The Irish Empire Says Sorry

FG are good students. They attended their daily lectures with zeal. The Americanisation of our politics is almost complete. We live in a system that has no correlation with truth or reality. Enda Kenny can engage the electorate with an academy award winning speech. His empty words written by a scriptwriter and most likely edited by a barrister. At no stage in his emotional tirade did he admit to any liability on the part of the state. Nor did he mention how compensation to the Magdalene women might be calculated?

A long time ago I formulated the thought of Mr. and Mrs. Joe average nodding to each other sitting by the fire. They are impressed with things like the mention of Euros’ and the ECB. Words like democracy and contagion modern political buzz words that are meaningless. They are not amused however by dirty words like Sinn Féin—or social justice. These people have been brainwashed into acceptance. The ideology that led us to ruin will somehow save us—we will in turn do just about enough to return to the international gambling table.

So Enda has learned from the Empirical political leadership in America—politics is about spin and modern communication means that image is everything.

Our Taoiseach apologised on behalf of the state. Admitting that the state colluded with the Roman Catholic Church in detaining women and girls illegally from 1922—to 1996. The fact that these women and girls were from impoverished backgrounds didn’t warrant a mention. His hammed up emotional outburst was silly and unwarranted. He holds the highest political role in the state so one expects him to handle matters of this nature with dignity.

Who was actually to blame for the torture of these women? Was it the Catholic Church and the Irish State—who was the Taoiseach apologising for? As an Irish citizen I am totally innocent. I was a child up to 1976 and after that I had no idea that such places existed. I am sure there are many people like me. Were the poor citizens who inherited the class system from 1922 to blame as they didn’t rise up against their betters –those who controlled their economic and spiritual lives with such savagery? The ordinary citizen cannot be blamed as they were as put upon as the poor women and girls incarcerated in the laundries.

In the final analysis it was the well off and the rich who were responsible. In collusion with their high powered Catholic allies. They inflicted this concentration camp style torture on the women and girls whose only crime was poverty. So we get this patronising apology from the leader of FG. This party that represents the middle and upper classes the practitioners of neoliberal ideology. They apologise on behalf of us the citizenry as if somehow we were responsible. I am convinced that the election of June 1922 that gave these people their mandate was carried by this same collusion between our power brokers. Add in the British and threats of reinvasion—and one can see the pressure placed on the electorate at the time.

The shame of all of this –is in the absence of a true Irish State one that was based on equality, and respected and took care of all its citizens –not just the wealthy.
Enda Kenny can apologise all he wants—he can try to reinvent the facts all he likes. But the truth will out eventually and no amount of voice wobbles will stop it.