Some random thoughts from Carrowbawn

First things first. Our President Catherine Connolly put it very well when she joined those who expressed sadness at the death of Ronnie Delany. She described Ireland’s Olympic gold medal track hero as a legendary figure whose 1,500m win in the Olympic Games in Melbourne in 1956 was one of the pinnacles of Irish sporting achievement.

Delany’s gold medal run was the stuff of dreams. While he was an accomplished athlete with a sub four-minute mile behind him and a huge reputation on the indoor circuit in America, he was at the back of the field as the race went into the last lap. The 1,500m was the most sought after of the Olympic track events at the time and all of the top athletes in the world were in the field in Melbourne. The fact that he came from last to first made Delany an icon in the minds of all young potential athletes in the country. He went on his knees to thank his God. He set the imagination on fire and inspired future generations of Irish track athletes.

He enjoyed many other wonderful wins during his career but perhaps the most lasting of his achievements was the humility and dignity he displayed throughout his life. He contributed greatly to Irish life by his support and encouragement of young athletes. His engaging and modest manner was his greatest hallmark.

Over the past couple of years, I have been piqued by RTÉ’s obsession with the passing of mediocre stars, influencers, artists (so-called) and media people who have been lionised on our TV screens because of their passing from our lives. Second-rate movie people, many of whom I had never heard of, were somehow thought by RTÉ to be worthy of inclusion in our national news and highlighted for their “magnificent” achievements, very often in what might be termed 'B' movies.

Now, I see nothing wrong with people who have made a significant contribution to the film industry or the arts being recognised for that contribution but just because a person acted in a film or produced a play or had a role in some television soap or played a role in media or had a reputation as a minor celebrity or social media star does not necessarily make them worthy of inclusion on the Nine O’Clock news or indeed worthy of a mention by Úachtarán na hÉireann.

Our recently retired President and conscience of the nation, Michael D, was very much inclined to overegg his contributions to artists who had departed this mortal coil. But Michael D can be excused, after all, he is a poet and poets and artists have to be indulged.

The problem with exalting these people, as RTÉ tend to do, is that when a truly great person such as Ronnie Delany dies he becomes just another person to be remembered in the same way as those B-rated movie stars or rock band artists or unrecognisable ancient drummers from the 1960s. And that is an insult to Ronnie Delany.

Now, of more immediate concern is our President’s remarks about the war in Iran. Speaking on behalf of the people of Ireland Ms Connolly was, in my view, overly cautious, in expressing her “grave concern” at the US and Israel action in attacking Iran. She also expressed concern at Iran’s retaliatory strikes in the region. Quite frankly, I can understand Iran striking back after being attacked. It seems to me to be a natural reaction. There is the view of turning the other cheek but that does not align all that well with the Irish psyche. Our President was refreshingly forthright in condemning the attacks on Iran as an assault on international law. Ms Connolly was not the only one to express such a view.

Fair play, our Minister for Foreign Affairs, Helen McEntee was pretty clear in her interpretation of what went on. While making clear the government’s dim view of the Iranian regime (naturally!) she did not exactly criticise the US and Israel for launching the war but did express concern that Israel or the US had not sought the go-ahead from the United Nations. Now, that suggests a naivety on the part of our minister. Why would they display their hand as they set out to assassinate the Ayatollah, his entire family and government who had innocently assembled to consider what response they might make to the US offer on the curtailment of their nuclear programme?

It was as close as the Government came to offering any hint of criticism of the mighty US or Israel. Our revered Taoiseach has not offered any opinion on the matter. He has to visit with Mr Trump in the White House today (Tuesday) and of course, being a polite man, he would not insult his host. And of course he could not mention Israel for fear of being branded, yet again, an anti-Semite.

Now that we are two weeks into the war, things have moved on. The question of who might have been the aggressor and whether it was the US/Israel or Iran had struck the first blow or whether it was the US or Iran who bombed the school in the village of Minab with the loss of 120/150 schoolgirls is of no great consequence. What harm if 120 schoolgirls were killed. Sure the evil Iranian regime would probably have killed them anyway for not wearing their hijabs.

Today, it is all about the cost of home heating oil or the price of petrol and diesel at the pumps. Nobody is concerned to ask who started the conflagration that gave rise to the turmoil in the world’s oil markets. Mr Trump is quite happy because, as he says himself, when the price of oil goes up it is good for the US which is self-sufficient in oil (thanks to Venezuela), even if it is not so good for the average American driver facing the prospect of $5.50 for a gallon of 'gas'. Pity the poor Irish driver looking at €7.60 a gallon... and rising.

Our revered Taoiseach has not had to pay for a gallon of diesel in the past twenty years so he is not too concerned and he has left it in the hands of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) to sort out. The CCPC are the right men to sort out the price gougers and the road hauliers whose reaction to the price increase is to close down the country, Bejaysus they are worse than the IFA.

And that brings us to Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary. This blonde bombshell and pocket rocket (pardon the sexism!) is a constant at the side of her president and is a constant thorn in the side of the media. She is an unflappable reporter of the facts and supporter of the truth as enunciated by Mr Trump. In fact she quite often outTrumps Trump.

She is a Catholic gal. Her vocabulary knows no bounds, her rapid fire delivery is mindful of the fastest-firing machine gun known to man, or woman. She does not concern herself with the facts. She is the master of the facts and she does not gladly tolerate fools as Niall Stanage, a member of the White House Press Corp, discovered when he had the temerity to ask about the shooting by ICE of a Minneapolis lady a few months ago. The bold Mr Stanage was quickly branded a left-wing hack, a fake journalist and was left to stew in his own juice as our blonde bombshell moved on to the next question.

There was a time when such an attack on a journalist would lead to a walk-out from the press briefing, but obviously there are few journalists with the gumption to take such an initiative in today’s America. I fully take on board the view that the Fourth Estate is in the White House to hold the president and his press secretary to account. But how do you hold to account slippery garrulous people whose facts are whatever they themselves decide are the facts.

You would have to wonder would the world be a better place if the media decided to boycott the White House and deprive Mr Trump and Ms Leavitt of the oxygen of publicity on which they both seem to thrive.

Thought for the Day 

My facts are sacred. Your facts are opinions - LatL