In defence of Bertie Ahern
Sir, – A lot has been written about Bertie Ahern recently in relation to the forthcoming presidential election
I feel I must also put on record, that in my time as special adviser on Northern Ireland to former taoiseach Leo Varadkar, no one was more helpful to me or gave better advice than Bertie Ahern.
He did this privately and looked for absolutely nothing in return. On several occasions his help and advice bore great fruit and helped greatly in solving problems and resolving complex situations. My late mother used to say, “there is so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us, that it ill-behoves any of us to speak ill about the rest of us”. I found Bertie Ahern a good and generous man. – Yours, etc,
JIM D’ARCY,
READ MORE
Blackrock,
Dundalk,
Co Louth.
Displaying the Tricolour
Sir, – Perhaps a little creative thinking is the solution to the problem of Tricolours being erected with the intent of intimidating and sowing division (Letters, September 4th).
Presumably, any operation to remove the flags – one of the options being considered – would come at a financial cost to local authorities, given the labour required on the part of those tasked with the removal, but perhaps also the security required to protect staff from the pseudo-patriots. It doesn’t seem unreasonable to also presume such an effort could be repeated many times over, given how easy it is for the determined and misguided to replace a flag.
However, instead of going to all that expense and risk, how about local authorities leave the flags up and pledge that for every one raised in their area, they will make a donation to organisations advocating for the rights of migrants, LGBTQ people or any group whose existence gets the flag warriors so flustered and upset?
There is even a comparable precedent for this. In 2014, residents of Wunsiedel, sick of a decades-old neo-Nazi rally in their German town, agreed to donate €10 for every metre the neo-Nazis marched through their streets. They ended up raising over €10,000 for a charity that helps people turn their back on far-right politics.
It would provide much needed support for organisations that actually work to make Ireland a better place, while also presenting a pretty hilarious dilemma for those who fail to understand the inclusive nature of our flag and the inseparability of the Irish and migrant experience. – Yours, etc,
JOHN HOGAN,
Assistant professor of international relations,
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam,
Netherlands.
Sir, – How ironic that flying a symbol of reconciliation (the Tricolour) is apparently designed – in some quarters – as an indication of alienation. – Yours, etc,
GERRY CHRISTIE,
Tralee,
Co Kerry.
Sir – In Kathy Sheridan’s piece about flags and their flying (“Our Tricolour-toting patriots take inspiration from England,” Opinion, September 3rd) she quotes Daniel Hannan.
She commented that Hannan said of such displays that it “encourages, at best, complacency and corruption; at worst, civil strife”.
Does Kneecap’s DJ Próvai and his wearing of a Tricolour balaclava fall into to the above category?- Yours, etc,
JOHN BERGIN,
Wirral,
England.
School secretaries and caretakers strike
Sir, – This morning on the school run I again witnessed our school’s secretary, Margaret, yet again standing indomitably in the lashing Donegal rain, I am reminded of the Latin phrase “Non scholae sed vitae discimus” (we do not learn for school but for life).
How terrific that our children are seeing this “real-time” example of the power of protest outside their schools. Nonetheless, if my five-year old can understand that our wonderful school secretaries and caretakers, backbones of our schools, deserve pension parity, it is a disgrace the powers-that-be still do not.
The children of Ireland are witnessing this protest at close quarters. We ask that you do not leave all the “Margarets” in the country standing in the rain any longer. We need them back in school, where they belong, and have worked tirelessly for decades. – Yours, etc,
KATIE TEMPLE,
Glebe National School PTA,
Donegal Town.
Taiwan and the UN
Sir, – The 80th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) will open next week. This year’s theme, Better Together: 80 Years and More for Peace, Development and Human Rights, aligns closely with Ireland’s long-standing commitment to advancing democracy and human rights on the global stage. Even during periods of severe economic challenge, Ireland has remained steadfast in supporting the United Nations and UN-mandated peacekeeping operations.
With this history in mind, one must also reflect on the absence from the assembly of another small state that has consistently championed democracy and human rights: Taiwan. Despite being one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies and a regional leader in advancing progressive social rights, Taiwan continues to be denied meaningful participation in the UN. This exclusion stems from the persistent misinterpretation of UNGA Resolution 2758 by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), in support of the so-called “One China Principle.”
Ireland’s contributions through the UN system have, quite literally, saved lives. It is therefore worth considering what another small state – one equally devoted to peace, justice, and democracy – could achieve if given the opportunity to participate meaningfully within the United Nations. In today’s deeply complex geopolitical environment, these universal values must be upheld for all, and by all. – Yours, etc,
DANIEL DIANN-WEN TANG,
Taipei Representative Office in Ireland,
Dublin 2.
Alternative presidential election candidates
Sir, – Laura Slattery’s column on the presidential election (“CMAT, Liam Neeson, David McCullagh: Eight people who would make a great president of Ireland,” People, September 3rd) is the funniest read on your website in a long time.
Some of her suggested candidates, including Aunt Sarah from Derry Girls and Dublin City Council’s AI tour guide, are pure genius; not forgetting “the man who slipped on the ice” back in 2010.
She is comedy gold. – Yours, etc,
STEPHEN O’BYRNES,
Morehampton Road,
Dublin 4.
Where have all the tradwives gone?
Sir, – Fintan O’Toole’s column (“Ireland was once the happy tradwife capital of the world,” Opinion, September 2nd) set me thinking.
What it takes to become a tradwife has changed since the 1960s. These criteria include:
- The family needs to have enough money to survive on one income
- The wife needs to value the work done in the home.
- Be independent in her thinking and not feel inadequate because she has chosen not to pursue a career outside the home. – Yours, etc,
MARY DALY
Rathfarnham
de Valera’ father
Sir, – David McCullagh’s RTÉ documentary “Dev: Rise and Rule” once again raises questions about Éamon de Valera’s paternity, specifically raising doubts about the existence of his Spanish father Vivion.
A simple DNA test by one of De Valera’s descendants would immediately identify any Spanish ancestry and possibly even locate close relations on his father’s side, thus putting an end to this long debated question. – Yours, etc,
KEVIN O’SULLIVAN,
Letterkenny,
Co Donegal.
The Normans and us
Sir, – Renewed interest among British historians in Athelstan, grandson of Alfred the Great, as the first king of England in 927, reminds us here in Ireland that the Irish were not in fact colonised by the English, as such, but by the Norman French.
Every schoolchild knows of the conquest of England by William of Normandy at Hastings in 1066. In consequence, the Anglo-Saxon aristocracy was systematically eliminated in the following years by the Norman invader.
By the time of Strongbow, in the 12th century, England was governed by the Normans. The so-called conquest of Ireland by the English is therefore in reality a conquest of Ireland by the Norman French. A myth masquerading as history has thus been perpetuated in our schools and in public life. It is a myth which has served neither England nor Ireland well to the present day. – Yours, etc,
SARAH ALYN STACEY,
Director of the Trinity Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies,
Trinity College,
Dublin 2.
AI and the idea of a university
Sir, – I read with some interest the Opinion piece on the use of GenAI in education (“As lecturers in TCD, we believe we must resist AI”, Opinion, September 4th).
I too work in a field where the use of AI is being encouraged. The arguments that “a lecturer’s job is to foster fundamental thinking skills” and “the task of a university teacher today is to advocate for real thinking” reminded me of the opening statement of the dean at my own graduation many moons ago. “Today you are not receiving a degree or a piece of paper. Today we are recognising that you have over the previous number of years developed and honed a scientifically trained analysing mind.” I think he understood the real purpose of the education. – Yours, etc,
KEVIN McCARTHY,
Bridgestown,
Inniscarra,
Co Cork.
Schools and air quality
Sir, – The recent assertion by Dr Brian Fleming and Prof Judith Harford that “environmental factors, such as poor air quality and inadequate ventilation within school buildings, may be contributing factors to increased rates of student absenteeism” is, with all due respect, simply baffling (“Chronic absenteeism from school has worsened since Covid and must be tackled,” Opinion, September 1st).
We all recall the unwavering consensus during the pandemic: schools were, in fact, paragons of safety. The simple acts of keeping windows open and maintaining a modest one-metre distance were deemed more than sufficient to create low-risk environments. This was a testament to the inherent safety of our educational institutions.
Given that nothing fundamental has changed in the structure or operation of our schools since that time – save for the welcome discontinuation of pandemic-era restrictions – it defies logic to suddenly attribute the troubling rise in chronic absenteeism to these very buildings.
Schools were safe then; schools are safe now. The data on absenteeism must be a mystery, because it cannot possibly be suggesting our schools are unsafe – we’ve already established they are safe. – Yours, etc,
SEAN KEAVNEY,
Castleknock,
Dublin 15.
Gaza flotilla
Sir, – Fintan Lane, who is setting out with the flotilla to Gaza, writes about aid to, and solidarity with, Gaza (Letters, September 4th). He also references the previous flotilla in 2010. The legality of the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza was considered by a panel appointed by the United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon in 2010 following the incident with the Mavi Marmara referenced by Mr Lane.
Headed by Sir Geoffrey Palmer, the report of the panel was clear and unambiguous: “The naval blockade was imposed as a legitimate security measure in order to prevent weapons from entering Gaza by sea and its implementation complied with the requirements of international law.”
Had the naval blockade not been in place, it is possible the October 7th atrocity could have been unthinkably worse. – Yours, etc,
PAUL WILLIAMS,
Kilkee,
Co Clare.
Big ocean states
Sir, – It is encouraging to hear discussions of revising UN structures taking place on the Inside Politics podcast with Hugh Linehan (Inside Politics, September 3rd). . However, I must disagree with the suggestion that small island developing states such as the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu having an equal vote to larger countries has led to a “credibility gap” within the UN.
These islands, which many prefer to refer to as “Big ocean states”, do not just represent their citizens, but also vast marine areas they are responsible for stewarding, ranking 14th, 19th and 39th globally in terms of maritime area.
By contrast, Ireland, ranked 58th, has a marine area just one-eleventh the size of that of French Polynesia, which alone protects some 4,766,000 square kilometres of ocean in the Pacific.
The real credibility gap, in this respect, is that subnational island jurisdictions (SNIJs) like French Polynesia (France), Greenland (Denmark), and St Helena (UK) have no means of direct representation to the UN. Their subnational status profoundly limits their ability to advocate for and protect the extensive marine areas under their stewardship.
Islands, though often small in population, play a key role in protecting an extraordinary share of the world’s oceans. Rather than questioning the legitimacy of their equal vote, we should be finding ways to respect, support, and empower them further in global decision-making. – Yours, etc,
ADAM Ó CEALLAIGH,
Coordinator,
Sub-National Island Jurisdiction Coalition of Governments,
Galway.
