Galway Advertiser 1989/1989_03_23/GA_23031989_E1_006.pdf 

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L E T T E R

B O X

Caught in the Crossfire
There is a community of feeling among soldiers in every ar my. Called upon to do a difficult, often dangerous job, soldiers, even in the midst of war, have been known to signal to each other their common sense of bewilderment and confusion, but, at the same time, their mysterious (to those who cannot share it) devo tion to duty and regiment and, ultimately, to their country. This week three Irish soldiers joined the sad regiment of those who Galway nniversaries have died trying to keep the peace - casualties in a war of attri A tion that will, almost inevitably, claim more innocent victims Word* of the Dead Chief before it ends. Corporal Heneghan, and Privates Walsh and ManA t t h i s t i m e i n 1891 nix, blown up in a landmine explosion in South Lebanon, were the C o u n t y a n d City o f part of the U.N. Peace-keeping force. Who is responsible for their G a l w a y w e r e r e p r e senseless and cruel deaths is not yet known. But whichever side s e n t e d i n W e s t m i n s t e r five it turns out to be, these men - like the 29 other Irish soldiers who P a r l i a m e n t b y have died in this bloody conflict - have been caught in the M . P . s . T . P . O ' C o n n o r held the G a l w a y City crossfire. seat. C o n n e m a r a was "Caught in the crossfire" - that's a phrase that stirs echoes r e p r e s e n t e d b y in the Irish mind. Do the Irish UNIFIL soldiers, patrolling the F o l e y . C o l o n e l J. l*. Nolan, a veteran o f war-zone between the bitterly divided factions in Lebanon, ever m a n y e l e c t i o n s , h e l d think about their opposite numbers in Northern Ireland? Soldiers, t h e N o r t h G a l w a y s e a t like them, sent over to keep the peace between the bitterly divid w h i l e J o h n R o c h e , a he o f e W f r ed factions in places like Belfast, Deny, and Crossmaglen. When e v irc t i o n st h a c o o o d e o od o upl f one of them is blown up by a landmine or picked off by a sniper, y e a r s b e f o r e h a d t a k e n do our soldiers ever reflect, ironically, on the curious fate of all o v e r t h e r e c e n t l y soldiers asked to intervene in such situations? If they're human, d e c e a s e d M a t t H a r r i s ' s scat in the east o f the they must. county. The south As we approach Easter - the great Christian festival of re-birth c o u n t y s e a t w a s h e l d d and new beginnings - The Galway Advertiser expresses its b ya s Daa vt i m e S h eheehny . t hIt w i w e sincere hope that this pointless killing will stop, and that those I r i s h p o l i t i c a l s c e n e who believe, with tragic misjudgement, that violence is the solu w a s i n t u r m o i l . The Irish Parlia tion to intricate human problems will think again.

Fish F a r m i n g at Roundstone
A Chara, I h a v e heard in a letter dated February 89 from the Roundstone Communi ty C o u n c i l that the Minister is c o n s i d e r i n g granting application for fish farming at Murvey R o c k , in c l o s e vicinity to D o g ' s B a y and Gurteen Bay at Roundstone, and that this application is pro ceeding in spite of the united opposition of the local c o m m u n i t y to this project. T h e Ministeris of course a w a r e o f the r e p o r t e d disastrous affect (e.g. Nor w a y ) on the e c o l o g y that such farming has in its vicinity, and in particular on this very scenic and uni que part of our coast line. In addition I understand there is mounting scien tific e v i d e n c e that in time s u c h fish farming will destroy the shell fish in the area, a characteristic of the area ( e . g . the Lobster Festival in J u n e ) , and a source of e m p l o y m e n t in the local community. I have recently spoken with M r . G e r r y J o y c e , owner of three fish c a g e s in Galway Bay. he informs m e , that while there is monitoring on a monthly basis on his c a g e s , there is a very real need for un biased information in this whole area. A s I unders tand it, fish farming is as yet in a developmental and experimental stage, and the unique area of Round stone is not the area to experiment. I appreciate that fish farming appears to be an exciting new development. Surely certain selected areas of our coast line can be set aside for such ex perimentation, a n d the whole process b e regular ly monitored. There must be many other isolated and non-strategic a r e a s of our coast line for such experimentation. The Minister must be well a w a r e that e c o l o g y could well b e the next ma j o r political issue. I c o m m e n d the Minister on his plan to visit the area personally and to assess the situation at first hand. The Taoiseach has said that certain related areas (e.g. the rod licence) are an election issue. I would respectfully state that if the fish f a r m application at Mulvey R o c k is not rescinded, this issue will b e c o m e for m e , and those I can influence, an election issue. I will certainly con sider that Fianna Fail will not receive m y vote. Yours sincerely, Desmond Mackey M.Sc., M . D . , F.R.C.S., Galvia Hospital, Renm o r e , Co. G a l w a y

TROUBLED WATERS A T CLADDAGH
Dear Sir, Would y o u please allow a little s p a c e in your wide ly read paper "The Adver tiser" to c o m m m e n t on s o m e recent happenings in this city of ours? It all began when a Bill was passed by An Dail by w h i c h all the b e a c h e s around the Country would b e spruced up and that none of them w e r e to be overlooked. T h e people of Claddagh were delighted at the news as they have been agitating for a bit of a path on their beach for almost fity years, and with all the amenities that goes with it, such as a toilet, seats and a drinking fountain. But their delight was short-lived on learning that two beaches in the Ci ty w e r e to be overlooked because the quality o f the water was not up to a c c e p table standards. The two beaches in question w e r e Claddagh and Ballyloughnane. But b e l i e v e it o r not, t w o beaches which have already got every con ceivable type of amenities one could think of a r e to get grants of up to fifty thousand pounds e a c h Salthill and Silver Strand. Is it any wonder that the water in Salthill is up to ac ceptable standards when you ahve all the s e w a g e from there empyting on the Claddagh beach for the past twenty years? Down through the years the people of Claddagh have accepted an awful lot of indignities, but this is one situation they cannot and will not accept. No one area in Galway has done as m u c h for Tourism and the commericial life of the City as Claddagh has done through its King, its songs and stories, its culture and its traditions. E v e n e v e r y worthwhile product in our City is named after the Claddagh, b e it drink, food, froit, ddpa or jewelery, or anything else one c a r e s to mention. Y e t it still re mains the most neglected area in G a l w a y . Yours Faithfully, P . Cooke, Claddagh.

On behalf of the Galway Cheshire H o m e F u n d C o m m i t t e e , I wish to thank most sincerely all w h o contributed s o gener ously to the fund in the past year. W e are very appreciative, and are hoping that with contin u e d support from the p u b l i c a Cheshire H o m e in Galway will soon b e c o m e a reality. Y o u r s sincerely, Mary Byrnes (Hon. Sec.), 44, St. Mary's Road, Galway.

LICENCE T O FISH
Dear Sir, In this column last week Mr. F . X . O'Brien referred to m y use of the term "crown waters" as "curious". Mr. O ' B r i e n should know very well that the term is used as a conve nient i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of those waters such as ('orrib and Mask which are owned by the people and vested in the State to be managed on behalf of all the p e o p l e of Ireland. Whether Corrib and Mask a r e referred to aa "crown waters" or "citizen w a t e r s " is of little impor tance. That Corrib and Mask a r e " F r e e Waters" and should always remain " F r e e W a t e r s " is an im portant issue. It is a distor tion of the facts to suggest that an A n g l i n g R o d Licence will change that. It was always necessary to have a Salmon Rod L i c e n c e when fishing for Salmon on Corrib but that did not change its free status. E v e r y Irish citizen has a constitutional right to enjoy the freedom of waters such as Corrib and Mask, etc., but this does not give them the right to kill or take the wild life liv ing in, on or near these waters. Having an Angling R o d L i c e n c e does give a person a Legal Right to be on these waters in pursuit of legitimate angling. F i n a l l y , if-, a s M r . O'Brien suggests that wild salmonoid stocks are be ing depleted, the blame must rest m o r e with the apathy of the anglers tha with the lack of State com mitment because State in vestment in the develop ment of angling will reflect the commitment of anglers, financially and in the interest of conservation. Yours sincerely, Sean O'Flanagan. Riversdale, Moycullen, Galway.

Radio Waves
With the granting of the radio franchise to Western Communi ty Broadcasting Services, Galway stands at the beginning of a bright new era. The hegemony of Dublin has been broken and one of the most powerful and influential sectors of the media has been handed over to the community. Clearly, a lot of work has to be done, but the will is certainly there, and all of us await the first broadcast with great anticipation. Things will never be the same again. What should a community radio station do? First and foremost, it must reflect the community in all its colourful diversity. And Galway - County and City - has such diversity in abundance. From the thriving arts scene to issues that have a specifically Galway "flavour", the new station has much to select from in drawing up schedules and putting together programmes. Another important aspect of community radio is the way in which it will allow local matters of interest to be raised and discussed. Whenever elections are held it has always been rather annoying the way our candidates have had to be included in with a host of others when it comes to interviews and even results. The new station will provide a platform for local politicians to state their views and respond to the concerns of the community with an im mediacy we've never before experienced. On the other side, this is the era of accountability, and politicians will now be obliged to answer to their constituents directly. And we can look forward to discussions of a whole range of things - education, social pro blems, late-breaking news, and everything else that directly con cerns the people of Galway. For the print media, the new radio station will present a challenge of another kind. It will mean that all the newspapers in the City and the County - all of them weeklies - will have to work hard to present more in-depth coverage of local events. Although most of the local and regional papers have a long tradi tion of presenting excellent coverage of issues and events, almost inevitably mere is a time-lapse between events and stories. Local radio will now be able to cover news on a minute-by-minute, hourby-hour basis. We believe that the print-media and radio can co exist fruitfully, and The Galway Advertiser, which is delighted to be part of the new broadcasting service, is looking forward to participating in what promises to be an exciting time ahead.

mentary Party w h i c h had, through the 1880's, been at the height o f its p o w e r was deeply d i v i d e d . T h e man w h o had lead the party so capably, Charles Stewart Parnell, was in the eye o f the storm. T h e issue o f his relationship with Katherine O ' S h e a was at the centre o f the disruption o f a o n c e great and united political movement. Parnell refused to surrender leadership and the party split. H e carried the war into the territory o f those w h o had d i s o w n e d him. I n Galway o n l y o n e o f the five M . P . s remained loyal to him. That was Colonel Nolan. In Galway Parnell called o n p e o p l e for support. H e asked them to stand behind h i m as they had d o n e since 1880. A new and greater struggle was, he said, about to begin and h e dismissed as "rotten limbs" and "recreant members" the Galway M . P . s w h o had g o n e against h i m . It was a forceful speech but it reads, with hindsight, as e m p t y rhetoric. T h e v e r d i c t , as between Parnellite and Anti Parnellite was not to b e given in Parnell's lifetime for he had b u t six months to live. W o r n o u t b y bis endeavours h e was not to see the year 1892. His speech in Galway was o n e o f many o n his last sad journey to his grave and it makes poignant reading in Jennie W y s e - P o w e r ' s edition o f bis speeches, " W o r d s o f the D e a d C h i e f ' , which appeared the year after he died.
Thomas P.

S O C I E T Y O F S T . V I N C E N T BE P A U L

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