Staring into the vacuum

Emily O'Reilly's speech last year on 'vulgar fest' of modern Ireland put the spotlight on the annual Céifin Conference, writes Róisín Ingle.

When Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly spoke about the changing face of this country at the annual Céifin Conference last year her words struck an unexpected chord. In her speech she bemoaned the "vulgar fest that is much of modern Ireland". She spoke of her growing disquiet in the face of the proliferation of binge drinking, an aimless youth, foul language, four-wheel drives and Sunday shopping. She spoke of the trend of fetishising limited-edition handbags and high heels. She spoke of the need to inject what she called our secular society with some kind of value system.

The fact that close media attention will be paid to Céifin's Filling the Vacuum conference next week is almost entirely down to O'Reilly and the speech she wrote over two afternoons last year while on holiday in Spain. As the blanket coverage on radio, television and newspapers that followed her address attested, in speaking out against society's new values O'Reilly was articulating a disenchantment deeply felt by many.

This year, the President, Mary McAleese, will deliver a paper entitled Counting on Community - taking up, to a degree, where O'Reilly left off. The President approached Céifin early last year with a view to contributing. And while some might wonder what real difference these contributions can make, however much they are discussed afterwards, those involved reject the notion that such conferences are mere talking shops with no measurable impact.

Pyschologist Marie Murray insists what happened last year in Ennis amounted to a "naming" of the problems of modern Ireland, a process which needed to happen if change was to come.

"There is a sequence to change, and the first thing is naming the problem because very often these things are not named," she says. "When the problems are talked about, people begin to recognise them and identify them and then to understand what steps to take in order to effect change. If, over the years, Céifin has done anything, it's been an important marker in our changing society, reminding us of where we are and challenging us to shape the future."

Céifin was set up in 1997 by Co Clare-based priest Fr Harry Bohan, who wanted to encourage what he calls "values-led" action in society. The first conference in 1998 was called Are We Forgetting Something? and looked at how people were coping with the pace of the changes that were occurring in Ireland.

"The title of this year's conference was inspired by Emily [ O'Reilly]'s speech, she described a kind of vacuum in Irish society and we want to look at how to fill that space," says Bohan. "The conference is not just a talking shop. If we don't debate these issues we lose the language of that debate. We start to allow economic and commercial issues to dominate and we lose the language of humanity and spirituality."

He is particularly concerned about young people for whom "the boundaries between childhood and adulthood have been eroded, so they are left with no safe place of their own. They are asked to be adults while still children".

He says this is a generation who will no longer listen to "preachers or teachers" but will only take notice of those who have something to share of their own lived experience. This fact was behind the decision to invite people such as dancer Jean Butler and Caroline Casey of the Aisling Foundation to address the conference.

"People in this country, young and old, are looking for 'meaning of life' answers. What we are really trying to do is to challenge all those mechanisms of society such as universities, political institutions and the church to provide meaningful answers to the questions being asked," he says.

Another contributor, Fr Peter McVerry, works with homeless children in Dublin and says he sees a "greater focus on self rather than the other" as consumerism has taken hold of society.

"In the past, young homeless people were able to rely on the community to look after them if their own home situation broke down. This is not the case now. People live more and more isolated lives, old people die and are left alone for weeks. Young people suffer more self-doubt about their own value," he says.

"They turn to consumerism to boost their self image," McVerry explains, adding that even homeless children now turn their noses up at cheap runners, wanting fashionable brands instead. "Having absorbed those very powerful messages from advertisers urging them to buy more and buy often, parents feel they are not loving their children properly if they are not giving them enough. It would be more beneficial to develop in their children a sense of responsibility for those who have less than they do," he adds.

In her speech last year, O'Reilly urged that we "tip-toe" back to the church. She says now that was misinterpreted: "People took it to mean back to the arms of the Catholic Church but what I really meant was getting back to spirituality in general, back to the yoga mat if that's what works for you." Since then, as well as going back to Mass with her own children, O'Reilly still occasionally tip-toes into Brown Thomas where, as a direct result of the reaction to her piece, which railed against extravagant shopping, she always asks for a small bag for purchases in order to be discreet. "I haven't even set foot in the Dundrum centre yet," she laughs.

Her speech received worldwide attention - she was asked for interviews from everyone from the BBC to the New York Times - but she declined all these offers, anxious not to compromise her Ombudsman role.

"When there is such a reaction to something a lay person says, you have to ask yourself why is it not coming from political or church leaders. That is not to criticise either of those. There is a terrible shyness among politicians and priests to make judgments on moral issues because if you support one particular moral outlook you are decrying something else," she says. "They live in fear of giving offence".

"I think conferences such as Céifin provide a neutral place for people where they have permission to talk about issues that are not going to be talked about anywhere else," she says. Change will come, she suggests, from people "informing themselves, reflecting and making adjustments in their lives accordingly", but adds that "change doesn't happen overnight".

"One year on from Emily O'Reilly's speech, we seem to have agreed on the things we don't like about the new Ireland and the things we might like to reclaim from the Ireland of the past," says Murray. "We have a society that is starting to validate the idea that we are, to some extent, in a bleak and emotionally barren place, despite all the new freedom we are enjoying. In trying to address these issues we are beginning to sing a new hymn. We just don't know what the words are yet."

• Filling the Vacuum takes place in Ennis, Co Clare, on November 8th and 9th. To register contact 061-365912 or e-mail ceifinconference@eircom.net