I was born in December 1941 in an oasis of peace in a world gone mad.
You may check HOWTH REGATTA AND LAMBAY RACES 1942 on Youtube.
A short amateur movie shot in colour with music soundtrack added in recent years.
I left school in 1959. The Hill of Howth Tram which had run since 1909 completed
its last journey. But shortly before, another Colour Movie was shot “Once Upon a
Tram” and narrated by Cyril Cusack.
The Irish State was at peace at home and abroad in the interim. And nobody in the
whole island of Ireland was conscripted.
Britain in 1959 was in the middle of a genocidal Emergency in Malaya (where General
Kitson had earned his spurs) a brutal “anti-terrorist” war in Cyprus, and an “Emergency”
in Kenya (where Kitson hunted civilians as if they were foxes) from horseback and
Her Majesty’s (official) Hangman despatched 1,100 Africans in 8 years.
Between the end of the “Civil War” in 1923 and 1954, the total number of judicial executions in the 26 free Irish counties was, I believe, less than 40. There were no further executions since.
Other European countries were no happier than Ireland.
The Netherlands had remained neutral when Britain declred War on Germany in 1939.
You never hear that neutrality disparaged.
Attacked by the Nazis in 1940 they surrendered to them in 48 hours. The Japanese took
their Asian empire from them in 1942. At wars end the Dutch, with great cruelty tried to
recover their empire and failed.
France surrendered to the Nazis in 1940 when they had no choice. After her Liberation France, with great savagery, sought to regain her Empire.
Unlike Irishmen, French and Dutchmen were conscripted.
The 26 County state was both more liberal and democratic than Britain, the Netherlands.
France and the United States,
You’re not told that by Fintan O’Toole , Fergal Keane, or Seamus Murphy SJ with their
chairs in US and British Universities and lucrative media outlets.
None of them would recognise a MORAL COMPASS IF IT PRICKED THEM IN THE ARSE
I look forward to articles by Donal Kennedy.
His eloquence, erudite recounting of historical details that very few know of, or remember, his surgical disassembling of the reputations of “great” men such as Lloyd George, Churchill, Atlee, Kitson, and his love for Ireland are unparalleled.
But just sometimes, I wish, he’d tell us what he really thinks.
Thank you Gabriel.
I’m just human, Being Irish makes me no better or worse than any of our species,
I probably have more friends of different ethnicity, colour, religion/belief than I have of
my own compatriots. I have not lived in Ireland since late November 1964.
Much of what I gather about today’s Ireland dismays/displeases/distresses and disgusts me, But I am
an optimist and do not despair.
That optimism is the motivation of my Blogs
As an admired American observed: “You can fool all the people some of the time,
some of them all the time, but you can’t fool all of them all of time.”
I know they shot him. But for myself “DUM SPIRO, SPERO.”
Donal,
I understand your global empathy.
I’ve lived in Canada since 1988, being born in Belfast 1954, and lived there until i settled in Dublin from 1977-88.
Most of my friends today are from very diverse groups, of many ethnic origins, religions, cultures etc. I find their friendship enriches me.
Please keep writing your interesting pieces and shine your bright light on the corners that the cockroaches of history try to hide in.
Old Ireland. Catholic rule. Misery. Mass Emigration. Austerity. Isolation. Stagnation. Child abuse. Orphanages. Industrial schools. Magdalen Laundries. Priests and nuns everywhere. Snobbery. Poverty. Sectarianism. Tuam[1].
This is how we see De Valera. He presided over all this. His rule encompassed all this. It wasn’t just him, of course, but if anyone could have done something about it during these times, it would have been him. And he did nothing.
To his credit, he did help to establish Ireland as a separate country from Britain. This was his overriding objective, but the costs to Irish society were extremely high. His vision of an independent Catholic Ireland was extremely backward, extremely conservative and extremely isolationist. Our country only started to emerge once he had departed the political scene. He stayed too long and in doing so, turned our green country a dark shade of grey. Colm Ryan
Larry
British rulers never accepted Ireland’s right to freedom and do not do so today.
The Church of Ireland, and Protestant institutions closely connected with THE IRISH
TIMES were as deeply involved as the Catholic Church in abuse as the Catholic Church was.
Perhaps you have not heard of the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury (a Protestant
appointed by the UK Prime Minister. Child abusers are manipulative experts at avoiding exposure.
I have great respect for the Church of England and have met inspirational Clerics there as well
as among the RC Clergy and also dolts and fools in both.
I have met people from various countries and religions educated by Irish Catholic Priests and
Nuns. A good example I have cited in a BLOG
“I MET A TRAVELLER FROM A DISTANT LAND” which may interest you.”
I don’t retract anything I wrote in the BLOG you attack.
Hitler could have taken over the 26 counties before breakfast without even firing one shot if the Allies had lost the war!
Only likely if Fianna Fail and Fine Gael people would have collaborated and touted on those Irish brave enough to resist foreign occupation. They have that stink about them, to be sure.