In pursuit of the truly public service

John F. Kennedy's inaugural speech was a call for commitment and responsibility: "Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country." It doesn't matter whether "your country" is a nation-state or a colony or a dependency: "Country" means people living together with as much agreement and sense of common interest as possible. At the heart of that life is the public service.
Young people enter the public service for one of two reasons: for security of employment (with a pension at the end of it) or because they want to render a service to their fellow citizens. The two reasons are not mutually incompatible, but entry to the public service usually means forgoing the rewards of the marketplace.
When Ireland was a predominantly rural society, with primogeniture, the most likely career choice for a younger son or daughter was traditionally the...