Bystander
Herr Otto Von BismarkWE should all thank Herr Otto Von Bismark. Why we should thank this great German general will emerge further down in the article. He was a formidable figure, famous in his day and is still an historical figure to reckon with. The history of Germany cannot be understood without some knowledge of the ‘Iron Chancellor’, as he was called.
Every fortnight former civil servants should thank this imposing figure from the nineteenth century. In old age he was impressive, with his walrus moustache and bushy eyebrows. He is as quotable as Churchill and his utterances make more sense.
Here are some which still resound through the European mind.
“Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war.”
“I have seen three emperors in their nakedness, and the sight was not inspiring.”
“There is a Providence that protects idiots, drunkards, children and the United States of America. The Americans cry out ‘God save America’, but Bismark had a different take on the matter.”
He more or less lived through the nineteenth century. The effects he had on Europe are still to be observed.
athleticsATHLETICS may not get the media recognition that it more than likely deserves but when RTE do cover events, they do tend to get it right. The National Senior Championships were on in Santry over the weekend and RTE showed a highlights package on Sunday night after the Sunday Game. The timing was good insofar as fans of sport probably stayed tuned in after the gaelic games programme to see what was on offer.
In a few weeks time we will be bombarded with the Premiership Soccer Saturday, and also highlights on Sunday and Monday nights. By Christmas, some of us will be sick to the teeth of it given the huge amount of time devoted to soccer on television in general in both Ireland and Great Britain.
Anne McNally, who died in the old County Home in Castlebar on March 2, 1956, aged 108 years, was reputed to be the oldest woman in Ireland. A native of Thallabawn, Louisburgh, she was known to all in the hospital as 'Granny'.
