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Make a difference me arse
The taste of having an effect is sweet!
It can be difficult sometimes in my line of work to feel like you’re having a real effect on the world around you. Sometimes you write an article, or run a youth group, and, apart from the thumbs up, star ratings or good craic you have in the moment, it can be hard to quantify the effect of what you’ve done, or where it may stand to go. For me, last Thursday wasn’t one of those days.
Around a fortnight ago I wrote an article on this site about the ace businessman/patroniser Bill Cullen and his behaviour and demeanour on RTÉ’s The Frontline. I was annoyed at the way he indiscriminately tarred an entire generation with a lazy brush, based largely on the fact he never relied on anyone to make his fortune etc. etc. Now suggesting people make their own work is fair enough if you’re a businessman, but what if you’re a qualified physio or something, should you break somebody’s legs for work? I couldn’t let that sort of attitude go un-countered, and so I resolved to do something about it.
With a little (by which I mean a lot) of help from my SpunOut Obi-Wans, Emily and Ruairi, I put my article out there into the wider media. One of the people who picked it up was ace RTE producer Tom Donnelly, and sure enough last week I got a call from The Tubridy Show asking me to discuss the article!
The theme of the show was emigration, and I’d be part of a panel of young people considering our options in these times of chastened economic woe. I’ve been on The Tubridy Show a few times before, but this time I had an unusual pang of nerves. On those other occasions it just felt like shooting the breeze, I rarely feel as comfortable as when I’ve a microphone in front of me, but this time I felt a kind of ambassadorial pressure: it felt as if we I was talking on behalf of every hard working young person insulted by Bill Cullen’s diatribe, and I didn’t want to let them down.
We were on a slot for around five minutes towards the end of the show, which meant a lengthy wait in the hallowed halls of RTÉ. Celebrity spotting didn’t really take our minds off the task at hand. Although meeting Luka Bloom was pretty class.
The time flew when we went into the studio though. It was a topic so expansive in scope we could’ve discussed it for hours, but all in all I was pretty happy with how it panned out.
Leaving the studios just after ten, the phone started buzzing with messages saying “Well done “and “Well said” and whatnot, and I got the same online as the day progressed too. I was really pleased on a number of levels. Firstly, for not having gone on national radio and failed all over the place and secondly that something I wrote on this most esteemed website ended up getting national coverage. Finally, I was exceedingly pleased that one of the girls on the panel, Rachel, was one of my outstanding young charges from my days mentoring the Donegal Youth Council and one of the people this country really can’t stand to lose. I was thrilled I was able to recommend her name to the producers, because her's was a voice worth hearing.
Especially nowadays, it can difficult sometimes to see where the fruits of your labour are going, if you’re making any difference at all to anyone. That’s why it’s so gratifying when you can.
By: Paddy Duffy
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