After a year of turmoil, there is still hope...
IT has been a tumultuous year, defined by a series of events, some domestic, others foreign, that have reshaped our thinking, and left us with some of the most serious challenges in our nation’s short history.
The most obvious is homelessness, and the attendant crisis in affordable housing and rents. Then Brexit, the looming departure from the EU of our next-door neighbour, and the myriad problems it has created.
The passing of the baton from an older generation to the new, when Leo Varadkar replaced Enda Kenny as Taoiseach, played to the trend already seen in Canada and France, while the start of the Trump presidency left the world precariously at the prickly whim of an elderly man.
The Maurice McCabe whistleblower affair claimed a Garda commissioner and the Tánaiste, and again highlighted the lengths to which some will go in order to preserve their own positions.
Far too late, the world also learned of the private struggle of women, in the #MeToo scandal that exposed sexual bullying and assault at the heart of the entertainment industry and political life. At home, another issue of primary concern to women, the possible repeal of the Eighth Amendment on abortion, dominated debate in the last quarter of the year and will do so all the way to the referendum.
Reading that list might seem depressing, but there is hope. The public outcry against homelessness showed once again that voters always are far ahead of legislators in their quest for fairness and in their display of compassion. Men, often slow on the uptake, finally cannot claim ignorance of what is and is not acceptable in the workplace.
The loss of a Senate seat in Arkansas gave Trump a bloody nose, and the Russia probe promises more. US domestic and foreign policy always are watched closely, and never more so than when the threat of nuclear war now seems as tangible as it was during the Cuban missile crisis.
And on Brexit, the resolve of the Taoiseach, and the Government and opposition parties alike, not to roll over but instead to stand up for Ireland – the entire island – offers a glimmer of hope that the sovereignty we reclaimed after the humiliation of the Troika bailout offers the chance to forge a new, more confident, more independent republic.
Last year’s Easter Rising commemoration might have been a subliminal break with the past – but the ideals of those who led it are as relevant today as ever.
As you cherish your children today and tomorrow, and if you still have a home to call your own, perhaps pause to reflect on what life is like for those who do not. If we are to build a new Ireland, we must cherish all her children equally and work to build a future that accommodates all and provides the basics for fulfilled lives.
As we celebrate this season, we should remember that when Joseph and Mary sought shelter, they found it. We should remember the message left by Jesus Christ, one that Christians and people of any or no belief surely can appreciate. Above faith, above charity, Jesus placed love. As you sit in the embrace of your families tomorrow, celebrate love, and pray that everyone finds it.
Happy Christmas.