Something to reflect on for COVID-19 pandemic

SIR,

Three cheers for the 2020 Leaving Cert Class. They have been through the mill emotionally and mentally.

They have suffered the distress of uncertainty and indecision. They have ploughed a lonely furrow, cocooned in a bubble of virtual reality during spring, the season of growth and vitality.

They have endured more turmoil than any Leaving Cert Class that went before them.

School’s out next Friday, so there will be no rite of passage for these young people. There will be no closure as they complete their second-level education. There will be no opportunity to say goodbye as the schools remain closed. There will be no annual sports day nor Mass of farewell before moving on. There will be no graduation evening to attend with their proud parents, no celebration afterwards with their friends. There will be no hugging, laughter nor tears to mark a significant watershed.

There will be no selfies for the scrapbook, no autographs for the yearbook.

With the loss of the Leaving Cert, there will be no butterflies in the stomach on the night before the exams begin. There will be no deep sigh of relief to have survived the first day of exams. There will be no effervescence of freedom when the final exam has been done. There will be no post-exam holiday in Ibiza.

This cohort of resolute and resourceful young people deserves our very best wishes for their dreams and aspirations. They deserve the joy of success on results day. They deserve their ambitions of college places, apprenticeships, traineeships and employment opportunities to be fulfilled. Let us salute the 2020 Leaving Cert Class for their fortitude and forbearance, Sincerely,

Billy Ryle,

Spa,

Tralee.

SIR,

Something to reflect on for the times we are in:

A Call-up for Mankind – Aicíd - by Nicholas McAuliffe

In the far, far shores of the Orient, St. Corona, Disguised as an epidemic, Arrives unannounced, mankind to challenge.

The weak, the vulnerable, vincible and invincible,

Enter the same Pantheon, as equality became a reality.

Moving West across the peaks of Everest,

Italy, four thousand miles away,

The Roman Empire faces one of its biggest challenges in history.

Now a pandemic, as the funeral pyres ignite each day From Rome to Milan.

“O, Tiber, Fr Tiber, to whom the Romans pray”.

Italy and Rome will fight back like Constantine in 312ad. tall

“We will conquer in this sign” Victory with Chi and Rho. Moving further West – Spain, Great Britain and Éire –

Wondering what the future holds.

USA, the most powerful and invincible country in the world, Now on its knees. Crossing the date line East, to sunny Australia,

To complete the Pandemic Journey in Japan.

Back again, home to the Orient.

25,000-mile trip.

All in lock-down, town and city streets, all silent.

Some cured, some failed the challenge, some wondering. Digitus Dei est Hic.

(Is the finger of God here) Omnibus Bene Tibe Erit (All will be well).

Sincerely,

Nicholas McAuliffe, Tullig, Castleisland.