Tagann an Normálú i gCrích
(English language version below)
Fágfaidh bás an nuachtáin Lá Nua, atá ar tí tarlú, fágfaidh sé pobal na Gaeilge ar fud na tíre gan cosantóir seasmhach daingean dá gcearta.
Ar feadh níos mó ná scór bliain, sholáthair Lá Nua (Lá roimhe sin) seirbhís laethúil nuachta trí mheán na teanga náisiúnta agus iad ag snámh in aghaidh an trsutha ag seasamh ceart d’athbheochan na Gaeilge.
D’ainneon naimhdeas agus neamart stáit, go háirithe sa limistéar d’Éirinn fós gafa ag an Bhreatain, thug Lá Nua guth do chuid de shochaí na hÉireann a dhéantar béadán orthu go rímhinic.
Aithneoidh féachadóirí go dtagann druidim Lá Nua i gcomhthéacs an rud a fhógraíonn an bhunaíocht, ó thuaidh, ó dheas agus sa Bhreatain, a fhógraíonn siad mar breacadh lae na ‘Sé Chondae nua’.
Sa tsochaí ‘nua’ seo tá guth agus cearta na ndaoine imeallaithe ‘roimhe seo’ in ainms a bheith cluinte agus spreagtha le fás.
As a chéile tá an tsochaí in ainms muinín a spreagadh i ngrúpa ar nós lucht labhartha na Gaeilge ina n-ábaltacht féin le tuilleadh athrú a chur i gcrích agus dinimic chumhacht stáit a athrú i ndáiríre sa tír seo.
Dá bhrí sin ní bheidh i dtreascairt Lá Nua ach seachrán sa teacht thart iomlán dearfach seo.
Tá insint eile ar an chaoi a tharla buille na seachtaine seo, fiú muna thaitin sí linn.
Tá rud le rá aici freisin faoin dinimic chumhacht stáit sa tír seo.
Ar dtús, tharla forbairt agus fad saoil Lá Nua i gcomhthéacs nach bhfuil ann níos mó.
Bhí an nuachtán mar chuid de fhreagra pobail ar an stát sna Sé Chondae a bhí cosúil leis an chinedheighilt. Tháinig Lá, araon le heagraíochtaí chónaitheoirí cosmhuintire, grúpaí cearta saoránach, féilte, líonraí radaiceacha polaitiúila, stáisiúin raidió agus scoileanna pobal-bhunaithe, tháinig sé ó chultúr réabhlóideach na frithbheartaíochta a bhí i bhfeidhm taobh leis an éirí amach armtha sa Tuaisceart.
Ní gá gur thacaigh na heagraíochtaí ar fad seo leis an streachailt armtha, ach bhí siad mar chuid de chomhiarracht éagóir ollmhór a shárú agus dúshlán a thabairt do cheannas na Breataine ar an saol.
Leirigh an cultúr frithbheartaíochta seo gur dhiúltaigh siad glacadh le dlisteanacht stát na Sé Chondae.
Tríd a athrach de lárionaid chumachta a thógáil bhí siad ag tabhairt dúshláin do cheart rialaithe, nó mírialaithe, na Breataine, Stormont nó aon junta eile ar chuid de mhuintir na hÉireann.
Ach bíonn freagairt ar gach gníomh agus ba é an normálú an frithionsaí in aon turas a bhí ag an Bhreatain ó na 1970í ar aghaidh.
Mar atá inste an iliomad uair, séard a bhí sa pholasaí seo ná diúltú d’aon fhadhb pholaitiúil ina gcóilíneacht Éireannach, agus léiriú a thabhairt go inmheánach agus go seachtrach do léirshamhail an daonlathais Eorpaigh liobrálaigh.
An phríomhfhadhb leis an pholasaí seo ná a neamhbheith iomlán ó thaobh na fírinne de. Bhí na mílte saighdiúir coimhthíoch, na cúirteanna gan giúiré, agus na príosúin lán go béal le daoine uilig ina gcomharthaí inléite ar stát duáilceach forlámhach.
Bhí an freagra soiléir, chomh fada leis an Bhreatain de – cuir ó éifeacht an fhrithbheartaíocht a thugann orthu an cur faoi chois forleathan a dhéanamh agus tabhair an pobal náisiúnach sa Tuaisceart, nó cuid shuntasach de, chun sástachta le nóisean stát na Breataine in Éirinn.
Má tá polasaí na Breataine an freasúre dá riail in Éirinn a cheansú le bheith maolaithe agus a aisiompú tá sé de dhualgas ar Éireannaigh tús nua a chur le díospóireacht faoi nadúr an stáit agus a gcaidreamh leis.
Is cinnte go bhfuil Lá Nua thíos le próiseas normálaithe na Breataine, agus beidh samplaí eile ann.
Tá sainmhínithe éagsúla ag daoine éasgúla ar an normálú agus níl aon spás do choincheapa na héagsúlachta agus athnuachain chultúrtha. Cuireann an cineál coincheapa seo a rial aonchineálach trína chéile.
Mar sin ligfidh an Bhreatain agus a riarthóirí Stormont dul in éag go ciúin gan aon dóchas d’aiséirí stát-mhaonaithe. Ní thabharfaidh Feidhmeannas na Sé Chondae Acht na Gaeilge isteach agus giorrófar na hathruithe a bhí saothraithe go maith.
Déanta na fírinne, tá pobal a bhí roimhe seo i gceannairc oscailte anois díshlógtha agus tugtha chun sástachta le cumhacht stáit gan aon cheart dá gcuid a bheidh tógtha ar ais acu ón chumhacht sin, iad fágtha iomlán neamhullamh an fód a sheasamh in éadan na héagóra leanúnaí.
Ach cruthaíonn na coinníollacha na cásanna agus cothaíonn ansmacht frithbheartaíocht níl nadúr an phobail chloíte sna Sé Chondae athraithe chomh borb sin gur féidir iad a dhíshlógadh go deo.
Nochtfar an tuiscint arís nach mór troid go nimhneach ar son cearta agus saoirse agus gur í streachailt pholaitiúil an t-aon bhealach amháin le gluaiseacht dhearfach a fháil ó rialtas na Breataine – an t-aon ghluaiseacht atá inghlactha go fírinneach ná cúlú na Breataine ó ghnó na hÉireann.
Ní lá nua atá ann inniu, ach déanann nadúr neamhdhaonlathach agus frith-chothromaíoch rial na Breataine sa tír seo cinnte go bhfuil a theacht dosheachanta. Tá tionscnamh na fuascailte tromábhal agus ní thig ach le luacht oibre na hÉireann í a thógáil. Caithfimid eagrú, múnlú agus athghabh as an nua chun tús a chur le hathbheochan an phoblachtánachais Éireannaigh i ndáiríre.
Normalisation Coming to Fruition
The imminent demise of the Irish language newspaper Lá Nua will leave the Irish language community throughout the country without a consistent and firm advocate of their rights.
For over two decades, Lá Nua (previously Lá) provided a daily news service through the medium of the national tongue while championing the revival of an Gaeilge against massive odds.
Despite state hostility and neglect, particularly in British occupied Ireland, Lá Nua gave a voice to a much-maligned section of Irish society.
It will not be lost on observers that the closure of Lá Nua comes in the context of what the establishment, North, South and in Britain, are heralding as the dawn of the ‘new Northern Ireland’.
In this ‘new’ society the voices and rights of the ‘previously’ marginalised are allegedly heard and encouraged to flourish.
In turn, this society is supposed to engender a confidence in groups like Irish speakers in their own ability to effect further change and truly alter the dynamics of state power in this country.
The downfall of Lá will, accordingly, only be an aberration in this overwhelmingly positive turn of events.
There is another, if less palatable, narrative of how last week’s blow came to pass.
It also has something to say about the dynamics of state power in this country.
Firstly, the development and longevity of Lá Nua existed in a context that no longer pertains.
The newspaper was part of a community’s response to the apartheid-like state in the Six Counties. Lá, along with grass-roots residents’ organisations, citizens rights groups, festivals, radical political networks, radio stations and community founded schools sprung from a revolutionary culture of resistance that operated alongside the armed insurgency in the North.
Not all of these organisations necessarily supported the armed struggle, but they were part of a collective effort to overcome massive injustice and to challenge British domination of every day life.
This culture of resistance was the nationalist community’s manifestation of a refusal to accept the legitimacy of the Six County state.
By building alternative centres of power they were actively challenging Britain’s, Stormont’s, or any other junta’s right to rule, or more aptly misrule, any section of the Irish people.
But all actions have a reaction and Britain’s calculated counter attack, from the 1970s on, was one of normalisation.
As has been recounted many times, this policy consisted of denying any political problem within their Irish colony and portraying, both internally and externally, a model of liberal European democracy.
The main problem with this policy was its utter non-existence in reality. The thousands of foreign soldiers, the non-jury courts and brimming jails were all tell tale signs of a vicious jackboot state.
The solution, as far as Britain was concerned, was obvious – neutralise the resistance that makes the wide-scale repression necessary and reconcile the nationalist community in the North, or at least a sizable part of it, to the notion of a British state in Ireland.
If Britain’s policy of pacifying opposition to their rule in Ireland is to be quelled and reversed it is incumbent upon Irish people to begin debating afresh the nature of the state and their relationship to it.
Lá Nua is most definitely a victim of the British normalisation process, and there will be other examples.
Different people have different definitions of normality and Britain’s definition is not one that has any room for notions of diversity and cultural rejuvenation. These are the type of concepts that lead to a destabilisation of its homogenous rule.
So Lá Nua will be allowed to die quietly by Britain and its Stormont administrators with no hope of a state funded resurrection. There will be no Irish language act introduced by the Six County executive and any hard won changes will be rolled back.
In effect, a community previously in open rebellion has been demobilised and reconciled to a state power without having won any of its rights back off that power, leaving them totally unprepared to facedown the continuing injustice.
But conditions create events and oppression breeds resistance and the nature of the oppressed community in the Six Counties hasn’t changed so drastically that they can be demobilised forever.
The realisation will again dawn that rights and freedoms have to be fought for tooth and nail and that political struggle is the only way to gain positive movement from the British government – the only truly acceptable movement being a British withdrawal from Irish affairs.
Today isn’t a new day, but the undemocratic and anti-egalitarian nature of British rule in this country makes the arrival of one inevitable. The project of liberation is massive and can only be built by the Irish working people. We must organise, educate and reengage afresh to begin the resurgence of Irish republicanism in earnest.