Galway Advertiser 1989/1989_06_22/GA_22061989_E1_006.pdf 

Extracted text

A N e e d t o R e t u r n to C o n s e n s u s
Post-Election comment has tended to concentrate on the in conclusive result of the General Election. But is this so? Behind the comments resides an assumption that single-party, over-all majority government is the norm, and that results like those we have witnessed this time are unique and constitute some kind of crisis. But, as Dick Walsh in The Irish Times has pointed out, there have only been six majority, single-party governments in the history of the state. He also questions the widely accepted notion that strong government automatically equals good govern ment. What many people now recognise is that the last Govern ment, for all that might be said about it was the nearest thing we have ever had to a "National" government. By going to the country Mr. Haughey has come perilously close to destroying that working consensus. Fortunately, since the results have started to sink in, there has been very little in the nature of recrimination. The electorate has spoken, and what they seem to have said is that they want a return to this kind of consensus government. The election has also demonstrated some interesting things. First of all, it is clear that the public does not wish to see a single party in control of the country. The campaign was structured around "issues" - the health cuts, emigration, the rod license and the Irish electorate has demonstrated an ability to disciminate between party politics and more issue-related politics. One commentator has remarked that this election has seen the end of "Civil War" politics. The remarkable resurgence of the Left - the only real winners in this election - seems to in dicate the emergence of politics based more on social questions than the old divisions based on which side your father or grand father lined up on in 1 2 . If this is so, then it represents a step 92 towards maturity in Irish politics. One other fact of great im portance is crystal-clear from the results of both the Dail elec tions ( . % first preferences) and the Euro-election ( . % first 12 23 preferences) - the absolute repudiation of Sinn Fein. It is now up to the elected Dail Deputies of the various Par ties to work out a return to consensus. In some ways Fianna Fail's obvious partners are the P.D.'s. With their support, a Government of similar complexion could be formed. The stick ing point here, of course, is Mr. Haughey - the dark fairy who presided over the P.D.'s birth. If an arrangement is made with Fine Gael, Alan Dukes will be looking this time for a degree of power to go with the responsibility they were obliged to shoulder in the last Government. This would leave the Left Parties to represent a viable opposition on matters like further health cuts and so forth. Government by consensus is likely to be the norm from now on in Irish politics; it is up to those we've voted for to give it to us.

LETTEP BOX

German Visitors
Dear Sir, My name is Mechthild Schmitt and I'm a 23-year old woman from Ger many. The reason why I'm writing to you is the follow ing, my friend Kerstin (she is 22 years old) and I are planning to go to Ireland this summer and we would especially like to see and get to know the West Coast of Ireland, par ticularly the area around Galway. But unfortunate ly we don't know anybody there where we could stay and who could show us around a bit (there are a lot of places which we wouldn't see because we can't go there by train and since we are two women, we don't like hitchhiking). Would any of your readers know a person or a family where we could stay for about 2 or 3 days and who could perhaps show us the area around Galway? We would very m c uh like to spend a couple of days with an Irish family or a single person just to learn more about their way of living, and we would also like to get to know the area where you are, which is supposed to bereally beautiful. Of course, the people we would hope to stay with could also come to our home and spend a few days with us. We would come to Galway between July 22nd and July 2 t 6h approx. Since we don6t know anyone else to turn to, we would very much ap preciate if you could help us in this matter. Yours sincerely, Mechthild Schmitt, Beleburger Strasse 37, 3559 Hatzfeld/Eder, West Germany.

SHOCKED
Galway A nniversaries
The Famous 17th Century Map
At this time in 1651 Sir Nicholas Plunket and Geoffrey Browne of Galway were in Brussels trying to interest the Duke of Lorraine in Irish affairs. They were encouraged to do so by the Royalists. The Con federation of Kilkenny and the Royalist cause in Ireland had both been defeated by Cromwellian forces. The only hope of recovery appeared to be in a

A Blow To Thatcher
Has the tide begun to turn for Britain's Tory Party? If the series of Election set-backs suffered by the Tories since Mrs. Thatcher celebrated her decade in office a little while ago is anything to go by, the answer would seem to be a cautious "yes". Symbolical ly, perhaps, on the very day she and her supporters were celebrating ten years of Tory rule the Conservatives suffered a disastrous by-Election defeat. And last weekend, the Conser vatives lost an even more disastrous 1 seats in the European 3 Elections. This means that Labour - poor, beleaguered Labour - now will be sending more MEPs to the European Parliament than the Tories. Mrs. Thatcher has expressed "disappointment", but as a mid-term verdict on her Government, it is much worse than that. For this was a very personalised campaign. In Mrs. Thatcher's Bruges speech she outlined a very narrow view of what Europe meant to her, and, with the magnificent arrogance that characterises so many of her utterances, what itought to mean to the British people. Her late 20th century version of "Little Englandism" has now been decisively repudiated by the British public. The significance for Labour is that they have broken the longrun of bad electoral luck that has dogged them since Mrs. That cher was first elected For the first time in many years, they look like an "electable" party, capable of forming a government. Whatever the long-term consequences of the British EuroElections, Mrs. Thatcher has revealed an electoral vulnerabili ty that could signal the end of Tory dominance in Britain.

Treaty with the Duke of Lorraine under which he was to be given the Protectorship of Ireland. The city of Galway was to be included among the securities offered for his disbursements. While the agreement came to nothing there is one important surviving record of old Galway which, it is generally believed, owes its origin to this time. The City of Galway seventeenth century map is usually dated 1651. Certainly if it was carried with him by Geoffrey Browne it would have impressed the Duke of Lorraine as good security for any investment which he might wish to make in Ireland. There are .wo copies of the original printed map but it is clear that these were not printed until after the restoration of Charles II in 1660 and that the latest date of printing was 1685. It is clear, however, that the information about the ownership of big stone houses in the city as given in the map all relates to the period before the Cromweltians got possession of the city. It seems probable that the original survey was made about 1651 but that the engraving and printing was no} made till later. The engraved map is dedi cated to the King by a priest of the city, Henry Joyce, who appears to have been the author of the Latin verses which adorn it. One of those is the earliest reference to the fourteen Tribes of Galway.
Thomas P O Neill

Some places available. Rehearsals commencing immediately

If interested

23910

Dear Editor, I was very shocked to see your article in which 1 was alleged to have made a signed statement along with others re the Euro Election. At no time did I make or sign any such statement, nor did I have any knowledge of any statement. I am extremely angered at the use of my name and I am looking for a retraction and apology from the person respons ible. Yours sincerely, Vicki Crowley, We would greatly ap Furramoyle Wert, preciate if anyone could Banu, Co. Galway. explain the situation to us. Yours sincerely, Sir, Pete Walsh, I was shocked to read Marie Walsh, the statement over my Lisheeneenaun, name in last weeks paper Kinvara, supporting a candidate in Co. Galway. the Euro election. I did not see this state ment and did not sign any statement on behalf of any candidate in the recent election. I resent my name and the name of the Chamber of Commerce being used in this fashion. Dear Sir, Tom O'Connor, Shop Street, Galway. It could make in Editor's Comment: The teresting reading for peo ple to know about some of statement referred to in the things that are happen Mr. O'Connor's letter was ing in Galway at the mo received by the Galway ment, especially where Advertiser the day we money is being spent and went to press. It was for what. published in good faith from a hitherto reliable For example, four tennis source. However, it must courts have been built at now be considered the fig Westside and four chang ment of the imagination of ing rooms, a running track an over-zealous official and other amenities as who clearly exceeded his well. There is twenty-five brief. thousand pounds to be spent on a ramp to facilitate people confined to wheelchairs at Silver Strand, Barna, and as everybody knows nobody in wheel chairs travel this distance to get to a beach. There is seven million pounds to be spent on Dear Sir, We would like to ex Leisureland in Salthill, press some concern and which has been running at much bewidlerment regar a loss since it was built in ding the process whereby 1973. one is, or is not, registered there is also twenty-five on the electoral role as be ing entiUed to cast one's thousand to be spent on a vote in an election. Up un roundabout at Seapoint til two years ago, we lived which Salthillman Cllr. in Garraun South, Oran- John Mulllholand says is more and were registered unnecessary and a waste to vote in the local school. of money. And what about CladWe time moved to Kinvara, a town in the same dagh - the village that gave constituency as Oran- the world the claddagh more. We did not notify the Ring and has done so people in charge of the much for tourism and the register of this as it was commericial life of our Ci just as convenient for us to ty - what is it getting? continue to cast our vote at Nothing but the stench from the rotting, untreated our usual polling station. On Thursday, June 15th, sewage from all the other areas of Galway and we were somewhat con cerned that we had receiv Salthill. Even the doors of the Church have to remain ed no polling card but closed while Mass is being believed this was not essential and we presum celebrated because of this stench, and this has been ed, as we still had not heard anything to the con the case for several years trary, that we were still on when the weather is very warm. And the sad part of the electoral register and entitled to vote at our usual it is, nobody seems to care. Yours sincerely, station. However on ar P. Cooke, rival at the polling station Claddagh. we discovered that our

names were not on the electoral register and, hence, we were unable to cast a vote. The explana tion offered as to how we were no longer on the register was that the last census woul; d have shown us as no longer living in Garraun South. However, this would have been the case if we had been away on holiday or business the day of the census. Further more, if this is the reason, does it mean that anybody who was out of the country at the time of the last cen sus also lost their right to vote?

No Polling Cord

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