Brendan O’Regan
Fr Jimmy Coyle. Photo: Public Domain. TVRADIO
Brendan O’Regan
In Ireland we do so much good stuff, and so much bad stuff. It’s not just a case of goodies and baddies, but good and bad struggling in all of us. Some of us are caring, some malicious, some just hapless. Sometimes it’s the dysfunctional systems we create.
Over the years we have seen so many examples of the State’s failings in relation to the care of children. RTÉ Investigates: Inside the Care System (RTÉ One, Wednesday), presented by Barry O’Reilly, showed some of the worst aspects of our society. It was disturbing and heartbreaking to hear how many children in care were let down by the system, especially as it related to Special Emergency Arrangements (SEAs), with children being placed in private care homes that are unregulated, unregistered and sometimes poorly staffed. We saw too many examples of children in poor living conditions, and being abused by predatory adults. Huge money is being spent on these ‘inappropriate placements’ – €14,000 per child per week, compared to €420 per week for fostering. And then there are the huge legal bills involved in related court cases – 24 lawyers were counted at one case.
The stories of the children featured that had most emotional impact – the young person sleeping in a TUSLA car park, the young girl going missing from a care setting and being abused while away, the young child sleeping in a wrecked car. One ended up with a prison sentence, but one went to college, so it wasn’t all bleak, and some good outcomes were noted.
TUSLA oversight came out poorly out of this investigation, but they complained of poor resourcing from Government – “unable to fulfil our statutory obligations”. One commentator criticised the lack of “political will” to sort the drastic problems. Sure, there is more demand in recent years, and resources are stretched, but money can be found when there’s a will, as with the recent fuel protests. But these children can’t ‘shut down the country’. They don’t have trucks or tractors.
By contrast, a moving Nationwide (RTÉ One, Wednesday) had a report from Colm Flynn on how Irish people reacted so generously to the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl 40-years ago. It was inspiring and showed us at our best. Starting with some useful historical background to remind us of what happened, attention moved to the generous reaction in Ireland, spearheaded by the likes of campaigner Adi Roche – still passionate about the issue. Her charity Chernobyl Children International, still active today, was a world-leading response to those affected – of those nine million, half were children. As regards motivation she said, “we are moved by the impulses of the heart”. Coming later to the aid work was Fiona Corcoran of The Greater Chernobyl Cause – she found “shocking conditions” in the orphanages over there. Bro. Liam O’Meara, a Christian Brother in Clare spoke of the aid work of the Burren Chernobyl Project – much practical volunteer work in the care homes they visited. For the children there he wants to ensure there will be “a little bit of love in their lives”.
Likewise, there was great positivity on Sunday with Miriam (RTÉ Radio 1 Sunday), when we heard an item about Fr Jimmy Coyle, a Jesuit priest from Roscommon who stood up to the Ku Klux Klan in 1920’s USA and was murdered after he performed an inter-racial marriage in Birmingham Alabama. These hooded KKK folks weren’t just racist but very anti-Catholic as well. Miriam spoke to his grand-niece Sheila Killian who wrote a novel, Something Bigger, about Fr Jimmy, the second edition of which was published recently. Fr Jimmy worked with many ethnicities, believing that all were equal in the eyes of God. He was described as “a thorn in the side of the Klan”, and “brave to the point of being potentially reckless” – but he was passionate about his work and never going to be quiet. He had a love of faith, Ireland and the USA, despite the racial tensions. He challenged anti-Catholic stereotypes – e.g. that Catholics hid guns under churches, that they adored statues and that the pope wanted to take over America! The author related the populists of the time to similar trends today and understood how poorer people found brotherhood and a sense of belonging in groups like the KKK, and how populist leaders scapegoated immigrants and those of different races.
I’ll be adding the book to my wish list.
Pick of the Week
EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND
Channel 4, Sunday, May 3, 7.10 am
Prodigal Son: Debra challenges Ray as to why he doesn’t go to Mass on Sundays.
Songs of Praise
BBC One, Sunday, May 3, 12.10 pm
Aled Jones is in Belfast with fellow presenter Claire McCollum to hear about the people, places and hymns that have shaped her life and faith.
History of the Catholic Church in the US
EWTN, Thursday, May 7, 5.30 pm
Jacksonian Era: Historian Fr Charles Connor continues his survey of the history of Roman Catholicism in the United States with a look at the Church in the age of Jackson.