Kevin Myers' identity crisis

A Chairde,

The Irish Times columnist Kevin Myers wants to open up a debate about what it means to be Irish, or rather what qualifications he feels are required. Rarely do I agree with said Mr Myers, but the relationship between Britain and Ireland and the historical legacy that influences our perceived identities warrants further debate.

Myers brushes aside the likes of soccer players John Aldridge and Tony Cascarino as ``as English as the Tower of London'' and is equally dismissive of London-born IRA volunteers Reggie Dunne and Joseph O'Sullivan. Dunne and O'Sullivan shot Edgeworthstown-born Field Marshall Sir Henry Wilson in 1922. Funny enough, Myers doesn't elaborate on Wilson's record in Ireland.

I don't know whether Wilson considered himself an Irishman or not. An earlier British military and political leader known as the Duke of Wellington, who was himself born in Ireland, was keen to distance himself from the land of his birth and so coined the phrase - `Being born in a stable does not make one a horse'. Quite.

So, Irish people left Ireland and settled just about everywhere possible and, quelle surprise, some of their children considered themselves Irish. Lo and behold, some of their grandchildren harboured similar notions. Equally as shocking, some of these Irish emigrants/immigrants married the natives and their children either identified with Ireland or the host country or both.

Mary Robinson, and fair play to her, acknowledged the complexities and desires of the diaspora and in my opinion broke down the notion that to be Irish you had to be born here.

English accents are now commonplace throughout Ireland. Not all of them belong to people of Irish descent, though many do and more and more Irish-born people see this as a perfectly natural development. The diaspora is coming home.

Of course, republicans have always acknowledged this broader view of the diaspora. A cursory look at the signatories of the 1916 proclamation is telling - James Connolly, born in Edinburgh. Tom Clarke, Isle of Wight. Pearse, with an English father.

Liverpool and London Irish contingents arrived over for the Rising. One of the strongest branches of Conradh na Gaeilge was based in London. Michael Collins was a member of it. De Valera was born in the USA. Liam Mellows was born in Cheshire.

Seán Mac Stiofán, an ex Chief of Staff of the IRA, was born and reared in England. Volunteer Diarmuid O'Neill was born and killed in London.

It is said that 70 million people worldwide claim Irish descent. Quite a few of this diaspora care deeply about what is going on here. We have a responsibility to acknowledge this and be positive about what this has meant to political, social and economic life here in Ireland.

I was released from prison in 1998 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement after serving 6 years of a 17-year sentence. I have been a member of the Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle for two years and I am the party's candidate for Mayo in the next Leinster House elections. Oh yes, like my father and mother before me, I was born in England.

``Being born in a stable does not make one a horse.''

Vincent Wood,
Mayo Sinn Féin

National Graves welcomes Forgotten Ten decision

A Chairde,

With the recent signing of the Exhumation Licence in Dublin's City Hall, it would appear that the way is now clear for the Forgotten Ten to be interred in Glasnevin Cemetery. It is interesting to note that nine of the Volunteers were courtmartialed in City Hall.

The relatives of the Volunteers decided back in May of this year to select a plot in Glasnevin. The NGA, which in 1996 erected a limestone Celtic cross in Glasnevin in memory of the ten, welcomes the fact that at last the people of Ireland will now have a place to honour and pay their respects to these men.

However, the committee feels that this could have happened some years back. Successive Irish governments denied the relatives and the Irish people this right. As a result, the brothers and sisters of the Volunteers have sadly passed away. The blame for this lies firmly on the shoulders of all Irish governments.

The committee believes that the long campaign was a success, the letter writing, radio interviews etc. all made this change come about. The NGA would like to thank all associate members for their assistance and in particular our US colleagues.

The NGA will hold its annual Mass and Forgotten Ten Commemoration on Sunday 4 November 2001.

Matt Doyle,
Secretary,
National Graves Association, Ireland

ESRI report shames government

A Chairde,

The latest findings of the ESRI, which shows that the gap between the rich and poor is growing shows the need for the government to take immediate action to reduce poverty in Dublin NW, one of the most deprived areas of the state. This should include an end to our two-tier health service as the latest report shows that the health of people is becoming more and more class determined.

The government should hang its collective head in shame with the report from the ESRI which indicates that one in five people are living on below half the average income. Coupled with the recent UN Human Development report that was damning of the levels of poverty in Ireland it stands as a damning indictment of the government.

This government (and the previous FG/Labour/DL one) has had an opportunity and the financial wherewithal to create a more just and equal society. In that they have failed spectacularly.

They have neglected the most marginalised of our society while pursuing policies that have made millions of pounds for their friends in the elite of Irish business.

The spectacle of Denis O'Brien and Tony O'Reilly slugging it out in an ego-driven battle for control of Eircom is the distasteful manifestation of such policies.

The reality is that people on lower incomes languish on hospital waiting lists and children remain in overcrowded classrooms as housing lists and prices continue to grow because the government has failed to invest adequately in public housing, healthcare and education.

The government during these years of economic boom has an onerous responsibility to ensure that the wealth created in this state is shared by all. Its priority must be to ensure that all are taken out of the poverty trap and given a proper standard of living.

Cllr Dessie Ellis,
Finglas,
Dublin 11