Catholic Church and Famine

I read with interest letters from readers who state their case passionately that the English are to blame for the Famine. I cannot agree with them.

Aside from the Famine, I find it difficult to accept that the people who gave the world the Magna Carta wanted anything more from Ireland than to bring it to the level of prosperity that had been attained in England.

I base this opinion partly on Ireland’s infrastructure which is similar to England’s, and was built mostly by the Irish and English aristocracies. I am thinking of the fine public and private buildings the colleges, universities, churches, libraries, museums, etc.

They were put in place not just for the landed gentry, but to build a thriving economy for the benefit of all the people.

As to why Ireland’s development did not advance in parallel with England’s, I place the blame not on the English but on the Catholic Church. The Vatican was keenly aware that if the Irish prospered they might become Protestant, as had happened in England after the Reformation.

To guard against this, strict religious indoctrination was imposed on the Irish. This was an onerous burden on the people, especially being unable to limit the size of their families.

Having many more children than they could care for led many people into extreme poverty, and in my opinion its resultant alcoholism. Barely able to cope with the normal obstacles of life, they were ill-prepared for the Famine when it hit in 1845.

Much is made of the fact that cart loads of food were moving through Irish villages on their way to the ships for export. Some of that food was produced by the investor/merchant class through organized farming methods.

They were both Irish and English, and it is to their everlasting shame that they did not forego their profits and share the food with those who were starving. Some of the food on those carts was from ordinary people who had some extra food and sold it for profit. So much for charity.

In the context of 1845 the concept of government intervention to help the masses was unheard of. It just wasn’t expected. The people were deemed to be self-sufficient.

As a lifelong church-goer, it pains me to write critically about my church. But I feel that any discussion of the Famine, in order to he historically accurate, must include an accounting of the role of the church in Ireland, especially in the 100 years leading up to the Famine.

As for the English, I believe they will always feel that the English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh are one family.

Peadar O’Fiach
Bronx, New York

Surge to Leave

So now President Bush and his neo-clowns want to escalate the civil war in Iraq further by sending more troops to assist al-Sadr in eliminating the Sunnis altogether. Iranian President Ahmadinejad has to be ecstatic.

When the occupation began, “shock and awe” was the term used. The ones who have suffered shock are the American troops and countless thousands of Iraqis caught up in the senseless mayhem and slaughter.

The new term is “surge and accelerate,” when in fact the public voted overwhelmingly in November for “pack up and get out.”

The reason Democrats took control of the House and Senate was their promise of ending the madness in Iraq, and to start withdrawing the troops. Now they should demand a vote in Congress and put a stop, once and for all, to these evil doers and warmongers who reside in the White House.

Sean McPhillips
College Point, New York

Media Double Standard

With regard to The New York Times coverage of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR), and the Irish Voice editorial “How Green Is Our Lobby” (December 13-19), the Times objects to ILIR being not inclusive enough, as a white ethnic organization.

But the mainstream media have a double standard, in that it’s acceptable and encouraged for Latinos to organize and champion their causes under the banner of La Raza, or African Americans to organize under the NAACP, or B’nai B’rith for the Jewish.

A classic example of the media’s double standard was New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin’s call for New Orleans to be rebuilt as a “chocolate” city. There was some initial outcry from the media regarding Nagin’s sentiments, but this quickly died down and was soon forgotten.

Just imagine if a white, ethnic European mayor called for his city to be rebuilt as a vanilla city. His political career would have been over, as the media would have made sure that his political prospects were ruined.

So it’s not that The New York Times thinks it’s not good enough for a white ethnic community to stand up and proclaim its need to help its own by achieving immigration reform. What it is, is that any manifestation of a white ethnic community organizing and coming together for the benefit of that community must be discouraged by the media as it goes against the grain of how things should be, according to the politically correct social engineers.

Sean Ryan
Auburn, New York

Saddam and Music

In the issue of January 3-9, there was an article on the Irish government not agreeing with the hanging of Saddam Hussein. I recently talked to a friend of mine in Strabane, Co. Tyrone, and he says the people of Northern Ireland did not agree with the hanging.

Personally, I think he should have died just the way he killed everyone else. They should have put him a room and used mustard gas on him real slowly. Let him die a slow death. If anyone deserved it, he did.

Secondly, about Mike Farragher’s list of best CDs – give me a break! He left off the Wolfe Tones and Derek Warfield’s A Nation Once Again, on which the song “A Nation Once Again” was voted the greatest song ever recorded by the BBC.

What about it, Mike? Just once, I’d like to see him write about the Irish rebel groups like the Tones, Sons of Erin, Eire Og, Athenrye, or Irish Brigade. Show some guts, Mike!

Jim Harrington
Arlington, Massachusetts

Support for McGeough

It was wonderful to read that Gerry McGeough is seriously considering running on the independent ticket in Fermanagh/South Tyrone.

While in the U.S., Gerry made a great deal of friends among Irish American activists who would love to see him win, not only because of his honesty and integrity, but also for his loyalty to everything that represents Irish nationalism and republicanism. Unfortunately, that is something Sinn Fein has lost sight of these last eight years.

The idea that Sinn Fein would even consider and expect Republicans to embrace a British police force is the straw that broke the camel’s back with Irish American activists here in the U.S. as well. Since the signing of the Stormont Agreement, Sinn Fein has slowly “dumb-downed” Irish republicanism.

It’s time for new Irish Republican leadership to emerge, and Gerry McGeough is the perfect candidate for the position. He has a tremendous following here in the U.S. among very disillusioned Irish American activists, who no longer have any faith in Gerry Adams and Sinn Fein.

Helen McClafferty
Nutley, New Jersey