EDITOR – I made the pilgrimage, like so many others, to West Cork last Sunday morning for the homecoming for Skibbereen’s Olympic heroes.
It was such a wonderful feelgood event and a joy to see people of every age, creed, colour and gender coming together to stand in unity and say a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to the women and men of Skibbereen Rowing Club that afternoon.
I loved Nuala Lupton’s speech about gender parity at the rowing club and also at two consecutive Olympics.
It was also such a joy to see two local national schools feted on the stage, too, with their wonderful tributes to the rowers.
That was especially poignant because of Fintan McCarthy’s words about having been inspired himself, when he was their age, after having seen the achievements of the town’s rowing club.
We all know the story of ‘that’ photo now, of Fintan watching Gary and Paul on their return from Rio. Never was there a more tangible example of the ‘if you see it, you can be it’ ethos, as that iconic photo – taken, I believe by The Southern Star’s sports editor Kieran McCarthy – of a young Fintan watching his heroes from the sidelines in Skibbereen.
Who knows what young boy or girl was inspired last Sunday to push themselves forward to achieve some greatness in years to come?
And young David O’Brien’s rendition of that beautiful but heartbreaking song, Dear Old Skibbereen, rounded off a magnificent day in the dear old town, that thousands will now have cherished memories to keep them going through the winter, and beyond.
A big ‘thank you’ is needed now, not just for our incredible Cork athletes, but for those who organised such a magnificent day out for everyone, with estimates of over 8,000 having made the trek into the Fairfield for the delightful afternoon’s entertainment.
There were smiles all around, and not an angry face to be seen.
It was a very welcome injection of fun and happiness at a time when the world really needs more of this. Skibbereen Abú indeed.
Susan Crowe,
Ballincollig.
Crowds at the Skibbereen homecoming on Sunday afternoon. (Photo: Karlis Dzjamko)
Elderly boom will put pressure on homes
EDITOR – A total of 77 nursing homes have closed in the past year and now not enough beds for the elderly.
The nursing home sector is seeking stabilisation funding of €265m in the budget as the elderly population surges, against the backdrop of nursing home closures. The Central Statistics Office shows there are 198,000 people over the age of 80 in Ireland at the present time.
The boom in our ageing population is putting a greater strain on nursing homes and the sector is warning that capacity will struggle to keep up with the demand.
We need the intervention of this government to ensure the sustainability of nursing home care as a matter of urgency.
Noel Harrington,
Kinsale.
We need foreigners to propel our economy
EDITOR – For the last decade the economy has been growing at the rate of 3% to 6% a year.
This is roughly the rate the population of Ireland has been growing.
Two-thirds of this workforce growth has been foreign workers. Those on the right who agitate for ‘Stop the migrants’ or ‘Ireland is full’ are arguing for nil growth.
Or is there a less good motive, like the ‘R’ word?
Michael Hallissey,
Mayfield,
Bandon.
Israel’s arrogant incursion
EDITOR – The Israeli military fly-through of Irish airspace without consent from Irish authorities is yet another example of its – and their – arrogance, disrespect, and total disregard for the international rule of law, aided and abetted by the complicit US.
It’s high time the Israeli ambassador was expelled and high time, too, that Ireland enacted a total ban on imports from Israel, not just the occupied territories.
Kevin Finn,
Mitchelstown.
