PEGGY KEEGAN,
Madam, - On Sunday November 24th a celebration ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of Scouting Ireland CSI took place in the Franciscan Church on Merchants' Quay. Over 3,000 young scouts and guides were in attendance from all parts of Ireland, North and South. In addition, contingents from the Defence Forces, An Garda Síochána and the Emergency Services also attended in recognition of the many members of the scout movement who served in these bodies over the years.
The President and the Lord Mayor of Dublin also recognised the importance of the occasion by their presence. It was an extraordinary ceremony, and to listen to the wholehearted singing and clapping of such a large group of young people participating in the various songs and hymns was truly memorable and moving. The ceremony was followed by an impressive and colourful parade of scouts and bands along the quays with a salute being taken by the President.
The only subsequent account of the event in the media was a bland and ill-informed piece in the Irish Independent of Monday November 25th, clearly written by someone who was not there. No on-the-spot description of what actually occurred, and no photographs.
The scout movement has over 30,000 young members in Ireland and has made, and continues to make, a major contribution to youth services in this country. It is ironic that on the very same day and location of this ceremony, the same media that could not find time to attend could send reporters and photographers to the Franciscan church in Merchants' Quay to photograph and report on a minute example of mindless graffiti painted on the wall of the church. This contrast in media priorities speaks volumes. The thousands of young people who attended the celebration in Merchants' Quay and who marched so proudly before their President were not drunk or disorderly; they did not mug elderly people or vomit in the gutters; they were ordinary, law-abiding young people with a sense of civic pride and duty, but of course that is not newsworthy.
I am thoroughly disappointed and disgusted, but not one bit surprised, at the collective failure of the national media to recognise the significance of the scout celebrations in Merchants' Quay. No doubt my letter will not even rate a mention, but I feel the better for having written it. - Yours, etc.,
PEGGY KEEGAN, (Parent and Scout Leader), St Patrick's Road, Walkinstown, Dublin 12.