Mary Kenny
“time heals all wounds between nations, and history puts everything into a constantly changing perspective”, writes Mary Kenny
The history of St Patrick’s Day in Britain is interesting. Up until 1916 – significantly – it was well-marked and well-observed in London, particularly, as a great day for the Irish. The tradition of a royal family member presenting the shamrock to the Irish Guards was a noted public occasion.
Then, as the broadcaster Maurice Gorham observed in his autobiography – which described the first 60 years of the 20th Century – after the break with the Crown and the establishment of the Free State, this Paddy’s Day enthusiasm rather faded away within the UK.
There was, Gorham reported, a kind of bitterness. He heard English people mutter about the Irish having “stabbed them in the back” in the middle of the 1914-18 war – 1916 itself having been an atrocious year for loss of life on the Somme.
So, except among the Irish community, the significance of March 17 tended to be played down in Britain. Chicago might dye the river green, Jewish bagels in New York be baked emerald, and the church bells ring out in Buenos Aires for St Pat, but it wasn’t much observed within England and Wales (and in Scotland there were sometimes sectarian issues).
Now, it’s all changed again, and the late Mr Gorham would be astonished to see that the celebration of St Patrick’s Day has virtually returned, in Britain, to pre-1914 status. There are parades everywhere, drawing huge crowds – it’s not unusual for a crowd of 90,000 people to show up for a Patrick’s Day parade in a London park.
Wounds
I suppose it all reflects the way time heals all wounds between nations, and history puts everything into a constantly changing perspective. And I think Ireland’s formal recognition of the Great War of 1914-18 made a significant contribution to the healing and reconciliation which has taken place.
When President Mary McAleese stood next to Queen Elizabeth in common commemoration of Flanders Field – that was a turning-point moment which led to the warmer relations we see today, including the St Patrick’s Day celebrations.
One man made an outstanding contribution to our reawakened understanding of that Great War: the journalist Kevin Myers. His achievement has never been properly acknowledged, and his work often side-lined by academics. In all honour, he should be made a fellow of the Royal Irish Academy.
But hey, let’s not forget St Patrick himself in all this! He preached a faith of peace, and converted Ireland by peaceful means. Quite right that his spirit should return to animate peaceful relations.
Second language improves children’s skills
We grumbled about having to learn Irish at school (some of us are old enough to have grumbled about Latin classes). But perhaps we should thank our lucky stars.
Two new American studies have shown that acquiring a second language as a child improves cognitive skills, enhances social development and extends problem-solving.
Psychologists Keysar, Liberman and Fan at the University of Chicago studied children from four to six and came up with these positive outcomes for bi-lingualism: a follow-up study to be published in the journal Developmental Science will endorse that. So – an Gaelige abu! (If I’ve got that right!)
Conscientious objection to abortion
I had heard it said, anecdotally, that Italian doctors were increasingly reluctant to carry out abortions, but I couldn’t locate any official figures which backed this claim. Yet sometimes anecdotal information turns out to be true, and statistics have now emerged which reveal a growing reluctance among Italian gynaecologists to perform abortions.
Seven out of 10 Italian gynaecologists now protest a “conscientious objection” to carrying out abortions, according to figures published by the Italian department of health. This figure of 70% has risen from 59% ten years ago.
Doctors nearing retirement say that there will be a “crisis” in abortion provision if this trend continues. Abortion rates have fallen in Italy from 233,976 in 1983 to 102,760 in 2013.
Miscarriages have increased, however, from 93 per 1000 live births to 138: pro-abortion sources say this could mean that women are procuring illegal abortions which end in miscarriage.
We don’t know whether this is a reliable analysis, since no verifiable evidence has been supplied. The Catholic University of Milan, monitoring healthcare, claims that an increase in miscarriage is more likely to reflect the fact that more women are becoming pregnant at an older age.
Actually, if the truth were told, seldom do doctors anywhere like doing abortions, with certain exceptions; and there are doctors so low down in the pecking order that they can’t get a better job.
There are some sincere doctors who believe they are helping women and I would not disparage their motives. But the more alternatives there are to abortion, the more that those in the medical profession will come to feel that there has to be a better way.