It's the 25th anniversary of the death of Bobby Sands on hunger strike. There are various commemorative events and interpretations. One of the bleaker assessments, which seems to have slipped below the radar screen, is that of Bernadette McAliskey -- a stalwart of 1970s Irish nationalism who now has a much lower profile. Anyway, just to put it into the mix, here's what she told the Irish Times (subs. req'd) last week:
"I don't hold with this idea of glorious sacrifice and moral victory," she says. "We were defeated. Ten men died. And for what? So we could go to Stormont? For dodgy diesel and stolen cigarettes? To live off the public purse and complain that foreigners are coming in and taking our jobs? We paid very dearly for very little."
No comments:
Post a Comment