The recent decision by the Northern Ireland Prosecution Service not to prosecute fifteen former British soldiers and one civilian for perjury concerning their testimony during the Bloody Sunday Inquiry is yet another attack on the universally accepted standards of justice and a continuing denial of the fundamental human rights of the victims and their families.

The lies told by these men were not harmless fibs; they slandered the names of innocent victims and their families, they covered up killings which former British Prime Minister David Cameron admitted forty years later were “unjustified and unjustifiable.” These lies led to an escalation of the Northern Ireland conflict and countless other killings and suffering.

For the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) to claim there is “insufficient” evidence to pursue perjury charges is an insult to the world’s intelligence. One does not need fingerprints, DNA, or advanced forensics to determine perjury, just the facts and a willingness to acknowledge them. It is ludicrous to believe that there were enough facts to motivate the Prime Minister to state that the killings of Bloody Sunday were “unjustified and unjustifiable,” and yet those same facts can not be used to indict those who claimed that the actions of 1st Parachute Regiment on that day were justifiable. To say that there is no prospect of a conviction bespeaks a lack of competence or a lack of will on the part of the PPS. We believe it is the latter.

By not addressing these perjuries, the British government continues its campaign to airbrush from history its role during the darkest days of Northern Ireland’s past. The PPS decision contradicts the accountability promised by the British government in 2010 when it agreed with the Saville Inquiry’s findings. The decision repudiates Britain’s previous commitments to reconciliation under the Good Friday Agreement and other treaties. Following the adoption of the “Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act,” it is yet another example of a two-tier justice system, the sort of justice system that the U.S. has loudly denounced in Russia, China, and the Middle East.

In light of these developments, the Ancient Order of Hibernians urges the United States to demand a review of this decision and to hold the British government accountable for its commitments to justice and the Good Friday Agreement in which the United States played such a pivotal role. The Ancient Order of Hibernians stands firmly with the families still grappling with the loss of their loved ones and calls for a transparent reevaluation of the evidence against the backdrop of acknowledged truth.

Phone Number for Florida Commerce Secretary Kelly (850) 245-7105

Please also consider calling your State Senator and State Representative

The script is provided below as an aid to this call to action; you can, of course, use your own words.  If you use the script, please pre-read it so you are comfortable.

When you call, say, “I wish to speak to [ the person you are calling by title, for example, Governor DeSantis, Commerce Secretary Kelly].  You will likely be told that is not possible but that you can leave a message and then launch into the script or what you wish to say. 

“Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME], a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians from [YOUR TOWN/COUNTY IN FLORIDA].  I’m calling to voice my strong opposition to the proposed trade deal between Florida and the United Kingdom.

The news of a U.K. Florida trade deal following the recent passage of the Northern Ireland Troubles and Reconciliation Act by the UK Parliament deeply troubles me.  The act denies justice to the victims of the conflict in Northern and grants amnesty for murder.  It is opposed by all the communities of Northern Ireland, Catholics and Protestants, Loyalists, and Nationalists.  Britain is imposing this legislation upon them without their consent.  The UN, the Council Of Europe, and 90% of the people in Britain oppose this act.  The only one supporting it is a British government trying to hide its past.

Considering Britain’s repeated failures to uphold international treaties regarding Northern Ireland, I believe it’s unwise for Florida to enter into a trade agreement with a partner that does not honor its previous commitments.

I urge you [NAME OF PERSON YOU ARE CALLING], to reconsider supporting this deal.  It would not only betray the victims of the Troubles and their families but also send a message that Florida condones this amnesty for murder.  As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,’ injustice in the north of Ireland should not be rewarded with a trade deal by the state of Florida.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

The British Government has been anxious to sign a trade deal with the United States since BREXIT; the fact that the British Government has not been able to do so has embarrassed them. 

Having been frustrated in getting an actual national trade deal, the British Government has embarked on a new marketing strategy: getting what it is marketing as “trade deals” with individual states.   Now, these “trade deals” are more “memorandums of understanding” (Article I, Section 10 of the Constitution prohibits states from making independent trade deals).  This is a cynical British marketing ploy.  By getting a collection of supposed “trade deals” with individual states, the British are attempting to sell BREXIT at home while building momentum and a case for a real trade deal.   They are aided by American politicians of both parties who see their own P.R. potential in announcing a “feel good” “trade deal” without realizing the consequences.

The U.K. recently concluded a “trade deal” with the State of Washington.  U.K. trade minister Nusrat Ghani said, “Florida is next on the list.  That should be concluded shortly.“

 A win in Florida would give the U.K. tremendous momentum,  but a loss would be seismic and deliver a clear message that injustice in Ireland has consequences.  We are reaching out to all Florida Hibernians to contact their Governor to express their belief that callous injustice in Ireland should not be rewarded.

Neither the U.S. nor its states should reward the rejection of fundamental human rights in Ireland with a “trade deal.”  We should not give something to Britain that we would withhold on human rights grounds if it were any other nation.  Turning a blind eye to injustice is not the friendship of a “special relationship”; it is being an accessory in a crime.   

If your Congressperson has already signed, contact them to say thank you on behalf of the Hibernians

If not, please contact them; below are suggested steps.

Please read the suggested script below or determine what you wish to say in your own words before contacting your Congressional Representatives office to ensure that it is crisp and on point when you speak.  You will only have a few minutes and must be focused and on topic.

Call your Congressional Representatives Office; the phone number can be found on their website or using the Congressional look-up tool on the AOH website https://aoh.com/political-education/elected-representative-lookup/

When you call, ask to speak to the aide who handles European Affairs

You will either be connected or asked to leave a message

Make your request that the Representative sign on to H.Res.888 – Expressing the hope for justice for the victims of Bloody Sunday, sponsored by Representative Keating of Massachusetts and cosponsored by Representative Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. 

At the conclusion, thank whom you are speaking to and request that someone follow up with you providing your name, phone number, and email

Hello, my name is  (YOUR NAME), and I am a constituent of Representative (YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE)  from (YOUR TOWN AND STATE).  As an Irish American and member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, I ask that (YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE) you join your colleagues in signing a bipartisan resolution, H.Res.888 – Expressing the hope for justice for the victims of Bloody Sunday, sponsored by Congressman Keating of Massachusetts and cosponsored by Representative Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.

January 30^th 2022 marked the 50^th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the unjustified killing of 14 innocent and unarmed men by British paratroopers during a civil rights march in Derry, Northern Ireland.  Despite the admission by Prime Minister Cameron that British paratroopers had fired first, had fired on fleeing unarmed civilians, and shot and killed one man who was already wounded, Britain continues to deny the Bloody Sunday victims justice.  Having stalled prosecutions for over half a century, the British government is now proposing to grant its forces one of the most sweeping amnesties in history for their action in Northern Ireland.  This proposal has unified all elements of the Northern Ireland community, Loyalist and Republican, Catholic and Protestant, in condemnation and opposition.  

If such a proposal for an amnesty for murder were made by a South American, Middle Eastern, African, or Asian Government, the U.S. would rightly be loud in its condemnation.    We can not let a perceived  “special relationship” now gag us in demanding justice for the dead who can no longer speak for themselves.   Bloody Sunday is not a ‘historical issue’; the brothers, sisters, and children of the victims deserve answers and justice.

 I ask that (YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE) please contact (see below) and ask to sign on to his letter opposing Britain’s proposed statute of limitations and the sanctioning of murder in the North of Ireland

Contact information to Add Name as Cosponsor

If Democrat substitute “ Congressman Keating’s aide Garrett Donovan (202) 225-3111”

If Republican substitute “Congressman Fitzpatrick’s aide Evan Schuler (202) 225-4276”

In a letter to Dr. Robert Mauro, Director of the Irish Institute of Boston College, the Ancient Order of Hibernians take exception with the institute promoting Mr. Trevor Ringland, MBE, as the “Special Envoy from Northern Ireland to the United States” in an upcoming talk at the Universities McMullen Museum on 10/19. The title was conferred on Mr. Ringland by the Government of Boris Johnson in an announcement on June 6th of this year. The letter states:

“Precise language and rigor of description are the hallmarks of good scholarship. Therefore, we are gravely disappointed that Boston College should fail these standards in misrepresenting Mr. Trevor Ringland, MBE as the “Special Envoy from Northern Ireland to the United States” [sic] at an event to be held 10/19 at the McMullen Museum.

As a member of the community of Northern Ireland, a former star Rugby player, solicitor, and member of the Northern Ireland Conservative party (which currently holds no seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly), Mr. Ringland is a voice and perspective that deserves to be heard with respect but also with proper context. Mr. Ringland is not a “Special Envoy from Northern Ireland to the United States,” despite the fact that the British Government is attempting to present him as one. Mr. Ringland was not appointed by the devolved Northern Ireland government of Stormont; he was appointed by Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis, who himself was appointed by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

In short, Mr. Ringland is an appointee of an appointee, and an attempt to spin a false equivalence between Mr. Ringland’s role and that of the “United States Special Envoy to Northern Ireland,” appointed by the U.S. President to represent the American people to Northern Ireland is duplicitous. In fact, describing Mr. Ringland as a “Special Envoy from Northern Ireland to the United States” is a sad example of the deceptive marketing tactic of “Astroturfing,” which the Merriam-Webster Dictionary describes as “organized activity that is intended to create a false impression of a widespread, spontaneously arising, grassroots movement in support of or in opposition to something (such as a political policy) but that is in reality initiated and controlled by a concealed group or organization.”

Abraham Lincoln is said to have once asked, “If you call a calf’s tail a leg, how many legs does it have?” When the listeners responded “Five,” “Lincoln replied, “No, four, because calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it so.” Sadly, the same is true for Mr. Ringland, calling him a “Special Envoy from Northern Ireland to the United States” doesn’t make him one, and is deceptive as to who indeed he is representing. We have no objection to Mr. Ringland speaking, but Boston College should not be party to calling “a tail a leg” and make crystal clear for whom he is speaking. We respectfully ask that Mr. Ringland be correctly identified at your presentation.

The letter is signed by AOH National Political Education Chair Neil F. Cosgrove

The announcement delivered by Northern Ireland Secretary Lewis today has achieved one singular distinction: he has succeeded in uniting and rallying the community of Northern Ireland irrespective of faith or identity and all major political parties in common cause against his proposed amnesty. Would that Mr. Lewis could have achieved such unanimity in approval of a measure that advanced peace in Northern Ireland rather than achieving consensus in condemnation of his efforts on behalf of Britain to evade justice. 

The universal outcry from the community of Northern Ireland makes clear that Mr. Lewis’ proposal serves only one interest: that of the British government in Whitehall. The British government has, despite signed commitments under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, the 2014 Stormont House Agreement, and the 2020 “New Decade/New Approach” Agreement, continued to thwart any attempt at a clear and transparent inquiry into the legacy of the unresolved issues of the conflict in Northern Ireland and the role of its agents including charges of collusion and state sanctioned murder.  Hearings to address the legacy of the conflict in Northern Ireland have been continually stalled and promised funding for investigation withheld. Evidence in police custody has been destroyed in a series of implausible “accidents,” while other key evidence has been reported as having been “lost” only to be “found” on display at London’s Imperial War Museum. Journalists investigating these failures by the government have been arrested and intimidated. Given their well-documented campaign to evade transparency and accountability, the contention by the British government that now too much time has passed for effective prosecution is the height of arrogance.

The United States would not silently tolerate such actions and coverup by a government in Africa, Asia, South America or the Middle East; it can not in good conscience be silent now. No “special relationship” should extend to condoning injustice and human rights violations. We are reminded of the words of Dr. Martin Luther King that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

The announcement by British Northern Ireland Secretary Lewis marks yet another instance of Britain unilaterally renegotiating the international agreements it signs; they are demonstrating a similar pattern of behavior regarding the Irish Protocol of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. Common sense dictates that no one should enter into a new agreement with a partner who has such a history of defaulting on its commitments. 

Given the pivotal role that the United States played in the historic Good Friday Agreement, the Hibernians call on President Biden and all members of the House and Senate to strongly denounce this latest violation by Britain of that historic agreement and put on hold any trade negotiations with Britain until Northern Ireland Secretary Lewis’s proposal for amnesty is withdrawn, and Britain delivers on their existing long overdue commitments under international treaties regarding Northern Ireland.

Daniel O’Connell, National President of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the largest Irish American organization in the U.S., has released the following statement:

After 18,171 days, almost half a century, today’s verdict by Mrs. Justice Keegan not only confirmed that the ten victims of Britain’s Ballymurphy Massacre were totally innocent but indicts the British who branded them guilty. The verdict clearly demonstrates Britain’s real reason for announcing plans for a soldiers’ amnesty or cut-off of historical investigations because the crown wants to bury the truth along with its victims. In the release of today’s coroner report on Ballymurphy, Mrs. Justice Keegan delivered her finding that all the victims were unarmed and entirely innocent. Justice Keegan’s report confirms that the events in Ballymurphy were the textbook definition of a massacre.

The verdict by Mrs. Justice Keegan amply demonstrates Britain’s real motivation for announcing plans for a soldiers amnesty: the planting of evidence on the bodies of innocent victims, of collusion between the British Soldiers in hampering the investigation and inquest, of substantial failures and violations by the British Government under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

It should not be forgotten that five months later that members of the same regiment, and highly likely the same soldiers, were involved in the massacre of Bloody Sunday, the seminal moment of the conflict known as “The Troubles.” A prior British court had found that the fourteen men killed during Bloody Sunday were also entirely innocent and documented the same egregious pattern of conspiracy and collusion by the British Army and Government to suppress the truth at the price of the victims and their families. The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) can not help but wonder how many lives could have been saved in “the Troubles” if Britain had acted responsibly and with justice at Ballymurphy?

The AOH commends the courage of Mrs. Justice Keegan in delivering her verdict. To the families of the Ballymurphy victims, we salute your strength, faithfulness, and resilience as you fought a fight for justice for your relatives, a justice that should have been theirs as a birthright without the need of a half-century campaign. The AOH has and will continue to stand with you.
At the same time, the AOH cannot help but note that as Mrs. Justice Keegan was delivering her verdict, simultaneously, the Queen’s speech signaled the British Government’s renewed attempts to evade accountability for its acts in the north of Ireland by announcing plans to legislate an amnesty for its soldiers and to unilaterally break its Stormont House Agreement pledge of a Historical Investigations Unit.

Having delayed justice for over half a century, the current British Government amnesty now seeks to deny it. To do so, they are cynically taking the scoundrel’s last refuge in patriotism by representing the prosecution of murderers as the persecutions of aging British soldiers while ignoring that young children who lost mothers, fathers, and brothers have themselves become grandparents while pursuing justice for their loved ones.  It is hard to buy the specious arguments of the British Government that the reaching of old age by the perpetrators of murder should be rewarded by prosecutors similarly to the Queen sending a telegram to a couple on their Diamond Anniversary.    

Morally, the United States cannot ignore human rights violations and the creation of a class above the law by Britain when similar acts have brought condemnation and sanction when perpetrated by an African or Asian state.  The United States must not participate in what former Irish Ambassador to the U.S. Séan Ó hUigínn described as Britain’s “Irish anomaly”; “Something that would be taken very seriously in another context can be disregarded if it comes with an Irish label.” The United States can not let the mythos of a “Special Relationship” turn it into an accomplice in injustice.”

The AOH will host the Ballymuphy Massacre families in a special webinar briefing on the inquest verdict Saturday, May 15^th, 11 AM EDT, 4 PM Irish Time. John Teggart will be joined by other Massacre victims’ relatives Briege Voyle and Carmel Quinn, and solicitor Paddy Murray. The AOH will be joined by Irish leaders from across the United States.  

Zoom Registration Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83654402494?pwd=TWVKQXNjRkJHaDllblRVa3E3WDFwdz09

YouTube link:  https://youtu.be/jlsRj4mwI9k

The Honorable William Keating
2351 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515

Re: May 5, 2021 Hearing on “Reaffirming the Good Friday Agreement.

Dear Congressman Keating:

We write to you as members of the National Board of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, with membership in all fifty states the largest Irish American organization in the United States, concerning your May 5, 2021 hearing on “Reaffirming the Good Friday Agreement.” Given the currents taking place in the north of Ireland, we do not believe that your hearing could be more timely or more needed, and we commend you for convening this hearing.

The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) is a seminal triumph in the history of diplomacy, reaffirming that peaceful negotiation can prevail no matter how long or bitter the conflict.  It is a beacon of hope that shines beyond the shores of Ireland to other nations still mired in the morass of sectarian strife.  It has allowed a generation to grow up in a peace that was unimagined before the GFA was signed.  The U.S. can take just pride in its role in helping to facilitate the agreement, reaffirming itself as a leader in the cause of peace.  As Americans, we can not see that legacy tarnished, or the chance for a lasting peace squandered.

The recent turmoil in Northern Ireland amongst hardline members of the Protestant/Unionist/Loyalist (PUL) community and their primary political party, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), resulting in the resignation of their first minister Arlene Foster are causes for grave concern.  The root cause is the United Kingdom’s decision to pursue Brexit without pausing to consider Brexit’s impacts on their signed commitments under the GFA.   The DUP was ardent in their support of Brexit, even though the community of Northern Ireland they represent rejected it by 56%; the DUP played a pivotal role in the downfall of former Prime Minister Theresa May by thwarting her attempts to pursue a softer Brexit. 

The current upheaval in the DUP is a testament to the old aphorism “be careful of what you wish for, lest you get it.” Now, the DUP, the only major party not to support the Good Friday Agreement,  disingenuously claims that the “Northern Ireland Protocol” of the Brexit withdrawal agreement violates the Good Friday Agreement. The “Northern Ireland Protocol” is a mitigation solely necessitated by the Brexit the DUP campaigned for, a Brexit that violated the foundational Good Friday principle of consent.  It is ironic that a DUP which has strenuously fought against the implementation of the most innocuous provision of the Good Friday Agreement, support for those who wish to express their Irish identity through the medium of the Irish language, is now sounding alarms over their perception that their Brexit poses to their identity.  It would be farcical if it were not for senior DUP leaders, such as Mr.  Sammy Wilson, MP, exploiting these fears to incite their  base with statements such as “We will fight guerrilla warfare against [The Northern Irish Protocol] until the big battle opportunity comes.” We have seen all too well and all too recently in our own country the effects such inflammatory speech by a political leader can have.  Such statements have resulted in the recent photos of youths throwing petrol bombs on the streets of Belfast, images that we had prayed were consigned to history.

The Good Friday Agreement has stood as a breakwater against this rising tide of violence and invective.  However, we cannot be complacent.  We must acknowledge that the stones of that breakwater have never been properly cemented by the full implementation of the GFA by the British Government.  In addition to failing to bring forth the committed support for the Irish language, two decades on, there is still no promised bill of rights for the people of Northern Ireland.  Most

egregiously, the U.K. government has consistently dissembled and prevaricated on dealing with its role in the legacy issues of the Northern Ireland Conflict.  The north of Ireland can not move forward shackled to the far too numerous ghosts of the past crying for justice.  Rather than cementing the agreement, recent attempts by the British Government to shield the activities of their agents and proxies in Northern Ireland during the conflict threaten to undermine its foundation by creating a specially protected class in contradiction to all civilized norms of law.

At this time of volatility and uncertainty in Northern Ireland, we must recommit to the complete implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.  History shows that peace in Ireland only advances when the United States signals it is a U.S. priority.  The United States must send such a signal now.  We respectfully ask Congressman Keating that your subcommittee send a recommendation to the President calling for the appointment of a Special Envoy to Northern Ireland who can finish the noble work Senator Mitchell started nearly a quarter-century ago.  

 Respectfully;

Daniel J. O’Connell,                                                                         Neil F. Cosgrove                               
Nation President, Ancient Order of Hibernians                    Political Action Chair
djoconnell@ysu.edu                                                                      ncosgrov@optonline.net

CC: Members of the Subcommittee on Europe, Energy, the Environment, and Cyber

April 10, 2021, makes the twenty-third anniversary of the historic Good Friday Agreement, an anniversary Americans can take just pride for their role in facilitating this landmark accord and its promise that consensus can triumph over conflict.  Sadly, Mr. President, this year’s anniversary is marked by images of violence in Northern Ireland which we had hoped that the Good Friday Agreement had consigned to history and growing fears that we are slipping back into the dark abyss of sectarian conflict.  In light of these events, and to protect and reaffirm America’s legacy in the cause of peace in Northern Ireland, the Hibernians respectfully ask that you appoint a Special Envoy to Northern Ireland.

The British government has repeatedly squandered the opportunity to cement the foundations of peace that the Good Friday Agreement laid by failing to fulfill its obligations under the Agreement and subsequent accords.  Two decades on, there is still no bill of rights for Northern Ireland; the promised parity of esteem for all traditions remains elusive for those who wish to express their identity through the medium of the Irish language.  Most egregiously, the advance towards peace by the Northern Ireland community is still encumbered by being shackled to the far too numerous corpses of the past, shackles that can only be opened by the keys of transparency and full disclosure, which Britain still refuses to provide.

The folly of Britain’s refusal to permanently cement the peace of the Good Friday Agreement has now been made clear by the seismic events of Brexit which has shaken the Good Friday Agreement’s fragile foundation.  Brexit violated the fundamental Good Friday principle of consent when it ignored the will of the people of Northern Ireland, who rejected the referendum by 56%.    Among the most ardent supporters of Brexit was the DUP, the only major Northern Irish party to rejected the Good Friday Agreement.  Hypocritically, this same DUP now claims that the “Irish Protocol,” solely necessitated to achieve the Brexit they campaigned for, is a violation of the same Good Friday Agreement they opposed.  Several loyalist paramilitaries have publicly withdrawn support for the Good Friday Agreement, and  Mr. Sammy Wilson MP, a senior member of the DUP, has stated, “We will fight guerrilla warfare against [the “Irish Protocol”] until the big battle opportunity comes.”  We have recently seen in our own country the effects such reckless and inflammatory speech can have.

The Hibernians respectfully ask Mr. President that you appoint a Special Envoy to Northern Ireland who can re-energize the peace process and complete the job Senator Mitchell started two decades ago.   The Good Friday Agreement is a shining example of the U.S. role in the cause of peace and a beacon of hope not only to the Irish but to people around the world mired in their own sectarian conflicts.  We can not let that flickering candle of hope lit 23 years ago be extinguished.  

 Respectfully;

Daniel J. O’Connell,                                                                         Neil F. Cosgrove                               
Nation President, Ancient Order of Hibernians                    Political Action Chair

CC: The British Ambassador to the U.S., The Irish Ambassador to the U.S., The Congressional Friends of Ireland Caucus

In response to the statement by Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis that the U.K. will not pursuing an open inquiry into collusion by Britain in the assassination of civil rights lawyer Pat Finucane, the following letter has been sent to U.K. Pierce, DCMG with copies sent to all members of the U.S. House and Senate

Dear Ambassador Pierce:

We write to you, Ambassador Pierce, as members of the National Board of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the largest Irish American organization in the United States, to express our indignation at the decision not to pursue an open inquiry into the assassination of civil rights lawyer Pat Finucane.
We find it an oxymoron that Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis can both apologize for the murder of Mr. Finucane and reiterate the admission of ‘shocking levels of collusion’ by U.K. government entities while simultaneously ignoring international appeals, including a letter signed by 24 members of the U.S. Congress, for a full and open inquiry. We find Secretary Lewis’ claim that the decision not to pursue an open inquiry is due to concerns of interfering with investigations by the Ombudsman and the PSNI disingenuous to the point of insulting the world’s intelligence. The Ombudsman has publicly stated they have no plans regarding the Finucane case, and PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne has said that there are “currently no new lines of inquiry.” We can only conclude that either Secretary Lewis is completely disconnected from Northern Ireland reality or completely duplicitous.

We note the stark contrast between the decision not to pursue an inquiry into the Finucane case and the British government’s reaction to the attempted assassination by Russian intelligence agents of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia. We specifically note the comments made by Jeremy Fleming, Director of Britain’s intelligence organization GCHQ, that ‘[Russia is] not playing to the same rules, they’re blurring the boundaries between criminal and state activity.’ We find the hypocrisy of Britain denouncing Russia for ‘blurring the boundaries between criminal and state activity’ while covering up their own admitted ‘shocking levels of collusion’ in the assassination of a civil rights lawyer and the wounding of his wife by their own security forces to be unprecedented.
Since after three decades, and despite numerous commitments under internationally recognized treaty, the U.K. continues to ignore its responsibilities to the Finucane’s and the other victims of “the Troubles,” the members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians are committed to working with members of the U.S. Congress and Senate to hold the U.K. accountable.

The Hibernians remember the words of Dr. Martin Luther King that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Respectfully,

Daniel J. O’Connell Neil F. Cosgrove Martin Galvin
Nation President, Ancient Order of Hibernians Political Action Chair Freedom for All Ireland Chair

CC: Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate

Image courtesy of Foreign and Commonwealth Office, CC BY 2.0,
via Wikimedia Commons

The Ancient Order of Hibernians, America’s largest Irish American Organization, has written to members of the congressional Friends of Ireland Caucus expressing their concern that Prime Minister Johnson’s government will use the post U.S. election transition as a distraction for a hard Brexit. In a letter from Political Action Chair Neil Cosgrove, the Hibernians state: 

“The Hibernians are very concerned that at this time when our nation demonstrates the strength of our democracy by the peaceful transition to a new administration, that a lack of focus on Brexit may result in irrevocable harm to the American brokered Good Friday Agreement and the two decades of peace it has brought to the north of Ireland.

The Hibernians are troubled by the British government’s consistent failure to abide by its commitments under international law. The Good Friday Agreement predates Brexit by two decades. It is for the British government to make Brexit work in the context of the Good Friday Agreement they signed, not the other way around. The world was led to believe that the Good Friday Agreement and Brexit’s disparities had been resolved last year when Britain signed the internationally recognized Withdrawal Agreement, which included the “Irish Protocol” to preserve the open border in Ireland, a bedrock of the peace process. 

However, the Internal Market bill currently before the British parliament shows once again the UK’s casual attitude to the agreements it signs.   The Hibernians are specifically troubled that no less a person than Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis characterized the Internal Market bill as “breaking the law in limited and specific ways.” Such a flippant statement is an insult to any person who respects accountability, the rule of law, and the English language.  The Internal Market bill has been condemned across the spectrum of the UK and Ireland, including former Prime Ministers May, Major and Blair, the House of Lords and the Law Society and Bar Council of England and Wales.

The Hibernians are concerned that the British government intends to use the transition in the wake of the US elections as a smokescreen to cover the collapse of negotiations and maneuver the EU and WTO into physically erecting the actual border. The Hibernians believe that Prime Minister Johnson thinks that the US and the world can be deceived by the misdirection of blaming the EU/WTO for a Brexit border in Ireland rather than seeing this as a reaction to UK actions for which the UK alone has accountability. 

While the Hibernians appreciate that this is a time of transition and flux in Washington, we respectfully ask the members of the Friends of Ireland Caucus to issue a joint letter to UK Ambassador Pierce stating that the US will not be taken in by cynical political legerdemain; that the United Kingdom will be held entirely and solely accountable for any border arising out of Brexit irrespective of who constructs it.”

In a few days, we will be celebrating the holiday of Halloween.  The holiday has specific significance for us as Irish Americans.  Like St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween is a beloved tradition brought to America by Irish immigrants.  It dates back thousands of years to the ancient festival of Samhain, which was the Celtic New Year.  

As with most ancient peoples, the Celts were keen observers of the sun and the night sky, which was essential for the agriculture they relied on for survival.  Most cultures set their Calendar by the extremes of the sun’s progression through the heavens; today, we set our new year when the sun has reached its minimum in the winter, after which the days start getting longer again.  Not the ancient Irish, however, they set their new year at a time when the day and night were of equal length when the powers of light and darkness were of equal strength.  Their reason for doing so is not an indication of being stereotypically contrarian or eccentric but instead based on a profound insight that we can benefit from.

The Ancient Irish saw Samhain and the time when the powers of light and dark were balanced as a time of confusion.  They believed that when light and dark, good and evil are at their extremes, it is easy to tell them apart.  However, when they are at equal strength, they believed that one could easily be confused for the other, that the wall between this world and the underworld was weakened; one could easily go astray and become lost and trapped in the other world.

Doesn’t that resonate with us today?  When morals are a matter of interpretation, “right” and “wrong” only an opinion and truth considered subjective?   Are we not living in “a time of confusion” and divisiveness because ideas of family, honor, compassion, honesty, etc. have become quaint, and even in some quarters denounced? Where even the mere mention of the word “values” is perceived as a threat to some?

It is somewhat ironic, yet appropriate, that Halloween/Samhain falls within the election season.  It is essential as we go to the polls not to give in to the confusion of “they’re all the same” or the despair of “my vote won’t change anything.”  We are called to light one candle rather than curse the darkness, just as the Irish monks on a small island on the frontier of the known world kept the light of civilization alive as Europe descended into the Dark Ages.  

I ask all of you Brothers to take the great gift of the vote seriously, reflect on your choices, and perhaps offer a prayer asking for guidance, but please vote as the light leads you. 

The Ancient Order of Hibernians welcomes news of the trip to Ireland by the United States Special Envoy Mick Mulvaney and his comment to RTE Television that the United States would “protect and defend” the Good Friday Agreement.  However, the Hibernians are disappointed that there seems to be a continued reluctance by the administration to make a clear, concise, and unambiguous statement that preserving the Good Friday Agreement by precluding the return of a British border in Ireland is a U.S. priority and necessary precondition to future U.S./U.K. agreements. The Hibernians believe that it is not enough to say “[Congress’s] attitude is ‘look the British need to know that if a border goes up, then all deals are off” as being reflective of the federal government, the administration, as the Executive Branch of the U.S.  government, must also make clear its own support for the Good Friday Agreement and that it will not accept it being undermined by a British border in Ireland.

The Hibernians challenge the British spin that the United Kingdom’s “Internal Markets Bill” is a “contingency plan.”  You only need a contingency plan to an agreement if you have intentions not to honor it.  Adding a “contingency plan” to a signed internationally recognized agreement is as redundant as wearing a belt with suspenders (known as braces in the U.K.).

Breaking international law in a “very specific and limited way, ” as the U.K.’s Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis blithely summarized the bill, is not a “contingency plan”; it is the definition of perfidy.  Former Prime Minister Theresa May described the Internal Market’s Bill as “reckless and irresponsible.” In a recent joint Op-Ed former prime ministers Tony Blair and John Major categorized the legislation as “shameful …. irresponsible, wrong in principle and dangerous in practice.” The Law Society and Bar Council of England and Wales described the Internal Markets Bill as “represent[ing] a direct challenge to the rule of law, which include the country’s obligations under public international law.”

The only contingency the Internal Markets Bill provides for is the contingency of Britain not getting everything it wants in negotiations.  It is a game of bluff with the peace of Northern Ireland as the stakes.  In the words of AOH National President Danny O’Connell “What sort of reasonable negotiations can occur when one of the parties announces that if they do not get everything they want, they have a “contingency plan” to take their ball and go home.  Worse yet, in this case, the United Kingdom is not threatening to go home with their ball, but with Ireland’s.” 

The Ancient Order of Hibernians are concerned that continued vacillation by the administration regarding Brexit and the Good Friday Agreement may lead to blundering into a hard Brexit and a peace destroying British border in Ireland. 

We share Special Envoy Mulvaney’s assessment, mentioned in his RTE interview, that we are at a point in history where “a series of events could put the Good Friday Agreement at risk.” At this time of year, when the world commemorates the sacrifices of WW I, we are reminded how an earlier “series of events” escalated into one of the greatest tragedies in the history of the world.   In writing of that period, the historian Barbara Tuchman quoted German chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg who, when asked what started WW I replied, “Ah, If only one knew.”

The Hibernians do not wish to see a post-Brexit future where the Good Friday Agreement is in tatters, the peace of Ireland shattered, and the United States says, “Ah, If only one knew” because we hesitated today to speak out forcefully to insist that the signed commitments of the Good Friday Agreement and the Irish Protocol be honored.

For the first time in many years, the Census form will have a question on Ethnic Origins (question 9 for the Head of household, question 7 for remaining household members).  It is vitally important that every Irish American record their Irish ancestry and for all other household members when appropriate. 

Sadly, we have seen many “pundits” claim that Irish America no longer exists; low “Irish” response to the Census Ethnic Origins question will only further that belief and see Irish American causes and concerns further deprioritized.  “The first rule of Politics is learning how to count.”  We have recently witnessed an unreasonable delay in the appointment of an ambassador to Ireland.  Out of 55,000 Diversity Visas given last year, the entire island of Ireland received 32; compare that to 435 from Fiji.   Indian nationals received over 38,000 employment-based green cards in 2018 and are, as per their right in a democracy,  using their political clout to ask for more.

If we as a community don’t make an effort to be counted, we will see even less traction on such vital causes as Immigration and Irish Reunification.  Far too many of our government educational and cultural institutions already ignore the contribution of the Irish, a low Irish American turnout on the census will give them further justification to do so as “they allocate funds to serve the largest communities.”

Many of us were disappointed that we could not make a public statement of our Irish pride this March as St. Patrick’s Day Festivities were canceled out of proper concern for the COVID-19 crisis.  Let us, therefore, resolve instead this year as a community to celebrate our Irish pride and “say it on the census.”

1. The Tory party has won its biggest victory since Margaret Thatcher captured a third term in 1987
2. The Labour party has suffered its worst defeat since 1935.
3. For the first time since partition, Northern Ireland has returned more Nationalist than Union MPs to Westminster.

So, what does this mean?  First, it means that barring some utterly unforeseen circumstance that Brexit from an Irish perspective is done.  With a clear majority in the British parliament, Boris Johnson can now push through the Brexit deal agreed to with the European Union which puts Britain’s Brexit border at the Irish coast and respects the Good Friday Agreement.   If Brexit is to happen, then this is the best outcome for Ireland.  You Brothers made this possible by having your U.S. elected representatives make clear that a Brexit border along the six counties would take a post-Brexit U.S./U.K. trade deal off the table.

The election also means the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has lost its position as kingmakers in parliament and is now effectively a Westminster non-entity.  The victory of John Finucane, the son of murdered solicitor Pat Finucane, over Nigel Dodds, the number two person in the DUP, by an overwhelming majority is a major blow for Arlene Foster and her party.  The DUP will now be under pressure to restore the devolved government so they can have relevance.  It is hard to see how having squandered the unique opportunity the DUP enjoyed in parliament for the past two years, not to mention her role in a still unresolved political scandal, Arlene Foster can survive in her leadership role.  Given, as noted, that her number two Nigel Dodds has suffered a glaring defeat, the DUP will likely seek new leadership.  The critical question is will they seek a new direction?

However, without wishing to vindicate Yeat’s observation, “Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy,” we must be cautious.  No sea change such as this comes without rough waters.  Arlene Foster’s comment that “the pan-nationalist front has come to fruition again” may indicate that the DUP will retreat into its fundamental strategy of stoking fear and division rather than moving forward in engagement.  

 It is, therefore, imperative that we once again make the push for a U.S. Special Envoy to Northern Ireland to serve as an impartial, stabilizing influence during the dramatic changes which lie ahead.  As a fair agent, a U.S. Envoy would mitigate the fears of Unionists and preclude their retreat into the divisive comfort zones of the past.  Much of the Good Friday Agreement has yet to be implemented; until it and its vision of parity of esteem for all the people of the North is realized, then the ghost of violence remains at the table.   It is time for the administration to appoint the Special Envoy which was promised and seal its historic legacy in the cause of peace which is the Good Friday Agreement.

In that same vein Brother’s, there is another political maxim which we must remember in the coming year;  “The first rule of politics is being able to count”.  2020 will be a year of national counting through the Census.  In the 2020 census, there shall be an opportunity to specify an individual’s ethnic heritage in addition to race.  It is vitally important that every person of Irish heritage indicates “Irish” in response to this question.  As noted above, many “experts” for self-serving reasons want to make the case that the Irish have melted away into the American landscape so that Irish issues can be deprioritized in favor of other agendas.  We should not let this happen, we are Irish American, and we count.  I realize that in writing to Hibernians I am preaching to the converted, but it is vitally important to have this conversation with our children, relatives, friends, and neighbors.  We hear many people talk about Irish Pride on St. Patrick’s Day, let us remind them to be equally proud to say “I am Irish American” on their census form.

Finally, Brothers, let me conclude by noting that as I am writing this we are preparing for the joyous feast of Christmas.  May I wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a new year full of blessings.

Brothers:

We are less than 90 days out from a climatic point in the history of the world which will remake the map of Europe and have dramatic consequences for our brothers and sister in Ireland: Brexit. The current Brexit deadline is October 31^st, and newly elected Prime Minister Johnson has threatened that unless the European Union accedes to Britain’s demands they will leave without a deal, “a hard Brexit.” The economic disruption of a “hard Brexit” will touch every corner of the world, including the United States, and nowhere will the impact be more keenly felt than Ireland where Britain has its only land border with the E.U..

For over twenty years, thanks to the United States brokered Good Friday Agreement, the Irish border has existed only on maps. Thirty-five thousand people seamlessly cross the border daily to work, school, or seek medical care. Military checkpoints and razor wire have given way to bridges of understanding which are helping the border fade into history like the centuries of bloody conflict that once defined it. It is for this reason that the people of Northern Ireland of all communities rejected Brexit by 56%.

An even greater risk to the Irish peace process is that senior British officials are now stating that to implement Brexit it shall be necessary for Britain to resume exclusive and direct rule in Northern Ireland. A repartitioning of Ireland, the ignoring of a clear mandate to reject Brexit, a return to direct rule from Westminster, and a devastated economy will create a breeding ground for violence.

Sadly, recent statements by senior U.S. officials of “unwavering commitment” “however Brexit shakes out” shows that many American government officials are unaware of the consequences of Brexit to the Irish people and a proud U.S. Good Friday Agreement legacy.

As both Hibernians and Americans, we cannot let this happen. As Americans we believe people and governments should honoring their commitments, as Hibernians we can not let the Irish people become acceptable collateral damage to Brexit. The Irish people have as equal a birthright to self-determination, peace, and security as do the British; America has a historical “special relationship” of friendship with Ireland far older than that with Britain.  

It is for this reason Brothers, we ask your help

• Currently, Senate and Congressional Representative are back in their districts while the Capital is in recess.
• We ask every state board to meet with their two Senators and every Hibernians to meet with their Congressional Representative to personally present a letter stating your concern for the damage which Brexit is doing to the peace process, and to ask the Senator/Representative to send a letter to Secretary of State Pompeo and British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab stating their opposition to any form of Brexit which would lead to a physical border in Ireland or result in a return to direct rule.
  • We have created a tool for you to look up your representatives contact info on the AOH website, https://aoh.com/political-education/elected-representative-lookup/. Click the link to their webpage to find the local office near you.
  • We have created a template letter for you to use, though you are certainly free to write your own. The template may be found here.  Note that areas which need personalization are called out in red and need replacement based on your local official
  • The “personal touch” makes the most significant impact. With heightened security, standard mail takes weeks to be delivered; email is to easy to ignore.
• We ask that all responses from your representative be reported back so that the National may give proper recognition to those who heard and acted on this urgent call.

Brothers, I frequently cite the quote “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”; there is no better test of the wisdom of this observation than the current Brexit situation and I pray you will not let evil triumph at the price of a few moments of your time.