Séamus Ahearne: “I MARVEL MORE AND MORE AT THE INCARNATION. ” (A comment from Malachy Loughran osa whose funeral was last Saturday. He lived that.)
MORNINGS ALONG THE TOLKA:
These mornings are very dark. But I did see the heron. In fact, I saw two. We had words. I then moved on and saw my friend the Weeping Willow, despite the darkness. She looked ever so forlorn in her nakedness. Her drooping spirit was evident as she coped with the winter. She didn’t talk. I nodded as I carefully plotted my way through the debris from the storm. Those mornings are still very special. The gurgling water of the Tolka is my only companion. It wakes me up. It stirs the juices of the imagination. It causes me to pray in gratitude.
CHRISTY, SINÉAD, SHANE:
Funerals feature highly among us here. Sometimes, it feels as if our minds and hearts are besotted with the bereaved and the dead. It is rather intriguing and fascinating as rituals evolve. The nation appeared to find solace in Christy Dignam’s death and funeral. The affection was palpable in Finglas as people lined the streets. (13th June 23). Sinéad O’Connor brought out many people too, with flowers and songs, and a deep regard and appreciation for her life. Sinéad was a beautiful and haunting singer. Her living wasn’t easy. (26th July 23). Then Shane Mac Gowan died. His funeral was on the 8th December 23. The streets of Dublin rang out with his songs. He apparently had a love for Our Lady. How we celebrate that Feast ourselves over the year needs thinking about. It isn’t quite right. The funeral had some dancing in the church. I rather liked that! Those three characters tap into something deep in us. I know nothing about the Pogues but it appears that their music was special. Every artist makes us jealous. Because they show off – what all of us can be; should be, if we are ministers of faith. It amuses me when Michael D turns up for such funerals. Am I blind to the depths of what and who is important in the Ireland of today?
DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS?
A long time ago, when God was much younger, Bob Geldof and Midge wrote a song (Band Aid 1984) – ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ When we hear of children and Leanne (care-worker) being stabbed in Parnell Square (Gaelscoil-Coláiste Mhuire); when we hear of riots on Dublin streets and buses and shops being firebombed; when we hear of young Abigail Edan (4 years old) being a released hostage, coming home to dead parents and young Emily Hand (9 years old) coming home traumatised; when we hear of the devastation of Gaza, after the horrendous murders on October 7th in Israel; when we hear of the Russian drones, and the destruction of life and country in the Ukraine – we wonder who knows that it is Christmas. But we do!
LOST AND FOUND; GAZA AND ISRAEL:
Leo Varadkar had a problem. When he spoke of young Emily Hand being released he used ‘biblical terms,’ of ‘ being ‘Lost and Found.’ He was right. But the Israelis weren’t pleased. They are very sensitive. It is impossible to come to terms with what is happening in Gaza. Prime Minister Netanyahu used the words of ‘Just War.’ It probably wasn’t our understanding of this phrase. But surely what is happening in Gaza is wrong, is horrible, is beyond anything, humanity can explain away. The recent Proposal put by Antonio Guterres to the Security Council after he evoked Art 99 of the UN Charter was strong. He spoke passionately but the US Veto blasted it off the table. It is hard to escape the view that the American political system is broken, and that they are no credible example of what democracy could be. Their commitment to Israel is commendable. But this war goes beyond commitment. It reaches the innards of what humanity means. The Israeli objective is to destroy Hamas and its capacity to do anything like the 7th October invasion again.
But the reality is that they can destroy Hamas and its capacity for the moment. They are creating a new and replacement Hamas. That is the obvious reality. They can bomb and destroy. They can kill and maim. They can obliterate all weaponry and strip naked every man but the Palestinians won’t go away. Ever and never. The song comes to mind: The Band Played Waltzing Matilda:
“And when I woke up in me hospital bed, And saw what it had done, well I wished I was dead; Never knew there was worse things than dyin’ ”
Some of the comments coming out from Gaza echo the same sentiments.
THE RIOTS IN DUBLIN:
That Thursday evening in Dublin shocked us. Some of us thought we were above being shocked by anything but this did it. It was a form of nihilism. We can take any variant of the philosophy we like to describe it. The sheer awfulness of this shattered our belief in the shared values of our country. The supposed racism underlining it is frightening. If that is what it may have been for some. Every day we see the wasted lives due to drugs and alcohol. We meet families helpless trying to cope with the destruction caused by the drug barons. We hear of guns and death. We meet the families. The funerals celebrate madly a life. What a life? The cars. The bikes. The horses. The casket. It is the emptiness and craziness of it all. But cars and buses and the Luas on fire in our city. Shops smashed. The Gardaí attacked. People may not have liked the culture of faith in our country. We could do with bringing it back! Simple values matter. Kindness. Care. Looking out for each other. Respect for God. Live and let live. Community. Sinn Féin, who are usually so surefooted, naively or stupidly, let themselves down by fighting the wrong battle. No Confidence in the Minister for Justice. Asking for the Resignation or sacking of the Commissioner. As if either of them was to blame for what happened. It was a superficial response. And wasteful. It was sad all round.
Seamus Ahearne osa
11th December 2023.