What does the 1916 uprising mean for Irish society?

For the Americans, the declaration of independence or for the French is like the French Revolution. Historical and today very important. Today, however, it is a shame for those in power who rule thanks to the courage of the men and women who gave their lives in the rebellion of 1916 and in the war of independence from 1919 to 1921.

Today, 1916 is very important because we still depend on Britain and interference from the North has a very negative influence on the South. Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, two of the major southern parties, try to subtract the value of the 1916 uprising. Those of us who are Irish Republicans today continue to call “free states” the 26 provinces of the South, which in 1921 gave it the English name. Recently, there was talk on television of 26 Irish provinces, presenting them as nations, leaving aside the integrity of Ireland. In a famous book written in 1940 by the writer Frank Gallagher, it is stated that the six northern provinces had to give in so that another 26 could obtain freedom.

The Irish Government made a video in which heavy smoke dust was produced.

Months before the uprising, the Irish government published a video recalling the 1916 uprising. It's Bono, U2 singer, Bob Geldof, Ian Paisley, David Cameron and the Queen of the United Kingdom. These audiovisuals caused a lot of rage.

What drove him to take IRA weapons in the late 1960s?

Between 1912 and 1922 a minority in Northern Ireland rose up with German weapons. The UVF became the first fascist paramilitary force of the twentieth century in Europe. We were threatened with civil war if we were to reclaim our sovereignty. Sovereignty was not a new republic, but a kind of British dominance that Scotland or Wales have today. After the First World War, we were forced into the North-South divide.

We have a sense of guilt for the subconscious loss of Northern Ireland. No one came to our aid when they attacked us and burned our homes. That's why our people entered the IRA. After the long battle of the IRA, the UK Government was forced to negotiate: the unionists had to do things they would never accept: share power, release political prisoners, dissolve the police forces of the RUC or reform the judiciary. Unionists tried to reduce these measures, because they are very fanatic and sectarian. That is why we are fully legitimated to support the armed struggle of the IRA and proudly claim the resistance of 1916.

Is Irish society aware of the events of 1916 or is it pure folklore?

The difficulties facing the Irish Government will not end next week, and it is expected to end next week. This centenary of independence is also the anniversary of those who died in the IRA’s hunger strike. Next year will mark the centenary of a deceased on hunger strike in 1917. In 1918, the Irish voted for independence in the general elections. That same year, the British declared the Irish Parliament illegal. In 1919, it marks 100 years since the beginning of the war of independence in Ireland. The Government does not know how to manage all these initiatives, but, despite that, these actions are in power thanks to them all. Many men and women gave their lives for independence and this government does nothing for the freedom of Ireland. Ireland is still subject to British law.

This year 35 years have passed since the hunger strike in the H blocks. How did this affect Irish society?

The 1981 hunger strike I described as our 1916. Ten young people from a very small area of Northern Ireland survived for seven months Margaret Thatcher, the largest bastard in the history of Britain. Thatcher said to them, “How will I accept you if you have no land?” Then, when Bobby Sands and other political prisoners were elected as political representatives, Thatcher refused to change the electoral laws and to be recognized as politicians. These men died in jail.

We then embarked on a strategy to shame the UK Government for its unfair laws and started to offer services to the people on the street: we fought with them for housing, decent social security and unemployment. We made roads and put our forces in agriculture, fisheries and culture. The Republican movement did, it was very revolutionary. The British Government did not like anything and organised the loialists to kill our leaders. They attacked our homes, they banned us from television and radios. I was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1982, and two weeks later, I was banned from entering Britain until 1997. If I did, I would be sentenced to five years in prison. The British Government did not respect the law. They were mixed up in the dirty war and hid it. We were told that they were going to publish a 3,000 page report by the police Lord Stevens that would talk about the dirty war, but they only taught us 17 pages. They hide a lot. But we have nothing to hide. We were going to jail if we were caught in something. People in our community have spent hundreds of years in prison. Only very few policemen and soldiers had come to jail. Everything was covered. We now know that the intelligence services of the British Government were dedicated to arming and training the loialists. They covered their crimes.

Do you see the opportunity for a united Ireland?

Firstly, in addition to the nationalists in Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland, we must also teach the unionists in the North that a united Ireland makes economic, social and political sense. In any case, in addition to the threats of the Republican dissidents or the achievements of the loialists, we have to deal with many problems. The problem of England with Brexit is also there, because most of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland may want to stay in the European Union. Most of England is in favour of exit. We have no freedom and we know that the British Government wants to put an end to European law and human rights, because of the problem it has in Northern Ireland. They know that they will soon have to deal with the trials taking place on a number of issues that have happened in the north. For example, between 1971 and 1975 the law of habeas corpus was suspended. I am therefore very suspicious of the British. You must always be alert to them.