Irish values and traditions under threat?

It’s been a strange couple of months for the world. Ireland is no longer on the periphery of international events as the truly global nature of the planet continues to hit home. Natural disasters have hit hard in recent times, and our current privileged position as a wealthy nation ensures we are not found wanting when help is needed. Hurricanes, famines, earthquakes and wars are all now daily intrusions to our living rooms via television, newspapers and internet reports.

However, we too are paying the price for our newfound wealth and materialistic concentrations. What once was the remit of the less well-off nations is now commonplace in this country. It seems murders are a regular occurrence in this once-quiet land where a suspicious death would once upon a time stop Ireland in its tracks.

The influx of thousands of non-national arrivals to this country has brought many positives in terms of culture and much-needed additions to our workforce, but there have been many negatives as well.

It may not be politically correct to point these out, but they do exist. Many of these are in the area of crime. Headless bodies have been pulled from our canals and a perusal of a cross-section of our rural newspapers highlight the number of foreign nationals appearing before our courts.

Last week we had the unsavoury scene outside a Waterford circuit court where a man, found not guilty of causing reckless endangerment to a month old-child who later died following a botched circumcision, vowed to continue his work.

A Nigerian national, Mr Igbinedion told reporters outside the court that he would like to continue carrying out circumcisions. He had been found not guilty by a jury who had been instructed by Judge Kevin Haugh not to bring "their white Western values to bear" when deciding the case.

This was an unusual directive for a judge to make in an Irish court, to an Irish jury. Surely our values, our Irish values, should be determining factors in a case involving Irish law, in an Irish court? An incidence of jurisprudence probably unprecedented in this country. Or merely a sign of the times? Lost somewhere in Mr Igbinedion’s jubilant calls for freer circumcisions on new-born babies was the fact that a child, 29 days old, had died. Collis Osaighe was born of Nigerian parents in a new country, where he surely would have been presented with far better opportunities in life than if his parents had remained in Nigeria. Instead, a tradition from his parents ’ homeland contributed greatly to his death. It is not fashionable today to criticise the non-national influx into Ireland. Those who do are lashed with the racist brush. But a 29 day-old boy died at the hand of ignorance in our country. This happened two years ago. Where is the legislation banning homemade circumcisions? Where is the legislation ensuring the health and welfare of children like Collis Osaighe?

Where is the politician brave enough to stand up and say, "No, that’s not how we do things in Ireland, and if you want to come and live here you must abide by our laws and, yes, traditions."

We are not talking about snuffing out the wonderful cultures many foreign nationals bring to this country. We are talking about the undercurrent of rituals like homemade circumcisions, which have no place in our society. If we are serious about integrating our society to cope with our new arrivals then this is the message that needs to be sent.

Not one that requires an Irish jury to suspend its value system and forget where it comes from.