Letters: Medical episode showed me how much people from abroad enrich Ireland

Irish Independent

06-08-2025

On Monday, I ended up in the emergency department of University Hospital Kerry (UHK) with severe anaphylaxis, a life-threatening condition. In my case it was most probably caused by an insect bite.
To the skilled and patient doctor in SouthDoc Tralee who told me I was very lucky, and the kindest physician ever in UHK who did not want to let me go home after my extended stay in his presence as he 'loved his job', I take my hat off to you both.
These doctors were from south Asia, and Ireland is richer and nicer for having them here. Long may this continue.
Tom McElligott, Listowel, Co Kerry
In honouring 'Liberator', let us reflect on what he did for this country
Daniel O'Connell, who was born on this day 250 years ago, spent a lifetime campaigning for Catholic emancipation and repeal of the Act of Union. Catholic emancipation in 1829 ended many of the restrictions on Irish Catholics under the British penal laws. Irish Catholics could now receive an education and enjoy Irish culture.
Once emancipation was achieved, O'Connell campaigned for repeal of the 1801 Act of Union, which had merged the Irish and British parliaments at Westminster. O'Connell sought an independent self-governing 32-county Ireland. It would be another 100 years before that aim was partially achieved.
In the interim, Irish people continued to be persecuted for their Cathol­icism and nationalism. Even though O'Connell felt that Catholicism and nationalism were two sides of the same coin, he respected Irish people of all religions and none.
In a High Court case against the crown for religious tolerance, O'Connell famously said: 'Every religion is good. Every religion is true to him who in his good caution and conscience believes it.'
He maintained that if Protestants, Catholics, Presbyterians and non-believers stood side by side as Irishmen, the union would be repealed. Religious freedom and nationhood were hard-won by those who preceded us.
I am indebted to O'Connell and all who suffered and died for God and for Ireland.
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O'Connell may be criticised for his vanity, promotion of pacifism over violence and use of English over Irish, but he has earned his reputation as The Liberator. He was a giant figure in the fight for civil rights and religious freedom in an all-inclusive Irish republic.
Billy Ryle, Tralee, Co Kerry
We shouldn't let facts get in the way when it comes to Donald Trump's beliefs
The famous quote from Groucho Marx, 'Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others', could be updated to a potential quote from Donald Trump: 'If you don't like my statisticians' results, I can fire them and get others.'
Facts are facts. You can't improve them by getting someone else to announce them – not in a sane world anyway.
Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne
Putin is thriving, and his strongman antics paint a grim picture for the future
Your editorial rightly warns of the dangerous game being played with nuclear threats, but the deeper shift is strategic, not just rhetorical ('Nuclear threats show leaders are playing a dangerous game – August 5').
We are witnessing the erosion of the old Cold War deterrence framework, replaced not by restraint but by competitive brinkmanship. This is fuelled as much by economic endurance as by military posture.
Putin's calculus is brutally rational. Sanctions have failed to cripple his war machine because global energy markets have fractured into rival trading blocs. As long as India and China buy Russian oil, Moscow can fund its war and wait out western resolve.
Here lies the true risk: not immed­iate nuclear conflict, but a new equilibrium in which authoritarian powers thrive by outlasting liberal democracies trapped in short-term electoral cycles and fiscal fatigue. If that equilibrium holds, the post-1945 security architecture dissolves. And then what deters not just Putin, but the next opportunist?
Unless the West can break the illusion that time is on Russia's side – through secondary sanctions, technological containment and a unified economic front – we may soon find that the game has changed and the rules are no longer ours to write.
Enda Cullen, Tullysaran Road, Armagh
Bombing of Hiroshima reminds world of the dark place it is still in today
Today is the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing. With the antics of nuclear-armed Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, the tension between Pakistan and India and terrorists clamouring to obtain such a device, one wonders what could easily happen in the next 10 years, let alone 80.
Dominic Shelmerdine, London
In taking a stand on Gaza, students around world shine a light on injustice
Jenny Maguire is prudent to allude to the fact that several activists have risked their university places, safety and careers to invoke the agony endured by women and children in Gaza ('Everything is about Palestine for those who recognise what is at stake for us all', Letters, August 4).
But in the face of these heinous acts, there were/are countless stories of gallantry, resilience, fortitude and unswerving commitment of students who have been intimidated, detained and even excluded from their univer­sities, simply for standing up for justice, equality and the respect for human rights that are the foundational blocks for enduring peace.
Dr Munjed Farid Al Qutob, London
Lions tour was a bit of a washout in the end, but sense of pride is justified
By all accounts, the Lions tour to Australia was a hit with the players and coaching staff.
Winning the series seemed like a bonus, but not the be all and end all. The third test was a damp squib, perhaps reflecting the fact that the rugby never really reached the high standards that were expected.
Still congratulations to all four nations, they did us proud.
Aidan Roddy, Cabinteely, Dublin 18