Let’s get out of history’s blind alley

MY call to welcome Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and for our nation finally to grow up and to recognise the false nature of our national memory, along with recognising the depth of our collective post-colonial psychosis (Letters, June 28) was met with the usual depressing juvenile guff.

From being rather pointlessly accused of being obsequious (Anthony Leavy, letters June 30), to having invented facts (JJ McGrath, July 5), I have been rebuked by self-appointed defenders of our history.

Can I point out to these gentlemen that as much as I appreciate and indeed defend their right to present opinion and claimed fact about my opinions, my intention was to generate some original thoughts and opinions from my fellow citizens – not rehearsed nonsense drilled into these people when they were in short pants or, rather ironically, quotes from “experts” in Oxford and America.

Can I also suggest that a “fact” is often merely an opinion someone else has decided to believe.

Can I point out again, for the historical record, that Oliver Cromwell, a figure from history I never imagined defending, launched a revolution in England to rid that nation of the hereditary principle and to reform land ownership – a policy we ourselves adopted some 300 years later.

The rump of the then English royalist establishment conspired with an Irish Catholic confederation to overthrow the English popular revolution through raising an army in Ireland.

The Church in Rome was always on the side of minority and exploitative ownership of property. No Oxford professor or US senator will dispute these facts.

It is of course a fact that 17th century conflict was terrible.

The problem with Irish-style Catholic fanaticism, and the stupid nationalism that was rammed down our throats as a people in national school, is that we act as though it all happened down our street last week to our granny and granddad.

So once again, can we please start finally to grow up and stop rambling on like a wino on a park bench about what we think happened to our ancestors hundreds of years ago, and start to reflect on the tyranny being inflicted currently on our people where modern means of communication tell us in stark terms what is actually going on.

Declan Doyle

Lisdowney

Kilkenny