It Occurs To Me: ‘President’ Humphreys and Groovy Simon

Earlier in the year, I flew the flag for Heather Humphreys as President, but on May 23, she ruled herself out of the running. 

She’s now back in the reckoning and in October 2024, when she announced her forthcoming retirement, the Irish Independent’s headline read: “Heather Humphreys leaves a legacy of inclusion and sound judgment” and she described herself as “a proud Ulsterwoman, a Protestant and an Irish republican”. 

Heather Humphreys is now back in the reckoning for the presidential race after ruling herself out 

In contrast, they ran a headline last weekend which read: “Why does a young, successful entrepreneur like Gareth Sheridan suddenly want to press pause and run for president?”

Answers on a postcard please to ‘Wannabes with notions”, Dublin 4. 

As regards Heather’s campaign, I think many voters may ‘look back in anger’ as they’re  reminded of the Darragh Cahill scoliosis debacle. In 2017, then Health Minister Simon Harris said on TV that no child would wait more than four months for scoliosis surgery. 

Nine-year old Harvey Sherratt waited 33 months for surgery which eventually took place in November 2024.

 Sadly, he died in July. In 2015, Darragh Cahill was placed on his first waiting list for scoliosis surgery. Ten years later, he is again back on a “semi-urgent” waiting list, which is supposed to mean surgery within 13 weeks. He has been on that list since November 14, 2024. As The Times put it bluntly last Saturday, “Simon Harris is paying price for breaking the golden rule of politics. As a petition for his resignation reaches 26,000 names (it’s well over that now), the tánaiste’s foolhardy promise to parents of children with scoliosis is coming back to haunt him.” Heather would be well advised to keep him out off the road…but hey, I’ll bet most Irish voters would prefer to see Dustin in the Aras if the Irish health system could just get its act together. It’s all a matter of priority. 

Sometimes, my cynical side sees the presidential race as a welcome distraction from realpolitik for many politicians. 

A prime seat in Croker for a hyped up concert is no substitute for using your Government seat to ensure Darragh Cahill and others are afforded urgency, decency and respect, and that Harvey Sherratt is not forgotten.

                                      In the jaws of fame

Over twenty years ago, when the awful reality shows were finding their feet, and no excess was spared, I wondered in this column - “What next? Throwing Christians to the lions again?”

I was reminded of this when I forced myself to watch a few excruciating minutes of the latest abomination - ‘Shark Celebrity’ - where “...seven famous people, each with varying degrees of phobias about sharks, open water or both, will be thrown into the ocean, i.e. the natural habitat of sharks, those magnificent apex predators.” I didn’t recognise any of the so-called celebrities, except for Lenny Henry…my God, has he sunk this low? (forgive the pun).

The show is timed to mark the 50th anniversary of ‘Jaws’ and it has got a right rollicking from the public and critics. At least there was a bit of bite in the original!

The late Michael Parkinson said: “Television has lost its soul. It’s gone from storytelling and real human   engagement to a conveyor belt of meaningless programmes. Saturday nights, once the home of family viewing, have become unrecognisable.”

As regards ‘Shark Celebrity’, the only thing I’m looking forward to is ‘FIN’. 

                                    Worst towns in Ireland?                                     

I see where irelandbeforeyoudie.com recently published its 10 Worst Towns and Cities to Visit in Ireland for 2025. 

Mercifully, no town in Donegal is included, but next door, Strabane comes in at number 9. It says: “Strabane is a border town with a strong community spirit, but it hasn’t seen the investment needed to make it a tourist draw. Heavily impacted during the Troubles, the town still feels like it’s recovering. While the people are warm and welcoming, there’s little in the way of attractions or atmosphere for visitors and most tend to pass through rather than stay.”

Overall, northern towns do very badly, with Lisburn at number 7, Larne number 2, and the worst at number 1 is Ballymena. 

Of the southern towns, Longford comes in at number 3, with the damning indictment:

“Longford has tried in recent years to improve its image and town centre, but it’s still viewed by many as one of the least appealing stops in Ireland.  The county has plenty of countryside charm, but the town itself lacks character and reasons to visit.”

READ NEXT: County Donegal Historical Society enjoys Field Day outing to Na Doirí Beaga

                                           Remembering the Miami

In the 1970s, one of the few Dublin restaurants where you could get food late at night was The Gig’s Place near Portobello Bridge. It opened in 1970, opened until 6am and catered mainly for bands and entertainers, becoming very popular with celebrities and punters alike. It lasted over 40 years and one of my vivid memories is seeing the late Fran O’Toole there one night over 50 years ago. For us, it was like encountering a Beatle, such was the Miami Showband’s fame, and in common with Ireland as a whole, I’ll never forget the shock when Fran (29), Brian McCoy (32) and Tony Geraghty (24) were murdered by Loyalist gunmen in Buskhill in Co Down on July 31st 1975.

Des Lee and Stephen Travers survived and in 2011, when I introduced Dickie Rock at the Derry Jazz Festival, I met up with Des who spoke quite openly and painfully about the shocking consequences of the massacre and about the grim reality of survivor guilt. Recently, Des published My Saxophone Saved My Life where he graphically recalls what he calls “a brazen act of fate” which saw him step out of line to check on his saxophone - to convince the ‘soldiers’ that they were musicians - and then stand in a different position. This “was to determine the rest of my days…this decision turned out to be the difference between life and death”. 

Lee and Stephen Travers, standing nearest the bomb, were miraculously blown through a hedge and fell into a field below, and survived. In the book, Lee writes that the horrors of that night continue “to haunt me and remind me repeatedly of how lucky I am to have made it this far”. 

‘My Saxophone Saved My Life’, written with Ken Murray, is published by Red Stripe Press and The Miami Showband 50th anniversary memorial concert will take place in Vicar Street, Dublin, on September 29.

                            Corporate con-jobs and rabid ‘influencers’

Professor Robert Reich, former US Secretary of Labor, recently published this:

Trump has halted or dropped enforcement actions against 160+ corporations, including:

42 consumer protection cases at the Consumer Financial Protections Bureau;

20 foreign bribery cases at the Department of Justice;

6 employment discrimination cases at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission;

7 crypto cases at the Securities Exchange Commission.

Reich adds: “It’s a new golden age for corporate criminals.

It’s also a golden age for any looper (Loomer?) who bends Trump’s ear. After an online pressure campaign from Laura Loomer, a far-right influencer close to Donald Trump who once described herself as “a proud Islamophobe”, the US state department has announced that it would stop issuing visas to children from Gaza in desperate need of medical care

In two posts, Loomer had shared video of badly injured Palestinian children and their family members arriving in Houston and San Francisco this month, along with false claims that their shouts of joy were “jihadi chants” and that they were “doing the HAMAS terror whistle”.

She also falsely claimed that she had “exclusively obtained” the two video clips she shared. In fact, one was copied from a medical aid charity’s public Instagram account and the other was from the Houston Chronicle’s YouTube channel. She then slandered the children, including amputees arriving to get prosthetic legs, as “Islamic invaders from an Islamic terror hot zone”.

Back in 1509, renowned theologian Erasmus wrote: “The less talent they have, the more pride, vanity, and arrogance they have. All these fools, however, find other fools to applaud them.  Until recently, the USA was being compared to Germany in the 1930’s…

Regrettably, the (Nazi) Eagle has landed.