A Ballyheane man is keeping an eye on Great Britain

By Auld Stock

DENIS Staunton is London editor of the Irish Times and is regarded as one of the outstanding journalists in Great Britain.

In a receent article in the Irish Times, Denis described a walk down Oxford Street with many business establishments closed.

London is feeling the pinch with the advent of Brexit and the coronavirus. Staunton wrote that 700,200 businesses in England are in serious financial distress.

Denis Staunton’s family go back a long way in Ballyheane, a few miles up the Ballinrobe Road from Castlebar.

The Trussell Trust, which runs Britain’s largest network of food banks, experienced a 33 per cent increase in calls during the pandemic from people seeking their help.

Boris Johnston and his Conservative cronies told the people of Great Britain that leaving the European Union would boost their incomes and give them a lavish lifestyle.

Regrettably, a majority of the British people believed him and they are now enduring the consequences.

I take no pleasure in highlighting those facts.

An impoverished Britain is bad news for Ireland and its people.

We should keep this in mind. Despite our differences from time to time, it is important this country has good relations with Great Britain.

Britain in trouble can also mean trouble in Ireland.

We Irish should keep this fact in mind.

In any event it is reassuring to see a Ballyheane man keeping an eye on things in Great Britain.

They were always a clever lot in Ballyheane.

Fair play to those living in the ‘town of the birds’, as it is known in the Irish language. What a lovely name.