Update 29th July

Hillary Clinton Democratic Nominee for President.

And now there are two. So after a hard road to the nomination Hillary Clinton has finally been nominated as the Democratic candidate in the U.S. Presidential election of next November. This has been in the making for quite a while. The campaign from here until November looks like developing into a very nasty one. It is suggested that both candidates, as the Irish direction joke goes, ‘should not start from here’ due to their generally low popularity ratings. While Hillary Clinton has the advantages of experience, being in the public sector domain for decades and has her core support she is still disliked and distrusted by a large section of the electorate who doubt and question her credibility on issues. One that is swirling around is her use of a private email address for public business while Secretary of State thus exposing that public business to the danger of being exposed and thus being a threat to ‘national security’. While taking at face value that issue, why a person in her position would make such a mistake is puzzling and disconcerting? Her husband Bill Clinton, a very able politician and a charismatic one to many, was not averse to making errors with self-indulgence which embroiled him in controversy and credibility for long periods. In the campaign for nomination Hillary had to fight off a testing challenge from Bernie Sanders. While Sanders should not have appeared as a major threat to Clinton he was able to imbue a large number of Democratic supporters with a respect and spirit to the end. Sanders generously supported Clinton at the Philadelphia Convention which is the way of ‘pragmatic’ politics whether right or wrong. If Sanders was such a difficult contender for Clinton to shake off then how will she fare against the more aggressive Trump? Apparently the Democratic machine has huge financial backing as opposed to Trump being more self-financed. The money spent in U.S. elections seems just crazy. It is a thing though that following the election of a black President there is the possibility of a woman President. In Europe there are a number of examples of women in the role of Prime or First Minister, Germany, the U.K., Scotland, Northern Ireland and so on. It remains to happen in our own country yet and it does not look likely for a while. We have had two exceptional lady Presidents of course. There have been numerous recent references to ‘the glass ceiling’ being broken in the U.S. with Hillary Clinton’s nomination, the ‘glass ceiling’ being that women were excluded from reaching the top positions in the U.S. as elsewhere. Michelle Obama endorsed this view in a pretty impressive contribution in endorsing Clinton. Personally Hillary Clinton as President would not brighten my perspective. Perhaps it would be a one term Presidency. Anyway the next three months will be interesting as to who becomes President of the United States. It is universally important as it impinges on the lives of so many. 

Boyle Arts Festival

This seems to be one of the most successful festivals ever for Boyle. Apparently most of the events are full and people are very happy with the quality of those events. I’ve gone to a number, perhaps not as many as I should have but that’s life. I write these notes on Thursday afternoon after coming in from The Church of Ireland where three local ladies- Lynda Moyse, Lizi Hannon and Ceara Conlon-regaled us for over an hour with a lunchtime performance of their favourite songs. It was re-assuring for me when they began with Neil Young’s ‘After the Goldrush’ , later with the Dixie Chick’s ballad  "Travelin’ Soldier" and a lovely interpretation of Donie O’Connor’s song ‘Silver River’.  Donie was in audience and must have been chuffed. He performed last year in Tawnytaskin Community Centre and would be worthy of a regular slot being a very talented singer and composer of fine songs. 

Last night, Wednesday, I attended another local and talented artist Frankie Simon in Tawnytaskin and it was a treat. Frankie and guests performed for over two hours with a broad range of musical genres from jazz and blues to traditional interpretations including many of his own compositions. It is regularly reflected that Boyle has a great musical and entertainment tradition and that is true today also. It was nice to visit Tawnytskin centre run by a local committee dedicated to their own neighbourhood.   

Last week Paul Williams in conversation with Carole Coleman emphasised the importance of ‘community’ in the face of crime and social tensions. It is one of the strongest or core values in the small towns and rural communities and is a buffer against outside pressures and assaults. It is fair to say that the sense of community which exists through rural Ireland, including the smaller towns, is an essential part of the fabric of those areas. 

It was interesting that Paul Williams answered a late audience question with a note of strong pessimism on the possibility of crime reduction or control as it is systemic to the point of being genetic in socially deprived areas.

Tomorrow night Friday I am booked to attend Kieran Goss with Frances Black. I have heard Frances Black before but while I am well aware of Kieran Goss I have not been to a concert of his. 

Amongst the items I missed, being away from Boyle, was Thomas J. Finan’s talk on ‘The Archaeology of Lough Key’. I believe that there was a full house with people being unable to attend because of that. Lough Key and its surrounds has a rich archaeological heritage and I wonder if this talk might be repeated at some future time.

Well done to all involved in the Festival. It certainly raises the profile of the town as is evident from the unfamiliar faces on the streetscape.      

       

Some Pieces I Enjoyed This week.

Christy Wynne and Boyle Fair

There were a number of items on various sources that caught my eye in recent days. First there was the Christy Wynne piece on Boyle fairs here on realboyle. I arrived in Boyle in 1972 as the fairs in Boyle were being phased out but I do remember them on the Crescent. The Boyle Fair had the unusual practise of starting on the Fair Green on the top of Green Street and moving in the late morning to the Crescent. Christy captured the atmosphere and slight tensions in the whole process very well as he is wont to do on those times. I had plenty of experience of going to fairs in Roscommon in my youth, until, in the early sixties, the mart was established there. This became a huge success and Roscommon is one of the primary marts in the country. There was an effort to establish a mart also in Boyle in the seventies but for whatever reasons it did not happen and it was a severe economic loss to the town. 

Roscommon Herald Vignettes

Buying The Roscommon Herald has been a habit of mine for decades. In the last two weeks an interesting and innovative series has begun with pen pictures of senior people from the area. This is a significant record of people who have lived  long and varied lives with many experiences and achieved a good deal. The piece two weeks ago treated of Pearse Carty and of his travels and adventures as a young man. It is a reminder that there are people who we might take a little for granted but have led a very full and different life in their younger days. I remember when I was a little involved with the Boyle Scouts parents committee Pearse acting as a guide to a scouts troop on an early night hike. One would have thought that the guide would be at a big disadvantage at that time but Pearse just looked to clear sky and gave an enlightening explanation of the starry plough, the big dipper and many more elements from that awe inspiring canvass.

Last week it touched on the long life of Jamesie Cox from Knockroe and this week to a lady I know quite well, Frances McGee of The Crescent, Boyle the founder of the well-known fashion house ‘Marian’s’  which got its name as it was established in 1954, Marian Year. As Michael Caine’s biography title went ‘Not a Lot of People Know That’. The pieces are accompanied by portrait pictures by Brian Farrell.   

John Mulligan Roscommon Herald Profile 

There was a different format used in giving an insight into the influences on Boyle writer and commentator John Mulligan. In a question and answer format with series editor Gerry Boland he told of the influence of teachers Eamon Perry in Grange and Father Noel Mattimoe in St. Mary’s College. He had an interesting memory of Fr. Noel’s sourcing of books and also of the traditions of some members of the Gardai in terms of their sourcing of provisions. Obviously John was a regular at Boyle Library then supervised by E.C. McGee (Brendan’s grandfather). John referred to the library and of John Steinbeck being one of his favourite writers as he is with myself. He nominated three books amongst his favourites as being Orwell’s  Animal Farm, Steinbeck’s ‘Grapes of Wrath’ and a lesser known important book Patrick McGill’s ‘Children of the Dead End’. (The significant McGill Summer School in Donegal is held in honour of Patrick McGill). John is much travelled man and is the author of three books ‘Dancing on the Waves’ , ‘Following in the Footsteps of the Four Flannerys’, and ‘No Place in the Sun’. While complimenting the talent within the county John ends on a pessimistic note reckoning ‘we could do so much better’, a phrase I am pretty familiar with! Anyway John is a very capable man and this was well illustrated in this interesting profile as edited by Gerry Boland, in this week’s Roscommon Herald.          

Roscommon’s Senior Season Ends in Salthill

The Roscommon senior team failed to rise to the occasion again in Salthill on Saturday. So a year which began with such promise with wins over Kerry, Cork, Down and Donegal, when we became the talk of the GAA football fraternity nationwide, ended most disappointedly. As die-hard Roscommon supporters left Pearse Stadium on Saturday there was a sense of resignation as they too felt fatigued as much as seemed to be case with the team. Some suggested that the prospect of meeting Kerry in a Quarter Final in Croke Park on Sunday was a poisoned chalice but teams play to win the game in hand and an opportunity to play in Croke Park is always a desire. There will be a good deal of soul searching now but the people who will be most disappointed will be the team and management. (Michael O’Brien has a very incisive review of Roscommon’s fortunes and misfortunes on page 12 of The Roscommon Herald Sport’s section).

GAA…This weekend’s big games

On Saturday Donegal v Cork at 4. Mayo v Westmeath at 6 at Croke Park.

On Sunday, Clare v Kerry at 2 and Galway v Tipperary at 4. 

While there have been a number of upsets this summer we are getting to the ‘business end of the season’ when these become very scarce indeed.

Donegal to defeat Cork though Cork are inconsistent and can come up trumps from time to time. Mayo to defeat Westmeath as they progress after their Galway defeat.

On Sunday  Kerry to overcome Clare comfortably, by how much will be a matter of interest to us in Roscommon and a developing Galway to defeat Tipperary.  

It is not too easy to follow what stage some teams are at but Saturday’s games are qualifiers while Sunday’s are quarter finals. The winners on Sunday go to the semi-finals and Saturday’s winners play Dublin and Tyrone to make up the remaining  two semi-finalists.  A side issue for the week-end games will be the attendance figures. It is said that, to date,  they are holding in Connacht and Ulster but down in Leinster and Munster. A good wedge of supporters of Roscommon and Clare did not travel to Galway and it is likely that with few decent games this summer the trend will continue until the semi-finals at least. 

Golf on TV.

The BBC gave up on screening the British Open Championship which has been a blue chip sports programme with them for years. It is reported that the viewing figures on SKY were way down 75% on previous BBC figures. I don’t know how that enhances the promotion of golf as SKY hover up the star attractions for a selective audience.

Russians and the Olympics 

The International Olympic Committee has passed the buck as it fails to endorse other agencies regarding banning the Russian team from the Olympics because of a state sponsored drug-enhancing programme. It will be interesting to see if this once great feast of sports excellence can retain its credibility in a number of its disciplines.  

Reserve Defence Forces 

It may interest some readers that the R.D.F. are currently recruiting as per advertisement in the Roscommon Herald July 19th page 39. For information visit www.military.ie 

Sin e or now.

                 

In the Roscommon Herald there were a couple of new items of interest.

Some people will vote ‘against’ a candidate by voting for the opposing candidate which they are not enamoured with also. Not many people take the trouble to do that.    

     . My opinions emerge from a combination of what I read in the media, watch on television, hear on radio. I am not      

     I have been interested in the United Sates for a very long time and spent three memorable summers there in the late sixties, including the summer the Mets won their first baseball World Series   

                

Update 23rd July

The Current Turf Campaign and Campaigns of My Youth

I thought I might not have the indulgence of writing a blog at all this week since the two blazing days at the beginning of the week allowed for the resumption of the ‘turf campaign’ which brought to mind the ‘campaigns’ of my youth.  I remember even around Athleague there was a period of time which was referred as the ‘beet campaign’ i.e. the beet being harvested for the Tuam sugar factory.

The annual cycle of farming was tending to the lambing season in the first months of the year. This meant nightly inspections with the storm lamp of the flock of sheep to ensure that none of them was in difficulty. This often went on for quite a while which the precision of later times condensed.

Then came the spring sowing of a variety of crops, potatoes, oats, turnips, some barley, meadow grass on some formerly tilled land as per ‘rotation’ crop practise.   

The third big effort was the turf cutting which started in May and lasted for a maybe two weeks weather permitting. The saving of the turf was an ongoing process through the summer.

This led into the hay saving period. Of course all hay was cut, then allowed to dry and gathered into cocks of hay and later brought into the farmhouse haggard and made into pikes which might take twenty five or thirty field hay cocks. Many farmers of course had hay sheds or lofts over other farming rooms. Some people stacked the hay in reeks. I remember a neighbouring farmer who was very precise using the reek to store his hay and built it with great care and attention to its design and appearance. My own father was not so fussy excusing this by saying that he ‘didn’t mean it to remain there  for too long’.

In late August it was time to bring home the turf with horse and cart and later with tractor and trailer. Often the route into the bog where the turf was probably ‘clamped’, was, to say the least, challenging especially in the narrow cart wheel days. The improvised bridges or keshes as they were know, often caused drama being liable to collapse.

As the Tipperary farmers slogan went it was heading towards a good Autumn when ‘the hay was saved and Cork beaten’.

Early Autumn was the time when the cycle came nearly full circle as the sowing of February/March led to the reaping of oats, barley and the digging and pitting of potatoes. There is a fine story in an old exploring English anthology about a couple of boys skiving off school to go picking potatoes. It was a job I did not like at all.  But it had to be done and there was no reprieve. You did it as a matter of fact like all family members contributed to  work-sharing on those multi crop farms.  The grain crops went from sheaves to stooks to stacks and eventually into larger stacks in the haggard. One of the really big days of farmer’s year was the grain threshing when a meitheal of neighbouring farmers and family members attended this process. Each had a traditional role from forking the sheaves onto the receiving wing of the thresher to the key and experienced feeder of those sheaves into the machine with a couple more making the stacks from the now seedless straw. Another key operator was the man who bagged the grain. I remember vividly my father when he had, through age, graduated to supervising this role.  Nearly always at the conclusion of this major and fulfilling project there was a special tea-dinner with an abundance of ham, corned beef, tomatoes, warm oven baked bread, jam galore and bottles of stout. It was a busy kitchen with loud talk and a great sense of work rewarded. A thanksgiving. Those campaigns were interspersed with fairs, school, illnesses, fishing, playing football for Fuerty and hurling for Athleague, following Roscommon, cutting timber, being in the wings when 'important' visitors came to the house and were hosted in the parlour. Being treated to a trip to Salthill by the yanks when they came home from Chicago. Leaving family members to the train as they headed for London or Manchester, meeting at the railway station when some of them came home for Christmas.  And so the cycle went.                        

After that reverie back to the present. I had made preliminary arrangements to have what ‘dry’ turf I had taken home. So my modus operand meant that I needed to ‘bag’ it. This was done and the remainder elevated in their footings to catch the drying breezes which will hopefully come. ‘There is only place to dry turf and that is on the bog’ my uncle used to say. In a late winter quiz I asked a question; ‘What product cannot be burned?’ The answer I required was asbestos but Michael Murphy came loud and clear with ‘last summer’s turf’. 

Anyway my quota of good dry turf arrived in Forest View having negotiated the traffic jam and dust on the narrow Tonroe Bog road. This gives me the prospect  of winter comfort and time presently to enjoy some of what Boyle Arts Festival has to offer with a clear conscience of indulging myself there without  the nagging voice in my head saying ‘don’t mind the Arts Festival bring home the turf it is more important’.

Boyle Arts Festival Opening

Former President Mary Mc Aleese

A fine crowd was present at the official opening of Boyle Arts Festival by former President Mary Mc Aleese accompanied by her husband Martin. Mary McAleese is no stranger to Boyle and is a great friend to this part of the country. Her ‘gifts collection’ titled ‘Intertwined’ in King House is something that I highly recommend for your viewing and we are so lucky to be the custodians of it. The former president in opening the festival spoke informally and humorously touching on a number topics. She paid a high an deserved tribute to the organising committee and to their year- long work of planning, financing and constructing a fresh festival each year as has happened for 27 years now. She referenced Discover Ireland’s validation of Boyle arts Festival as, ‘a magnificent gem of a festival’. She commended again the efforts of the committee on putting together such impressive programmes. The former President related some anecdotes from her adolescent years when she visited her ancestral home and of shopping trips to Boyle on her bicycle. She defended the rain shower that interrupted the possibility of being outdoors with a story from an official trip to a desert location in Uganda where it hadn’t rained in 20 years until the very day of her visit. In that context it was a blessing she suggested.

The Two Arts Collections

I only had a cursory glance at the King House collection and was pleased to note exhibits by Boyle people I know including Niall Sheerin with his titled ‘Warm Whiskey Winds’ with Naomi Draper’s ‘Companion’,  Vera Gaffney’s ‘Celestial Blooms, Wild Raspberries & March Bog Blooms’  and Matthew Gammon’s ‘Sand Currents’ .

In the Parochial School there were works by local people I know also with Sian Costello a U 25 winner with her picture titled ‘The Construction of Wigwams’ and also displaying an impressive portrait of her dad ‘Monday Morning’. Also exhibiting was Roseanna Callan with ‘Self –Portrait-Gymnast at  Sunset’ ; Joe Kennedy and Margaret Mulligan photographs; Ann O’Hara Conroy, Sally Walsh  and Susan Mannion. Amongst my favourites here were two Galway streetscapes by Mary Theresa Keane depicting Cross Street and Kirwan’s Lane with which I was very familiar when a student in the City of the Tribes. A feast of a picture is ‘Raspberries’ by Josephine Keane while ‘Rockingham Gate in May’ rarely looked so well as in Holly Hersey’s picture.   

Tonight I will visit two Leitrim people in the Church of Ireland, ‘Carole Coleman in Conversation with Paul Williams’. I don’t know if they will have anything to say about Carole’s native town of Carrick-on-Shannon.   

Donal Trump

What seemed almost like an impossibility a year ago has moved closer as Donald Trump has been nominated by the Republican Party in the United states to be their candidate for the U.S. Presidential election in November. Trump tells people what they want to hear and plays on their fears. He is against immigration and the U.S. being the world’s policeman.  I suppose that is not surprising in the run up to an election. People in many parts of the world are tired of the old politics or continuous establishment politics.  He claimed he would be the voice for those who ‘work hard and do not have a voice’ so championing the everyman. Someone said that ‘short of genius a rich man cannot truly imagine poverty’.  In a speech full of rhetoric he said that ‘I will restore law and order …we will make America safe and proud’ and ended with ‘I love you’. He reminded me of the image we see of a Roman Emperor! One delegate when asked what she felt about him after his speech answered ‘He seemed very presidential not really crazy’. That’s pretty reassuring! It’s a bit of a stretch from the first Republican President which was Abraham Lincoln. 

Buying a New Home

Sometimes what looks like a good idea begins to creak when given air. Minister Coveney’s idea of giving first time buyers a grant of €10,000 seems appealing at first but the question arises what will that do? The emerging consensus it that it will go to the sellers thus increasing the cost of the houses by most of that 10,000. Now I have a question; What about those ‘first time buyers’ who buy a second hand houses? Are they not entitled to some consideration if the scheme IS helpful?    

The Connacht Final

I’ll say very little about this topic. Like all Roscommon supporters I was very disappointed after Sunday in Castlebar. That is a given. However it has to be said that the people who were most disappointed had to be the players and those associated with the team. So I really feel for them and all they have put into this journey. Saturday is chance to regain some confidence so I hope they are able to rise to the occasion. I know that will be difficult after six days. So the best of luck to all involved. I intend to be there. Oh yeah, great credit is due to Galway who played a fine game and great football. Fair play to them,  they could go a long way with performances like that.     

Slán     

Update 14th July

Theresa May, British Prime Minister

One could open with;‘Theresa, you can not be serious’ on hearing of the appointment of Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary. I imagine the reaction of Angela Eagle one of the contenders for leadership of the British Labour Party will be a telling U Tube hit from today, Thursday. Also the ‘We are not amused’ reaction from Germany. While class clowns, who are usually bright and bored, brighten school days, I am not so sure that the critical environment that Boris now enters is an appropriate one for someone who is almost impossible to take seriously. It is a leap of faith to see Boris representing 80 million people in pivotal discussions with Putin of Russia, the Chinese, Middle Eastern Fundamentalists, Israelis, Germans, or in a picture with President Trump! He is also going to be a considerable distraction as you can see from the heading of this paragraph of my humble offering. I imagine British newspaper editors are now assigning key reporters whose task will solely be a ‘Boris Watch’. One tabloid front page has him on a zip wire. How does one equate that with his present position? (Remember Albert Reynolds in his cowboy outfit!)     

Theresa May, from emerging reports, always wanted to the P.M. but probably felt that it would be somewhat later in her career. However the tsunami of political turmoil in the U.K. has led to her being placed in the lead role. Apart from a war scenario the challenges could not be more daunting. She has been mildly anti EU exit and yesterday declared that she was going to accept that course and make a success of it.         

In appointing Johnson, Davies and Fox she is applying a weld to the divided Conservative Party and also putting those who most advocated for ‘Out’ into the front line to now sort out what they wished for. Still she chose to dispose of Michael Gove which was a bit disappointing for him I don’t doubt.

In interpreting what is being said of her Theresa May is a very capable lady and comparisons with the first woman Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, are being readily drawn. Similar but different.

Born in 1956, her father was a vicar and she an only daughter who became involved very early-aged 12-in Tory political activity. A bright student at Oxford where she met her husband Philip May who will be more an influence than Mrs. Thatcher’s husband Denis, I suspect. She has been an able and tough Home Secretary and in an address to a police association she said ‘If you don’t change of your own accord we will make the changes for you’. Her introductory speeches, yesterday Wednesday, suggested that her Government would govern with a broad brush and that the country would not just be  a country for the ‘privileged few’, the bankers, and the elite. She directed her initial policy declarations towards the many people in Britain who feel abandoned  by traditional Conservative governments. She referred to ‘tackling the burning injustice in society’ and referenced ‘economic reform and social mobility’. At one time she had campaigned under the slogan ‘Theresa May for Equal Pay’ (for women). Much of this has been the platform of the Labour Party which is currently swirling like a fishing cork in a river whirlpool. Now some of their policy planks are being borrowed. I doubt if the Northern Ireland question will be able to get as much of her attention as with previous administrations. 

Some people are trying to dress up the Boris Johnson appointment as ‘positive but risky’ but I feel that it is a surprisingly big mistake.  

         

Tony Blair

In my critique, last week, of Tony Blair and his legacy being that, he led Britain into a Middle Eastern War (with the U.S.) and that the consequences of that ill-judged  war is being felt today and will be ongoing into the future.

A great achievement he was pivotal in bringing about and we have to commend Tony Blair for, was his contribution to the Good Friday Agreement and the Peace Process in Northern Ireland. I shouldn’t have forgotten that.(I fully realise there were many more who contributed to that also from Northern and Southern Ireland, the U.K. and the U.S.).  

   

David Cameron

I watched some coverage of the last events unfolding for David Cameron as British Prime Minister. He had been Prime Minister for 6 years and leader of the Conservative Party for 11. Once, before that, when asked why he would like to be Prime Minister? He replied ‘Because I would be good at it’.  He seemed to me to have been pretty good at it and it was unfortunate that he had pressed the self-destruct button by calling a Referendum on whether or not to stay with the EU. Again in reference to Northern Ireland he gave a fulsome apology in the British Parliament for the events of Bloody Sunday in Derry in 1972. The last of his Prime Ministers questions was a warm and humorous occasion sprinkled with wit, ‘I was the future once’,  where he got much generous praise. His final farewell in Downing St. with his family was, as most farewell’s are, somewhat poignant. Quo vadis for him now, a young man of obvious talent and experience? So many people, young and not so young, find themselves in that predicament.

Milton said in his great poem ‘On His Blindness’ despite his conclusion which I contest: 

When I consider how my light is spent

Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,

And that one talent which is death to hide

Lodg'd with me useless, though my soul more bent

To serve therewith my Maker, and present

My true account,

Brief Enda Kenny Watch

I saw on the news, the press conference of the Taoiseach and Angela Merkel and it showed what a difficult task Ireland will have in the post U.K absence from the E.U. Promoting the issue of Ireland being a ‘special case’ will be a big challenge. Everyone has its ‘special case’ scenarios and little Ireland, now on the outer edge of the EU, will have a real problem to make itself heard with its main ally, the U.K., not  being there. 

Last night, Wednesday, I watched the Dail in progress on ‘Oireachtas Report’. It is said that this is a programme for ‘insomniacs’. There is a second category but I cannot remember it. Anyway it was pretty depressing viewing but I stayed with it for education purposes. Mick Wallace brought up the issue that the very important nerve-centre Garda station, Harcourt Street,  was part of a property portfolio which had been sold to a ‘vulture fund’ and so the state agency were only renters of that property now. I remember something, from quite a while ago, about the state having to  pay a nominal rent for the GPO as the state did not own it. 

If watching the Dail was for insomniacs it seemed as if many of those present for Taoiseach’s questions had no insomnia problems as an atrophy hung over proceedings. It surprises me the amount of I Phone activity that T.D.s’ indulge in while in the Dail. Perhaps they are researching answers to opposition questions or whatever, as Regina Doherty was last night, and passing the ‘answer’ on to the Taoiseach           

Ireland’s 26 % Growth "Leprechaun Economics” Farce

Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman described the phenomenon (of the Central Statistics Office report of a 26% Growth in the Irish Economy) as "Leprechaun economics".

Irish and other ‘experts’ lined up to explain why these figures do not reflect the real position by a long shot being  nearly four times that recorded in China for the same period and reflecting a 102 per cent spike in net exports!!!!

How then do these figures get traction thus making a joke of Irish economic measurements and of the country generally?   

Over 700 Tourists get Mugged

Over 800 tourists got ‘mugged’ in this country last year, the majority in Dublin. I hope that the ratio of such incidents in this country is not overwhelming by comparison to other countries but  such numbers cast a dark stain on our reputation. Walking in parts of Dublin is a bit threatening at times but being an ‘obvious’ tourist can certainly attract the wrong attention.  The figures, which were released by the Irish Tourist Assistance Service (ITAS), show that many of the victims tended to be women aged between 17-25.

Of the 726 crimes reported, just over half (52%) related to pick-pocketing. The majority of the incidents happened between 2-6pm in Dublin city centre.

The figures are only representative of those who were referred to the ITAS, so the overall number of tourists mugged is likely to be much higher. 

Thankfully it is not an issue in most parts of the country. Vigilance is key and the basic rules of care apply.  

Boyle Arts Festival

Boyle Arts Festival which has been such a success for decades now begins next week. There is a wide and a varied programme and early booking is recommended for a number of events. Hopefully its success levels will continue as there is something for everyone. Possibilities for me would include Carole Coleman and Paul Williams, two Leitrim people; the play ‘Lovely Leitrim’ (again); Frankie Simon and friends; Tulsk in Dodd’s; Kieran Goss and Mary Black amongst others.

Sports Review

Thoughts on Roscommon v Galway

I am not going into the detail of this game but just mention a few observations of mine and others.

First I will commend the great efforts of the players from both teams in the very, very, poor conditions.

The other positive element is that Roscommon are still there in the Connacht Championships and despite the poor quality of last Sunday’s game a replay provides the possibility of redemption on that score.

On the other side of the coin:

1. The slide of counties to these defensive games, in a win at all costs, is hugely disappointing. This is not the traditional football of either Roscommon or Galway. Conditions contributed to the poor quality of the game as I’ve said. That Canon Liam Devine, and ardent supporter of the game and of Roscommon, could suggest he was in yawning mode at times during the game speaks for itself. 

2. The defensive set-up on Sunday saw Enda Smith as a lone forward against three defenders for quite a bit of  time. What about four attackers in the opposition half?  

3. Starting the build-up with the short kick-out means that the opposition have the time to retreat and establish their defensive structure. Roscommon found it almost impossible to penetrate that structure on Sunday. The exciting  pace of advance that we have seen in many games this year was absent for the most part. 

4. The lateral and backward passing seems totally exaggerated. The mantra is, of course, hold onto possession. 

5. The reluctance of players to ‘shoot’ to the degree that obtains, one can only guess as coming from coach instruction as the  instinct that has been there through under-age appears to have been smothered. This was really evidenced by the lack of a shot in the last 20/30 seconds when one last effort could have stolen the result. I know the repost would probably be ‘We had come back with two very good late points and did well to get out with a draw so we couldn’t risk losing possession with its risks at the death’.    

6. It was Mickey Harte I believe who said ‘we’re not in the business of entertainment’. Well it should at least be a consideration since over 20, 000 people  paid pretty good money and went to a lot of effort to be present. 

And so to Castlebar on Sunday and hopefully the conditions and the quality of the game will be much better. 

P.S. There was considerable comment also on the issue of access to and from Pearse Stadium on Sunday last. A few people apparently were lucky but the city just came to a standstill as tales of taking and hour to advance a mile or so emerged.   

Weekend Results

The prize for result of the week-end goes to Longford who defeated favourites Monaghan. Waterford got a dispiriting roasting from Tipp. and Wexford had a great win over Cork. It is hard to believe that this was their first Championship win over Cork since the 1956 All-Ireland Final. Clare had a god win over Laois and they now meet Sligo in Sligo this Saturday. Mayo had a real scare from Fermanagh and an embarrassing incident involving Aidan O’Shea opened the door for them. They might have won anyway but Aidan’s action was a big help.     

Portugal Euro Champions 

The long Euros are over. It was a competition where the football was very average but the stories were top class. The main feature  was the progress of Iceland and especially their win over England. The progress of Wales too caught the imagination though it all ended a bit limply for them. For Northern Ireland and Ireland too it was a games to remember especially for the thousands of supporters who were able to go to France. It looked as if France would follow the trend of a top country eventually getting over the finishing line, with memorable exceptions in Greece and Denmark.  It also looked as if the fates were also backing this with the early injury to Ronaldo of Portugal in the final. Like many people I was not very partisan as to who would win but as the game progressed I leant towards Portugal and so it went. They won their first big international tournament. For a small country it was a major validation and joy. I enjoyed it especially the first couple of weeks.

     

    

Update 14th July

Theresa May, British Prime Minister

One could open with;‘Theresa, you can not be serious’ on hearing of the appointment of Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary. I imagine the reaction of Angela Eagle one of the contenders for leadership of the British Labour Party will be a telling U Tube hit from today, Thursday. Also the ‘We are not amused’ reaction from Germany. While class clowns, who are usually bright and bored, brighten school days, I am not so sure that the critical environment that Boris now enters is an appropriate one for someone who is almost impossible to take seriously. It is a leap of faith to see Boris representing 80 million people in pivotal discussions with Putin of Russia, the Chinese, Middle Eastern Fundamentalists, Israelis, Germans, or in a picture with President Trump! He is also going to be a considerable distraction as you can see from the heading of this paragraph of my humble offering. I imagine British newspaper editors are now assigning key reporters whose task will solely be a ‘Boris Watch’. One tabloid front page has him on a zip wire. How does one equate that with his present position? (Remember Albert Reynolds in his cowboy outfit!)     

Theresa May, from emerging reports, always wanted to the P.M. but probably felt that it would be somewhat later in her career. However the tsunami of political turmoil in the U.K. has led to her being placed in the lead role. Apart from a war scenario the challenges could not be more daunting. She has been mildly anti EU exit and yesterday declared that she was going to accept that course and make a success of it.         

In appointing Johnson, Davies and Fox she is applying a weld to the divided Conservative Party and also putting those who most advocated for ‘Out’ into the front line to now sort out what they wished for. Still she chose to dispose of Michael Gove which was a bit disappointing for him I don’t doubt.

In interpreting what is being said of her Theresa May is a very capable lady and comparisons with the first woman Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, are being readily drawn. Similar but different.

Born in 1956, her father was a vicar and she an only daughter who became involved very early-aged 12-in Tory political activity. A bright student at Oxford where she met her husband Philip May who will be more an influence than Mrs. Thatcher’s husband Denis, I suspect. She has been an able and tough Home Secretary and in an address to a police association she said ‘If you don’t change of your own accord we will make the changes for you’. Her introductory speeches, yesterday Wednesday, suggested that her Government would govern with a broad brush and that the country would not just be  a country for the ‘privileged few’, the bankers, and the elite. She directed her initial policy declarations towards the many people in Britain who feel abandoned  by traditional Conservative governments. She referred to ‘tackling the burning injustice in society’ and referenced ‘economic reform and social mobility’. At one time she had campaigned under the slogan ‘Theresa May for Equal Pay’ (for women). Much of this has been the platform of the Labour Party which is currently swirling like a fishing cork in a river whirlpool. Now some of their policy planks are being borrowed. I doubt if the Northern Ireland question will be able to get as much of her attention as with previous administrations. 

Some people are trying to dress up the Boris Johnson appointment as ‘positive but risky’ but I feel that it is a surprisingly big mistake.  

         

Tony Blair

In my critique, last week, of Tony Blair and his legacy being that, he led Britain into a Middle Eastern War (with the U.S.) and that the consequences of that ill-judged  war is being felt today and will be ongoing into the future.

A great achievement he was pivotal in bringing about and we have to commend Tony Blair for, was his contribution to the Good Friday Agreement and the Peace Process in Northern Ireland. I shouldn’t have forgotten that.(I fully realise there were many more who contributed to that also from Northern and Southern Ireland, the U.K. and the U.S.).  

   

David Cameron

I watched some coverage of the last events unfolding for David Cameron as British Prime Minister. He had been Prime Minister for 6 years and leader of the Conservative Party for 11. Once, before that, when asked why he would like to be Prime Minister? He replied ‘Because I would be good at it’.  He seemed to me to have been pretty good at it and it was unfortunate that he had pressed the self-destruct button by calling a Referendum on whether or not to stay with the EU. Again in reference to Northern Ireland he gave a fulsome apology in the British Parliament for the events of Bloody Sunday in Derry in 1972. The last of his Prime Ministers questions was a warm and humorous occasion sprinkled with wit, ‘I was the future once’,  where he got much generous praise. His final farewell in Downing St. with his family was, as most farewell’s are, somewhat poignant. Quo vadis for him now, a young man of obvious talent and experience? So many people, young and not so young, find themselves in that predicament.

Milton said in his great poem ‘On His Blindness’ despite his conclusion which I contest: 

When I consider how my light is spent

Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,

And that one talent which is death to hide

Lodg'd with me useless, though my soul more bent

To serve therewith my Maker, and present

My true account,

Brief Enda Kenny Watch

I saw on the news, the press conference of the Taoiseach and Angela Merkel and it showed what a difficult task Ireland will have in the post U.K absence from the E.U. Promoting the issue of Ireland being a ‘special case’ will be a big challenge. Everyone has its ‘special case’ scenarios and little Ireland, now on the outer edge of the EU, will have a real problem to make itself heard with its main ally, the U.K., not  being there. 

Last night, Wednesday, I watched the Dail in progress on ‘Oireachtas Report’. It is said that this is a programme for ‘insomniacs’. There is a second category but I cannot remember it. Anyway it was pretty depressing viewing but I stayed with it for education purposes. Mick Wallace brought up the issue that the very important nerve-centre Garda station, Harcourt Street,  was part of a property portfolio which had been sold to a ‘vulture fund’ and so the state agency were only renters of that property now. I remember something, from quite a while ago, about the state having to  pay a nominal rent for the GPO as the state did not own it. 

If watching the Dail was for insomniacs it seemed as if many of those present for Taoiseach’s questions had no insomnia problems as an atrophy hung over proceedings. It surprises me the amount of I Phone activity that T.D.s’ indulge in while in the Dail. Perhaps they are researching answers to opposition questions or whatever, as Regina Doherty was last night, and passing the ‘answer’ on to the Taoiseach           

Ireland’s 26 % Growth "Leprechaun Economics” Farce

Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman described the phenomenon (of the Central Statistics Office report of a 26% Growth in the Irish Economy) as "Leprechaun economics".

Irish and other ‘experts’ lined up to explain why these figures do not reflect the real position by a long shot being  nearly four times that recorded in China for the same period and reflecting a 102 per cent spike in net exports!!!!

How then do these figures get traction thus making a joke of Irish economic measurements and of the country generally?   

Over 700 Tourists get Mugged

Over 800 tourists got ‘mugged’ in this country last year, the majority in Dublin. I hope that the ratio of such incidents in this country is not overwhelming by comparison to other countries but  such numbers cast a dark stain on our reputation. Walking in parts of Dublin is a bit threatening at times but being an ‘obvious’ tourist can certainly attract the wrong attention.  The figures, which were released by the Irish Tourist Assistance Service (ITAS), show that many of the victims tended to be women aged between 17-25.

Of the 726 crimes reported, just over half (52%) related to pick-pocketing. The majority of the incidents happened between 2-6pm in Dublin city centre.

The figures are only representative of those who were referred to the ITAS, so the overall number of tourists mugged is likely to be much higher. 

Thankfully it is not an issue in most parts of the country. Vigilance is key and the basic rules of care apply.  

Boyle Arts Festival

Boyle Arts Festival which has been such a success for decades now begins next week. There is a wide and a varied programme and early booking is recommended for a number of events. Hopefully its success levels will continue as there is something for everyone. Possibilities for me would include Carole Coleman and Paul Williams, two Leitrim people; the play ‘Lovely Leitrim’ (again); Frankie Simon and friends; Tulsk in Dodd’s; Kieran Goss and Mary Black amongst others.

Sports Review

Thoughts on Roscommon v Galway

I am not going into the detail of this game but just mention a few observations of mine and others.

First I will commend the great efforts of the players from both teams in the very, very, poor conditions.

The other positive element is that Roscommon are still there in the Connacht Championships and despite the poor quality of last Sunday’s game a replay provides the possibility of redemption on that score.

On the other side of the coin:

1. The slide of counties to these defensive games, in a win at all costs, is hugely disappointing. This is not the traditional football of either Roscommon or Galway. Conditions contributed to the poor quality of the game as I’ve said. That Canon Liam Devine, and ardent supporter of the game and of Roscommon, could suggest he was in yawning mode at times during the game speaks for itself. 

2. The defensive set-up on Sunday saw Enda Smith as a lone forward against three defenders for quite a bit of  time. What about four attackers in the opposition half?  

3. Starting the build-up with the short kick-out means that the opposition have the time to retreat and establish their defensive structure. Roscommon found it almost impossible to penetrate that structure on Sunday. The exciting  pace of advance that we have seen in many games this year was absent for the most part. 

4. The lateral and backward passing seems totally exaggerated. The mantra is, of course, hold onto possession. 

5. The reluctance of players to ‘shoot’ to the degree that obtains, one can only guess as coming from coach instruction as the  instinct that has been there through under-age appears to have been smothered. This was really evidenced by the lack of a shot in the last 20/30 seconds when one last effort could have stolen the result. I know the repost would probably be ‘We had come back with two very good late points and did well to get out with a draw so we couldn’t risk losing possession with its risks at the death’.    

6. It was Mickey Harte I believe who said ‘we’re not in the business of entertainment’. Well it should at least be a consideration since over 20, 000 people  paid pretty good money and went to a lot of effort to be present. 

And so to Castlebar on Sunday and hopefully the conditions and the quality of the game will be much better. 

P.S. There was considerable comment also on the issue of access to and from Pearse Stadium on Sunday last. A few people apparently were lucky but the city just came to a standstill as tales of taking and hour to advance a mile or so emerged.   

Weekend Results

The prize for result of the week-end goes to Longford who defeated favourites Monaghan. Waterford got a dispiriting roasting from Tipp. and Wexford had a great win over Cork. It is hard to believe that this was their first Championship win over Cork since the 1956 All-Ireland Final. Clare had a god win over Laois and they now meet Sligo in Sligo this Saturday. Mayo had a real scare from Fermanagh and an embarrassing incident involving Aidan O’Shea opened the door for them. They might have won anyway but Aidan’s action was a big help.     

Portugal Euro Champions 

The long Euros are over. It was a competition where the football was very average but the stories were top class. The main feature  was the progress of Iceland and especially their win over England. The progress of Wales too caught the imagination though it all ended a bit limply for them. For Northern Ireland and Ireland too it was a games to remember especially for the thousands of supporters who were able to go to France. It looked as if France would follow the trend of a top country eventually getting over the finishing line, with memorable exceptions in Greece and Denmark.  It also looked as if the fates were also backing this with the early injury to Ronaldo of Portugal in the final. Like many people I was not very partisan as to who would win but as the game progressed I leant towards Portugal and so it went. They won their first big international tournament. For a small country it was a major validation and joy. I enjoyed it especially the first couple of weeks.

     

    

Update 9th July

The Somme - Reflections.

I meant to refer to the subject of The Battle of the Somme last week when the Centenary Anniversary of its beginning occurred. Now I have a kind of a problem in that I am a jack of a number of trades (interests) but I would allow myself as being pretty good at just one.
What grade I would get for knowledge and interpretation on World War 1 is problematic. I did watch on television, the afternoon ‘Commemoration Ceremonies’ at the Ulster Tower, in Thiepval in France on July 1st. There was a broad representation of people and ‘dignitaries’ from the U.K. and particularly Northern Ireland. On July 1st 1916 a number of Northern Ireland regiments ‘went over the top’ of their trenches to attack German positions. They were assured that, following a massive artillery bombardment, the German resistance would be minimal and that they were to ‘walk forward in an orderly line’. The artillery bombardment did not achieve its objectives in subduing the German defences and the advancing British lines were cut down by German machine guns. By lunchtime 25 to 30 thousand had been killed in the killing fields of no man’s land. The First Battle of the Somme lasted 141 days, during which British forces suffered 420,000 casualties, making it the most costly military action that they participated in during the First World War; the French suffered 220,000 casualties, while the Germans suffered as many as 500,000 casualties. So well over one million men were casualties of that series of battles known as The (First) Battle of the Somme. It was a criminal suicidal slaughter.

Present for the first time at the commemoration was the Irish Catholic Primate Archbishop Martin and the Irish Government was represented by Minister Humphreys. I imagine it must be a very affecting experience to be present on an occasion like that and in an environment where so many died terribly. There were prayers, military musical salutes and readings. One reading was of a letter of a mother to John Redmond regarding her ‘lost son’ and as the words were read the camera panned to a lady with tears rolling down her face. I was reminded of a poem in a first year English book I used when I first started teaching in St. Mary’s College. Perhaps Paddy McLoughlin might remember it? It was ‘Reconciliation’ by one of the great ‘War Poets’ of World War 1 Siegfried Sassoon, a blue blood Englishman despite his name.

Reconciliation

When you are standing at your hero’s grave,

Or near some homeless village where he died,

Remember, through your heart’s rekindling pride,

The German soldiers who were loyal and brave.

Men fought like brutes; and hideous things were done;

And you have nourished hatred, harsh and blind.

But in that Golgotha perhaps you’ll find

The mothers of the men who killed your son.

...Siegfried Sassoon

At the end of the moving ceremony the final speaker used for me an unfortunate phrase along the lines that they were also ‘celebrating what was achieved here’. It is hard to rationalise what was ‘achieved’ in that Golgotha. Nothing if not lessons and not even those then as nobody shouted stop and the killing went on for over two more years. A phrase critical of the leadership of such as General Douglas Haig emerged ‘Lions led by donkeys’.  Indeed it is surprising that some of those responsible were not treated as war criminals. History is written by the victors of course so Haig and Bomber Harris of WW2 got away with it.

I have a very old book of pictures of ‘The Western Front’ and its brutality was certainly recorded in it. Of course we have been exposed to little from the German side of the conflict though one of the great novels of that war is Eric Marie Remarque’s ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’. A number of years ago I visited a World War 2 battle site in Italy at Monte Casino. While we were directed to Polish and allied graveyards when I mentioned a German graveyard the guide  was surprised.

Probably the finest film projecting an aspect of the war on The Western Front was ‘Paths to Glory’. Paths of Glory is a 1957 American anti-war film by Stanley Kubrick. The film stars Kirk Douglas as Colonel Dax, the commanding officer of French soldiers who refuse to continue a suicidal attack. Dax attempts to defend them against a charge of cowardice in a court-martial. In case you get a chance to see it you can only guess its ending here.

I am not aware of poetry from WW2 but there are several iconic poems from WW1. I’ll just give some well-known lines from a few. I might mention also that there were two Irish poets killed Tom Kettle  Sept. 1916, (of whom I know little) and Francis  Ledwidge killed in July 1917.  

In Flanders Fields, by John McRae

(The evolution of the poppy as a symbol)

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

Dulce et Decorum Est, by Wilfred Owen

The poem is not espousing what it says in the title.

 

The Soldier, by Rupert Brooke

(This is really a tribute to his homeland, England)

If I should die, think only this of me:

That there’s some corner of a foreign field

That is forever England. There shall be

In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;

For the Fallen by Robert L.  Binyon

( The classic poem of remembrance)

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

The Somme was one of history’s myriad examples of ‘man’s inhumanity to man’ on a huge scale.

The Chilcott Report on decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003

The road to World War 1 was a domino effect and a struggle between Imperial powers. The victims were the working classes who responded pretty blindly to jingoistic recruiting  and were slaughtered as mentioned above. In England today, Wednesday the 6th, we have the publication of a very important report by John Chilcott on the decision by the Britain to go to war in Iraq in 2003. The premise for doing so was that its leader, Sadaam Hussein, had and was ready to use ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’. This was not the case. British Prime Minister Tony Blair orchestrated that Great Britain would form the dominant alliance with the U.S. led by President Bush to invade Iraq. The American position emerged because of the appalling bombing in the U.S. in September 11, 2001.

Mr Blair:

"I took the decision, I accept full responsibility for it and I stand by it. I only ask with humility that the British people believe that I took this decision...based on the information I had."

He says he wanted to do what was right and felt a "profound obligation" to take responsibility.

Mister Blair had the potential to become a great social prime Minister but for whatever reason felt compelled to follow President Bush into Iraq. It is suggested that much of the chaos in the Middle East presently stems from then and transfers its ominous shadows  world-wide today. So Blair will be forever be associated with what is regarded today as a huge mistake. I hear him on television now espousing that we ‘made mistakes and we should learn from them’.  History is crowded with repeated mistakes with their terrible consequences. Despite a shaken Blair apologising for ‘mistakes’ he still sticks to his belief that it was the ‘right decision’ as he drowns in contradictory validation. It is unlikely that his position will get much sympathy. It is suggested that the families of English soldiers killed and injured in Iraq will take Mister Blair to the courts which will -if it happens- establish a decent precedent in Western democracy.

(It is a bit difficult to move on here from such depressing scenarios as touched on in the two subjects above.)

Enda Kenny Watch-Current Difficulties

1. It was pretty amateurish that, in the wake of the result of the U.K. Referendum, the reasonable idea of an All-Ireland Forum did not have a chance of becoming a reality because of basic error in communication. Apparently the North of Ireland First Minister, Arlene Foster, was not aware of the idea as it had not been communicated to her before it became public.

2. Allowing the Independents a ‘free vote ’ on a controversial policy issue against the advice of the Attorney General.

3. Trying to bat away suggestions of a deal with Michael Lowry T.D. for Tipperary.

Present commentary suggest that his position is eroding. The probability is that there will be an  another election in the not too distant future.

Consumer Issues of the Moment.

1. I mentioned Refuse charges last week and my surprise at the €17 a month ‘service charge’ by Barna Waste when the same charge by the company in Leitrim is €20 per quarter. I got a phone call regarding another provider in the Boyle area, Weirs of Tuam. I don’t know the extent of this company’s involvement in Boyle. Perhaps it is worth investigating. I have ‘signed up’ with Barna for now but will watch as things develop.  

2. The huge rise in car insurance and the way this prevents young people from access to a basic right.

SPORT

Connacht Final

The big game is the Connacht Final on Sunday in Pearse Stadium in Galway. How it will go nobody knows. At worst Roscommon people feel that their team is in with a fifty- fifty chance. The hope is that it is a good close game and that the weather is kind. Pearse Stadium can have a cold wind blowing in from the bay. I wish those involved the very best of course and especially our strong Boyle links to the enterprise.

The Roscommon U 21 All-Ireland winners of fifty years ago are being honoured on Sunday and will be introduced to the crowd at approximately 1.20. I mentioned in error last week that the Mayo minor winners of ’66 and the Galway three-in-a-row team were also being honoured. That is not the case. It is just Roscommon. I know a good few of that Roscommon U 21 team and they are really looking forward to meeting their colleagues of fifty years ago. Pat Nicholson of Corrigeenroe has arranged to be there in coming home from the U.S.

Boyle GAA

Boyle Seniors just lost out, in a very good game and performance, to Roscommon Gaels in the Abbey Park. Boyle were much depleted on the day but it is good to see a number of young players coming through and doing well.

Boyle Juniors went down to Tulsk at Tulsk on Friday evening in another good sporting game. All the team did their very best and despite the loss there old style elements of the ‘amateur’ nature of the game prevailed in terms of sportsmanship and lack of aggression. This was repeated by the same team on the hill-top ground of St. Dominick’s on Wednesday evening last in biting rain. Well done to Shane Spellman who succeeded in having a squad there,  including a good few young fellows

Girls and Ladies GAA Stars

The win for Leitrim over Sligo in the All-Ireland Girls Final was a colourful showpiece event at the Abbey Park on Friday evening. The skill of a lot of the young girls was very impressive. I remember in Nenagh when Roscommon girls under 16 girls team played in a final there and the skill exhibited by all and especially by Roisin Wynne from Boyle was of the highest order. A dedicated Leitrim supporter suggested to me that one of their girls was ‘the best overall footballer in Leitrim at the moment’. I saw it suggested in a newspaper that Cora Staunton must be the greatest Mayo footballer of all-time with here phenomenal scoring rates such as 2.14 in the Connacht Final v Galway and scoring 9.12 in a club game last summer.

The Euros

And so the Euros are coming to a close with the final being next Sunday in Paris. Some ladies may be pleased to get their televisions back for those prime hours from 7.30 to 10. The semi-finals were mixed with one good one poor. The Wales v Portugal game did not live up to its expectation and had few highlights. One was the sublime headed goal by Cristiano Ronaldo. The France v German game was a top class all-action contest. France got the couple of breaks they needed and  goal scorer Antoine Griezmann has emerged as player of the tournament. A number of German players are suggesting that there is a return to 16 teams as opposed to 24 and that has merit but it would probably exclude teams like ourselves and Iceland and so on. Still it has been a long tournament for some players and viewers.

(I’d like to recommend a piece I read by Joe Brolly on the changing face of Northern Ireland as relayed against the backdrop of the Euros and the participation of Ireland north and south headed; Joe Brolly: Northern Ireland is a different world and my kids know nothing of The Troubles).

Sin é. I’ve gone on too long. Must do better. See some of you in The Galway Bay Hotel in Salthill.

Update 1st July

The U.K. Vote

In last week’s notes I ended by being optimistic about the vote in the U.K. but…. I was wrong. Like millions of people I tuned in early on Friday morning and was truly shocked that the people of England had voted to leave the EU. The ramifications of that kneejerk vote are only beginning to roll out. It is a seismic event in European geo-political history. In all honesty I couldn’t say that I should have seen it coming. That is despite the disparity of economic and social returns throughout large swathes of the UK. In the U.S. there is the a wellknown bible belt but there is also an economic decline zone referred to as the ‘rust belt’ where once there was great industrial activity. That obtains around the car manufacturing areas of the north east in Mowtown Detroit and its satellite Flint. In England there are areas which were also once great manufacturing zones which could now be referred to as waste lands though in truth I have not travelled enough in England to validate that.

Reaction and consequences are everywhere. The Houses of the British Parliament -Westminster- are akin to a television promotion for a series based on Rome in the times of Julius Caesar with the Senate in uproar. David Cameron announced his resignation having being responsible for calling an unnecessary referendum possibly to subdue his recalcitrant Tory Euro-sceptic M.P.s’ Now he has paid his price and imposed a heavy price on millions of others. Jeremy Corbyn’s time as leader of the Labour Party seems to be running out unless he gets a huge backing from the general labour membership which is at odds with the Parliamentary Party. How does someone be elected/selected to lead a party and then be seen as so inept by those who elected him, in such a short time? I may have said this before but the prospect of a Boris Johnson as Prime Minister in England and a President Donald Trump in the United States makes one shudder with incredulity. What a vista.

In fairness Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain with Europe. This was a pretty reasoned approach by Northern Ireland, considering their history, and the attitude of the First Minister there Arlene Foster, though she supported the out position it was with a light brush and that tenor continues. Scottish nationalists see this as another possible opportunity to advance their independence cause.

While large numbers of people in England feel deprived of social and economic parity with the wealthy regions of the South East including London the ‘out’ campaign had the telling hook line of the danger, to them, of a mass influx of migrants. This was crucial. I have met some English friends and in discussing the matter I felt that in voting for ‘out’ they did not really think too deeply about what the ramifications of  being ‘out’ might mean. So those who did realise its consequences did a very poor job in getting their side of the argument heard and understood. The ‘out’ side had the easier-to-understand hooks, migration, unequal society on many levels, big bad wolf domineering Europe, let’s return to jolly old England of cricket and ginger beer and a not very subtle voter. Still it was a huge vote of 72%. The breakdown suggest that a very large majority of young voters voted to stay with Europe while the older voters voted for ‘out’. They are being castigated for damaging the future for the younger generations. Perhaps there is a case, since there is a minimum age for voters, that perhaps there should be a maximum age also! It came as a surprise to me that people in Gibraltar also had a vote.

I have a vague memory of some notable suggesting that one of the failings of democracy was that ‘the minority are often right’.

What of the future? Is there is any possibility that there could be another referendum in the U.K. on the matter as has been the practise here? A Liberal Democrat source suggested that in the next election they would campaign for returning to the EU!

All this happens just when we thought things were improving somewhat. It’s demoralising. 

(P.S. As I about to post these paragraphs the news has emerged that Boris Johnson has withdrawn from the British Prime Minister’s race. So having contributed to the wreckage he decides to jump ship. I presume he has realised that he would not be up to repairing the damage or whatever. Maybe he can now go on the television reality show circuit like Strictly Come Dancing!)

Console Charity Governance Turmoil

The RTE Prime Time Investigates programme uncorked another case of depressing corruption in a charitable organisation in its expose on Thursday of last week. Here we had a person with a track record of deception who reinvents himself, establishes a credible and creditable organisation and then apparently abuses it for his own benefit. It would seem that one of the main funders to the organisation, the Health Service, which had reservations about issues with the governance of Console at various times was still comfortable with advancing funding to it. Console has received €2.5 million from the HSE in recent years to help it provide counselling services. Fianna Fáil’s Seán Fleming said almost half of its funding comes directly from taxpayers through State organisations, while the balance is raised through fundraising and donations from the general public.

In addition, he said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade allocated €130,000 to Console to enable it to support Irish emigrants in the UK. While the counsellors do a great and necessary task, the governance needs major scrutiny. There has been the pretty recent scandal of the Central Remedial Clinic paid its top executive extraordinary salaries with funding from charitable donations. The other issue with these controversies is that it casts a cloud over all such charitable organisations and make a certain number of people sceptical of donating to them. 

(While it probably somewhat inappropriate to throw in what happened recently with the IFA it was similar in the untouchable top tier being unaccountable to the general membership in the way they rewarded each other). 

Of course it takes courage to confront this in all organisations against formidable people who are high on entitlement and self- justification. One of the real ironies of the Console founder and CEO happened some years ago with his recognition at the prestigious ‘People of the Year Awards.’

The Sons of Iceland march On 

So the European soccer odyssey came to its inevitable conclusion. Still I really enjoyed the first couple of weeks of the Euros and there were many highlights. For drama and consequence none can match the Iceland victory over England. It was a tremendous effort from the Iceland team and it exposed so much that is wrong with the game in the England. When teaching modern European History -1870 to 1950- I used to refer to England’s contribution to world sport around the beginning of that period. They gave to the world, soccer, rugby, cricket, tennis, badminton, horse racing, golf (with Scotland) and probably more and then let other countries become better than them at their own games. Soccer was probably their primary sport and in the fifty years since they won the World Cup in England in 1966 they have stumbled from one tournament to another ineffectually often embarrassingly.  

The game in England will need a revolutionary makeover but it is very unlikely that it will get that. It is suffocated by inflated egos, money, entitlement, lack of genius and sparkle and a myriad of issues. They have allowed their clubs to be bought by billionaire speculators whose instinct is for instant self -gratification.

The 1966 World Cup Golden Jubilee has to be a pretty muted affair in the current atmosphere of recrimination.

Now Iceland is the antitheses of the England story. The tiny playing population, the money, the environment and so on. The Sons of Iceland march on to meet France on Sunday.

Refuse Charges anomalies

I was very surprised with the levels of charges. There is a  €17.00 a month fixed ‘service charge’ with general waste disposal at €0.22 per kg.  

Up to now I paid on a tag system for waste at €13 per tag. and used the fine local authority recycling facility for recycling at the minimal charges there.

***I did not need to use the refuse  service collection EVERY two weeks and there are many like me. So if I suggest 15 times-at most- per annum at a tag charge of €13 the annual cost to me was  €195 approx.

The new service standing charge at €17.00 X 12 months = €204. That is before any refuse weight is accounted for. This degree of service charge is the real issue. On the Leitrim site it stipulates a charge of €20 per quarter i.e. €80 per annum as opposed to the €204 proposed for here.

**I calculate my 2 family cost under the new system at approx. €100 for weight -say 15 lifts X 6.60- plus the service charge of 204 giving a total of €304 which for me will be an increase from my existing cost per annum of €195, of €109 for me. 

Perhaps I am not grasping the charges fully and things will be better but it is somewhat confusing at the moment.

GAA Feile

The Boyle team did very well in last week’s Feile competition in Cork/Kerry. They were based in Kilshannig outside Mallow. The team won two and drew one of their first round games thus qualifying for the knock-out stages where they won their initial game convincingly before going down to a very strong Lucan Sarsfield’s side in the semi-final of their division, Sarsfield’s were defeated by the South London team in the Division 3 final.

The facilities at the host club were outstanding and the hospitality was equally so. It was a great experience and effort for all involved.

John Joe Nerney Remembered

It is hard to believe that it is over a year now since our iconic football star John Joe Nerney passed away. His passing has left a big gap in our GAA community in Boyle. However he has left us a proud legacy and his constant encouragement and inspiration still echoes and will continue to do so.

Connacht Final 2016 Remembers 1966 winning teams.

The three teams which won Connacht football’s premier football championships will be saluted at the Connacht Final in Pearse stadium in Galway on Sunday July 10th. the representatives of the great Galway ‘three- in-a-row’ team will be there as will the Mayo minor team members. Also present will be the fine Roscommon team of 1966 which defeated Kildare in an epic final. Boyle was represented by three players, Pat and John Nicholson from Corrigeenroe and Pat Clarke. Also on the team was Boyle resident John Kelly who played his football with Elphin and Ray Sheerin from St. Michael’s Club and Aidan Ray’s shop in St. Patrick’s Street.

That team lined out as follows: Padraig Reynolds, Elphin/ Pat Clarke, Boyle/ Pat Nicholson, Boyle/Colm Shine, Clann na nGael, Capt./ Gerry Mannion, St. Brigid’s/ Paul Mockler, St. Croan’s/ Tom Heneghan, Castlerea/ Martin Joe Keane, Creggs/ John O’Connor, Roscommon Gaels/ Jimmy Finnegan, Castlerea/ Dermot Earley, Ml. Glavey’s/ James Cox, St. Barry’s/ Marty Cummins, Croghan/ Jim Keane, St. Brigid’s/ and John Kelly, Elphin with John Nicholson, Boyle/ Willie Feeley, Rahara/ Ray Sheerin, St. Michael’s/ Noel Daly, Castlerea/ Mark O’Gara, St. Croan’s.    

Those senior enough to know that period of Gaelic football will be familiar with many of the names on that Roscommon team as they went on to play for the senior team for quite some time. 

Pat Nicholson was a great full back and was a big loss to Roscommon football when his life’s journey took him in a different direction. 

I was at that great game and look forward to meeting the Roscommon team members in Galway.   

Update 1st July

The U.K. Vote

In last week’s notes I ended by being optimistic about the vote in the U.K. but…. I was wrong. Like millions of people I tuned in early on Friday morning and was truly shocked that the people of England had voted to leave the EU. The ramifications of that kneejerk vote are only beginning to roll out. It is a seismic event in European geo-political history. In all honesty I couldn’t say that I should have seen it coming. That is despite the disparity of economic and social returns throughout large swathes of the UK. In the U.S. there is the a wellknown bible belt but there is also an economic decline zone referred to as the ‘rust belt’ where once there was great industrial activity. That obtains around the car manufacturing areas of the north east in Mowtown Detroit and its satellite Flint. In England there are areas which were also once great manufacturing zones which could now be referred to as waste lands though in truth I have not travelled enough in England to validate that.

Reaction and consequences are everywhere. The Houses of the British Parliament -Westminster- are akin to a television promotion for a series based on Rome in the times of Julius Caesar with the Senate in uproar. David Cameron announced his resignation having being responsible for calling an unnecessary referendum possibly to subdue his recalcitrant Tory Euro-sceptic M.P.s’ Now he has paid his price and imposed a heavy price on millions of others. Jeremy Corbyn’s time as leader of the Labour Party seems to be running out unless he gets a huge backing from the general labour membership which is at odds with the Parliamentary Party. How does someone be elected/selected to lead a party and then be seen as so inept by those who elected him, in such a short time? I may have said this before but the prospect of a Boris Johnson as Prime Minister in England and a President Donald Trump in the United States makes one shudder with incredulity. What a vista.

In fairness Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain with Europe. This was a pretty reasoned approach by Northern Ireland, considering their history, and the attitude of the First Minister there Arlene Foster, though she supported the out position it was with a light brush and that tenor continues. Scottish nationalists see this as another possible opportunity to advance their independence cause.

While large numbers of people in England feel deprived of social and economic parity with the wealthy regions of the South East including London the ‘out’ campaign had the telling hook line of the danger, to them, of a mass influx of migrants. This was crucial. I have met some English friends and in discussing the matter I felt that in voting for ‘out’ they did not really think too deeply about what the ramifications of  being ‘out’ might mean. So those who did realise its consequences did a very poor job in getting their side of the argument heard and understood. The ‘out’ side had the easier- to -understand hooks, migration, unequal society on many levels, big bad wolf domineering Europe, let’s return to jolly old England of cricket and ginger beer and a not very subtle voter. Still it was a huge vote of 72%. The breakdown suggest that a very large majority of young voters voted to stay with Europe while the older voters voted for ‘out’. They are being castigated for damaging the future for the younger generations. Perhaps there is a case, since there is a minimum age for voters, that perhaps there should be a maximum age also! It came as a surprise to me that people in Gibraltar also had a vote.

I have a vague memory of some notable suggesting that one of the failings of democracy was that ‘the minority are often right’. 

What of the future? Is there is any possibility that there could be another referendum in the U.K. on the matter as has been the practise here? A Liberal Democrat source suggested that in the next election they would campaign for returning to the EU!

All this happens just when we thought things were improving somewhat. It’s demoralising. 

(P.S. As I about to post these paragraphs the news has emerged that Boris Johnson has withdrawn from the British Prime Minister’s race. So having contributed to the wreckage he decides to jump ship. I presume he has realised that he would not be up to repairing the damage or whatever. Maybe he can now go on the television reality show circuit like Strictly Come Dancing!)

Console Charity Governance Turmoil

The RTE Prime Time Investigates programme uncorked another case of depressing corruption in a charitable organisation in its expose on Thursday of last week. Here we had a person with a track record of deception who reinvents himself, establishes a credible and creditable organisation and then apparently abuses it for his own benefit. It would seem that one of the main funders to the organisation, the Health Service, which had reservations about issues with the governance of Console at various times was still comfortable with advancing funding to it. Console has received €2.5 million from the HSE in recent years to help it provide counselling services. Fianna Fáil’s Seán Fleming said almost half of its funding comes directly from taxpayers through State organisations, while the balance is raised through fundraising and donations from the general public.

In addition, he said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade allocated €130,000 to Console to enable it to support Irish emigrants in the UK. While the counsellors do a great and necessary task, the governance needs major scrutiny. There has been the pretty recent scandal of the Central Remedial Clinic paid its top executive extraordinary salaries with funding from charitable donations. The other issue with these controversies is that it casts a cloud over all such charitable organisations and make a certain number of people sceptical of donating to them. 

(While it probably somewhat inappropriate to throw in what happened recently with the IFA it was similar in the untouchable top tier being unaccountable to the general membership in the way they rewarded each other). 

Of course it takes courage to confront this in all organisations against formidable people who are high on entitlement and self- justification. One of the real ironies of the Console founder and CEO happened some years ago with his recognition at the prestigious ‘People of the Year Awards.’

The Sons of Iceland march On 

So the European soccer odyssey came to its inevitable conclusion. Still I really enjoyed the first couple of weeks of the Euros and there were many highlights. For drama and consequence none can match the Iceland victory over England. It was a tremendous effort from the Iceland team and it exposed so much that is wrong with the game in the England. When teaching modern European History -1870 to 1950- I used to refer to England’s contribution to world sport around the beginning of that period. They gave to the world, soccer, rugby, cricket, tennis, badminton, horse racing, golf (with Scotland) and probably more and then let other countries become better than them at their own games. Soccer was probably their primary sport and in the fifty years since they won the World Cup in England in 1966 they have stumbled from one tournament to another ineffectually often embarrassingly.  

The game in England will need a revolutionary makeover but it is very unlikely that it will get that. It is suffocated by inflated egos, money, entitlement, lack of genius and sparkle and a myriad of issues. They have allowed their clubs to be bought by billionaire speculators whose instinct is for instant self -gratification.

The 1966 World Cup Golden Jubilee has to be a pretty muted affair in the current atmosphere of recrimination.

Now Iceland is the antitheses of the England story. The tiny playing population, the money, the environment and so on. The Sons of Iceland march on to meet France on Sunday.

Refuse Charges anomalies

I was very surprised with the levels of charges. There is a  €17.00 a month fixed ‘service charge’ with general waste disposal at €0.22 per kg.  

Up to now I paid on a tag system for waste at €13 per tag. and used the fine local authority recycling facility for recycling at the minimal charges there.

***I did not need to use the refuse  service collection EVERY two weeks and there are many like me. So if I suggest 15 times-at most- per annum at a tag charge of €13 the annual cost to me was  €195 approx.

The new service standing charge at €17.00 X 12 months = €204. That is before any refuse weight is accounted for. This degree of service charge is the real issue. On the Leitrim site it stipulates a charge of €20 per quarter i.e. €80 per annum as opposed to the €204 proposed for here.

**I calculate my 2 family cost under the new system at approx. €100 for weight -say 15 lifts X 6.60- plus the service charge of 204 giving a total of €304 which for me will be an increase from my existing cost per annum of €195, of €109 for me. 

Perhaps I am not grasping the charges fully and things will be better but it is somewhat confusing at the moment.

GAA Feile

The Boyle team did very well in last week’s Feile competition in Cork/Kerry. They were based in Kilshannig outside Mallow. The team won two and drew one of their first round games thus qualifying for the knock-out stages where they won their initial game convincingly before going down to a very strong Lucan Sarsfield’s side in the semi-final of their division, Sarsfield’s were defeated by the South London team in the Division 3 final.

The facilities at the host club were outstanding and the hospitality was equally so. It was a great experience and effort for all involved.

John Joe Nerney Remembered

It is hard to believe that it is over a year now since our iconic football star John Joe Nerney passed away. His passing has left a big gap in our GAA community in Boyle. However he has left us a proud legacy and his constant encouragement and inspiration still echoes and will continue to do so.

Connacht Final 2016 Remembers 1966 winning teams.

The three teams which won Connacht football’s premier football championships will be saluted at the Connacht Final in Pearse stadium in Galway on Sunday July 10th. the representatives of the great Galway ‘three- in-a-row’ team will be there as will the Mayo minor team members. Also present will be the fine Roscommon team of 1966 which defeated Kildare in an epic final. Boyle was represented by three players, Pat and John Nicholson from Corrigeenroe and Pat Clarke. Also on the team was Boyle resident John Kelly who played his football with Elphin and Ray Sheerin from St. Michael’s Club and Aidan Ray’s shop in St. Patrick’s Street.

That team lined out as follows: Padraig Reynolds, Elphin/ Pat Clarke, Boyle/ Pat Nicholson, Boyle/Colm Shine, Clann na nGael, Capt./ Gerry Mannion, St. Brigid’s/ Paul Mockler, St. Croan’s/ Tom Heneghan, Castlerea/ Martin Joe Keane, Creggs/ John O’Connor, Roscommon Gaels/ Jimmy Finnegan, Castlerea/ Dermot Earley, Ml. Glavey’s/ James Cox, St. Barry’s/ Marty Cummins, Croghan/ Jim Keane, St. Brigid’s/ and John Kelly, Elphin with John Nicholson, Boyle/ Willie Feeley, Rahara/ Ray Sheerin, St. Michael’s/ Noel Daly, Castlerea/ Mark O’Gara, St. Croan’s.    

Those senior enough to know that period of Gaelic football will be familiar with many of the names on that Roscommon team as they went on to play for the senior team for quite some time. 

Pat Nicholson was a great full back and was a big loss to Roscommon football when his life’s journey took him in a different direction. 

I was at that great game and look forward to meeting the Roscommon team members in Galway.