I have often thought media commentators when interviewing Sinn Féin spokespeople, while picking up on a few of their many contradictions, miss a trick with Sinn Féin’s almost infinite capacity for the ridiculous. In the week of the Twelfth, when unionism, as described by their own spokespersons, have never felt more beleaguered and betrayed, we get two SF contributions, neither of which could have been calculated to elevate the level of political debate.
Gerry Kelly, presumably with a straight face, complained that the north Belfast Eleventh night celebrations ran through the full repertoire of Orange ditties, including the ever charming Billy Boys. I searched for the SF press release to see if there was any reference to the Pope’s religion or the nocturnal activities of bears in the woods, but no such luck.
On the BBC Sunday Politics show, hours before countless bonfires were lit, Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill gave an interview basking in the reflected glow of her generosity having attended a Somme Commemoration in Dublin. What is truly impressive, is that 23 years after the Good Friday Agreement and a series of similar claimed ‘historic’ gestures since, Sinn Féin is still trying to collect brownie points by presenting such a routine civic leadership duty as some monumental concession.
Michelle was in classic Sinn Féin virtue-signalling mode, indeed so much so perhaps the only thing missing from the interview was a backing group singing Kumbaya. Michelle solemnly pronounced several times that she believed her attendance was the “right thing to do”. That raises the question given her recent failures to meet either with Boris Johnson or Prince Charles. In retrospect, one wonders, if she now believes she didn’t do the right thing then or does she and Sinn Féin prefer to decide what is right and when?
It seems, like Carroll’s Humpty Dumpty, for Sinn Féin words mean what they choose them to mean and only when they say it.
Some of her statements were so breathtakingly contradictory that one wonders at what course the coming year will take when Sir Jeffrey Donaldson re-enters local debates.
As a final thought, there has been much glee this year at Brexit chickens coming home to roost for the DUP while Sinn Féin have had an easy ride of late. One might suggest, perhaps, they are in danger of counting their meaningless First Minister chickens for 2022.
Now what were the words that Arlene sang?
FRANK HENNESSEY
Belfast BT9
Ardoyne deserves nice things too
No matter how many times I drive up Twaddell Avenue towards Ardoyne I still stare over at the dilapidation and neglect at the Ardoyne shops – particularly the bottom half towards Brompton Park. Would this be tolerated elsewhere in the city?
We had a supermarket open here this year on a site that sat empty for years. Of the three entrances to the site two of them received facelifts. The one that didn’t was the Ardoyne entrance. They decided to keep the wall that resembles Crumlin Road Gaol and not fix the burnt crater immediately outside our entrance. We had an opening date for several weeks but when that day came we had to get our local MLA to contact the supermarket’s manager because they didn’t open the Ardoyne entrance for cars. Isn’t that amazing?
Three entrances and they kept the Ardoyne one closed?
In another part of Ardoyne we have had a burnt out building sit there for easily at least 10 years. How many family homes could replace this eyesore?
As we continue the conversation around how Belfast will look post-Covid with more public bikes for other parts of Belfast and parkways built nowhere near us, my appeal to the planners and investors is to not forget about us.
We deserve nice things too.
SEAMY CLARKE
Belfast BT14
Cruelty concerns
It comes as no great surprise that Edwin Poots, the Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, has launched the most recent consultation on proposals to tackle bovine TB in Northern Ireland, given he stated it was his ‘top priority’.
Nor is it a great surprise that badger culling is part of the proposals.
This has been the direction of travel for some time, despite analysis elsewhere that calls into question its effectiveness in combating the disease.
It is clear that culling badgers will come at a significant cost to the taxpayer, even with contributions from farmers, and the question of effectiveness should be put to the fore; not to mention the fact that it will mean killing healthy – and let’s not forget, legally protected – animals, which is fundamentally wrong.
We must not accept this cruel approach, which could involve healthy badger cubs starving to death because their mother has been trapped and shot.
If – instead of badger culling – additional resources were allocated to develop better testing, vaccination, enhanced bio-security and strategies to deal with the disease in the cattle population, this may provide better value for money, give farmers the assurances they need and help protect the native badger population.
RACHEL WOODS MLA
Green Party, Holywood,
Co Down
Some people have short memories
Brian Feeney (July 21)wrote that the south will get a massive windfall of €989 million as part of the Recovery and Resistance Facility. This money has been designated and it seems that none of it can be spent on public health care or to solve the chronic housing crisis.
What Mr Feeney does not tell us is that since 2013 to 2019 the Republic has been running a yearly deficit. According to the Department of Finance, and figures published over that period, the deficit is now more than €3 billion.
Let us not forget the bailout imposed by the EU on the Irish people in 2010. Ashoka Mody of the International Monetary Fund said: “At a time when businesses were shutting down and the ranks of the unemployed were growing, the Irish taxpayer was paying bankers and their creditors incredibly large sums.” Ireland paid out 25 per cent of its GDP to the bank bailout while Germany paid 1.5 per cent. It seems some people have short memories.
ERNEST WALKER
Belfast BT15
