Sir, – I have been fortunate enough to call Dublin my home away from home for the past three months and have been truly blessed, like most Americans who attend master’s programmes in Ireland, by the kindness with which I, an immigrant, have been welcomed by the Irish people.
Perhaps this recent personal experience in Ireland has exacerbated my feelings of anger, sadness and shame about the wave of intolerance currently washing over my home country in the form of armed, anonymous ICE and border patrol agents who feel free to profile, assault and strip people of their basic human rights without facing any repercussions whatsoever.
Just lrecently. I watched with horror as federal agents descended on my home city of Charlotte, North Carolina, bringing with them uncertainty, violence and fear.
In light of the shocking news that bombards us on a daily basis, it can be easy to normalise the Trump administration’s frequent authoritarian overreaches. However, there is something so deeply upsetting, so deeply enraging, about watching from afar while one’s home falls under siege that instantly snaps one back into reality: nothing about this moment in America is normal.
RM Block
Given how many humanitarian and political crises continue to rage across the world, I understand that the opinion expressed through this letter – an American’s complaints about US politics – may seem privileged to some readers.
I am prepared to accept and meet those criticisms, however, given the strength of my belief that the US is quickly approaching (if it has not already reached) a tipping point, one where the country could easily slide even further away from democracy into overt authoritarianism.
Trump is a tyrant who appears to find perverse pleasure in cruelty; this much is clear and seems unlikely to change. To my mind, then, it is the continued apathy of ordinary people at home and abroad that poses the greatest risk to the future of American democracy.
Please, do not normalise – and certainly do not forget – what is happening in the United States. – Yours, etc,
DYLAN FOX-ARNOLD,
The Liberties,
Dublin 8.
Paying the price for destruction
Sir, – Your article revisiting the events of November 23rd, 2023 made for horrifying reading (“It was just carnage: Eyewitnesses and workers on the Dublin riots, two years on”, November 21st). Two years on, it remains stomach-turning to reflect on how quickly a rumour, unanchored by fact, metastasised into one of the most violent nights Dublin has witnessed in modern times.
What is most galling is the pretence – still trotted out in some quarters – that this riot had anything to do with concern for the children who had been attacked hours earlier. It plainly did not. The mob that rampaged through the city did so not out of fear for anyone’s safety but to sate a thuggish disposition that was waiting for an excuse.
Their actions endangered lives, traumatised workers and residents, and left a trail of destruction that every taxpayer has since been forced to fund.
It must also be said that those responsible represent only a tiny minority of the public. Yet the bill they leave behind – financial, social and psychological – is borne by everyone else.
If we are serious about ensuring such scenes never return, consequences must be meaningful. When individuals are found guilty, they should not only face appropriately firm sentences but also be required to pay for the damage they caused, over their lifetimes if necessary.
We owe it to the victims, to the city and to ourselves to ensure that those who choose violence pay its price, not the society they sought to intimidate. – Yours, etc,
GEOFF SCARGILL,
Co Wicklow.
No more talking rubbish
Sir, – Dublin City Council’s new public media campaign on littering is an insult to the people of Dublin who responsibly throw away their rubbish. “No more rubbish excuses,” is the tagline they ran with, ironic coming from a council that has no excuse for long failing to implement a proper waste management system in Dublin city centre.
A large part of the centre relies on private waste companies collecting rubbish-filled bags left out on the street. By its very design, this system creates massive litter pollution across the city centre, with bin bags ravaged by seagulls and rubbish scattering in the wind being a familiar sight.
Without the necessary infrastructure, like communal waste collection points and compactors, the city centre will continue in its current state – a mess.
The recent installation of two compactors at Stephen’s Green and Dame Street is a step, but it does not go nearly far enough to resolve the chronic litter problem of Dublin’s streets. – Yours, etc,
CHARLOTTE ASHMORE,
The Liberties,
Dublin 8.
Dress sense
Sir, – Rosemary Lafferty “The President’s new clothes,” November 20th, draws attention to RTÉ devoting airtime to comments on President Catherine Connolly’s appearance, in particular her hair and her clothes, while the previous male incumbent was spared such scrutiny.
For better or worse, this state of journalistic affairs has long been with us.
On the day he was assassinated, president John F Kennedy reacted to the warm welcome given to his elegantly clad wife Jacqueline, as she arrived late at a breakfast meeting, with the wry comment: “Nobody wonders what Lyndon [Johnson, his vice-president] and I wear.” – Yours, etc,
STEPHEN O’SULLIVAN,
Paris.
Sir, – With respect to your correspondent of November 15th, actually Michael D Higgins’s suits were frequently written about in the media – tweed and crafted in a traditional shop in Tullow, Co Carlow. Being interested in Catherine Connolly’s outfit, Irish designer, etc, does not make me less intelligent, just different. Vive le difference and stop nitpicking. – Yours, etc,
MARIE KEARNS,
Querrin,
Co Clare.
Remembering David Hanly
Sir, – My abiding memory of David Hanly’s introduction to listeners to Morning Ireland was his lack of deference to politicians, which indeed was a novel approach for RTÉ at the time.
As he grew into the programme his interview approach became compelling and none more so when he opened with: “I put it to you, minister”. You knew then that the ministers’ wriggle room was being taken from under his feet and that sparks would follow. His was a hard act to follow. – Yours, etc,
FRANK RUSSELL,
Blanchardstown,
Dublin 15.
Occupied Territories Bill
Sir, – In response to the joint motion before the Dáil by the left Opposition parties calling for the urgent enactment of the Occupied Territories Bill, including trade in services, the Government opted not to oppose and failed to clarify where things now stand. Instead, Minister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne replied evasively that “the question of implementation must be carefully considered” (“Three EU countries have passed Bills sanctioning Israel, Dáil hears”, November 20th).
Is this the political equivalent of playing handball against a haystack? We hear a dull thud, but nothing comes back.
Last Thursday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reminded the world of the dire situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, observing bleakly that with “global attention focused on Gaza, Israeli forces have carried out war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank” (“Call to investigate West Bank war crimes,” World, November 21st).
HRW spotlighted, in particular, the expulsion of some 32,000 Palestinians from three refugee camps in the West Bank earlier this year, describing this mass displacement as a war crime. Simultaneously, Israeli settler violence has escalated and illegal settlements are expanding. There is also ongoing chatter in Israel about eventually formally annexing the West Bank, as was done previously with the occupied Golan Heights.
In this context, the Government’s unhurried attitude to the Occupied Territories Bill is deplorable. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael pledged to enact this Bill prior to the last general election. It is time to get the job done. – Yours, etc,
FINTAN LANE,
Lucan,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – The internal inquiries of the Government parties need to consider more than their processes for selecting presidential candidates. A major concern for Ireland now is the gulf between its Government and the people it serves.
Only a year after re-election, there is a perception of incompetence and inertia, often combined with insensitivity. This pervades a range of issues, not all are resource dependent.
An example is the Government’s failure to reflect, in practicality, the profound empathy Irish people feel for the Palestinian plight. Government foundering over years has resulted in the Occupied Territories Bill 2018 (OTB) becoming Irish people’s standard for a true peace for all in the region.
The OTB’s democratic credentials are unquestionable. It has been passed by the Dáil, Seanad and electorally endorsed twice, by the overwhelming election of OTB mandated candidates. Six years later, despite World Court (ICJ) vindication, it remains unenacted.
This week in the Dáil, the Government did not oppose the OTB, but it would not give a timeline for its enactment. The Minister for Foreign Affairs did not attend the debate. This was representative democracy at its most threadbare.
The innocents of war are the prime concern. However, with the blocking of the OTB, Ireland has also been a major loser. Its reputation over many centuries, as a fearless humanitarian voice, has been undermined. – Yours, etc,
PHILIP POWELL,
Dún Laoghaire,
Dublin.
Football prospects
Sir, – It’s vital that everyone who loves football strives to take full advantage of the wave of euphoria after the recent victories by our men’s senior football team against Portugal and Hungary by lobbying their local politicians for vast amounts of additional financial support for the sport.
If we want more days like these, football in Ireland needs significant investment in infrastructure and personnel.
Making the World Cup playoffs is going to generate millions for the FAI but their current debt is proving restraining and forcing them into staff redundancies.
Our Government should acknowledge our football success not by posts on their personal social media accounts, but rather by listening to footballing experts and acting on their advice on how we create recent iconic and inspiring footballing moments on a regular basis.
Rather than facing the daunting fixtures of Northern Ireland v Italy and the Republic of Ireland v Czechia, there should be one Irish football team already World Cup qualified managed by one association representing football on this entire island.
A centre of footballing and coaching excellence needs to be created in each province as a matter of urgency. Proper finance, proper structure, proper people and you will create a proper footballing nation! Yours, etc,
JASON POWER,
Salthill,
Galway.
Geese and the common good
Sir, – Referring to the recent planning decision to protect an area in Clontarf used by Brent geese, William McCarthy (Letters, November 21st) concludes that “the common good of the Brent geese now trumps that of the thousands of houseless and homeless and those condemned to substandard infrastructure and endless commutes”.
I wonder whether he, and other critics of the planning decision, have any appreciation of the extent to which Brent geese depend on areas such as the one in question for their survival.
Unlike humans, Brent geese, like many other wild species, are not capable of surviving and thriving in a wide range of habitats. There are many different types of locations suitable for building housing in Dublin and elsewhere, including brown field sites and areas of low value for biodiversity.
In contrast, Brent geese have come to depend for their survival on being able to access suitable green areas close to the coast, where they can feed safely at high tide.
The acreage of St Anne’s Park has been mentioned by several letter writers, but by no means all of this is usable by the geese due to the presence of trees, disturbance by humans and dogs, etc.
In addition, with rising sea levels caused by climate change, the geese will have increasing restricted access to feeding in intertidal areas of Dublin Bay, so their dependence on coastal green areas is likely to increase.
Surely it is possible for both the “common good” of Brent geese and that of the many people requiring housing in Dublin to be respected and catered for without threatening the survival of the former. When they are gone, it will be too late. – Yours, etc,
KATHERINE QUIRKE,
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Brent geese halted an apartment development and a homeless charity funded a peacock enclosure. In testing times like these, all one can do is give thanks for the Parrott. – Yours, etc,
REAMONN O’LUAN,
Churchtown,
Dublin 14.
Attracting emigrants home
Sir, – Shane Mc Loughlin’s letter extolling the virtues of Australia might explain the huge outflow of many of our young to that country but doesn’t quite explain why half those numbers are returning.
The grass may just be a different shade of green. – Yours, etc,
DAVID CURRAN,
Galway.
