Madam, – Of course Maura Harrington is a troublesome individual. Of course her civil disobedience is awkward and inconvenient, and of course there are other methods of opposing bad policy and illegal infringements (such as the one she and others opposed in June 2007). But when a landscape and a community are being torn asunder and the human rights of its inhabitants set aside over many years in pursuit of questionable material gain, heroic self-control may not be the chosen the path for all.
The whole matter of human rights, natural resources and the environment in an adolescent democracy such as ours deserves proper public discussion. The people of Rossport and Glengad deserve a visit, and support, from anyone interested in opposing the desecration of a beautiful area of our country. Is it too much to hope that current fiscal embarrassments might put a stop to the gallop of Garda overtime, and their own brand of muscular arm-wrestling, in Erris? Peter Murtagh’s bad-tempered, Opinion piece of March 16th offers the old Irish attitude of attacking by association while ignoring the core issue and the fact that sensible alternatives have been advanced by the campaign over many years.
The Brosnan Forum could offer a solution, even at this eleventh hour, if its terms were deepened to allow a thorough and honest review, to include affected local groups and individuals and to hear from expert advisers on the future of natural resources.
I know Maura Harrington and I greatly value, and sometimes shake my head at, her rebel spirit. By the way, she weighs about ninety pounds and towers to a height of almost five feet. – Yours, etc,