Léargas

FRANCES. My sister Frances died two weeks ago. She asked that I say a few words at her funeral. This is what I said: Our mother had thirteen children. Three died shortly after they were born.  They were our Seán’s twin Brendan; and Seamus and David the other twins. Sixty years later our brother Liam died in February 2019.  On the day of his funeral big Eamonn, our Anne’s husband, also died. And now today we bury our wee sister Frances. Death is part of the story of life. Is é seo ar sceal. Sibling grief is a very special grief. Brothers and sisters usually know each other for the whole of their lives. So during these sad days Margaret and Paddy and Anne and Seán and Maura and Deirdre and Dominic and me are reflecting no doubt, in our own ways, on childhood memories and all the good times and bad times of lives bound up together. So too with brothers-in-law and sisters-in-laws. And Frances’ friends. Everyone will have special memories ...

Boris is a Chancer Last week was not a good week for Boris Johnson. Even before the weekend’s G7 summit began in Cornwall the news agenda was already dominated by reports that the US government had issued a d émarche to the British in advance of President Biden’s arrival. I must admit I had never heard of a démarche. During my years of negotiations with the Irish, British, US and other governments it was not a piece of diplomatic speak I had ever come across.   Apparently it is a formal diplomatic note or memo which expresses the grave concern of one side about the behaviour of the other. It’s not something that one ally normally issues to another. It’s certainly not something that usually finds its way into the media. There is no precedent for the stern message of concern delivered by the US government to the British government about Britain’s Brexit policy, and its threat to the Irish Protocol and to the Good Friday Agreement. And it did find its way into the media. Some media re...

Master Plan for Moore Street Unveiled Most readers know that Moore Street in Dublin City Centre holds a special place in the history of Ireland. It was in Moore Street and the surrounding streets and laneways and at the nearby GPO that a fierce battle was fought between the 1916 republican forces and the British Army. Number 16 Moore Street was where five of the seven signatories of the Proclamation held their last meeting before the surrender. The National Museum of Ireland has described Moore Street as “the most important historic site in modern Irish history.” Regrettably not everyone sees it that way. In the late 1990s the Moore Street terrace was scheduled for demolition. Later a developer Chartered Lands produced a plan that would have destroyed much of the site. An alliance of relatives of the signatories, of those who fought in 1916, republicans and a range of other groups and individuals commenced a campaign to save Moore St. Their dedication to the development of the s...