Quinn-tessentially Irish

November 14, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment 





Seán Quinn: a ‘simple farmer’s son’ 



Dr Ruairi Hanley 

Rather than condemning the ordinary supporters of Seán Quinn, Dr Ruairi Hanley believes they are his countrymen, and their souls are truly Irish. 

F ive thousand people recently took to the streets of Ballyconnell, Co Cavan, in support of Seán Quinn and his family. This rally was roundly condemned by 99 per cent of the national media. Those involved in the protest were dismissed as imbeciles, morons and ignorant rednecks. Apparently, all right-thinking citizens in our noble Republic believe the Quinns are getting exactly what they deserve and anyone who disagrees is a half-witted bumpkin. 

Well, I beg to differ. I have never met Seán Quinn or his family. No relative of mine has ever worked for any of his companies, so it is safe to say that I have no vested interest here. But my sympathy and support are with those 5,000 protestors in Ballyconnell and not with the cosy chorus of D4 condemnation. 

Permit me to explain my position. I live in the North-East of Ireland and I grew up in the North-West. With the exception of a few towns, much of this part of the country consists of small farms and villages, where many have lived in relative poverty for generations. In my experience, these are proud and honourable people who have never been content to live off State handouts. They have always strived to grow crops and raise livestock on bad land in order to make an honest living. 

Rural poor 

Financially speaking, these residents of rural Ireland are as poor, if not poorer, than the occupants of the worst council estates of Limerick or Dublin. Nonetheless, they generally do not indulge in anti-social behaviour, preferring instead to conduct themselves with dignity while taking responsibility for their actions. Thus, the type of drug-fuelled thuggery, sexual promiscuity, and self-indulgent whining that is so rampant in our major urban centres is rare indeed in these outposts of country decency. 

These individuals do not feel obliged to justify their own good behaviour, nor expect to be applauded for it. They demand little from the State and the State has traditionally given them little in return, except for badly-maintained roads, minimal public services and under-resourced hospitals constantly under threat from HSE bureaucrats. 

In my view, the citizens I am describing are the finest representatives of the Irish race. They are the people that differentiate us from other English-speaking countries. Their lives revolve around their families, their social outlet is the GAA, and their moral values are influenced by the churches they attend. They have as much in common with D4 smoked-salmon socialists as they do with Bedouin tribesmen in the Arabian Desert. 

And Seán Quinn was one of them: a “simple farmer’s son” who became a billionaire and the richest man in Ireland. In Dublin 4, his success was an affront to many. Seán didn’t go to the right school, he liked Gaelic football, not rugby, he avoided the media and he made no attempt to ingratiate himself with those who felt they were his betters. 

They hated him 

They hated him for that; they hated him for rising above his station, and above all else they hated him for not knowing his place. His downfall brought them a sense of satisfaction, coupled with a belief that the rightful order had been restored to society. The boggers could return to the back of the bus, where they belonged. 

But in the North-East of Ireland, Seán Quinn remains a hero to many. He created employment on a massive scale, so that young families could remain in this country and elderly farmers did not have to watch their children disappear to New York. His businesses thrived, his community directly benefited and the people he grew up with loved him for it. 

Now, let me be clear. I am not condoning Seán Quinn’s involvement with Anglo Irish Bank, nor am I qualified to comment on the litigation involved. The law must be upheld [This column was written prior to Quinn’s nine-week jail sentence]. However, it appears obvious he made unwise investment decisions and bankrupted himself as a result. In that regard, his behaviour was similar to that of tens of thousands of people who bought multiple overpriced properties during the boom. The only difference was the sheer scale of his losses: “Let him who hath not sinned cast the first stone.” 

However, I believe the story of Seán Quinn is far deeper than the row with Anglo. It goes to the heart of what defines us as a people, and what makes us unique among the nations of the Earth. 

In my childhood, I watched as a group of men led by a parish priest in County Mayo built an international airport in a bog. They too were ridiculed by the media, as intellectuals looked down from the ivory towers of south county Dublin. It made no economic sense; it was so illogical as to be laughable. But by God, it was beautiful, it was heroic, it was poetic and it could only have happened in Ireland. 

The spirit that built Knock Airport is something you either understand or you do not. If you do, then you truly have an Irish soul. 

You see, being Irish and living in a sovereign State is a concept that for some people makes no sense. On paper and economically, we should be a glorified province of another nation, or a minor member of some European super-state, as many Fine Gael types would apparently prefer. 

Our very existence is something that defies logic, economics and hard analysis. 

It is the unique ability of the Irish race to resist this concrete, logical thinking that defines us. Our Republic is a dream that has come true. There are those who live the dream and those who wish it to end. There are those who are romantics and those who are cynics. There are those who believe in Ireland and those who cannot abandon their own deep-seated, national inferiority complex. 

I cannot begin to understand what happened to the Quinn group, but I know this. The people who support him are my countrymen, their soul is Irish and their love of their nation runs truly deep. 

It is they, and not their Dublin 4 critics, who will always have my support.