True to life in the Republic of Kilinascully

THOSE who thought the comedy show Kilinascully was far too exaggerated may have to think again if they reflect on the various capers of the last few years.

The sergeant in Kilinascully is up to every trick in the book and though we might have considered his machinations beyond belief, we should now agree he’s doing little more than reflecting the Irish zeitgeist.

We’ve had a financial regulator who congratulated Anglo Irish Bank on managing its balance sheet with the words “Fair play to you, Willie” and we’ve had former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern explaining that his benefactor in Manchester was innocent as a baby because “he didn’t eat the dinner”.

People are not in a mood to be amused but laughing, if only in derision, is still something that hasn’t incurred a levy and when we hear that, in financial circles, Ireland was referred to as “the Wild West” because of its lack of regulation, our national pride is wounded. Now we need the satirists and people like the late Dermot Morgan to laugh the clowns off the stage and to promise the next generation this will never happen again.

Maureen O’Donnell

Haig Gardens

Ballinlough

Cork