Billy Keane: 'I told the American the road was dug up cos I lost my wedding ring'

The road outside the pub is being dug up. The potholes were the size of bomb craters but the really good news is that Kerry Group, Kerry County Council and Bord Gáis are bringing a gas pipeline through Listowel and it's right outside our front door. Jimmy Deenihan,who lost his seat, was the only politician to promise the pipeline and he too played his part. Kerry Group has been the mainstay of our little town for over 40 years and now there are plans for a major refurbishment in the milk-processing plant, with extra jobs on the way. The gas means there is a great chance of new industry along the Shannon Estuary. For the first time in years, there's hope. And it's more than hope. I'm sure we are on the up and up. At last. There are only six of us living in town now from our old primary school class of 45 kids. Yes it was 45. For the teachers, it must have been more like crowd control than teaching. I have more cousins in The Bronx than I have in Listowel. For the first time, the economic good news story seems to be spreading to the country. Fáilte Ireland was incredibly brilliant with the Wild Atlantic Way plan. Its visionary quest has brought hundreds of thousands to the West. The Government backed it all the way. The signposting is excellent and the marketing worked. It could be the words were spoken somewhere and maybe I missed the speech. But did any opposition politician stand up and say: "Hey, guys, well done. Nice job."? It's baby steps with us in rural Ireland but maybe now the worst is over. Nationally, the unemployment is down to its lowest figure for years and is under 10pc. We have huge problems to solve, what with homelessness and the health system, to name but two. There is a strategy to bring more jobs to the regions but it will take time and the IDA needs to sell us more. It has done very well for the cities but now with the gas pipeline coming on through west Limerick in to north Kerry, it has no excuses. The Government needs to take another look at decentralisation. We have a Revenue office here in town. The office came out of Charlie McCreevy's decentralisation idea and more can be done. Decentralisation is all about planning and getting the right fit. Dublin is bursting at the seams. I was walking through College Green up on to Westmoreland Street last week and I couldn't get by with the crowds of tourists coming against me. Rents are savage. It's a day's work going and coming from work. I love Dublin but we must move some of our country west. But that wasn't the story I told the Americans. By autumn time, I get weary from listening to myself and so I sometimes try to liven up the bartender conversation, more to amuse me than for the benefit of the last few tourists. So when the Americans asked why the road was being dug up, I told them it was because I had lost my wedding ring and I asked our city council to find it. The American man asked how much did it cost and before I could reply his wife gave out to him. "It's all about money with you," she said. "You cannot put a monetary value on a wedding ring." It was then she cried. Oh what have I done, I thought. I had to tell her the truth. She was embarrassed. I was too. The husband bailed me out. The talk was of Donald Trump. Who else? "I'm worried about the future of mankind. We could vote ourselves out of existence. Trump still has a chance of winning. His rhetoric is pitched at the lowest common denominator, which is zero." He was right. Trump says whatever it takes to make him popular and the scary thing is if he had just a little bit more cop-on and brains he could have won easily. God help the world. Populism is the precursor of authoritarianism. It would take a book of a thousand pages to explain how it was Adolf Hitler got into power but as this is a newspaper we will condense the reasons to just one line. The failure of politics. And yes, I know I have just written lines to the effect that the Government has done the State some service. But the failure of politics is the reason Trump is doing so well and this is also the reason for Brexit and almost every socio- political upheaval since World War II. The politicians everywhere have lost touch. So we need new politicians, but nobody wants to go in to politics because it's a blood sport or maybe the reason is because the smart people are far too busy being smart. They give out all the time and do nothing about it. So we say stuff like only the redneck thickos vote Trump and assert a superior attitude on the lines of "I'm far too brilliant to get involved in politics." So is it fair to say, then, that we the people are the failures because the politicians come from our ranks? How many of you have joined a political party and how many of us have run for office, or even canvassed for a politician? So the reason politics has failed is because most people are content to sit idly by unless…. unless their pockets are hit. Then and only then will we witness the big events, such as marches and protests. We see our pockets as independent republics on either side of our pants. Sovereign kingdoms that must not be touched. Put your hands in our pockets and we will chop them off. One of the main reasons for the messed-up state of the world today is poverty and the associated mass movements of people in search of a better place. Is anyone marching for the starving kids who die every day? So it's a two-way street on our street of all the digging up. There is an improvement and hope is there too but we desperately need new people coming through who will take over the running of our country, and every country. Patriots even. Patriots with brains, empathy and courage. The times we live in demand consensus and caring. Your country needs you.

Billy Keane: 'I told the American the road was dug up cos I lost my wedding ring'

Please sign in or register with Independent.ie for free access to Opinions.

Promoted Links

Tips for aspiring writers: put bum in seat and 'just write the feckin' thing'

Don't cry over your wine and your hummus dip when rural pubs vanish

Political spiel is a vastly different language to the one we all know and love

Ed Power: How I banned screen time for my kids when I realised they were addicted Life

Molly Martens’ ex-fiancé on his relationship with the convicted killer and her... Irish News

WATCH: Heartwarming moment boy helps little girl with Down Syndrome to... Family Features

Slick ships, street food, DJs and yoga: Welcome to cruising 2.0 Cruise

The forgotten Irish who fought in WW2 Lifestyle

Don't Miss

First Look: Ireland's Blue Book reveals four new members for 2018

It's true - Irish farmers have influenced the world Rural Life

Traditional and social media 'not on level defamation playing field'

Could talks between Fox and Disney be reignited? A deal makes all kinds of sense

Winona Ryder served 15 years in exile for shoplifting but men escape unscathed Voices

Comment - We were foolish to think that limitations to our 2023 Rugby World Cup bid wouldn't be exposed

How Millie Mackintosh learned the dangers of giving away too much on social media Celebrity Features

10 tastiest Christmas markets in Europe: A treat for every taste!

Sinead Kissane: Why is 'he's a good GAA man' sometimes used as an excuse or back-up for someone's... GAA

The JFK Files: Renewed interest in the death of Ireland's favourite son