It Occurs To Me: Did you ever hear of the rockets and feathers theory?

Last week, I purchased diesel at 1.76 sterling per litre between Derry and Strabane.

That translates to €2.02, which is substantially cheaper than most forecourts in Donegal and the Republic. In fact, I was disgusted to find a station (where I’ve never bought diesel as a matter of principle) on the Cavan side of the Fermanagh border, charging an exorbitant  €2.29. 

Even before the Iran war, I’ve seen differences of some 20 cents in prices, and it’s this inconsistency that really infuriates consumers. As you can see from the accompanying chart, the government takes more than half in taxes, and surely, in times of emergencies, it can do much more?

I watched the Chief Executive of Fuels for Ireland, Kevin McPartlan, on RTE, and it was no surprise to see him saying it's "simply false" to suggest price gouging is happening. He does represent firms involved in the importation, distribution and marketing of oil products in the country after all.

He said: "It's entirely possible that prices rise very rapidly to a very high level, that people are hurting by them, that they're annoyed at the high price, and for it not to be a result of price gouging. In this instance, this is verifiable.” 

As the RTE report said: “the perception that petrol stations might engage in such behaviour is unofficially known in the economics world as the rockets and feathers phenomenon.This is an analogy referring to prices rising rapidly like a rocket when there is an increase in input costs, but falling slowly like a feather when input costs drop. On the forecourts, though, this is extremely tricky to verify.” And so say all of us.

On that point, isn’t it amazing how many forecourts said they were using old stock and couldn’t implement the government reduction until new fuels arrived? However, when the Iran war began, old stocks weren’t a consideration when the prices ballooned overnight! The bottom line is that, for years, the inconsistencies have never been satisfactorily explained and rather than the customer always being right, the customer is always bamboozled.

James Byrne and his media services
Seven years ago, I wrote: “From the mid-70’s onwards, there were two outlets of required reading in Carrick and surrounding areas - the Donegal Democrat and An Liag.

I was so delighted to see that James Byrne of Carrick Online has not only got his hands on a number of copies and has put them on the website but is actively looking for more that may be gathering dust somewhere.” Delighted to see that James is going from strength, and his cleaning up of old videos from ‘In Through’ and VCR conversions have unearthed some gems. In the last while, I’ve watched a video of the opening of the Sliabh Liagh Sports Ground in Carrick in 1984, the 100-year commemoration of the 1884 birth of TD Micheal Óg McFadden in 1884, and the 1973 UTV documentary on the legendary fiddler, Johnny Doherty. And there’s more! 

If you have an old video that needs modernising from Carrick, Glen, Kilcar, or elsewhere, James is the man. He’s doing a wonderful service.

The late Eamonn Gillespie
Unfortunately, I was unaware of the passing of my old friend, Eamonn Gillespie, until the night before his funeral, and didn’t make it to Carrick. Thanks to Margaret Rose Cunningham, the funeral was live streamed. Eamonn and I had some adventures in the early 70’s in Carrick, Kilcar and beyond and he was the goalkeeper for Glen (before it became Naomh Columba) when they won the County Junior Final in 1974. They celebrated the fiftieth anniversary two years ago in John Eoiníns in Glen, a celebration covered by our own Peter Campbell here at the time.

There was a challenge match between Naomh Columba 1974 and 1984 teams at the official opening of the Sliabh Liag Sports Grounds, the video of which I mentioned in my James Byrne feature. In any event, I met Eamonn totally by accident in Derry some thirty years ago and we kept in touch on Facebook in the past few years. Sincere condolences to all the Gillespie family. I have many happy memories of our times together. 

James McClean - A Derry City asset
I was having a pint in a Derry bar some time ago with some stalwart Derry City stalwarts, and the chat got around to the signing of James McClean. Without exception, the reaction was a negative one, and one former footballer, who had played for Northern Ireland, said it was no coincidence that they had lost five in a row, as a team which had been on a fairly good run, now worked around McClean (normally a left-back)  in midfield, and the result was a disaster.

He also stressed that McClean was at the end of his career at Wrexham and Derry was a ‘handy number’. I was shocked to hear such negativity about a local hero, but then, to quote Jimmy Greaves, “it’s a funny old game.” Until it isn’t.

Mind you, James was very generous in his time when he contributed a video to iCARE Buncrana autism services, who were subsequently announced as a winner of PTSB’s 2026 Community funding programme, following a nationwide public vote. 

Old habits die hard
Not too long ago, I wrote extensively here about the experiences of Derry survivor Jon McCourt in the Nazareth Houses in Donegal and Derry.

I see where two nuns who beat children as young as three with belts and slippers at a Scottish orphanage have been spared jail. According to the Daily Record, Marie O'Gorman and Mary McGuire targeted seven victims who were under their care at Nazareth House in Glasgow between 1975 and 1981.

Both women appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court a few weeks ago for sentencing after pleading guilty in February to multiple charges. O’Gorman, who was known as Sister Mary Aelred to the children, entered the congregation of Sisters of Nazareth in 1963, and was tasked with looking after children in groups of 10 to 12. During this time, she abused three children who were aged between three and 11 years old.

The court heard how she repeatedly struck the young children with items such as a harness, slipper and belt. O’Gorman targeted one particular child who was forced to stand in a cold bath and pour water over her head if she had wet the bed.

She then humiliated the child further by forcing her to wear a nappy while walking around in front of others. The nun also abused a second child while he was in the bath.

Both nuns were made subject to probation orders on Wednesday, March 25.

McGuire, of Fife, was placed under supervision for two years and ordered to perform 225 hours of unpaid work within the next 12 months.

O’Gorman, of Dublin, was also placed under supervision for the same period. Both women were ordered to pay £1000 compensation to each of their victims.

This is the latest of far too many cases of historic abuse involving nuns from the Sisters of Nazareth. The Scottish child abuse inquiry, published in 2019, led by judge Lady Smith, who found that thousands of children in four homes run by the order endured systematic violence and degrading emotional abuse for more than 50 years. Lady Smith said that the children were deprived of the dignity, compassion and care they were entitled to and found that the order had a culture based on obedience, intolerance and abuse. 

“The Nazareth houses in Scotland were, for many children, places of fear, hostility and confusion, places where children were physically abused and emotionally degraded with impunity. There was sexual abuse of children, which, in some instances, reached levels of the utmost depravity. Children in need of kind, warm, loving care and comfort did not find it. Children were deprived of compassion, dignity, care and comfort. It was suggested in evidence that applicants may have colluded to present fictitious accounts about their time in their care, fuelled by resentment towards their families and an appetite for compensation. I reject all such suggestions.”

In her 140-page report, she detailed cases of: “Persistent sexual abuse of boys and girls at all four homes, with one nun facilitating the abuse of a girl by men, including priests. Children are punished routinely with belts, canes, sticks, broom handles, hairbrushes and crucifixes.

Children who wet their beds are beaten, given cold baths or forced to wear their wet sheets.

Children were being force-fed, including when they were vomiting the food back up. Runaways being beaten on their return.”

In Jon’s case, he says he forgives the nuns "not to free them, but to free me". Who is the real Christian in all this?