Brendan O’Regan
Ronan Tynan, Irish singer, doctor and paralympic athlete. As the Anne Murray song says, “We sure could do with a little good news today.” Well, I have some this week.
It was great to see news coverage of three of the Gaza hostages being released last Sunday, great to see them smiling and reunited with their families. This was facilitated by the new ceasefire deal, but as with all ceasefires I feel so bad for those killed between the deal being agreed and it being enacted. Sadly, there was so much evidence of cynicism on this occasion – when the ceasefire was delayed for a small few hours the bombing by the Israeli Defence Forces continued, with more people killed unnecessarily – at least eight according to the scrolling updates on Sky News last Sunday morning. Cynicism on the other side was shown by the Hamas approach to trickle releasing the hostages, who should never have been held at all – initially just 3 of a possible 90 or so.
On Morning Ireland (RTÉ Radio 1, Monday) a young Israeli man was critical of Hamas for the original massacres and hostage taking and critical of his own government for not reaching a deal sooner. As a result, his aunt, who should have been released if an earlier deal had been successful, was shot dead in captivity. He was still happy for the hostages newly released and just wanted the Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace together. He credited Donald Trump, or at least his election, with the success of the ceasefire. Indeed, the timing does seem to suggest that this was a significant factor.
On the Pat Kenny Show (Newstalk, Monday) the host yet again flew his anti-Trump colours. When a reporter did a vox pop among Trump supporters gearing up for the inauguration he described their contributions as ‘twaddle’ and praised the Newstalk reporter for showing restraint by not having a go at them. I wasn’t impressed by the Trump supporters, but I’d expect some objectivity and neutrality from the presenter. Presumably in the interests of a balance the show is not always committed to, we also heard contributions from Trump opponents, giving out about threats to ‘reproductive rights’, ‘nuff said.
It was good to see a practising Catholic as guest on The Meaning of Life (RTÉ One, Sunday). Ronan Tynan has had such varied career and life paths, and, on the show, he told Joe Duffy of his life as a singer, doctor and paralympic athlete. All through the challenges of life he had remained committed to his life as a Catholic. He has a special devotion to St Therese of Lisieux, but is also conscious of friends who have died, especially his twin brother Edmond who died in infancy. In a way he reckons half of him is gone to Heaven already! His achievements as a Paralympian was welcomed in some quarters but not in others. He learned about ‘people’s distaste for disability’.
His experiences in the USA were of particular interested to me as I hadn’t heard about them before. He sang at 64 funerals for the victims of the 9/11 attacks in New York, some where there was no body in the coffin and some where the funeral was halted because a body had just been found. This stemmed from his close relationship with NY officials who were so supportive during the Paralympics. Further he sang for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush Snr – in the latter case at the dying President’s bedside. Asked the usual question about arrival at the pearly gates he said he’d want to show humility and sorrow for any wrongdoing.
Political commentator Larry Donnelly also said he was a practicing Catholic in an answer to a question on the matter from the host on Brendan O’Connor (RTE Radio 1, Sunday). The host sort of apologised for asking with this odd comment: ‘Sorry, I kind of assumed nobody was’. Maybe that was tongue-in-cheek, but it suggested what I suspect is a common enough mindset among some media folks. This was part of a very positive item on Sr Clare Crockett, the nun from Derry killed in an Ecuador earthquake – the item arose out of a Sunday Times article. Susanne Rogers of Social Justice Ireland found her a ‘very relatable’ candidate for sainthood, while journalist Brenda Power thought it was ‘a fantastic story’. Brendan O’Connor suggested ‘we could do with a bit more of this’.
More good news!
PICK OF THE WEEK
WALK FOR LIFE WEST COAST
EWTN Saturday January 25, 7.30pm
Live coverage of the Walk for Life West Coast and One Life LA with Fr. Patrick and Catherine Hadro. Fr Mark and Bro. John report from within the walk, speaking to participants.
FIRST COMMUNION
BBC One (NI) Tuesday January 28, 10.40pm
Four Catholic families prepare to celebrate their children’s First Holy Communion, one of the biggest days of their lives so far. It’s a sacred ceremony but also a time to celebrate.
MOVIE: FATHER BROWN
Film 4 Thursday January 30, 3pm
(1954) Robert Hamer’s mysterious crime comedy starring Alec Guinness as Fr Brown, a priest-cum-detective tasked with accompanying a priceless religious artifact from London to Rome.