In the shadow of a Celtic past. 2

Ireland,my country, is a small island nation in the north Atlantic.Cut adrift in the Ice Age,East from its nearest neighbor,England, and westward, the next land is America thousands of miles away.The earliest evidence of human habitation in Ireland was found in Co. Waterford .We could reasonably assume that the area now called Kildare and the general area was inhabited around the same time.We then can assume that people walking around at the present time possesses the same d.n.a.of the skeleton who lived and hunted the land over eight or ten thousand years ago.

This little country (approx 4 million people)has a very strange phenomena in its live history.From recorded time Ireland has been achieving success on many different fronts.
Perhaps the greatest area is the world achieved writers which defy’s the per capita norm.I will name a few as an example.

In researching for this blog I went to my friend the internet and typed in “List of Irish writers” (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) and I was not prepared for what I found.The list of world renown writers in the hundreds.From the monks in the sixth century who wrote the Book of Kells to the present day Ireland continues to produce world acclaimed literal genius and Noble Peace Prizes.
In the world of recognition Ireland has won the award for a total of eleven times .From W.B.Yates in 1923 for ‘literature’ to William C Campbell in 2015 for ‘Physiology of Medicine’,Ireland has won the award for eleven times.(1943 is the early days of the new nation.

In the world of entertainment we have produced some of the best actors,film producer and opera singers who can compete with the best of the world.Finally the stage music dance production ‘River Dance’ caused a sensation and is still filling them in twenty years later.As a foot note ,we won the European song Contest seven times more occasions then any one else.
This is but a small piece of history showing the achieved by the people of Ireland over the years, there is a lot more and I am feeling guilt for not continuing with the positive,but alas, there is another side to the Irish physic,and this is the debate I would like to continue.

The rate of mental illness in Ireland is alarming,and only lately are government, via the people, beginning to wake up to.Alcoholism,drug addiction,homeless,poverty,violent and petty crime,high unemployment,overcrowding,school,overcrowding prisons.School dropout,illiteracy,wife beating,rape and in general a drop in the moral fiber of the country and mental health in general is beginning to show through the cracks in Irish society.
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If you believe in what I have written and you are concerned to the degree that you really want to help well where do we begin perhaps we already are. ? I talked in the first chapter about all we have achieved in the various spheres of society .I left out all the sporting successes we have achieved.Currently the rugby team playing in the world cup are been successful.The games has been watched by most people in the country and many abroad.The players are the current heroes. Before the game the music plays and the crowd inc.The team sing a ‘new’ anthem called Ireland’s Call.The players are representing Ireland and they really believe it.
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The rugby players of the “team Ireland” and a majority of followers live in a ‘parallel universe’ This Ireland inhabited by the Rugby people is a secure and comfort place,it is a world devoid of poverty or pain. A world with a promise of the future and a guaranteed for their children.It is a world which the language involves words like,Land,property,bonds the old school tie,names,profession,medical,the bar,business and on and on.( the reader probable realize that I am using the word rugby to describe a class decide in Ireland)

The language of the poor is decorated with words such as ,making ends meet,bus queue,dole queue, medical centers,rent allowance ,police searches,malnutrition,social inclusion , ,depression, and on and on …
The working class lot is as far from the middle class citizen as one could imagine.In a general term the classes are so far apart that neither could know of the existence of the other.

In this divided society ‘we'(we as a nation) take the moral high ground,we congratulate ourselves that we give a large slice of the national cake on charity.We run charity events all over the country for good causes, and this is to a degree well intended .
I wonder (and this is my opinion,and I have in mind the local causes) do the charity involved stop and think out exactly what they are doing.I am not necessary implying that the moneys is been misappropriated.I am saying that charity ,in its essence is an affront,or insult to the dignity of the recipient.
My point is that under the Constitution all the children of the nation aught to me treated equally.With this in mind why are people (other than the appropriate government dept.) financing the particular cause.The government will say that “we do not have the money” Well if the public finance the charity , how come that so many people have this extra money, to do what the government is voted into power to do, take care of the citizens who cannot do for themselves…

ps. This blog was meant to write a light history piece but it took on a life on to itself.On reflection I wonder what the Hunter Gatherer from long ago would think about the distribution of goods in the area known as Ireland ?…

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I will leave for the moment the class divided Ireland and look for a while at the inspirations of the patriots that gave their life,so that Ireland can be free..We will try and look at what they believed in and the sort of Ireland that I would like to live in. The vast majorities of the sixteen men that died by firing squad in 1916 were a very different types of people.There was teachers,poets,visionary’s,artists,and many more who held their believes at such a high value that the were prepared to die for them.

No doubt that they all contribute towards the content of the Deceleration of Independence and had stated their agreement before Rodrick Pierce read it out on the steps of the G,P.O .(I need to ,if I can, veracity this but I am sure that I will not meet disagreeableness to it. I say this with another strong thought in mind and that is,what exactly was that the condemned men thinking that Ireland would become ,or how would the new citizens of this new nation be treated when this new Celtic country was born.
We pride ourselves that we had a popular uprising against the rule ,or miss rule, by England. Well I doubt that it was a popular uprising as the middle classes (Irish catholic)were afraid of losing and the true facts are that the probability is that very small proportion of the population of Ireland neither knew or cared less what was happening.A saying regarding this subject I have found in writings regarding fight for Ireland freedom ,was “the few and the brave”. Further to that is a line from a song wrote in honor to the leaders who died in an earlier rebellion in 1798 was “and her heart pierced by traitors and slaves”.

There are many questions in regard to the identity of the republic of Ireland,and non more important than are we a republic (in the sense of the 1916 people or a republic in the module of men and women of the 1798 Republican.

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