Death of George Harrison

by John Mon Oct 11, 2004 12:25

So, another Republican has croaked it. Great! Wonderful news to start the week. Lets hope its O Bradaigh's turn next.

by observer Mon Oct 11, 2004 12:36

I do hope no-one says that about you when you kick the bucket - if anyone notices of course.

by Oisín Mon Oct 11, 2004 13:05

He sent arms over so the Irish brothers could kill each other and innocents while he lived safe and comfortable in America never having to live with the reality of the situation. He is no Hero, he is a coward.
I can't say i now the man but by his actions i am glad he is dead, that time in Ireland history is dead.

by Hebe Mon Oct 11, 2004 15:46

You are the coward, a coward because you will condemn George when you know so little of him or his involvement in left politics and the unions in the US. Your failure to in any way criticise British Imperialism is noted.

by John Mon Oct 11, 2004 16:35

Observer, you are quite correct - my death will probably go unnoticed. That's because I haven't spent my life murdering people. Being a murderer is a great way of getting attention in life and ensuring a large attendance of one's fellow psychopaths at one's funeral. I doubt if many people in Omagh are mourning today. I must admit, I never heard of this guy until this morning. Always thought George Harrison was one of the Beatles. Anyway, if he was such a great revolutionary, how come he emigrated to the USA and not to, say, Cuba?

by Oisín Mon Oct 11, 2004 17:50

He was a lefty as well, it gets worse!!

by john francis - irish queers Tue Oct 12, 2004 18:47 irishqueers at hotmail dot com

george was an amazing activist, with a progressive international liberation analysis. if it was supporting the anc-george was there. supporting cuba, organizing an irish contingent for mumia abu jamal, protesting police brutality and murder of diallo, supporting the rights of lesbians and gay men in new york to participate in the st patricks day parade, -george was there. staffing the picket lines of multiple stikes, stuffing envelopes for the first out hiv positive gay nyc council member george was there. regiously he sent out easter statements for the liberation of occupied ireland. george could be seen at multiple protests on a wide range of issues every week.
the likes of george will not be seen again-and that is a loss for us all.

by Seamus Wed Oct 13, 2004 17:28

The Blanket
http://lark.phoblacht.net/ghasb12104g.html
Sandy Boyer • 12 October 2004

George Harrison was perhaps the most unrepentant Fenian of them all.
He was, as they say, baptized in the Fenian faith at a very early age
in his native Shammer, Co. Mayo. He held to that faith unflinchingly
until he died sitting in his apartment in Brooklyn, New York on
Thursday. October 7th.

Of course the Fenian faith has as many variations as any other.
George Harrison's was the fenianism of Liam Ryan and James Connolly,
two of his heroes. It was also the fenianism of Republican Sinn Fein,
whose Patron he was proud to be.

His vision was of a 32-county socialist Ireland. He believed firmly
that nothing but physical force would ever get the Brits out. And
George judged every new development in Ireland by that very basic
criterion – would it help get the Brits out?

But his internationalism was integral to his republicanism. He held
that if you wanted to free Ireland, you had to support the struggles
of oppressed people everywhere in the world. George was fond of
saying that the US had no more right in Puerto Rico than the Brits
did in Ireland

He is best known for providing the IRA with arms and equipment for
over 25 years. George purchased the weapons, the most vital and
dangerous part of the job. Others raised the money, stored the arms
and ammunition and arranged to ship them to Ireland. Owen MacNamee,
who George referred to as the "Emissary," was their link with the
IRA.

Jack Holland, in his book The American Connection, says that there
were never more than a dozen people involved with the network. George
estimated very conservatively that they supplied the IRA with 2,000-
2,500 weapons and more than a million rounds of ammunition.

The trial of the "IRA 5" - George, Tom Falvey, Michael Flannery,
Paddy Mullens and Tommy Gormley – has become legend. The prosecutor
opened the case by charging that George had been running guns to the
IRA for the last six months. It is reported that at the defense table
George was heard to mutter "It was 25 years if it was a day."

Frank Durkan, his attorney, opened the case for the defense,
saying "My client is charged with conspiring to ship arms to Ireland
over a short period of months – December of '80 to June of '81. Mr.
Harrison feels somewhat insulted, because, as the government well
knows, he has aided, abetted, and shipped arms to the rebels in
Northern Ireland for a quarter of a century. And makes no bones about
it."

Some of the political differences between George and Michael
Flannery, who he admired greatly, were revealed in their choice of
character witnesses. Flannery, who was a daily communicant, chose a
bishop. George brought Bernadette McAliskey and David Ndaba,
secretary to the ANC Mission to the UN.

The prosecutor cross-examined the bishop. He couldn't get Bernadette
off the stand fast enough.

The defendants were all acquitted. But George's gun running career
was over. In later years he would say repeatedly that he only
regretted that he hadn't send enough to get the Brits our of Ireland.
For that, he said, he would apologize to the young people of Ireland.

After the trial George, who was probably the most thoroughgoing anti-
imperialist I ever met, had the time to actively support the national
liberation movements he had believed in for years. Bernadette
McAliskey describes spending a Saturday afternoon with George
visiting every picket line in New York. They went from the "Long
Green Line" picket at the British consulate to demonstrations against
apartheid and to support the Sandinistas in Nicaragua and political
prisoners in Puerto Rico, Argentina and Chile.

At every stop George was known and greeted as a respected comrade and
friend. At each demonstration he picked up leaflets announcing future
protests and handed them out on the next. George had become the link
between very national liberation movement in New York.

You can't appreciate George Harrison without his passionate hatred of
racism. He worked day in and day out to elect David Dinkins as the
first African-American Mayor of New York City. Even after Dinkins
lost his race for a second term, George called him "the people's
Mayor." George would no more recognize Rudy Giuliani as the Mayor of
his city that he would recognize British rule in Ireland.

I remember how thrilled George was when we organized an Irish event
that raised $10,000 to rebuild the burned Black churches in the
South. He called me the next morning to say "We gave racism and
imperialism a good kick in the ass."

Throughout his long life, George never budged an inch off his core
principals. That didn't mean he couldn't learn and progress.

I met George in 1980 at a weekly picket line at British Airways on
Fifth Avenue, supporting the first hunger strike. Every week he would
show up with the tricolor and the American flag. Although no one said
anything about it, George somehow realized that many of us who had
been through the anti-Vietnam war movement saw the American flag as
the banner of US imperialism. It never appeared again.

Years later, when George was in his 70's, someone from the Irish
Lesbian and Gay Organization (ILGO) told me that he was flabbergasted
to meet him working for an openly Gay candidate for Congress. George
felt he was just supporting a very progressive candidate and didn't
particularly care about his sexual orientation.

Well into his eighties, George asked a friend what transgendered
people were. She explained, and he said it sounded like they had a
hard time of it.

Another side of George was his amazing generosity. Even when he was
retired and living on a pension and Social Security, no one could
stop George from giving his money away.

I remember him saying, when the New York H-Block/Armagh Committee was
considering supporting INLA prisoners, that he had been sending money
to families of republican prisoners for years. I suspect that there
are many families throughout Ireland who remember getting a totally
unexpected check in the mail one day from George Harrison of
Brooklyn, New York.

And even after the contributions for prisoners, and for Republican
Sinn Fein, there were the innumerable good causes that George felt
bound to support. I wasn't surprised when Priscilla McLean, the nurse
who cared for cared for him throughout his last years, told me that
he was living from check to check.

I am very conscious of everything I have left out. Things like his
passionate devotion to the republican veterans of the Spanish Civil
War, his attachment to New York City, his occasional stubbornness and
obstinacy and his great affection for his family and many friends.
Other people who knew George would no doubt include much more.

Maybe, at the end, we can say with Shakespeare that "Take him all and
all, we shall not look upon his like again."

Of course George might disagree. He would probably have said that he
did he did the best he could, and now it is up to us to do the rest.

by George's grand-nephew Thu Oct 14, 2004 03:08

George was my grand-mother's baby brother. After the trial of the "IRA 5" I was not supposed to be in contact with him for fear he would lead me into violence and bad deeds. George was a great Irish republican, and when I met with Gerry Adams last fall (October 2003), we shared some favorable words about him, if you can believe that!!

To all who are glad for his death, you must not truely understand his reasons. The "British Empire from Hell" as George would say, has no place in Ireland, ever, and should be removed at any cost.

RIP George Harrison.

-John

by Dub Thu Oct 14, 2004 16:11

Rest In Peace

by Gaire O Dubhshlaine Thu Oct 14, 2004 18:36 FenianRam at yahoo dot com

Standing shoulder to shoulder with Tone, Emmet, Sands and countless others, George Harrison is now in far better company than he was before his demise. His personal legacy will outlast the stain on Republicanism imposed by those who have hijacked the movement.

Having met him on several occasions since 1981, I can attest to the man's authenticity as a true patriot and unrepentant fenian and he will be missed by most, but based on the ignorant comment by "John", apparently not by all.

John's callous attack on the great man reveals him to be a cowardly priompallan and worthy of nothing more than being scraped off the bottom of our collective shoes like so much dog manure.

FenianRam
Jersey Shore
USA

by Gaire O Dubhshlaine Thu Oct 14, 2004 18:53 FenianRam at yahoo dot com

I find it amazing that supposed intelligent individuals would revel in the death of a loved and well respected 89 year old man while hiding behind the safety of the internet.

There is a line that starts in Brooklyn of many people who would be more than willing to lend you an ear should you wish to serve up such venom in person.

But, Oisin, like John and others, you will continue stinking up this venue with your vile ambiance and the only way to get you out of out collective sight is to flush.



FenianRam
Jersey Shore
USA

by Fuse Fri Oct 15, 2004 17:48

As an Irish person, one who lives on the island..I'd like to say that anyone who promotes murder in my homeland will not be missed by me.

Leftist politics are Not about taking up arms and bombing innocents.

Thanks for understanding

by James Davitt Sat Oct 16, 2004 19:39

Sandy Boyer speaks of Liam Ryan as one of Harrison's heros. Who is Liam Ryan? It should be noted that Harrison was acquitted at the arms trial on the grounds that the arms smuggling had the backing of the CIA. A number of Cia agents, including Ralph McGehee testified to this effect. This gives to the CIA a knowledge of the Provos from the outset, and it gives a new perspective to the peace process.

by James Felix Doherty Mon Oct 18, 2004 16:43 jimfelixdoc at hotmail dot com

George Harrison was a wonderful human being who will be sorely missed. I admired the man greatly and would have loved to have met him. I grew up in Derry and know all about State terrorism. I am glad he helped us oppose it. Those who are glad of his death are terribly sad and pathetic people. May this great and giving human being rest in peace.

by frank ryan Mon Oct 18, 2004 17:03

I suppose they are - a la the Cruiser and Rabbitte - about taking the side of the state and its armed agents?