Cork People's Assembly | Mandelson was Unimpressive | Goodbye Dearest Heart | We Are Not Numbers

 Mandelson was UnimpressiveAs I record this the future of Keir Starmer, as British Prime Minister, is a topic of conversation because of his mishandling of the Peter Mandelson affair. I know nothing about the ongoing scandal around Jeffrey Epstein other than what I read or see in the media. But the evidence of his serial abuse of young women going back many years is plain to see. My heart goes out to the victims and survivors of this despicable cabal Goodbye Dearest HeartThis week sees the republication of Jim McVeigh’s excellent book – Goodbye Dearest Heart - on the life of Joe McKelvey who was executed by the Free State in 1922 aged 24. It tells not just the personal story of Joe McKelvey but also the remarkable times in which he lived.Joe McKelvey was born in Stewartstown in county Tyrone but moved to the Falls area of west Belfast as a teenager. He was a committed Gael who in 1916 was a founder member of the O’Donovan Rossa CLG in Beechmount.Jim McVeigh tells how McKelvey joined the Irish Republican Army in Belfast and quickly rose through its ranks to become O.C. (Officer Commanding) of the Third Northern Division which had responsibility for Belfast. McKelvey’s time as O.C. coincided with the partition of Ireland.  We Are Not NumbersLate last year I came across a book written by young people living in or exiled from the Gaza Strip - ‘We Are Not Numbers: The Voices of Gaza’s Youth.’  Through their words it gives testimony to the horror that the Palestinian people face daily in Gaza under Israeli occupation and blockade. The book spans ten years. It tells of the experience of young people and their community trying to survive against a ruthless enemy that does not see them as human beingsThe organisation We Are Not Numbers (WANN) was founded in 2015.