Letter: A co-ordinated effort is needed to quell mainstreaming of terrorism narrative

Following the most recent incident of “Up the Ra” chanting interwoven with “Up Armagh” by some fans attending a senior GAA game featuring the Orchard County and Down, issues of terrorism glorification and its attempted mainstreaming are once again to the fore.

Terrorism glorification is systemic, the normalisation agenda has been advanced over the last generation and little/nothing has been done by the political system, by the authorities of law and order, and those immediate organisations with whom the breaches were made and are linked.

A first minister for all? For all what? For those who revel in the activities of an organisation that murdered circa 2,000 of its own neighbours?

First minister for those who in 2023 still treat their neighbours with contempt and seek to poke them in the eye at every turn?

Enough of the sound bites, the choreographed smiles at the recent coronation of Charles III, the false claims of friendship.

Terrorism was brought to the point where it was required to take “peace”, it never made “peace”.

But to spare its blushes and to keep the masses supporting its political pathway it has engineered an almost unchallenged and phoney narrative of “the past”, which is infecting the present and future - keeping people from truly coming together as one.

We are in the days of retrospective psychological terrorism. This may well prove an even greater challenge to quell and defeat than the ugly physical terrorism that ravaged our land and beyond - terrorism motivated by sectarian and ethnic hatred.

Jarlath Burns is the new GAA president-elect and has a huge role, as do the leaders of other organisations and institutions across politics, culture, education, faith and the wider civic realm. Time will tell who is prepared to join with us and others in facing this ugly rewrite monster down. We challenge all of them - diminishing the effects of terrorism is not the preserve of one section of the community, it is something practised across the board.

Last week we wrote to the current GAA president and also the president of Ulster GAA, and have since followed this up by email. We have requested a meeting to discuss these issues and the impact this is having upon our constituency and others.

We expect that they will not treat this request with the same contempt as the FAI who despite receiving seven separate requests to meet with a group of victims/survivors following the actions of the Republic of Ireland women’s national football team last year have consistently refused to do so, further insulting the memory of those murdered.

Kenny Donaldson

South East Fermanagh Foundation

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