Picture by John Baucher
Maths was never my strong point so I’m open to correction in what follows. In fact I’d welcome it.
Ian Paisley, we heard on Newsline 6.30 yesterday, left a library of over 50,000 books. As the presenter followed Baroness Paisley round the library, he asked how many of these the late Dr Paisley had read. “Oh, every one of them – every single one” Baroness Paisley replied.
I’m assuming she got her information from Mr Paisley himself while he was alive. So let’s calculate some:
Let’s give a week for the reading of a book. Ian Paisley was a busy man most of his life and didn’t spend all his waking hours over a book. So a week per book would seem reasonable. I usually take longer than that to read a book, and I don’t head up a Church and a political party.
So 50,000 books would take 50,000 weeks.
There are 52 weeks in every year, but let’s keep the Maths simple and say 50 weeks per year. That’d mean the good Doctor would have taken…Crikey. He’d have spent 1,000 years reading. That’s right, isn’t it? Have I missed something?
Because if my calculations are right, Dr Paisley has been misleading his good lady. And if he hasn’t spoken the truth about his reading habits, how can we believe him about anything else? I mean, that was the line that was taken with Gerry Adams when he said he wasn’t in the IRA: political opponents said if he was telling a lie on this, how could you trust him to tell the truth about anything else?
It’s such an appalling vista, I’m still uneasy that my maths may have been wrong. Please, someone…check my sums.
wonder did he read lost lives,or the kincora one,
Many say he turned a blind eye when it comes to Kincorra Billy. Who knows what Paisley did or didn’t do….I have certainly heard some interesting allegations concerning Kincorra and Unionist paramilitaries. Interesting they may be but allegations is all they remain….for now anyway…..
Your maths are correct. But remember the devil has been around for more than a thousand years. Get my point?
in modern parlance “yeah right”
Jude
Any minister would have a great many reference books in his library which he would dip into when preparing sermons etc He no doubt made use of every single one of them.
You are stretching a bit for your comparison I would say. But if it makes you feel better…
Sorry, gio – I’m merely quoting the Baroness: “Oh yes – he read them all”. But I guess you have a superior insight in the matter…
Jude
This is a bit feeble. Of course a proud widow is going to say he read them all.
At best you might accuse her, rather than her husband, of lying, though exaggeration would be more accurate.
Are you going to bracket that with lying about leading a gang of brutal killers/heroic freedom fighters?
Look out Baroness Paisley, Jude is on your case.
Now you’re being silly, gio….Not like you.
I wonder if one led to his epiphany.
From the devil incarnate to chuckle brother, whatever his past, he died a better man than he lived.
Would you not agree that reconciliation involves making friends with your enemies gio?
Reverting back to your thoughts that the oldies linked to the troubles be axed before their time.
I believe the baroness was right when she said he would not have allowed the current farce have gone so far yet he would be older than the younger more hard line elements now (mis)leading his party.
Do you not accept people can change and accept them for their actions in the present to which Ian Paisley should be remembered as a peace maker and not the militant firebrand from his youth who most certainly has, as you put it blood on his hands.
I would be disgusted if nationalist leaders were as unforgiving and intolerant of change as our unionist friends.
Is there not hope for the older generation on both sides gio?
No of course Nationalists are not intolerant or unforgiving after all very few of them supported a terrorist campaign or did they…?
No more and possibly less than unionism did Neill.
jessica
I hope we don’t have to wait until Sammy Wilson is 80 before he has his epiphany.
I do of course agree that people can change. McGuinness and Paisley had an interesting journey alright.
I just feel that the generation that brought us the conflict and eventually ended it have little more to offer. Too much baggage and now the ‘war’ is over it seems they just want to wrangle over which version of the past becomes accepted.
I would like a bit more from government than that.
Apologies to Jude for getting sidetracked.
Don’t you worry your pretty little head about being side-tracked, gio…Always good to hear your thoughts, even when they grate and grind against my thinking – maybe especially when they do that. I think you should factor in that GA didn’t just participate in the conflict (I know, I know, please, don’t bring the RA membership up again) and bring about its conclusion, but he succeeded in building SF into Ireland’s largest party. And when he forsook W Belfast for Louth, despite predictions, he topped the poll. Now, if he was the CEO of a company, would you be urging people to get him outa there?
Jude/jessica
I have a feeling neither of you dispute that we could do with a changing of the guard on the Unionist side, so we are half way to agreement here, which is closer than we usually get.
As for SF I think they have got close to as far as they can go with the current leadership at least in the North anyway.
Like a premiership team that always finishes in the top four. Some might say that is pretty good, but others might be looking for the new manager to push them to the top.
In this case the top would be the extra votes they need to find (maybe from soft Unionist voters) to reach 50 +1 and get a shot at the referendum.
I can’t see that happening with the current generation, when we still have the likes of Gerry Kelly banging the taigs v prods drum at election time.
Let’s face it when political parties have the same leadership for 30 years or more it starts to look like dictatorship.
Really, gio – “when political parties have the same leadership for 30 years or more it starts to look like dictatorship”. And there I was thinking people voted them in…
Not at all gio, you are way of the mark from my thinking
I think we need and i mean NEED, the worst of the lot to be part of the solution. Trimble made a deal but it wasn’t until the DUP were included that it meant anything.
If we remove elements because we dont like what they represent, then how are those elements going to feel part of the process.
For example, I believe edwin poots has genuine concerns about working with sinn fein.
The solution is not to remove sinn fein, or edwin poots for that matter, but allow him the freedom to get it off his chest and once it is out in the open, lets see where it goes.
A problem shared is a problem halved so to speak.
The reason paisley changed was because he had no choice but to talk to martin mcguinness in private and he found out he was a human being after all.
Bottom line, you dont bottle up that anguish, you need to get it out and get over it.
I am sure martin would be happy to talk about it with him.
Jude
How many candidates have stood against Adams for the Presidency since 1983?
I’ve no idea. I’m guessing none, since you wouldn’t have raised the subject otherwise. I’m afraid I’d interpret that – given what he’s achieved – as sound common sense. Can you name a better politician within SF than him?
Just goes to show what positive leadership can achieve.
Is there any other party as democratic as sinn fein as far as key decisions being made at the Ard Chomhairle?
I can see why unionists would be envious of the cohesion and unity they have had to date – I hope it long continues.
I do recall sinn fein constantly asking unionism to be more positive in its support for the GFA and the future here over the past 10 years.
Negativity creates division as not everyone in the unionist community is a raving mad misanthrope but they do seem to attract them in their choice of leaders.
But I will say it again to gio, nationalists should let unionists deal with their own problems and not inherit them.
If unionists don’t like the stench, they should stop stirring up shit
Jude
Remarkable. Thirty years and no disagreement over the way he runs things!
I don’t know about better politicians but there may be a few who do not draw the flak he does over child abuse, disappeared mothers, rape cover up etc.
Most parties would press their leader to stand down with all that going on.
You’re right about the flak he draws – but you can see the party doesn’t believe that’s because he’s an ineffective leader; rather that the media here just love lobbing the flak (if that’s what you do with it) at GA. In my experience, political parties usually get the leader they want.
I stopped paying for newspapers many years ago over their disgustingly biased approach.
Do you think Jude, if things go well in the elections, would Gerry step in as Tánaiste or would he leave it to Mary Lou for that very reason.
Or Taoiseach for that matter, you never know!!
A first female Taoiseach, wouldn’t that be something
Wonder how the media would react to that.
“I hope we don’t have to wait until Sammy Wilson is 80 before he has his epiphany.”
I thought Sammy had his epiphany in a field in france a while back.
Will the images ever fully go away.
“I just feel that the generation that brought us the conflict and eventually ended it have little more to offer. Too much baggage and now the ‘war’ is over it seems they just want to wrangle over which version of the past becomes accepted.
I would like a bit more from government than that.”
I don’t think it is as simple as that gio.
I don’t agree that you can put the cause of the conflict to any set of individuals, let alone the ones who you acknowledge helped bring it to an end.
The causes of conflict are more complex and involve many factors.
The conflict might be over but the powderkegs remain.
It is up to the electorate to choose who they want to represent them.
I personally think Sinn Fein are doing a great job and to be honest unionists telling me not to vote for them will make me more determined to do so.
jessica
Of course it is up to the electorate. I am one of them and I have a right to express a view on our government. I am not telling people how they should vote.
You are right that the causes of conflict are complex,but surely you would accept that our current generation of leaders on both Unionist and Nationalist sides were closely entangled in it?
Every time Gerry Adams makes a comment about security or policing or crime the opposition parties and (yes Jude) some in the media will throw up his past.
This may or may not be fair but it will happen. So what is the solution?
Keep doing the same thing over and over hoping for a different result, or change something?
I believe these men should examine their own positions and consider that standing aside might free up the impasse we have hit, break us out of the vicious circle of whataboutery and allow things to move on.
Edwin Poots has had decades to get things of his chest. How much longer are you going to give him?
Personally I don’t mind but I would prefer if he took himself pff and did it from the sidelines.
gio, the whole british state was up to its neck in it
British troops have shot innocent men, women and children in their backs
The state security forces encouraged loyalists to murder innocent people as a tactic.
They provided training and explosives to the uvf.
They provided hand picked hit lists to loyalist murder gangs.
They colluded and assisted with sectarian murders
They have destroyed evidence, redacted and still lock away until 2060 any documentational evidence of the extent of their involvement in all of the above.
Surely the same thing can be said about british rule full stop. So long as britain are here and denying their involvement, how can we ever move on.
That is what you are saying isnt it?
Or is it the old argument that state terrorism is ok.
As for solutions.
The change you suggest is simply not viable as surely you can accept they simply aren’t all going to resign overnight and the people are not going to stop voting for who they like.
First of all what do we want.
No conflict and peace at all costs.
Economic growth and stability.
Reconciliation between unionism and nationalism.
Reconciliation between britain and ireland.
All of the above involve all 32 counties and an all ireland solution is going to be required.
That is an undeniable fact.
I do think the solution will come from outside the traditional sphere of political influence but just for interest, here are a few options for you:
1
Unionists and nationalist leaders are forced to actually get to know one another if they want their wages.
Businesses do team building for a reason and I think can be made a legal condition of contract. That isnt happening and after all these years the parties still don’t know one another and we have seen with paisley what benefits that can bring to peace building and making bridges. The best example that can be given to the next generation you have such hope for is for the current leaders to lead by example.
That just isnt happening and is more feasible than calls for the older generation to simply disappear ignoring the wealth of experience and influence they can still offer not to mention the value they still bring to the communities they represent and the popularity they have, as evidenced by substantial mandate.
Once they have gotten over one another the focus should be on the economic wellbeing of the people here and to get as much out of britain on the basis we are an economy still on a journey out of conflict and cutting the block grant to the tune of 1.5 billion in advance of deep austerity cuts is simply not feasible.
2
Accept that unionists are right and britain will simply not fund northern ireland with a single penny more.
Drop stormont altogether and look at joint authority with dublin putting its hand in its pocket to help in particular with health and other departments merging gradually into an all ireland structures with devolved governance throughout ireland so change in the north is not really recognisable with unionists britishness guaranteed as it is within the GFA and the relationship getting better rather than straining and going downhill as it is at present.
I am reliably informed that Dr Paisley completed a course in speed reading. Woody Allen undertook a similar course. Afterwards, he read War and Peace in seven minutes. Someone asked Woody what he thought about the book. He said, “It was about Russia.”
LOVE it, Iolar! V Woody…
You’re forgetting Ian Paisley was a man of God.
His reading of 50,000 books is a little like the miracle of the 5 loaves & fishes. He only had to hold a book in his hands & God told him what was written therein.
I think your calculations is correct Jude. I know people who read 2 or maybe 3 books a week. Albert Speer, the Nazi Architect, use to read 2 or 3 books A DAY but that was when he was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment and narrowly escaped a date with the hang man. I also remember reading about an 10 year old child who has an IQ higher than that of Albert Einstein reading and finishing 1 book every day.
Could Paisley start and finish a book within a week? I seriously doubt it. Paisley, as all Catholics know, was very busy in politics and the public life. He was busy either arranging counter protests against the Civil Rights marches or doing his job as an MP/MEP or sitting with his pals in Unionist paramilitaries. He was the leader of a very active and extremist political party at the height of the troubles, troubles which many blame him on creating in the first place.
Of course Paisley was also a preacher, he founded his own Church. He was very active in his Church and I’m sure he never missed a day when he was meant to be there. He also did funeral services too, he did many a service for a Unionist terrorist, UDA Leader John McMichaels funeral is one example. And of course Paisley also had a family, I think he had 4 children to look after.
So with all these activities I doubt very much Paisley had the time to read and finish one book in a month never mind a week.
Jude, I think the ultra-kindest opinion you could give of Eileen’s claim is ‘hyperbole’!
But don’t ask me for my own personal definition in respect of her claim.
I’d say he probably paid a team of munchkins to read them for him, Jude…. I usually have three books on the go at any one time but I don’t think I’d be able to beat the Big Man’s record even then….
Could be, Esteemed Blogmeister, that the Reverend Ian was a One Book Mon? Both the book and the mon being Good and Big respectively.
Which would automatically make his relict, Eileen a Ruin, truthful of tongue.
This seems to be a phenomenom known to occur in places where there be Fenians. In County Tipperary, for instance, during the far away 19th Century it is said there was no home without a copy of the one book: that would be ‘Knocknagow’ by Charles Kickham.
So, what are the odds on the shelves of the Big Mon’s library groaning under the weight of 50,000 copies of the Good Book?
Perhaps, Paddy Power might open, erm, a book on this one?
there was plenty of nudebooks lying about the cells of the crum when he was a convict,being such an avid reader i wonder did he have a juke as there wasnt much else to read,oh there was a bible in every cell the thin pages made good roll up papers when you ran out,maybe thats why he preferred other people going to jail.
If he had read the one book, thoroughly ,that he allegedly professed to live his life by, and concentrated on living by the ultimate message contained in that book then ….