Alan Kelly’s view of Catherine Connolly
Sir, – North Tipperary TD Alan Kelly is sometimes right (“Kelly criticises Labour’s decision to back independent Connolly in Áras race,” Home News, August 28th). Like him, and like some other long-term members of the Labour Party, I was appalled at the idea of endorsing Catherine Connolly for the presidency.
As he outlines, she has taken some poorly judged positions on national and international affairs. On top of that, she seeks the support of Sinn Féin.
How could Labour, with a tradition of constructive engagement with Northern Ireland dating from at least the time of Dick Spring and Proinsias de Rossa, ever consider allying itself with such reactionary forces? How could a “left alliance” include as the major partner a party that is still dedicated to celebrating the deeds of the recent IRA dead? It is too soon to forget the agony of the North. – Yours, etc,
LIAM KENNEDY,
RM Block
Belfast,
Co Antrim.
Sir, – Alan Kelly’s decision to publicly reject Catherine Connolly’s candidacy for the forthcoming presidential election is disappointing. To disregard Labour members’ democratic decision to nominate Ms Connolly seems to privilege past grievances over collective judgment.
More surprising still is Mr Kelly’s willingness to try to damage a left candidate before even knowing who Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael might put forward. Does it really serve Labour, or wider progressive politics, to undermine the one candidate currently capable of consolidating support across the left? Or perhaps Mr Kelly would prefer to support a Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael candidate.
Mr Kelly’s criticisms of Ms Connolly’s views on the foreign policies of the EU, UK and US are particularly misplaced and against the national mood. President Michael D Higgins, whom he praises as “exceptional”, has himself been outspoken in this regard. Only this week, he criticised the EU’s lethargic response to Gaza, lamenting its silence and weak language in the face of daily horror.
For all Mr Kelly’s criticism, Catherine Connolly has at least been willing to put her name forward and to endure the rightful scrutiny that follows. In contrast, Mr Kelly has not put forward an alternative left-wing candidate; instead, he has chosen to oppose the candidate backed by his own party. – Yours, etc,
SÉAMUS WHITE,
Stoneybatter,
Dublin 7.
Fianna Fáil running an outsider
Sir, – If we are to believe the report of your correspondent Pat Leahy (“Growing Expectation in Fianna Fáil of Jim Gavin contesting presidential election,” page 1, August 28th), it seems that Fianna Fáil will be proposing a candidate from outside the party to run for the highest office in the country.
While few would doubt the ability, appeal and considerable experience of the candidate under consideration, at least in the sporting world, the proposal does raise a number of questions.
Is there nobody within Fianna Fáil worthy of running for president? Why does Fianna Fáil not have the courage, confidence and conviction to put forward one of its own members to run as a candidate for the presidential election?
Indeed, one would expect that the largest political party in the country would have people within its membership who have given considerable service to the country over the years and who have the requisite attributes, experience and appeal to run for the office of president.
And then there is another question for Fianna Fáil. If it is unable or unwilling to find a suitable candidate for the presidential election from within the party, would it not throw its weight behind and support the candidate of its partner in Government, whether that is Heather Humphreys or Seán Kelly?
Indeed, one would have to credit Fine Gael for at least having the courage of its convictions to put forward its own candidate for the election. One would hope also that Sinn Féin will do likewise. – Yours, etc,
JOHN FANNING,
Malahide,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – For the many reasons outlined by Fintan O’Toole (“The pain and shame that Bertie Ahern caused this country are not forgotten,” Opinion, August 26th), it might indeed be tempting to want Fianna Fáil to nominate Bertie Ahern for the presidency.
Given the central role played by the former taoiseach and his government in destroying our economy in 2008 resulting in the loss of our sovereignty, in addition to his personal financial affairs, I agree we do need a sharp reminder of what collective shame looks like.
An Ahern candidacy would also test the belief among Fianna Fáil backbenchers that Bertie would “walk into” the Áras. As an experienced punter, Mr Ahern himself would be more circumspect than current FF backbenchers in betting much on that particular outcome.
During an election campaign the FF narrative of obfuscation that our economic woes at the time of the crash were due to a global banking crisis could also be challenged. Why, for instance, were Ireland and Greece the only two countries to require a European Union/International Monetary Fund bailout?
Finally, the absence of Bertie Ahern’s name on the ballot paper would deprive many electors such as myself of the intense pleasure of not voting for him. – Yours etc,
PJ McDERMOTT,
Westport,
Co Mayo.
Left-handed life
Sir, – Molly Furey’s lovely article (“Being left-handed is a state of mind,” Life, August 27th) on those of us who are left-handed struck many a note. In particular, her reference to playing the guitar upside down struck a chord as of course one of the world’s greatest rock guitarists played his guitar upside down. A certain Jimi Hendrix being left-handed restrung his right-handed Fender Stratocaster and flipped it over.
My own left-handed experiences were less dramatic, although the reference to fountain pens was relevant to my primary school experiences. We were taught to write in italics, a task with which I really struggled.
However my very creative teacher (who I subsequently learned had herself been forced to use her right hand) located a left-handed nib, slightly angled, which allowed me to learn a skill for which I have been eternally grateful.
Where there’s an understanding and a will, there is undoubtedly a way, an adage that applies to all walks of life. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL STARRETT,
Kilkenny.
Abolishing corporal punishment
Sir, – After reminiscing on John McGahern’s last days as a teacher at Belgrove School before his dismissal in 1965, Noel Costello goes on to generously acknowledge my late father Cyril Daly’s “pivotal role in the ending of corporal punishment in 1982″ (An Irishman’s Diary, August 25th).
Regrettably, my father’s campaign against violence in Irish classrooms and the incarceration of children in industrial schools has been widely ignored or marginalised by journalists, historians and academics since 1982.
For example, in 2009, the Ryan Report and much of the subsequent commentary gave the impression that little or nothing had been done to challenge the savagery in our education system.
In more recent years the journalist and author Mary Kenny has suggested that my father’s campaign has been commonly suppressed or diminished by the media because he was a committed Catholic. I and other family members have long reached the same conclusion.
He did not fit any stereotype; he was a man of extraordinary intellectual independence.
Incidentally, my parents knew McGahern well. In the three or four years before he left Belgrove he was a regular visitor at our house. On occasion he would accompany my father on house calls, sitting outside in the car. – Yours, etc,
TODDY DALY,
Monkstown,
Co Dublin.
The un-wilding of the Connemara National Park
Sir, – The management of Connemara National Park are pushing ahead with their plans to create an extensive new trail network within the park. This will draw in ever-increasing numbers of tourists, even though the park, along with Kylemore Valley in general, is already close to saturation point with over 750,000 visitors annually.
In the area overlooking Ballinakill Bay, the first phase of the new trail network is nearing completion and work here has already displaced a small herd of red deer. The second, more damaging, phase of the project will involve the creation of six kilometres of new trails, along with a foot bridge, bus park, car park and toilet block in Mweelin and Addragool townlands on the south side of Kylemore Valley (opposite Kylemore Abbey); in an area already prone to flash-flooding.
This extensive construction will negatively impact this, rarely-visited, area of the park; including the destruction of both intact and recovering blanket bog habitats, as well as the creation of a major traffic hazard on a very dangerous stretch of the N59. Both the pearl-mussel population of the adjoining streams of the Polladirk River and the grouse populations will be impacted.
The construction of the new trail network, with its planned viewing points on the slopes of Mweelin, will inevitably bring huge numbers of new visitors to these areas. Current plans anticipate the arrival of tens of thousands of additional tourists.
As has happened elsewhere, many of these visitors will not remain on the official route but will continue onwards and upwards, leading to hugely increased erosion of these fragile slopes and the creation of a myriad of other unofficial trails. An example of this effect can be seen on Diamond Hill, where the trail built to the summit more than 20 years ago has resulted in massive erosion of the peat on the summit.
The park has recently been buying up adjoining farms; its massively superior financial resources allow it to outbid the indigenous farming population. This policy has been chosen rather than seeking grazing agreements with neighbouring farmers; an approach which has been pursued in some other parks.
To enclose the newly acquired land, 7km of steel-fencing is planned along the highest summits of the Twelve Bens. These ridge lines have never been fenced before and the last phase of large-scale fence construction by Connemara National Park was a catastrophic failure.
A fence intended to enclose the red deer population quickly fell into disrepair, resulting in the remains of the decayed, derelict and partially collapsed fence lying untended for some 30 years before being removed four years ago.
The new steel fence will result in a reflected “flicker-effect”, damaging the visual amenity of the area and will block wildlife corridors from the lowlands through the mountains.
It may also pose a danger to the steadily recovering grouse population. Following their reintroduction to the west of Ireland, the last few years have seen eagles in the park for the first time in decades and large wild birds, along with wildlife in general, are known to get caught in fencing.
There has been little independent assessment of the proposed new developments. The planning process was initiated during the Covid lockdown, resulting in some of the assessments being done remotely. The overall project was not subjected to the level of scrutiny that it might have been at any other time.
“Over-tourism” and the resulting damage has been a major source of concern in international conservation and heritage circles over the last few years. The creation of a mass tourism infrastructure within a rarely visited and highly sensitive part of the park represents a major shift in the balance between the park’s role as a centre for conservation efforts and its value as a tourism asset. A policy of tourism maximisation is likely to permanently impair the value of the park as a conservation asset.
Construction of the second, more damaging, phase is planned to begin next year. The process should be paused in order to allow a full independent scientific assessment of the project. This would be in keeping with international best practice. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL GIBBONS,
Archaeologist, MIAI,
Founding Member of Na Beanna Beola Hillwalking Club,
Clifden,
Co Galway.
Trees or power cuts?
Sir, – I was alarmed to hear Michael Fitzmaurice TD’s recent proposal to cut down all trees within 30 metres of power lines. He says we should “put people first”.
I find it sad that the TD sees “people” and “nature” as separate, and having conflicting interests. I am one of those “people”, and I would rather have more trees and put up with the occasional power cut. Ireland is already the least wooded country in Europe. “Putting people first”, and ignoring the rest of the natural world, has led us to the brink of catastrophe – destroying the ecosystem of which we are a part, and destroying ourselves in the process. -Yours, etc,
PENELOPE GOODARE,
Kilcar,
Co Donegal.