Séamus Ahearne: THE KING IN HIS COURT:
‘Now if you want to take some pictures of the fascinating witches
Who put the scintillating stitches in the britches of the boys
Who put the powder on the noses of the faces of the ladies
Of the harem of the court of King Caractacus
You’re too late! (too late)
Because they’ve just passed by.’
I know that Rolf Harris is an unmentionable name but that little ditty (from Harris) does come to come mind, observing Trump in Scotland. He is hardly the King (though he may think it) and is more likely to be the Court Jester. Ursula Von der Leyen turned up. John Swinney arrived. Keir Starmer appeared. Were they there to do obeisance to His Royal Highness, King Donald? It all seemed so farcical. I thought Trump was on a private visit to Scotland and this trinity of leaders sauntered along to listen to his blethering. He handed out sweeties. They bowed to his graciousness. Those tariffs could have so much more, except for the kindness of his Majesty. When will our leaders stop humouring this clown or absent themselves from those press Conferences, where he is the chief entertainer? He may be a clown but they look like fools as props for the comedy sketch. It is embarrassing.
A GOLDEN JUBILEE IN CONG:
I went to Cong last Saturday. It was the 26th July. I had been in that area fifty years ago, to the day. John Hughes was celebrating his Golden Jubilee of priesthood. It was very special. He has lived priesthood rather well. He has done so, expansively and creatively. In these times when Church, priesthood and God, appear at times to be irrelevant, it is right to shout out in gratitude and delight, how wonderful the God-world is. Of course, many of us associate Cong with ‘The Quiet Man.’ (John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara.) Our John was never quiet. He was loud. He was abrupt. He was bold. How right that is. Faith has to be noisy. And fearless. Those of us who have survived fifty plus years in priesthood have been blessed. We can shout and shout. It is like Confession which shouldn’t be a rigmarole of what we didn’t do, or what we did wrong. It has to be awesomeness of what God does in us and around us.
A Golden Jubilee is about expressing our wonder at what God has done and is doing in us too. (Like Confession – Augustine!) There is no place for timidity. There is no room for an apologetic priesthood. Or for a quiet priesthood. Or for a cowered priesthood. We have been blessed. Real and lived priesthood is the poetry and artistry of faith. John has lived out that version and so many turned up to celebrate just that. Such an occasion evokes gratitude. How privileged we have been and are. In what we do. We need a multiple of prophets and not puppets of ritual.
GREAT SPORT:
Didn’t those lassies do exceptionally well? The English girls. Some would say that they weren’t the best in Switzerland, but they had the stamina to stick with it. The Spaniards couldn’t cope anymore with the thought of a kiss or kisser hanging around! What happened Donegal? That was a disappointment. This new game of football seems totally different but is more exciting than it used to be. And then it is worth a trip back to the previous week. Cork fell asleep at half-time. But the hurling served up was a thing of beauty. As it has been with the Limerick team. I think hurling has got better and better over the years since Waterford used to play! (However I can’t get used to the loss of the September All-Irelands.) And the cycling. The Tour. Seán Kelly comes to mind. Stephen Roche. Sam Bennett. And now Ben Healy. But what about Tadej Pogacar? A miraculous athlete. His stamina. His bursts of speed. His management of the team. An example of staying with it, in life and commitment. And we should spare a thought for Andy Farrell. He was on a loser by picking so many Irish. But it has worked out. It is an incredible achievement to blend a mixture of nations together to play as a team. May the coming Saturday turn out well. Andy has come through it all with his reputation enhanced. Even if he called up his son!
THE TRICOLOUR: OUR IRISH FLAG:
I am forgetting. Did I write this previously? There is a scatter of Irish flags all over Finglas. They appeared in the middle of the night, many weeks ago. It is right to celebrate the Irish Flag. It respects our history. It tells us who we are. We are a nation who try to live out the Céad Míle Fáilte. Where everyone is welcome. Where our minds are open. Where we recall our history and what happened us, and how freedom is so sacred. It is always very moving to be present at a funeral for a soldier or a retired soldier. The sheer respect to the Flag is so right but it is also very evocative. But those who put the flags out here on the ESB poles, were screaming – Ireland for the Irish. It is sick. It is wrong. It cannot be tolerated. Some of us have written to the local TDs and to the Taoiseach. We have got responses from some. Those Flags are coming down every day (we are told) but they haven’t. We cannot allow people to destroy who we are with their misuse of our Flag.
Seamus Ahearne osa
30th July 2025