Guth & Tuairim, Bealtaine 1981

Ta an tAthair Diarmuid 6 Peicfn ina Sheiplfneach ar 7 Oilein Thora.f. Ins an alt seo nfonn se cur sfos ar chursaf ar an Oilean agus na dea'i-eachtaf ata ag na daoine. [fhe forgotten islel · (Cuid a hAon) Off Bloody Foreland lies the windiest spot in Ireland, Tory lsl sure the wind blows here. And if there were trees on Tory they would have to bend with these galeforce winds. That's exactly what the trees would have to c' o, bend in the wind. That's, if they were there. But they are not and never were. Even a tree c Juldn't live on Tory, the most remote, windiest and most inaccessible spot in the country. The people on Tory have been bending with these galeforce winds for centuries, hence they have survived, just. And it is well they knew how to bend with the wind for down the centuries and especially of recent years the authorities didn't want to know. It is said that years ago the civil authorities wanted to set up a prison on Tory. An ideal spot for a prison as it is practically impossible to escape from this ancient dungeon fort . They dropped the idea but the ecclesiastical authorities took it up and this is the spot where priests were sent in the good old days to be straightened out or dried out. That is the sort of name Tory inherits. Is it any wonder then that even now in the twentieth century, the authorities, that is, Roinn na Gaeltachta, who have charge of this Irish-speaking community almost refuse to recognise its existence. But is it not skating on thin ice when the authorities attempt to go further and STARVE the people. Now and again a nod is given so that the Department won't be charged with genocide. Tory is not a Bird SanctuarY; some people in the Department think it is. The cosmetic effect of throwing a few crumbs just to keep the birds singing seems to suggest not a Gaeltacht Department but a Cosmetic Department. It is not animals we are dealing with but social human beings. As individuals they are endowed with God-given rights which shouldnot be t~ampled on. As social human beings they have a right to communicate with others. Tory is the oiirylrish-speaking Island in the country without a FERRY. Why have the Department refused to run a ferry? So for all practical purposes they are cut off from the mainland. With one blow the Department have severed this vital link and unjustly isolated this community and allowed them to sink or swim on their own steam. Is this just? Is this right? The great seas rolling in from the Atlantic can be lethal in severing communication with the mainland but not more lethal than the decision of the Department of the Gaeltacht to refuse to run a ferry. By this decision they are refusing to recognise the God-given right of the individual to communicate with others. This is blatantly unjust, cruel and inhuman. But the fur-coated Minister for the Gaeltacht is apparently insensitive to these fundamental issues. But then maybe the presumption is wrong. Tory Island is the one and only lrish-speaking Island in County Donegal. All along the north- west coast the Islands urte by one have closed down and been evacuated. Is Tory next? Situated on the northwestern seaboard, it is bleak, remote, inaccessible and for far too long utterly forgotten and neglected. The Island has reached a point now when decisions, big decisions about its future will have to be taken. The two hundred population have already given their answer. They are still there in 1981 and they are lrish-speaking. Surely Colmcille didn't set up his community here for nothing. His round tower is a witness to the tenacious and deep and loving faith of the islanders. The three most powerful reasons for the development of the island. r Who are they, these Tory people? They are the inheritors of a tradition and culture which predates Christianity. In fact when Colmcille founded the first Christian settlement in the sixth century, he came to an Island which had a recorded four thousand year history. Many of the names on the Island date to this pagan part of its history, Balor's Fort, Poirtiu Ghlais, a reference to the great white milch cow, from lnis B6 Finne (lnisboffin) Glas Gaibhnann, which Balor, the one-eyed giant stole from the smith, Gabhan. Even to this day the evil eye is sui! Bhaloir, "Balor's Eye". Nine miles from the nearest point on the mainland, the great seas rolling in from the Atlantic and the deceptive currents sweeping through Tory Sound can sever communication with the mainland for up to six weeks with the worst stormy conditions imaginable. Conditions now prevailing on the Island are an insult to human dignity. Not alone do they feel threatened because of the lack of interest on the part of the authorities but they resent the distortion of their efforts to improve living conditions. With no water, no sewage and no sewage disposal and with a lack of the ordinary amenities, conditions here match ltlose of the worst third-world slum in Africa, Fingo, where 1 worked before 1 came here. The big difference is this. You expected the conditions in Fingo where they are embedded in the law. You get a rude awakening in holy Catholic Ireland when you look at the value of human dignity through the eye of Tory. The battering that Tory has sustained has been amazing. From ID . (.) a < an individual and social standpoint Tory stands to-day as a prime example of sheer and utter neglect. This has gone on for far too long and to-day the Islanders are hoping and praying that the time has come for the kind of action which was denied them over the years and which as ~ individuals and social human beings are their's by right. "f It is a fact that even in Ireland the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, and that right ~ alongside the poor, as in Fingo, the rich keep a "cos ar bolg" lest any move be made. You ha- ] ven't togo to the third-world, to Africa or South America, where the picture is painted and put ~ across as dramatic. You have it right here under your nose and perhaps because of that it has less dramatic appeal. But no way are the Tory people taking this lying down. They have weathered many a storm before. The very fact that they are sCil here is a proof of their toughness. Their richness of spirit would be hard to match anywhere in Ireland. Yet if this fact is not recognised and appropriate steps taken immediately- the population in 1971 was 273 and in 1981 200- you can only hazard a guess as to the future of the Island. There are many plans in the pipeline for Roads, Drainage, Water Scheme, Harbour and Windmill which in effect could increase the population of the Island and provfde a viable base for expansion of the rich fishing industry which surrounds the area. On the contratry foreign fishing vessels with modern mechanised equipment fish inside the Island water$. Boat-building, tr<Jat repairing, net repairing, the making of lobster-pots are some of the immediate!projects dl'at could be launched. As it is the small half-deckers can only go so far. Bigger boats could command a larger area. But all this is impossible witllout a harbour. Without a harbour it is merely a cosmetic exercise on the part of the authoritid to 1'111 in the potholes on the roads, though this would be welcome after more than twelve years utter ne~lect. And this apparently is what the Minister for the Gaeltacht, Mrs. Maire Goeghegan-Quinn, T.D., is thinking about, a cosmetic exercise. And as anyone who has come in contact witb this Minister is aware of, she is in a class of her own when it comes to these exercises. Unfortunately Tory is not in the west of Ireland. It happens to be in the north-west. And that at the moment is its weakest point vis a vis the Minister, but thank God it is its strongest point as well. God put Tory where it is before any Minister for the Gaeltacht was around. 'And it will be there when they go too. (Ar leanuint ar an mhf s 1 chliga:Dln). ~ t .;• ':' RELIGION During this period, just about everybody went to Church•.• Then, people weren't going to Church quite os often os before. And even when they DID some weird things were happening ... I sure do, Father! And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm meeting my boy friend at the Boom-Boom Motel! If you con believe it... nowadays, even WEIRDER things ore happening! Na gCeapaire TAKEAWAY 10·30 am to 12·00pm Fresh Fish available