Letter: The West Belfast Festival is not going to be cancelled so unionists should instead attend, engage and learn from Féile an Phobail

A letter from AJ Carton:
Footage of the crowd joining in a chorus of the IRA chant 'Tiocfaidh ár lá' and 'Ooh ah up the Ra' at a support act to the Wolf Tones concert at Falls Park on Sunday August 13 the the west Belfast Féile an PhobailFootage of the crowd joining in a chorus of the IRA chant 'Tiocfaidh ár lá' and 'Ooh ah up the Ra' at a support act to the Wolf Tones concert at Falls Park on Sunday August 13 the the west Belfast Féile an Phobail
Footage of the crowd joining in a chorus of the IRA chant 'Tiocfaidh ár lá' and 'Ooh ah up the Ra' at a support act to the Wolf Tones concert at Falls Park on Sunday August 13 the the west Belfast Féile an Phobail
By Letters
Published 28th Aug 2023, 00:05 BST

If, instead of chanting ‘Ooh Ah, Up the Ra’ in Belfast, you tried chanting ‘Ooh Aay, Up Pin-o-chet’, you will be unlikely to get any reaction except confusion, unless you happen to be in the company someone familiar with the history of murder and torture suffered in Chile 50 years ago.

If you travelled to Chile, to chant your support for Pinochet, the sense of offence would be greater, but even there the reputation of Pinochet is being cleansed, especially in the minds of the young who have no memory of the atrocities committed by Pinochet’s forces (article in yesterday’s Sunday Times).

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Similarly in Italy there was for a time an attempt to restore the reputation of the fascist Benito Mussolini’s reputation. The current prime minister of Italy, Georgi Meloni back when she was a teenage politician in 1996, praised the dictator. “I think Mussolini was a good politician,” she told a TV interviewer. “Everything he did, he did for Italy.” As a grown-up she has wisely distanced herself from such views, allowing her to become PM.

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It is clear from the experience of other countries that Ireland is not the only place where young people with no memory of the murder and torture of the past, find it easy to wipe clean the reputation of those people or organisations who committed politically motivated murder. How should we in the unionist community respond to our own example of pro-IRA chants?

Any school teacher knows that young people shouting abuse from a distance in the playground are best dealt with quietly, later. So, too, with the chanting. Vocal confrontations might win votes for politicians, but are unlikely to diminish the chants. Realistically, the West Belfast Festival is not going to be cancelled, and as a unionist who attended it this year for the first time, I think we in the unionist community should attend, engage and learn from Féile an Phobail, rather than try to cancel it.

If we maintain a dignified opposition to all bigotry, including from our own people, the young people involved will grow out of this juvenile behaviour, and will probably look back with embarrassment. We unionists should focus our criticism on the bigotry of the adult commentators who defend or encourage such behaviours and we should continue to remind people of the suffering caused by politically motivated murderers.

Arnold Carton, Belfast BT6

Related topics:BelfastItaly