COMING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

Christmas in Dublin

We all dream of spending Christmas with our family and friends. Many had planned to travel to Ireland and would by now have been packed and ready to go. Covid has put those cross-Atlantic plans on hold for this year. In the latest cruel twist, a new strand has just been detected in Britain. That strain is said to be 70% more contagious than the original virus.

Although it still responds to vaccines and produces symptoms similar to the existing virus.

The immediate result is that London and the southeast of England have entered the highest levels of lockdown with severe restrictions on movement. To restrict the spread of this strain countries around the world have blocked flights from Britain and closed ports to British boats.

Dublin moved yesterday to end flights and ferry travel with Britain. Sinn Féin proposed similar measures in the north to prevent the new strain of virus from getting onto the Island. As of yet, the Unionist parties have opposed this approach. Again highlighting the nonsense of partition and a union with Britain.

One side effect of these new measures has been that thousands of Irish people living and working in Britain, like other EU citizens, will be unable to travel home.

While Covid has a global impact, the actions of Boris Johnson’s government have been a chaotic and unmitigated disaster. The fact that unionist leaders align themselves with this government against the needs of their own people tells you all you need to know. That’s before we even talk about Brexit!

Meanwhile, the Irish in Britain like others will pay the cost for this failure. Our thoughts are with our cousins, the Irish Diaspora in Britain, and all of those who cannot make it home this Christmas.