Letters to the Editor: Cork City Council should be ashamed of the Bishop Lucey Park travesty
The revamped Bishop Lucey Park was opened this week. Here, RĂłisĂn Kelly writes about her 'grief' that 'the unique green jewel that made Cork City so appealing to me is gone.' Picture: Chani Anderson
I am writing to express my profound shock, grief, and rage at the condition of Bishop Lucey Park following its unveiling several days ago.
In what state of mind did the Cork City councillors decide it was a good idea to pave over and gravel the only remaining green space in the city centre?
In what bubble have they been living that they decided to ignore the environmental crisis across Ireland and the rest of the world that is beginning to dangerously escalate?
Do they really not care that agriculture may not be viable in Europe by the year 2100? Maybe the idea terrifies them so much that they cannot grasp its implications for their children and their children’s children.
Maybe they think that a tiny park can’t make much of a difference anyway. That is sad to me.Â
They have a degree of power that people would kill to have in order to do what they can, in any shape or form.
The vast majority of us remain powerless in the face of an ecological emergency, and instead are forced to watch them pump €7m of our money, our incomes, into the erasure of something that was beautiful and special and treasured.
The grass is gone now, and with it such a simple human experience: Lying on the grass below a tree on a sunny day, an experience already out of reach for so many of Cork City’s inhabitants.
I’m sure the city councillors and the private developers responsible for this mess have houses with gardens that their children play in.Â
Many of us are not so lucky. At least we had a green jewel, a little oasis, in the heart of our shared home where we too could enjoy this basic experience for an hour or two before returning to our apartments or terraced houses.
I was 23 years old when I first visited Cork.
I came down for the day on the bus because I wanted to see what it was like. I was thinking of moving here, and I was afraid of the changes this would bring about in my life — Cork is very far away from Co Leitrim. It was the end of August and it was a hot evening when I came across Bishop Lucey Park.
The memory of that golden hour is like something from a dream. I can still see it when I close my eyes, and feel the wonder and excitement of seeing people like myself lying in small groups on the grass or alone and reading a book or listening to music. It felt so hopeful, so magical, and in a very real sense — European.
It was this moment when I knew that moving to Cork was the right choice.Â
In the 12 years since I have established a career as a poet. I am part of the writing community in Cork, I have taught transition year students from Ashton School how to write poetry, I have published a book with Bloodaxe Books, several lines of my poem about Cork are to be found on one of the new tourist information signs that were erected last year.
And now I have something new to write about: This shock, this feeling of helplessness, this grief, that the unique green jewel that made Cork City so appealing to me is gone. It is gone. And I cannot understand why, apart from having the usual suspicions as to who stands to benefit from this sort of decision.
I do understand one thing: That I paid for it. Money that was mine was used to destroy something that was also mine. That park was public space, and it was important to people, and they have utterly destroyed it.
I am sure other people will be writing to you as regards the insane amount of money that was used for this scheme; the appalling railings and hostile stone benches; the drainage problems already apparent with regards to the gravel; the new risk to the old city wall; and the many ways that the new park in no way resembles the proposal that originally won the award.Â
In my work, I write about beauty. Now in writing to you, I am writing about its loss.
There are no words for how thoroughly ashamed I believe the city councillors and everyone involved in this travesty should feel, and I very much hope I get the opportunity to make my voice heard in person when it is time. I will never forget this. I will never get over this.
The only thing that comforts me is that when the environmental collapse inevitably happens, probably much sooner than any of us think, nature will take over once more, in whatever form it chooses. We’ll see what their “plaza” looks like then, if indeed anyone is left to witness it.
My half sister was born in a mother and baby home in Dublin in 1946.
Alison O’Reilly wrote my story in the hope of helping me find my sister. In her gentle questioning, she gave me hope that we would indeed find her.
Then, after 15 years of looking, we did find her. She was one of the lucky ones in a mother and baby home; even though the nuns had changed her date of birth to the day she was handed over to her new parents — that little bit of info helped find her.
During this time, I had learnt about Tuam from Alison and that she, along with Catherine Corless, would move heaven and Earth to help these wee souls who never had a chance to enjoy life. But through this, they also found two friends in both Alison and Catherine.Â
These ladies have fought tirelessly to bring some justice to these children and also hopefully they all will have a decent and proper funeral. It might take time, but Alison and Catherine will not stop until they have found these desperate poor children and they can finally rest in a decent and proper grave.
I would like to offer my thanks to those two ladies; they are truly wonderful ladies. RIP the children of Tuam.
During the early days of covid, I could not grasp the potential or clandestine medical issues involved, nor could I grasp the medium- to long-term consequences the epidemic might have on human society.
I could, however, anticipate that the State’s financial and economic structures and status could well come under severe stress.Â
It was then, I was thankful that Pascal Donohue was our minister for finance.
Ireland South MEP Billy Kelleher recently made a speech at the Éamon de Valera commemorations in Clare. This was the second time he’s been asked to make such a speech, and it was quite a strong one. He said Fianna Fáil is facing a demographic cliff edge, in that the party isn’t even trying to attract young voters.
I found it very interesting when he said that Fianna Fáil must reclaim leadership in Irish unity from Sinn Féin, and that the party must reconnect with the working class and marginalised communities that they represented in the past.
He also made the point that those of a certain age would remember a time while growing up that it was common to witness lots of people joining Fianna Fáil, as it was regarded as a movement you had to involve yourself in.
It’s my contention that the common base has fallen apart over the last couple of decades and I would proffer the notion that Fianna Fáil did well not to be extinguished after the economic crash. I think we were all surprised when this party ended up with circa 17% of the vote back in 2011. One might have thought that, at that time, Fianna Fáil could go like the National Party in Canada and be wiped out. However, Fianna Fáil survived and sort of re-established itself as it returned to power, albeit in coalition government with Fine Gael and with the Greens previously, and with some Independents now.
It’s my contention that Fianna Fáil is in a period of stagnation because it’s now a party for the older generation — especially those who have had a historical loyalty to it.
I am acutely aware that the party has some young activists, but nowhere near enough.
I believe that Billy Kelleher was absolutely right in identifying all these anomalies.
Adi Roche’s letter to the editor — ' Nature has no defence from ecocide', Irish Examiner, November 20 — is certainly very timely on the potential pollution threats to all of us from the Russian/Ukraine war.
She mentions the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and is now operated by the Russians.
Russia has repeatedly accused Ukraine of attacking the facility.
These accusations include drone strikes and shelling, with Russia claiming that Ukraine is endangering nuclear safety.
A mission to inspect the plant by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2024 was welcomed by the Russians, while the Ukrainians opposed it.
There are also regular drone attacks by the Ukrainians on Russian oil refineries and storage depots.
The Whiddy Island and the UK Buncefield oil depot disasters are reminders of the devastation and pollution from such disasters.
The latter event in 2005 caused significant pollution, including a large toxic smoke plume that affected air quality and lead to the widespread use of firefighting foams which contaminated groundwater and soil.
Europe seems to be on a course to extend this war and some commentators are suggesting winning it.
Nature and the environment will definitely be the losers.
