BY MARTIN DUNNE AND FRANK FORRESTAL
CHICAGO - Joe Cahill, a veteran fighter for Irish self- determination and Sinn Fein national treasurer, spoke here at two public meetings June 9-10 about the Saoirse campaign to free Irish political prisoners and the peace process in Ireland. The speaking engagements were part of a fund- raising tour of the United States.
The first meeting, held at the Irish American Heritage Center, was attended by 125 people. The following night Cahill spoke before 130 people at an Irish pub on Chicago's south side. The meetings were sponsored by Irish Northern Aid.
This was Cahill's first public visit to the United States. The 75-year-old leader was sentenced to death along with five others following an incident on Easter Sunday, 1942, in which a Royal Ulster Constabulary soldier was killed. Cahill's sentence was reprieved, but one of his comrades, 19-year-old Tom Williams, was hanged.
In both meetings Cahill spoke in front of a banner that said: "Create Peace, Unite Ireland."
"Our struggle will continue until the last British soldier leaves our shores," said Cahill, adding that there will be "no peace until the last prisoner is released."
Asked whether street demonstrations called by Sinn Fein would disrupt the peace process, Cahill said, "Thank God, the people are demonstrating." This was greeted with boisterous cheers from the audience.
Cahill said people in Ireland are growing impatient with the "torturously slow" peace process, now in its 10th month. Despite this, Cahill said "there is a mood of optimism among the nationalist community. You notice this wherever you go. People are not afraid to stand up and say what they want."
Since the cease-fire and the repeal of Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act, Cahill said, Sinn Fein is getting a better hearing in the Irish Republic. Section 31, a censorship law enacted in 1971, placed a total ban on the broadcast of Sinn Fein, IRA, and other nationalist groups' representatives. Now that this censorship law is lifted, "attitudes are changing and Sinn Fein is growing in the South again," said Cahill. In the recent period, he added, the organization has doubled in size.
Cahill spoke enthusiastically of Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams's planned visit to South Africa June 14-22. Adams was invited by the African National Congress. Cahill said the meeting with President Nelson Mandela will be "the coming together of two great world leaders who have done so much to achieve freedom for their people."
One participant asked Cahill about the statements in the press about Ireland being touted as a place for foreign investment because of its "cheap labor."
The Sinn Fein leader responded that his organization is in favor of foreign investment in Northern Ireland. He added, however, that "there is no cheap labor in Northern Ireland. We are union conscious and supportive of strong trade unions."
A United Auto Workers member who works at a Caterpillar plant that is not on strike noted that the U.S. media portrays the situation in Northern Ireland as conflict between Protestants and Catholics. This is a "distorted view put forward by the media," the republican leader replied. "It is not a religious war between Catholics and Protestants. The enemy is British rule. It is a fight of the Irish people for self-determination and against British domination."
In both his talks, Cahill encouraged participants to become active in the campaign to free all the political prisoners. "Now is the time to do more," said the Irish veteran. "The Saoirse campaign has gotten off to a good start here. We need to intensify our work."
After each of the meetings, participants stayed around for informal discussion. Many bought books on the history of the Irish struggle and picked up handouts on the Saoirse campaign.
Nancy Artiega, of Irish Northern Aid, said she was in Belfast last August when the cease-fire was announced. "People on both sides celebrated in the streets," she said. "The average Catholic and Protestant want peace. They don't want to go back to the way it was before."
"In spite of the power of the British and U.S. governments," she said, "the people of northern Ireland are still fighting and winning."