Up the Rebels!

Rebel Spirit is Alive and Well!
It was heartening to see the overwhelming defeat of the Lisbon Treaty, on June 12, at the hands of the Irish electorate. Though you wouldn’t get the impression from the headlines, the ordinary people of all EU countries, from Warsaw to Paris and Rome to Oslo, are rejoicing. As a British MEP stated during the Euro Parliament debate, in the aftermath of the referendum, "Well done, the Irish!"

Ireland was the only one of the 27 Euro countries to hold a referendum on the issue. To the chagrin of the Celtic Tiger establishment, a referendum was a requirement of Bunreacht na h-Eireann and so Sean and Bridget citizen had to have their say. Ratification in the other countries was confined to the nod of the political elites. The authoritarian Treaty would have being the coup de grace to the remnants of Irish sovereignty and it would have permanently estranged Ireland from the United States.

It was inspiring that in the historic spirit of the Rebel County, all of the Cork constituencies, Cork Northwest, Cork East, Cork North Central, Cork South Central, and Cork South West assertively participated in the Treaty’s defeat. Such was the case also with our westerly neighbor, The Kingdom, where both constituencies, Kerry North and Kerry South were overwhelming in the rout of the unaccountable Eurocratic elite.

In the post referendum debate in the Euro Parliament, in which the Eurocrats derided the Irish result, the only Irish representative who was visible in defense of the people's decision was Independent MEP Kathy Sinnott from Ballinhassig, Co. Cork. Ms. Sinnott is Irish American, having been born in Chicago. Fianna Fail or Fine Gael MEPs were nowhere to be seen. The heavy lifting was left to the British.

The referendum result is indicative of the yawning chasm that has developed between the Irish people and the Europhillic Celtic Tiger elitist establishment. In subsequent analysis, it has emerged that the largest component of the NO vote was grassroots Fianna Fail supporters.

From De Cork Newsletter of the County Cork Association of New York - July 2008

Patrick Hurley