Momentum Regained

Now the real work begins

In this game the wins are few and far between. More often than not even within our own ranks, there is more division than unity. A movement made up of free thinkers is somewhat of an oxymoron to begin with. Add into the mix five years of pressure, mortal danger, overlapping agendas, potential infiltration resulting in constant suspicion and you have the ingredients for a situation where there is bound to be infighting. The week following on from Easter weekend until now has been chaotic to say the least. It was a defining one within this group of people who make up the resistance. Fractures appeared due to certain events (to be addressed later in the article) that were probably already there and if we can find a way of discussing these things rationally without pointing fingers at one another or ex-communicating people for the crime of having an opinion, we will end up all the better for it.

In this game of fleeting victories, it is so important to celebrate even the smallest ones. One thing to take enormous heart from however is that despite all the arguing and downright blue murder, people still managed to put all that to one side on Saturday and showed up in their thousands for the love of their nation. The recapturing of momentum was essential at the weekend to breathe new life into a movement that has been on life support for some time now. At least now we once more have something to build on. The suspicion, arguing and infighting is unfortunately an inescapable symptom of fighting back against this machine that has weaponised everything in its arsenal against us, including undoubtedly bad actors who walk among us and hide in plain sight within our ranks. However, the display of patriotism on show in Dublin at the weekend gave the heart and soul a badly needed lift to such a degree that perhaps we can analyse the causes of all the division now with slightly more sobriety.

Ireland’s history is a tragic one. The tales of glory we romanticise came at an enormous cost. The figures we deify went through absolute hell, battling against monumental odds, more often than not going to their deaths selflessly with no chance of witnessing any tangible success. Our sporadic, incomplete glories are dwarfed and dogged by bad luck, bad timing but also above all, relentless betrayal and treachery. The traitor and knave are as much a part of Ireland’s story as the hero. Suspicion is almost certainly encoded into our DNA because of this. Even the Rising itself was split by the countermand issued by the head of the Irish Volunteers, Eoin MacNeill after the men had already been mobilised, so Irish resistance to tyranny has historically been anything but clear cut and unified. We are an extremely hard headed bunch and it has hampered us as much as it has helped us in the the past and the present. Is it any wonder the unity required to move us in the right direction, so often in the past few years, seems unattainable and of late had appeared to be slipping further and further from our grasp. The love for this magical place however, was and is so great, that when it matters most and all hope appears lost, those who have been chosen for the fight, bite their lip and fight on anyway. For Ireland and Ireland alone.

I want to address the elephant in the room but this time with a far cooler head. My opinion on the choice of venue for the Conor McGregor interview with Tucker Carlson has not altered one iota, but time has helped me look closer at both sides despite the initial punch in the gut delivered by the bizarre, grotesque vista of the chequered floor and Masonic symbolism that was transmitted to us through our screens. Although I still respect and value highly, the opinions of certain people who strongly disagree with me on this — and who in my view have made massive contributions to the fightback in the past few years — I can’t accept the suggestion that there’s “nothing to see here” and that people should just ignore their instincts and feelings on what happened and simply move along without question. The vast majority of people who are on this journey are by their very nature curious sorts, who cut their teeth and honed their investigative skills in the conspiratorial field. Those instincts cannot be so easily and readily switched off — and in this absolutely insane world that has been foisted upon us, nor should they be. After much reflection and consideration, the choice of the Grand Lodge on Molesworth Street as the venue for the McGregor interview still does not sit well with my gut but this will be my last word on the matter.

I am not one to dive down rabbit holes for the sake of it, but even avoiding going full Alice in Wonderland and approaching this topic in a more measured fashion, there remain numerous questions that need to be answered. We need to be able to re-evaluate in real time based on new information, even if it hampers the perceived reality we have constructed for ourselves. Challenging things we want to believe are true can often be the most difficult, thankless and painful to take on. The biggest question I have about the whole affair does not require any deep diving into the shady conspiracy world. What I want to know more than anything else is; why, on Easter weekend (the most significant time of year on the Irish Republican calendar) was the home turf of a secret brotherhood, a wealthy old boys club — traditionally and overwhelmingly made up of members of the British aristocracy and Irish ascendancy — chosen to host a discussion about the plight of the Irish working class?

There are numerous places to hold such an event including The Black Forge, why there? I’m not even suggesting McGregor is a member of this exclusive club, but he doesn’t have to be. The focus and attention was not on the symbolism of our fallen heroes of 1916 on the very weekend they took up arms and laid down their lives for our freedom, instead the eyes of the world charged the inner sanctum of the old scheming ground of their former colonial masters. It matters not how much or how little power this brotherhood may or may not have these days, the point is it was tasteless beyond belief and seemed to me to be done to provoke a reaction. This would have gone through a team of people with a decision making process involved and at no point did anyone say it was maybe a bad idea due to the potential fallout, which leads me to believe the choice was anything but random.

I see it at the very least as a provocation designed to create chaos and division. By who I have no idea, but the suggestion that it was trolling the elite on their home turf negates the argument that this group no longer holds any power. It was also a pretty risky thing to do if there were pure intentions, due the the ‘hysteria’ (I believe otherwise and that questions are more than warranted) created from it. The timing just before a national protest that already had issues with a divided camp further lends weight to any suspicions which in my view cannot be so easily dismissed as mere paranoia. We live in an age where information travels instantaneously, nobody can convince me whoever was behind this wasn’t aware of the noise that this would create.

Dogma is always dangerous and keeping an open mind to ensure new information is analysed with less inbuilt bias is essential. The reluctance from many people in and around the movement to cast even the slightest critical eye upon the developing McGregor situation is perhaps in part due to the fact that it would throw the whole thing wide open once more. Questions regarding McGregor inevitably lead to questions about Trump, who many have thrown their full weight behind and even widely suspected potential Zionist puppeteers, who knows. But the problem is, all of the above would instantly return to the table if we opt for the more difficult option of choosing not to ignore the location of the event on Good Friday and choose to pretend its nothing at all. Whatever it is, I do not believe it is nothing, so therefore it must be talked about. It’s far easier to ignore things that are inconvenient to our collective aims, but is it alright and justified for people to be herded and formed into a mass, just because the shepherd wields a velvet Gucci crook instead of a wooden one and repeats our talking points back to us?

There would be nothing more dangerous right now to Ireland than all of the positive energy of this rising populist movement being invested into the custody of one man where it can be safely earthed. Added to this, someone who already has state leverage against him and has often displayed qualities which could let the side down at any given moment. Even at the time of writing this article news has emerged that McGregor is being pursued for a separate alleged sexual assault in Miami. The very best men can be controlled, blackmailed, threatened or even god forbid removed from this plain of existence, so please consider this before placing all of your faith in Conor McGregor or any celebrity for that matter. For this very reason the people must continue to put their faith in themselves, but by all means accept whatever positive help comes their way when it arrives.

If McGregor offers us genuine help then great, but we must always remain cautious of the celebrity element and all that it brings and observe this thing on a case by case basis. A fluid, dynamic movement made up of intelligent, determined people scattered throughout the country is far more preferable. That is something that cannot be so easily harnessed or suppressed. If people with a massive global reach want to help, by all means and McGregor in fairness, has already helped considerably in this regard. No matter what anyone says about him, Conor McGregor helped Ireland when he went to The White House, that much is undeniable. Nobody will ever be able to take that away from him, but to allow someone to parachute in and be handed the keys to a ready made movement built by the people themselves over a five year period, is a different story. It is both foolish and naive in equal measure.

All of this being said, I want to try to be as fair and balanced as possible, I am trying to keep a fluid position on all of this because to take a fixed one at the speed things are currently moving would not be wise. McGregor in my opinion, redeemed himself hugely on Saturday and credit must always be given where it’s due. The footage of him with his family at the Garden of Remembrance was so much more tasteful and far better optics than the week before. He seemed genuinely invested as his eyes scanned the wall where the words of that incredible poem An Aisling are emblazoned. The speech he gave too was pretty good. His presence there and the releasing of the video before the protest almost certainly resulted in increased numbers in attendance, with young lads from Dublin likely mobilised to go to town on the off chance of meeting the ‘Champ-champ’. The fact he didn’t hang around and make it about himself must be commended. It avoided an inevitable circus of shallow selfies which would have completely taken away from the spirit of the day. This for me suggested that despite the many questions, the man does have a genuine love for Ireland and a respect for what the people themselves as a collective have built, so kudos to him for that.

How McGregor’s role in Ireland’s fortunes plays out in the coming months and years is anyone’s guess, but it is not one I believe we should either support unequivocally or unconditionally or indeed flatly condemn. A balanced adult approach will protect us all from any disappointment. The Irish people have been betrayed far too many times to welcome any would-be saviours with open arms. Whoever they may be. I for one refuse to be bullied into a conforming opinion on the matter, even though that may on the face of it appear detrimental to the nationalist cause. What would be truly detrimental to the nationalist cause would be a reversion to hero worship and cult of personality, resulting in the parking of true republican values and principles. A republic is by the people and for the people, we all must play our part. McGregor is an Irishman and one of our people. Due to his enormous wealth and global reach, he has the potential to make a far more sizeable contribution than most, but that doesn’t mean the people can rest on their laurels or down tools because salvation is here. Each one of us needs to continue to fight like hell in our own unique way.

The hard work is only really beginning, so much more is coming down the tracks for the ordinary people of this world. For instance, I would like to hear his knowledge on such topics as Digital ID for instance and if he agrees it could be implemented as a viable solution to tracking the terrorists (as well as ordinary citizens) they have allowed to freely enter Europe due to open borders. We need to be extremely vigilant in the next while to ensure we don’t get the wool pulled over our eyes as we always seem to. Observing a global megastar bearing gifts with a cynical, tentative eye is by no means foolish — on the contrary, not to do so would be. My cautious approach to this whole subject is not something I would like to fall out with people over so it’s entirely up to them if they choose to fall out with me over it. On Saturday in Dublin, I made up with people who had been at my throat over this last week. Tensions are high and sometimes a gasket blows, that’s totally understandable. Now we move forward.

I would like to close out this article focusing on the many positives that came from Saturday’s event. The reason why we are all so on edge is because the stakes could not be higher, the survival of the Irish people as an indigenous race and rightful owners of this land is at stake here. Personal disagreements pale into insignificance when faced with such a horrendous prospect as losing our homeland. It was so important to see huge crowds turn out to give the people a badly needed lift. I am so glad I went after a week of despondency due to all the infighting and division, but the Irish have a way of surprising you and lifting your spirits again when you’re on the floor. The sight of all those flags and the joy of standing with my people has really renewed my hope and has given me that extra bit of energy and impetus to keep going.

I must be honest last week I was absolutely floored and demoralised, it’s been an extremely stressful period for me not only with all that’s happened, but also in my personal life and it all came on top last week. We all have our own problems to deal with too and sometimes we forget that, myself included. Nobody said this would be easy and none of us are going to get along all the time, I went on a blocking spree last week because I just couldn’t be dealing with the amount of abuse, but I made up with loads of people in person which was great. To all the people who approached me for a chat, thank you all so much, it really means more than you’ll know and it gives me a massive boost. We are all part of this thing together and you are all my brothers and sisters. I have nothing but love for the Irish people, which is why I can’t stop even if I wanted to.

I was so happy that my wife came along on this occasion and she is the reason I changed my mind. We were married in Arbour Hill church and the sight of that on fire last week I think really drove the message home to her far better than I’ve been able to. In fairness, she’s agreed with me for quite some time now but I am over the moon that she finally decided to make the effort to attend and stand to be counted with all of us who have been at this for the past five years, some even longer. I met some of the best of our people, the wafer thin ‘far right’ nonsense is now absolutely impossible to peddle the new narrative has shifted to the ordinary people have been tricked and misguided by sinister forces, because the former is no longer plausible or in their own words, sustainable. You who peddle this rubbish are the sinister forces you speak of and those of you who haven’t the intellectual capacity to realise this, are the useful idiots and suckers demonstrating for your own destruction.

The GPO will always be chosen for the pathetic state counter protest. They will never concede that ground and allow the symbolic significance of us reclaiming that spot. They know the power the imagery of Pearse reading the Proclamation at those pillars holds. One day we will take that space back by sheer weight of numbers, you can count on it! Another thing I was hugely heartened by was the amount of burly young men present. The amount of hard looking, muscular, square jawed Gaels walking down O’Connell Street was hugely encouraging. We may need them yet. Connolly famously said “No revolutionary movement is complete without its poetical expression”, that is my natural lane that I have tried my best to occupy, but if there are no savages for your words to inspire, it’s a futile endeavour. As much as I saw old friendly faces, I saw countless new far sterner ones, perhaps that’s the McGregor effect who knows, but I’ll take it regardless.

Another thing that heartened me greatly was use of Ár dTeanga in the speeches. I’ve heard Paddy Quinlan use it in some of his videos (what a speech he gave by the way), but hadn’t heard Malachy Steenson use a cúpla focal previously. It was wonderful to hear. It brings with it a power all of its own. A power that’s almost ethereal. The emerging nationalist figureheads — political and cultural — who embrace this will harness the power of the land and the muisneach of the ancestors. It is something we as a people collectively simply must do. Our language is our birthright. A right that has been stolen from us. Ironically an Irish Freemason by the name of Daniel O’Connell, the great emancipator, perhaps delivered its most fatal blow as a living language when he suggested Béarla was preferable as the modern global language.

Speaking it as a first language brought shame to the peasantry as it was associated with poverty and backwardness. The task now falls on us to reverse this dynamic and associate it with Gaelic pride and nationalism, for its only when the tongue of the oppressor becomes merely one of the languages we speak, can we truly claim we are a confident independent people. The talamh is crying out to hear the lush tones of Ghaeilig echoing through her glens and her vales once more, but also the streets of her towns and cities. Foreign tongues are spoken more now on these shores than our beautiful ancient tongue, which no doubt hurts the heart of Ériu. Speak to the mother goddess in the language she has known for millennia and she will respond. She will then be ours once more.

Eiríonn cumhacht den tíre!