Letters: GAA has been a rock of support since tragic loss of Roisin Cryan

Sir — On behalf of a group of family, relatives and friends of the late Roisin Cryan, I would like to pay tribute to the GAA community. A large busload of us travelled to Croke Park last Sunday for the All-Ireland intermediate football final between Crossmolina and Ballinderry to share the day with Roisin’s fiance, Conor Loftus, and his teammates and, indeed, all the Crossmolina club who travelled in their hundreds to Roisin’s funeral in Carrick-on-Shannon. Days previously, Colin Regan, a well-known former Leitrim player and now wellness officer with the GAA, organised through GAA president Jarlath Burns to arrange seats for all of our group in the Ard Comhlaire section.

This will never be forgotten by us. Indeed, the final mom­ents of the game and the emotions shared by everyone will be with us forever. Conor Loftus will always be remembered by his club and the whole GAA community and all of us for the way he carried himself on that day.



Nothing can replace the loss of Roisin, but there is no doubt her presence was felt by all in Croke Park last Sunday, and it brought us all together a little closer. In the darkest of days, community and friends is what gets us through, and long may it continue. Sean Murtagh, for the new Crossmolina supporters group, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim President Higgins did not mend any bridges Sir — David Quinn writing last Sunday hoped that President Higgins, when attending the Holocaust memorial at the Mansion House, would mend bridges with our Jewish community.

He added: “At a minimum, let’s hope he does not make things worse.” I believe President Higgins, unfortunately, did make things worse, though that was not his intention. We know he has been a staunch opponent of antisemitism down through the years, but it is profoundly sad that while we marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau, our hearts and minds were distracted by what the President said.

The memorial event is a solemn, spiritual space of comm­emoration. I believe it should always be cherished and kept safe from all other commentary, no matter how well intended. Aidan Roddy, Cabinteely, Dublin 18 Sir — May I congratulate David Quinn for his reasoned and balanced article on Israel and President Higgins’ partisan views.

Despite denials, it is now blat­antly obvious that Ireland has a serious problem with antisemitism. Bridget Goulding, Kilmurry, Co Cork Sir — David Quinn’s article was clearly ignored. Once again the President failed to respect the Jewish community.

We need more journalists like David Quinn to enlighten us and take the initiative in changing public opinion, even if the President won’t listen. Philip Hannigan, Dargan House, Bray Michael D has every right to speak out Sir — David Quinn’s piece was poor and unbalanced. President Higgins has every right to speak out on international issues.

Quinn conflates antisemitism with criticism of Israel. It is not antisemitic to criticise Israel for the violence it has unleashed on the Palestinians and the horrific destruction of Gaza. Donough McGuinness, Bray, Co Wicklow Sir — David Quinn opined on the need for President Higgins to repair his relationship with our Jewish community.

I doubt his less-than-objective analysis will be widely regarded, even among the less propagandised members of our noble Jewish community, particularly when his piece excluded any reference whatsoever to Palestine or the Palestinian people. Shay Duffy, Sutton, Dublin 13 UCC professor is no supporter of Putin Sir — I feel I have to criticise (constructively, I hope) MEP Billy Kelleher for his criticism of Professor Geoffrey Roberts in an article you published last week (‘Former UCC academic criticised over ‘pro-Putin’ video’). I am assuming Mr Kelleher came to his conclusions without any conversation beforehand with Prof Roberts.

The professor was one of the speakers at our Thinking Centre conference in 2023 titled “Ukraine: The ‘Why’ of Russia’s Invasion”. Widely acknowledged as an expert on Russian history, Prof Roberts was able to educate all of us on what led up to the war in Ukraine. I was particularly impressed by how balanced his views were.

He was very far removed from being a Putin apologist and expressed clearly his disagreement of Russia invading Ukraine. Eddie O’Brien, Clonmel, Co Tipperary Gender balance in senior civil service Sir — While the small number of women in the Cabinet and those tagging along as junior and super-junior ministers is bothering some TDs, most of us would only wish that the best calibre have been chosen for office. It used be that each minister had one parliamentary secretary.

We got by. I have taken a rather tedious look at how women fare in our “permanent government” — the civil servants who make the real decisions, good or bad, that government ministers get the blame for. I totted up the staff by gender for all those at the rank of principal officer (as they are at pay parity with TDs) and above.

Forty-seven per cent were women and 53pc were men. There were more women than men at these ranks in the Dep­artments of Defence, Education, Higher Education, Health, Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and Social Protection. A few excuses for outrage stood out: in the Department of the Environment and Climate Change, they were heading for three times more men than women.

In Agriculture and Marine, there were nearly three men for every two women, and a similar ratio in Finance. As might be expected, the Department of Children and Equality had equal numbers of male and female on this level of pay — 100 grand a year or more. John F Colgan, Leixlip, Co Kildare Lowry is clearly part of the Government Sir — Maeve Sheehan’s excellently researched article on Michael Lowry (‘Grubby deal dredges up ghosts of Lowry’s past’) reminds me of the phrase “With great power comes great responsibility”.

Michael Lowry, it would seem, wants all the rights, but none of the responsibilities, that come with being part of a national government. That might be acceptable as an Independent TD representing the people of Tipperary North, but it is certainly not fine as the self-appointed head of the Regional Independent Group, who negotiated a deal with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to be part of a government for the whole of the country. He needs to take responsibility for his actions and should be afforded speaking rights as part of the Government, not as some type of “confidence and supply” arrangement from the opposition benches — and certainly not when an open file is with Catherine Pierce of the DPP’s office on his legacy issues stemming from the Moriarty Tribunal.

Tom McElligott, Listowel, Co Kerry It’s a Dublin-centric Cabinet, for certain Sir — The make-up of the new Government is very unbalanced, incredibly disappointing and most baffling. We now have 11 senior ministers in the Dublin and Leinster area, four in the Munster region and only one representing the whole of the eight counties of Connacht/Ulster with a vote at cabinet. This in a region with a population of close to a million is derisory.

One has to seriously wonder if this Dublin-centric administration has any interest at all in achieving any semblance of balanced regional development. Tom Towey, Cloonacool, Co Sligo Letters page should feature more women Sir — People are complaining about the scarcity of women in the Government. Can I point to another scarcity that actually surprised me? Last Sunday you had, as usual, a full and varied Letters page.

However, I noticed that 24 of the letters were from men and only two from women. Why was this? Susan Bevan, John’s Lane West, Dublin 8 ​The editor writes: It was actually four female correspondents on this page last week, but the point is well made. Here’s your chance to get back to church Sir — Mike Burke (Letters, January 26) opines that he “would be going back to the church in the morning” if they were all like Bishop Mariann Budde.

Well, modern technology can ensure his presence at every one of Bishop Budde’s services from now on. Lucky him. Aileen Hooper, Stoneybatter, Dublin 7 Publish the names of the Omagh bombers Sir — The Omagh Inquiry is trying to find out if the RUC made any mistakes after receiving the warning phone call.

Far better to point the finger at the men who built the bomb, carried the bomb and phoned in. Two are dead now, but others are still alive. Publish their names and add­resses.

Why be coy about this? They wouldn’t dare sue for libel. Anthony Hanrahan, Salruck, Renvyle, Co Galway Sir — The only people to blame for the Omagh bomb atrocity are the evil people who made and planted the bomb in a busy shopping street. I hope they have eternal sleepless nights — that’s if they have a conscience.

Úna Heaton, Limerick Hype about garda caps is nonsense Sir — All the hype about the type of cap or hat a garda wears is nonsense. Citizens are not interested in what a garda wears. What they want and expect and have a right to is a timely, prompt, effective, efficient service.

That means a prompt, eff­ective response to all incidents. Margaret Walshe, Clonsilla Road, Dublin 15 Stuck into the ‘Sindo’ between the sheets Sir — After many years reading the Sunday Independent, the only complaint I have is that it’s very difficult to read in bed. Any advice welcome.

Leo Gormley, Dundalk, Co Louth ESB Networks crews work to restore power following the damage caused by Storm Éowyn State failed in duty to protect from Éowyn Sir — What occurred across large swathes of Ireland was a catastrophic failure — no electricity, heating, drinking water or communications — and was foreseeable. The Government has been warning us for many years that storms are going to get more severe. The Government cannot be held responsible for Storm Éowyn, but it is responsible for the resilience of our infrastructure, such as burying critical power lines underground and maintenance such as checking and replacing rotten poles.

The State is also culpable for failing to enforce regulations that specify the distance trees have to be from different types of power lines. In short, the amount of damage could have been mitigated against if the Government was doing its job properly. Andy Hales, Kenmare, Co Kerry Ignoring the dangers of overhanging trees Sir — The dogs in the street know that trees too close to power lines are the number one reason why people are without electricity in a storm.

The lack of initiative to prune trees and remove dead ones is the principal reason why thousands are without a vital resource. The ESB and Coillte can’t make up their minds who is responsible for pruning and cutting trees, leading to stagnation on the issue with more and more ageing trees coming down on power lines. Dutch elm disease is a problem for our trees, and even healthy ones can get it, so trees near power lines need to be watched very carefully and, ideally, dealt with long before any storm happens.

Maurice Fitzgerald, Shanbally, Co Cork Bravo, the forgotten heroes in tractors Sir — The adverse weather conditions have again highlighted the amazing work of our brave first-responders, ESB crews and emergency services. However, I would like to give a special mention to our sometimes maligned (in Yuppieland) farming community, who gave their time and machinery at no cost to people all over Ireland in clearing driveways, walkways and secondary roads. They also brought provisions to the elderly in cut-off areas.

Credit where credit is due. And by the way, I’m not a farmer. Pa O’Grady, Knocklong, Co Limerick Sweeney digs in on moral high ground Sir — Eamonn Sweeney castigates Donald Trump and Conor McGregor on their record with women, while at the same time dismissing concern for women’s safety in sport as “hysterical” (‘No turning back’, January 26).

He then uses the women he cites in his article to sustain his own position of moral supremacy over Trump and McGregor. According to Mr Sweeney, it will take the death of a female rugby player before the risks to women who are forced to compete against males will even be considered worthy of discussion. Thankfully, World Rugby doesn’t share his cavalier attitude towards women’s safety.

That organisation recognised the risks to women when it banned men who identify as women from playing in the female category. He also stated that the “loudest voices belong on the political right”, while failing to mention the female athletes who have spoken so passionately on this issue — Sharron Davies, Sonia O’Sullivan, Martina Navratilova, Mara Yamauchi and Tracy Edwards, among others. Most sports are sex-specific due to the advantages men gain as a result of androgenisation, primarily at puberty.

Men cannot identify out of that advantage. Sex specific categories are necessary for equal sporting opportunities for women and girls. ​ It is not a political issue of the left or the right.

It is about safety and fairness for women and girls. Perhaps Mr Sweeney should take a good look in the mirror before taking the moral high ground. Helen McGoldrick, Finglas East, Dublin 11 Opposition adrift is to blame for chaos Sir — Colum Kenny (Opinion, January 26) believes the chaos in the Dáil last month was of the Government’s making.

I dis­agree: the shenanigans that took place were about a rudderless opposition. Kenny thinks the Coalition’s “deal with the Devil” will serve to breed cynicism among the voters. After the farce the opposition caused, it’s a good job it’s not the opposition going into government, or I would become a cynic myself.

Thomas Garvey, Claremorris, Co Mayo I have to agree with Mary Lou on Lowry Sir — This Government could quickly become very unpopular. I have to agree with Mary Lou McDonald when she said people didn’t know that this was what they were going to get. I have to ask myself — did people really vote for some-thing propped up by Michael Lowry? John O’Brien, Clonmel, Co Tipperary Chameleon talents of Kilkenny hurlers Sir — I note the Kilkenny hurling team now includes a player called Zach Bay Hammond.

A case of the Zach and amber? Tom Gilsenan, Beaumont, Dublin 9.