Sir, - The carefully thought-out letter from Liam O Geibheannaigh (December 30th) provides a good basis for addressing the future of Irish. He advocates restrictions on English-speakers occupying houses in certain areas of the State, and he asks for "imaginative forms of financial incentives" to get more people to speak Irish. With these simple suggestions he encapsulates the two basic techniques of the Revival: compulsion for English-speakers, and perks for Gaeilgeoiri.
The substantive question - the future of Irish - is not difficult to answer, because the future will have exactly the same features as the past, of which two especially stand out. These are:
1. The Irish population will not deviate from its decision to be an English-speaking nation, and its use of Irish will remain at its present microscopic level.
2. Officials of the Irish Government will continue to expend State budgets in order to maintain the impression that the above is not the case.
This situation will continue indefinitely into the future because of the influence of the interest group which benefit from it, and because the population at large will consider it to be fairly harmless. And, in truth, it will become progressively less harmful as the Department of Education addresses the remaining distortions which the Revival produced in the schooling system - for example, the extra marks given for doing a Leaving Certificate paper through Irish, or the neglect of illiteracy in English in primary school pupils.
Of course, it is possible to describe a malign future scenario. Imagine, for example, that the revival of Irish actually started to succeed with a portion of the population, and that they then began to use Eamon O Cuiv's proposed Language Act to secure employments and other benefits for themselves on the basis of their (real or imagined) language community. Then Ireland would have a national split on lines of language - as has happened in Belgium, to instance a case.
But this malign scenario is not a very likely one. I am sure the Dail would never let it happen. - Yours, etc., Donal Flynn,
Breffni Terrace, Sandycove, Co Dublin.
John Healy
Sir, - Regarding Drapier's decision to award the title of political journalist of the century to the much loved John Healy, I would have to concede that John Healy was certainly one of the outstanding political commentators of his day and of the century.
However, his continual and effusive adulation of Charles Haughey surely casts doubt on the incisiveness of his political judgement in the light of recent revelations.
I hope this letter will not affect Drapier's chances of receiving this accolade at the end of this century. - Yours, etc., Vincent McArdle,
Cedarmount Road, Mount Merrion, Co Dublin.
Millennium Candle
Sir, - Asked to speak at the Nollaig na mBan dinner in a Vancouver hotel, I concluded my remarks by describing the candle ceremony at sunset on New Year's Eve in homes throughout Ireland. I then lit my candle, which I had brought back with me from Dublin, and was about to take it back to my table when it was taken from my hands. It was not returned to me until it had been held, with some emotion, by every one of the 120 women in the room.
Mr Brennan, on behalf of the Irish women of Vancouver, thank you for your millennium candle. - Yours, etc., Mary Hatch,
Irish Women's Network of British Columbia, Avenue Delta, Vancouver, Canada.