Sir, – Apropos George Bridges's timely and practical letter re the neglected blackberry (September 19th), could I refer your readers to a treasure of a book by Sarah McNamara called Those Intrepid United Irishwomen. Forerunner of the Irish Countrywomen's Association (ICA), the organisation was founded by Anita Lett in 1910 in Bree, Co Wexford. Mrs Lett's inaugural paper, The Scheme Explained,dealt with pressing issues of rural Ireland at the time, especially children's health, poor standards of midwifery, family nutrition and economic development of the countryside.
Ms McNamara relates how Mrs Lett also raised the prospect of developing a domestic horticulture, including vegetable- and fruit-growing, saying “vegetables, with the exception of potatoes, cabbages and onions, were practically unknown to the bulk of the rural population . . . fruit, such as blackberries, could so easily be grown and marketed co-operatively . . . in France the blackberry industry was well organised and many labourers earned much-needed extra money in a season. It was ironic that blackberry jam was imported into Ireland while blackberries at home were allowed to rot for the want of a little organisation.” That was 1910.
It seems to me that we still have a widespread attitudinal blockage when it comes to growing our own vegetables and fruit, as indeed Mr Bridges’s letter implies. The recent stories on RTÉ Radio from men newly introduced to gardening and cooking were uplifting. We must admit that there’s something wrong when a food-producing country finds itself now importing lettuce from as far afield as Kenya. However, we should complain less and face up more to solving our own problems.
In this respect, it’s a fair bet that with a positive media, were a market encouraged for the blackberry, a great many pupils would quickly engage in blackberry picking to help their parents meet the costs of schoolbooks and uniforms every September. Perhaps Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn TD could initiate something involving both schools, parents and the food industry? I don’t think any curriculum could offer this generation of pupils a more relevant and necessary lesson than one in initiative and self-help. – Yours, etc,