STAY LOCAL, STAY SAFE – BUT LET’S SAVOUR NEW FREEDOMS

NEW Age gurus used to tell us each moment has a multitude of realms. But the world of walls to which we have been confined seemed to freeze time. With empty streets, shuttered shops, and only distance available in abundance, life itself felt padlocked. It may be more backroad than highway back to the future, but it feels like freedom is at last on the horizon.

Our homes had become prisons, a lethal virus the jailer. In the depth of the pandemic there were times when even the sun felt like a cold star.

So the heady prospect of taking back control feels as if chains have been snapped.

Tension between what Government needs to get the country moving and medical advisers striving to keep us safe is inevitable. Those who heard Taoiseach Leo Varadkar say “Irish people have earned the right to be hopeful again” finally found something to relish.

The fine line between grand-standing over a job well done and recognising the sacrifices made by the nation had to be managed.

For it was – and will continue to be – the communal effort which will bring us to whatever proximate of mainstream living that social distancing permits.

Thankfully, Mr Varadkar steered closer to the latter. Thirsty pub-goers may be able to have a drink in some hostelries at the end of the month.

Children can have their playgrounds and we may even hear the clash of the ash before summer is out.

GAA fans may get to mingle with old ghosts in Croke Park and “meet the team that beat the team that couldn’t be beaten”.

No, it won’t be the same but it will be a whole let better than it might have been.

There has been too much upset for elation, but relief and quiet satisfaction that we are getting to grips with the threat is something to be proud of.

We have the benefit of learning from the experience of other countries.

But there are still risks and completing the journey out of lockdown depends on how we manage them.

This won’t be done by authoritarian decrees. If the data is going in the right direction and the R number has stayed below one, it is because people remain compliant, respectful and mindful of dangers.

In Mr Varadkar’s words: “More and more, this is going to be less about government rules and more about a long-term change in how we live our lives.”

In other times the “stay local” ordinance might seem oppressive and claustrophobic.

But in this bizarre Covid era, having the freedom to range your county – be it Cork or Louth – will feel like being handed the keys of the kingdom.

In this bizarre Covid era, ranging your county will feel like being handed the keys of the kingdom