OPINION: Ten years, 260 opinions later – a decade of An Cailín Rua

This column marks my tenth year of writing for The Mayo News, which in turn, marks approximately 260 opinions shared on the pages of this paper. What a decade it has been!
Over that time, the column has been a blend of the personal and the universal, and in recent years, probably more of the latter. Sometimes (remarkably) I struggle to find things to write about in these pages, because frequently, it reminds you of just how helpless you can feel in the face of seismic world events, huge injustices, or even small-town idiosyncrasies. But it has been a privilege to have this platform, and indeed the fortnightly deadline (frequently missed) that has ensured a regular writing discipline, and selfishly, has helped me to build archive of social commentary of my very own.
In the ten years since I started writing here, the world has changed considerably. It does not always feel for the better.
Ten years ago, I was still living in the capital, working long hours for a research agency but turning my face back towards the west and an easier, slower pace of life (little did I know – I hadn’t yet burnt out). We were still reeling from the big crash of 2008. Fine Gael and Labour were still in government. Women’s reproductive rights were still highly oppressed.
When I wrote my first column for The Mayo News, Mayo had just scraped a win against Cork in the All-Ireland quarter final and had not yet suffered the Great Injustice of the Gaelic Grounds. We had only lost two-All-Ireland finals so far in that decade. Castlebar Mitchels were about to be toppled by Ballintubber in the Senior Club Championship.
The Irish women’s rugby team had made history at the World Cup by beating the All-Blacks for the first time (a result that prompted my second column about women in sport, an area in which, it must be said, lots of positive progress has been made, though not enough).
The Mayo News was still a family-owned business, and the late, much-missed Neill O’Neill, was editor.
Garth Brooks had just cancelled his five planned shows, and the dear friend who had triumphantly secured all our tickets after an hours-long wait in the online Ticketmaster queue was still alive.
Thousands were marching in protest around the country against planned water charges. Phil Hogan had just abolished our town councils, a topic frequently referenced in the opinion pages of this paper, and one on which, unusually, all columnists seem to share similar thoughts – a reminder that no matter what wing one sits upon, there is always some common ground to be found.
The daily documentation of life on Instagram and TikTok mercifully did not feature for most, and the majority of children did not have the weapons that are smartphones under their pillows at night. Twitter was still a community, not a toxic cesspit. Barack Obama was still the US president. Scotland were about to vote to remain in the United Kingdom and Brexit was barely on the horizon.
In 2014, Russia had just invaded Ukraine, and a vicious seven-week war was taking place between Israel and Hamas. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Today, we are witnessing a huge wave of right-wing rhetoric and division sweeping the world, stoked by invincible, conscienceless tech behemoths and billionaires. A genocide is being live streamed on our mobile phones. Culture wars rage. The rich are getting richer and the poor becoming poorer. The social contract feels very broken, even in Ireland, even in Mayo, even in my own town. And it is sometimes hard to see how things will improve, but there is always, always kindness to be found.
Writing for a local newspaper has always felt like a huge privilege to me, because it is a home platform, and one I am careful to try and use with measure and a sense of responsibility, because words are powerful. They can uplift and they can wound. I have learned that it is not a broadcast channel and frequently, these columns have provoked lively responses both in agreement and opposition, online and in person. Sometimes in the most unexpected of places, including once, loudly, in the graveyard at a burial (needless to say, I was not the instigator of the conversation, and I suspect the protagonist was slightly deaf).
Blessedly, I have not (yet) received a letter written in green ink – a sign of the moving times? – though only last week, it was with delight that I noticed that my previous column had provoked a robust written response, published in the pages of the paper. A greater compliment a columnist could not desire, no matter how heated the reaction. And seeing my words printed in the paper still gives me same thrill as it did a decade ago.
I want to thank the readers of The Mayo News, not specifically for reading this column, but for continuing to support local journalism, and importantly, the writing of those for whom this is a full-time profession. It is so vital that we continue to do so, because it is a keystone of our local democracy, something to which social media can never even aspire.
Our local papers enhance civic engagement by highlighting the richness of the communities in which we live, shaping our cultural identity. They are the record-keepers of our social history. They support employment and invest in the local economy. They play a key role in upholding democracy, highlighting local issues, informing voters and holding those in public roles to account. We cannot afford to lose them.
As for me? Maybe year eleven will be the one in which I meet more deadlines than I miss. My very patient editor can only hope.