(Irish Voice) 5 January 2006
|
Santa’s Happy in Ireland,
for Now
All over Dublin, the sleigh bells are ringing ... well, actually
it’s the cash registers. According to the Central Bank, there are
huge quantities of money in circulation, around €2 billion more
than last Christmas. more... |
(Irish Voice) 21 December
2005
|
Minding
Babies, Making Budgets
One of the biggest changes that has happened in Irish society in
the last 10 years is the huge increase in the number of households
in which both husband and wife work outside the home. more... |
(Irish Voice) 14 December
2005
|
Excess
Ireland Is So Crass
This is Budget Week in Ireland, and on Wednesday Minister for Finance
Brian Cowen will be opening his box of goodies for the coming year.
more... |
(Irish Voice) 7 December
2005
|
All Aboard
for the New Ireland
Irish Ferries is the main shipping carrier on routes from Ireland
to Britain and Europe. As such it is a vital cog in the wheels of
the Irish economy since we are, as you know, an island nation.
more... |
(Irish Voice) 30 November
2005
|
Drug Psychos Running
Rampant
Last week here people were saying that Dublin is getting to be like
Chicago in the 1930s. Well, it’s not quite as bad as that yet, but
with open war erupting on the city streets between two major drug
gangs it did feel a bit like it at times over the past couple of
weeks.
more...
|
(Irish Voice) 28 November
2005
|
The Travelers
and Justice
The sentencing of an elderly Co. Mayo farmer at the Central Criminal
Court in Dublin last Friday for the killing of a traveler was the
most contentious news story here last weekend. It dominated conversation
everywhere, it monopolized radio phone-ins, and it was even the
central item on the Late Late Show on TV.
more... |
(Irish Voice) 16 November
2005
|
A Litany of Shame in Church
If you have seen an Irish paper in the past week, you will be aware
that a flood of new revelations about child abuse by priests here
has emerged. So sickening and shocking have been these revelations
that the Catholic Church in Ireland is now in deep trouble.
more... |
(Irish Voice) 02 November
2005
|
Life
in the Irish Fast Lane
As the saying goes, opinions are free but facts are sacred. You
can get any number of opinions on Celtic Tiger Ireland and whether
it has improved life here or made it worse. But it is always interesting
to look at the hard facts and make up your own mind. more... |
(Irish Voice) 26 October
2005
|
Newspaper War Hits Dublin
Stop the press! Newspaper war hits Dublin!
more... |
(Irish Voice) 19 October
2005
|
The IRA
Property Empire
The news that the IRA was corrupt will not be a surprise to readers
of this column — but the sheer size of the property portfolio controlled
by the IRA chief of staff, Thomas “Slab” Murphy, has come as a major
shock even to me. more... |
(Irish Voice) 12 October
2005
|
Lack
of Unity on Unity
There's been a lot of talk here over the past week about Irish unity,
mainly by Sinn Fein. more... |
(Irish Voice) 5 October 2005
|
What Was
it All For?
So what was it all for, the 30 odd years of murder and mayhem more... |
(Irish Voice) 28 September
2005
|
McCartney Murder Mark
2 — in Dublin
With the IRA’s final decommissioning due to begin in the next week
or two, Sinn Fein’s leaders are getting ready to bask in glory.
more... |
(Irish Voice) 21 September
2005
|
We’re
Rich, But We’re Not Happy
This should be a time of confidence and joy in Fianna Fail, with
the party getting ready to start into the new political year here
with so much to be proud of.
more... |
(Irish Voice) 14 September
2005
|
The Humiliation of America
The scale of the disaster in New Orleans and the surrounding Gulf
Coast has been top of the news here since Katrina struck.
more... |
(Irish Voice) 07 September
2005
|
Living
Here Can Be Murder
The huge increase in crimes of violence in Ireland is recent years
is no longer big news here. more... |
(Irish Voice) 31 August 2005
|
It’s
Rip-Off Ireland
Every now and then a new TV show really catches a wave and becomes
compulsive viewing. These days most of the runaway successes are
reality shows like Big Brother or Pop Idol, or quiz shows like The
Weakest Link or Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? It’s mostly entertainment.
more... |
(Irish Voice) 24 August 2005
|
Jacks
From the Colombia Box
The reason the Colombia Three popped up here when they did, of course,
is because they calculated that in the wake of the historic IRA
announcement that the armed struggle is over, and no one would be
bothered enough to make an issue out of their return. more... |
(Irish Voice) 17 August 2005
|
Have
They Really Gone Away?
The sudden reappearance of the Colombia Three here has thrown a
very heavy spanner in the works underway to establish the reborn
Republican movement as a completely peaceful and trustworthy part
of our democratic process following the IRA statement two weeks
ago. more... |
(Irish Voice) 10 August 2005
|
Waiting for the Statement
Given that Gerry Adams has always denied being in the IRA, there
is a touch of gallows humor about the news reported a few days ago
that he has stepped down from the IRA Army Council.
more... |
(Irish Voice) 27 July 2005
|
IRA and the Islamic Terrorists
When the London bombs went off I was on holiday in the South of
France with the family. The day it happened I was actually escaping
from my responsibilities by doing a powerboat driving course near
Cap Ferrat. more... |
(Irish Voice) 20 July 2005
|
GAA
Fans Disgrace Over London
Odd as it may seem, the first reaction of many people in Dublin
to the London bombings last Thursday was a collective sigh of relief.
more... |
(Irish Voice) 13 July 2005
|
Can They Really
Save Africa?
Remember that rock star who graced the cover of Time magazine a
couple of years ago with his American flag-lined leather jacket
open like a superhero’s cape? The headline asked, rhetorically (we
hope), “Can Bono Save the World?”
more... |
(Irish Voice) 6 July 2005
|
|
The Boys Are
Back in Town
The boys are back in town, the boys are back in town —
predictably the hook of the old Thin Lizzy anthem was used over
and over again on radio stations here last weekend as a way of welcoming
the latest U2 tour to the home ground for their three sold out concerts
in Croke Park. more...
|
(Irish Voice) 29 June 2005
|
Gaelic Is Marbh
— Dead!
Be honest now. How much Irish can you speak? If you are an Irish
American you are absolved from this question. But if you are originally
from the land of the Cead Mile Failte and the cupla focail, the
chances are you are already mentally lying through your fiacla (teeth)
in answer to the question.
more... |
(Irish Voice) 22 June 2005
|
French Dump
Our EU Achievements
Those cheese eating surrender monkeys have done it again. Fresh
from their hypocritical opposition to the war necessary to remove
Saddam Hussein (which did not stop them subsequently trying to get
a share of the oil and reconstruction business in Iraq) they have
now managed to destabilize Europe.
more... |
(Irish Voice) 8 June 2005
|
Celtic Tiger’s
Ugly Side
On Thursday morning of last week a gang of five raiders hit the
post office in the town of Lusk, a fast growing commuter area on
the north side of Dublin. Thursday is welfare day, when all kinds
of state cash payments like child benefits, pensions and unemployment
benefits are paid out through post offices.
more... |
(Irish Voice) 1 June 2005
|
Up,
Up and Away at Dublin Airport
Last week the government here took two decisions which will have
a defining, long term impact on the development of air transportation
into and out of Ireland.
more... |
(Irish Voice) 25 May 2005
|
Man United’s American Sellout
We call it The Shrine. It starts even before you get into my son’s
bedroom, with the sign on the door (bought at a ludicrous price
in the Megastore at Old Trafford) which reads, “Entry for Man United
Fans Only.” more... |
(Irish Voice) 18 May 2005
|
Meltdown
of the Middle Ground
A Meltdown of the middle ground in politics in the North had been
predicted before the election. And so it turned out to be. Viewed
from a southern perspective, it is deeply depressing.
more... |
(Irish Voice) 11 May 2005
|
Ireland’s
Place in the New Europe
Once upon a time the Irish were the ones who emigrated to other
countries and filled the jobs the locals did not want. Now the situation
has been reversed. more...
|
(Irish Voice) 4 May 2005
|
Habemus
Problems for Irish Catholics
When the moment came just over a week ago to reveal the identity
of the new pope, the elderly cardinal from Chile looked out over
the sea of humanity packed into St. Peter’s Square and pronounced
those famous words that reach back over the centuries — Habemus
Papam, we have a pope.
more...
|
(Irish Voice) 27 April 2005
|
Croke Park and
Cafe Bars
Last week was quite a week here. First off, in spite of predictions
that it would never happen, delegates to the GAA congress from all
over the country voted to allow what used to be called “foreign
games” to be played in Croke Park.
more... |
(Irish Voice) 20 April 2005
|
More Sinn
Fein Promises
The speech last week by Gerry Adams in which, according to the media
here, he “called on the IRA to disarm and disband and follow an
exclusively political path” was seen as “very important” or “highly
significant” or “a breakthrough” or even “historic.”
more... |
(Irish Voice) 13 April 2005
|
The Pope’s
Mixed Legacy
It’s not surprising that the outpouring of grief in Ireland at the
death of Pope John Paul II has been so great. He is being mourned
around the world. But for Ireland, in particular, it has seemed
like a personal loss.
more... |
(Irish Voice) 6 April 2005
|
Hard Cases
and Immigration Law
The case of a young Nigerian who was deported with more than 30
others on a special flight from Dublin to Lagos on March 14 brought
the whole immigration issue center stage here again last week.
more... |
(Irish Voice) 30 March 2005
|
Drunk and Disorderly
for St. Pat’s
It’s been getting worse over the past few years. But this year was
the worst ever, with hundreds of mainly young people arrested as
drink-related violence spilled on to the streets of the capital.
more... |
(Irish Voice) 23 March 2005
|
Groundhog
Day or St. Patrick’s Day?
Writing this column sometimes feels like being trapped in a weekly
version of Groundhog Day. Every week I look forward to writing about
something else that’s making the news in Ireland, and every week
the Sinn Fein/IRA hotshots say or do something even more unbelievable
that demands priority.
more... |
(Irish Voice)
17 March 2005
|
In Sinn Fein
They Trust
The appearance of the McCartney sisters at the Sinn Fein Ard Fheis
(annual convention) in Dublin over the weekend came as a shock to
people here. more...
|
(Irish Voice)
9 March 2005
|
Too Little
Too Late for McCartneys
The IRA’s damage limitation exercise last Friday of expelling three
of its members involved in the murder of Robert McCartney is too
little too late. And we don’t know yet exactly what it will mean.
more... |
(Irish Voice)
2 March 2005
|
Money
Found, Credibility Lost
Whatever shred of credibility Sinn Fein and the IRA had left finally
evaporated here last Wednesday as bundles of money almost certainly
from the Northern Bank robbery were uncovered in Cork and elsewhere
in the south of Ireland by Gardai (police) investigating a massive
republican money laundering operation.
more... |
(Irish Voice)
24 February 2005
|
Point of No Return
for IRA
There have been breakdowns and difficulties in the peace process
before, and each time before there was a feeling that it could be
put back together again with some creative fudging of the issues.
more... |
(Irish Voice)
17 February 2005
|
Beginning of
End for IRA?
The two statements from the IRA last week have resulted in a fundamental
shift in the mood and attitude of people here towards Sinn Fein
and the IRA.
more... |
(Irish Voice)
10 February 2005
|
Sinn Fein Out in
the Cold
A week is a long time in politics. A few weeks can see the world
turned upside down. Just ask Gerry Adams.
more...
|
(Irish Voice)
3 February 2005
|
From Minister
to Jailbird
Ray Burke became the first former Cabinet minister in Ireland ever
to be jailed when he was sent to prison this week for six months
for cheating on his tax.
more...
|
(Irish Voice)
26 January 2005
|
Death of
Innocence in the Countryside
East Cork is a countryside of little villages, neighbors who care
for each other and attractive towns that have maintained a remarkable
degree of community and innocence in spite of all the changes that
the Celtic Tiger has brought to Ireland.
more...
|
(Irish Voice) 19 January
2005
|
Sinn Fein/IRA Have
Blown It
The categorical statement by Northern Ireland Police Chief Constable
Hugh Orde a few days ago that the IRA was responsible for the huge
Northern Bank robbery was not a surprise to most people here, either
in the south or in the north, who had already come to the same conclusion.
more...
|
(Irish Voice) 13 January
2005
|
Decommission
the Robbery Wing
SOME mobile joke messages spread like wildfire. Almost everyone
with a cell phone in Ireland received the following message from
someone over the last week: “Hot news: Crossmaglen FC just signed
Ronaldinho as new striker for £22m!”
more...
|
(Irish Voice) 5 January 2005
|
