Two items of Irish interest in the current issue of Europ magazine, that unique quarterly produced by the journalists of one of the most far-seeing of all journalistic courses. Founded by the brilliant Frenchman who also gave us the Glenans sailing organisation, the late Philippe Vianney. Some 30 journalists came together to Paris for a course of about nine months from all parts of the world.
The first item is by a German participant, on one of the most impressive Irishmen of recent decades: Brendan O'Regan. "Father of duty free fights for his brainchild" is the heading over Michael Klasglen's article, but he lists also O'Regan's other accomplishments including his work for Bord Failte, his founding of Co-operation North, his setting up of a hotel management school. And the man puts it all down, with typical modesty, to "necessity" rather than any ability of his own.
There was a time when Shannon was a stopover for transatlantic planes to take on fuel for the voyage. Now we have a free airport with more than 100 companies in that free industrial zone, explains the journalist. Duty-free profits have wrought an enormous change. Now Brussels is in the process of abolishing the whole system. O'Regan has a scheme, it appears, which might pacify Brussels and maintain the duty-frees and all that springs form them. A good article. Old-timers will think of Tim O'Driscoll as another man of that time, still also with us.
The second piece interests us because it is by an Irish journalist, Walt Kilroy of RTE. He writes of that wonderful Urwald, or primeval forest, which lies partly in eastern Poland and partly in Belarus. It's a World Heritage Site, the whole covering 580 square miles. The European bison, smaller than the American, lives in the wild only here - the Bialowicza forest. There are, indeed, young trees growing in it, not planted by human hands, just naturally seeded.
In general, writes Walt Kilroy, "here the processes of growth, decay and regeneration continue as they have down for thousands of years, with little interference from human beings." Naturally there is an extraordinary wealth of flora and fauna. At least 5,000 species of flora.
On the Polish side there is the strict reserve, covering about half of the area. Visitors are carefully guided around. Outside the Park itself is the managed forest, with logging, about which there is criticism. Groups say that the whole should remain primitive forest. Food for thought for all of us in his article.