EDITOR -- Now that Catherine Connolly TD has launched her bid for the presidency, political commentators are beside themselves with excitement.
But given that it has been often said that, ‘a government is as good as its opposition’, we must ask ourselves if it is politically wise to consign this stand-out parliamentarian to the Park. The presidency is largely a ceremonial role with minimal impact upon public policy, where the most important function is to sign whatever act of parliament is presented to them, and where they cannot address the nation or leave the country without government approval.
In the Dáil as an independent TD, free from constraints of party strategies and agendas, she has held the government to account on many issues, from the provision of local health centres to the outrages currently perpetrated upon Palestinians.
Almost alone she called out the national antipathy generated by our government towards those who, having assessed the available evidence together with their GP, concluded that taking the COVID-jab was not for them. She is admired for admitting in the Dáil that she was wrong in adopting left-wing party policy which insisted on zero-COVID before reopening society and the economy. Incidentally these are the same parties that she now needs to ensure her nomination.
Perhaps most memorably before the two failed referendums last year, she was one of very few public figures to call out the absence of legislative scrutiny, disingenuous claims, and the ambiguous language associated with them.
We badly need Catherine Connolly’s talent and skill set in the Dáil. She is too important to be confined in the Áras enclosure!
Gearoid Duffy
Lee Road, Cork.
Meaningful action needed against Israel
EDITOR – The scale of death and destruction in Gaza is devastating; the Israeli government has killed tens of thousands of people by bombing and starving them, and there’s no sign of any let up.
The Israelis are obliterating all traces of Palestinian society, including the Palestinians themselves from this planet.
Ireland could put pressure on Israel by banning all trade with its
genocidal regime, but our government is terrified of doing anything that will hurt profits. Witness the statements from our frightened business leaders. That’s why they’ve spent years blocking the Occupied Territories Bill, which would ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements.
Now, our government wants to pass a gutted version of the Occupied Territories Bill that would only ban the trade of goods, not services, with illegal Israeli settlements, but services make up 70% of our trade with Israel, meaning the bill would be deliberately weak. The government’s gutted bill will do nothing for the people of Gaza, and it’s just a PR exercise for Micheál Martin and Simon Harris so they can look like they’re taking a strong position on Israel without taking meaningful action.
It is important to reiterate, as reaffirmed by numerous legal and economic analyses, that there is no economic or legal distinction between the Israeli economy and its unlawful colonial enterprise in the Occupied Palestinian territories. Trade, investment, and cooperation with Israel sustain the very infrastructure of genocide, apartheid and occupation.
Upholding international law requires imposing meaningful sanctions on Israel; this must mean the end of all trade, investment and financial relations that contribute to genocide, apartheid, and occupation.
In a world where states and civil society actors are facing sanctions or intimidation for merely upholding international law, the commitment to support national universal jurisdiction and international accountability mechanisms for international crimes, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of apartheid is not only principled - it is essential.
If our government pushes ahead with a ban on the trade of goods and excludes services, it will send Israel yet another signal that they can do whatever they like to the people of Gaza and the West Bank, and that nobody is willing to stand up to them.
Daniel Teegan.
Listarkin, Union Hall.
Proud of our hurlers - Corcaigh abú!
EDITOR - We in Cork are so proud of our hurlers. They won the National League, the Munster final, and gave us great entertainment for 2025.
Keep the flags flying high - we will be back in 2026 with Patrick Horgan and the rest of his great hurlers, just as Johnny Logan won the Eurovision with, ‘What’s Another Year?’
Corcaigh abú, and up the rebels.
Noel Harrington
Kinsale.
