Sluice River and the Ducks

Earlier in the month I walked down Station Road, turned left on the Portmarnock Road, saw a gap in traffic, increasingly rare, and darted across the road, so that I would have a good view of the wild life preserve. The Sluice River empties into Portmarnock Sound here, and there is a wide expanse of wetlands which is home to a lot of birds. The Canada geese have gone for the summer, but we always have the ducks, which normally congregate opposite the petrol station, a rich source for treats from various people.
I was surprised to see all the female ducks tightly huddled on the near side of the Sluice River. The males were either swimming aimlessly around in the river, or sitting, mostly alone, amongst the grass on the opposite bank. How curious! Especially when the males normally won't let anyone near their partner.

Tail Wagging the Dog

It is difficult,when everyone is complimenting you on how great a financial success Ireland has become, and when one is regularly told that we are the richest nation in the world, to retain one's grasp on reality. I found it especially so recently, when the campaigning for the referendum on the Lisbon Treaty was in progress, and then when the result was declared.
The treaty is designed to enhance the centralised decision-making progress for the European Community, which now has twenty-seven members, and twenty-six members have left the decision to their national parliaments. Ireland chose instead to have a referendum in which each citizen could vote, yes or no, for or against adopting the treaty. The result was that there was a margin of about seven per cent against ratifying the treaty.
I saw everything. One poster said "Vote for Ireland in a Strong Europe, Vote No'. One comment I heard was, 'They (Europe) haven't fixed the roads.' If anything were to turn me against universal suffrage, this election would be it. The Irish government seemed to sleepwalk through the whole process.
The European Union has five hundred million residents, and five million have turned it on its head, because the Treaty has to be accepted unanimously by all twenty-seven members.

Franciscans and Limerick

Last week the Franciscans celebrated their last mass in Limerick at their Henry Street Church, after more than seven hundred years of service to the community. The last time I walked through the Gorbals, my parents' and grandparents' parish church, St. Francis, was closed. What a haven that was for the Irish, their own little ghetto, where they could rely upon being left alone to enjoy each other. Just one of many signs.
You walk through Dublin now and you won't see that many people blessing themselves when they pass a church. If you go to mass on a Sunday, it could be a Nigerian priest, who has come to Ireland as a missionary. What a change! Just as a priest friend in Scotland prophesied to me not that many years ago.

Free Trade

People, and governments, with the power to impose their will, have been trying to control trade in the western world at least as long as they have been able to write to each other. Now governments talk about 'freeing' trade with each other. What does it all mean? It means, at least for me, that trading blocks use their power over resources and wealthy populations, to extract concessions from other blocks which have something they seek. Many poor working people suffer the loss of their employment as a result. Let me give two examples.
The fishing industry in Ireland is dominated by small boats, which are restricted in the fish they are allowed harvest, and in the number of days they are allowed to go to sea. I am confident that, if I had access to all the treaties and data involved, the European Community would be able to convince me that Europe as a whole has gained. The Irish fisherman has still lost his livelihood.
A poor Mexican farmer could previously provide for his family from his small holding of land. Now, after Mexico has negotiated trade agreements with the United States, the small farmer cannot compete with exported food from America. He is forced, if he wants to feed his family, to try to find marginal employment in the United States, only to be denied legal entry.
There should be provision in every one of these treaties to provide directly for those who are going to be hurt by them, and I don't mean handouts. There should be provision for the Irish fisherman, so that he is still allowed to fish, even if it is at the expense of factory ships: the Mexican farmer should be protected in his small holding, so that he is not driven off his land.

The lamb and the ewe

Maura's and my visits to Kerry have fallen into a pattern. We normally stay around Kenmare, and after breakfast we like to walk around the town, or drive out into the surrounding country and visit some other town or village. Maura picks up cold cuts, and whatever else we need for a picnic lunch, before we drive out sightseeing. We stop for lunch when we feel peckish, and see a pleasant spot.
One day we were driving up through the mountains just to the west of the Mac gillicuddys Reeks (mountains), when we spotted a nice grassy area, beside a mountain stream. The sun was warm, and we spread ourselves out on a grassy patch beside the stream. We had our picnic, and gradually a bleating registered on me, and I looked around to find the source. I spotted a lamb, standing on a rocky outcrop. It stood erect, looking steadily in the one direction, giving its little bleat every minute or two. We studied it for a while, and I decided to investigate. I found,in a hollow midway between our picnic site and the lamb, a ewe: its eyes were open, it didn't utter a sound, and it was lying on its back. "It can't get up Des, we must help it: the lamb is hungry." "But Maura, perhaps the ewe is sick. I'm going to get help." We drove down the mountain to the first cottage, and the young farmer came back with us, and had it up on its legs in no time. "It belongs to my neighbour. If you hadn't come for me it would have been dead by evening."

Teaser

"Do not imagine that it was by force of arms that our ancestors made a great nation out of a small community. If that were true, we should today have a far more glorious nation. In allies, in our own citizens, in armaments,[two words deleted....too big a clue!]we have greater resources than they enjoyed. But it was other causes that made them great, causes that with us have ceased to exist: energy in our own land, a rule of justice outside our borders; in forming policy, a mind that is free because not at the mercy of criminal passions. Instead of these we have self-indulgence and greed, public poverty and private opulence. We praise riches: we pursue a course of sloth. No distinction is made between good men and bad: the intrigues of ambition win the prizes due to merit. No wonder, when each of you thinks only of his own private interest; when at home you are slaves to your appetites, and to money and influence in your public life. The consequence is that an attack is being launched on a republic left without defences."

Can you identify the republic?
Do you know what the missing words are?