Who Gets My Vote? EU Elections 2014

Willie Drennan

I am not a member of, nor do I align myself with, any political party; but I do vote. I do not vote for the politician or the party that I agree with the most, but rather, for whoever agrees with me the most. When I’m not too sure, I tend to vote for those parties that have absolutely no chance of getting elected: the rationale being that I will have a clear conscience when the elected proceed to work on behalf of the powerful global super-rich, who facilitated their election, instead of working on behalf of the people who voted for them.

The Scottish Referendum: the potential divorce.

Willie Drennan

On May 2^nd, I attended a presentation on the upcoming Scottish Referendum at Queens University Belfast. It was delivered by Dr Michael Rosie of University of Edinburgh.

 [Dr Rosie is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Edinburgh and Director of the University’s Institute of Governance. Dr Rosie specialises in studying the political sociology of Scotland.  The event was facilitated by Professor John Brewer of the Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation and Social Justice at Queens].

  Dr Rosie is a man well-versed on the subject matter of anything Scottish. His presentation was delivered with great ease, comprehensive and quite entertaining. No pretentions with this academic: excellent lunchtime entertainment.

Irish Cup Final: Time to ban noise at Windsor Park?

The Irish Cup Final 2014 between Ballymena United and Glenavon was a positive for Irish League football. The standard of football may have been generally poor as both teams seemed jittery on the big occasion, but the game was entertaining: the atmosphere and enthusiasm on the day was brilliant.

In Ballymena the build-up to the final had been passionate and infectious and apparently it was exactly the same in Lurgan. Thousands travelled to the city from the two towns and a great day was had by all. Even for us Ballymena United fans, disappointed with the result, the overall  experience was nonetheless very positive. Well done to both clubs and to the Irish Football Association.

Just a couple of points for the IFA though. Firstly, I’ve heard of the frustration of many football fans who wanted to attend the final as neutrals but they couldn’t easily find tickets. The Irish Cup Finals are great occasions and hopefully when the new Railway stand is built at Windsor Park the IFA will take this into consideration.

Secondly: is it just me or did anyone else find the obnoxiously loud pre-match amplified music, not only unnecessary but irrelevant, irritating and frustrating?   Both sets of fans turned up in their thousands well before kick-off: they just wanted to sing and let off steam. The Ballymena fans were in full voice and it looked as if Glenavon fans were doing the same but I couldn’t hear them at all.

There was also a pipe band hired to play the pre-match entertainment but I couldn’t hear them either:  except for the first two notes of the national anthem before the crowd began singing along. No doubt the pipe band was very good. No doubt if we could have heard the Glenavon fans singing it could have allowed for some good-natured back and forth banter. Even Alan Simpson's entertaining pre-match and half-time commentary could have done without the musical breaks  being set at such high decibels.

I have experienced the same levels of amplified noise interfering with the atmosphere before Northern Ireland international games. Occasionally it works okay when they play songs like Sweet Caroline or the Jackie Fullerton version of We’re not Brazil and the crowd sings along.  But, it really is unnecessary. Northern Ireland fans do not require any prompting to sing.

Can the IFA do anything about this or do we need to apply to the European Union to have this noise pollution banned?

Time for Opposition Coalition?

 

Willie Drennan

The flag dispute has managed to highlight the fact that there is clearly a growing disconnect with our government, and yet no real opportunity to vote in an official opposition: as is the norm in the Western world. While Abuse of Power by government in London, Dublin, Brussels and Washington has been exposed in recent times; there prevails in Northern Ireland a confident sense of immunity. This is due to a fear in London, Dublin, Brussels and Washington, and Belfast, that if the Ulster political boat starts to rock we’ll all start shoving each other overboard again. Best to turn the blind eye.

The reasons for the recent decision at City Hall and emotional ‘flag protests’ have much to do with the cultural war-game that has been raging in Northern Ireland since the Big Agreement of 1998: a cultural war-game that is not going to end as long as we have a political institution, that by its structure and it’s nature, depends on and thrives on Orange and Green division. We all agree we can never go back to a situation where a Unionist/Protestant party dominates over an opposition Nationalist/Catholic party but equally we shouldn’t tolerate the potential for 50 years of misrule by a closed-shop ‘coalition’.

 An opposition coalition, of course, would not only have to include those with British and All-Ireland aspirations but also the so-called Left and the so-called Right; the Liberals and the Radicals, and significantly those from  working-class backgrounds who presently feel unrepresented.  It would definitely be a strange fusion of folk but no stranger than the strange bedfellows currently at Stormont.

The Opposition Coalition would need to be in agreement on a creative economic strategy that would be supportive of local sustainable enterprise, without feeling the need to sell off Ulster’s heart and soul to far-off foreign corporations. It would need to have the common goal of providing an accountable, transparent form of government for all of the people. While respecting everyone’s political aspirations there would need to be an agreement to put the constitutional issue to bed for a reasonable period to allow for regeneration of a confident and stable economy. 

There is no reason for confidence that a new ‘coalition’ at Stormont would do any better at governing than the present ‘coalition’. Many of the present establishment are professional and sincere enough in their approach to politics: but nonetheless, they are part of the murky world of party-politics that necessitates keeping the head down at times; and saying nothing about unethical goings-on. 

What we the electorate would gain though, would be the basic right of opportunity to vote for real change at election time.  It would probably take a few elections to get it sorted as those in power seem comfortable with the present carve-up: they have the cash and the big corporate connections to fuel their election campaigns and keep things as they are. In the interim we could hope to edge-open some doors of transparency for the present ‘coalition’ at Stormont - and for all those on their pay-roll.

 

United States of the Atlantic Isles?

 

 By Willie Drennan [From Issue 11 of the Ulster Folk}]

 

Fifteen years on from the Big Agreements as we each try to decipher the Good Friday, Belfast or St Andrews versions: as we listen to the experts deliver their indisputable analysis on what it all clearly means; in contradiction to other experts, is it time to think outside the box?

 

Okay ‘outside the box’ is an over-used buzz term these days but we really do need to get out of the boxes that the government, or governments, have stuck us in. There really is not much glimmer of hope just now as the powerful ‘who call the shots’ are happiest when the local tribes are at each other’s throats. It keeps them in power: keeps their employees on big salaries and pensions, keeps the Peace and Conflict Industries afloat.  Any genuine move to a harmonious free tolerant society is not going to come from any of the five main parties at Stormont: they simply have too much invested. We don’t even have an official opposition to address the lack of basic accountability and  transparency.

I’ve had notions for many years now, notions too idealistic and off the wall for me to even think about putting out there: but ever since an IRA commander and a Free Presbyterian commander became partners in government and close buddies, perhaps my ideas might now be entertained by some.

If you examine the history of the British Isles and then pause to wonder why we are where we are today, most of us will probably conclude that we just been pawns in the big game of chess played out by the lusters of power and the masters of war. And there really is no end to 400 years of conflict and division in sight until we all fully grasp this.

It is interesting what is happening in Scotland with the referendum, and how even the thought of the break-up of the United Kingdom gets the other regions all fired up.  Then there are the calls for a UK referendum on the EU, not to mention Sinn Fein’s call for an Irish border poll. Is it time to consider a new political alignment of the British Isles (that’s a geographical term, not trying to get political here)? There’s no chance of a Dublin controlled United Ireland that would be separate from the rest of the British Isles. Absolutely no chance. For one thing it’s too late now as we are all starting to understand that the capital city of a new United Ireland would be Brussels, not Dublin anyway.

I understand those in Ireland who feel it is important to respect their forefathers who fought for liberty for Ireland: but I don’t think their ancestors would be too happy about how the cause they fought for has evolved. Similarly those of us in Ulster who had ancestors who fought and died for our right to freedom will wonder if it was all worthwhile defending Derry, charging at the Somme or taking on the IRA. 

What we need is a dream that we can aspire to where there are no winners and no losers. Okay that’s too idealistic: there always have to be losers, but the losers should only be the handful who haven’t had the foresight to jump ship and join the revolution before they get booted out.

So, can we explore the possibility of a new political alignment of the British Isles?   I’m even willing to leave out the British geographical bit and just call it the Atlantic Isles or something. Is this too radical of a notion in these times when it looks like the United Kingdom is in for an overhaul whether we want it or not? Is it too much to ponder the notion that people in Ireland just might be better off having a federal-style government arrangement with its closest neighbours and ancient kinfolk – with real potential for a high degree of self-determination?  Would it really be out of the question for the people of Northern Ireland to have a mutual agreement with the wonderful folk across the Irish Border?

 

Okay for those of you who are still hinging in there with me, if only for amusement, what would you have to lose?  In Ulster we would get to celebrate the Twelfth in an atmosphere of tolerance -The Sash or Fields of Athenry causing offence to nobody - the Twelfth even in Dublin perhaps as Ireland gives the go ahead to promote its other distinct and rich culture. We could jointly sell our rich diversified culture world wide: we could make our own clothes and furniture again, promote our own food; we would never again feel the need to sell our souls to big foreign masters of wealth and war.  We could figure out minor details like the Royal Family, European Landlords and the Euro later.

 

The big winners would be the next generation.  Well okay then: anyone got a better idea?

 

My Work as an Ulster-Scot's artist.

 Overview of my work in Northern Ireland 1997 to 2014.  

Willie Drennan

[This is for the benefit of those who have expressed an interest in how much money I have sucked out of the government’s Ulster-Scots pot].

First of all, I am an Ulster Scot. Everything about me is Ulster Scots: my family background, the area I grew up in, my natural form of speech, the music, songs, poetry and stories that I grew up with. As a teenager in the late 1960’s I was writing songs and poems in Ulster Scots.

 I left Northern Ireland in 1976 to travel and work in different countries before settling in Canada for fourteen years. While in Canada in the early 1990’s I helped form the Ulster Scottish Society of Canada. When I returned to Northern Ireland in 1997 I immediately found work as a folk musician/ storyteller who primarily worked within the Ulster Scots genre.

I applied to the Arts Council for funding in 1997 to develop, workshop and promote an Ulster Scots stage show in relation to the 1798 Rebellion in Mid Antrim. I receive a small grant. We toured the show successfully, both in Northern Ireland and in the Republic. This was before the government’s Ulster Scots Agency was invented and long before it was operational.

 Since that I have continued to be a self-employed artist and have not directly applied for personal funding. I have however been hired to participate in concerts, projects, and festivals that would have received some government assistance.  The majority of my Ulster Scots work, up until 2009 would have been through the Ulster Scots Folk Orchestra Association, which I fronted and coordinated  for much of that time-period . The vast majority of the work of the Ulster Scots Folk Orchestra did not receive direct funding. We performed just over 800 concerts: the majority of which were paid for via  ticket sales. We produced 12 CD recordings and 2 DVD’S which were simply financed through sales. We did not receive public funding to produce the recordings as we simply did not need any. 

The only direct funding that we applied for, and actually the main reason for the formation of the association, was to develop a Youth Programme. We did not teach beginners but we engaged a large number of already trained young musicians to perform our material and style on stage. We also gave workshops and performances in schools. We received some funding from the Arts Council and the Ulster Scots Agency towards this. I personally was heavily involved in this project but, for the record, due to a strange set of circumstances resulting from dysfunctional government practice, I possibly ended up with no government money at all for the extensive work that I carried out.

It is necessary to point out that while I was involved in the funding application process with the Ulster Scots Folk Orchestra this is not money that I required for myself as I was already well-known and regularly engaged as an Ulster Scot performer. And, as a matter of fact I would go as far as to state that the small amounts of funding that the orchestra did receive for the Youth Project was a curse.

Outside the orchestra the only other funding that I received, through another cultural association, was towards my second book on Ulster Scots. This small grant was spent on costs related to research, design and marketing. The book was printed and published without the aid of government funding.

 Someone also queried the TV shows that I presented. I was hired by an independent media company and I have to assume they received their payment from BBC. All in all, it is difficult for me to say exactly how much of my work since 1997 has been paid for indirectly from public funding as I often would not have been aware if the hirers received any government money or not. I would guess  that it would have been less than 50%.

 

There may have been other connections to public funding that I have overlooked. If that is the case it is because they would have been so trivial that I have no recollection of it.

 

 It is essential for government to support the arts to some extent and I have been pushing for a change in bureaucratic system to allow for more private sector initiatives and less dependency on public funds. The present massive amounts of funding currently available for arts and culture, most of which gets absorbed in top-end bureaucracy, is not sustainable.  Younger people involved in the arts would do well to consider this. Those already wrapped up in the system, understandably, do not want to address this as their livelihood has become dependent upon that system.

In the interim, until the scale of squandering of public arts money is exposed: until a more sensible strategy for promoting the arts is put in place; I will continue to take whatever work comes my way, whether it is indirectly subsidised by government or not.   That is the reality of the present system in Northern Ireland and I have bills that need to be paid.  I trust this approach will be deemed reasonable by those who have expressed interest in how I manage my livelihood. Also see my blog on Creative Industries.

 I do make one exception: I refuse to do gigs which I get  indirectly paid for via the Ulster Scots Agency.   I believe that outfit should be shut down as it is controlled politically from the very top and it is represents massive squandering of taxpayers money.

 

Proposals for Creative Industries

 Extracts from letter sent to DCAL 2011)

 

 A new approach needs to be developed to create a level playing field between existing funded arts organisations and new groups with new initiatives, who presently cannot compete with heavily funded groups.

 Some government money is still essential to avoid the collapse of existing groups and to stimulate new innovative, well managed projects which would be reluctant to take off in this economic climate.

Pilot projects could be set up for which partial up-front funding could be provided for proposals with sound artistic and management content; proposals that can be held accountable and be fully transparent through the delivery of the goods. They simply wouldn’t receive further support if they couldn’t deliver.

 

There needs to be a drastic cut back on bureaucracy. The reality for organisations that receive core funding is that they have to engage employees just to deal with the bureaucracy and for the purpose of constantly applying for more public money.

 

 The current artificial “tendering” process that has become a growing stipulation for receipt of public money. This needs to be restructured to allow for more efficient hiring of services.

 

 Under present guidelines for funding organisations need to have committees. Committees are notoriously a tremendous waste of time and energy.

 

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