Columnist deserves medal for putting fireworks under the festival of folly

A GOLD medal to Terry Prone. Her blast of cool commonsense on the Olympic festival of folly was badly needed (August 18).

She could perhaps have given China some credit for so blatantly exposing the inescapable corruption — even the fireworks (that brilliant Chinese invention) now have to be faked.

Another medal is earned for her concise framing of the issue presented by the sight of youngsters reduced to calorie-drugged medal machines. What aspect of humanity does this express or validate? One obvious answer is “crude chauvinism”.

For another, and a glimpse of the neurotic roots of the phenomenon, one need look no further than the sports pages of the same issue of the Irish Examiner.

Here are pictured adults — presumably otherwise sane — convulsed to frenzied hysteria and quasi-suicidal grief by the perambulations of a leather ball. Nobel honours, at the very least, should await whoever teases out the socio-cultural causes of this mass psychosis — preferably before the next pandemic strikes.

On your marks, Ms Prone.

Sean Francis O’Mahony

Chapel Lane

Ballydehob

Co Cork