Yes in my back yard

What is it with Irish people? The Special Olympics is the biggest sporting event in the world this year. It means a huge amount to the thousands of competitors who are planning to travel to this country from all over the globe, and to their coaches and managers and families.

A vast investment of time, effort, money and goodwill has been made in the drive to turn it into a genuinely world-class occasion, that will reflect well on Irish people and on Ireland. A lot of this has been delivered on a voluntary basis by generous individuals and groups who are putting the needs of others and of the community before their own. Potentially, the Special Olympics was on course to become a triumph of collective action, a quiet vote for decency and solidarity.

Now, all of that is at risk. No one could have predicted the outbreak of SARS that is currently a matter of grave concern. In terms of the Special Olympics, the timing of that outbreak is decidedly unfortunate. Clearly it is now necessary to put a detailed plan in place to ensure that the event does not become a platform for the spread of a disease that is little understood at the moment.

But, before the organisers, the Government and the World Medical Organisation have had the opportunity, in the light of the latest medical evidence, to properly formulate a plan, some of the natives have indulged in a pre-emptive strike. The Hong Kong team had been scheduled to stay in Clonmel, in Co.Tipperary. During the week, a decision was taken by the good burghers of the town to ask the Hong Kong team not to travel.

There is an outrageous presumptuousness involved here. While it would have been unpleasant and inhospitable, the town councillors would have been perfectly within their rights to say that the people of Clonmel no longer wanted to host the Hong Kong delegation. But that they should take it into their own hands to ask the team not to travel is going beyond any responsibility they can properly arrogate to themselves.

In any case, the current expert view is that this kind of paranoia is unnecessary, that advance quarantine and screening of the delegations from any potentially-at-risk countries should be sufficient to ensure that the Special Olympics is a SARS-free occasion.

But those who live in fear of the Other, those whose gut reaction is Not In My Back Yard, thrive in circumstances like this. They play on people’s natural fears, and the instinct to panic. It only takes a small number of small-minded reactionaries to erect barriers that good people doing the decent thing and making valuable events happen have to scale. The pity is that in Ireland, these kind of people get in the way far too often.

Down in Clare, in entirely different context, a similar kind of negative attitude on the part of a small number of people has been in evidence. Over the past few weeks, there have been reports of opposition to the return of the Lisdoonvarna Festival, which is set to feature as fine a bunch of Irish talents as are likely to be gathered in the one place in many a year.

The first thing that needs to be said is that the Lisdoonvarna Festival has a special place in the Irish collective memory. It was a great and pioneering event, which happened at a crucial time in the development of Irish music – and contributed to that process in no small way. There is something of the Brughel painting in the Christy Moore song ‘Lisdoonvarna’, which brilliantly evokes the sense in which the trip to Lisdoon was a good-natured and celebratory gathering of the fans.

Which is what it was. And while it would be naïve and inaccurate to suggest that it went off on every occasion without a hitch, on balance what it contributed to the Irish experience was thoroughly genuine and significant. What is also true is that the quality of the organisation of events of this kind has improved the proverbial 1000% in the meantime. Whatever mistakes might have been made then will not be repeated.

Great music occasions – festivals, that is – take place all over Ireland in places as diverse as Punchestown in Kildare, Nowlan Park in Kilkenny, Millstreet in Cork, Letterkenny in Donegal, Killarney in Kerry, Slane in Meath, the Phoenix Park in Dublin and even in the grounds of Stormont Castle. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that there is, in aggregate, less trouble at these events than occurs in the average main street of a big town on a single Friday night.

As it happens, the bill for this year’s Lisdoonvarna brings together the kind of outfits that attract what would generally be described as a lovely bunch of people. When has there ever been trouble at a gig involving The Frames? Their fans are the salt of the earth. The same can be said for the rest of the Irish acts, on what is an impressively Irish-dominated bill. So maybe we should anticipate a different class of rumbunctiousness from fans of Suzanna Vega!!!

As far as potential hassle is concerned, this is a no-brainer: it won’t be an issue. You could hardly put a bill in place that was more oriented towards good vibes and enjoyment – not to mention pleasure in real music. And the truth is that the vast majority of Clare people know this. All of the polls show that the majority are in favour of the event. This is hardly surprising: Clare people are a fiercely friendly and decent tribe, who are as up for a bit of music and fun, anywhere it’s to be had, as the best of us.

But a small number of vested interests are going about the business of erecting barriers, on the old and discredited principle of Not In My Back Yard, and opposing the granting of a licence. Well, they should forget their worries and instead get into the spirit of what promises to be a fine event.

The return of the Lisdoonvarna Festival will be good for Clare and for the town itself. It will bring badly needed tourist revenue into the area. And it will also renew its link with great Irish music in a way that will have a positive and beneficial effect on the county for the rest of the year as well.

With a fair wind gathering behind us, we’ll see you there. Looking forward to it.