A LIMERICK solicitor is flying the flag for kindness and the spirit of civilised behaviour that is “at the very fundamental core of Irishness” this St Patrick’s Day.
The Palestinian flag has been unfurled on top of the O’Gorman Solicitors offices, based at the iconic Munster House building on O’Connell Street, in an act of solidarity, for the past 18 months.
Solicitor Dan O’Gorman this week set his sights even higher in his support of those caught up in global conflicts and expelled from their homes and homelands.
Mr O’Gorman, a man deeply conscious of the struggle of minorities, has raised six flags in the heart of the city, just in time for our national holiday.
Three Palestinian and three Ukrainian flags are now flying high for the St Patrick’s Festival — two at Munster House and a further four at the former Council buildings, also on O’Connell Street.
“Being an Irish person, I’ve been very conscious of the struggle of minorities, and it seems to me that there’s a certain David and Goliath perspective about all of this,” the Limerick solicitor told the Limerick Post.
“Oppression is never something that was a solution to a problem, and I say that on both sides, because while the current difficulty is, allegedly, as a result of what occurred in October 2023, this goes back an awful long way, and unfortunately, positions have polarised on both sides, and there is no space in the middle.
“And when the space in the middle is gone, that creates the vacuum for oppression, genocide, murder, and in particular, vulnerable people becoming the victims of other people’s ambitions. This has happened not only in Palestine, but in Ukraine, in the Congo, it’s happening in certain other places, we see it presently in Syria.”
Mr O’Gorman considers it unfortunate that there isn’t that space of moderation and kindness in the middle, and sees his flags flying in the wind over Limerick City this weekend as a way to remind us of the goodness that also exists within mankind.
“There’s four flags flying from the old council building, courtesy of Mr Sean Geary, who is the proprietor of the building, his daughter Aisling and her husband Mike, and then we’ve always had our flags. Its been a hallmark of Munster House as long as this building has been there. It’s always been an iconic building on the corner of O’Connell Street, facing onto the Crescent.
“In that respect, you have an iconic building, and it’s very important to preserve it, because we’re only the occupants of this building. There will be people and generations to come, and it’s important to keep a sense of perspective that we’re not going to live forever. But we hope the spirit of kindness and the spirit of civilised behaviour that is at the very fundamental core of Irishness would be preserved in a building of this importance in Limerick,” he explained.
Throughout his years of practice, Dan has been involved in a number of high profile cases, including those that have been groundbreaking in terms of reported judgments in civil litigation, family law, and employment law.
The Limerick solicitor hopes the six flags he has hoisted over the city will be thought-provoking.
“We just need to think, we have a wonderful little country here, and we just need to mind it. We’re okay, and we need to make sure other people are okay, as well. I think, perhaps, because of our newfound wealth, which is very relatively newly found, we lose sight of the fact that there was a time when we sent people abroad, people in very straitened situations,” he concluded.
