Galway Advertiser 1992/1992_04_09/GA_09041992_E1_014.pdf 

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C O M M E N T SORTING OUT THE MESS
The Government has at last announced - and not before time - the way in which it proposes to resolve the issues raised by the recent Supreme Court decision. We are to have separate referenda on (a.) the right to travel and to avail freely of abortion information, and (b.) the Maastricht Treaty. In addition, the Government is presently taking advice about whether to hold a third referendum to clarify the wording to Article 40.3.3 to the Constitu tion. Although the prospect of two, and possibly three, referenda facing us over the next few months is not one that will be greeted with any enthusiasm, at the end of the day the Government really had no other choice. We still would maintain, however, that if the Taoiseach, Mr. Reynolds, had moved swiftly in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision and introduced legisla tion we might have been spared these expensive referenda. Such was the mood in the country that few would have considered blocking moves to ensure freedom to travel and freedom of information. This unfortunate delay has enabled the original issue to be lost sight of, and has given time for the antiabortion groups to mobilise their supporters and apply pressure to T . D . ' s , just as they did in 1983. To his credit, Mr. Reynolds has pledged himself to open government and seeking consensus. But it is possible the more autocratic Mr. Haughey would have resolved the matter with greater speed. Mr. Reynolds, in statements since the Supreme Court decision, has made it clear that his Government favours freedom of travel and of information, as have the other parties, so, unless something goes badly wrong, we can anticipate a majority confirmation in the referendum. This, of course, falls far short of what those opposed to the 8th Amendment in toto desire. And even though a constitutional guarantee of these two basic rights is something to be welcomed, it is still the case, as we have repeatedly stated, that it leaves untouched the shameful export of women from this country to England in order to terminate their unwanted pregnancies. Is this either a charitable or a responsible thing to do? Our own position on this matter perhaps needs to be clarifed. While op posed to abortion on demand, we believe there are cases - such as the recent one - in which abortion, as a last resort, is justified, both morally and legal ly. We also feel that one important test of any State calling itself a democracy is how it deals with sincerely held minority beliefs and convictions. This, of course, is the foundation of the important separation of Church - using that to cover any religious grouping - and State, a position that Ireland has only very gradually started to accept. Let us hope, as we move into what could turn into yet another heated campaign, that common sense and com passion will demonstrate the new political maturity of Irish voters in 1992.

& HAVE THINGS REALLY CHANGED?
Dear Editor, Your editorial on abor tion last Thursday (2 April) reminded me of old battles. It struck me, however, that you don't seem to have realised how much things have changed in the last nine years. We are not now deal ing with a situation where people can be accused of trying to make something already illegal even more il legal. Nearly everybody in volved on both sides of the 1983 dispute claimed to be totally opposed to abortion. The issue was whether abor tion should be prohibited by the constitution or not. This situation has com pletely changed. Thanks to an extraordinary decision of the Supreme Court, the way to abortion has been open ed up in Ireland, in a form that does not even have a time limit. The guardians of our constitution, who were supposed to uphold the right to life of the unborn, seem to have ignored that right, and produced a judgement based on the evidence of a single clinical psychologist who was not even medical ly qualified, let alone expert in matters of pregnancy and gynaecology. They accepted an opinion concerning suicide and the risk to life of the mother that went com pletely beyond the com petence of the person in question, and opinion that has amazed leading members of the medical and psychiatric professions who were expert in these matters. Neither the pro nor the vast majority of the antiamendment people wanted any such development. There is a huge majority of Irish people against legalis ing abortion. Somebody remarked to me today that the opinion pollsters, usually so quick off the mark, have been remarkably slow in producing evidence on this point. Abortion is a pretty horri ble business and from the time of the Hippocratic Oath, long before Christ, it has been repudiated by the best medical tradition. I must say that I am disap pointed to find the Advertiser coming out in favn abortion.
YOURS SINCERELY, (FR.) COLIN GARVEY THE A B B E Y , GALWAY CITY. EDITOR'S COMMENT: SKILL IN MAKING IMPOR DISTINCTIONS IS SUPPOSED T BE PART OF TH PHILOSOPHER'S INTELLE EQUIPMENT. THERE IS A JU SUCH A DISTINCTION BETWE WHAT WE REPEATEDLY RELET RED TO AS ABORTION ON I MAND AND SUCH SEEN AS THAT DECIDED UPON THE SUPREME COURT. IT I SIMPLY UNTRUE TO SAY I WE ARE "IN FAVOUR" ABORTION. BUT RECOGNISE, AS AN APP LY GROWING SECTION OF I IRISH POPULATION (A DOTES, SUCH AS THE ONE; REPEAT, ARE, WE'RE YOU'LL AGREE, ARE NO T MENT AT ALL) ALSO DOES, I HARD-AND-FAST RULES ARE I DENIAL OF THE BADLY-NEEDED COMPASSION REQUIRED DEAL WITH CASES SUCH AS T A HT OF THE SEXUALLY ABUSED 14-YEAR OLD.

Irish i n Court
The use of Irish in ocurt during the nineteenth century was, of course, quite common in the assizes of Galway before the great famine. The Galway Patriot newspaper on this day in 1835 reported one case where witnesses had considerable difficulty in using the English language but did their best. It was a case in which Robert Martin was accused of murdering Patt Sullivan. It was an instance of very bad blood between a landlord and his tenant in which Martin's father had refused to accept rent from Sullivan. Obviously he wanted the Sullivans cleared from his land. There had been a confrontation which led to the shooting. Michael Sullivan, a brother of the dead man, gave evidence. He said that he had been examined three times before the court case and always told his story in English "but not as he could wish." He went on that he "could not trust his sould to speak it." It is not clear that the court had the assistance of an interpreter in regard to his evidence but one was there to translate the evidence of Salina Sullivan, Michael's wife. Her evidence was preceded by the statement: "witness will not speak English,, if she had it, would rather tell her story in it, than want to speak Irish." The intrepreter helped her and in fact did more than translate her evidence for at one point she grabbed him to demonstrate how she had caught hold of the defendant Robert Martin, before he fired on Patt Sullivan.

V O T E N O T O T H E M A A S T R I C H T T R E A T Y
DEAR EDITOR,

FAULTY LOGIC?
DEAR EDITOR,

T H E JOYCE PAPERS
Last Sunday in the National Library the Taoiseach presided over the release of the James Joyce - Paul Leon Papers, a valuable collection of letters and other manuscripts that will provide Joycean scholars with a clearer insight into the last years of the author of 'Ulysses" and "Finnegans W a k e " However, what should have been a momentous occasion for the scholarly community has instead provoked protest and disappointment. Missing from the literary treasure trove are letters and other material relating to Joyce's schizophrenic daughter, Lucia, as well as the erotic letters written by his wife, Nora, to her husband, which many have seen as bearing closely on the author's conception of Molly Bloom. There is a serious and possibly insoluable question here. To what extent does an author, not only so far as his published works are concerned but every detail of his life, including unpublished manuscripts, private letters, notebooks, and so forth, belong to posterity? Franz Kafka appointed his friend Max Brod his executer, leaving instructions that all his manuscripts were to be destroyed. Brod decided not to follow those instructions, and the world, as a result, has been enriched by masterpieces like " T h e Trial" and " T h e Castle". Thomas Moore, the Irish poet and songster, destroyed Lord Byron's manuscript autobiography, an act which subsequent literary historians have regarded as akin to a criminal act. Private papers belonging to the artist Eric Gill were used in a recent biography and revealed him to have committed incest with his daughter. The notebooks of the poet Coleridge are amazingly candid, yet have provided Coleridge scholars with a profound insight into the tortured mind of the opium-addicted Romantic. Stephen Joyce, grandson of the author, has jealously guarded the privacy of his family and in the past has forbidden biographers to make use of ex tremely sensitive material. While this demonstrates a laudable sense of decen cy, the fact is, once an author of Joyce's status dies, he slips the traces of the persona] and belongs to a wider community. Creativity on the scale of a Joyce, a Byron, or a Coleridge is a mystery that any responsible scholar tries to understand. To remove, destroy or suppress clues in the quest for that understanding is to misunderstand the very nature of what makes that cteativity so important to future generations.

There are many more reasons as well as abortion why Irish people should vote "No" to the Maastricht Treaty. As of now, the Ministers of the other Euro pean States have declared they will not re-negotiate anything in the above Trea ty to help Ireland keep legalised abortion out of this State. In other words, what Haughey signed in Maastricht we have no power to change. At another required signing on this trea ty lately, the new Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds, very wise ly prevented Fianna Fail M.E.P.'s from signing it.

European Parliament. Does he think abortion in our country would be a cheap price to pay for that?
YOURS TRULY, ROSALEEN LONG GALWAY

VOTING " Y E S " TO MAASTRICHT AN END TO OUR NEUTRALITY?

Mr. Cox of the P.D.'s publically criticised the Taoiseach and his new Government because of this. He has also publically criticised District Justice Rory O'Hanlon for pointing our the dangers that lie ahead if we say "Yes to the Maastricht Treaty and The witnesses were, of have to accept legalised course, at a serious abortion. Mr. Cox at a re disadvantage but the cent meeting in the Imperial confrontation which led to Hotel, rambled on and on, Pan Sullivan's death could and did not give the required not be considered deliberate answers to people on the murder and Martin was floor, he either hadn't the acquitted. However it ability or he was evading the illustrated clearly the answer. Of course, he tensions which existed wasn't going to tell us to between landlord and vote " N o ' to Maastricht, he tenant--tensions which has the large salary and the ultimately led to the Land enormous expenses to enjoy from being a member of the War.
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A Chara, If we vote for the Maastricht Treaty we will no longer be neutral, that is a fact. The Treaty specifical ly commits us to a Common Defence Policy, Article D(l) and D(2). It is bad enough that this is happening, but it is also being done without any discussion or consultation with the Irish people. Few people realise that the referendum on the Maastricht Treaty is a referendum about Irish neutrality. If we accept the Treaty, then we lose our neutrality and become part of a Euro pean Military Alliance. If you do not believe this, then read the Treaty, it is written in black and white.
IS MISE LE MEAS, ALISON DICKSON 42 NEW ROAD, GALWAY CITY.

I was impressed by THE eloquence of your EDITORIAL of Thursday, April 2nd. You praised the work of logicians and deplore "crudity of demogogue". Farther down the alas, you step right into of the pitfalls you touched on above. This was called, when I learned about logic, "arguing against the MAN (or woman)". The trick IS not to address the issue but to discredit the person WHO does not agree with you. In your fourth paragraph, T A HT is exactly what you did. What a pity!
YOURS SINCERELY, FRANCIS LAVELLE 57 UPPER NEWCASTLE, GALWAY

CONGRATS ON, DANCE PERFORMANCE
Dear Editor, Congratulations to Rogers and her te dancers for a truly night's entertainment on Saturday, April 4th. Tie dancers were vibrant apd graceful and clearly enjoyed themselves. The costumes were fabulous! Well done, all concerned! What a pity we don't see more of this type of entertainment!
YOURS SINCERELY, "DELIGHTED PARENT"

THOMAS P. O'NEILL