In which the pond learns history at the feet of prattling Polonius ...

The pond thought it might start with a few reminders of how religion has had nothing to do with the situation in Ireland, all the more amusing in the way that Theresa May is now being propped up by the DUP, which has a platform that manages to make even the Vatican look rampantly progressive ...head off here for a snap of former DUP leader Peter Robinson in paramilitary uniform in 1986 ...

...for the Tories to end an election campaign which they spent attacking Corbyn for his alleged links to former Northern Irish terrorists by going into coalition with a party founded by former Northern Irish terrorists would be a deep irony.

Oh indeed, indeed, and speaking of deep ironies and the Catholic Boys' Daily, the pond regularly turns to it for theological news, and this day there are a couple of beauties ...

Amazingly, in the matter of the complimentary Shanahan, the reptiles have - at least for the moment - left Gerard Windsor's review of Louise Milligan's book outside the paywall here, which ended this way, and with a plug for his latest book ...

But enough of Catholics. It's a relief to turn to Ireland, where, thanks to Polonius, the pond can learn that religion is entirely absent ...

Yes, it seems that the troubles in Ireland were entirely secular, which is a great relief to the pond, having been brought up in a Catholic household where hatred of the English was essential for survival ... later in life, the pond was startled to discover some English folk were quite amusing and jolly and decent and carefully hid the horns in their heads under bouffant hair and the pond even did the beast with double backs with a few and survived to tell the tale...

Some in the extended family boasted how they were related to a few who were hung in the uprising, and gave themselves airs of revolutionary superiority, though the pond was never quite certain of the relevance of these posturing Catholics to the situation in Australia ...

Catholic they were, deeply Catholic, and thanks to Polonius, the pond now understands, deeply misguided and confused Catholics, like all those Boston Catholics who kept on sending money over to the IRA ...

Never mind, the pond is always open to education and the revision of history, which is why prattling Polonius remains essential Saturday reading ...

The pond could almost hear a "to be sure, to be sure" coming on ... it being a remarkable sign of Jesuitical cleverness to stake out a narrow bit of ground, so that the vast acres around might be conveniently ignored ...

Now it goes without saying that the IRA was routinely denounced by Catholic authorities ...but the relationship was a little more convoluted than suggested by prattling Polonius.

Head off to a republican site, here, and there's other things to be said about Catholicism and the IRA ...

While the IRA publicly stated that as an Irish revolutionary body it expected nothing less than condemnation from the same church that had denounced the Fenians, the internal repercussions of such condemnation were important. The popular mood of anti-communism was reflected among the IRA's officer corps and rank and file and forced the leadership to articulate their views in ways it was hoped would not draw criticism from the church. There had always been a tendency to present radical social views as in line with Catholic or at least Christian teaching and this was the case increasingly after 1933. By 1935 the IRA was arguing that its economic and social policy would give 'practical application to the teachings of Christianity'. They were not unique in this as even the left wing Citizen Army could accuse De Valera of having decided to serve 'Mammon instead of Christ' by implementing capitalist policies. 
It is important to stress that the worries about IRA policies being contrary to the church's teaching was not confined to any one region, and much of the most intense hostility to 'communism' came from within the Dublin Brigade. The 1933 IRA Convention unanimously accepted the addition of a clause to the 'Constitution of the Irish Republic' which stressed that the 'propagation of irreligious doctrines, or the suppression of religion' were not the aims of the IRA. The period from 1929 onwards saw a major revival in popular Catholicism, with the Emancipation celebrations and the Eucharistic Congress of 1932. Many Belfast IRA members attended the Congress and it is probable that many others did also along with the large numbers of ordinary Irish Catholics. Indeed the IRA ordered its units to take the opportunity of the return of emigrants for the Congress to explain its policy to the 'exiles' and attempt to recruit them. Although not all the IRA leadership were Catholic and certainly not all devout, they did operate largely within this milieu. This was reflected in the practice of the IRA in saluting Catholic Churches while on parade and saying the rosary at commemorations.

To be sure, to be sure ... though Polonius says the IRA had nothing to do with religion, and Polonius is an honourable man ... well at least an honourable fool.

Did he ever wonder how the Ulster Protestants could bung on a decent sectarian do if they didn't have some sort of decent opposition, say that whore of ungodly Babylon seated in Rome ...

Meanwhile, back in Polonius's cloistered world ...

The New Testament does not provide legitimacy for acts of violence? Time to invoke Matthew ...

Ah, but that only notes that there will be wars, there will be blood ...

The trick is, how to justify the wars?

And here a few harmless lines in Luke (New Testament, natch) about soldiers accepting their pay can be woven into a text justifying soldiering and war ...

More here, and speaking of just war, the official Catholic site has a few wise words here ... and while the pond is at it, there's a handy summary of religion and war here, wherein some genuine pacifists - not the Catholic church - might be found...

Handy if you intend to establish a caliphate or want to rid the world of godless secularists ...

Not to worry, because today, thanks to Polonius, the pond has learned that the troubles in Ireland have had nothing to do with religion, and now the pond has turned pacifist, with the bible offering no excuse for war ... which is surprising, considering how Polonius was gung ho for the war in Iraq, and even managed to sound like Lord Haw-Haw on occasions ...

And so to some sad news. It seems that Moir has been tipped on the Fairfax heap, having been with them since 1984 (an ominous year) ... reading the weekly Beast here, as one must,  the pond came across this tweet ...

Moir flogs originals and signed copies of his cartoons, details via Twitter, and surely a cartoon like this must attract the odd buyer... even prattling Polonius ...

And that, thanks to the complimentary Shanners, prattling Polonius and the Catholic Boys' Daily, is more than enough theocratic nonsense for the day ...