Sir, – Further to recent correspondence (Letters, August 26th), the last thing we need is an awards system supposedly honouring some citizens above others. If the example of the United Kingdom is anything to go by, we would end up with awards being made to ageing actors and TV personalities by virtue of the fact that they have lived long enough, the winning captains of each year’s All-Irelands, musicians in favour with the current president, and retiring taoisigh regardless of their performance in office.
Then we would have the window-dressing of naming a lollipop man, dinner lady, teacher or sports coach above their peers doing equally worthwhile work. That’s all without selecting recipients to ensure parity of gender, geography, ethnicity and social class. We’ll not even think about political influence or bias. Do we honour only the achievements of Olympic gold medallists, or every athlete who surpassed expectations in their chosen event in any global competition? Our Olympic athletes will always have the accolade of being Olympians, or Olympic champions, without the State granting them some post-nominal letters. We’ve managed for 100 years just fine without an honours system. – Yours, etc,
PAT MULLEN,
Kilkerley,
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Sir, – Paul Walsh calls for an Irish honours system. He specifically mentions athletes as recipients of such bonhomie. I hope that natural Irish chariness of such benefaction asserts itself before this suggestion gathers momentum. Athletes give enormous pleasure, it is true, and are rightly respected for their dedication. But who else would receive the awards? The winners of every All-Ireland, every year? Politicians? Military? Businesspeople? Academics? Farmers? Council workers? Medical people, “celebrities”? Gongs, except in very, very rare cases, have no place in a republic.
There have been too many embarrassing examples of the backfiring of the doling out of honours in the UK, resulting in the very existence of the honours system being rightly questioned. Ireland would be well advised to steer clear of creating such a behemoth, the mushrooming of whose ambitions knows no bounds. – Yours, etc,
PADDY McEVOY,
March,
Cambridgeshire, UK.