Page 3 - Martina Devlin News Today

It was a very good ambition, but tarnished quickly. As the author Elizabeth Bowen reminds us, nothing stays bright but mornings. A programme for government pledge to end direct provision was hailed as humane and progressive, but the Coalition now concedes abolition cannot be delivered in its lifetime.

The Santa Claus myth is one we’re introduced to in childhood, and perhaps that early exposure is the reason why it coils such deep roots into our imagination. For many of us, Santa Claus is our first hero: generous, kind and with magical powers.

The most powerful word in any language is ‘yes’ but the word ‘no’ is ringing out increasingly – no to housing groups of international-protection applicants in the community. People are on the move worldwide as never before, trying to escape poverty, war and oppression, or simply searching for a better life, but anti-immigrant sentiments are gaining traction.

Like an enzyme that creates a chemical reaction in the human body, something inbred in Irish life begrudges the idea that a fellow countryman or woman might be valued elsewhere. As soon as the news emerged that Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe might be in the running for a high-powered Washington job, the begrudgers were out in force.

What does it say about a country that fights for independence – and as soon as some measure of liberty is achieved, it starts censoring and policing the arts? What does that reveal about the confidence its leaders place in the newly-liberated population?

The secret to getting things done is to just get things done. Nothing is achieved by empty words and prevarication – which leads me to the Government’s promise to introduce legislation giving maternity rights to Oireachtas members. Female politicians continue to wait, and senators, TDs and ministers are still not entitled to maternity leave.

“There is an old saying taught in medical school: if you hear hoofbeats in Texas, think horses, not zebras,” says Atul Gawande in his book Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science. It’s another way of suggesting that the obvious interpretation is usually the right one.

“We decided “to roll the dice,” is how political strategist Dominic Cummings described a decision to put Boris Johnson into 10 Downing Street. Cummings admitted he felt Johnson was unfit for high office, but thought he could control him. So, his masterplan wasn’t “take back control”, but “control Boris”.

Islandmagee is a quiet civil parish on the east coast of Northern Ireland.

Omagh-born, Dublin-based author Martina Devlin recalls a period in Northern Ireland’s history which felt so unjust that she was inspired to write a book, and launch a campaign which resulted in a plaque being erected in Islandmagee earlier this year.