Nuns!!
A chairde,
Fr Ted does evoke strong reactions within Ireland. Those
distressed by it probably recognise it as a caricature of the
church community they belong to. Caricatures are always painful
for those so portrayed. Each of us possesses a truth of our
intimate family circle with its good and bad. We shudder at its
possible portrayal for the amusement of the general public.
Everybody's amusement is inevitably someone's pain and more awful
if amusement become ridicule.
I sensed a trace of ridicule in Sean O'Donaile's use of
``(nuns!!)'' where he describes them as an obstacle to Ted's
amorous tendencies. `Them' is quite likely to include one of us
if we look a little closer. I thought of Sr Sarah Clarke and her
work for Irish political prisoners which, at the age of 78, she
felt urged to give witness to in her book No Faith in the System.
She dedicated the book to Guiseppe Conlon and to all prisoners'
families. I want to pay tribute to this nun by a quotation from
her book published in 1995.
``I have communicated with hundreds of prisoners and their
families since beginning my work in the early 1970s. Even now,
blind, frail and unwell, I use the last glimmer of my sight to
squint through an extremely strong magnifying glass making out
the addresses of the prisoners on my list and sending them all
cards and postal orders for Christmas... Their families still
come and stay with me. Former prisoners visit me regularly in my
North London flat and I still keep in contact with several
prisoners who have been transferred to Ireland (p.185).. by
1990... I went to the Old Bailey as I had done so many times
before...I was still subjected to taunts and insults... Abuse has
been a constant part of any work I have done as friend and
adviser to prisoners and their families (p.201).
(Nuns!!)!
MM McCarron.
Don't copy English tactics
A chairde,
Robert Allen's article (An Phoblacht 30 October) was welcome.
There is a need for the green movement to have an analysis which
takes in politics, economics, etc. For example, free market
policies are behind the disastrous growth in road traffic - the
ideology that says there should be no regulation is responsible
for clogging our roads.
It is absolutely right that people power should attempt to
prevail over this madness. But we shouldn't just copy the tactics
employed by protestors in England. For example anti-road
protestors seemed easily put off by court injunctions. When they
should have been clogging up the courts and prisons they were
afraid to go near the protest site. It was as if the soldiers in
the front line of the ecological war were put off by the threat
of a short spell in jail.
Also - and crucially - the campaign must become a truly popular
one. It can't only involve those who live alternative lifestyles.
That sort of elitism will spell the death of any anti-roads
campaign in Ireland.
Sean McLaughlin
Dublin
Thanks
A chairde,
Sinn Féin Bun na bhFal, along with the countless friends and
comrades of the late Gretta Reel RIP would like to extend our
deepest thanks and appreciation to Caoimhghín O'Caoláin TD and
Monaghan Sinn Féin for their kind hospitality during the recent
memorial ceremony for Gretta.
The poignancy of the occasion was felt by all concerned and
Caoimhghín's dignified oration gave special meaning to the
wonderful life of our late friend and comrade.
Once again a huge go raibh maith agaibh go leir.
Sinn Féin Bun na bhFal.
Wary of McAleese win
A chairde,
Republicans should avoid getting caught up in the euphoria
surrounding the election of Mary McAleese. While satisfying to
see the likes of John Bruton and Eoghan Harris humiliated, the
fact remains that McAleese was the Fianna Fáil/Progressive
Democrat candidate and neither of these parties' interests
coincide with ours.
Nationalist sentiment played a role in McAleese's victory but
nationalism and republicanism are not the same thing. Fianna Fáil
have always been adept at playing the green card and at the same
time repressing republicans. The huge proportion of the southern
electorate that didn't vote is testimony to the alienation of
many people from the circus of southern politics. It would be
more worthwhile trying to oganise among this constituency than
attempting to bask in the reflected glory of McAleese's victory.
B. O'hAinle,
Drumcondra,
Dublin 3.
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