Sir, – Many parents are trying to balance work, in-person office requirements and the school calendar. It is a difficult task even for the most organised, as Jennifer O’Connell wrote in her column (“Any parent who can solve the after school childcare equation deserves a medal,” Opinion, August 30th).
As if we haven’t enough on our plates, the Government has decided to hold the presidential election on Friday, October 24th, which will result in the closure of thousands of primary schools and after-school services. This is the fourth time schools have closed for voting since March 2024.
Why can’t we have weekend voting like the majority of EU countries?
I have raised this issue with TDs and local councillors and I will raise it again when campaigners for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael knock on my door seeking my vote.
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Will the Government mind my children on September 24th while I work?
The Government could show their support for working parents and change the polling date to a Saturday. Now that would be something worth voting for. – Yours, etc,
SIOBHÁN McDERMOTT,
Killester,
Dublin 5.
Sir, – With the presidential poll set to take place on October 24th, necessitating the closure of primary schools, one must wonder why not wait until the following week when schools will be closed for midterm breaks.
Is this yet another example of waste and lack of foresight on the part of the Government? Or are they proving once again to be tone deaf to working parents who now must organise another day of (paid) childcare? – Yours, etc,
RORY J WHELAN,
Drogheda,
Co Meath.
Aid flotilla to Gaza
Sir, – As a flotilla of 20-30 vessels prepares to sail for Gaza, it might be useful to reflect on previous efforts and, more pertinently, on the Israeli reaction at the time. The Global Sumud Flotilla is the largest convened since the peaceful, unarmed Freedom Flotilla of May 2010 in which a number of Irish, including myself, participated.
The outcome on that occasion was a reminder of Israel’s disdain for international law and human rights activists. In international waters on May 31st we were surrounded and attacked by Israeli commandos. The vessel on which I travelled, Challenger 1, was chased down and stormed by Israeli soldiers.
Much worse happened on the Mavi Marmara, the largest ship in the flotilla. Nine of our colleagues on that ship were killed as Israeli forces opened fire. Dozens more were injured.
A report issued by the UN Human Rights Council in September 2010 stated: “Flotilla passengers were civilians and in the context of the interception of the vessels must be considered protected persons.”
Nonetheless, the report was clear that this was not respected: “The circumstances of the killing of at least six of the passengers were in a manner consistent with an extralegal, arbitrary and summary execution.”
Following the Freedom Flotilla, we reorganised in Ireland as the Irish Ship to Gaza campaign and in November 2011 sailed the Saoirse alongside a Canadian vessel, the Tahrir, to Gaza in an effort to break Israel’s illegal maritime blockade of that territory. Again, in international waters, our ships were surrounded by Israeli commandos.
All 14 Irish citizens on board were taken to Israel from where we were eventually expelled. Among those on that mission was Zoë Lawlor, now chairwoman of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
This is how Israel has repeatedly treated vessels that have sought to bring solidarity and aid to Gaza, and there is no reason to believe it will behave differently towards the Sumud flotilla.
This is why governments, including the Irish Government, need to be robust in demanding that these boats are allowed to safely reach the beaches of Gaza. In 2010 Israel displayed its capacity to use violence against unarmed civil activists and this cannot be allowed to happen again.
The flotillas are an attempt to amplify the marginalised voices of those under siege in Gaza and to pressure the international community into taking purposeful action against Israel.
All eyes must remain on Gaza.– Yours, etc,
FINTAN LANE,
Former National Coordinator,
Irish Ship to Gaza,
Lucan,
Co Dublin.
New world order
Sir, – The images of Chinese president Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi in Tianjin ought to send shivers down the spines of western leaders. This circle of friends is immensely powerful.
As Denis Staunton suggests, the burgeoning alliance between these three countries may indeed presage the dawn of a new world order (“New global order? Modi, Putin and Xi offer glimpse of what may lie ahead”, Analysis, September 1st).
The evolution of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) summit and Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) over the past several years illustrates that international actors are increasingly content to distance themselves from the United States and the West.
Mr Trump’s reckless tariff regime will ultimately harm the US by alienating erstwhile allies and pushing would-be suitors into China’s orbit. The US, however, has the economic and geopolitical muscle to go it alone. Europe does not.
With a war on its doorstep and an indifferent US, Europe stands to suffer most from this newfound friendship between India, Russia and China. – Yours, etc,
THOMAS CONWAY,
Ballina,
Co Tipperary.
Tricolour’s unifying symbol
Sir, – Sam Hume, the father of the late great John Hume, regularly warned his children about the limitations of extremism and said to his son: “You can’t eat a flag.”
John Hume understood the need to respect difference, be it based on race, religion, gender or creed.
The Tricolour should not be used as a political weapon or abused to mark territory as it represents an historic accommodation that should be cherished by all traditions on this island.
This point was made powerfully by John Hume in 1984: “Ireland must be the most remarkable country on earth: our flag is a symbol, not of military heroics or of another ancient sources of pride, but of our most fundamental problem and the dynamics of its solution.
“The ‘orange’, surely an alien element in the traditional national concept, is given equal place with the ‘green’, and they are held together, not in tension nor in war but in the harmony of peace. It is the flag of a creative and peaceful future; whether we like it or not, it is as much the property of the Orangeman as it is of the nationalist.”
I am certain that he would say today that our flag stands for the accommodation in harmony of not only green and the orange but also the rich tapestry of diverse cultures and ethnicities that make Ireland a glorious multicultural society. – Yours, etc,
TIM ATTWOOD,
Belfast.
Sir, – Greg McConkey suggests a mass display of the Irish Tricolour would serve as a unifying symbol (Letters, September 3rd). While well-intentioned, this overlooks how symbols are perceived, depending on the context.
During an Ireland football international or on St Patrick’s Day, the flag is a joyful expression of shared celebration. At other times, however, particularly in periods of heightened tension, we must consider its impact.
While for many the Tricolour is a source of immense pride, we must acknowledge that for some, it can be experienced as intimidation.
If any community feels this way, the truly patriotic response is not to simply fly more flags, but to have conversations with our neighbours and listen to their concerns. Unity is built through dialogue. – Yours, etc,
DR CIARÁN O’CARROLL,
North Strand,
Dublin.
Sir, – It should come as no surprise that our Tricolour-toting patriots are influenced by English behaviour (“Our Tricolour-toting patriots take inspiration from England”, Kathy Sheridan, Opinion, September 3rd).
While our Tricolour is a hard-fought for symbol of national identity, the latter is conveniently sidelined when many of those “patriots” turn to England for their media sources – be it newspaper, TV or social media.
We also have a particular affinity with English football, to the extent that it features regularly in our own sporting headlines.
Despite more than 100 years of independence, we remain culturally close to England.
Which all must be very confusing for those migrants that arrive here.
Whether this has enabled the establishment of a “separate identity” of any significance, is debatable. – Yours, etc,
EAMON O’FLYNN,
Dublin 4.
Climate commitments
Sir, – Eamon Ryan correctly calls out president Donald Trump for climate change denial and pulling the US out of the Paris Agreement (“We must stand up to Trump on climate. The alternative is too bleak to contemplate”, Opinion, September 2nd).
However, will other major signatories abide by their commitments? China remains intent on becoming the world’s foremost economy via its Belt and Road strategy (and a lot of coal-fired power stations), while I doubt climate is too high on Vladimir Putin’s expansionist agenda. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL FLYNN,
Bayside,
Dublin 13.
Not so typical Irish marriage
Sir, – I don’t know much about tradwife ideology but reading Fintan O’Toole’s article I was prompted to reflect on various male relatives of that era, who are now all deceased (“Ireland was once the tradwife capital of the world. Worse, they were happy”, Opinion, September 2nd).
According to a British polling expert (referenced in the article), to achieve happiness an Irish woman should accept her husband as he is without complaining about neglect of his wife, his drinking, his meanness with housekeeping money, etc.
The typical Irish marriage, the research says, was one in which the husband spent too much time in the pub and too little time with his wife. While I spent a lot of time in relatives’ households during holidays as a child I never witnessed any of my male relatives heading out to the pub of an evening. One uncle who did go occasionally was always accompanied by his wife or she went on her own as she was an accomplished singer.
Another uncle, living in Dublin, always socialised with his wife mostly at card nights, which were popular back then. Tea was the beverage of choice on these occasions. Maybe they were the exception, although that seems unlikely.
Of course every community had its heavy drinkers and carousers who caused enormous pain to their families but is the picture painted in the article really a true reflection of society back then?
Alcohol was unheard of in lots of homes, unlike nowadays, except maybe for a bottle of sherry or poitín hidden away in the corner press. Life was immeasurably harder back then and money was scarce. – Yours, etc,
DON CAHALANE,
Beaumont,
Cork.
Relocating UN summit
Sir, – The US government has said it will refuse travel visas to Palestinians intending to participate in the deliberations of the United Nations summit where many countries intend to formally recognise the Palestinian state (“US bars Palestinian leader Abbas and 80 officials from annual UN meeting as allies pledge statehood”, World News, August 30th).
In response, the secretary general of the UN should make arrangements, unless the US reverses its decision, to relocate the session to another country .
The UN might, as a body, also consider permanently relocating – Switzerland as a respected neutral country would be ideal.
The US by its actions disrespects the ethos and purpose of the UN, and has shown yet again its disdain for democratic norms and human rights. – Yours, etc,
HUGH PIERCE,
Celbridge,
Co Kildare.
Celebrity wannabees
Sir, – I am becoming increasingly frustrated by the list of “celebrity” wannabees throwing their hats in the ring for the highest office in the land.
It’s not the Big Brother house or a refuge for delusional egotists, but Áras an Uachtaráin. Enough is enough! – Yours, etc,
DANIEL LOWRY,
Swords,
Co Dublin.
Don’t stop playing
Sir, – Having lived in Berlin and now Vancouver, I am a regular visitor to public parks.
These urban green spaces usually have a playground for children but also an adult playground of sorts with exercise bars and contraptions.
This is also to be found in some Dublin parks and around the country but could be far more ubiquitous.
Ireland’s obesity rate is among the highest in the EU and it is imperative we optimise and engineer our living environment to encourage health and strength.
Play and movement are vital to an adult’s mental and physical wellbeing. As the epigram puts it: we don’t stop playing because we are old, but rather we get old because we stop playing. – Yours, etc,
JAMES O’ROURKE,
Vancouver,
Canada.
