Reading the headline in today's Irish Times, my mind replayed an episode of the old show. Only a few lines, but I can hear it clearly, the less than bright Gomer chasing after some poor sap, shouting "Citizen's arrest! Citizen's arrest!" in a slow southern drawl. Hysterical, funny stuff.
Imagine, if you will, the American soldiers who went out for a walk in Ennis on Thursday. Their plane was stopped over at Shannon Airport, held up for repairs, and they were temporarily housed at the West County Hotel in Ennis, County Clare until the plane was ready to fly. What better thing to do than step out for a walk along the road, sticking to the busy streets so that they would not get lost. A chance to see a corner of Ireland, and who could resist the urge to wander a bit, in search of cead mile failte? So there they are, strolling along the Limerick Road, when a man drives past, stops and gets out of his car, and begins to trumpet "Citizen's arrest! Citizen's arrest!"
Sure and they were rolling on the ground, splitting their sides with laughter. For Mr. Conor Cregan's sake, however, I do hope that they held their mirth and confined it to a snicker or two, or at best, a look of complete puzzlement. Dear Mr. Cregan, local peace activist, was in the process of making a most grand gesture, and only tight self control could keep the Americans' guffaws in check.
Why did he hold these six American soldiers until the Garda was called? Why, the men were wearing their fatigues, which were no doubt the only clothes that they had available since they were not expecting to stay over and had not packed overnight bags. To quote from today's winner of the Grand Gesture Award:
"I saw the soldiers in uniform on the road, in a public place, where they shouldn't have been. It is a breach of Irish neutrality and our Constitution that these troops are allowed to pass through Shannon in the first place but to see them in fatigues on the streets of Ennis is a disgrace."
You see, soldiers of foreign armies can walk about Ennis, but only in civies, and only if the Irish Department of Defence approves. Now, you'd think that the gardai would be quick to jump on this breech of the law, but I daresay that they were at the station, having a top laugh, and couldn't safely drive the van over to pick up the Yank miscreants.
But that's not all that the gardai failed to do. Why, they should have lifted the lads and then launched an investigation to see if these same soldiers had been involved in crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Mr. Edward Horgan.
Difficult to be a peace activist these days, when even the Garda don't take you seriously. What's a man to do, but make the grand gesture and turn himself into a laughingstock? Good man, yourself, there, Conor, for bringing The Andy Griffith Show to life for a few of the lads. You made their day a little brighter.
Technorati tag: Ennis, citizens arrest
No comments:
Post a Comment