The temptation to ascribe all things good to one's country is strong, accompanied by a desire to cloak any shortcomings which may mar its image throughout the world.

For a number of years this and its predecessor web site have presented a view of much that is good in Ireland. Balance demands that attention be paid to the darker, cloudier aspects lest they be shrouded from public consciousness and remain festering sores that only the lance wielded by an informed citizenry can heal.

No. This isn't a call for another 1798 Revolution, tumbrels, guillotines and all. Neither is it an echo of les Patriotes du Quebec, nor of the destined to fail 1837 rebellion against the Family Compact in Upper Canada.

We had our own partially successful 1916 Rising, and promptly fell into Civil War that, in the 1920s, pitted Irish family against Irish family, the outcome of which lingers in the political animosities of our own time.

One manifestation of those animosities is the presence of not one but two Family Compacts in the twenty-six county Republic of Ireland, from which six counties still under British rule are partitioned.

As illustrated by a letter writer to the "Irish Independent" newspaper last month:

"There appears to be no qualification necessary to become a TD, other than to have had a brother, sister, father or mother in Dail Eireann, a phenomenon that could be called "Inherited Peerages Irish style".

Not wishing to belabour the point, the above is true in the case of both major parties in the Dail. The same family names that appeared in its membership in the 1920s and 1930s are still there. And internecine party squabbles are still the stuff of Irish politics.

The carping stories that follow are the unfortunate issue of the two Family Compacts.

The Bad Side

A report issued in April by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust was a stinging indictment of public standards in present-day Ireland.

Corruption, it found, was a central theme of Irish life and politics.

The Trust commissioned the study on which the report was based.

The study also found that human rights standards in Ireland are below internationally acceptable levels. Ireland, it stated, had become one of the richest countries in the European Union, but had also as one of the most unequal.

In its bluntest assessment the report stated:

"Ireland is now regarded as one of the more corrupt European states."

It was the second report commissioned by the trust written by Mr.Brian Harvey, an independent social policy consultant.

For those interested, an extensive summary of the report may be found at http://www.jrct.org.uk/

The Ugly Side

The next story concerns the unhappy state of affairs faced by teachers and students in the partitioned Six Counties of Ireland. It was graphically told by two teachers attending a recent meeting of the Irish National Teachers Organisation.

Among the incidents they described was the wearing of hard hats by children in their school playground to protect them from metal nuts and bolts being thrown at them from outside the school grounds.

Some pupils were actually stoned, and others had balloons filled with urine thrown at them.

One teacher's classroom was invaded by two gunmen who threatened to kill him.

The agonisingly long ordeal undergone by children as young as four years of age seeking to attend Holy Cross school in Belfast has been featured on this web page previously, and may be accessed at Hate-Lifelong Hate--Worldwide and The Unholy Walls of Belfast.

One of the teachers described the events as "the explosion of a volcanic hatred that had been bubbling away for the last 30 years."

The Low Side

Results of a poll commissioned by the European Commission which were recently released reflect the failure of the two Irish Family Compacts to merit the trust of the people whom they have purported to represent for the last seventy odd years.

In round figures just over 6% of the Irish have faith in their politicians.

In this matter of trust they differ little from other people in other member states of the European Union. In Europe generally only 6.6% said they had confidence in politicians.

Unless there is a sea change in their performance, or in public consciousness, members of the Family Compacts will continue to be held in low esteem following the General Election scheduled to be held in the Twenty-Six Counties of the Republic on May…………………..

The Cynical Side

The following end of term paper was recently recovered from a wastepaper basket.

Ethics 101 for the ethically challenged politician.

Please answer all questions truthfully and honestly.

Q. Two constituents seek my support in securing a job. The first absent-mindedly leaves a brown envelope containing €500 on my desk The second is my brother-in-law by my first wife. Which one should I support?

A. The first.

Q. Two other constituents seek my support in securing a job. The first absent-mindedly leaves a brown envelope containing €500 on my desk. The second is the brother of my current mistress. Which one should I support?

A. The second.

Q. Two other constituents seek my support in securing a job. The first absent-mindedly leaves a brown envelope containing €1,000 on my desk. The second is a nephew by my first wife. . Which one should I support?

A. The first.

Q. Two other constituents seek my support in securing a job. Both absent-mindedly leave envelopes containing €500 on my desk. Neither is related to me. Which one should I support?

A. Defer decision. Another brown envelope may suddenly turn up.

Q. Two other constituents seek my support in securing a job. One is exceptionally qualified. The other is a well known supporter of my party. Which should I support?

A. The second.

Q. What should I do with all the brown envelopes?

A. What brown envelopes?

The Good Side

All is not black. There are many, many credits that all too often are lost sight of during the onrushing press of events that catch the latest headlines or the short-lived attention of newscasts.

One came to mind with the sad news that in April "friendly fire" from an American Air Force pilot killed four Canadians in Afghanistan, members of the Canadian military force serving with the U.S. led coalition seeking to rout terrorist elements within that sorely war-battered country.

That death has been the fate of Canadian and Irish military forces serving as peacekeepers under the auspices of the United Nations should never be forgotten. In this latest tragedy the sympathy of all Ireland goes out to the grieving Canadian families of those who lost their lives in this latest disaster.

An article in our October issue, Irish and Canadian Peacekeepers may serve to keep in memory the fallen of both countries.

Footnote: Readers curious about the main heading may consult The Irish Dáil and Seanad-A Reporter's Reminiscences.