This particular blogger has devoted much time and energy to the fall-out from the Holocaust “joke” from our own Tommy Tiernan. The responses have been fairly dispiriting by and large and have weakened my faith in human nature – at least in its blogospheric manifestation.
Tommy T likes to joke, so let’s hope he sees the funny side of an Irish artist portraying him as an Hassidic Jew. For more on this, click here. Incidentally, I believe artist Tom Byrne is mistaken in his belief that TT has apologised. I am not aware that he has done so: when he does, I’ll leave him alone.
And while I’m on the subject, it is not every day this Blog has a complimentary remark to make about our current Taoiseach. But full marks to him for attending the Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony. His remarks were apposite and the following extract is worth reproducing:
We come together this evening to recall one of the darkest periods of
European history.
We recall in particular the horrors revealed at the extermination camp at
Auschwitz- Birkenau 65 years ago, when the camp was liberated by the Soviet
army on 27 January 1945.
It is estimated that two thirds of European Jews perished in the Holocaust.
Millions of other victims were murdered by the Nazis and their
collaborators.
This ceremony seeks to cherish the memory of all of those who were
persecuted because of their nationality, ethnicity, disability, religious
belief, political affiliations or their sexual orientation. It serves as a
reminder of the dangers of racism and discrimination and provides lessons
from the past that are relevant today. We remember so that future
generations will never ignore history and, in turn, repeat its mistakes.
The Holocaust has left an indelible blemish on the landscape of history. We
in Ireland are very conscious of the need to learn the lessons. The Irish
Government is actively committed to promoting an inclusive society and to
eliminating all forms of racial intolerance in our country.
(To read the speech in full, click here)
