12 | June 16, 2018 The Irish Post Write to: Letters page, The Irish Post, 88 Fenchurch Street, EC3M 4BY. E-mail us on: [email protected] The forum of The Editor reserves the right to edit all letters as applicable. Please keep your letters as brief COMMENT/LETTERS as possible. The opinions expressed do not necessarily refl ect those of The Irish Post. the Irish in Britain

The voice of the Irish in Britain since 1970 Irish must speak up on Brexit

BREXIT presents one of the perception of their use in Irish greyhound and the greatest challenges ever to live hare coursing and the iconic Irish Hare. If so, it Failed by Ireland the specifi c identity and feeding of live bait to them will be living proof of the Need for RTÉ radio on LW252 SURVIVORS of Ireland’s brutal livelihoods of the Irish to enhance performance. old adage that God never

16 | June 2, 2018 Magdalene Laundries have community in Britain. Eighty-fi ve percent of closes one door but he opens The Irish Post Join the conversation online - www.irishpost.com In the event of a hard greyhounds used on UK remains strong COMMENT @theirishpost received a formal apology for another. ‘To close down an accessible and the State’s failure of them from Brexit, they will suffer a tracks come from Ireland, John Fitzgerald proven LW channel, is the President of Ireland, double whammy, in that the and bitches are routinely Campaign for the Abolition Re To close down an acces- dangerously short-sighted’ With a year to go until RTÉ ‘s planned closure of its LW 252 radio service, Enda O’Kane is continuing the Michael D Higgins. old industrial areas where sent to Ireland from Britain sible and proven LW campaign to save the service. He explains why an alternative solution is a must for the Irish in Britain.... N June of 2019, RTÉ plans to close its Radio listeners, many stating that LW provided “a of Cruel Sports 1 free to air service, available in the UK on lifeline to Ireland” to keep up to date with ILW 252. news and current affairs back home. on reduced power, this service has the RTÉ announcements advised listeners potential to reach from Sweden to the Alps. how to participate. many Irish live, are set to channel is dangerously Originally on MW, it has served exiles, land- Section 27 of the survey states “Of impor- for breeding purposes. bridge ferry motorists, fi shermen, etc. since tance, Luton had not received RTÉ Some 200 survivors were at Radio 1 1932. Longwave for more than a year”. A commercially-funded digital replace- The survey also states that an unexpected ment with a news studio in London, is volume of calls from listeners, namely 3,282, planned for certain cities. and the available time was a limiting factor. Does this mean that editorial control will in Should RTÉ have restored the service at future be under the rules of the UK regulator least during the survey period to engage with short-sighted’, Irish Post, and could this impact on an Irish be the hardest hit in terms all listeners? But the free movement of perspective on sensitive issues such as Brexit ? the President’s Dublin RTÉ has described their analogue A proposed digital replacement (DAB+) LW service as an expense of will not work on existing DAB radios that €50,000 per annum and claimed have become the UK standard. it wasn’t fi t for purpose. CAMPAIGNERS: Supporters of the campaign RTÉ’s initial haste to close LW 252 led to Yet RTÉ hid the fact that public outcry, supported by Fr. Brian D’arcy, their LW mast had been to save LW 252 in Britain Senator Michael McDowell and Andy future proofed to a new digital and, inset, leading June 2 campaigner Myra Butler of livelihood damage, Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester. greyhounds between our standard (DRM), with near residence for a special two-day An Oireachtas hearing in 2014 heard that FM sound quality and lower RTÉ’ wished to move to digital platforms. running costs. on RTÉ Liveline used LW been questioned on BBC Radio - Feedback 252 as a link Letters to Senator Pascal Mooney described This system is being rolled out to stranded and in newspaper, empha- passengers. Lack of coverage for the threat as “a slap in the face to our diaspora” in India and other countries. sising the need for an independent Irish while others vented their anger. RTÉs digital replacement is a editorial into Britain on all platforms. RTÉ has stated that LW252 was subject to new standard that has recently been intro- Yorkshire GAA’s Secretary Jason Rooney interference from R. Algiers and that no solu- To date DAB has not been commercially campaigned. duced (SSDAB+). Existing DAB radios won’t adopted in Ireland. compounded by doubts tion existed. work on the system and will have to be two countries could be Manchester’s Myra Butler, Margaret Yet a simple technical solution does exist - Now, in the autumn of their years, is our reception held in their honour replaced. Golden and Mary Collins collected senior diaspora’s “lifeline to Ireland” with a little diplomacy an overnight zero cost Digital radios are very power hungry and 1037 signatures, technical adjustment is possible by moving to be left to the vagaries of resulting in a are oy plugged into the mains but batteries the advertising market? the station to LW 261kHz, an adjacent space only last hours, whereas analogue radios last deputation to on the dial now vacant. Readers should respond Dublin by the Irish for weeks before the batteries need changing. by lobbying Irish represent- In a U-turn this March, the BBC stated that A UK-based service would have to conform in Britain. LW would continue into the future - a ative organisations or THANK YOU for high- An internet peti- to Ofcom editorial rules. friends back in Ireland. surrounding the security welcome statement for listeners and motor- subject to severe restric- In these uncertain times, isn’t it important last week, when the apology tion with more ists on both sides of the Irish Sea. If you are interested in than 2,000 that Ireland’s viewpoint on issues such as reading more about this Should RTÉ scrap this former €6million Brexit be broadcast directly from Ireland? supporters led LW network as an increasingly unstable please visit http:// to a Govern- Worryingly, RTÉ’s plans propose just this, savertelongwaveradio. McGuinness tome climate disrupts communications? .e. UK-based radio listeners, who might be ment com/. Surely our needs have increased as hurri- following Brexit discussions on BBC Radio -funded canes lash our coastline and disrupt survey 4’s LW service, will no longer be able to of residence for families lighting the LW252 issue. communications. simply switch over to the Irish viewpoint on involving was made. tions once Brexit kicks in. To close down a more accessible, and LW 252 on the same band. 3,200 proven LW channel is dangerously This would be particularly important for short-sighted. journalists, decision makers and friends of The internet pioneer Danny Hillis has Ireland etc., travelling by car. called for a plan B in the event of the Would these listeners bother with mobile internet crashing as has happened in phones, paying for data on networks subject to THE first printing of 4,000 the past. congestion, gaps in coverage who have lived here for I recently changed my Following Iceland’s volcanic ash erup- etc.? Many more will have by now Export markets beyond tion and aircradt The BBC’s editorial groundings, Joe Duffy received the message in the decades. the British one are practi- copies of the book Martin car and now have a mod decisions on Brexit have towns and countries across There is need for the Irish cally non-existent, apart McGuinness -The Man I con radio which does not Ireland, and further afi eld, community to become more from the shady movements Knew, published by Mercier receive longwave. It has which they call home. vocal and proactive in of dogs to rogue jurisdic- Press, has sold out less than brought home to me how A large number of these campaigning for a soft tions where they meet an two months after its launch, disappointing it must be, I AM writing with refer- women are based here in Brexit or no Brexit, and to even worse end…such as and a further edition is in especially for elderly Irish ence to the proposed Britain, where they created new have a clearly identifi able being boiled alive for the preparation. radio listeners, who closure of RTÉ services lives for themselves away from forum to defend the rights South Chinese meat It is a compilation of would be without only for on the LW252 channel. the horrors of their time spent of Irish citizens. markets or hanged with comments by twenty seven the long wave. There are a great many under the rule of the religious There is a need to analyse barbed wire at the end of statesmen/stateswomen, Thankfully I can still Irish people in Britain orders which operated the the pressure points in the their brief careers in Spain. legislators, diplomats, civil listen to RTÉ radio on my who still listen on this Magdalene Laundries – where British political system Those markets are so servants and others from both computer but this is not channel. Many do not which is most amenable to have computers so it is they were forced to carry out notorious that even the most sides of the Atlantic, of the an option for many. alter mindsets in favour of impossible to access by unpaid labour and where many ruthless Irish operators Irish Sea, of the border and I think many people will were physically, sexually or a soft Brexit and avoid a subscribe to your news- this means. recoil from entrusting their from various political, social emotionally abused. Celtic Windrush in a hostile paper if you campaign for Many do not know the dogs to them. and denominational Many years may have environment. So, while sharing the important things like this. fi rst thing about oper- backgrounds, who got to passed since then, but their First thoughts relate to widespread fears about the Breffni O’Brien ating a computer, and know the man who had been memories will no doubt be a infl uencing the Labour impact of Brexit on our Manchester emphatically have no constant reminder of those party to get off the fence economy, I welcome any in the public eye for forty-five interest in purchasing dark days within their lives. and back a customs union. development that will help interesting years. Yet no I AM an avid listener to one or learning to use it. Hopefully the apology will Votes should be traded to close down this cruel newspaper nor journal in RTÉ radio on LW252. I am My husband listens bring them some comfort. against assurances industry. Ireland or Britain deigned to 76 years old and have been regularly, every day, as do But it is only a starting protecting the long-term Its demise would be a review the book. listening to this station for many others. The closure point. economic security of the blessing to man’s best It is as if both islands are the past 35 years. of this service would cut There is much the Irish state Irish community, irrespec- friend. constrained by a totali- I have a lot of friends them off completely from must now do to ensure these tive of traditional party Never again would we tarian censorship. here in Manchester who, obtaining news from women are given the support allegiances. hear of these docile, Or as if the professional like me, love that station. I home. It would also they need – be it emotional, Conservative politicians affectionate dogs turning commentariat is scared to also have a lot of friends deprive them of listening financial, in healthcare or courageously opting for a up in shallow graves across comment. Or as if potential who are Folk music fans to cultural programmes. otherwise - to secure a safe, soft Brexit should get full the country, or staggering readers were denied the who, unlike me, are not I am computer literate, healthy and sound future. support from the Irish around disorientated after right to choose their reading Irish but love the as I use computers in the community in their being doped to the eyeballs. matter. programmes. course of my work and constituencies. And the industry’s I have noticed that the was given free training. I Those opting for a hard Over many years voters passing would sound the chose McGuinness as their transmission output has was born in Manchester Brexit should feel the heat death knell for hare been lowered a lot over but brought up with all the A night to of Irish dissent. elected spokesman. coursing. Those gentle He didn’t just threaten to the past year. I fi nd this Irish values and culture. We also look to promi- very frustrating. Keeping My mother took me to creatures that grace our stand for election (a la nent Irish personalities in this service going is still dance classes and natural environment would Fintan O’Toole) but actually remember Britain speaking out in relatively cheap in this language classes when I at last be able to run free. stood and triumphed. SOME of Ireland’s greatest favour of a Brexit that does No longer would net men day and age. So the fi nan- was a child. I was even And when he stood for musicians came together to not discriminate dispropor- snatch them from their cial aspect of shutting it taught how to do Irish bring one incredible night of tionately against the humble grassy homes in the Irish Presidency, unlike down is not valid. I have baking recipes. My music to the INEC Killarney weaker sections of the Irish the countryside. Gone candidates from the larger tried using the Internet father’s family were also this month. community. would be the spectacle of 26 county parties, he did radio but that gets too Irish descent. From musical legends Chris I look forward to a new cheering “sportspeople” not forfeit his deposit. much interference. I There is still a need for De Burgh and Phil Coulter, to organisation being formed huddled in fi elds or on The book was compiled want to use a cheap port- RTÉ on the LW252 rock favourites The Coronas by some brave soul that can racecourses… to watch by Jude Collins, a former able radio where I can use frequency. address these issues. and Country artist Cliona hares being baited, mauled, university lecturer and it in the home, the garden Joseph Mullen Hagan there was no shortage or fl ung skyward like experienced author, who or out and about. Barbara Aherne of stars at the inaugural Irish Eastbourne runs a regular blog. Patrick Hoswell Irish Community Care, (formerly Ballina, Co. Mayo) broken dolls. Post Music Awards. Brexit might well prove to Donal Kennedy Manchester Manchester There an excited crowd be the saviour of both the London watched on as a host of award-winners were honoured, EU exit has silver and ten artists performed, on a POETRY CORNER remarkable night highlighting lining for dogs the best of Irish music across I WONDER if there might free, in our little world apart. generations and genres last be a silver lining to the dark My Sweet Island Home Time goes by seasons die week. clouds of Brexit hovering but no matter where I roam Time goes by, seasons die, It truly was a night like no over the island of Ireland? Nestled in harbour, Cradle of my childhood, you Cradle of my childhood, you but no matter where I roam, other, so thanks to everyone Maybe not for us humans, steadfast and serene, are my sweet island home. are my sweet island home Cradle of my childhood, who helped make it happen. but perhaps for the dogs that Few could e’er imagine the Scholars saints and You were my sweet island And, of course, huge suffer so horribly in trials that you’ve seen. convicts were no strangers Mo ghrá thú Inis Pice, mo home. congratulations to all our Ireland’s greyhound Throughout all the ages of to your shore, ghrà thú astór, Golden days, carefree worthy award winners! industry: Doped to make your speckled history, Monks found peace and If I could only turn back time, ways, we had time and them run faster or slow Oh, Spike Island, so full of refuge to worship and adore. I’d be there once more. space to roam. Published weekly by: Color Company™ Ltd, them down, dumped or mystery. Some got retribution in We hold on to the Cradle of my childhood, you 88 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 4BY killed when their racing grim captivity memories, they are were my sweet island home. Telephone: 020 8900 4193 e-mail: [email protected] days are done, and still Time goes by, seasons die, Oh, you saw the light and cherished in our , Internet: www.irishpost.com frowned upon as potential but no matter where I roam, shade in humanity. Of those days so wild and By Marion Rose Horgan pets due to the negative