Tony Flannery

I am not a great fan of Garth Brooks, or of big concerts in general. Personally I have no strong feelings about the cancellation of the concerts, though I am sorry for all the people who had bought tickets, and were looking forward to the event. But the circumstances around this cancellation, I believe, highlight something about modern Ireland that I think is particularly unpleasant, and indeed destructive. I refer to the extraordinary level of negativity, how there are invariably people who object to everything and anything that is proposed and who organise opposition to it. These individuals or small groups are invariably aided and abetted by sections of the media, who provide the leaders and spokespersons with their fifteen minutes of fame. Single issue people, who achieve prominence because of an individual stance, are usually very difficult to deal with, because they have come to love their new-found prominence, and cannot afford to compromise or reach an agreed solution, because then the media would no longer have any reason to give them exposure. The consequence is that many good and useful things either are totally blocked or take much longer, and are more expensive, than is really necessary.
If I could wave a magic wand the first thing I would do in this country is scrap Lifeline, the great platform for all cranks and complainers!!!