Galway Advertiser 1988/1988_12_15/GA_15121988_E1_006.pdf 

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Y O U T H

F O U N D A T I O N

Armenia's Agony
Imagine Galway reduced, in a matter of a few terrible moments, to nibble and you might begin to get some idea of the dimensions of the Armenian agony. The cries of those trapped in collapsed buildings, the sight of bodies everywhere, the screams of those dying unattended. And the aftermath - the spread of disease, the thousands left shelterless, the lack of food, of sanitary facilities, the awful grief of the survivors, the helplessness and chaos. If incidents like the Armenian earthquake have any value for us, it must be in the way they force us to examine our own humanity and break, for a moment, through national stereotypes and confront that which we all have in common - our vulnerability in the face of sudden disaster. "Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind," observed John Donne. We cannot reflect too often on the truth of this statement. The Irish response to the tragedy - over 5 , 0 estimated dead, and 5 0 0 thousands homeless - has been characteristically generous. A spokesman for the Soviet Embassy in Dublin said yesterday, "The Irish people are great donators -1 think this must be a tradition here." Galway was one of the first cities in the country to set up a fund, organized by the Irish Red Cross and the Galway Council of Trade Unions, under the direction of Mayor Coogan. And this positive outpouring of support has been matched around the world. Although this response would no doubt nave come in any case, it was certainly helped by the impact Mr. Gor bachev has had. In opening up Russia, he has made it possible for peo ple to channel their good will into spontaneous offers of relief. He has not attempted to hide the scale of the disaster, nor cover-up the nature of the shoddy buildings that collapsed like houses of cards. But now is no time for recriminations or criticism; now is the time for practical assistance!

Galway A nniversaries

During this week in 1846, as the famine crisis was becoming apparent throughout Ireland, over two thousand people hi Galway City were employed on public relief w o r k s . In the rest of G a l w a y County almost 30,000 were working on relief schemes. The Resident Magistrate for the Area named Fitzgerald r e p o r t e d that f a r m e r s were finding difficulty in rocuring labourers as ley had all gone to work for the Boardof Works. Of course this arose because Pictured at the Annual Irish Youth Foundation presentation ofGrat of the fact that normally ceremony, held in the GPO, Dublin recently (1st December 1988) a labourers worked for farmers and got a plot of (I -r):-Mr Howard Kilroy, Chairman, IYF; Mr Domhnall McCulloui potato gound in return. Deputy Chairman, IYF; and Ms Kate Sweeney, Tuam Travelh With the failure of the The i s e of Sunday trading has aroused b t controversy and irrita potato crop they had to su o h Support Group. to following the Bishop's Letter read at all Masses last weekend. While work for cash to buy an i n we can appreciate the Bishop's anxiety to preserve the sanctity of Sun alternative food. One of the day, neither the timing nor the tone of his letter show a proper apprecia p r o b l e m s w i t h public tion of the difficulties under which shopkeepers labour at this time of works was that they did nothing to improve the year or the problems many families encounter when it comes to economy in the short term Christmas shopping. Surely if such a firm line was going to be taken land an argument was there was ample opportunity over the past month to issue a pastoral more against drainage or other on the subject. To leave it until the very Sunday the City traders had wouldimprovements which benefit individual decided to open was really rather tactless. The Bishop also made no men o w n e r s . O n e f o r m of tion of the response by City traders to last year's episcopal admonition. reproductive employment As Chamber of Commerce President Mary Bennett explains on the front was suggested at this time page of this week's Galway Advertiser that the number of trading hours for what were described as " t h e extensive storv I lias been reduced, as well as the huTHB&roTtrasuiess-SuuOays u iu districts mi g of the West. | up to Christmas. It is very interesting to note how many of the City particularly in the county traders who contacted the Galway Advertiser this week mentioned the of the town of Galway and impact of the multinationals on their decision to open on Sunday. Fur barony ofDunkellin". This w a s put f o r w a r d b y thermore, there is a distinct sense of grievance that they should be ex l a n d o w n e r s and w a s pected to watch potential business disappear into the coffers of the described as grubbing stones, that is " t h e multinationals. clearing the surface for But there are other objections to the Bishop's argument. What is the this incumbrance, fencing difference, so far as respect for the Sabbath goes, between buying a shirt those fields with the stones on Sunday and buying a drink? Yet the Bishop does not urge us to shut thus removed, and thus tracts of pubs on this day. And what about people who must work on Saturdays rendering arable inaccess land previously or who find it difficult to get into the City for Christmas shopping? Many ible to the plough." The farmers are hard-pressed at the moment and are, quite naturally, tak Inspecting Officer of the ing advantage of the spell of good weather w ' e been having. Shopp district, Major Clarke, was e v E t n i e m n i cu e : x e sv eu n l d s with ing on Sunday represents a real convenience for such people. The i m p r e s s e d sent it to the proposal and his Galway Advertiser has supported the Bishop on several occasions masters in the Board of recently, but on this occasion we believe he's got it wrong. W o r k s in Dublin. H e recommended it particul arly as a scheme which would show early and v i s i b l e benefit w h i l e offering employment to Mrs. Thatcher has reacted just as we might have expected to the women and children with The Attorney-General's decision not to extradite Fr. Patrick Ryan to Bri barrows and baskets. with idea scarcely fitted in tain. Her performance in the Commons on Tuesday included the state the rigorous rules laid ment that the decision "was an insult to the people of Britain." On the down by Charles E d w a r d other hand, Mr. Neil Kinnock focused on the heart of the matter when Trevelyan of the Treasury he accused Mrs. Thatcher herself of culpability in the British Govern and e doeswnot appearc i to hav on offi al ment's failure to secure Ft. Ryan's extradition. It is worth concentrating approval. However, it is on this point for a moment. By a curious coincidence, as the news of not u n l i k e l y that the the Attorney-General's decision reached us, we were just finishing one picturesque stone walls of John Mortimer's delightful "Rumpole" stories entitled " Rumpole surrounding the fields of West Galway owe much to and the Golden Thread" in which the rotund barrister had undertaken r e l i e f w o r k o r g a n i s e d to defend an African politician accused of murdering someone. The c n perhaps not in the great e famine but at local level at trepiece of Rumpole's defence was his reference to "the golden thread various times. running through British justice" . And what is this "golden thread"?

S

Sunday Trading

O P E N I N G

N E X T

W E E K

The Golden Thread

^ A m e r i c a n o Style Genuine Charcoal Grilled Quarter Pounders St S t e a k s ^ it T e x - M e x #

# Tacos, Enchiladas G r i l l s ft

Quite simply, the presumption of innocence - the principle that a per son is to b presumed innocent until proven guilty through d e process e u of law. That means any person, including FY. Ryan. Mrs. Thatcher, by her intemperate remarks in the Commons after Fr. Ryan was sent to Dublin, clearly prejudiced the possibility of his having a fair trial in Bri tain. The Attorney-General's decision was the correct one. Furthermore, if any insult has been offered, it lies in Mrs. Thatcher's suggestion that Irish justice is somehow not to be trusted. With Mr. Hurd coming under increasing pressure fo the British legal establishment to re-open the rm case o The Guildford Four, s e w u b better advised to look to her f h ol e d own h u e o s.

Thomas P O'Neill.

EJ Y A P T O N O N I F

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