If you are tired of life, go to Madrid. You can’t be there without feeling alive. It’s one of the great cities of the world, one of the most energised, rhythmic, sexual. It doesn’t compromise. You deal with Madrid on its terms, not yours. But when you do, ah…such rewards!

I remember a night in a bar called La Venencia on Calle Echegaray. They serve only sherry, cheese and dried tuna and pork. A fantastic place, it is superior in almost every conceivable way to anywhere in Ireland.
Okay, okay, we have a few hostelries that might come close – the Palace Bar in Dublin or Nancy’s Bar in Ardara. In Belfast and Cork there’s good spots as well. But this bar represents something embedded in Madrid’s soul. You just can’t imagine it here. It’s crowded, long and woody, it has a tradition, and yet it’s cool beyond any criterion you can imagine. I lost a damn good hat there. As you might.
But here’s the thing: as I went to pay, I included a tip. It was rejected by the owners, and with contempt at that. You’d think I’d insulted their mother’s reputation!
I talked about this with Madrileños. Ah yes, they laughed – typical! That’s Madrid – there’s a proud, hard puritanism there. But it’s also full of life. The bars, the cafés, the streets just pulse with people, noise, energy and fun.
Many Irish have found a home there – I saw one young fellow with a school group. He had a shock of red hair, but was speaking Spanish as his mother tongue. As to how his genes came to Spain, look no further than Calle O’Donnell – O’Donnell Street.
So, news of the commuter carnage in Otocha station cut to the quick. Yes, I knew someone who died in the 9/11 attacks in the USA. But Madrid seems closer, more personal. I understand how Americans feel about the twin towers better now.
Of course, we’ve felt the same here – the La Mon bombing, Enniskillen, Omagh, Dublin, Monaghan... it’s a long list and pound for pound, given the relative sizes of the locations, just as bad or worse. But over 200 dead and over 1200 injured is a terrible outrage. The stones scream their rage.
And perhaps most appalling of all, in the al-Qaeda tape claiming responsibility, the speaker ends by saying ‘You love life, we love death’.
All I can say is that if the bombers love death as much as the Madrileños love life, then we can count on more such incidents, and worse.
As it is, the attack ushered in a new era in Spanish politics. The Government of the day – which was very closely associated with the Bush-Blair ‘coalition of the willing’ has been swept away. The new regime wants to move closer to Europe...
Good.
But lots of people also fear that it underscores the change signalled by the twin towers attack, that we have entered a new era with a new kind of war in which no holds are barred, no weapons are outlawed and no targets are off limits. In particular, the cult of martyrdom has been cited.
However, despite what you might read, those who don’t believe in fundamental all-out war between Islam and the West still represent a majority in the world.
In this regard, only a fool would characterise the unfolding scenario as a war between Islam and the West, even if that’s how bin Laden sees it. It’s not. It’s a war waged by al-Qaeda on parts of the West – and also on much of Islam. The Shias are as opposed to al– Qaeda as we are. So are the Turks, and many others.
George Bush mightn’t like the sound of this, but the Shias are potential allies against al-Qaeda. Lumping them into an axis of evil isn’t just wrong and shortsighted. It’s stupid and potentially lethal.
Whether he’s capable of seeing this is, of course, very much open to question. After all, the one thing that would bring them all on side is the one thing he won’t do – contribute to sorting out the Palestine-Israel conflict for once and for all.
Now there would be a giant leap for humankind...
The Hog