compensation without adequate supports, Bertie Ahern provided the solution when he advised the Redress Board to institute measures with the Money Advice & Budgeting Services (MABS) centres to assist survivors in vulnerable situations on how best to use their monies. I strongly believe without Christine’s intervention none of the above would have happened. I do believe it is high time she is recognised for her pivotal role in changing society hopefully for the better. We as survivors are so lucky that she is such an advocate working on our behalf, and we should acknowledge her role as a person who always puts fellow survivors before herself. (Neither myself or Christine have had time to get our papers ready for Redress)

There aren’t many people in Ireland who wouldn’t recognize Christine particularly in the current climate since the Ryan Report. She has devoted so much time and effort to this cause to the detriment of her health, family and not forgetting her education. She had been attending University and had to leave before she completed her degree. This was not an easy decision but things became so hectic in the last few years she had no choice but to abandon her love and desire to pursue a degree. I am sure you can empathise with Christine’s dilemma. (I also found myself in the same situation I was attending Trinity Access Programme and I too had to abandoned because of pressures running our centre,

My own sister died 3 years ago aged 50 years. It was shocking and I am still trying to come to terms with it. I have now lost 3 members of my family due to so called institutional care. We know only too well the scale and extent of institutional abuse in Ireland has not been properly addressed, it has scarred almost an entire generation and must be acknowledged. There isn’t enough money in the world to reclaim our stolen childhoods! But I think if Christine was to receive THE FREEDOM OF THE CITY it would certainly make all of her efforts worthwhile, and it would be a way that her husband and children could celebrate her huge achievement and bravery for telling her story over 26years ago. I think it is important that she receives her award while she is in relatively good health.

As children our innocence was stolen, we were robbed and deprived of our childhoods, so many of us were told every day that we were worthless nobodies and unwanted, beaten, sexually abused and tossed out on the streets when we reached16. So many of our people left these hell-holes were illiterate and Christine has always had this passion to have a centre were fellow survivors could meet and feel a sense of belonging.

She fought doggedly to get a centre to enable survivors’ avail of an opportunity to get the education they so justly deserve, and in the early days she battled cancer and still continued to be actively involved in the centre. She would attend the centre attached to her drip! What a women were does she get her inner strength? I sincerely hope it does not go unrecognized.

Christine’s courage has enabled thousands of people to feel free – free from untruth, free from the cowardice that characterised relations between church and state. There is a huge sense of freedom from the scarring of the emotional – the physical and sexual abuse, at last the awful shame so many feel is slowly shifting. I think the time has come when we have to award Christine the accolade she so justly deserves THE FREEDOM OF THE CITY.

Redress to be Extended/Magdalene’s to be Included

On another note I would urge that the Redress Date be extended in the light of the revelations of The Ryan Report. We have had so many who have asked us why was there a closing date before the report was COMPLETED, some didn’t know anything until after Report, so many are illiterate and so many fled this country and did not know about The Commission until it went out on international news. The Magdalene Laundries should have been included as some of these women were incarcerated for years and years against their will.
I anxiously await your reply.

Yours sincerely

Carmel McDonnell-Byrne
353879175105

(Fellow Survivor and Co-founder & Director of The Aislinn Centre)

Brian Cowen’s government is set to invite Elizabeth Windsor on an official state visit, most likely in the summer of 2011. The only thing that can stop the ‘British queen’ from walking the streets of Dublin and elsewhere is people power. It’s easy to join the campaign to stop the British royal visit. Read on to see how you can help.

As you read this email there are more than 5,000 British combat troops,
9,000 paramilitary police and 100s of MI5 operatives occupying six Irish
counties. Thousands more British soldiers are taking part in the
Anglo-American occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. All of these forces are loyal to one person, the head of the British state and British armed forces, one Elizabeth Windsor, aka the ‘British Queen’.

Dublin City Council is scheduled to debate a motion opposing a British
royal visit to the Twenty-Six Counties at their monthly meeting on
September 6. The text of the motion, which was submitted by éirígí’s
Councillor Louise Minihan, reads:

“That this council notes with deep concern the proposal for a state visit to the Twenty Six Counties by the British head of state. Such a visit would be entirely inappropriate whilst the British state continues to implement imperialist policies and commit human rights abuses across the world, most notably in Afghanistan, Iraq and here in Ireland. This council calls on the Dublin government to abandon its plans to invite the British head of state to Ireland and on behalf of the proud citizens of this city we declare that Elizabeth Windsor is not welcome in Dublin.”

Dear Mr Scullin,

Maybe I will respond with

“That this City Council notes the number of unreconstructed nuts in Ireland whose olfactory organs are so damaged that they are incapable of smelling the roses, thus condemning themselves to fighting ancient wars when a truce has been called and the whole world has passed on.

“Then came the Great War: Every institution, almost, in the world was
strained. Great Empires have been overturned. The whole map of Europe has been changed. The position of countries has been violently altered. The modes of thought of men, the whole outlook on affairs, the grouping of parties, all have en countered violent and tremendous changes in the deluge of the world. But as the deluge subsides and the waters fall short, we see the dreary steeples of Fermanagh and Tyrone emerging once again. The integrity of their quarrel is one of the few institutions that has been unaltered in the cataclysm which has swept the world. (1922 Churchill)

Here I live in a world set in train by the Coal and Steel Community where Germans and French,Hungarians and Romanians, Poles and Germans, Irish and English can share sovereignty in the common good.

And I wake up and see Eirigi and fellow-travellers and feel sad. Yes,”Sad” that Ireland can produce such people of low self-esteem that they have to be against something; such low self-esteem that somehow the Queen of England, granddaugher of German immigrants can cause such a reaction. These peopls should follow the comedy of Prince Philip the Greek, Prince Charles of Private Eye and have a good laugh.

The lyrics “When will they ever learn” Apply.

Dr Bill Tormey Dublin City Councillor and European Integrationist
Fine Gael