11 March 2010 Edition

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Of hares and our Easter Rising legacy

BY GERI TIMMONS

It’s not every day you attend a Sinn Féin Ard Fheis hearing pigs, cows, dogs, rats and cuddly hares the topic of conversation but this was no ordinary day, as the section on culture and heritage demonstrated.
Our South Tipperary comrade Muiris Ó Súilleabháin spoke out in support of the Ard Chomhairle amendment to Motion 66 and in support of the Motion 66, addressing animal cruelty, traditional rural activities and hare coursing. He stated an estimated €16 million is placed into the economy locally at the annual national coursing meeting. There are 89 local coursing clubs throughout Ireland that would suffer economically to include a major impact on jobs but that was not the entire issue, he said.  He asserted it is a myth that the hare population is declining due to coursing. More hares are killed in a year by natural predators and vehicles than in 15 years of coursing, he said.
“Of course a pig or a cow isn’t as cute and cuddly as a hare, and to my mind that’s one of the biggest problems with opponents of coursing. There is a hierarchy of animals. If the greyhound were chasing rats no one would give a damn.”
Do not be eating a fry when discussing your opposition to coursing with this Tipp man. He’ll have you on the run.
In a passionate statement to the Ard Fheis, Mícheál Mac Donncha spoke out in favour of Motion 65 condemning the Irish government’s desire to relocate the Abbey Theatre to the GPO. The fight to save 14-17 Moore Street, the GPO, streets and historic buildings “which are living memorials to the men and women of the 1916” is long overdue.
In Dublin, many streets and buildings bear the blood of our fallen heroes, it was the men and women of 1916’s acts of bravery that continue to encourage and strengthen us to complete this country’s journey to a united Ireland, he said.
“We condemn the developers and Dublin City Council management’s desire to destroy the very essence of who we are as a nation, our history, our fallen comrades, the 1916 legacy. We do not need another American style shopping centre, we want our cultural heritage enshrined not stripped away because of ‘greed and corruption.’ “We say hands off our heritage, our history and our country.”

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