Cat amongst the donkeys

DUBLIN’s lord mayor has certainly thrown the cat amongst the donkeys with her suggestion that the live crib at the Mansion House cast out its real animals this year.

The Green Party councillor, Caroline Conroy, has said she would like to see something more modern in its place, which doesn’t rely on live farm animals being used. She has certainly irked the IFA who run the crib every year, and believe the animals are more than well looked after. 

And she has upset others who feel there are more important things to worry about this Christmas, like how the almost 11,000 people without homes will enjoy the holiday at all.

But in the spirit of the season, she has managed to unite Fine Gael and Sinn Féin, who have joined forces to try and get her to reverse her decision. With the puck goat in Killorglin looking set to be a thing of the past, maybe it’s time we did start to think more creatively about the use of animals in human traditions. Although one would have thought a more democratic approach to such a drastic change to the festive celebrations in our capital city would have yielded a more positive response.