On the day that Jack is laid to rest, readers could do no better than to find his letter to the Irish Times on 26 July 1966. it articulates views that were overwhelmed by events but are no less valid for that.
Jack expresses views that have been discarded by all sides in a headlong rush for money and power.
Maybe I’m just getting old but I regret his passing and the loss of his values.
Kipling said:
“The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. To be your own man [or woman] is a hard business. If you try it – you will be lonely often and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.”
I have been asked, ” why do you pursue these issues, and allow grey men [and women] to victimise you?”
My answer is that if you read the autopsy reports on my parents, you would do the same.
Where bureaucracies overpower people , often in surreal, nightmarish milieu which evoke feelings of senselessness, disorientation and helplessness.
The present bureaucracy is administered by the Secretary of State.
Those who are not “pro agreement” are excluded from any organ of the state, including the executive or the judiciary.
The pro agreement people are showered with honours , power and influence.
Why? To prevent any bombs in London. Read Peter Hitchens in the Mail.
Losing a loved one “naturally” is always sad.
To lose a close family member “unnaturally” say in a car crash, is unexpected, inexplicable and difficult to come to terms with.
To lose a loved one , murdered, is horrific. The conviction of the perpetrator may bring some “closure” to use that overworked and somewhat empty word.
To lose both parents, murdered by a PIRA active service unit, in an operation approved by the man who is now deputy first minister is outrageous, unreasonable and a situation which no citizen of a functioning democracy should have to endure.
Worse, the state has been complicit in the protection of Martin McGuinness in pursuit of the chimera known as the “peace process”.
Readers might wonder what that process is, given the PSNI warning about attacks and recent newspaper articles alleging that Sinn Fein is controlled by the army council.
What price peace?
A price I will not pay.
Some commentators would have you believe that Libya is in need of humanitarian aid. Here are some random facts.
Income from oil in the first half of 2014, $4billion
Crude oil output at 700,000 barrels per day
Owes Uk £14 million for army training costs
Is suing a Tanzanian firm for $37 million
Has assigned members of the Lebanese Bar to identify and recover assets in Lebanon
Cost the British taxpayer £200 million to defeat Gadafy
Who is the fool?
X is shot dead by Y[unknown to anyone?] as X sits in a pub with A and B.
X’s member of parliament, C, says that it is disgraceful.
D, a journalist, reports on the shooting of X.
E, X’s lawyer, says that he has written to C, X’s MP.
C calls upon F , the relevant minister, to condemn and investigate the killing.
G is appointed to investigate the killing and report to F
candidates are asked to spot the spook, or alternatively the non-spook….
A British diplomat wrote these words to Moussa Koussa, the head of Gadafy’s intelligence agency. [Think PIRA nutting squad, only bigger].
“most importantly I congratulate you on the safe arrival of Abu Abd Allah Sadiq. This was the least we could do for you and for Libya to demonstrate the remarkable relationship we have built over the years”
This man had been kidnapped by British Intelligence and handed over to Moussa Koussa.
The message was sent to a regime which had supplied the IRA with guns and semtex , used to kill hundreds of British citizens in Northern Ireland and in Great Britain.
Not one penny of compensation has ever been paid by Libya, despite £200 million being spent by the British Government , bombing Gadafy’s army during the Libyan Spring.
Perfidious Albion is found both at home and abroad.
I met Jack on a number of occasions. I asked him, what is the difference between the game then and now? He said that if he had received a pass from his scrum half and found forwards in front of him, he would have thought that they were lost. The unanimous description of him, in life and in death, is “gentleman”. His rugby skills will never be surpassed. His service to medicine and to the people of Zambia were astonishing. He was erudite and wonderful company.
Young medics and rugby players could have no better role model.
What does the Republic have five of that the North has none of?
Women in five senior posts.
Chief of police
Chief Justice
Attorney General
Director of Public Prosecutions
High Court Judge
Perhaps the Republic is a far more liberal and egalitarian State than the North, or is there another explanation?
A few weeks ago, I posted an open letter to the IRA army council, because [unlike Mairia Cahill] I didn’t have their postal address. Now it seems they have an address. Adams has a post box. At dead of night people put lists into it!
Please may I have the address for correspondence?
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