Galway Advertiser 1992/1992_02_13/GA_13021992_E1_014.pdf 

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C O M M E N T MR. REYNOLDS MAKES A FRESH START

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L E T T E R S
THE M A G D A L E N GIRLS:

WHO IS RIGHT?
A Car a, In your Entertainment Page this week there is an interesting interview, or preview of a play about the Magdalen Home and its in mates. I knew some of the nuns and most of the girls from about the time of the BOUT this time play until it was closed The in the year 1832 down. to megirls never ap peared to unhap newspapers were py lot, any littlebe an of per gift making preductions fume or sweets etc. even a about the possibility of chat or smile would make a general election. In them so happy. They cer never had any fact there had been tainlynever in their worries and wildest general elections in dreams did they think that each of the two their way of life would be preceding years, one in the subject of Entertainment August and the second or a Vatican II liberation excercise! in May 1831.

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HE Taoiseach, Mr. Reynolds, has moved swiftly and decisively to put his own stamp on the Government he now leads. At his first press conference, following his election as Taoiseach, he outlined, in admittedly broad strokes, the kind of government he is aiming at: "It will be a Government of openness not defensiveness, a Government of consultation and consensus, not die tat. My overall aim is to create a modem society; progressive, enlightened and socially caring."

EE T R L L CO A MANOEUVRINGS

Such words as these are only to be expected from a new leader, but Mr. Reynolds's cabinet appointments do signal a radical break with the Haughey era. People like Mr. Gerry Collins, who has held a held a cabinet position in every Fianna Fail administration since 1970, | Mr. Ray Burke and Dr. Michael O'Kennedy now take their places on the backbench. Meanwhile, new faces, like Mr. David Andrews, Dr. John O'Connell, Mr.Brian Cowen and Mr. Charlie McCreevy have been elevated to the front bench. And the appointment of Clonakilty man Joe Walsh as Minister for Agriculture will be warmly welcomed by Cork, a county that has been out in the cold ever since Mr. Haughey took over from the former Taoiseach Jack Lynch. A certain amount of score-setding, however, is evident in the demo tion of Michael Woods from Health to the rather less important posi tion of Minister for the Marine. Perhaps the most surprising move is the dismissal of Mary O'Rourke from the cabinet. Only recently considered to be the first woman who had a chance to become Taoiseach, she now finds her career on temporary hold as she too joins | Mr. Haughey on the backbenches. So far as Galway is concerned, the appointment of Mrs. Maire Geoghegan Quinn as Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communica tions is to be welcomed. Mrs. Geoghegan Quinn is one of the ablest people in Fianna Fail and her dismissal by Mr. Haughey last November | aroused considerable anger in Galway. On the other hand, whether Mr. Frank Fahey will still be a Junior Minister after Mr. Reynolds announces his appointees today is debatable. The task facing Mr. Reynolds and his new Cabinet is a daunting one. His number one priority must be to reverse the disastrous slide in popularity of Fianna Fail itself. The new Taoiseach has described the coalition with the Progressive Democrats as "a temporary arrange ment", and a number of his new Ministers, Mrs. Geoghegan Quinn in particular, argued strongly against it. It must be galling to Mr. Reynolds to inherit a cabinet that contains two Ministers, Mr. O'Malley and Mr. Molloy, he cannot touch. We can expect him to do all in his power over the next two years to ensure that Fianna Fail next time wins enough seats to form a Government without having to include the P.D.'s. The unemployment figures are frightening, with almost 20% of the available work force on the dole. Mr. Reynolds, as a former Finance Minister is all too aware of the problem and we can expect to see him tackle it vigorously over the next two years. Exactly how remains to be seen. Although as the Taoiseach has pointed out, inflation is com ing under control and the yearly rate of economic growth has been steadily improving. However, this has not translated itself into new jobs. The so-called "Country and Western" connection could become an important one. We should not forget that the new Taoiseach is the first to hold that office whose roots are firmly in the West of Ireland. But perhaps Mr. Reynold's greatest advantage is that he is not Charles Haughey. He comes to the job with few political debts to pay which means he has a golden opportunity to bring a new dimension to politics in this country. With his cabinet appointments he has already shown imagination and initiative. We must wish him well in the difficult |months that surely lay ahead.

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keep going as things were. Now, when her girl gets to the stage where she would be of some help to her mother the girl presents her with another child to rear! Also the mothers partly blamed themselves for their girls weakness! In all that, there was no mention of those who took advantage of the girls weakness, only when it suited them to boast of their capabilities. The mothers could also see, that if advantage could be taken once, the test would be greater next time. So it was with no pleasure the mothers decided to let their girls go where they would be protected. Now the experts tell us, if we knew more about our bodies it would prevent or, allow us to procreate Nothing could be furhter from the truth. As the alter native shows, not the few that were in the Magdalen Homes, but the thousands who pay to go to England, each year to get butchered and come back with something the Magdalen Girls never had to suffer. I knew one of the Magdalen girls who went to Dublin to get married. She wrote later saying things were not so good. I went to Dublin to see her. The man

The instability was largely caused by the struggle for reform of parliamentary representation at Westminster. Much of the problem related to various types of corrupt borough systems which affected all parts of Britain as well as Ireland. The Tory party fought a strong battle against the tide of reform but it was a losing cause. The issue, however, was not confined to borough representation. Landlord control over the votes of their tenants was still an accepted fact of life even though tenants had revolted against their masters to return Daniel O'Connell in Co. Clare in 1828. The relative political strength of certain landlord families were still being weighed by the political pundits as spring 1832 opened.

I have no doubt that many who will see the play will express their horror at those girls being there at all but I'm also sure, if they get one of those girls outside that gate they would treat them in the very same way as that which got them there in the first place. Now, to get down to the reality. The ma jority of those girls came from large families, the same goes whether they were ur ban or rural families at the time.The mother's of those families were put to the pin of their collars to find time and money and space to

she was going to marry was already married, and she was expecting his baby. She said she was sorry she ever left the Magdalen! There was no unmarried mothers allowance at the time and rightly so - for if we love one another as much as we say we do, we would never do anything that somebody else would have to pay for and continue to pay for it! Sometimes the girls would say they thought it would be the most wonderful thing in the world if they had a hus band and home and family. Were they right? What about the thousands of young women who have a husband a home and family, who are clamouring for divorce? They will tell you like the Magdalen girls that it would be the most wonderful thing in the world - to have another husband, another home and another family, and if there was a divorce referendum in the morning it would get a re sounding Yes Vote. Are they right? Or is it another Vatican II liberation exercise? Or perhaps somebody in the not so dis tant future would find their way of life the subject of Entertainment. he Meas Maire Nf Siochain

From one account we learn Dear Sir, surprising, but 'staggering' that Thomas B. Martin of I was very surprised at Ballinahinch Castle had the your front page article in the that 60% of second years do largest number of freeholders Advertiser last week, on a not even know what con of any Galway landlord, 350. study of teen-age pregnan traception means. Is in nocence not allowed any His nearest rival, the Marquis of Clanric ante in east Galway cies in Galway. more? There were some very had 100 fewer voters on his We are told that a total of estates. Lord Clancarty's bizarre things in this article. 666 Irish women had abor voters equalled those of the For example, we were told tions last year. Really? It is Marquis. Both John D'Arcy of that "two in every five not the usual figure. Do peo Clifden Castle and Arthur F. students surveyed believed St. George of Tyrone House people of their age were sex ple not check information could muster 100 voters each. ually active", and in the any more? And how could Surprisingly James Daly of next paragraph that "65% such 'information' come Dunsandle, one of the most felt their peers were sexual from such a survey? And take the sentence, "The political of Galway landlords, ly active". Which is it? study, which consisted of could command 80 voters, the We are told the survey questionnaires, revealed 240 same number as Sir John Burke of Marble Hill. Of was carried out on second unmarried mothers are on course Daly, who was the year students, aged about 13 the waiting list for Corpora main landlord of the presumable, and on sixty tion housing in Galway". Claddagh, had concentrated year students, about P How could a study con his political power on years old. It is absurd to sisting of questionnaires to controlling the representation average results on two such secondary school students of Galway City in the British disparate groups on such 'reveal' such information? Parliament, using his tenantry matters. as out of town voters to Even more disturbing, If there are 17 year olds outnumber the resident city however, is the fact that electorate. That day, however, who do not know that some completely untrained and in was drawing to a close. of their peers are sexually competent young people are Though landlord power active, they must be very being allowed access to the survived in the county before unaware of their surroun lives and attitudes and the election came in dings. It is a prerequisite, at December 1832 Daly's out of least once, for becoming beliefs of innocent children. town voters had been shorn pregnant. But a 13 year old Were the parents of these from the city electoral register. might be very innocent. children warned that they Thomas P. O'Neill. Your report finds it not just would be questioned about intimate matters like sexuali

TEENAGE PREGNANCIES
ty and contraception? Are they aware of the risks of allowing such access? And did twenty schools really allow totally untrained peo ple such access to their students? It seems to me that you have done a grave disservice to the profession of jour nalism by giving front page treatment to this incompe tent, unprofessional and potentially harmful survey. Yours Sincerely (Fr.) Colin Garvey The Abbey, Galway City. 10th Feb. 1992

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