32635
Open
Galway Advertiser 1993/1993_09_02/GA_02091993_E1_012.pdf
C O M M E N T
&
L E T T E R S
C'mon Galway!
A N O T H E R 6 YEARS?
Dear Sir, There is a group of people, well intentioned no doubt, that are objecting to Mutton Island and are proposing the site be on the Land on which the Old Isolation Hospital is situated. As we all know that area is Private Property and unobtainable. But, on the assumption that the site was obtainable, The death of Rev. John D'Arcy Rector of Galway, on and the building on Mutton this day in 1875 ended the career Island was cancelled, there of a man who made a are quite a number of remarkable contribution to the problems to be cleared before the Sewage Plant can city ever many years. be erected. Mr D'Arcy was the son of a First on the list, I am mixed marriage and came from reliably informed that if Houndswood, Co. Mayo. His mother was a Blake of Merlin Mutton Island was cancelled Bark and she and her daughters it would be a full 6 years were Catholics while the sons before work could start on followed the church of their the alternative site. Next to the list, would the father a not unusual thing in route to take to join up the mixed marriage at the time. In 1821 he was appointed a building with the City Sewer vicar of St. Nicholas's church Pipes, there are two routes, and soon threw himself into first would be a connection local affairs. In the distress of with the pipe running under 1822 he became secretary of a Lough Alalia Road, then local committee which spent across Harbour Board funds on building a pier at the property which is private as Claddagh. He also became a matter of interest and so to secretary of a newly established the site, this has to be ruled fever hospital and of the out. dispensary committee. His work involved him in generous co operation with the Catholic clergy in meeting the needs of Dear Sir, the poor. Am I alone is getting the When the Harbour Board was impression that the ordinary established in 1830 he became secretary to it and six years later people of Galway are losing when the Town Commissioners control of their streets? Assorted 'drop-out' newcame into existence he was age travellers etc have appointed to the same office with that body. The following become very prominent as of year the Gas Company was set late. It is impossible to walk the streets during the day up and Mr. D'Arcy was made secretary and manager of it. the without being accosted by line sellers and other 'self number of offices he held was help' money collectors. immense. He was local It is also becoming unsafe inspector of bridewells and to be out of Gal way's streets prisons treasurer to the after 11 at night and anytime Reproductive Loan Fund, chaplain to the military and to after 2 a.m. is positively the prisons and on the detah of dangerous. the last warden, he became The hands of the Gardai Rector of Galway. seem to be totally tied by Mr. D'Arcy was a liberal man antiquated legislation and in whose life was spent in the come cases, none at all. developing of Galway at a time when under the old corporation dominated by the Daly family, it was suffering decline. He was Dear Sir, widely popular and for a long I am a newcomer to period he and the somewhat Galway and decided recalcitrant Catholic priest. Father Peter Daly, could be said recently, for companionships sake to obtain a dog. After to have run the city between a brief search I found a them. lovely collie pup and decided One of the problems of his to give her a home. long service to the town was, Two days after acquiring however, his reluctance to retire the dog, I took her to my vet as old age began to take its toll. to have her vaccinated. I was He wasfourscore years or more when he died at his residence in told at the time that the dog was too ill to innoculate, Palmyra Crescent and he was probably due to distemper. still secretary and town clerk to This diagnosis was the Town Commissioners Many felt that he should have retired confirmed a week later. She was a sweet and earlier. Nevertheless the city had seen many improvements affectionate little dog and I because of his enthusiasm and was heartbroken when I had vision. Thoas P. O'Neffl. to have her put down.
G
ALWAY has already enjoyed great sporting achievements this Summer but the forthcoming Minor and Senior All Ireland matches on Sunday has got to be a feast of skill. Galway is a great sporting county. Despite the emergence of soccer in recent years as a huge spectator sport let no one under estimate the place the GAA holds throughout our county. Its quite astonishing to believe that this Sunday we are playing in the Senior and Minor All Irelands, our U-21 team has still to play for their national title and both senior and camogie teams will also tussel for their national titles. Such outstanding achievements reflect well on those generous men and women who give their free time and more to training, coaching, drawing and encouraging young people to strive for excellence on the field. A par ticular worthy feature of the GAA is that its a thoroughly "Amateur" game in the sense that members of the different teams pursue their own careers outside the season and only demonstrate their prowess as "masters of the game'' when the summons comes to pick up the hurley and take the field. Its a great, fast moving, incredibly skillful game. We remember the night Joe Connolly brought the McCarthy Cup across the Shannon in 1980. It was the first time Galway won in fifty eight years. The whole of Galway was ablaze with bonfires and celebration. Galway has never won a Minor and Senior All Ireland in the same year before. Im agine the excitement if we do it on Sunday. We wish Captains Dara Coen and Michael McGrath every success. Guimid gach rath ar foireann na Gaillimhe ar an uDomhnach !
RECTOR
The other route is along Nimmos Pier, out under the Main Ship Channel into Galway Port. So that the pipeline would not be fouled by passing Ship Traffic into or out of Galway Port, the pipeline would have to be buried. A trench about 3 metres deep and 3 metres wide would have to be cut into the bedrock of Galway Harbour, then the pipe set in cement. But as it is known the Bedrock of Galway Harbour is exceptionally hard, special equipment would have to be brought in to complete the job. Anyone interested the equipment that would be needed, is presently in the Aran Islands having come from Finland via Rosslare, preparing the ground floor to the extension of the Piers in the 2 South Islands of Aran. But back to Mutton Island, there is complaints that on the building of the Causeway there will be disturbance, by the continuous traffic of the trucks with the rock. The only answer is, so what, its only for 2 or 3 years, the
people living on the Dublin Road have trucks of all sorts running up and down the road for 24 hours in the day alll the year round and no complaint. As for the appearance of the Mutton Island site when finished, anybody remember the outcry in Galway when the Corporation decided to build the City Abattoir, in its present site. The outcry consisted of pollution, vermin, unsightly building, and an eyesore for Tourists to look at. I would say half the Galway population do not even know where the City Abattoir is. The sooner the pople of Galway get their heads together and agree on the Mutton Island site the sooner we will have Blue Flags flying on the beaches of Galway Bay, which will improve the area and no doubt bring more tourists to the city and more jobs which is what we all want for the future. Thanking you K.G. Kelly 63 Dun na Mara Drive Renmore, Galway.
Guilty Until Proven Innocent?
his past week has witnessed the end of innocence for one of the world's most popular entertainers, Michael Jackson. According to hardened show-biz people, even if the million-selling singer is cleared of charges that he sexually abused a 13 year old boy, his days as a big name could be numbered. In Hollywood, where image is all, even the suggestion of guilt apparently nullifies any subsequent evidence of innocence. However, it is worth pointing out that what has happened to Michael Jackson this past week is only an example on a magnified scale of what has happened to many other, less famous people who have found themselves ac cused, often wrongly, of child sexual abuse. Certainly, there is nothing so genuinely shocking as the revelation - and we have grown used to many of them over die last few years - that the innocence of a child has been violated by an adult. Nevertheless, this is an accusation that should only be made after the most careful and stringent preliminary investigations have been satisfied. For if it is made in error, the consequences for die innocently ac cused person are liable to be extremely serious and most probably irreversi ble. And while no one would question the dedication of doctors and social workers and organisations like the Rape Crisis Centre, there have also been numerous instances where due care has not been taken, where understan dable concern has clouded objective judgement, and where families have been torn apart as a result of the sheer incompetence of unqualified and, even more disturbingly, apparendy qualified people. There is an understandable reluctance to question an accusation of child sexual abuse. But there is an equal danger in assuming automatically that every accusation should be taken simply at face value. It is only necessary to mention die appalling debacle caused by those social workers who un critically accepted tales of devil-worship and sexual abuse in a tight-knit com munity in the Orkney Islands a few years ago, or the families shattered and the trust destroyed after accusations of incest made by Dr. Marietta Higgs and her collegues m the Cleveland social services unit were shown to be due to a faulty method of assessing the physical evidence. In our laudable desire to defend the innocence of the young and unprotected, we must be even more vigilant in maintaining that absolutely fundamental principle of justice, that everyone, even an accused child abuser, is innocent until the law has found I them guilty.
IS THE WEST AWAKE? Can You
Anybody who does not realise this should just visit Galway Courthouse. Meanwhile our 'Masters' in the 'Fuhrer-Bunker' in College Road send out their brown shirted 'Stormtroopers' to 'control' the parking habits of both Galwegians and Visitors. Ara. we going to let events continue down this path until Galways good reputation is a good memory? Is there any public representative that will stand up and be counted? How about it Maire? Concerned Name & Address with editor Dear Editor, We in The Samaritans aim to be always available for the lonely, the worried, the despairing and suicidal. "A Volunteer is someone who is caring, friendly, able te accept people on their own terms." Does that describe you? If so, could you commit yourself to 3 or 4 hours a week on duty. "Iflfe are appealing to men and women from ages 18 to 70 years and also to those who because of the work situation in their families, would be available for over night, morning or afternoon duty." Though not professionals, our Volunteers are carefully selected and prepared for our serious work of concern for human lives. "If you have the time to spare and wish to offer your services, please contact us as soon as possible at (091) 61222 or call or write to 14 Nun's Island, Galway. If you would like to hear more about the Samaritans, come along and bring a friend to the open meeting in the Patrician Brothers School (next door to the Samaritans Centre, Nuns Island on Tuesday, September Mm at 8.30 p.m." burs, Olive Fitzgerald Director
T
CARE F O R Y O U R DOG
I have written this letter for several reasons. Firstly I would like your readers to know that although distemper is not always fatal and does not always cause permanent damage, it is a very serious disease. Secondly this disease can be prevented by the simple expidient of having dogs vaccinated. Thirdly I would like to ask those individuals who have dogs that show signs of infection (e.g. runny nose, runny eyes, hacking cough) to confine their animals as the disease is highly contagious. M. GH1, Galway