Arms Crisis
In 1969 events in Northern Ireland caused political chaos over the border in the Republic of Ireland. It was the start of The Troubles in Northern Ireland and Fianna Fáil's policy with regard to the North was coming into question. One crisis meeting was held after another, in which decisive action was needed. The "hawks" in the cabinet urged a symbolic invasion of Northern Ireland to protect nationalists near the border, and to draw international attention, while the "doves", who ultimately prevailed, urged caution. The cabinet meetings were heated events. On one occasion Boland was alleged to have been so angry that he resigned, not only his cabinet position, but also his Dáil seat and went home to his farm in County Dublin to make hay. The resignations were rejected by the Taoiseach after a calming down period. In what became known as the Arms Crisis, two ministers, Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney were sacked from the government for gun-running for the Provisional IRA in May 1970. Boland resigned in solidarity with them and in protest to the government's position on the North. Later that year his criticism of the Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, led to his expulsion from the Fianna Fáil party.
One of Boland's most famous incidents took place at the Fianna Fáil Ardfheis (party conference) in 1971. Just before Jack Lynch's speech Boland stormed a nearby podium, interrupting Patrick Hillery in the middle of his speech. Boland openly defied the party leadership and his opponents, holding his arms wide open and shouting to the crowd, "Come on up and put me down." While there was a lot of booing and clapping in an effort to drown him out, many of his supporters started cheering and chanting "We want Boland." At this point an enraged Patrick Hillery grabbed his microphone and famously replied, "If you want a fight you can have it...You can have Boland, but you can't have Fianna Fáil." At this point the government supporters went ecstatic with cheering and Boland was carried out of the hall.
Read more about this topic: Kevin Boland
Famous quotes containing the words arms and/or crisis:
“Happy for us, that when we find our constitutions defective and insufficient to secure the happiness of our people, we can assemble with all the coolness of philosophers and set it to rights, while every other nation on earth must have recourse to arms to amend or to restore their constitutions.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“One theme links together these new proposals for family policy—the idea that the family is exceedingly durable. Changes in structure and function and individual roles are not to be confused with the collapse of the family. Families remain more important in the lives of children than other institutions. Family ties are stronger and more vital than many of us imagine in the perennial atmosphere of crisis surrounding the subject.”
—Joseph Featherstone (20th century)