Michael D Castro obit raises ‘El Che’ statue from the dead

Bradley Bytes – A sort of political column by Dara Bradley

President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, came under sustained attack in recent weeks for his tribute to fellow socialist leader, Fidel Castro.

The usual suspects on the raving right condemned Michael D for his obituary, which was gushing in its praise for the Cuban revolutionary.

Glossing over Castro’s human rights’ record, the former Labour Party Galway West TD preferred instead to focus on the positives of his reign: unrivalled literacy rates and a healthcare system admired the world over.

Michael D said Castro will be “remembered as a giant among global leaders whose view was not only one of freedom for his people, but for all of the oppressed and excluded peoples on the planet”.

There was just one line in his 468-word statement that hinted at criticism of the controversial Castro.

“The economic and social reforms introduced were at the price of a restriction of civil society, which brought its critics,” said Michael D.

But whatever about the merits of his eulogy, surely what it does do is raise again the spectre of a Galway monument, to Castro’s buddy, who helped launch the Cuban Revolution, Che Guevara?

Billy Cameron, a Labour Party City Councillor, and the last remaining radical on the City Council, was browbeaten when in 2012 he proposed a monument to Che Guevara in Galway City, the home of his ancestors.

El Che’s grandmother was Ana Lynch y Ortiz, and her family fled Galway in the middle of the 18th Century for a better life in South America.

Given that every city councillor nowadays seems to be getting a statue of their own (Polltopper Terry O’Flaherty just this week unveiled a 1916 statue in Mervue, despite the Shinners having already erected one in the area), surely now is the opportune time for Comrade Cameron to re-float his ‘El Che’ monument proposal.

As it happens, Michael D is due to visit Cuba early next year. And – presuming Castro’s death doesn’t scupper the trip – Comrade Cameron is planning a holiday, at his own expense, to coincide with the State visit.

Michael D’s Castro statement might give the Bould Billy the stomach to reignite the argument for a Che Guevara statue. Why not?

If nothing else, it might reawaken Declan Ganley, who led the opposition to the original plan four years ago. It’s been a while since the Libertas leader has waded into public debate. We’re due a good laugh.

For more,  see this week’s Galway City Tribune.