The following is a quote from Andrew Boyd's book Fermenting Elements published in 1999: "One hundred students enrolled (in 1934) for an NCLC (Labour Colleges) class in Newtownards Co Down, a place much associated with the land-owning Londonderrys. Lord Londonderry had been president of the Ulster Unionist Council and Minister of Education in the first Government of Northern Ireland... Londonderry himself gained much notoriety in the 1930s when he became a publicly acknowledged ally of the Nazis and invited von Ribbentrop, Hitler's Ambassador in London, to his manor house at Mountstewart near Newtownards. He sent a signed copy of his book 'Ourselves and Germany' to Adolf Hitler. But when war was imminent, in 1939, Londonderry recanted and had nothing more to do with Germany."
As a matter of fact, if one's memory does not deceive one, one remembers that Londonderry became a minister for aviation or something in London's war cabinet. One would like very much to find out about a number of things – for instance how much involvement there was between the so-called 'upper classes' and the Nazis both in Ireland and in Britain, and does anybody know where one could get a copy of the book mentioned above. Incidentally, since this is the season for apologies even by the most honourable and blameless of people (and by Independent News & Media), I hereby apologise for saying that the noble Lord Londonderry entertained his Nazi friend in mid-Ulster. Inaccuracies are always to be avoided by one but the mere fact of mistaken place does not take away from one's undistorted fact. One is always careful but sometimes one is mistaken.
After the statement above Andrew Boyd goes on to write in his book: "Politically therefore there could be no greater contrast than the Nazi sympathies of Lord Londonderry and the NCLC's Newtownards lectures on revolutionary periods in Irish working class history".
Indeed no, there could not. But sure, if the noble Lord Londonderry could change horses when required for war purposes and when Nazi sympathies were no barrier either to him or to other members of the 'upper classes' even to entering an 'anti-Nazi' London administration, who can say what they could come to believe if the price were right?
And talking about good coming out of evil, there is just a possibility that after the disgraceful treatment of the late Mr Lawlor and his family, Irish people will begin to take seriously the activities of newspapers which chase circulation by methods which decent people used to shudder at.
Independent News & Media has done a lot to depress journalistic standards through the years and decent journalists, decent newspapers and broadcasters have not got the public support they need to do something about it. The administration in Dublin is suggesting setting up a press council as a way of soothing public anger at the Sunday Independent and others while doing nothing which will actually change the situation. It would probably be fairly useless. There is a press council in the neighbouring country and it is of little use.
The problem Irish people have to face, and can face if they refuse to adopt other people's solutions – which don't work – and create their own solutions – which may – is how to curb the vulgarity and unfairness of unscrupulous journalism while preserving the rights and advantages of free speech.
Under the present system unless you have a lot of money, or lawyers who are prepared to work for you whether you have a lot of money or not, then you are fairly helpless. This problem can be solved by a simple method of having a permanent tribunal to which a citizen – or in the case of the British, a subject – can bring his or her complaint of unfair treatment by the media. That tribunal could act free of charge to the person making the appeal. It can decide quickly if there is a case to answer.
If there is, then discussion may solve the problem. If not, then the tribunal should have powers to insist on publication of an apology on page one or at the head of news bulletins. If people want to take matters to court and are willing to take the risks involved, then so be it, but what are called the 'ordinary citizens' (or ordinary British subjects) are given some protection. The process might ensure that the low quality press would become more careful of people's rights.
So out of the evil of greed journalism could come the good of much needed and overdue protection for those who suffer from it.
And even the more disgusting of recent events could help to produce blessings for us.
