Hello there and welcome to the affray [affront
is more like it – Ed] once again where we pick a topic,
any topic, go off on a tangent and try to bore the pants off
you [you’re succeeding extremely well – Ed] [I
was being facetious – Billy] [Facetious yes, funny no
– Ed]. I start off this time with a story from long,
long ago, it was a dark and stormy night, and the captain
said to his mate, “Bill, cut off your hand….”
You’ve got to hand it to them
It was a journey through Tyrone that got me
thinking on this one. While the Rid Han’ o’ Ulcer
is usually thought of as a loyalist symbol (Red Hand Commandos
and all that) it was interesting to see it so prominently
displayed in the county which for the first time won the All
Ireland (Gaelic) Football Final and its Protestant Republican
cup (the Sam Maguire – well, he was a Protestant Republican,
the cup I can’t vouch for). The Red Hand is of course
part of the Tyrone flag. Nice to see the alternating red and
white road markings in Tyrone too – alternate white
lines had been painted red to give the county’s colours
of white and red.
But what of the Red Hand? Tabhair dom do lámh
– what is it really about? Where does it originate?
Well, eschewing facts for fiction I of course checked it out
on the Hinterlandnet. In fact I think the internet should
get an award for promoting critical faculties. Because the
truth may be Out There but there is also the possibility that
the ‘facts’ you’re reading on the Enternit
are actually extremely polemical fictions [yes, indeed you
must have been reading your own column – Ed] or may
be accurate but the site itself belongs to some extremist
organisation (say the CIA, CIE or, yes, the Red Hand Commandeers).
All dangers that you are up against and need to be wary of.
So what did I find? Well, according to the commonest
theory of the origin of the species of Rid Han, the archetypal
one, it really is an extremely appropriate symbol for Norn
Iron in this day and age; bloodthirsty and acquisitive. You
know the story – these geezers making towards land in
a boat (according to one version it was the seven sons of
Miledh of Esbain, during the Milesian invasion of Ireland
seven or eight millennia ago or, in another, Niall, ancestor
of the O’Neills/Ui Neill, during the Celtic invasion
– a red hand features on the O’Neill coat of arms).
Whoever puts his hand on the shore first gets the land. So
one brother takes the handle of his sword in his left hand,
cuts off his right (it is a right hand on the flag), and throws
it onto the shore. It’s called cheating and bloody studip.
To do this feat [surely you mean ‘hand’ –
Ed] he was presumably somewhat ambidextrous, and after it
extremely unidextrous. The one saving grace to the story is
that it was a self-inflicted wound; he could have cut off
his competitors’ hands, I suppose, and thrown them away
[really, this column is getting a bit gory – Ed] [Maybe
we do have readers in Co Wexford but none that I know personally
– Billy] [So that was really a Gorey remark? –
Ed] [Got it in one (county) – Billy] .
But back to what can be learnt about this mythic
manhandling (or handmandling). Some loyalists and assorted
Prods proclaim themselves on the issue. The Norn Iron Prods
are really a lost tribe of Israel, that sort of thing, if
that’s the case then they are really lost, which is
presumably why they came to adopt as their Chosen Land a cold,
wet island, or in their case part of a cold, wet island which
is really part of a cold, wet collection of islands? We should
be told. The danger about the ‘chosen people’
sort of myth is, well, look at the Middle East today; Israeli
right-wing settlers think they have the God-given right (and
obligation) to take Palestinian land from its owners. It may
feel great to be a Chosen Person but in either the Middle
East or Norn Iron it has certain drawbacks. One is that a
Chosen Person may see fit, or then feel it’s their duty,
to make everyone else’s lives a misery. And Judaic prophetic
traditions are ignored; being chosen by God is actually one
hell of a responsibility (to coin a phase) and walking justly
is part of the deal or covenant and transgressors should look
out for God’s wrath. This part of the story of the Jews
being chosen is never mentioned by those who adopt their own
‘Chosen People’ myth; they think that being Chosen
means they can do what they like. Not so says the Hebrew bible.
More about this mythology below.
Other explanations come from a heraldic site
http://homepage.tinet.ie/~donnaweb/info/article05.html
by Eddie Geoghegan. “The second [explanation] relates
to Nuada, king of the Tuatha Dé Danann, who had his
right hand severed by Sreng during a great battle with the
Fomorians. No imperfect man [sure aren’t we all perfect?
– Billy] being allowed to hold the throne, Nuada was
forced to abdicate in favour of Bres. However, a silver hand
was fashioned for him and the power of ancient magic was used
to cause flesh and sinew to grow back around the prosthesis.
When Bres died, Nuada again assumed his royal place.”
The third explanation is that the red hand symbol
is associated with ”the son of Bolg or Nuadu, the Sun
God of the Celts, and by some accounts the divine progenitor
of all Celts. The son was known as Labraid Lámhdhearg
(Labraid of the Red Hand). The association of the symbolic
red hand with the Sun God, therefore makes it an appropriate
heraldic icon.” So pick what mythology you fancy.
Even more myth-ological is an explanation at
http://www.anycities.com/jahtruth/uflag.htm
why there is a red hand mounted on a Star of David under a
royal crown on the official ‘Ulster’ flag. “It
is because they are NOT gentiles but Israelites who have lost
the knowledge of their true identity and the PROOF is on the
flag.” To summarise a long argument, Judah (Genesis
38:28-30) had twins including Zarah of the ‘Red-Hand’.
Zarah went into exile in Iberia and latter, oppressed by Babylon
and Rome, some Zarahites sailed to Hibernia, “Hebernia
– the Hebrew’s new land” of Ireland. But
there’s more: “Teia Tephi the Queen of Israel
and Gibraltar landed at Howth on 18/6/583 B.C. and travelled
to Tara where she married Eochaidh the High King of Ireland
on 21/6/583 B.C. Eochaidh was from Judah/Zarah of the “Red-hand”
and Teia Tephi was from the line of David and when they married
they sealed the breach caused hundreds of years previously,
when Judah’s twin sons had been born. With their marriage-union
we have the “Red-Hand” mounted on the “Star
of David” under the single Royal Crown, symbolising
the union of the two royal lines, which sprang from Judah.”
Goddditttt?
Furthermore this explanation tells us the word
‘British’ is Hebrew in origin meaning “the
People of the Covenant” and the Union Jack flag is called
that because it is the flag of the “Union of Jack-ob
Israel” and “Christ’s own personal flag”
[I thought that the Christian message was about there being
neither Jew nor gentile – Ed]. The question is asked
of one of God’s chosen peoples, “is it just a
coincidence that under the same mark [the double cross of
the Union Flag] [the doublecross of the Union Flag! Now you’re
really getting me – Ed] the British nation has remained
unconquered and free for almost 3000 years?” It would
be remarkable if true but it’s not, the Romans are written
off as not occupying all of Britain or any of Ireland, and
1066 and the Norman invasion of Britain is not mentioned,
I’m sure historians can throw up a few more counter-facts
for the last three millennia, not least the Vikings. ‘Facts’
can prove anything – what comes to mind is Gernot Lennert
from Germany at the WRI Triennial in Dublin in August 2002
humorously ‘proving’ that Ireland is actually
Turkish. And what about the fact that the village where Asterix
and Obelix lived in Gaul held out against the Romans –
does that not make the French a chosen people?
Going back to the ‘jahtruth’ website.
the people of Southern Ireland aren’t gentiles either
but also Israelites descended from Judah’s brother Dan,
the fifth of Jacob/Israel’s sons [Sure the people of
Ireland knew they were a chosen people without all this! –
Ed]. Finally (though not finally if you check out all this
mythology) the Ark of the Covenant is at Tara, Co Meath, a
nice touch which goes back immediately to some people’s
beliefs in the 19th century. So there you have it. Confused?
Moi? Sure am. But it certainly makes a good story, I’ll
work on the movie script shortly. I can just see Harrison
Ford digging at the Hill of Tara, and catching some baddies
red-handed, in a long line of succession to those British
Israelite fans of the 19th century who didn’t find what
they were looking for at the Hill of Tara. The story of the
1899-1902 botched British-Israelite excavation at Tara, looking
for the Ark of the Covenant, is told in Mairéad Carew’s
“Tara and the Ark of the Covenant”, published
this year, priced €30 (details at www.discoveryprogramme.ie
and click on Publications).
But one other comment which needs making strongly
is that this British/Irish Israelite stuff is both racist
and elitist. Racist in that it places one or more ‘chosen’
races above everyone else. And as the 20th century, and indeed
previous centuries showed, this is an extremely dangerous
thing to do because at some point it is going to end in disaster.
But secondly, it is very elitist. So what if Eochaidh and
Teia Tephi got married on 21st June 483 BCE? Good for them,
maybe they lived happily ever after. And doubtless interesting
and historical, if it was true. But the idea that a people
are ‘chosen’ two and a half thousand years later
because a royal couple got married is elitist in the extreme.
Let me put it straight. I would love if some
of this stuff was true. There are all kinds of linkages in
the past that we don’t know about or are unsure about
which are exciting to even consider. Bob Quinn, Irish language
television producer and author of the ‘Atlantean’
book (1986) and films (1984) about Irish culture coming from
the Mediterranean, Middle East and ‘further’ east,
has further developed his theory of the origins of Irish culture
in a new book to be launched soon. He reports (‘JMI/Journal
of Music in Ireland’, March/April 2003) “I took
examples of Conamara sean-nós [traditional unaccompanied
singing – Ed] as far as Tatarstan (Russian Federation)
and had it recognised by performers there as almost identical
to their own. I played Tatar sean-nós songs to Conamara
singers; even they unanimously declared it to be musically
identical to their own.” Jean Yves Bériou of
Barcelona (same reference) in a word of caution says “One
can find strong resemblances between certain Korean and Mongolian
melodies, for example, and certain [Irish] slow airs, without
recourse to a theory of influences in one or other direction”.
All sorts of linkages may be developed in the
future, through advanced scientific techniques and cultural
and historical analysis. Every one of us is after all descended
from one African woman tens of thousands of years ago. But
even if ‘we’ did have a few Israeli links in our
past, that doesn’t make us a ‘chosen people’
any more than it makes us Fomorians or Milesians. And even
if it did then the implication of that is a burden to be just
and righteous (in the right sense) as much as anything else.
PS If you want a straightforward guide to flags
and emblems in Norn Iron, try CAIN’s “Symbols
in Northern Ireland – Flags used in the region”
at http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/images/symbols/flags.htm
Taking offence
It’s all in the branding. Today the power
companies and oil companies, without the credentials to prove
it, proclaim their green and ecological credentials. A photocopier
can be proclaimed ‘organic’ presumably because
it isn’t as toxic as its ancestors (but organic plastic?).
Anyway, guess who this description is about, from the job
ads in Norn Iron: “X is a large central government department
employing both service and civilian personnel, based in various
locations throughout Northern Ireland. The work activities
are diverse, ranging from normal office functions, through
various workshop and stores environments, property management
and high volume catering, to operational training.”
They don’t say what the operational training
is. But the organisation in question isn’t the Department
of the Environment or the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency.
It’s the Ministry of Defence trying to be MODish and
describe what it does without describing what it actually
does. Like invade other countries at the USA’s behest.
I could think of some better ads; “Be part of the team
that supports the country’s highly trained killers”,
“We bomb the hell out of people better”, “We’re
the people who help put the nUKe into UK”, “Support
the USA’s global aggression”, “Soldier,
sailor, air personnel, spy”, “Per ardua ad haemorrhoids”,
“Who dares, spins”, “Making a real killing”,
etc.
But black is white, lies are truth, and the
Ministry of Defence is really just a Ministry of Love for
All Mankind. Or as the old Peace News sticker sort of went;
“Travel to exotic lands, meet fascinating and interesting
people, and kill them.”
A trenchant film
I stumbled across it in TV channel hopping so
I don’t know whether the introduction to the 1999 war
film ‘The Trench’ (directed by William Boyd),
told viewers that the scene was just before the start of the
Battle of the Somme in the First World War - in which, despite
impressions on gable walls in Belfast, ‘Catholic’
Ireland suffered as many casualties as ‘Protestant’
Ireland. I suspect the time and place was left vague; the
film wanted you to empathise with the plight of these men
and the knowledge that they were all going to be shot and
probably killed would have been an obstacle to this. All the
characters you might expect were there; the steely sergeant
with a real concern for his men underneath, the officer getting
by on whisky, the good-hearted, the brave, the cowards, the
fools, they were all there. And they were all shot as they
went ‘over the top’ (judging by the closing sequence,
maybe a few survived wounded but were able to crawl back into
their own trenches).
I don’t want to replicate what the editorial
in the last issue of NN (NN 113) said on remembrance. But
the idea of getting into a situation where the sacrifice of
these men is ‘remembered’ without a critique of
why millions were sent to their deaths by conflicting imperialisms
and nationalisms, is abhorrent. We cannot simply uncritically
admire why all people on the island of Ireland have died in
wars. Yes, we need to remember their sacrifice, and the indirect
sacrifice and misery of their loved ones. But, no, we cannot
simply join in a celebration of British militarism and imperialism
which is what a lot of ‘Remembrance’ is about
in this part of the world. And still it goes on, as Iraq ironically
shows given Britain’s imperialist and brutal past in
that neck of the woods. Remembrance yes, militarism no.
George B*s* and George B*s*
The tale of two Georges. As is my wont from
time to time, I take two disparate entities and compare them,
like Dublin and Beijing in my Colm many moons ago (in Nonviolent
News 88, e.g. Dublin has lots of Chinese restaurants but 99.8%
of restaurants in Beijing could be considered Chinese, both
are capital cities but only one has capital punishment, etc).
This time it’s two Georges, or two George B*s*’s
[your Campari Zones are getting a bit like your Liszts –
Ed]. Both have or have had the world at their feet. Both have
had problems with alcohol, one has kicked it entirely and
one still falls off the wagon betimes. Both have received
plenty of publicity recently, neither for the best of reasons.
Both are conservative politically but only one has sent his
country to wars. Only one has taken to parading about in armed
forces uniforms. Neither was elected President of the United
States by fair process or popular vote.
George Best, arguably one of the greatest footballers
of all time, and a Norn Iron man to boot [very funny –
Ed] was in the news because he took to the alcohol again despite
implants to keep him off, was seen with other women, and split
with his wife for a while and then they got back together
again. He looks rather older than his age, not surprising
given he has had a liver transplant due to alcohol abuse.
But when he applied himself in his footballing days he was
a great performer and renowned for dribbling and getting the
ball past opponents, as well as shooting at goal. He can be
witty and charming but tolerance for his misdoings has worn
thin, even in Norn Iron. He has got into various scrapes and
fights over the years but is not known to have been responsible
for serious injury or death to anyone. Despite his conservative
and sometimes rather reactionary views, his impact on human
rights is negligible. He has never really lived up to his
potential as he preferred the good life of alcohol and philandering
to playing good football. Perhaps you could say he was good
at scoring in two senses. George Best is from a part of one
small island but would seem to identify more with a neighbouring
island.
George Bush has the job of President of the
United States of America. Tolerance for his misdoings is wearing
very thin indeed, even in the US of A. Eschewing alcohol with
which he had a problem years ago, he has taken a shine to
another liquid, the black stuff, oil; he does anything the
oil lobby wants him to do, even to the extent of partly going
to war in Iraq over oil, or plundering Alaskan wilderness,
so in a real sense he has become an oilaholic. He has got
into two major wars since getting the job of President by
underhand means; in the last (current?) Iraq war alone he
was responsible to a major degree for well over 10,000 deaths
(13,000 in one recent US study). He never shoots or scores
directly; he gets his armed forces to attempt direct hits,
killing thousands of civilians in the process. His ‘war
on terror’ (sick) has arguably sent human rights on
a worldwide stage back decades; his tolerance of the human
rights misdeeds of the USA, its allies and other countries
not seen as hostile to the to the USA makes this a much riskier
world than it was for literally billions of people who risk
arrest, beatings, torture and death for standing up to their
state and state servants.
George Bush is not good at getting the ball
past opponents; in this regard his performances at the UN
have been abysmal. He has never really lived up to his potential,
preferring to reward his pro-Republican cronies and pander
to the worst excesses of xenophobia than take an honest and
critical view of US and world needs, e.g. in the USA itself
the plight of the poor is getting steadily worse. George Bush
is from the biggest island in the world, the United States
of America, and does not identify with any other countries
or parts of the world, anywhere, except and only when they
do his bidding.
Both Georges are deeply flawed individuals.
But one is more a menace to himself and his immediate loved
ones than to anyone else. The other threatens to wreak destruction
to the world militarily and ecologically. So come home George
Best, all is forgiven; in a contest between the Georges, you
win hands down.
- Well, that is the Best I can do for now, by
George. So I sign off until the December issue. December?
Christmas? Where did the autumn go, nay where did the year
go, I just don’t know. See you soon, your humble scribe,
Billy.
Who
is Billy King? A long, long time ago, in a more
innocent age (just talking about myself you understand),
there were magazines called 'Dawn' and 'Dawn Train'
and I had a back page column in these. Now the Headitor
has asked me to come out from under the carpet to write
a Cyberspace Column 'something people won't be able
to put down' (I hope you're not carrying your monitor
around with you).
Watch this. Cast a cold eye on life, on death, horseman
pass by (because there'll almost certainly be very little
about horses even if someone with a similar name is
found astride them on gable ends around certain parts
of Norn Iron).