Letters to the Editor: Poem sums up life of Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh
Readers have been paying tribute to Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
No common man called to the stand, You gave evidence to a jury of thousands; Speaking into life the space before you.
In teacher’s tongue you held your classroom. Though this was no principal’s scolding, or lecture on tradition.
No judgement passed your lips; Only perception of skill and grit.
In eloquent vocabulary, bursting open the door to vitality.
You gave men capacity to dream; perhaps we can, perhaps we can, thought many a man sat in the Hogan, radio in hand.
The game was a story, spoken not to bore thee.
Parishes, placenames and mothers' professions, all took their place within white lines, as you drew from outside them.
A lone angler out on the peninsula.
You pulled images from rough ocean while all around you, shoals and their prey danced the fox trot.
Twisting and turning, you caught every slide, every jibe. And with a mic in your hand, they all moved faster, knowing the hunt would end.
The hunt has ended, your catch hanging forever proudly on the wall.
Thank you to the for its lovely montage of some great lines and phrases of the late Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh from his GAA commentaries. I especially enjoyed the picture of the Egyptian kiosk-holder in New York clarifying if Mícheál wanted the North or South edition of .
How did he ever manage to pack so much additional information into the commentary without losing the thread of the match?
In a week when there has been little to smile about on other matters, the montage was an uplift and a breath of fresh air. Thank you.
The British general election takes place next Thursday, July 4. It looks as if Labour’s Keir Starmer will be elected as the new prime minister and the question now is the scale of his party’s majority.
I feel that this is an important election, especially after 14 years of Tory rule and the many things that came with it.
I do believe that a Labour government would be good news for Ireland.
It’s my contention that a British Labour government would want to see the common travel area work effectively for both countries.
I also would imagine that this new administration would seek to stabilise its relations with Brussels.
It’s interesting to note that Starmer’s main adviser is from Northern Ireland and another one of his main advisers is from Cork, so one would have to think that Starmer will have an acute awareness, along with an empathy and interest in Ireland — something that has been largely absent over the last 14 years as a result of Tory insouciance.
It has to be a priority for any Irish government to have a good solid relationship with their British counterparts and one would hope that a changing of the guard vis-a-vis a new UK administration will be the catalyst in building a new alliance between the two countries.
It was not a priority for the last British government and one would now hope that Ireland will rise a little higher up the chain politically when Starmer is in power.
Natasha O’Brien received a standing ovation in the Dáil for her bravery.
Once more, a young Irish woman finds herself at the receiving end of a beating and is let down by the judicial system. Enough applause from the Government; it is time for a major overhaul and a cull of the misogyny that is rampant in the old judges. More financial aid to groups like Women’s Aid and more safe houses to protect them.
It is beyond disturbing that so many women in this country are being assaulted in their own homes as another generation of children are being traumatised.
We need to break the cycle of violence. We all deserve better.
No more.
Natasha O’Brien received a standing ovation in Leinster House on Tuesday, appropriately at Leaders' Questions, for “her bravery at speaking up”.
Now, if only those who rose to their feet and looked towards the public gallery would put the same energy into addressing the reasons why the young woman had to speak up.
Comments made [on Tuesday] by the Taoiseach Simon Harris both inside and outside the Dáil, criticising the Defence Forces and its members, are disingenuous and a ham-fisted attempt to distance politicians from issues regarding the Defence Forces, as though successive and current ministers were merely bystanders rather than actually being in charge.
The Taoiseach’s comments are in stark contrast to the informed and accurate statements from Simon Coveney and Micheál Martin on the matter.
The Taoiseach has lost the military dressing room. A major land war is about to erupt in Lebanon, where Ireland has over 300 troops deployed with the United Nations, who will soon be in harm's way. These troops need to know that the Taoiseach of the day has their back and values the important work that they do.
What also remains unclear is why the political establishment refuses to delegate any defence powers whatsoever to the minister of state at the Department of Defence, Jennifer Carroll McNeill, who should have a meaningful role to play.
What is also unclear is why the political apparatus explicitly prevents Defence Force authorities from suspending or dismissing personnel for serious offences until such time as civilian court hearings are completed, while simultaneously blaming the Defence Forces for not doing so.
Why haven’t these outdated regulations been updated, despite requests to do so, and who is going to accept political responsibility for this?
