9th March, 2000
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

MYSTERY CALLER

Regarding the very strange phone call I received on February 29th at approximately 3.30pm from a mysterious lady caller demanding to know my identity as my unlisted home phone number kept appearing on her itemised bill. I would like to suggest to you to ask your husband or partner to explain the lewd, obscene phone calls I keep receiving.
Hope this will solve the mystery of Belwildered.
Name and Address with Editor.

SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER

Election time in the Cork of the 1950's, an exciting experience before the advent of T.V. Politicians travelled countrywide to press the flesh, drawing huge gatherings. The City of Cork, a staunchly republican stomping ground for the "Long Fellah" Eamonn DeValera.
In that era the political affiliations of parents determined whom their children eventually supported. My home, a staunch F.F. outpost, in bed we heard, O'Casey's "Plough and the Stars", the sound of marching feet, and "Keep the Home Fires Burning", drawing expletives aplenty from my republican mother.
The Saturday evening visit of Dev to Leeside was very special, a torchlight procession led the F.F. leader past blazing tar barrels enroute to "Pana", and Dev's customary stop in Blackpool to greet Molly Owens.
Scenes in the city centre were on a par with today's All Ireland receptions. Political ditties rent the air, e.g. "Bless 'em all, bless 'em all, The long and the short and the tall. Bless DeValera and Sean McEntee, Who gave us brown sugar and a half ounce of tea", plus "Vote, vote, vote for DeValera, Vote, vote, vote for all his men. When he's halfway up the pole, shove a poker up his 'Jumper', and we'll vote for DeValera once again.".......Great days!
Neil O'Donoghue
Douglas

A HEART BROKEN PARENT

Dear Michael,
Many people over the past few weeks have been horrified about what has happened to children and babies in Dublin hospitals, what many people don't realise it has also happened in Cork hospitals. We lost our darling Child in the late eighties, we consented to a post-mortem with the understanding that the baby would come back to us the same way as it went. To our horror we found out this Christmas Eve gone that they had taken the babies brain when the baby had the post-mortem in a Cork hospital. Words cannot explain the pain and hurt we feel. When we met with the doctors in Jan to find out why they had done it, they told us it was the done thing and they said that we were not informed as it would be upsetting. How more upset could we be, our child was dead.
Michael we would have had no problem if an organ was taken to help research or help another child. But the doctors can't tell us what they did with it, all we were told was they incinerated it. As you know yourself Michael to lose a child is like losing a piece of yourself, you never ever recover from it, time helps but you never forget that child. Now to be told that we have not buried all our child is devastating.
Now this week we have found out St. James' Hospital in Dublin incinerated stillborn babies, where is it going to end? Michael Martin has to have a Statuary Enquiry and make these doctors answer all bereaved parents questions. Gone are the days when people were afraid to talk to doctors, parents have a right to know!
The only good thing to come out of all this is that another family won't have to go through what we have. It has to be stopped!
A Heartbroken Parent

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