I was listening to the Marian Finucane Show this morning and hearing, for the first time, about the landslides in North Mayo. I had heard or read some vague reports about flooding and roads being washed away, but until today I just hadn't realized how bad the devestation was in that part of the country.
I've been trying to figure out how this happened. Not how the landslides happened, but how is it that I could have been so oblivious to a natural disaster in Ireland. I can only surmise that either the national media basically ignored what happened or I simply wasn't paying sufficient attention. Unfortunately, I suspect the latter.
One of the effects September 11 and subsequent events has had on me is that I watch/listen/read the Irish news much less than I used to. Where I used to religiously watch the RTE news, listen to Morning Ireland, read Irish newspapers I now find hardly ever tune into RTE for news or do more than scan the Irish newspapers.
I have allowed myself to become increasingly dependent on the internet and news sources in the US. And, with DSL and digital television, I can enjoy the media almost as if I were in the US. On Sunday, I missed most of the All Ireland Final - an event I generally love - because I forgot it was on. I was too busy watching a program on NASN about American football - a sport I'm not even that keen on (it's not baseball).
All these media developements are great for keeping in touch with what's happening at home, but I now realize just how cut off from Ireland I have become. This is something I will have to work on changing.
