A chara, - When Ireland was controlled by England at least the Irish people had a clear idea of the identity of their nation and of its future - freedom from control of the British Empire and a parliament in Dublin, through which the Irish would rule themselves. Now, for the most part, having gained that freedom, we seem to have lost our sense of vocation and identity as a nation.
The people who have succeeded to positions of leadership in Irish political life seem intent on restoring Ireland's colonial status, only on this occasion replacing British colonial control by European Union colonial control. Our long-sought parliament has been reduced to the status and relevance of a county council debating chamber, with few members even bothering to attend for debates. As befits a people with a colonised psyche, we have again sold our right to rule ourselves.
Our leaders are willing to cede our political and cultural identity as the price for entry into a rapidly integrating European empire - with an anti-national common denominator - whose sole guiding value is the power of the market. As with our British Empire experience, a certain class of Irish are attaining high positions in the Euro Empire, just as their ancestors gained commissionerships in India and other foreign lands during the halcyon days of the British.
Having secured most of our freedom from the British, one of the great objectives was to gain full employment for Ireland's daughters and sons, in their own land. But, having also achieved that goal, our leaders have now abandoned the concept of a fully integrated, cohesive Irish nation, enjoying a reasonable standard of living and cherishing its own identity, to replace it with a market economy having no other core value than the enjoyment of a high standard of living for the majority.
Ever increasing numbers of foreigners are being attracted to Ireland to fill the job vacancies and coffers of the multinational capitalists - attracted by cunningly contrived tax laws - to whom our political leaders have sold the future of the Irish nation, in exchange for a temporary political popularity. In the process, the concept and reality of an Irish national state has been abandoned and, failing a downturn in the Celtic tiger, the Irish Celts will soon become a minority culture in their traditional homeland.
In the face of current developments, I am reluctantly coming to the conclusion that gaining freedom from British control might not have been the great success I once thought it to be. I cannot resist the thought that if we were still under British domination, the future of our race and culture would have been assured, for the values which had sustained our ancestors through millenniums would be still defended by our leaders.
At a minimum, we would not have been exposed to the risk of ultimate and final betrayal of the hopes, values and ideals of ordinary Irish people, such as now confront us. - Is mise,
LIAM Ó GÉIBHEANNAIGH, Ath an Ghainimh, Co Atha Cliath.