canisgallicus

TV NEWS ISSUE ABOUT FALKLAND ISLANDS:

February 2002

‘The reality changes with the first air-raid’.  It needs to be witnessed, felt, the sense of  smell must be evoked.  The Macho men all of a sudden are ‘scared men’.  The world becomes four-dimensional.  They are face to face with the immenence of death.

Key factor:  The sense of guilt.  Yet another Paradox.  You live, another dies. 

War environment inflames the will to live. 

Home:  There is a change, it can become a will to live no longer.

The reality is that mental wounds are just the same as physical wounds.

Point made:  While combatants are on the war front, alcohol is about entertainment and abnormal practices are engaged in.  Combatants can ‘play around’ with dead bodies and fire hand grenades (must take this in context of their situation).  There are no sanctions as such.

The reaction of the Ministry of Defence to the problems that arose, was to reduce the medical budget.

Fact:  3 times the number of men who fought in Vietnam committed suicide.  This does not speak of those who are on the likes of Skid Row or known as down and outs.

In the UK, more combatants have now died from suicide than were killed in the Falklands war and the numbers are rising significantly.

The Stigmatisation factor to mental illness is particularly prevalent in the Armed Forces.

The question   WHY? MUST BE ASKED

 WHAT IS THE PURPOSE, FROM A MILITARY PERSPECTIVE OF THE STIGMA?

Michelle Clarke 2002

Date: Friday, June 06, 2003 9:39 AM

(SARS OLYMPIC TRAVEL BAN PARTIALLY OVERTURNED):

Time is approaching, the Torch was lit and the journey to Ireland has begun.

This is the European Year of People with Disabilities – the objective is to challenge people to highlight the benefits of full integration for society as a whole.

Changing attitudes is one aspect but the breaking down of barriers and obstacles also needs attention.

The European Year of People with Disabilities (EYOD) is very much people driven.  A budget of Euro 12 million was provided but mostly distributed to national level.  At a national level, more local stakeholders will be involved and this will stimulate awareness.  It is hoped this new awareness will impact into policy objectives for equality for those with disabilities.

‘At the event opening in Athens, European Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, Anna Diamantopoulou talked about ‘invisible citizens’……

One in four Europeans has a family member affected by a disability; only 4% have a colleague with a disability and only 2% know a disabled pupil at school.  Europeans with a disability are less likely to have a job or a business or have a complete tertiary education.  They are less likely to be ‘married’ (Social Agenda – European Commission Employment and Social Affairs April 2003 – free EU Office).

The EYPD has established a new framework.  A number of major companies have volunteered to establish action plans in favour of people with disabilities.  These include Hewlett Packard; Volkswagen; Sony; Manpower and others.  The recruitment company Adecco has committed to placing 7,000 people with disabilities on the EU labour market during 2003.  IBM has also made provision in line EYPD.

In Ireland, we need to remember that the Disabilities Bill has been delayed.  However, it is important to remember that legislation fights discrimination.

There will be lots of fun and excitement with the participants, their families and friends but there will also be opportunities to compare how different countries look at Special Needs and Disabilities provision.  I note in Spain, the University provides 3% of student places to people with disabilities.

Chinese Proverb:

‘The true miracle is not to fly in the air

Or to walk on the water

BUT TO WALK ON THE EARTH’

GOOD LUCK WITH THE OLYMPICS – ENJOY  (Michelle) NB  This is 2004

Accumulated pain; depression and suicide.
by Michelle Clarke – Social Justice and Ethics
Thursday, Nov 25 2004, 9:01pm

The last time Suicide was raised on this Citizen Journalism site in Ireland 27 people replied. Another article referred to the Father who felt such pain that he opted to
set fire to himself in a solicitors office. This is about pain and it is my hope that this
article written at a painful time in my life might initiate the word HOPE in the minds of
vulnerable, saddened, people.  ‘We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars’ – Oscar Wilde

The truth is that for some of us, while in the gutter, the stars can still be seen, but for
others who often may be deemed by others to lead a privileged life, a time in their life may occur when the dark, star-less gutter comprises their life.

Be it of their own making or not, and who is anyone to assume the position of judge? – they have reached that place where the dark mist seeps through their mind and thinking processes. The reality is as stark as a life or death route.

I have been there more than a few times and yearned for the blow that would give peace. I sought that inadvertent accident. I have stood watching the No. 10 bus, my mind focused on how wholly effective the method would be? There could be nothing worse than not attaining one’s objective.

Characteristics, in my opinion, can influence the ultimate decision. In my case, I regard empathy as a prominent factor. To empathise, is to basically stand in another’s shoes and it is this that proves each time the deciding factor. You see, from personal experience, the effect of suicide on those concerned, particularly the family and friends, and all who come in contact with the death by suicide, is both damaging and a life sentence.

The ‘Holy Spirit’ or whoever you choose can work in very mysterious ways:-

While I was living in England in the 1980’s, I was a commuter, by train daily, to the City, where I worked. It was a hard winter and there was a lot of snow and frost causing major delays and cancellations on the trains. One day as I stood waiting to board an overcrowded, last train out of Liverpool Street, the train driver felt kindly
toward me and invited me to join him in his part of the train. We chatted but interestingly the subject changed to suicide.

Before long I realised a perspective I never looked at. He angrily spoke of the selfishness of people who weekly threw themselves before the trains. He and his fellow train drivers had to deal emotionally, physically and otherwise with these harrowing events. This conversation, always remains with me albeit I know when things become
so bleak, this rationality scarcely applies. However, if at all possible try and keep a level
of empathy in mind.

My depressions have been violent and numerous yet every time I ‘resurrect out of the ashes’, I am caught in a near ecstasy of enthusiasm to ask why, seek further research and responses, to read more, to assist anyone as much as possible whom I feel may need help i.e. within the protection boundaries I must set for myself. Opportunities each time present themselves and it is these experiences that drive me on – I am constantly in
search of any answer.

This was published in the Aware magazine, St Patrick’s Hospital, Dublin 8 – 2001

August 2001 – during a very disturbed yet enlightening period in my life. I found this and
here I am November 2004 and content.

Legalised Brothels in Holland to Vintners Ireland and Vision
by Michelle Clarke – Social Justice and Ethics – Please Wednesday, Sep 8 2004, 4:05pm

This is most interesting.

Now that our Government are in swing and aiming for Social Awareness, people ought to put forward legalisation of brothels in Ireland.

Again I recommend the article in this weeks Economist magazine about the Sex business. The time has come to use initiative in Ireland and why not piggy back on the research of other countries.

I note with a degree of wonder the bleating of the Vintners association about the smoking ban; it appears that takings are down; and product prices are up.

Perhaps the time has come for pub owners to have some vision. Many pubs host crowds at ground level or empty spaces these days and vacant space upstairs; maybe some options need to be tapped.

I say no to kerb crawlers. I say yes to respect of all people concerned. I do not like passing women working on the street late at night when it is cold and dangerous for them. They supply a need. We need to take note.

If sex is legalised, maybe there would be less rape, crime, etc. If a person is a sex addict then let them pay accordingly without any inherent seediness. Public Health ought to be involved also.

Quotation selected from News Internationalist
Petra Kelly 1947-1992 German Green Politician

‘We need policies of eco-justice, and we need to realise the spiritual dimensions of our life, of our interconnected planet Earth, of each other!’

Suicide Prevention Day this Friday – Ponder on wisdom ‘Knowledge is no load’
by Michelle Clarke – Social Justice and Ethics Wednesday, Sep 8 2004, 11:36pm

The number of fatal car accidents recently alarms me. I don’t know why but personally I seem to link them with suicide and ask the question why RTA details are not more specific in detail (as in other countries).

https://www.un.org/news is an interesting website. The notification of World Suicide Prevention Day is September Friday 10th 2004. This coincides with the Aware Daisy days. Thursday; Friday; and Saturday – Bulbs for planting will be sold throughout the Island of Ireland. This years focus is Depression and Suicide Prevention.

The UN agency seeks to curb ‘the huge but largely preventable problem of suicide’. The figures reveal that almost 1 million people die every year as a consequence of suicide. This is more than from homicides and wars combined. This makes suicide a ‘tragic global public health problem’ according to the World Health Organisation.

The World Health Organisation stress the importance of EARLY IDENTIFICATION AND TREATMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS.

The news report outlines a large number of complex underlying causes including poverty, unemployment, loss of loved ones, arguments, relationship breakdowns; to name but a few.

They also state that having access to the means to suicide is both an important risk factor and determinant of suicide.

Stigma remains in Ireland. Aware, Mental Health Organisation, Mind and other organisations and people like the Samaritans are there with the listening ear.

Listen to Christy Moore’s Song; Don MacLean and Vincent; read the works of the complex writer Sylvia Plath who chose suicide because she could no longer cope with her life. You are not alone just stretch out the hand. Drink and drugs are not the answer, it is humanity and the ability to not experience loneliness in being alone. Life is a journey and there are many pilgrims out there to take your hand.

People hit momentary suicidal dips and make it through. To be a survivor of suicide haunts your life particularly if stigma surrounds it.

A quotation: News International

SIZE MATTERS

‘Perhaps that is what the 21st century has in store for us. The dismantling of the BIG. PERHAPS IT WILL BE CENTURY OF SMALL THINGS.

Indian Writer – Arundhati Roy
and Activist

Suicide – some strategies; there is hope in despair
by Michelle Clarke – Social Justice and Ethics –
Thursday, Dec 30 2004, 8:43pm

Christmas is over and the New Year approaches.

I am providing a few words of comfort from a book  by Marie Barrett, to people like me, who know what despair is about and those who have encountered the shock and pain of suicide.

The title: Hope in the face of Suicide by Marie Barrett. (This is a small booklet I purchased at the Veritas shop and that I often carry in my handbag on days when I need a raison d’etre)

‘Are you tired?
Are you lonely?
Are you troubled or afraid?
Have you someone to talk to?
Did you sleep last night?
Are you worried about today?

Marie Barrett assembled these lines – all I know is that I can empathise with each question and thankfully, these feelings relate to my past and I enjoyed this Christmas with my new friend Kevin.

Denial is a word we need to be more aware of. Denial can kill people, it cause others to refuse to embrace full recovery. There is the denial of trust, of truth, of love. There also is the denial of pain.  Denial seeps through families, companies, groups of people and can cause harm ….. in families where a suicide occurs, denial can be used to create the perfect picture but like a mirror that splinters so can be the outcome.

Perfection: This is a trait associated with success. We need to be careful in this regard…..I will take a few words from the booklet that may be of benefit.

‘Don’t burden your heart with perfection
Seek the balm ‘to be weak’
Listen. Listen to your thoughts, your feelings
Seek help
Look for help. It is waiting
Suicide, of oneself, of another, can be avoided
Seek out. Speak.

Pain is real. Pain is healing.
Both are needed
To deny this to is to deny truth of oneself’

I can identify so well with the perfection and know that when one learns to lower ones own levels of perfection, there is a freedom to be gained.  When alienation takes over; and the body begins to close into itself and the mind is dark and dour……try to hold on.

The Samaritans are there; Aware; Mental Health Association; Grow and others. The people are trained to listen and to be heard breaks through the despair.

I take finally a meditation from the book.

‘Let me sleep gently,
I cannot
I am still tired, God
Help me
I am trusting – a little
Help me find peace

Another suggestion:

Alcohol is a depressant. It lowers mood ultimately. The up is limited.

Gardai and claims that 90% encounter bullying.

Michelle  Clarke – Social Justice. 

Wednesday September 1st 2004, 8:41 pm       

                      
Bullying – not just among children. People who bully ironically are often the people with low self-esteem. They project onto others those characteristics they share, but don’t like in themselves. Alas they seek the vulnerable targets. What is more interesting is that they may not even be aware, the reaction may be from their subconscious.

Bullying applies in schools, between children, between parents of children; in the Civil Service, in the Professions, and even Bertie Ahern refused to be bullied by Michael O’Leary per a recent headline in Irish newspapers. What can be done either at an individual level or otherwise? It’s September, children are back at school; employers and employees are back at work; politicians are back in the Dail and so are students are back at school or at university.

Ask some person like Tony Humphry’s to lecture people/children/facilitators for an hour and make them aware as why they engage in bullying. This can be backed up by some of the copious number of self-help books on the market. What has greatly helped me is the quotation from Nietzche ‘He who has the reason why, can deal with anyhow’

As a young secretary, I experienced the game plan of the bully. It was a set up situation to establish the power element of I am ‘the boss’ and you are ‘the secretary’. This is nearly 20 years ago now. I was saved by a wise Chartered Accountant in his 60’s who told me ‘Young lady’, if you don’t make a stand now, this will continue’. I took his advice and it worked very well in that place of employment where I remained for five years. I shed many tears when I left that company but then this is life and I had to join my husband in the UK because it was 1980’s Ireland and he could find no work here.

I became re-acquainted with Bullying and others seeking to be in control when I became humbled through ill-health. The only difference this time is that I had neither the health or ENERGY to engage in the ritual dance of the myriad of bullies who I met during that time……it was about vulnerability. Bullies seek out the weak. You submission in this situation is not voluntary, that stubborn streak of independence may not have left your core being but to survive you become ultimately becoming passive resistant. The Hope is that you get stronger over time and your health improves.

As I recover, I know that bullying exists. My way of dealing with it was and continues to be reading about it. A small book that I found excellent is John Powell’s (Jesuit Priest) ‘Why am I afraid to tell you who I am……written 1950’s but it has shown me how to set down boundaries. I have enlisted some coping strategies like believing that I have the right to choose not to use the phone and to not listen to people who tend to want to tell other people how to run their lives. I am not faulting the other human being but I am acknowledging my right to say no to the phone and to accepting a quality in their person that I do not like.

An extreme example of bullying – an indication of how pervasive it is.

When I lived in Zimbabwe, I either heard or read about this. The New Government in the 1980’s was left with the remnants of the British civilservice. Naturally, there was a change over in staff and of course the new staff had an acquired status position in line with their promotion and based on what they identified from
the past administration because the system did not work the same way. Sometimes to get say one’s tax sorted out – you had to employ a few relatives from the rural areas to get tax due back. Power / control – we are talking about being human and susceptible and often at its worst when one is vulnerable.

I read/heard of one case of a white woman probably for the first time having to deal with the new system attending a civil service office. She like the rest had to queue. The black Zimbabweans had spent their lives queueing. However, each time she reached the desk – the African woman dismissed her and kept telling her to go to the back of the queue. Eventually – the answer came. You are white, you have done this to us all our lives. Now you see what it is like. This I would call redressing the power balance and is understandable. However, the key point is that people learn. The learning is key. This is where the learning starts and behaviour change is the aim.

Bullying is more a characteristic/trait/coping mechanism and it is acknowledged that if you confront bullies – they retreat. The characteristic is often born out of their owninsecurity. What is important is that this characteristic can be changed.

IF PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO INVEST THE TIME IN SELF DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH, change is possible.

To confront the person who is the bully may be as simple as saying to them –

That is your projection. This disempowers the bully who fires words like arrows aimed to hurt.

In Ireland much has been reported about An Gardai Siochana (claims that 90% encounter bullying) within the ranks and beyond. Bullying became so entrenched that criminal practices occurred and it became necessary to hold a tribunal of inquiry known as the The Morris Tribunal https://www.irishtimes.com/news/timeline-of-morris-tribunal-of-inquiry-1.822357 findings ought to remain stark in the minds of policy makers and Government. The

Morris Tribunal may cost inordinate sums but it is up to we the people in Ireland to take an individual responsibility to ensure ethics and social justice and be aware that bullying is morally wrong.

A Gandhi quote:

You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe,

deserve your love and affection.

This dimension of health merits keen attention in the health boards, teaching, the Gardai, the politicians’ personal commitment levels and effective leadership of their bureaucratic mass. Some lessons in human skills and the concept of equality and ability of people to change their attitudes need focus and personal undertaking.

Compassion seems to have fallen from grace in the society of today – To show compassion is not marketable and is often misread as a sigh of being weak or vulnerable. Compassion helps you to seek the explanation which encourages the ‘take responsibility awareness’ route which needs to start in the schools NOW AND WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT. In the UK – they have started at classroom level and explanation.

Michelle quotes Nietzche

                                ‘He who has the reason why can deal with any how’

Potential:  Royal City of Dublin hospital closed August 2019.  This building which most probably has beds, a kitchen and rooms available should be opened for the homeless over the Christmas and into the New Year.  There is no reason that this cannot happen.  Your assistance is needed.  In the long term this link about St Andrew’s in Pearse Street 10th December 2019 in the Irish Times should be an option for the Royal City of Dublin hospital, Upper Baggot Street.  https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/st-andrew-s-resource-centre-fighting-exclusion-reducing-inequality-1.4109575

Decades later, many letters, much correspondence, many promises but at last there is hope for people with mental health and related concerns.  There is a 24 hour service available as and from today 28th November 2019, spearheaded into action by Junior Minister for Mental Health, Jim Daly.  Thank you so very much Mr Daly and the team behind you.  The hotline number freephone number is 1800 111 888.   https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/ministers-say-new-mental-health-support-line-could-save-lives-967162.html

• The National Ambulance Service will operate and oversee the helpline which can be accessed through the free number 1800 111 888
• Roll out of counselling, psychology and psychiatry initiatives (a special textline will be introduced over the coming months)
• Caller will be linked to member who will provide information about supports available in their area and nationally (trained in SafeTalk an internationally recognised training programme…which will also cover suicide intervention).
• Phone 1800 111 888 and you will be connected to someone who will direct you into contact with the relevant service from over 1,000 mental health supports and services bodies eg Samaritans, Jigsaw, and other Section 39 bodies that operate charities in the private sector.

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Earlier correspondence and writing by Michelle Clarke regarding the inadequate provision of mental health services in Ireland.

Thank you Eugene for this most interesting piece about my Grandfather, who I never met but have access to much information in the archives about him.  You met with me and Kevin many years ago now but thankfully the computer has kept this file and I now am uploading it to WordPress.  Time passes on and in 2017 I was diagnosed with breast cancer so I decided to write a book about illness over a period of 25+ years.  https://www.amazon.com/dp/1912639610/

Michelle Marcella Clarke

==========================================

Clareman

Judge Michael Comyn.

My father Jack Garrihy who was born on 11^th November 1920, passed away on February 25^th 2007, aged 86 years.  In 1932 he was fishing The Aille River at Toomullin in Doolin, when an “important looking man” approached him and introduced himself as Michael Comyn.  He told Jack that he was opening a Phosphate mine in the area and asked Jack for local information on the immediate area.  Jack spoke with him for some time and had fond memories of that meeting. Jack offered him a couple of trout and Michael gave him two shillings and six pence in return.  Jack got to know him in later life and the following is a brief summary of Michael Comyn’s life.

Judge Comyn as he would become known was a Clare man who little has been written about from a North Clare perspective.  He is buried at Bishops Quarter Cemetery very close to where he was born in this beautiful part of North Clare.

Michael Comyn was born in Ballyvaughan in 1870.  He was 10 years old when his family were evicted from their home in Ballyvaughan.  His nephew James Comyn in his book “Their Friends at Court” recalls some of Michael’s stories of when he lived in Ballyvaughan.  Michael remembered sheep being washed in the sea.  They were thrown in one by one at the old pier at Clareville and allowed to swim ashore.  The reason for this was to clean the wool before sheering and sale.  He remembers crossing the bay to Galway with wool for sale at the markets.  He remembers at certain spring tides when the bladder weed was exposed, men and women went out to cut the seaweed and used it to fertilise the over cropped and exhausted fields.  He recalled that in the winter and summer of 1879 the final troubles developed for the Comyn family.  The crops were poor, the season bad, the sheep died in their hundreds and distress came to the valley around Ballyvaughan.  As mentioned eviction followed and he recalled in one day 800 people left Ballyvaughan by ship for free emigration to Australia. Michael and his family were lucky to have an outside farm about 15 miles away and Michael got a place in the National School in Ruan where the headmaster there was Mr Hugh Brady.

Mr Brady had a reputation as a teacher who prepared students for careers in the civil service in Ireland and Britain. During his school years Michael also worked on the farm and he recalled cutting and harvesting turf for winter fuel.  When he was nineteen he sat examinations for the Civil Service and was one of 10 from hundreds of applicants called to Power Distillery in Dublin for a six week course of introduction and Instruction.  A career in Custom and Excise followed.  His first post was to Lancaster where his task was relieving officer from stations from Barrow-in-Furness to Preston.  On one occasion a seizure of goods was required because of arrears in duty.  Michael refused to seize the goods because he said it was like the act of a “Sheriffs Officer”.  “What you ask me to do is regarded in my country as work for a different class of men, I will not do it”.  He was summoned to Lancaster but was met by an understanding senior collector who said to Michael “It is clear that this service is not suited to you”.  I will give you the opportunity to seek another career either in London or Dublin.  Michael chose Dublin.

Michael became a student at Kings Inns and managed to fit in Law lectures with work at the Distillery.  In his last year at Kings Inns he was posted to Yorkshire and missed out on lectures which prevented him sitting his final exams.  He studied the regulations and found that winning a Victoria prize would cure the defect and that he duly did.   He also found that there was an honours examination which would, if achieved, excuse him two whole terms and that he took also and succeeded.

Now a barrister he joined the Munster circuit, took a couple of cases and found himself retained for the next four sessions of the Munster circuit.  In his book “Their Friends at Court”, Mr James Comyn (Michael’s nephew) recalls many cases in which Michael was involved and in which he won the respect of the general public and the legal fraternity alike.

He had an interest in politics and became active in the few years before the 1916 rising and during the civil war that followed. He wrote “In a war of Independence the guiding principles are fidelity and honour – in civil war you can expect treachery and deceit” In 1909 he became involved in the N.W. Manchester elections and got to know Winston Churchill and his mother Lady Randolph of which he was greatly impressed.

In politics his sympathy and help went to those who took part in the 1916 rising and their successor and ultimately to Mr de Valera and his party.  During the troubles as Senior Council he was kept busy defending men charged before the Military courts.

He successfully defended many charged before the Military courts but the case that stands out is how he managed to defend 42 Irish men under the sentence of death. A solicitor in Mitchelstown, Co.Cork, Mr James G. Skinner was defending 42 men under the sentence of death and asked Michael and his brother James to do something “Do anything but do something” he said “ Invent something if necessary”.  It was in April 1921, 42 civilians were arrested near Mitchelstown and on May 3^rd 1921 were charged with being improperly in possession of arms and ammunition and sentenced to death.

Michael brought a writ on the basis that the court was illegal and had no jurisdiction to try the men.  On July 28^th 1921, 10 weeks from the original trial in Cork the case was being decided at the House of Lords in London.  On learning of the case, King George was moved to personally interfere and ensure that the sentences of death were not carried out.  In the end none of the 42 men died and when the treaty came shortly afterwards the men were freed.

Well known Ennistymon man, Michael John Glynn of ‘The Clare Champion’ procured this song of litigation following agrarian unrest in Ennistymon and illustrates the high regard in which Michael Comyn KC was held by people throughout Co Clare.

Twas on a black December day

The hills of Clare were far away

And hirelings ready to betray

A gallant Irish boy.

Judge Dodd was robed in scarlet gown
And G. McSweeney for the crown,
While Michael Comyn won renown,
For his defence that day.

The case was called, the jury packed,
McSweeney read the Whiteboy Act,
The peeler swore it was a fact
That Arkins knocked the wall.

Then Comyn dressed the peeler down,
“Take care” says Dodd “You’ll lose the gown
At Munster Bar and Dublin Town
You have with honour worn.”

To this the Counsel gave no heed,
He was a man of noble breed
It warmed the heart to hear him plead
With eloquence sublime.

The jury it was badly packed
And seeing the peelers spreely hacked
Could not agree about the fact
That Arkins knocked the wall.

But Sweeney knows that rebel Cork
Has still twelve men to do his work
A jury bloody as the Turk
Young Arkins will condemn.

Then spoke the judge in accents low
“To penal servitude you go,
For I’m the judge and you the foe
Of England and the King.

“You’re doomed for seven long years to dwell
A captive lone in convict cell,
Unless your comrades names you tell
And yield them up to me.”

But Arkins was of brave men born,
From love and kindred basely torn
Cast on that judge a look of scorn
And proved himself a man.

And while his memory lives in Clare,
No cruel judge will ever dare
To ask her manly sons to wear,
The emblem of a spy.

Of the 1916 leaders, Michael knew the Pearse Brothers and their sister Margaret.  Thomas Clarke, leader of the Rising, Eamon de Valera and Mrs Brugha widow of Cathal Brugha.  The day of Bloody Sunday when 14 British soldiers were shot dead, Michael was defending a young farmer named O’Rourke at Marlborough Barracks in Dublin on a charge of murdering a British Soldier in an ambush in Co. Limerick.  The farmer was cleared of the charge but had to be hidden away because of the risk of being assassinated by friends of the dead soldier.

Michael Comyn was much taken by the Brehon laws of Ireland.  Ironically one of the Brehon schools was located where Tooclae Church now stands in Doolin (Doolin Parish Church) beside the Aille River.  Michael Comyn became a Senator and vice Chairman of The Senate after the 1933 election and remained there until he became a Judge.

During this time he became increasingly involved in his mining activities in North Clare in Doolin and Noughaval near Kilfenora.  He had discovered the potential of these mines earlier and had obtained freehold ownership over some of the sites and mining rights over others.  He starting mining in North Clare and by 1939 was employing 50-60 people, and had a wage bill of approx 600.00 pounds per week.  When the second world war broke out and phosphate supplies from North Africa were affected, the government decided to increase phosphate production at the North Clare mines and except for a small area, took over Judge Comyn’s mining operation. The government increased production by open cast and underground tunneling (at the peak of production the Doolin phosphate mines employed upwards of 400 men) which was a major financial boost to Doolin and the North Clare area.

Judge Comyn later protested at his mining facilities being taken over by central government and not being fully compensated.  Later in life when he had retired as a Judge he took a case against the government for loss of earnings due to their takeover of his mines.  His senior Council was Mr Sean Mc Bride, Brendan East was also part of the legal team.  Three thousand pounds was paid into court but was refused by him.  The case developed into one of the longest ever fought in the Irish courts.  He won the case and was awarded approx Twenty thousand pounds with interest.  It is said in legal circles that “A Lawyer who acts for himself has a fool as a client”.  Michael Comyn proved that maxim wrong.  However in turn that State recovered most of the award by investigating his tax returns vis-a-vis figures used to substantiate the claim for losses during the action against the State.

Judge Michael Comyn built his final home outside Lisdoonvarna. Much of the material used to build the house was sourced from period houses of note.  In turn the new house at Lisdoonvarna was in some cases designed to facilitate components such as windows, doors, stairs etc.s ourced from these houses. One example is the Grand Staircase which was sourced from Lady Gregory home at Coole Park outside Gort, Co.Galway.  I am told this stairs is still in use at Gregans Castle Hotel near Ballyvaughan.  Michael moved into the house before it was completed and never got the opportunity to finish his last project

He died in that house in 1952, at the age of 82 and the house was later demolished.  He is buried at Bishops Quarter outside Ballyvaughan, in his native County Clare.

A Clareman deeply involved in saving the lives of many Irish men in a remarkable career spanning over seventy years.

Eugene Garrihy

Doolin

November 2010

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Addendum by Michelle Marcella Clarke

JJ was so much of a Father figure in my life.  As a young child I recall forever asking him questions and he having endless patience with the answers.  Every Sunday he and my Dad would buy all the UK newspapers in Murphy’s shop in Dunshaughlin.  JJ would then read through them, he was their legal adviser.  Recently a case was mentioned and it reminded me of being a curious child listening to JJ and Dad discussing his latest case.  They decided to hide the News of the World but not for long and I was back to them with the basic details.  Yes, it was man who became a woman and married another man.  It was the April Ashley case which received scintallating coverage in the 1960’s press

https://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/21st-march-1992/37/and-a-good-judge-too

Never doubt a child’s ability to be curious.  Life dealt me a hand that made this curiosity an essential component for survival.  Like my father and JJ, I too have had to deal with the Black Dog and have been medicated for decades now.  JJ’s father, my granduncle James, fell down the steps of the courts and sustained a brain injury which greatly upset JJ but when I was involved in a horse riding accident in Zimbabwe where I fractured my skull and my marriage of 14 years ended in divorce, JJ saw history repeat itself and it saddened him.

Awe and curiosity, the computer, Google, social media became my source of Artificial Intelligence to cope with the brain injury.  National Screening for cancer in 2017 diagnosed breast cancer.  What did I do?  I decided to write a book.

Fortune Favours the Brave by Michelle Marcella Clarke