Full speech by Diarmaid Ó Cadhla, Limerick February 12, 2022

Speech to Rally for TRUTH & Civil Rights in Limerick
Diarmaid Ó Cadhla, 12 February 2022

A Chairde,

Tá traidisiúin láidir i gCathair Luimnigh, traidisiún inar seasann muintir na cathrach ar a leas féin.

Tharla sin le linn Cogadh na Saoirse, nuair a chuaigh ógánaigh, idir fir agus mná óga, isteach in Airm na Poblachta.

Tharla sé le linn Sóivéid na n-Oibrithe a bhunaíodh anseo i 1919, nuair a sheas an pobal le chéile agus ghlacadar féin-riail ar an gcathair ar feadh tréimhse.

Bhí muintir na cathrach seo gníomhach freisin in aimsir na bhFíníní, duine a sheasann amach ná John Daly, iar-Mhéara na cathrach.  Fear a bhí mar cheannaire ar an ngluaiseacht sin do Chúige Chonnachta agus Chúige Uladh, leath an tír, nach mór.  Ba uncail le Ned Daly é, agus bhí iníon leis pósta le Tom Clarke, beirt a mharaíodh don pháirt a ghlacadar in Éirí Amach na Cásca, 1916.

Agus téann an traidisiún seo níos faide siar na sin, bhíodar gníomhach leis na hÉireannaigh Aontaithe i 1798 agus roimhe sin … a bhfad siar i stair na tíre.

Friends,

Limerick has a fighting tradition.

It has a tradition dating back through the centuries, where the people have always stood for what is right.

This happened during the War of Independence, when young men and women joined the Republican Army to fight for freedom.

It happened in 1919, during the same fight for freedom, when the working people of this city establish the now famous Limerick Soviet and took complete control of the city for a time.

I have personal experience of this tradition in my own family.  My fathers family were from Limerick.  Not far from here, on Thomas Street, a grand-uncle of mine was shot dead by British forces.

He was Micheál Ó Scanláin, a Commandant in the East Limerick Brigade of the Republican Army, a Gaelic scholar and school teacher.  He had been capture but made his escape from William Street RIC Barracks, only to be found by soldiers and shot multiple times.

Another uncle was shot during the rescue of Seán Hogan at Knocklong station, many of my relatives were active on these streets, fighting for freedom.

I am proud to be part of this rebel tradition which is so strong in Limerick.

I know there are many with similar connections and stories, this is a tradition handed down to us, for very good reason.

This city stood up in earlier times too.

While I am no historian, I do know of John Daly, former Mayor of this city.  John Daly led the Irish Republican Brotherhood, also known as the Fenians, throughout all of Connaught and Ulster, half the country was led from Limerick.

John Daly was an uncle to Ned Daly, famous for leading the garrison at the Four Courts in Dublin in 1916.  John Daly’s daughter was married to Tom Clarke who was among those who inspired the Easter Rising.

Limerick’s tradition of resistance to oppression goes back into 1798 and beyond.

In 1690 Limerick successfully defended its city from multiple sieges, resulting in the treaty which brought and end to the Williamite Wars.

Notable in this fight was the heroism of Patrick Sarsfield, but also of great note is the part played by the women of Limerick in defending their city and in leading the battle against the enemy.

Of course, the Williamite Wars were a power-battle between two foreign Kings in Ireland, between William of Orange from Holland and James II of England – we Irish were used in that battle and paid a heavy price.

Today we are again pawns to international powers.

There may not be cannon battering down the walls or bombs dropping on us or foreign soldiers kicking in our doors, but we are under attack none the less.

When the fighting men and women of Limerick took to the field to defend the Irish Republic, it was to defend the republican principles of:

Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.

These must be our watch word still today.

There are powerful vested interests who are working against us, who have already rolled back on our liberty, they have divided us, they continue to do so.

We are in our third year of crisis, and it is not going away.

Even though Government has eased up on many of the restrictions, and last week they are throwing pennies at us to help with ESB bills.

Earlier they have announced an €8 billing spending on retro-fitting homes.

They want to put us at ease, to think it is all over, they want to demobilise resistance.

As someone said over a 100 years …. “they think they have pacified Ireland, they think they have purchased the one half of us and intimidated the other, but the fools, the fools, the fools ….”

Already this crisis has cost us well in excess of €50 billion, for which the Banking monopolies are eternally grateful, as they reap the profits.

We are not against spending money on social programmes to help people improve their lives…  but the spending is unreal, no budgets are required, there is no talk of who or how we shall repay these funds.

Since when has a Government been so free with spending such huge amounts of money without even proper debate about it?

Working people know that there is no such thing as a free meal, everything has a price, and efforts we will be made to force us to pay for this spending.

How we will pay is unknown…

There has been no hint at targeting the Apples, Microsofts or Intels, or of asking the Giant Pharmaceuticals to pay the bill, or the Banks and their Vulture Funds …

No, they cannot be touched.

Perhaps our so-called partners in Europe, or in the IMF, or some other such international agency, will come to our rescue?

God save us from them!

But this is a real possibility, that our state will move into tighter direct control by the EU or some other such body, and in return they will manage our economic affairs – but not just economic, political and military affairs too.

We have to be vigilant to such things.

———–

So, we are being vigilant, and we are trying to do something about it, in keeping with our own tradition to resist oppression.

Government has promoted what can only be called a SCAMDEMIC.

Our fundamental rights have been rolled back, we have been subjected to medical experiments.

Our public healthcare system has been devastated, people with critical illness have been left on waiting lists, mental healthcare for both children and adults has been grossly neglected, general healthcare has almost been eliminated.

Without recounting the long list of what is wrong, let me explain why we are here today?

We are here because we need to build a national campaign to defend our interests.  Disjointed or separate voices are not as powerful.

We have been building the Independent Campaign for TRUTH & Proper Healthcare in order to do this.

Today, we are focusing on two key issues that are before us:

The first is the continued masking of children in our schools.

The second, is the need to get a NO vote when the Emergency Powers come up for renewal before the 31^st March.

Each of us has a vital role in this, we must do everything we can.

We need to lobby TDs and Senators to look for a NO vote on these powers – which deny our basic human rights.

Government may have defused the anger of people for the moment, with their partial roll-back, but it is far from over.

We must push on the issue of masking kids in schools – while adults are allowed to attend Nights Clubs unrestrained.

On Tuesday next there is a gathering outside Leinster House to push on the masking issue, that is at 4pm on Kildare street, everyone who can should join in.

The campaign has scheduled Marches & Rallies for Waterford, Cork and Galway in the coming weeks, they are all leading up to a National Protest in Dublin on March 19^th.

We conduct these assemblies in a peaceful and respectful way, we stand up for human and civil rights, we need no more than that.

We try our best to send out a message based on the values of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity – we are pro-Choice and pro-Democracy.

We support the right to Informed Consent.

In turn we respect other people’s choices to take whatever medical procedures they wish.

But coercion can have no role, lies and bully tactics can have no part of it.

We now live in a society where TRUTH is cast aside, our own Government lies to us, most of the so-called ‘experts’ lie to us.

Even the World Health Organisation lies to us, and they are pushing for a new international treaty on how future pandemics are handled.

No thanks!

The European Union want to extend the use of Digital Certificates for another 12 months from the end of June – we should lobby our MEPs on that issue.

Perhaps it was no surprise that the Treaty of Limerick was broken?

Such betrayal continues in the international arena, and sadly it is helped by both Government and Opposition in Leinster House.

We have a rebel tradition, from our own families.

I could not stand here and not acknowledge their efforts.

We must continue that tradition.

Beir Bua a chairde!

Go raibh maith agaibh.