The coronavirus crisis is forcing us to think about our mortality. Although precautions will obviously reduce the danger, it seems that any of us could at any moment become infected and whereas death is not the inevitable result, it would be a real possibility.
A sobering thought indeed. Most, if not all, of us would like to live to a ripe old age, certainly if we were in reasonably good health. If you make it to 100 in the south, you will get a cheque from the President for €2,540, which is a little over £2,330 sterling at time of writing, along with a personally-signed letter of congratulations. The Bounty, which started out as a fiver in 1940, is paid to all Irish and foreign nationals resident in Ireland on their 100th birthday. Since March 2006, Irish citizens born on the island of Ireland who have reached 100 and are living outside the state have also become eligible.
Interestingly, the Bounty won’t be paid if you reach your 100th birthday but die before the application process is completed, so the message to anyone edging towards their centenary is to check out the details on the citizensinformation.ie website. Anyone reaching 101 years or older will get a commemorative coin and congratulatory letter from the President – and there is a different coin every year.
It would appear that the UK system is not so generous. British nationals receive a card from the Queen on their 100th, 105th and every subsequent birthday, other nationalities receive a card from the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and you can also apply for a special card from Her Majesty for your 60th, 65th, 70th and subsequent wedding anniversaries. Perhaps this difference between the two administrations could be used to promote a united Ireland: not so much ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ as ‘Mutiny over the Bounty’?
It can be safely said that the coronavirus is not going to contribute to an increase in the number of centenarians in our midst. Journalists are asking one another: is this the biggest news story we have ever covered? One event of comparable significance in the last 20 years was 9/11. That was, of course, a truly horrific saga and, on a personal note, a bright, intelligent schoolmate of mine from the old days in Dublin, Patrick Currivan, was a passenger on the first plane that crashed into the World Trade Centre.
The number of deaths at 2,996 was of course dreadful but already that figure has been well exceeded in our current situation. The total as I write is 15,317 and will no doubt be higher by the time you read this, although 100,354 victims have recovered. There have been criticisms of various governments, usually about the time it took for them to respond but it is fair to say that, broadly speaking, there is a major international effort underway to tackle the problem although there is still room for improvement.
As if the devastation caused by the virus wasn’t bad enough, we also received the news that country-and-western legend Kenny Rogers had left us. However the coverage of his passing at the age of 81 did serve to highlight an observation he made in his later years. “Not many people get to see the end of the rainbow and I think I have,” he said.
And that’s the whole point really. We must create a society where the maximum number of people live the longest possible life with the greatest degree of fulfilment. That’s why the effort to contain and ultimately defeat the coronavirus led by our brave and committed medical teams deserves the greatest possible support and cooperation.
In politics, cynicism is the equivalent of the coronavirus. It undermines idealism and commitment and reduces the process to a game where personal advancement supersedes the public interest. I know many of the politicians in both parts of this island personally and would regard them as essentially decent people who want to do the right thing according to their lights. The current crisis has meant that personal ambition and pleasing the electorate have to take second place to the common good. We can beat this thing and, when we do, the world will be a better place.
Email: Ddebre1@aol.com; Twitter: @DdeBreadun
