North Atlantic Skyline - - Photographs from the west of Ireland (Galway, Mayo, Clare, Limerick, Roscommon and even Leitrim)

Karol Wotija 1920 - 2005

On the flagpole of the L.E. Eithne, tied up in the Galway docks, the national flag hung limply at half-mast on Sunday, to mark the passing of Pope John Paul II. His ambition to revisit Ireland this year will not be fulfilled – he had intended to visit Armagh to commemorate the reputed seat of Christianity in Ireland – though there is no actual proof St. Patrick ever visited any part of Ulster. All that is left are the memories and the souvenirs of his last visit.

And only in Ireland could a political row break out over exactly how much mourning is appropriate. Enda Kenny, leader of Fine Gael, must have very little else to do when he called on the government to declare an official day of mourning (and therefore give all public service employees a holiday), despite the fact that most churches have services on Friday evenings. And one interviewee on a vox pop on Radio One’s news programme, 5-7 Live, worried that giving everyone the day off on Friday might set a dangerous precedent. If the passing of the head of the Catholic Church merits a public holiday, then surely so would the head of the Church of England. A day of mourning in the Republic for the Queen of England? Too much for some people…