Irish Examiner view: A fine example of real courage

Una Ring was subjected to a terror campaign by a colleague. Picture: Daragh Mc Sweeney/Cork Courts Limited

We all imagine, or at least hope, we have a reservoir of courage to call on in moments of challenge. Most of us are lucky enough to get through our threescore and 10 — or whatever that milestone has become today — without having to find out whether we do or not. Others, maybe more than we care to imagine, must, at a dark moment, discover the answer to that important question.

West Cork woman Una Ring arrived at that point and was not found wanting. She was subjected to a terror campaign by a colleague, with whom she had no outside-of-work relationship. James Steele was caught by a Garda operation as he was about to break into her home to carry out vile threats that he had outlined in letters he left on the windscreen of her car. He was sentenced to seven years in jail, with the last two years suspended, at Cork Circuit Criminal Court last week.

Ms Ring’s calm courage is exemplary and so was the Garda role in giving her the confidence and support needed to see this episode through to the kind of conclusion that removes from society the threat represented by Steele. Whether that exclusion, that sanction, is sufficient or not is another question altogether.

Though her courage is inspiring, Ms Ring’s refusal to be a silent victim is by far the best lesson she offers. She showed that by turning to the gardaí, by holding her nerve, even the most horrible situations can be resolved.