The former General Secretary of the Workers' Party back in the 1970s and 1980s, and the President of that rump organisation today, now faces extradition to the US on counterfeiting charges. Tuesday night's Spotlight programme on BBC1 Northern Ireland repeated its exposé of last year and updated it somewhat in the light of Seán Garland's arrest at the weekend. I was highly amused at John Lowry claiming that this was a politically motivated arrest in view of the strongly anti-US line the party takes over the war in Iraq. Surely some delusions of relevance here! If the Feds do get hold of him, Garland will be one tough nut to crack.
The last time I saw Garland was about 10 years ago in the precincts of Leinster House. I worked part time for Democratic Left, an organisation that for those that remained in the Workers' Party represented the vilest, most treacherous apostasy. There was Garland with a half-dozen North Koreans in tow, as well as the late Brian Lenihan, who I think was chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee at the time. I nodded at Garland but got a cold stare in return.
The WP always seemed to be crawling with North Koreans, especially at the annual ard fheisenna. This was much to the dismay of us younger Eurocommunist types trying to wean the party off Stalinism and lead it towards open politics. (Why did I bother? I'm fecked if I know). Some of us enjoyed a chuckle at Garland's affected Sovietisms, especially when he would kiss elderly comrades on both cheeks when being given a medal for long service or something - a most inauthentic and un-Irish gesture. Garland clearly revelled in the office of General Secretary, which he believed somehow must have put him on an equal footing with the same holders of the office in the much larger fraternal parties in his beloved "socialist countries".
When the split finally came and Democratic Left was formed, many of us were relieved to leave that grotesque parody behind - even if it did have its moments of unintentional humour...
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