OPINION 17 opinion@trinitynews.ie
No country for old men The recent RTÉ series “Ireland’s Greatest” exposes the scars left in the public consciousness by British rule, according to Michael Gilligan
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t a time of a severe drop in public morale, RTÉ recently released a documentary series which allowed the Irish public to vote on who they thought Ireland’s greatest ever figure was. Top of the poll, as decided by last Friday’s Late-Late-watching public, was Nobel laureate John Hume followed by Michael Collins, Mary Robinson, James Connolly and finally unequivocally both last and least – trailed Bono. Historians were baffled and thrown into disarray at the list which contained names as obtuse and irrelevant to the some 1500 years of documented Irish history as Roy Keane, Ronan Keating and Collin Farrell. Granted it isn’t likely early Christian monks influenced to any great extent the historical direction of Ireland, but it is just as unlikely that we hit the supreme genetic jackpot in the twentieth century. Only three of the names among “Ireland’s greatest” predated the 1900s. The oldest bidder was Daniel O’Connell who, despite having peacefully achieved the right for Catholic Irishmen to become MPs in Westminster, was left contending with figures like Roy Keane whose contributions to the course of Irish history (as distinct from Premiership football) remain at best negligible. What the poll incontestably demonstrated, apart from the influence and power of popular culture, is the rupture that exists between Ireland, pre- and post-colonial. In the British equivalent, “100 Greatest Britons”, released in 2002 and by which “Ireland’s Greatest” was inspired, the wealth of figures stretched as far back as AD 60 with Boudicca (a leader of the resistance to the Roman Empire) and included such legendary names as King Arthur, William Wallace and Alfred the Great. The question that we must then ask ourselves is why is our conception of Ireland so bound and limited to the twentieth century? Two weeks ago when Bob Geldof (who, incidentally, was also on the shortlist) spoke at The Hist, he briefly made reference to Ireland and, in an attempt to stir empathy, compared its colonial history to that of Africa. However, he went a step further again, claiming the Irish were a “deracinated people” who were
ROUNDUP
Money can’t buy you votes Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has spent an astonishing $160 million dollars in her campaign to take the reigns of a floundering California economy. The former eBay CEO has invested nearly all of that money from her private accounts, creating the most expensive nonpresidental campaign in history. Whitman’s Democratic challenger, Jerry Brown, has spent only around $20 million dollars but still leads in the polls. Her broadcasts are hard to avoid, as Whitman has bombarded the airwaves with thousands of adverts every single day, in an array of languages that would make even a multi-cultural Californian’s head spin. Could her big-spending tactics actually work and win her the election? Perhaps an ordinary California voter put it best when he posted on the Internet: “California is my state, Ms. Whitman. And it’s not for sale!”
cut off from their heritage and forced to “forge an identity” for themselves. Despite my initial incredulity, the results of “Ireland’s Greatest” revealed a harrowing truth behind Sir Bob Geldof’s words. Where was High King Brian Ború, the Earl of Tyrone Hugh O’Neill, Red Hugh O’Donnell and even Colmcille to name but a few of those who were so casually thrown aside. I dare not mention St Patrick in such hallowed grounds as Trinity but (and I think we can grant him citizenship under the same grounds as Connolly) was he not in many respects an immense figure who irrevocably changed the course of this island and whose name, for one hazy day every March, has become synonymous with all things Irish? Ireland may be a young nation politically but its history is rich and vast. The problem with “Ireland’s Greatest” was that it saw “Ireland” as a concept which has only existed for the last 150-odd years. However, if, as Bob Geldof seemed to imply, we owe much of our identity to the cultural revival of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, where then on the list were the men that made this possible? Douglas Hyde, it can be argued, was almost singlehandedly responsible for the (pseudo-)survival of the Irish language, yet he was unworthy of a place. People like Michael Cusack were also nowhere to be seen, and even poor Arthur Guinness probably deserved a mention. Yeats, combining in his work both the Gaelic and the colonial, is in many senses the father of modern Irish literature. With Joyce, he carved Ireland onto the literary map. Is Ireland then, and our very identity by association, not more indebted to these cultural giants than their political counterparts? But hey, in the eyes of many people abroad Bono and Arthur Guinness are Ireland’s greatest, and (to sprinkle a little more cynicism on the wound) Michael Collins’ deserved place as runner-up is probably, for our generation, due to the myth-sustaining role played by Liam Neeson – who, need I even say it, was also on the shortlist.
US Comedian plans political rally Jon Stewart, of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show”, reeled in the biggest fish of them all of Wednesday: President Barack Obama. The comedian, who is planning a rally at the National Mall the weekend before midterm elections, spoke plainly, if not entirely seriously, to the President. Obama’s key message for Stewart’s audience? Get out and vote on November 2! The President has spent the past few weeks on a difficult campaign trail, trying to lend his celebrity (if not his plummeting popularity) to the fight for congressional Democrats. Some critics of Stewart worry that he is getting to close to the subject of his satire, possibly becoming a political activist himself. All I know is, if there is any chance to keep the Republicans from taking over both the House of Representatives and the Senate in November, well then Mr Stewart, work away.
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS A SELECTION of notable Irish men and women are pictured. Though Trinity News is not so bold as to claim these are the greatest Irish people who ever lived, each contributed to the progress, reputation or culture of Ireland during their lifetime, with many actively working to improve people’s lives. Names with a star appeared in RTÉ’s top 40. From top left: Sister Sarah Clarke, Aodh Mór Ó Néill (Hugh O’Neill), Delia Larkin, Douglas Hyde, Theobald Wolfe Tone*, John Hume*, George Bernard Shaw, Mary Robinson*, Brian Boruma (Brian Boru), Daniel O’Connell*, Eamon de Valera*, Michael Collins*, Edmund Burke, James Joyce*, Jonathan Swift, Adi Roche*, Michael Cusack, Sir Thomas Barnardo, Sister Catherine Macauley, James Connolly*.
Scientists make progress on DNA decoding
The campaign for election begins
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he new campaign for a new Provost is now well under way. Aspiring candidates appear suddenly to relish the company of colleagues on High Table studiously avoided in the previous ten years and are eager to seek them out in the remotest parts of College. Suddenly the sense of the “College community” (a phrase beloved of remote administrators) begins to acquire some of its old vitality. Such is the power of an election and the possibility of a real determination of events. This is a power that the electorate must be eager to grasp and to use, for it will disappear as soon as the votes have been counted. As with a Cowen or a Cameron, we shall not truly know the quality of a Provost until he or she begins to exercise the authority normally associated with the resident of 1 Grafton Street (now obscured from view by the iconic Hub Building). It is imperative that the
2 November, 2010
A VIEW FROM NEW SQUARE
GERALD MORGAN new Provost act decisively to put an end to the scandal of bonus payments and special allowances to superior academics with managerial skills. And we
need to decide how much we ought to pay someone for the privilege of living in the Provost’s House. I suggest that we put a limit of €150,000 on the Provost’s salary and regulate all other salaries downwards from it accordingly. The system of electing a Provost is unique to Trinity College, a relic, according to one correspondent in the Irish Examiner, of a gentleman’s club, and to the same correspondent in The Irish Times “archaic, obsolete and irrelevant”. It is amusing in a way to see that the old perceptions of Trinity College have not been entirely abandoned in the public mind. How unfortunate it is that they are no longer true. A vote is a precious thing and no university manager will be entirely at ease with the idea of a collection of free-thinking individuals making up their own minds on the allimportant question of their leader or boss. Hence attempts are bound to be made to restrict this power.
The system by which we elected F. S. L. Lyons in 1974 and his successors in 1981, 1991 and 2001 is no longer to be trusted. Thus there has been a change in procedure, that is, a change for the worse in the restriction of the power of nominators and electors. We can no longer leave the selection of candidates to the good judgment of nominators, but we must interpose a committee of the wise and good to determine the names of those who are to be deemed worthy of nomination and election. It is one more sign that Trinity’s liberal traditions are under threat, and I hope that the electorate will respond to this challenge by an assertion of its own power. After all, who would want to appoint as Provost a person of “significant academic standing” (the College’s advertisement)? What we require is a great scholar. A very different thing. gmorgan1066@gmail.com
The scientific community is in high spirits after researchers cataloguing the human genome announced that they are on the way to compiling a comprehensive study on nearly five trillion letters of human DNA code. This research could lead to a much more comprehensive understanding of human evolution and determine the genetic derivations of certain diseases. The project plans to examine the genetic codes of 2500 people. Researcher Even Eichler has been quoted in the Guardian saying, “When we compare these 159 humans we’ve analyzed to the great apes, we have the ability to identify the genes and gene families which have expanded specifically in our lineage of evolution since we separated from that of chimpanzees and gorillas.” He also said: “We find a tantalizing set of genes that are important for neural development in terms of neuronal migration.” So there you have it. You can tell your mum that your neurological development, though not far from that of the great apes, has undergone some serious neuronal migration! Erm… huh?
Jonathan Creasy