Whether it is actually Midsummer may depend what calendar you use – though personally I stick with what the Christian Brothers taught me and so my calendar Summer started on the first of May. That aside, my actual Summer started more this week when my academic year came to an end so I have only the “day job” to keep me busy from each Monday to Friday till Autumn.
The weather is certainly shaping up nicely and augurs well for the long weekend. I intend to get busy blogging again now I’ll have a little more free time in the evenings and have something of a backlog of drafts written but never competed during my long winter solstice of sorts which I might have to dust down.
Musing quickly over recent events, the Queen’s visit certainly went off well and won over many including me, the ceremony at Islandbridge was particularly historic, especially coming on the heels of the garden of remembrance. Whatever our political or historical beliefs we absolutely must respect those on all sides who made sacrifices and it is quite shameful really to think how many of those ex-veterans had to hide their military record or become pariahs in post-independence period. I read recently an account of life through the transition from a former nationalist but also of ascendancy stock, Barrister Maurice Healy who practiced on the Munster circuit but basically had to flee to the UK when the atmosphere became too hostile for him here.
A memorable passage in the book talks about an exiled ageing magistrate withering in the equatorial sun passing justice amongst the burghers of malay kay or some far flung colonial outpost all the time pining for his days skipping from Cork to Tralee with empty pockets but a head fit to burst from the excitement of the day ahead .. or something along those lines. Interesting stuff indeed. Our history is truly a complex one.
Obama’s pint in Offaly went down well and even if Enda nicked a few lines from one of his speeches well so what, I’ve done it myself (see if you can spot a line here : ) )
The government have had a mixed bag, good publicity though little real action, it seems they are coming to terms with the enormity of the problem in a somewhat tempestuous fashion as we have seen with various Ministers doing “solo runs” or “speaking out of turn”, one wonders whether Enda Kenny’s ‘Chairman not Chief’ approach to managing his team of the talents will prove effective as the coalition comes under strain.
Anyway all will be revealed I expect in due course.. Expect much more commentary from this direction in any case over the next few months. I hope you stay tuned!