This week’s column in The Kerryman newspaper.
Michael Commane
We are into the first full week of 2025. I don’t know when I last made a New Year’s Resolution. I’m wondering did I ever. But I have an idea for this coming year.
My usual way of travel is public transport and a fold-up bicycle.
On the Sunday after Christmas I was on an early morning Luas with my fold-up bicycle. I was on the Green Line tram, which goes from Brides Glen beyond Sandyford to Broombridge, which is near Cabra.
Somewhere near Harcourt Street, close to the city centre, two men got on the tram. They had an appearance about them that they may have been sleeping rough. They were sitting across from me and I could easily hear everything they were saying. That was not difficult as they were talking very loudly, almost shouting at each other.
They were discussing what stop they should get off. It was either Grangegorman or Phibsborough. Eventually they decided on Phibsborough. When I heard Phibsborough I became a little anxious as that was my stop too and at that hour on a Sunday morning it’s a deserted place.
I don’t know how it happened, but we got talking. I told them I too was getting off at Phibsborough. They were full of questions, as I was. They asked me where I was going. I told them. But they wanted to know more and asked me why was I up and about that early on this Sunday morning.
Before I had time to reply one of them asked me was I a priest. I was dumbfounded with the question and told them I was. We had a lovely chat, funny too.
Before it came to our stop they offered to help me lift my bicycle up the steps at the station. There is a steep set of steps at Phibsborough. When we got there the lift was working so there was no need for them to help. We said our goodbyes and off we went.
The encounter has been on my mind ever since. How stupid and indeed wrong it was of me to make my mind up about two men in a matter of seconds without ever having spoken to them, knowing absolutely nothing about them.
And I do it all the time, with both men and woman, young and old. I can’t talk for anyone else but I’d make a fair guess and say it is something we all find easy to do. How often we make up our minds about people on how they are dressed, how they speak, where they live, what sort of work they do.
There’s a long list of boxes to be filled and we judge people accordingly. And it’s worse than that, so often we decide on people without ever having met them.
There’s a mystery behind every face. It would make the world a much better place if we allowed the mystery of the other person to unfold before we allowed our grubby little thoughts to destroy her or him.
It sounds to me like a wise and good New Year’s Resolution to be kinder and more sensible with our ‘judgements’ on other people.
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