The Right Thing

 

The Right Thing

Irish folk singer Christy Moore appeared on BBC Radio’s ‘Desert Island Discs’ programme some years ago and, being a fan of his music, I recall tuning in to hear it. Moore is known for his considerable musical skill and penning songs which reflect a left-wing political outlook on life. His music was a commentary on the times he lived through and in albums such as H-Block and The Spirit of Freedom, he made plain his views on the situation in the north of Ireland at that time. Indeed, the launch of his album ‘H Block at the Brazen Head pub in Dublin was raided by the Irish Special Branch in 1978 and all attending were quizzed by the Police. All of the albums were seized in the raid and Moore relates that years later he spoke to some of the detectives who were on the raid. Such was the ambiguity of the times, they said most of them kept a copy at home and it was among their most treasured possessions.

Christy spoke honestly about why he stopped being sympathetic to the armed struggle in the north. When asked why he stopped supporting the IRA he said, ‘I suppose Enniskillen, then Warrington and proxy bombs. It was just the end of the line for me.’  For a traditionally stuffy radio show, Moore’s contribution was honest and open especially about his politics, his health breakdowns and his struggles with alcohol and anger. These days he is in his seventies and is as busy as ever. I’ve seen him live on a few occasions and from the more raucous shows at the Barrowland to the more sedate nights at the Royal Concert Hall, he remains a fine performer.

The reason I’m talking about Christy Moore today is that he came on a journey with so many people of his generation. He saw the very real injustices of what was going on in Northern Ireland and commented on them in his life and music. In the end the violence and the cruelties of those times led him to the conclusion that there had to be a better way. Christy’s appearance on the show came at a time when the peace process was starting to bear fruit and Martin McGuinness and Iain Paisley were working together to make a better future for the people they represented.

Those of us who have regularly attended Celtic games over the course of our lives have met a lot of great folk from the six counties who lived through things we on the other side of the water can scarce imagine. I used to sit by an older chap in the Jock Stein stand, who hailed from Belfast and we’d talk regularly about his experiences growing up and living through the Troubles. He spoke not only of the violence and injustice he saw but also of the spirit, resilience and decency of so many people just trying to get by in a horrendous situation. He was old enough to have watched Belfast Celtic play but his heart was always with their cousins in Glasgow. His journey to watch Celtic began  in the early hours of the morning and took a coach and a ferry to get him to the hallowed ground he loved so much. He never once bad mouthed anyone but rather told his tales of the things he and his community endured with a kind of weary sadness. When peace came in the late 90s, he told me the best thing about it was not worrying about his children whenever they went out.

The peace has endured despite the efforts of a misguided few to try and return to the past. Of course, the scars are still there, especially for the older generation who endured things we can only imagine. It will take generations for the hurt to subside and the truth to emerge about what really went on in those years. Some, alas will never find justice for their loved ones and will live with that all their days but at least there is compensation in the fact that their children and grandchildren will know better days.

My grandfather, whose name I bear, fought for Irish freedom when he returned from the trenches of World War One. In my memory, he is the grey-haired old chap who sang, ‘The Rose Of Tralee’ at family parties. It would be hard to imagine that old gentleman as a young man with a rifle in his hand but he did what he thought was the right thing in his own life.

Doing the right thing is, I guess, the point of today’s article. We saw images of Celtic supporters in Las Vegas singing about the IRA this week and the tabloids made a big fuss because of the presence of a few celebrity Celtic fans. There has been an upsurge in such songs in recent years, especially at away games and much as I don’t have a problem with people singing songs which reflect their heritage and outlook, I do question the necessity to sing them at Scottish football matches or linked events. If you choose to sing such songs then you accept the damage it does to Celtic’s reputation.

Celtic have fans from all walks of life and the ideals the club was built on should be borne in mind by all who follow the Hoops. The team was integrated from its earliest years and rejected the narrow-minded sectarianism others adopted. The support is increasingly diverse and some of my best friends who follow Celtic are neither of Irish extraction nor Catholics. We are a broad church now and should avoid anything which might make our fellow supporters uncomfortable.

I’ve written such words before and have been called childish names by a mostly younger element with no real knowledge of what occurred during the darker days of the troubles. If wanting Celtic to be an inclusive, modern club makes me a ‘soup taker’ then that’s fine by me but at least get a good book or two about the troubles and educate yourself first. They were dark times and no one came out of them unsullied; not the paramilitaries, not the security forces and certainly not the politicians on all sides who failed miserably.

We in Scotland were thankfully spared the things they endured despite the efforts of a misguided few to import the troubles here. We can be thankful for that and hope our cousins across the north channel have many years of peace ahead. As Seamus Heaney wrote…

‘History says, Don’t hope
On this side of the grave,
But then, once in a lifetime
The longed-for tidal wave
Of justice can rise up,
And hope and history rhyme.’