"How can men feel themselves honoured by the humiliation of their fellow beings?"
This is such a powerful statement and simply cannot be argued with; humanity needs to be reminded of the terrible deeds that have been carried out historically so that they will never be repeated.
[Note: I realise that what I've just written might look like a contradiction to my comments above on our fixation with the Ireland of the past, but in my opinion there's a world of difference between beating ourselves up over how society conducted itself several generations ago - and in the process putting forward a consistently negative image of our country - and having respect and care for the suffering endured by our ancestors. It's absolutely vital that we can be sympathetic to what has gone before, while at the same time acknowledging that we have changed (for the better) as a nation. In other words, exposure of the injuries and traumas - while essential - MUST be followed by healing and reconciliation in order for a person or nation to be truly free - that is all!]
I've been thinking about our time in Connemara since we got back and even though we only spent three days there, it made me reflect quite a lot on Ireland and being Irish (as you can see above!). To be honest, I didn't think I would like Connemara that much but it completely won me over, and it felt like a much more accessible place than when I visited years ago - maybe I've changed after being in the UK for so long, or maybe it's the way everything has been opened up to the 'outside world' by the internet, or maybe I was overly influenced by all those plays and books and films back in the day: who knows? We still haven't been to the Aran Islands so I'm looking forward to that, and there's the whole of the rest of Ireland to explore as well... bring on the twisty-turny roads!
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More Galway posts...
- And so to Galway
- The magic of Roald Dahl (& some rainy beach photos)
- An outing to Kinvara and the Flaggy Shore
- Happy birthday to me (v5.0), and an atmospheric Connemara photo
- Day-trips to the Cliffs of Moher & Connemara, & a grand stretch in the evenings
- Happy birthday to me (Part 6)! And some more atmospheric Connemara photos
- The Claddagh! My favourite part of Galway city, & some photos
- SeaFest & the Galway International Arts Festival
- Reasons to be Cheerful & summer in Galway
- A circumnavigation of Lough Mask
- A tour of the Aughrus Peninsula, Connemara