John OâDwyer paints a sad picture of an Ireland willing to let its language die â Compulsory Irish was all wrong for our national psyche (Irish Examiner, March 5).
I agree it is a difficult language to learn, but of course, if it were spoken at home it would be easier to learn.
Young Gaels may not know of the days when the language was forbidden under British domination. My husband, a Galway man, told of incidences before his lifetime of when a child slipped into Irish at school, he/she was punished at the end of the day in order for a parent to see tears on the childâs face upon arriving home.
I do remember that in order to obtain a government job, a person had to pass a written exam in Irish.
A nephew from Galway received higher marks for taking oral exams in Irish. All of that may be gone now.
Part of any culture is its language, and it seems todayâs Irish have lost pride in their country.
Patricia W Oliver
Louisville
Kentucky
USA
Enforcing vaccination is medical fascism
The Covid-19 vaccine bandwagon has rolled into town.
Let us hope there are enough seats for everyone.
Over the new few months patronising lectures from the self-appointed elite will urge the common folk to take a leap of medical faith and offer an arm to the business end of a needle.
People will have questions about vaccine safety based around their own personal concerns.
The role of vaccines as a disease prevention vehicle needs to be discussed. Both sides of the discussion must be given space to express their views.
To dismiss vaccine concerns is arrogance funnelled through the prism that our medical betters know best.
A documented history of medical failings at many levels of healthcare provision in Ireland means the pronouncements from the medical profession are not infallible.
Covid-19 vaccines may justify the view they are safe to receive. But with all things medical a grain of the unknown exists.
If a person decides not to receive the vaccine despite reviewing the copious amount of pro-vaccine information and concluding this is the path they rather not walk, then we are in the realm of personal choice.
This expression of bodily integrity should not consign a person to social pariah status.
âVaccine bullyâ may become the dictionary word of 2021.
Forcing a person to receive a vaccine due to society norms is medical fascism delivered in a bolus with a common good stamp.
John Tierney
Waterford
Underfunded Parkand Wildlife Service
Having today for the first time since lockdown was eased, visited Glengariff National Park, it was a joy to get back walking in this beautiful natural area of Forrest and river.
What a shame our government does not financially support the National Park and Wildlife Service (NPWS) adequately.
It is understaffed and maintenance is in short supply as here one can see the neglect of pathways and trimming of overhanging trees on public walkways.
Since the Covid crisis more and more people are using the natural environment to enjoy and boost their spirits. It would seem short sighted by the State to miss this opportunity to encourage more people, both young and old, to make use of these beautiful natural facilities near them.
Is it too much to expect that the NPWS will get more funding for these amenities?
Joe Standen
Bantry
Cork
Signs will not deter litter louts in parks
I refer to your story â Fears lack of litter bins will destroy Cork Harbour beauty spot (Irish Examiner, online, April 11).
In this story Sean OâCallaghan â the most senior council official for the Cobh area â is quoted as having âsaid they would erect signs telling people to take their rubbish homeâ.
LOL â that means âlaugh out loudâ in case anyone is not familiar with computer speak.
Iâm sure they will take their rubbish home in response to the signs, just like they obey the âno dog foulingâ signs.
John Williams
Clonmel
CoTipperary
Government must assure vaccine is safe
How can the Government tell people they will go to the back of the queue if they refuse the AstraZeneca vaccine?
It is the Governmentâs and health advisers role to encourage and reassure the public that this vaccine is safe especially when millions of people around the world have already received the AstraZeneca vaccine with little or no side effects.
Susan Burke
Cahir
Tipperary
Provisional privilege of multiple mourners
Englandâs Prince Philip will have 30 mourners at his funeral service.
Bobby Storey had multiples of that number.
Whatâs the âStoreyâ about royal privilege?
Aileen Hooper
Stoneybatter
Dublin 7
Quarantine system lacks common sense
Our ministers are well educated people. They have special advisers and assistants â also well educated people.
In addition they have the assistance of experienced senior civil servants.
Yet they have âfailedâ to put in place an âeffectiveâ and âefficientâ hotel quarantine system.
Why? Could it be that between them they lack basic common sense?
Michael A Moriarty
Rochestown
Cork
Grey pixel dot sells for more than a million
Most of my photos are about 6mp in size which means that they should sell for about ten trillion dollars which might seem expensive, but they are quite pretty.
This valuation is based on a real world one-pixel picture by a digital artist, Pak, that sold for US$1.36m (âŹ1.13m). It is a non-fungible token which uses blockchain to identify it, a technology that seems strange to most people, or least those that donât have a spare million to buy a grey dot.
A million dollars will buy a house in many cities, feed a lot of hungry people, pay for 10 art teachers to explain why this is a great purchase or for 10 financial advisors to give advice on saving for your retirement.
Although not an art critic I know that some art is priceless but to me a single pixel seems only worthless.
Dennis Fitzgerald
Box Hill
Melbourne
Australia
Maintaining peace in Northern Ireland
The Belfast Agreement (aka the Good Friday Agreement) signed in April 1998 and approved a month later by a referendum North and South was done with the support of John Hume; Gerry Adams; Martin McGuinness; former taoisigh, Albert Reynolds and Bertie Ahern; former US president Bill Clinton; his emissary George Mitchell; British PMs, John Major and Tony Blair; unionist leader, David Trimble; loyalist leaders, and many others. They had the wisdom to see the big picture.
The DUP leader and First Minister of Northern Ireland Arlene Foster currently has the responsibility to protect the peace process. It is perhaps one of the most difficult jobs in politics.
As first minister her role is to represent all the people in Northern Ireland.
In recent weeks she and other unionist politicians requested the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), Simon Byrne, to resign because the police did not enforce Covid-19 rules when necessary, at the funeral in June 2020 of Sinn FĂ©in member, Bobby Storey. He was caught between a rock and a hard place as some 2,000 people attended the funeral. Sinn FĂ©in leader in Northern Ireland Michelle OâNeill offered her regret about the Covid-19 rules not being adhered to by some at the funeral. Arlene Foster persisted with her call for Mr Byrne to resign. He hasnât and few expected he would.
The riots of the last few weeks in parts of Northern Ireland were actions which Arlene Foster condemned. She spoke in support of the frontline police.
The real issue of discontent for her and the DUP is they donât support the UK/EU Protocol of a customs border now on points of entry in Northern Ireland from/to the UK.
They see it as putting a border (it is economic only) with the UK which is true.
But if there was no protocol, there would be EU customs checks on our border with Northern Ireland as a consequence of the UK leaving the EU.
The protocol was a compromise to prevent pressures on the peace process and to not see a return to violence of the past; and without compromise there would not have been the Belfast Agreement. It is hard work to maintain the peace process, to please all sides.
Mary Sullivan
College Road
Cork
TG4 truly delivers another perspective
The recent TG4 documentary on the history of Number 6 Harcourt Street in Dublin was an outstanding production.
Through the prism of the building the programme outlined the changing currents of Irish history since the late 18th century.
Through the eyes of a new generation of historians and scholars the programme presented fresh insights. It reminded us too of just how central a role in the struggle for national independence was played by the Irish language movement.
It was also refreshing to hear this young generation of scholars expressing themselves fluently in Irish. TG4 can be rightly proud of this programme â it really did live up to the channelâs motto âSĂșil eileâ (another perspective). Comhghairdeas le gach duine a bhĂ pĂĄirteach ann.
John Glennon
Hollywood
Co Wicklow
