I heard on NPR today the Queen is visiting Ireland. I know just enough to know this could be contentious so I turned up the radio, but alas I didn’t gleen much during my early morning drive to Starbucks (for grounds). So I’m home waiting for the pot to finish and I thought I’d do some quick research.
This visit marks the 37th anniversary of the bloodiest day in Irish history in which over 30 people were killed during four car bombings in Dublin and also Monaghan. A bomb threat for central London suspected to be linked with Irish Republican Terrorists have been intercepted and safely detonated. Irish President, Mary McAleese, said the Queen’s visit would be an ”extraordinary moment” for the two countries. The Queen is to lay a wreath in honor of the Irish who fought for independence, including those who died in the 1916 Easter Rising.
The Queen is the first British monarch to travel to the Republic in 100 years and the first since Ireland gained independence from Britain. President McAleese said the Queen’s visit is “emblematic of the progress between the two countries,” noting also that this is “absolutely the right moment for us to welcome on to Irish soil her majesty the Queen, the head of state of our immediate next-door neighbours.” Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said the Queen should expect a warm reception from the majority of people.
I remember being in high school in the early to mid-90’s and not understanding what the hell was wrong with Sinead O’Conner all the time. I had ordered that 12 CD’s for 1 penny deal from Columbia House and ended up with “I do not want what I haven’t got.” I loved Sinead’s music and this was long before we shared a hairdo but the young lass couldn’t stop pulling stunts like this on Letterman.
I couldn’t figure out what she was about, even after listening to this track over and over…
Remember that in 1992, we didn’t really have the internet, so I remained in my ignorance. Looking back it’s interesting that the term Terrorist first came up in my life in relation to stories of the IRA. There was mention of a “fundamentalist IRA bomb” as a sarcastic remark in Beautiful Thing. That came out in 1996, so from 1992 when Sinead was booed for ripping up the Pope’s image to 1996 it was not, I can surmise, “too soon” to be making jokes about the IRA. Just two years later, in 1998, an IRA car bombing killed 29 people in Northern Ireland.
The IRA began its terrorist attacks on the British army and police following a summer of violent rioting between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. Ah – so this is terrorism without Islam, Israel nor the entire Middle East involved. This is a timely lesson in history: Terrorism can sprout out up anywhere and has been practiced by both right-wing and left-wing political parties, nationalistic groups, religious groups, revolutionaries, and ruling governments. [1] Yikes. I can’t help but think that we, the US, may not be immune to this. Why would we be so special?
This is by no means an exhaustive study of the history of Ireland, The Crown, terrorism or indeed, of anything at all. It’s just a jumping off point for discussion. I know we’ve got some rather well versed types in history and politics around here, so I’m hoping to provoke some discussion that we [I] can learn from.
1 – Encyclopædia Britannica
[Photo from flickr]
