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Bradaíl ar son na hÉireann

15/01/11

(English version follows.)

Rinneadh bradaíl ar shuímh idirlín an DUP, chomh maith le suímh phearsanta na mball sinsearach Peter Robinson agus Jeffrey Donaldson, Dé Céadaoin [12ú Eanáir] le fáscadh tacaíochta don Ghaeilge agus don fheactas ar son acht teanga sna Sé Chondae.

Bhí teachtaireacht le sonrú ar na lethanaigh nua ag rá “Is mise Peadar Robinson, agus tugaim tacaíocht don Acht na Gaeilge” taobh le greamaitheoir ‘As Gaeilge Anois’ a bhí in úsáid roimhe seo ag Na Ceithearna Coille.

Cosúil leis na Ceithearna, bhí an bhradaíl déanta ag gníomhaí anaithnid, a bhfuil aithne air mar Hector O’Kackatdawn. Rinne an t-úsáideoir céanna bradaíl ar shuíomh an DUP coicís roimhe sin chomh maith, ag cur teachtaireacht bréige Athbhliana in aired, a dúirt:

“We have decided to end our childish and archaic mindset towards the Irish language... [We] were more than happy to champion for the Ulster-Scots language – while at the same time, criticise the indigenous language of this island at every given opportunity. We understand that this was deeply unfair of us, and humbly apologise. Tá brón orainn go léir. Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam!”

Mar chuid den teachtaireacht bhí leithsceál “for the levels of homophobia that exist deep within the ranks of the DUP”, agus do thacaíocht an pháirtí don chogadh ar an Iaráic agus do fhorghabháil Iosrael ar an Phalaistín.

D’fhreagair an DUP don éacht ar bhealach suarach intuartha, ag cur “malicious activity” air agus ag maíomh go raibh an scéal curtha ar aghaidh chuig an PSNI. Is ómós é seo d’éifeacht a leithéid de ghníomh simplí.

D’éirigh leis an bhradaí ceist acht na Gaeilge a ardú sna meáin ag leibhéal nach raibh le feiceáil le blianta anuas agus thug dúshlán don DUP maidir lena seasamh frith-Ghaelach, díreach lá amháin i ndiaidh dóibh fógairt go raibh siad in éadan an chomhairliúcháin mholta ar chomharthaí bóithre dátheangacha.

Is léir go gcuirfeadh an t-éacht aoibh ar go leor daoine agus go gcaithfeadh cuid daoine uathu é mar pháistiúil, ach ba mhian le Hector frustrachas mhórán de phobal na Gaeilge sna Sé Chondae a ardú ar chúis nach raibh aird a thabhairt orthu. Níl aon amhras ann gur éirigh leis sa mhéid seo.

Is sampla é freisin de na modhanna éagsúla gníomhaíochta agus ardú meanmna atá ann agus den chumas atá ag foirmeacha gníomhartha ar leith chun feachtais pholaitiúla, chultúrtha agus shocheacnamaíochta a chur i gcrích.

Hacking for Ireland

The website of the DUP, along with the personal websites of leading members Peter Robinson and Jeffrey Donaldson, were hacked on Wednesday [January 12] with expression of support for the Irish language and the campaign for a language act in the Six Counties.

The new pages featured a message stating “Is mise Peadar Robinson, agus tugaim tacaíocht don Acht na Gaeilge” [I’m Peter Robinson, and support the Irish Language Act] along with an ‘As Gaeilge Anois’ [In Irish Now] sticker previously used by Na Ceithearna Coille.

Similar to Na Ceithearna, the hacking was done by an anonymous language activist known only as Hector O’Hackatdawn. The same user hacked the DUP site a fortnight earlier as well, uploading a fake New Year’s message, which stated:

“We have decided to end our childish and archaic mindset towards the Irish language... [We] were more than happy to champion for the Ulster-Scots language – while at the same time, criticise the indigenous language of this island at every given opportunity. We understand that this was deeply unfair of us, and humbly apologise. Tá brón orainn go léir. Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam!”

The message also included apologies for “for the levels of homophobia that exist deep within the ranks of the DUP”, and for supporting the war on Iraq and the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

The DUP responded in a predictably miserable way to the stunt, referring to it as “malicious activity” and announcing that the matter had been passed to the PSNI. This is a tribute to the effectiveness of such a simple act.

The hacker has succeeded in raising the question of the Irish language act in the media to a level it has not reached in years and has challenged the DUP on their continued anti-Irish position, just a day after they announced their opposition to a proposed consultation on bilingual road signs.

The stunt will have brought a smile to some people’s faces and will have been dismissed as childish by others, but Hector intended to raise the frustration of many in the Irish language community in the Six Counties that their concerns are not being addressed. There is no doubt that he has accomplished this.

It is also an example of the varied methods of activism and awareness-raising that exist and of the potential of distinct and diverse forms of action to influence how political, cultural and socioeconomic campaigns can be executed.

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