It is our custom in this column to say goodbye to the year that is about to die and to welcome the New Year that is coming! My father fulfilled that solemn duty for many years when he was alive, and I therefore thought it appropriate to republish a column of his in his memory at this special time of reflection. This is what he wrote.

Another Christmas gone from us through the eye of the bridge of time. And although it is a time of celebration and fun, I hope, at the same time, that you have looked back over the years we have spent, until now, traveling with us on the great and difficult pilgrimage of life. It is also a time to remember the friends who have been lost, along the way. But, I am directed not only on that, this go round, but I am looking in front of me on the year that is stretching ahead of us now, while she waits on the threshold of the house, ready to meet us, and I pray the old prayer to you again, one more time. "Happy New Year to all of you, and may each of us live a better life, a year from today." Now, as we stand on the brink of the new year, shouldn't we, first of all, say goodbye to the old year as it now pursues death, itself, as it swims with it, on all fours, into books of history. What can we say about it before it leaves us? We can't go over the top praising it, and given that it wasn't the best year we have ever encountered, at the same time, it wasn't the worst! It is true that political matters here and abroad were not any great shakes during the year that is now on its deathbed, but at the same time shouldn’t we be grateful, blessed, that we are still alive, while we are plowing full steam ahead in the tumultuous field of life.

New Year's Resolutions

I used to, over the past years, make new year's resolutions, around this time, every year, pretending that I had to be a saint on earth in the new year! Did I succeed in taking action according to my words? You are raving mad ! Indeed I did not succeed! As I would have broken the same resolutions in short order. I am not suggesting now putting a stop to making those same resolutions, as that they are good for some people, that is, for people who want to head in a completely different direction, and in that case, usually, man who made the resolutions succeeds. And again, I'm not claiming that I don't have to change anything about myself, with the coming of this new year. No, indeed! For, truth be told, I have decided to continue writing these pieces, for the Kilkenny People, as long as the learned Editor of this great newspaper is willing to provide space for me, and add to that, that I am now determined on speaking out more boldly and forcefully than I have done up to now. I have also decided to keep a close eye on language matters, and on political matters, on the whole, in the coming year.

Wandering Memories

I needn’t say that my memories go wandering back through the years that have elapsed through the eye of the bridge of time, at this time of year, back also to the customs we used to have while I was growing up in Iorras na n'Iontas, yes and I also have memories of the people I knew who have passed on. May they all have a bed among the Saints. And since my Dad and his companions spent a period of time slaving away in Scotland, they brought home to Ireland Scottish customs such as the "First Footers", as the first person to come over your threshold on New Year’s Day was called. Yes, and the "Haggis" stories too. I often walked with them, in their stories, through the streets of the "Gorabals" as they called that city district in the city of Glasgow. But that's enough for this trip. All I have to do now is to wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year, and may we be alive at this time next year.

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I have to admit that I have not been in frequent contact with my former colleagues, especially after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. As it happened, one of them, a great friend of mine called Liam, contacted me last week.

He sent me a message on Facebook Messenger out of the blue, and let me know right away that he had been let go from Qualcomm, after more than thirty years at the company. Liam is a first class engineer and senior director. His manager told him that his next project had been canceled and therefore his job had also been eliminated. His manager, the vice president of engineering ,was also let go, as well as many of the engineers working on the same project. Wasn't it cruelly ironic that Liam had received an email the week before from the human resources department, thanking him for his thirty years of dedicated service to the company? Isn't it really braindead for the company to do that with one hand and then throw him out the door with the other immediately after? Things are even worse, because Liam has been extremely loyal to Qualcomm, year after year. Poor Liam suddenly found out that his company’s words were nothing but lies and lip service, unfortunately. Poor Liam is not only in low spirits but also in real trouble, because he has to find another job soon and that won't be easy at all. Workers in the high-tech sector are discriminated against on the basis of age all the time, and Liam is now 55 years old. Not only will it be difficult for him to find a new job, but even if he does find a job, it will undoubtedly be difficult for him to find the same salary and working conditions. I personally think it is unethical for a company to treat workers in that way. Although there are laws in place in California to protect workers over the age of 40, companies end up skirting the rules. In this case, with the company trying to implement sharp cuts, certain expensive projects were cancelled, projects that are not central to the company's strategy. The company finds other jobs for many workers, but it is not so easy to move the leaders, because there are not many such roles to be found. It is no coincidence that the most senior workers - those who earn the highest wages - are let go. In this way, companies are able to let members of the high income group who are over 40 years old go without breaking any law. I saw this when I was working, and sometimes I saw the same projects resurrected with a new team after a short while later.

  A Person of Principle!!

Liam, myself and our spouses, met for dinner right after I spoke to him on the phone. It was still difficult for Liam to accept what happened to him so abruptly. But he was enthusiastically looking for work in the area, and contacting other former colleagues who were working in other companies. He had done a few interviews and was hopeful that he had done well in one of them. Liam said he was very grateful for me spending time with him on the phone, giving him advice. Sometimes, you don't know how important it is to talk together, especially when things like this happen. What kind of great advice did I give him? The most important thing I did was to listen with empathy to him - that's all. We have a strong relationship and he trusts me completely, and vice versa. It turned out that Liam had not been happy in his job for the past three years but despite that, he continued to work because he was loyal to the company, and he wanted to protect the people who worked for him, because he saw increasing risks on the horizon. He did not surrender his principles, even when his livelihood was in danger. The bottom line is that I have the utmost respect for Liam, and it's a shame that Qualcomm didn't treat him with respect after his spending his life in their service, working hard and benefiting them all that time . Shame on you, Qualcomm!

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Isn’t if often that someone asks us a question and we don't have a suitable answer because we are stunned! Don't we hate when this happens! Sometimes, we lose a few hours of sleep as a result, even if it's a small thing. I was asked this kind of question recently, and I would love to go back in time to answer the question properly. I may not be able to actually time travel, but I can do it with my imagination, and then write about it!

The Question

"Why are you studying Irish?"

I was in the pub in Glencolmkille with Sinéad, my wife, at the end of the day. Sinéad was meeting a few people from her class and I came to meet them for the first time, as I was not attending the same class as them. We were getting to know each other when I was asked the question. It was a judge who put it to me, and from his tone of voice, it felt to me that this man thought that there was no point in me studying Irish, and that it was a waste of time. He knew that I live most of the year in California, and that's it. The word froze in my mouth, and I was in a panic!

George Mallory

I don't know why, but that question reminded me of another question. The famous climber George Mallory was asked a certain question, many times. This is how Mallory wrote about it:

"People ask me, 'What is it worth to climb Mount Everest?' My immediate answer is "It's not worth it!” There is no chance of any benefit. We will not bring back a little gold or silver, or jewels, or coal, or iron

If you do not understand that there is something in us that faces the challenge of this mountain, and that this struggle is the same as the ceaseless upward struggle in our lives, you will not see why we go.

What we get from this episode is just pure joy. And after all, joy is the reason for life. We don't live to eat and make money. We eat and make money to survive. That's the meaning of life and that's the purpose of life."

Nach iontach an freagra a bhí ag Mallory! Ní gá dom a rá nár cheist eisiach mar sin a cuireadh orm, ach d’aimsigh sé an t-éasc ionam, mar sin féin. Rith sé liom aithris a dhéanamh ar Mallory, agus freagra a scríobh síos don cheist a cuireadh orm.

Yu Ming is My Name!

A short film is available on 'YouTube' entitled 'Yu Ming is My Name'. Before he comes to visit Ireland, Yu Ming reads that Irish is the official language in the country, and he starts learning it as he intends to settle in Ireland. At first, no one understands him and he understands no one. But he meets an Irish-speaker in the pub, who tells Yu Ming that "English is spoken here!" In the end, Yu Ming gets a job in the Gaeltacht, and is able to use his Irish. The reason Yu Ming learned Irish was because he thought that everyone speaks it every day. Unfortunately, Yu Ming did not have the right and he did not have a valid reason to learn Irish. Even in the Gaeltacht, it is quite difficult to use Irish all the time.

Why, then, would anyone – including the questioner, spend a week or two a year attending an Irish language immersion course? There were people who used Irish in their jobs, and I understand that well. But, even for most of them, it wasn't their jobs that motivated them to improve their Irish but the opposite! In addition, there were many people there, including the judge, who did not need to use Irish, from the point of view of their jobs. a chaithfeadh aon duine – an ceistitheoir san áireamh, seachtain nó dhó sa bhliain ag freastal ar thumchúrsa Gaeilge? Bhí daoine ann ar úsáid siad Gaeilge ina bpoist, agus tuigim é sin go maith. Ach, fiú d’fhormhór dóibhsean, níorbh é a gcuid poist a spreag siad chun feabhas a chur ar a nGaeilge ach a mhalairt!  Chomh maith leis sin bhí go leor daoine ann, an breitheamh san áireamh, nár ghá leo Gaeilge a úsáid, ó thaobh a bpoist de.

My answer

Finally, here is my own answer:

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Irish culture, and especially the Irish language, is close and ingrained in me, no matter where I live or what happens to me. It is a kind of DNA or a basic characteristic in me with my memory, which my family on my father's side (a poet who was from the Gaeltacht) has had for generations. We find true joy and meaning in being true to ourselves, and wouldn't I be remiss and even foolish to ignore something as important as that?

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