George

With Sinn Féin most likely well and truly out of the governmental loop south of the border for the next five years following the recent Dáil elections, I thought it might be helpful to see what Fianna Fáil have on their agenda when it comes to furthering the unification objective. Fianna Fáil says in its election manifesto (PDF file) that “the achievement of lasting peace and unity on our island remains the most important objective” of the party. Without peace …

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It seems the Irish courts have made it clear that throwing petrol bombs at Garda officers will be dealt with sternly. A 19-year-old man who pleaded guilty to throwing a petrol bomb that set two officers alight during riots at the Love Ulster parade has been jailed for five years at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Ciaran Maguire from Finglas pleaded guilty to violent disorder and endangerment but Judge Desmond Hogan said the offences were “pre-meditated” and said the gardaí were …

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Fulham have sacked Chris Coleman with Northern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez taking over on a caretaker basis until the end of the season. No news yet about whether Sanchez will continue in his role with Northern Ireland on a longterm basis. It seems leading his team to victories over Spain, Sweden and England hasn’t gone unnoticed. Fulham Football Club this evening announced its decision to replace Chris Coleman as Manager with immediate effect. Chris Coleman has provided a fantastic service …

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The principle demographic results from the 2006 census are out and show that Irish Republic now has a population of 4.24 million, 10% of which is made up by non-Irish nationals. In fact, 612,000 were born outside of the Republic with 438,000 coming from the EU. Could be interesting to see if this develops into an election issue.The main places of origin are: Northern Ireland 50,172 England and Wales 204,746 Scotland 16,863 Czech Republic 5,278 Estonia 2,373 France 9,307 Germany …

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Shelbourne have decided against applying for a UEFA licence, meaning their place in next season’s Champions League will be taken by Derry City. Champions Shelbourne were relegated from the Premier League to the First Division for the coming season after an investigation by the FAI’s first instance committee into their financial problems. Shels say their decision is partly based on the fact that they don’t want damage the Eircom League’s co-efficient in Europe. George

Patsy McGarry of the Irish Times believes a landmark moment (subs needed) in Irish education has been reached with the decision to establish State-run primary schools in the Irish Republic. What is especially interesting is that the move has been warmly welcomed by the Catholic Church. The new model of primary school patronage will be introduced, on a pilot basis, at a national school in Diswellstown, Co Dublin, due to open in September 2008. According to Bishop Leo O’Reilly, chairman …

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It seems Gregory Campbell of the DUP’s campaign for the rights of the Irish who are culturally British is needed more than ever following the news that just 10 people born in the Irish Republic but now living in Northern Ireland have managed (subs needed) to obtain naturalised British citizenship since 2004. Either that or it was never needed in the first place.According to the figures published in the Irish News, 628 people have applied for naturalisation in Northern Ireland …

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Being young isn’t what it used to be in Ireland. It certainly seems to be a mixed bag. Anti-social behaviour orders, or ASBOs, come into force today for children of at least 12 and below 18 years. At the same time, a new report reveals (subs needed) that more than 17,500 children aged between seven and 17 were referred to An Garda Síochána’s juvenile diversion programme for young offenders in 2005. One in five of all referrals was for alcohol-related …

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The Irish Republic has the fastest growing population in Europe, rising at a rate of 2.5% per annum. It is estimated that the figure will reach 5 million before 2020, especially with between 70,000 to 100,000 immigrants arriving every year. This burgeoning population growth has led to an unrelenting boom in housing output with almost half of all dwellings in Ireland now having been planned and delivered by the private sector since 1990. Unfortunately a lack of planning has led …

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Gregory Campbell of the DUP continues to campaign for what he believes are the large numbers of southerners living in Northern Ireland who are just itching to take up naturalised British citizenship. This even though just 270 out of an estimated population of 40,000 took up the option last year. Campbell blames red tape for the low uptake and believes huge numbers would be prepared to hold a British passport. “There are thousands who want this and would be entitled …

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Indicators seem to show the Irish Republic’s booming property market finally seems to be running out of steam, no doubt helped by the fact that first-time buyers are most certainly feeling the pinch of six interest rate hikes between December 2005 and December 2006. You certainly know something is up when Dublin developers offer free mortgages for six months to first-time buyers. While Twinlite Developments is offering its mortgage deal to attract customers, Gannon Homes is offering free kitchen appliances, …

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The person now simply described as Ireland’s richest man, Seán Quinn, looks set to fight the Irish government after emergency legislation was passed in the Dáil to close a loophole in risk equalisation legislation. Despite the move, the Quinn Group has confirmed it is to go-ahead with its takeover of health insurer BUPA Ireland even though the emergency legislation on Wednesday night will probably cost the company tens of millions over the next three years. The Cabinet kept its intentions …

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Employment growth in the Irish economy exceeded 4% for the seventh quarter in a row in the last three months of 2006 with Central Statistic Office (CSO) figures showing annual employment growth was 4.3%, up from 4.2% in the previous quarter. There was an increase of 85,000 in the numbers of persons employed in the Irish Republic in 2006, taking the total figure to 2.06 million. The overall unemployment rate is now down to 4.2%, a five-year low, with over …

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Never a company to miss out on a marketing opportunity, Ryanair has announced that it will give away 1,000,000 “free” flights “when” Ireland beat England in the 6 Nations rugby clash in Croke Park this Saturday. The offer is limited to one way flights and excludes taxes and charges. Announcing the pre match incentive, Ryanair’s Peter Sherrard said: “This is the first time that the English have been invited to Croke Park and we’ve no doubt that it will be …

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Rangers could be in a lot of trouble with UEFA over one hand salutes made by a section of their fans during last week’s UEFA Cup tie against Hapoel Tel Aviv in Israel. Rangers chief executive Martin Bain has urged fans not to make any such gestures when the two sides meet Thursday in the return leg at Ibrox. “The photographs in question show a small number of Rangers fans in Tel-Aviv making one-arm salute gestures. Some Rangers fans continue …

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The DUP have made it clear in their election manifesto (PDF document) that, as far as they are concerned, there will be no devolution in Northern Ireland unless the British government stumps up the cash for a financial package so that local taxes don’t have to be raised and so the region can compete with the Irish Republic. “We have made it clear that resolution of this issue is a precondition for establishing devolution. Northern Ireland will never have a …

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Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain will become the first British Minister to attend Croke Park when he takes his seat for the upcoming Six Nations match against England. Speaking in the United States, he confirmed what has already been reported here, namely that the British government is considering making a symbolic gesture to mark the killing of 14 civilians by British security forces at the venue in 1920.”That’s being considered and discussed, the question of marking it. But my very …

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The third Priests European Cup tournament has just ended in Sarajevo with Poland beating Croatia 5-4 on penalties before a full house in the Skenderija Olympic complex in Sarajevo.Teams of priests from Austria, Bosnia, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal Romania, Slovenia and Spain competed in Bosnia- Herzegovina’s capital in the three-day indoor tournament. Bosnian team captain Ivo Tomasevic admitted that the competitors had taken the tournament extremely seriously, with most of the teams engaging professional trainers to help them improve …

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It has been mentioned here that the DUP is floating the idea of a possible plan C, to press for greater institutional cooperation between administrations in London, Dublin, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast and other parts of Britain and Ireland. But what exactly does this mean and what do the DUP require for this to happen? Looking back at the DUP’s

Kevin Myers has it in for the Scots in his column this week in the Irish Independent, saying if they want independence then they should have it. Part of him even hopes that Scotland becomes an entirely independent nation, free of England, and able to choose its own future. However, there are conditions: “Emigration to England is stopped; careers in London are forfeit; opportunities in the BBC (or rather, the EBC) are denied; Westminster is closed to ambitious young Scots, …

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