Letters to the Editor

Why Féile na Tuaithe is off next year Dear Editor, It is a huge disappointment to me, and to all staff in the Museum of Country Life at Turlough Park, that Féile na Tuaithe will not be taking place in 2012. When I informed staff here last week that Féile would not be going ahead, the sense of shock and disappointment were palpable. As we have been informing our sponsors and principal stakeholders, their response has also been one of shock and concern. The general sense is that this is going to be a very big loss not just to the local community around Turlough and Castlebar but to the wider community in the West of Ireland and beyond. [private] This is due directly to the budgetary situation in which the National Museum of Ireland finds itself. As Government cutbacks take their toll, the National Museum must carry its share of the burden. We in Turlough Park accept that cuts have to be made. Regrettably, one of those cuts is going to be Féile na Tuaithe which has been an annual event on the second-last weekend in May for the last seven years. Paradoxically, and ironically, Féile na Tuaithe is a victim of its own success â€â€ as it has grown over the last few years it has become increasingly expensive to run. Approximately 20,000 to 25,000 people have been attending over the last few years. It is now firmly embedded as part of the cultural programme of the early summer in the west of Ireland. The importance of Féile na Tuaithe reaches far beyond simply the two days it takes place each May â€â€ it is one of the principal tools that has created, and sustained, the profile of the Museum of Country Life throughout the western half of Ireland. If the Museum of Country Life is very much about the lives of ordinary people in rural Ireland in the relatively recent past, Féile na Tuaithe was an extension of the Museum's remit to bring the craft dimension of the lives of our recent ancestors to public attention in an enjoyable and family-friendly way. The wonderful atmosphere, and the tens of thousands of people who came, are testament of the Museum's success in creating an enjoyable celebration of all that is best in Irish craftsmanship. While the primary purpose of Féile na Tuaithe has always been cultural, Féile in its own way also contributed to the economic well-being of the area. The Museum purchased goods and services to the value of tens of thousands of Euro in the local area and the stall-holders who participated also made money â€â€ and, even if some did not make a lot on the day, it was an effective marketing opportunity for them as well. So, Féile na Tuaithe will not take place in 2012, and probably not for a number of years. Economic crises last only so long. One day, the economy will improve and Féile na Tuaithe will return to Turlough Park. In the meantime, staff at the National Museum of Ireland â€â€ Country Life will work imaginatively and creatively to ensure that a visit to Turlough Park is a rewarding and enjoyable visit. Yours sincerely, Tony Candon Manager-Keeper National Museum of Ireland â€â€ Country Life Turlough Park Castlebar Co Mayo   Wishing 'Merry Christmas' is OK Dear Editor, At Christmas we are dazzled by the shopping lights of the season. We tend to forget that Jesus Christ, the true light of the world, is present â€â€ closer to us than we are to ourselves. Wishing each other a 'Merry Christmas' helps us to recall and stay fixed on our true joy. The English word 'merry' did not originally convey a sense of 'jolly, mirthful' as is often assumed today. It meant something more along the lines of 'blessed, peaceful' â€â€ a deep down inner joy rather than revelry. One gets a sense of its original meaning in the well-known carol, 'God rest ye merry, gentlemen'. As can be seen from the comma, the word is not used to describe jolly gentlemen, but rather was a blessing from God invoked upon them â€â€ 'God rest ye peacefully, gentlemen.' Thus, 'Merry Christmas', when spoken to one another, is a blessing. Let us greet one another often with this blessing to strengthen our certainty that the Lord came among us and continually renews his consoling presence of love and joy. With respectful and cordial best wishes, I remain, Sincerely Yours, Paul Kokoski Hamilton Ontario Canada   The Fox in the Crib Dear Editor, With foxhunts out in force, hounding to exhaustion and death these wild dogs of the countryside, I cannot help but reflect on the contrast between this grizzly scenario and a scene I encountered a few years ago. In the Dominican church in Limerick City I noticed an unusual crib. It had the figures of Mary, Joseph, and the Baby Jesus, and there was the usual farm livestock and donkey that commonly feature in the Christmas religious imagery. But perched right beside the statue of the Christ Child was an effigy of a creature I had never seen before in a crib: a little fox. I communicated my surprise to a Dominican friar who kindly offered to explain the significance of this 'special guest' in the crib. According to legend, he told me, one of the Three Wise Men who visited the stable at Bethlehem gave a pet fox cub as a gift to the infant Jesus. Months later, when Herod ordered the death of Jesus, the Holy Family had to flee, with the king's soldiers in hot pursuit. After weeks on the run, Joseph remarked to Mary that he could the howling of the bloodhounds that were closing in with Herod's men not far behind. Exhausted by their ordeal, they wondered if the end was near. But then, so the legend went, the now fully grown fox came to the rescue, confusing the hounds and throwing them off the scent. As a result, the Holy Family avoided capture and the Baby Jesus was saved from Herod's executioners. Hence the presence of the little fox in the crib, the friar concluded. I don't know if the fox effigy can still be seen in the Limerick church, but I do know I prefer that simple gesture of compassion and good will towards a much-maligned creature than the image of marauding hounds tearing the skin off its bones on a frosty field somewhere in Ireland...or the sound of applause and horn-blowing from the hunters who call this 'sport'. Thanking you, John Fitzgerald Lower Coyne Street Callan Co Kilkenny [/private]