Letters: You are my heroine, Noreen, your bravery is so admirable

Her bravery, resilience and personal strength were clear, as was her deep emotional and physical pain. I am not qualified to discuss the myriad ways abuse impacts our adult lives, no matter how much therapy we receive or no matter how insignificant the abuse may seem to other people. However, I am qualified to say it has impacted my entire life, and I am in my 60s.

It takes huge courage and resilience to make the choice Noreen has made as an adult to address her circumstances.

Most of us who have been betrayed and subjected to real abuse as children recognise the depth of her courage. I would like to say to Noreen that she is an amazing person.

The hurt that persists long after our actual physical vulnerability as children has elapsed means we carry that betrayal and lack of trust into our adult relationships.

Noreen’s report of being a prisoner in her own home in the seven years since she instigated a civil action against her father sounds every bit as horrific for me as her abuse as a child. And she would not be alone in that.

You are my heroine, Noreen. I wish you lots of luck.

Kay Davern, Dublin 7

Coalition can’t cash in on children’s hospital

Sir — “Are we there yet?” is the question children relentlessly ask on a tiresome journey. It seems the world-class National Children’s Hospital has an impatient year or so to go before it is commissioned. “We’re not there yet,” cry the adults at the Public Accounts Committee.

A spanking new hospital can’t come soon enough for our politicians, particularly on the government benches.

It was to be the final hurrah before the calling of a general election. You could almost see in the mind’s eye the ribbons, balloons and a galaxy of children assembled in fanfare. The three party captains on the podium at the St James’s campus — Simon, Micheál and Eamon, with even Dr Leo getting a look-in, all basking in the sunshine.

But alas, it looks for sure now that it will be a new government — perhaps with captain Mary — that will have the honour. General election results will come crashing in before the hospital doors open.

But when the big day comes, the enormous cost of over €2bn and all the delays will be lost in the excitement. At a guess, it will be the summer of 2026 before that happy day arrives.

It will be a great day for so many who waited so long. We will forget the cost — and rightly so, because what matters most is the health of our children.

Aidan Roddy, Cabinteely, Dublin 18

​Adult children not such a bad thing

Sir — Lack of housing is the big issue in the upcoming local and European elections. Adult children in their 20s still living at home seems to be a particular problem.

But what is so terrible about adult children living with their parents if they have the space? It has been the norm for generations of adult children to live in and eventually take over family homes. There never was a time when home ownership was easy to attain, and in the past mortgage interest rates reached 18pc.

“Housing is a basic human right” is a slogan from political parties desperate for power, and the idea that they can magic up affordable housing is ridiculous.

With our increasing popula­tion and increasing building costs, housing for all is still a long way off. On the upside, those in their 20s still living at home will stop parents feeling lonely and suffering from empty nest syndrome.

Brian Lube, Co Meath

GAA managers are too often lambasted

Sir — With a relative lull in the senior hurling championship before the provincial finals next weekend, I am reminded of the crucial person fundamental to every team, the manager.

The past week cannot have been easy for high-profile managers such as Liam Cahill, Henry Shefflin and Davy Fitzgerald and others, of course, who give just as much with the lesser media-profiled counties.

The level of scrutiny given to these three, especially Shefflin, has been unfair.

It is easy to see from the demeanour and reactions of these managers last weekend that they are not in it for the money — an often unfair insinuation made about GAA county managers ­generally.

People who stand up to be counted in GAA county management do so knowing the margins between success and failure are slim and sometimes flimsy. They are deserving of a more reflective level of appreciation for what they do and less forensic scrutiny of what they are deemed not to have done.

Michael Gannon, St Thomas Square, Kilkenny

Pace of football has become pedestrian

Sir — I have fond memories of sitting at the kitchen table on Sunday afternoons with my late father, enjoying Michael ­O’Hehir filling my imagination with goalkeepers making diving saves, full-backs making lengthy clearances, midfielders taking the ball from the clouds and fast-moving forwards scoring at will.

It was commentary at a hundred miles an hour, full of passion and emotion. I wonder how the man would have coped with the pedestrian pace of Gaelic football as played in today’s world.

Perhaps he would have taken up painting as a hobby, and proceeded to do some portraits of spectators in conjunction with the commentary.

There is no doubt he would have the time.

Paddy Pigott, Co Laois

Fianna Fáil squabble shows dysfunction

Sir — Philip Ryan (Sunday Independent, May 26) writes of the broadside delivered against Tánaiste Micheál Martin by his own party candidate Niall Blaney in the Midlands-North West euro election campaign. It is indeed rare to hear a candidate lambast his own party leader in such a public manner at a press conference.

But those of us who read polit­ical history will be only too aware that the Blaneys of Donegal have form when it comes to assailing their own party leaders who happen to hail from Cork.

Some of us venerable veterans still recall Neil Blaney’s onslaught against party leader Jack Lynch, which resulted in Blaney losing the party whip.

He went on to found a new party, Independent Fianna Fáil, in which the current combatant ­Niall Blaney sought refuge for some years before rejoining the Warriors of Destiny.

Mr Blaney regrets what he describes as our return to “the old politics” and the fact that “we’re giving up on Connacht and the border counties”.

That’s “old politics” if ever I saw it.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of this ­in-family kerfuffle, it is hard to imagine a minor candidate assailing Dev or Lemass in this manner. This undignified squabbling within the once highly disciplined Fianna Fáil party on the eve of polling reeks of electile dysfunction.

Fr Iggy O’Donovan, Glen of Aherlow, Co Tipperary

​Political hopefuls harm environment

Sir — We seem to be very much a country operating double standards at present. In one sense we have directives and guidelines in relation to protecting the environment and sustainability, and on the other hand, look at the number of election posters that are everywhere.

These posters and placards are made from some form of plastic aeroboard, which cannot be good for the environment.

Still, our current and aspiring politicians think it is OK to put hundreds, if not thousands, up in every county.

In relation to the environment and sustainability, it seems to be a case of “do as we say, not as we do”.

Denis Donohoe, Kildorrery, Mallow, Co Cork

Wilful stupidity in migration debate

Sir — Your article last Sunday by Colin Murphy should have been titled ‘More nonsense about Ireland and immigration’.

A country with a history of emigration should not assume it won’t return. Our economy is sustained by foreign direct investment from the United States. That could come to an abrupt halt any time soon.

Our other mainstay, agricultural production, is sustained by imported fertiliser, another input that could be cut off for a variety of reasons.

We are skating on thin ice, which is getting thinner. I don’t support political threats and violence, but wilful stupidity is contributing to it.

Antony Stack, Model Farm Road, Cork

Sir — Well done, Colin Murphy, for challenging all of us to pause and consider our approach to immigration in a compelling column that offered immense food for thought.

John O’Brien, Clonmel, Co Tipperary

Ministers operating with blank checks

Sir — Eilis O’Hanlon’s article (‘Beware of misinformation, lies and half-truths… from our Government’, May 26) focuses on the misinformation spread by the Government during the referendum, which she describes as “an absolute and incontest­able public scandal”. In essence, she questions the functioning of our democracy.

Yet this malady is apparent across a whole range of issues, such as Sipo having no teeth to hold politicians to account, the unfathomable delay in the Covid inquiry and the Government’s complete disregard for the Cass Review.

What links these topics is the lack of transparency, acc­ountability and scrutiny at the heart of government.

Ministers act with impunity because TDs and senators are no more than lobby fodder. They do not hold ministers to account or critically scrutinise legislation, as illustrated by the hate-speech bill. No wonder John Adams cynically observed that “when annual elections end, there slavery begins”.

What is even more concern­ing is that the opposition appears to be part of this groupthink. Even when ministers, in the words of Eilis, “knowingly” and “repeatedly” made erroneous statements in the Oireachtas, there was no uproar from the opposition. Nor did the opposition speak up when the Government arbitrarily decided to prohibit the publication of important information on the referendum — the Interdepartmental Group and the Attorney General’s advice.

We need legislative and constitutional changes that force the Government and ministers to be more accountable and open. In short, stronger checks and balances.

Andy Hales, Kenmare, Co Kerry

Ireland can be proud to support Palestine

Sir — David Quinn wrote an article in your paper last week in connection with Ireland’s recognition of the state of ­Palestine. He criticised Ireland, Spain and Norway for recognising the Palestinians’ right to have their own state. I say well done to all three countries.

Israel has threatened all three with repercussions and sanctions. I think it is long past time that the EU says enough is enough and introduces sanctions against Israel. I hope many more EU countries will get off the fence and recognise ­Palestine. We are told now is not the right time for recognition — but if not now, when?

Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli ambassador to Ireland, Dana Erlich, all like to throw out the red herring of antisemitism. In fact, the Irish public are condemning Israel for the slaughter of over 36,000 men, women and children in Gaza.

It is impossible to fix all the problems in the world, but a good place to start would be Palestine. I hope journalists ask Biden, Netanyahu and Erlich one question: what crimes did the many thousands of dead Palestinian babies and children commit against Israel?

Kevin McLoughlin, Santry, Dublin 9

​Hamas will govern any Palestinian state

Sir — David Quinn reflects the views of many in Ireland. There is no doubt that Hamas will have viewed Ireland’s recognition of Palestine as a stamp of approval, despite the October 7 atrocities against Israeli citizens.

Make no mistake — as things stand, a Palestinian state will be governed by Hamas. My question is: How can the Government reward the terrorists who committed rape, beheadings, mutilations and burned to death and slaughtered civilians?

Following the Government’s actions, Israel released a video of Hamas terrorists with bleeding and traumatised female captives whom their captors described as “a good age to get pregnant”. If these unfortunate girls are still alive, their circumstances can only be described as hell on Earth. For the Government to ignore the plight of the hostages and Hamas atrocities is unconscionable.

Bridget Goulding, Kilmurry, Co Cork

​UCC’s lowering of flag was shameful

Sir — Today, I removed my PhD from the wall of my office. I cannot bear to look at it after the Palestinian flag was lowered on the UCC campus while countless Palestinians are grieving for their burnt, beheaded, bombed and brutalised babies.

The university’s leadership team should be ashamed, whether they were involved in the decision to remove the flag, or whether they stood by and let it happen.

Silence equals complicity. Their silence will be remembered with disgust. The students who continue to camp on the Quad will be remembered for their activism and solidarity with the people of Palestine.

Dr Donna Alexander, Carrigaline, Co Cork

​Áras an ideal home for asylum-seekers

Sir — Once again the asylum-­seekers’ encampment along the Grand Canal has been removed and dismantled, with barriers and bollards put in place to stop the area returning to a Third-World enclave. This obnoxious method of uprooting migrants is unfair and distressing.

There are more scenic and affluent areas where a displaced person might be more at peace. Take Killiney or Dalkey, for ­instance, with the advantage of the Dart for public transport and lovely beaches to roam and wealthy neighbours to meet, greet and have a chat with in the early morn.

Or how about the manicured grounds of Áras an Uachtaráin? I am sure President Michael D ­Higgins, a man well known for his philanthropic and benevolent nature, would have no objection to a few hundred impoverished folks moving in.

I am also convinced ­Michael’s wife Sabina would be tickled pink standing at the front door handing out cups of tea with a slice or two of home-made apple tart to all international guests.

Alternatively, there is beautiful Howth, with commanding views of Dublin’s countryside and rugged coastline and a rambling pier to stroll on. The Dart again can be fully ­utilised, with day trips to Bray or ­Greystones, where our influx of global friends can imbibe the rich history and eloquence of these places where Mother ­Nature has bestowed such gifts on her sons and daughters from home and abroad. Truly, we are blessed.

Vincent O’Connell, New Ross, Co Wexford

Trans men silenced by hostile reaction

Sir — Where are all the trans men? wonders E Bolger (Letters, May 26). They are all around us, but go unnoticed, as people are obsessed with denying the rights of trans women.

They are all around, but they do not feel safe revealing their identities. Trans people have always existed and always will, but some do not feel safe coming out in an often hostile environment, just as many gay people did not feel safe coming out in days gone by.

Trans men exist and their existence does not disturb ours in any way. Trans women can sometimes be easier to spot and take aim at, but their existence does not disturb ours either. They just want to live their lives in peace. How about we just let them be?

Bernie Linnane, Dromahair, Co Leitrim