News From Ireland
By Franck Shouldice
Clinton Launches Suicide Prevention Program
 Former U.S. President Bill Clinton launched a major new suicide prevention program in Dublin. The program being run by RehabCare is aimed at tackling a growing number of suicides in Ireland, particularly among young men. Figures for 2003 show that 444 people took their own lives, with 11,2000 attempted suicides also recorded.
“We want to change the culture where young men find it difficult to talk about their feelings,” said RehabCare chairwoman Angela Kerins. “Whether it’s money matters, exams, their boyfriend or girlfriend, there are increased expectations of what young people should achieve. It’s a symptom of how society has changed, and it leads to a great sense of hopelessness and despair.”
“More people die each year by suicide than are killed on our roads yet, there is still a greater awareness of the loss of life on our roads,” added former SDLP leader John Hume, patron of the scheme. “The statistics don’t lie. The truth is not being twisted. We have a problem that needs to be tackled and one that to date has not had a cohesive response.”
The former U.S. President launched the program at a high-profile gala fund-raising dinner in Dublin attended by over 1,000 people. It was the second cause to which Clinton lent his name in Dublin last month. He also appeared at the launch of The Rose Project, an AIDS initiative that assists a Franciscan missionary group in Kenya. Some 350 guests came to hear Clinton speak at the Project’s special breakfast, raising funds in the region of 200,000 euros.
Government Favors EU Poll
The Irish Government is likely to press ahead with a referendum on the EU Constitution despite consecutive rejections of the treaty in France and Holland. Britain postponed holding a referendum following the setback in northern Europe but Ireland aligned with Poland and Denmark saying the constitution should be put to a national vote in each member state regardless. The decision on whether to stay with the existing treaty was discussed at the following European Council meeting in June. However, Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern acknowledged that the French and Dutch outcomes “creates a very difficult situation.” On a visit to the U.N. in New York he said, “If other countries proceed to ratify (the Constitution) and they (France and Holland) are the only two remaining countries, then obviously that’s an issue they would have to address themselves. Different countries will have different views on how we proceed and we will just have to see how these are articulated. “
Dublin Population Faces Boom
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) predicts that the population of Greater Dublin area will exceed two million people by the year 2021. It is estimated that the region will by then be home to an estimated 40 percent of a national population of five million people in the Republic of Ireland. This will mean that growth in Greater Dublin – which includes neighboring counties of Meath, Kildare and Wicklow – will take place ten years quicker than originally forecast.
The CSO bases its figures on the continued annual influx of 30,000 immigrants to Ireland and a significant increase in the birth rate. The demographic profile is also set to change, with a high increase in both the number of young people (0-14 years) and pensioners. It is a remarkable change since 1961 when the population of the state was just 2.8 million. However, the heavy concentration of people and resources in the Dublin area is creating a structural imbalance with the rest of the country, with associated pressures on housing, employment and transport.
Irish Language Confuses Tourists
 Visitors to Gaeltacht (Gaelic-speaking) areas on the west coast of Ireland may be in for a surprise, following a government directive on the public use of Irish language. The Placenames Order 2004 makes it a law that all Gaeltacht signposts and maps display place names only in the Irish language. Towns widely known by their Anglicized names will now be represented only in their original Irish form. And so the Co. Kerry town of Dingle, for example, will be known only as An Daingean from now on.
Fearing that the order will confuse tourists, local authorities in Co. Kerry have requested that Gaeltacht towns can also present the English form of each place name. Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Eamon Ó Cúiv ruled out that possibility.
“The days of walking both sides of the street are over,” he said. “It’s a nonsense not having linguistic criterion attached to the Gaeltacht. If you are in the Gaeltacht, one would imagine the first brand you would sell is the Irish language,” he added, noting that some 24,000 students go to Kerry to learn Irish every summer.
However, not every politician in the county shared the Minister’s enthusiasm. Councilor Michael O’Shea from West Kerry said that tourists were “getting dizzy in the head” trying to match Anglicized names with Irish language names. “We must write to Minister Ó Cúiv and tell him foreigners do not understand the Irish language,” suggested the councilor. “Perhaps a new sign should now be put up on the N86 (the road to An Daingean): ‘If you don’t understand Irish, don’t go beyond this point.’”
Councilor O’Shea’s position cut little ice with Minister Ó Cúiv. “It is An Daingean, full stop,” he said, adding that the change should be no more difficult than historical changes of place names like Kingstown to Dún Laoghaire or Queenstown to Cobh.
Donleavy Archive U.S.-Bound
 Author J.P. Donleavy (pictured right) is in negotiations with a U.S. university for the sale of his literary archive. The Brooklyn-born author who has been resident in Ireland since 1946 came to international prominence with publication of The Ginger Man nine years later. Donleavy did not wish to name the East Coast university but was pleased to find a purchaser for his work. “By releasing the archive now I can ensure that it will remain intact, well-minded and available in perpetuity,” he said.
The archive includes correspondence with other literary figures through the 1950s and ’60s and the original manuscript for The Ginger Man. His catalogue of work includes 11 novels, the last of which was Wrong Information Is Being Given Out at Princeton, which was published seven years ago. Donleavy, now 79, lives in Levington Park, an estate outside Mullingar, Co. Westmeath once owned by British actress Julie Andrews.
Famine Ship to Go on Display
 Replica famine ship Jeanie Johnston was bought by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority as a permanent attraction on the River Liffey. The replica, a tall ship modeled on the design of the original Jeanie Johnston, was built for $20 million, the cost of which was borne primarily by local authorities in Co. Kerry.
The original Jeanie Johnston sailed from Co. Kerry to the United States 150 years ago, at the height of the potato famine in Ireland. Two years ago the replica vessel made a transatlantic voyage to New York to commemorate that historic journey. It has since sailed around the Irish coast and made a visit to northern Spain before wintering in Dublin’s dockland.
Due to the high cost of maintaining the vessel, there were fears that nobody would take possession of the Jeanie Johnston. It had been owned currently by the Kerry Group plc, Shannon Development and Kerry County Council but attempts to find a buyer proved unsuccessful. Despite its historical significance the Irish State declined to purchase the craft as the state already has a sail training ship Asgard II.
The decision to purchase was warmly welcomed by enthusiasts everywhere. The Docklands Development Authority hopes to put the vessel on permanent display on the River Liffey in Dublin.
NEWS IN BRIEF
CORK City was twinned with Shanghai in a public ceremony at Cork City Council. The sister city agreement will promote trade and cultural links between both cities although four members of the council objected to the arrangement in protest at human rights abuses in China . . .
FALLOUT continues from the controversial Morris Report, which revealed widespread corruption among the Garda Siochána (Irish police) in Co. Donegal. The controversy arose following the unsolved hit-and-run death of cattle dealer Richie Barron outside Raphoe in October, 1996. Gardai suspected a local man, Frank McBrearty Jnr. (and his cousin Mark McConnell) but the Morris Report revealed the flawed investigation was an attempt to frame the suspects. McBrearty and McConnell have been cleared of any wrongdoing, and a number of senior garda are expected to either quit or be fired from the force. . . .
CONSTRUCTION of a high-pressure pipeline to link the offshore Corrib gas field with a terminal in Bellanaboy, Co. Mayo has been delayed pending an independent risk assessment study commissioned by Minister for the Marine Noel Dempsey. An independent review was called for when it was revealed that the consultancy firm first hired by the Minister is part-owned by Shell, major shareholder of the Corrib gas project. Local groups demand that for safety reasons the terminal should be built offshore instead of on land. “The people of Erris who oppose this high-pressure pipeline are not unreasonable, but they are frightened,” Fine Gael TD Michael Ring told reporters. “Now it has been shown once and for all that they cannot trust anybody.” . . .
THE Diageo Group has purchased Bushmills Irish whiskey from French owners Pernod Ricard. Diageo, which also owns Guinness, paid 295 million euros for the brand. Based in Co. Antrim, Bushmills ranks as the world’s oldest licensed whiskey distillery. Since acquiring Irish Distillers in 1988, Diageo has concentrated on promoting Dublin-made Jameson whiskey which accounts for almost half of all Irish whiskey sales, while Bushmills accounts for close to 15 percent, so industry experts suggest Bushmills has the potential to expand sales considerably. . . .
JURY’S Hotel in Ballsbridge on Dublin’s southside is set to close. In a major reorganization the Jury’s Doyle group will sell off two hotels but retain the Berkeley Court Hotel, downgrading it from five to four-star. Jury’s Hotel was a marquee name since it opened in the 1960’s, hosting high profile visitors like Frank Sinatra and Ronald Reagan. Its cabaret show was a long-running tourist attraction, but strong competition in the luxury end of the hotel market has prompted the Jury’s Doyle Group to move its chain to more middle ground.
SLATTERY Travel anno-unced it will begin direct flights from New York to Cork later this year. The company will lease a 210-seater Boeing 757 from Ryan International Airlines, leaving JFK every Sunday and Wednesday with return flights from Cork each Monday and Thursday. The service will begin in the fall.
DOORS at Bewley’s Café in Grafton Street reopened for business six months after its highly publicized closing. The original café continues to operate at the front of the premises, while a larger section of the historic building has been sublet to Café Bar Deli, a Mediterranean-style restaurant chain. |
