Mr Simon Coveney surprised me tonight on RTE's The Frontline.
I don't know him, or his people as they say up here in Donegal, but he struck me tonight as a man with a fire in his belly!
The Frontline is one of those RTE programs that can, on the night, go anywhere. Why, oh why, is there not a button in the control-room that says "Keep Recording", so that as the show finds it's own feet and finally gets to it's own point, the producers can let it grow (and that re-played film from 1946 that is on at 3.45am can wait another half hour because we're all in bed by then anyway!)
Simon Coveney, the current Minister for Agriculture, Marine and Food showed that, with his heart on his sleeve, he believed in Real people - in Real places - living Real lives - doing Real jobs!
And that, I think, is what it has to become all about - a Real Ireland. Back to Basics.
As was said on the Frontline show tonight, "Somebody has to make the grass and the hills look as lovely as they do for the tourists, be they the Europeans or Americans that expect them to look like that". A very valid deux point to the farmers of this European outcrop in the Atlantic that look after the land. There is, of course, a whole other 'land-protection' business that hasn't been developed by the trustees of our heritage, here in Ireland.
The gentleman in the audience who suggested that 3 or 4 farmers living in the same community should get together, form a company and produce the same product, should get a medal for his honesty! For as far as I know (artisan lists or no) there is no-one producing fresh un-pasteurised (and for sale) Ice Cream in that part of Ireland north of the Dublin-Galway line.
Mind you, there aren't many trains north of that line either! Mind you again, the Health & Safety people probably wouldn't let them make un-pasteurised Ice Cream in the first place!
As they concluded on tonight's RTE Frontline Show, "Broadband for the Rural Community is a great idea"- well, so are better roads, water services, rubbish collection, local transport, rural community assistance, youth facilities, swimming pools, banks, wages, training schemes, mobile phone coverage, winter action plans, fishing policies, coastal protection, local health services, playground amenities, libraries, road signs and pot-hole filling!
There are people out there somewhere (as this above infamous Tweet shows) who will take the political Bull by the Horns.
The point is that we finally seem to be getting to the point!
ie:
- Fianna Fail has decided that their Elected Local TD's can exercise their own rights to support whom-so-ever they wish, to go forward to the Phoenix Park as the next President of Ireland....
- The DUP and Sinn Fein are in joint government in the northern part of the country....
- Jedward are representing Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest.....
Right now Ireland can achieve not just anything it wants or needs,
but, with a bit more co-operation, a lot less local bitching, more political assistance, less red tape, more self belief, much less small town negativity and no need for any kind of a celtic cat
we could achieve Absolutely Everything!
On that note.....
Good night and don't forget to Feed the Fish at the bottom of this post!
xx
zack