Lots of lessons will be learned from all this, none more so than the realisation of what is really important to all of us. The great county of Roscommon is being fondly thought of from people far and wide, none more so than on this balcony in Xabia
I left fearing I would miss a classic in the Athletic grounds in Armagh. The last instalment between the teams in July 2018 was a classic on a scorching hot day in Portlaoise. One wonders what trick the great ‘Geezer’ Kieran McGeeney would have had up his sleeve for the Rossies. Alas, El Clásico nuevo did not go ahead and indeed the whole gaelic football league seems in jeopardy. Of course, from this balcony here in the port area of Xabia, Eastern Spain, nobody mentions the top two heavyweights of division two. The locals incarcerated in their pisos were not anticipating the ways Anthony Cunningham was setting out to entrap messers. Clarke and O’Neill. They care less about who else would have joined the Conors, Cox and Hussey, back on the healthy-again list to give hope and eternal positivity to the primrose and blue faithful as they look toward defending their Connacht crown in 2020.
Instead, people’s concerns here are for their most basic needs – food, water and vital medicines. As and from Saturday, the 14th of March, due to the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, the country has been on lockdown. A red alert national emergency. Nobody is allowed outside but for essential trips to the supermarket or pharmacy. Exception to this rule is if you are a dog owner – the perros around Xabia do not know what has hit them. They have received more attention and been on more walks and runs with their ‘owners’ in the last ten days than they have experienced in the last ten weeks.
Locally the situation is very strange. As a very frequent visitor to this particular part of the country, life here in the seaside town of Xabia/ Javea (pronounced Have-eee-ah) has changed dramatically. Every imaginable day-to-day activity involves the regular and persistent interaction of people, close up and outdoors. It is quiet as I type this from a small top floor flat overlooking the inviting Mediterranean sea. The brilliant birdsong can be heard clearly, the luscious lapping waves coming in on the pebbles of the port beach are all-encompassing. You see, one thing I have learned from my many years of both living and visiting here is that there is a reason why the vast majority of people live in flats and apartments. Perhaps people do not need the home comforts and extravagant houses that we may be accustomed to in Ireland, simply because life is lived en la calle (in the streets) here.
Regardless of what is being reported through media sites and across the all-encompassing communication networks in these modern times, the truth is, that yes, the situation is severe here. We’re not quite China or suffering the same grave situation presently unfolding in Italy, but the Spanish people in this twenty thousand-plus populated town are doing something they or their fellow countrymen/women do not normally do. They are quedando en casa, staying at home and not going about their outdoor lives, which is something that seems as natural as breathing here.
Of course social, cultural and all gatherings of people has been affected. La Liga, Spanish football’s top flight and all other sporting and social events are cancelled, just like in most other parts of the world. However, something about the way people live their lives here tells me that self-isolation has more of an effect on the populace here than it does back home in Roscommon. I hear great tales of the lovely walks around Sliabh Ban, Mote Park and Lanesborough proving very popular these past number of days, but this is a luxury shut off to people here. The resilence is strong however – noted by the rapturous applause, fireworks, music and singing at eight o’clock every evening from the balconies of homes strewn all across Xabia and indeed the country. Such a daily ritual procession has a binary focus. Originally to thank all the frontline workers here in España, healthcare professionals who are working around the clock in an effort to combat the coronavirus that spreads across the land of the Toro at an alarming rate. However, the solidarity of such daily applause in showing that we are all together in this, is empowering and meaningful. The calming message that todo saldrá bien is uplifting and encouraging and gives hope to Spain and to her some forty-seven million inhabitants.
Things are continuing to get worse before they get better here. People in Xabia though, for the most part have heeded the warnings and have stayed indoors. The uncertainty and impending lack of hope are in a lot of cases actually more fearsome than the virus itself. The fines being handed out by the local and national police for anyone that is caught outdoors when they should not be is both frightening but also – most would agree – necessary.
For now, we plod along in a bubble of uncertainty. Sometimes it is better not to search for knowledge of the total number of virus cases as it jumps through the thousands. Incarceration for a few more weeks or months is surely worthwhile if we can rid this corner of Europe of further spread. The lackadaisical traits of the Spanish have slowly changed in the past ten days and will need to continue for the foreseeable future. What lies ahead, emotionally, socially and economically are an unknown for now, but the old Ni neart go chur le cheile adage exists here too: Juntos estamos mas fuerte.
I would like to think that the strong defensive Roscommon mindset epitomised by Cunningham’s troops as they headed into the Orchard den is reflected out here on the balconies of Eastern Spain. We may not be a band of Pearses’ brothers but together we are uniting by staying indoors and not giving into the temptation of walks along the pretty playas that stretch out before us. Lots of lessons will be learned from all this, none more so than the realisation of what is really important to all of us. The great county of Roscommon is being fondly thought of from people far and wide, none more so than on this balcony in Xabia.
