Gerrys a fan of Python, or is he?

Biffo The Bare

I listened to Gerry Adams on David Norris's programme on newstalk over the weekend. Some of the more moving items discussed on the show were the ways that the prisoners derived pleasure from the most mundane of incidents. One which springs to mind was the prisoners including Gerry breaking into the Monty Python song "Always Look on the Bright Side Of Life".
Now here is the thing. The Life Of Brian movie was released in August 1979, and Gerry was released from his last bout of internment in the spring of 1979, months before the movie was even released.
Maybe they received a pre-release copy of the movie. Hmmm.....:rolleyes:

10000maniacs

Hi Biff, I see that The Evening Herald's Andrew Lynch used your above scoop almost word for word in an article about Sinn Fein last night. Good scoop Biffo.

P. Breathnach

Andrew Lynch wasn't the first to plagiarise it from Biffo.

Joey the lips

Here is the positive Rant by Andrew in it full which you refere to. In its full and totalaly unsupported in some of its alligations, but that has never stopped the herald before! Considering it took the alligations from the Irish times which it can claim in its defence why should it stop at failing to provide facts,

These elections have taught us a lot about Sinn Fein.
We've learned that their sentimental attachment to violence is as strong as ever, with their shop in Parnell Square still selling T-shirts with the slogan 'IRA -- Undefeated Army'.
We've learned that most sensible voters still regard them with revulsion, as shown by the uproar over a suggestion from Fine Gael's director of elections Frank Flannery that the two parties might go into Government together.
We've learned that they have some rather unsavoury friends, with republican thugs linked to the smashing up of Esther Uzell's car -- presumably because the independent candidate for Dublin City Council refuses to stay quiet about her brother's murder at the hands of the IRA.

Devastating
Now that the results are in, we're learning something else about the Shinners -- they're pretty bad losers, too.
Mary Lou McDonald's failure to hold her European seat in Dublin is a devastating blow for the party, ruling her out as a potential leader and leaving their so-called "southern strategy" in ruins.
Their local election result proved it was no fluke, as they made zero progress and even lost such prominent councillors as Daithi Doolan in Dublin.
On a day when every other opposition party has reason to celebrate, SF's overall performance can only be described as utterly dismal.
In a recession as savage as this one, anti-establishment left-wing groups should be in a perfect position to capitalise. While the Socialist and People Before Profit parties made gains, SF simply flatlined -- and this time they've finally run out of decent excuses. Until recently, SF had convinced themselves it was only a matter of time before they were in Government both north and south.
Their vote in the Republic rose steadily for a few years, largely because of the publicity they received for their role in the peace process -- although how much credit you deserve for giving up killing people is open to debate.
Now, however, there are welcome signs that the electorate has seen through this strange mixture of Marxist dinosaurs, republican diehards and out-and-out criminals.

Disastrous
This is their second major setback in a row, after the 2007 General Election in which Gerry Adams' disastrous performance badly let them down.
The SF president has described these results as "consolidation" -- which is only true in the sense that a madman banging his head off a brick wall is consolidating his position too.
If Adams is a poor loser, he's not much of a liar either.
In an interview with David Norris on Newstalk last Sunday week, he remembered singing Monty Python's Always Look On The Bright Side of Life to cheer up his fellow republican prisoners -- which is a little odd, since he left jail in 1978 and the song was released a year later.

Impromptu
Still, if you're prepared to swear blind that you've never been a member of the IRA, you probably won't lose too much sleep over bending the truth about an impromptu sing-song.
As they come to terms with their dire performance in this election, SF must realise they have nothing to look forward to in the south except years of soul-destroying opposition.
Despite the recent flap over a possible alliance with FG, there's no way they'll be needed as coalition partners any time soon.
Mary Lou might as well have another go in Dublin Central, but the race just ended proved that she's got serious weaknesses as a candidate -- and in Dail and European elections, her record now is three defeats out of four.
In the meantime, the law should keep a very close eye on them -- because history shows that when the Shinners can't get their way through the ballot box, they're not fussy about using other means instead.
- Andrew Lynch

Now lets take an alternative look and ask why was Joseph Rafferty so well known to the guards at the time! There is only 2 reasons for someone to be know to the guards 1. They are involved in the youthservice or local politics 2. They are involved in criminalality. Was joseph rafferty involved in the community?

Did the Ira really kill Joe Rafferty?




The simple answer is no. Despite current speculation that Rafferty was gunned down outside his home in Ongar west Dublin last April by an Ira hit man, the Ira didn’t murder Rafferty.

The gunman himself could well have been involved in the Ira - indeed, it was confirmed to The Irish Times that the only suspect in the case was in the Ira and still has strong links to the organisation - but that still doesn’t make the hit an Ira one.

The story doing the rounds at the moment and one that is being particularly promoted by Rafferty’s sister, Esther Uzell, is that Rafferty got into a dispute with some men from the same family from the Ringsend area of Dublin’s south-inner city where he is originally from.

The dispute had its roots in a fight at a party in the south inner city last October at which three brothers from the area assaulted two young members of Rafferty's family. I understand that those family members were female.

Rafferty bumped into one of the brothers on the street the next day and - this is speculation on my part, but it seems logical - Rafferty dished a out a couple of slaps. There followed a number of incidents involving attacks on property owned by the Rafferty family.

Rafferty was also told a number of times by members of the family he had clashed with that he would be "got" by the IRA.

The mother of the brothers that Rafferty got into dispute with is in a relationship with the only suspect in the case, the former Ira man.

What puzzles me here is why would Rafferty be told he’d be "got"? Why not just "get him"?

And then there’s the big question. Why would a former Ira man go to all the bother of assassinating Rafferty - remember this murder was meticulously planned - over what was probably a couple of slaps? To impress his new mot? To stand up for guys who aren’t his sons?

It appears that before the killing Esther Uzell had gone to local SF councillor Daithi Doolin to tell him of the threats to her brother Joe. From what I can gather, she didn’t go to the gardai to tell them. Why? Did she have something to fear by going to the gardai?

Uzell now wants SF to put pressure on the suspect to come forward, but both Doolin and the leader of Sinn Féin's council representatives, Christy Burke, have said the suspect is not in the Ira and that SF have no influence on him. They say they can’t confirm whether he was previously in the Ira as "the Ira don’t say who their members were and are".

But, since when have SF not had any influence in Dublin’s inner city?

Was Rafferty shot for something more than just a few slaps? Something criminal perhaps that SF don’t want to get involved in? Uzell herself has been quoted in the Northside people as saying the brothers are running around Ringsend selling drugs and still threatening her family to drop their campaign.

If the truth is to be found in Uzell’s determination to have her brother’s killer bought to justice and that her version of events bears out to be accurate, the what’s the point in having SF in inner city areas where a lot of former Ira men enjoy the criminal life.

However, if her brother - or some other family member - was involved in some shady dealings that went pear shaped and inevitably led to the killing, she should leave well alone.


You must as people ask yourself! What does the independent group have to gain by TROLLING the net to write as much crap as possible with no know positive proof to there facts. I think the op is right gerry might be a python victum but we can always look on the bright side of life. The IRA will never go away when you have the herald and independent!

10000maniacs

Joey the lips wrote: »

You must as people ask yourself! What does the independent group have to gain by TROLLING the net to write as much crap as possible with no know positive proof to there facts. I think the op is right gerry might be a python victum but we can always look on the bright side of life. The IRA will never go away when you have the herald and independent
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What.:rolleyes:
Biffo is right.
Adams wasn't in prison around the time or after the movie came out.
So how could he sing the soundtrack in prison?
Also the song was relatively unknown as the movie was banned in Ireland and most of the UK for 10 years. It was only when ManU started using it in the early 1990s that it became a hit.

Gurgle

10000maniacs wrote: »

the song was relatively unknown as the movie was banned in Ireland and most of the UK for 10 years

I think you'll find that banning stuff is rarely effective in this part of the world. From religion to literature its probably the best way to improve sales.

P. Breathnach

Joey the lips wrote: »

... You must as people ask yourself! What does the independent group have to gain by TROLLING the net to write as much crap as possible with no know positive proof to there facts...

Simple explanation: it's an easy way to do journalism.

Most stuff in newspapers is not originated by the journalist writing the story.

paddyland

He's not the republican leader, he's a very naughty boy!

sceptre

A few things

1. This is a non-story. Perhaps he remembers it wrongly. Perhaps he's mixing it up with this (paragraph 8). Perhaps Gerry Adams spent all of 1980 tunnelling his way into prison to have a sing-song with his mates. Perhaps they were singing Give A Little Whistle instead, who cares.

2. As "plagiarism" goes, it, erm, mostly uses different words and has a different reference date, based on a show that was broadcast so anyone in the country could have heard it.

3. With no disrespect to Biffo as thread-starter, this wasn't all that newsworthy when it was initially posted, it's got sod-all to do with politics, amusing as misremembered anecdotes can be and the only reason I didn't lock it at the time as nothing to do with politics is that I didn't notice it. I can rectify that now.