Thus is Martin McGuinness described in a letter to the latest edition of Private Eye. Moreover, he is said to have "proven himself" such "over many years". The name at the bottom is "A Maskey", who professes to be writing from Belfast.
Might this be Alex Maskey, Sinn Féin MLA and that party's longest-serving Councillor? As its first ever Lord Mayor of Belfast, he not only opened the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, but also laid a wreath in honour of those Irishmen who had died fighting in the First World War. Clearly, he, too, is a loyal British Citizen. As, of course, were they.
These days, who is not? Irish Republicanism no longer exists as a serious political force in
Northern Ireland, rather than as an annual outlet for the mixture of
adolescent levels of testosterone with alcohol and other intoxicants. Just look at the voting figures for "dissident Republican" candidates for anything, no matter how illustrious, in their own terms, might be their past records in the IRA.
Rather, the sober grown-ups vote in huge numbers for Martin McGuinness and Alex Maskey. Among other loyal British Citizens. Like themselves.
I think most of us on this side of the Irish Sea assumed the letter to "Private Eye" was a hoax. And so it has proved with Ian Hislop now stating he never checked the authenticity after Alex made a complaint.
ReplyDeleteFor the sake of accuracy you may wish to edit your blog entry.
Alex Maskey is an interesting character. Mayor of Belfast but prior to that he had been shot in the stomache and almost killed by loyalists while he was painting his house.
This led to DUP councillors led by Sammy Wilson to refer to him constantly as "Leadbelly" each time he rose to speak in the Council Chamber.
FJH
"Hoax" is not quite the word. The sender was probably making the same points as I was, albeit from a very different starting position. And he did make them.
ReplyDeleteBut he wasnt Alex Maskey
ReplyDeleteBut he could have been. He might as well have been. That was the point. And it was well made.
ReplyDelete