| I | “CERTAIN WOMEN SHOULD BE STRUCK REGULARLY, LIKE GONGS”. The quotation is from a character in “Private Lives” by Noel Coward. It could not have had the playwright himself convicted of misogyny before the spawning of the”Me Too” generation. But certain women could tempt me to adopting a striking attitude. And one at least might persuade me to yield to that temptation and face eternity impenitent. I recently rediscovered amongst the household detritus “At The Cutting Edge” by an ex-Cabinet Minister appointed by Garret Fitzgerald in the 1980s. When introduced to the senior Civil Servants in her Department, she was taken aback by their seniority in years, and appalled that they had unpronounceable IRISH (yes, IRISH!!) names. Had she known much history she might have known that the Taoiseach’s mother had once written to Bernard Shaw telling him that she and Desmond Fitzgerald had betaken themselves to Kerry to teach their children to curse the English as Gaeilge. But ignorance of history, and of our ancient tongue and First Official Language, were not the only lacunae in the learning of Gemma Hussey. a Fine Gael Teachta Dala in Dail Eireann and its newly appointed Minister for Education. She should have had a bilingual placard around her neck “Aire Gach Duine – Na Bach Liom – Is Oinseach Me!” or, as bearla – “Attention Everybody – Ignore Me, I’m a Fool !” Before joining Fine Gael, Ms Hussey kept a LANGUAGE SCHOOL in Dublin. Decades after her stint as Education Minister was over she noted the death of the American Feminist Betty Friedan and recalled her address to hundreds of female feminists in our capital city – “She had us in the palm of her hand – it was a SEMINAL Moment.” Well, whaddya know, our ex-Minister of Education was as ignorant of English and Biology as of Irish and History! Ms Hussey might well have been at the cutting edge, for later Departments of the Irish State have exhibited similar failings, all injurious to Ireland’s freedom, welfare and exaltation among the nations. |
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