Both in the streets and in the home... silence is truly golden

PHILOSOPHERS have debated for centuries about whether or not we hear silence.

Many have insisted we don’t, and contend that we hear only sounds and infer silence from their absence. Others argue that we don’t hear only noises, but also their absence as well.

Either way, silence can be difficult to find at times.

During my working life as a garda in Cork, it wasn’t unusual to receive complaints about buskers kicking up a racket in the city centre. The calls came mostly during the daytime and mainly from retailers complaining about excessive noise outside their premises.

The buskers would be accused of either playing their music too loudly, or badly, or both, and when the staff could no longer tolerate it, they sent for the gardaí.

In those days there wasn’t much the gardaí could do about it, except move them on, but then they took up residence outside another other shop and became a problem for somebody else.

Buskers were normally agreeable characters though and changed locations when asked.

Gardaí were often criticised by the public for interfering with the musicians, as people felt they were just trying to make a living. There were times too when buskers couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. As far as they were concerned, they were providing wonderful entertainment.

In many cases, they were, but there were some buskers who hadn’t a note in their head. Listening to them over a protracted period could certainly induce a migraine.

There were others who couldn’t find the proper note on their instrument if their lives depended on it, and these were often the people who played the loudest.

I remember a young guy who had a repertoire of one song only, and he sang that over and over again until everyone working nearby wanted to kill him.

There was another chap who played the thin whistle, but not as it was intended. I say ‘played’, but in reality, all he did was blow into it while placing his fingers over random holes.

Because of those experiences, I have a lot of sympathy for the traders in Killarney. RTÉ reported that a council meeting was informed that businesses in the Kerry town were turning up their amplifiers and putting speakers outside their premises in an attempt to outperform the noise from mobile buskers.

The issue of regulating buskers in the tourist town has been on the agenda for years, and council management said it was preparing draft by-laws which will go before the public this winter.

Mayor of Killarney, Niall Kelleher, defended good busking, saying: “There is nothing better than quality busking in any town, and that’s what we strive to have. But we don’t have that, and businesses are putting up speakers to keep others from their doors.”

Some locals and tourists have offered support to the buskers, and that’s fair enough, but it’s easy for them. The passer-by can choose to stay and listen to the music or leave. The people working within earshot don’t have that luxury. They’re stuck with it, whether they like it or not, and that’s not fair either.

I’m not sure though that fighting noise with noise is the best solution for achieving a quiet life - but it is a difficult situation. A bit like having an awkward neighbour.

A bad neighbour can be a problem for anyone. If you live in a detached house, you are less likely to be bothered by one than if you live in an apartment. Having neighbours on either side, above and below increases the chances of being affected by one or more of them.

Loud music, furniture being dragged around the place, dogs barking, and late-night partying can grate on the nerves.

In Mediterranean countries, outdoor living is normal, and a lot of socialising takes place in gardens, balconies and roof terraces. At the weekends in particular, the revelry tends to go up a notch. It doesn’t matter whether it’s 9pm at night or 4am in the morning, they carry on regardless.

I have experienced this on many occasions in Cyprus. The Cypriots aren’t big drinkers so it’s not drunken partying. They speak loudly at the best of times, and it often seems as if they are arguing with each other, but it’s just their way and in the dead of night their voices carry.

It’s not uncommon in Cyprus, in the early hours of the morning, to hear people sitting outside a property having a conversation with people some distance away inside. The best way to deal with it, is to accept that this is their way of life.

There is no intention on their part to disturb your slumber. They don’t set out to make your life miserable so just get over it and appreciate the quiet times when you get them. The last thing you want is conflict with the neighbours.

Dealing with neighbourly disputes was another feature of policing life, and noise was often the issue then too, so it’s not a new phenomenon.

Back in the 1970s, you could be sure that if you tried to chill out at a park or a beach in the summer, some guy would stretch out nearby with a radio on full volume, listening to Michael O’Hehir commentating on a GAA match.

They were always dressed the same too. A white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, the trousers pulled up to the knees, and a handkerchief, with a knot on each corner, perched on top of the head. They didn’t care who they bothered.

These days, the wireless has been replaced with a speaker connected to a phone by bluetooth, and the match has been replaced with loud music, but the result is the same.

Anyone can be a busker now, and silence is a rare commodity.