Pool’s win has sparked hysteria in our country
SUCH has been the mass hysteria in Ireland following Liverpool’s English Premier League triumph, it has been suggested that our new Government should prioritise the efforts to find a vaccine to aid the countless revelling ‘lost souls’ who don’t appear to know which country they actually live in.
In his McCarthy’s Bar book published in 2000, Pete McCarthy suggested that some foreign tourists coming to Ireland must wonder if there is a place in the country called Manchester United. If Pete were still with us, one wonders what he would make of the adoration of ‘lovely Liverpool’ here.
Many Irish citizens must be finding it difficult to fathom the hordes of supposed adults in our midst behaving like children with their slavish devotion to foreign teams.
Irish media organs have been putting in 110% to ensure the wonderful win received the coverage it so well merited. Flags were flown in honour of the Super Reds and celebratory drinks were consumed from Donegal down to Cork. With churches open again, perhaps it would be appropriate for thanksgiving Masses to be celebrated to mark the long-awaited return to the Promised Land.
God Save Ireland is a traditional song dating back many years. Now, perhaps, the penning of a new ballad entitled God Help Ireland would be appropriate.
JOHN COOGAN, Navan, Co. Meath.
Working-class heroes
THERE’S something in the makeup of the successful which latches on to the perceived interest the public might have in the so-called lowly occupations of their fathers.
This is particularly true of men whose dads were bus workers. Lord mayor of London Sadiq Khan is one who claims kudos because his dad was an immigrant and bus driver. Our Cork Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, also made reference to his own working-class background by stating his father was also a bus driver.
What’s this all about? I was a bus conductor in Cork way back when, and at that time Micheál’s father was an inspector and muchrespected supervisor of us drivers and conductors alike. He’d been promoted to his position before my time there.
Paddy ‘The Champ’ Martin was a gentle giant of a man who gained his nickname from his days as a renowned boxer. A fine man loved by everyone on the job.
I often wonder what to tell my adult children what they could tell their friends of the work their dad did throughout his life. Which would garner the most amazement as to how far they’ve come themselves despite me once being a builder’s labourer/dockyard hand/steel worker/hotel kitchen porter, etc?
A long list in a life’s journey having worked in other areas also, but my time as a bus conductor was a most pleasant time in my life, and the ‘Champ’ is still spoken of with great affection in Cork bus circles. My comments here are more of a reflection, and my congratulations go to Micheál Martin, the deserving, successful son of another good man, and proud busman, in my estimation. ROBERT SULLIVAN, Bantry, Co. Cork.
Move with the times
THE pandemic has altered the fabric of our lives and will likely continue to do so for years to come. The question is what the new normal will look like, once the shadow of pandemic no longer looms at our doorsteps.
Before the pandemic, online shopping was for those who needed convenience or were trying to find a product that they could not acquire in person. Otherwise, why go to the trouble of getting it shipped when you could run to the store and get it yourself? Services that offer digital over in-person interaction will prosper in the aftermath. On the flip side, bricks-and-mortar companies and others who rely on inperson services will be lost.
The world after Covid-19 will be quite different from the one we lived in before. Our workdays will consist of more time in front of screens than ever.
Businesses will change their fundamental structure. And the strongest industries will be flipped on their heads. Ultimately, the one thing we can rely on after the pandemic is change. Mature people really need to get computer-savvy – otherwise, they will be lost in a fog of digital clouds. Online is the new social interaction. ANTHONY WOODS,
Ennis, Co. Clare.
Pat on back for Spillane
PAT Spillane deserves a round of applause for his suggestion, on the Sunday Game programme, that this year’s All-Ireland football championship be played on a straight knockout system, with the provincial competitions abandoned for one season.
The old traditional set-up is very unfair and certainly does not lead to a level playing pitch for a number of counties.
Ulster contenders such as Donegal, Tyrone and Monaghan will have a more difficult path to work their way through while Dublin and Kerry are expected to have only one serious encounter in order to reach the last four.
The GAA has spurned a glorious opportunity to make the race for the Sam Maguire in 2020 more just and more interesting. Instead, supporters will be left with the customary diet of mismatches, offering little appeal.
BILLY WILSON, Waterford.