Dspt ɖ vayḷnt past n toxic preznt, Britn n Îrḷnd canot iscep ɖ tîz ɖt bînd
(Transcription of an Observer article of 23 January 2022)
Ɖ fiftiiʈ aṇvrsri v Bludi Súnde rmîndz s ɖt hisṭri n jiogṛfi mīn ɖt nǎ, az ɖen, ɖ fets v ɖ tū cuntriz r intwînd
Fintn OTūl, Súnde, 23 Jańri 2022
Olmst 50 yirz ago, in ɖ rli aurz v 2 Febrri 1972, ɖ Britiś emḅsi in Dublin wz gutd bî fîr. Ɖs wz nt an axidnt. A hyj crǎd hd gaɖrd in protest ǎtsd ɖ luvli Jorjn teris in Merịn Sqer ol ʈru ɖ prīvịs de. Ɖe ćird az yuñ men clîmd acrs ɖ balc̣niz n smaśt a windo. Ɖe ʈrù in sm petṛl n lit it. A fyẓled v petṛlbomz wz unlīśt fṛm ɖ crǎd. Ppl ćantd ɖ slogn ɖe hd lrnt fṛm ɖ Wots rayts in Los Angeles in 1965: brn, bebi, brn. Ɖ p’līs dd nʈñ t stop ɖ atac.
I wz 14 at ɖ tîm, so I wz’nt ɖr. Bt sm v mî oldr frendz wr n I wśt I hd bn wɖ ɖm. Ɖ asōlt wz orġnîzd bî ɖ IRA, bt most ordnri, pīsfl Îriś ppl apruvd v it. It sīmd lîc ɖ rît ʈñ t d, a rīzṇbl rspons t ɖ maṣcr ɖ prīvịs wīcend in Deri v 13 unarmd sviłnz bî ɖ frst btałn v ɖ Britiś armi’z Paṛśutrejimnt. A wmn wêtñ fr a bus in Dublin tld ɖ Îriś Tîmz: “I flt ǎtrejd ɖt ɖ Britiś śd d ɖs n I flt ɖt ẃtvr ɖ rîts n roñz, ɖe wd nǒ hǎ w flt ẃn w brnt dǎn ɖer emḅsi.”
Ɖ ǎtrej wz nt jst ɖ atroṣti in Deri itslf. It wz olso ɖ we ɖ Britiś laid abt it, fōlsli clemñ ɖt ɖ paṛtruprz hd cm undr fîr n wr pṛtctñ ɖmslvz agnst terrists. Ɖ ofiśl Wiɉri inqîri, ẃć isnṣ́li rpitd ɖs lî, md it clir ɖ Britiś stet hd no inṭrest in acnoḷjñ ẃt hd hapnd, let alon puṇśñ eniwn fr ẃt ɖ Deri coṛnr, Mejr Hyḅt ONīl, cōld “śir un’dulṭretd mrdr”. Agnst sć imprvịsnis, brnñ dǎn ɖ emḅsi dd indd sīm lîc ɖ onli we t let ɖ Britiś istabliśmnt nǒ hǎ most Îriś ppl flt.
Ɖus, 50 yirz aftr ɖ fǎndeśn v ɖ Îriś Fri Stet, rleśnz btwn Britn n indipndnt Îrḷnd wr abt az bad az ɖe cd b. Ɖr hd bn uɖr lo pônts, ptiklrli jrñ ɖ Secnd Wrldwor, ẃn Îrḷnd’z ńtraḷti sīmd, t mni in Britn, a scandḷs btreyl. Bt rleśnz aftr Bludi Súnde sīmd īvn wrs bcz ɖ slōtr wz wn episod – olbiit an ispeṣ́li dzastṛs wn – in a conflict in Norɖn Îrḷnd ɖt wz stl esc̣letñ. (1972 wd indd trn ǎt t b ɖ bludiist yir v ɖ Trublz.) It flt in ɖoz munʈs olmst az f ɖ tū stets on ɖz îḷndz wr slîdñ uncntroḷbli intu ḿćl n vayḷnt hostiḷti.
Yt, jst et dez bfr Bludi Súnde, smʈñ cmplitli difṛnt hd hapnd. Ɖ Britiś prim̦inistr, Edẉd Hīʈ, n ɖ taoiseach, Jac Linć, hd bn tgɖr in a seṛmońl hōl in Bruslz t ć sîn hiz cuntri’z trītiz v axeśn t ɖ Yṛpiyn Ic̣nomic̦ḿṇti. Ɖr r picćrz v ɖ tū men standñ śoldr t śoldr, bʈ bīmñ wɖ boṇmi. Les ɖn a yir aftr ɖ brnñ v ɖ emḅsi in Dublin, ɖ tū cuntriz wd b clos partnrz in ɖ Yṛpiyn project. It z fer t se, morovr, ɖt Îrḷnd oud its ples in ẃt wz ɖen an xclūsiv club t its dīp ic̣nomic cnx́n t Britn. On its ǒn, Îrḷnd wz tù pur t jusṭfî a sīt at ɖ top tebl v Yṛp. It wz admitd isnṣ́li on Britn’z coțeilz.
It z strenj, in retṛspect, hǎ ɖz tū storiz ran sîd bî sîd – wn v pṛfǎnd n dīpli rūtd aṇmoṣti, ɖ uɖr v intns cooṗreśn; wn fl v fracć̣rñ n dviźn, ɖ uɖr a jônt cmitmnt t “evr closr yńn” in Yṛp. Az it hapnd, membrśp v ɖ YY alaud Îrḷnd t wīn itslf of its dpndnsi on ɖ Britiś icoṇmi n t aćiv a mć mor sbstanśl indipndns. (Wn v ɖ mni ʈñz Brexitrz cd nvr unḍstand z ɖs nośn ɖt ɖ s’pozidli opresiv YY cd b, fr smōl neśnz, a rùt ǎt v doṃneśn bî bigr nebrz.) Bt it olso bcem a scūl in ẃć Îriś n Britiś guvnmnts lrnt t wrc vri closli, n rspctḟli, tgɖr.
Ɖt xpirịns, in trn, md poṣbl ɖ jônt coriogṛfi v ɖ 1990z, ɖ cerḟli caḷbretd steps ɖt pṛdyst ɖ pīs’grīmnt v 1998. Bî 2011, ẃn ɖ Qīn bcem ɖ frst Britiś moṇc in a snć̣ri t vizit suɖn Îrḷnd, it riyli flt lîc ɖs gd-nebrlinis hd bcm a prṃnnt cndiśn, ɖt Britiś aṛgns n Îriś rej wr xibits in a ḿziym v historicl krioṣtiz.
Ɖt iluźn v prṃnns wz śatrd bî Brexit, nt jst bî ɖ los v ɖ comn grǎnd v YY membrśp bt olso bî ɖ rfyzl t ʈnc at ol abt ɖ consiqnsz fr ɖ îḷnd v Îrḷnd. Mni v ɖ Brexitrz stl si ɖoz consiqnsz nt az ɖ inevitbl rzults v ɖer ǒn ćôsz, bt az sm cnd v Îriś cnspiṛsi t ʈwort ɖm. Ɖr z a cornr v ɖer mîndz in ẃć Brexit wd hv bn a rip-rorñ trîumf bî nǎ f ɖ dámd Îriś hd’nt spôld it wɖ ɖer bacstops n proṭcolz. Ɖ opn atmts v ɖ Jonsn admiṇstreśn t ter p ɖ agrīmnts on ɖ Îriś dmnśn v Brexit hv rvîvd ɖt old spectr, Pfidịs Albịn.
N yt w śd rmembr 1972. Īvn at ɖt ōfl nedir, ɖ stecs wr far tù hî fr Britn n Îrḷnd t alǎ ɖer rleśnśp t dtirịret intu toxiṣti. Tū litl ʈñz forst ɖm tgɖr: hisṭri n jiogṛfi. Ɖ tū big îḷndz on ǎr arc̣peḷgo cn no mor iscep ć uɖr’z fets ɖn Britn cn flot of intu ɖ Atlantic awe fṛm Yṛp.
Mbi ɖr r īvn wez in ẃć w unḍstand ć uɖr betr. Sm slo lrnrz in Britn hv dscuvrd, aftr a mir snć̣ri, ɖt Îrḷnd z an indipndnt cuntri wɖ its ǒn naśnl inṭrests n rleśnśps wɖ Yṛp. Îriś ppl hv dscuvrd ɖt ɖe hv no mnoṗli in ɖz îḷndz on îdntticrîsīz n bîṇri triḅlizmz. It z ny fr Îrḷnd t fīl lîc ɖ mor stebl n slf-confidnt v ɖ stets on ɖ arc̣peḷgo n ny fr Britn t b dīlñ wɖ ɖ frax́s afṭmaʈ v a naśṇlist reṿluśn. It me tec sm tîm fr ol v s t gt yst t ɖz novltiz. Bt in mć wrs srcmstansz, w hv faund wez t fes ny riaḷtiz tgɖr.
• Fintn OTūl’z most rīsnt bc z W D’nt Nǒ Ǎrslvz: A Prsnl Hisṭri v Îrḷnd Sins 1958
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