LETTERS

Letters from Irish Voice readers

LETTERS

February 14, 2008

Irish No Matter What

IN response to Bill Ashe’s letter “Spin Stops Here” (January 30-February 5), only an O’Reilly can say “the spin stops here” and indeed it appears I am going to have to take you task, Mr. Ashe. Who appointed you the decider of who is Irish or not? Who exactly are you to decide if I am Irish or not? Just because I do not support IRA murderers does not make me any less Irish. Far from it. It makes me an enlightened Irishman.

You say you notice a stench of hatred coming through my previous letters in a profound way. Those are big words, Mr. Ashe. If my unwillingness to support murder is hatred then so be it.

I condemn murder no matter who commits it. If a British soldier commits murder he needs to be identified and brought before a court of law just the same as a U.S. soldier in Iraq, Two wrongs do not make a right.

Mr. Ashe, you are mystified at how a few bad soldiers keep popping up in Iraq. It’s the same as how a few bad policemen keep popping up in the NYPD. In fact every year they pop up. We still do not condemn the whole force, or maybe hypocrites like you do.

My history book has two sides to it, which is more than it appears yours does, Mr. Ashe, and I stand by my word. I say it takes more courage to patrol down a street in uniform, a moving target no matter if it’s Belfast or Baghdad. It takes a coward to plant a bomb and run away.

If you do not like that fact Mr. Ashe it’s probably because you don’t have the courage to do it yourself. And I am tired of hearing people like you trot out the tired old excuse of history data of heinous crimes committed in the past.

You cannot change the past. You need to move on and grow up. You do not see Native Americans or African Americans forming terrorist organizations blowing up innocent Americans or American troops or police because of the heinous crimes committed against them in the past.

I have good friends still active in the Irish Army who also despise the IRA. Are you going to tell me they are not Irish?

As for your problem with my middle name, it’s my name and it appears on my driver’s license as such. I do not require a imprimatur to print my full name.

As for your puerile “we think we can convert them,” you will never convert me to condoning murder. You can do whatever you wish but count me out.

My Irish soul is intact no matter what IRA murdering support propaganda you put out Mr. Ashe.

Patrick E. O’Reilly
Bohemia, New York

He’s No Hero

JOHN McCain, the U.S. candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, is being hailed and is self-promoting the fact that he is a “hero” of the Vietnam War.

Is he really? This is a man who flew bombers over the cities and villages of that proud land, and slaughtered the citizens unfortunate enough to come into his cross-hairs.

That he was shot down and spent the rest of the conflict in prison before the invader was finally beaten and sent packing home to America does not mean he is any kind of hero. It was the same as taking a dangerous man off the streets for the good of society.

No more that that. Oh, and why does Irish broadcaster RTE believe we are gagging for wall to wall coverage of the circus which is the nomination process in an election so far away? Boring.

Robert O’Sullivan
Bantry, Co. Cork, Ireland

Cormac Is Awesome!

I AM writing in response to the Joseph Francis letter “Cormac Is Warped” (January 30-June 5) with regards to Cormac MacConnell.

I won’t go in to detail with regards to Mr. Francis’s opinion. My goal is to tell you my appreciation of Cormac’s column.

As a proud first generation Irish American (father from Skibbereen, Co. Cork and mother from Tuam, Co. Galway), I grew up with stories of the “old” Ireland before the Celtic Tiger had its impact on Irish life.

My mother used to tell of stories of her days as a child going to Salthill as a family, and the wonderful and simple pleasures of those times. I can always hear her voice in Cormac’s columns as he writes as she spoke … if ye know what I mean.

Cormac’s column has never failed to touch my heart in some way. I have cried when reading some and laughed till I cried reading others. His heartwarming stories of the old Ireland are the first thing I read when the Voice arrives at my “cottage.”

My recommendation would be for the Irish Voice to come out with a “Best of Cormac MacConnell” issue.

And one small suggestion for the “save us from ourselves” Mr. Francis. If do you don’t like Cormac’s column, don’t read it! But don’t begin to tell the rest of us what we can and can’t read in the Irish Voice.

P.S.: Do something about John Spain will ye!

Michael P. Hegarty
Buffalo, New York

Not Embracing Diversity

SEEING as some other letter writers to the Irish Voice seem to think it’s great seeing an “influx of different nationalities and cultures into Ireland,” I can only imagine the new government policies that will come with it.

Why bother pushing this silly leprechaun language Gaelic? Everyone should go learn Polish or Arabic instead.

That Irish flag representing Irish Catholics and Protestants getting along is excluding minorities. Let’s get rid of it and just use European Union and UN flags instead so no one gets offended.
That term “Irish Republic” is racist because it sounds like the country should be Irish. How about the “Multicultural Republic on Ireland”?

Coming soon to Ireland, as seen on French TV, Islamic youth rioting! But wait, they can do that as they’re “oppressed”.

While we sleep, Ireland is being re-colonized. Leave our Ireland alone. Economic booms will come and go, but these significant demographic and cultural changes are irreversible.

Also, I want to give some simple facts about Councilor Rotimi Adebari, the asylum seeker who became mayor of Portlaoise in Co. Laois.

On his asylum application he claimed to have been facing religious persecution in Nigeria, yet he recently returned to his hometown where the town chief, state government, and over 1,000 local people threw a ceremony in his honor upon his return.

The Nigerian newspaper Thisday reports local politicians want him to run in the 2011 Ogun state gubernatorial election

Adebari has yet to explain why the Irish Daily Mail is reporting that he worked on the London Underground prior to making his Irish asylum claim (which did not include any mention of living in or even passing through Britain). Apparently there are 50 drivers and at least six managers who attest to remembering his employment, plus a photograph and signature from an employee ID card issuance to back up these claims.

All these facts can be verified online through various national and regional newspaper articles published by Thomas Crosbie Media (TCM) owned papers in Ireland.

Needless to say, it is undeniable that Mr. Adebari obtained Irish citizenship under false pretenses. Therefore he and his family need to be stripped of their Irish passports, Irish assets and upon the completion of a prison sentence be deported.

Eric Hafner
Bradley Beach, New Jersey

Share this story: digg this | Add to del.icio.us

Print Save Discussions

Discuss

Email a friend