Republic – Page 35 – Slugger O'Toole

“to overcome the remaining obstacles..”

Pete Baker on December 2, 2009, 12:25 am

| Readers 5

Given Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness’s co-opting of the Taoiseach when grandstanding at Tullamore, it’s worth noting this line from the joint statement by Gordon Brown and Brian Cowen yesterday. The Prime Minister and Taoiseach agreed to work closely together, and with the parties, in the next few weeks to overcome the remaining obstacles to finding an agreed basis on which the devolution of justice and policing powers can take place at an early date. [added emphasis] Adds “Peter Robinson makes …

Bishop of Dromore pressures Bishop of Limerick to resign…

Mick Fealty on December 1, 2009, 4:21 am

| Readers 1

In this interview on Sunday Sequence yesterday morning Will Crawley pressed Dromore bishop John McAreavey into admitting that his fellow Bishop Donal Murray had ‘questions to answer’… The whole episode got picked up by Sean O’Rourke on The Week in Politics last night and was front page news on the Irish Times this morning… In response to suggestions that somehow this was trial by media (and that he was only guilty of sins of omission rather than sins of commission), …

What happens when you shop too much and save too little…

Mick Fealty on November 30, 2009, 10:27 pm

| Readers 2

Okay, in news from elsewhere… Willem Buiter with what we should and should learn from Dubai… In comparing Ireland the UK in a basket of other countries he identifies the greater independence of the ECB from Irish government control as a positive factor in favour of Ireland’s chances of a credible recovery: From Dubai to Iceland, Ireland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Japan, France, the UK and the USA, the sovereign debt burdens have been at current levels during peacetime …

Ireland’s intellectual inheritance of “mental reservation”…

Mick Fealty on November 30, 2009, 9:28 pm

| Readers 4

I really enjoyed (if enjoyed is actually the word) Gael gan Naire’s post on the crisis of belief in the Catholic Church this morning. Actually enjoyed is definitely not the word, it’s just that I think he nailed something that if Anne Maire Hourihan is right that plagues all forms of belief in Catholic Ireland, beginning, but sadly, not ending with religious belief as she riffs on a term gifted her by her estimable colleague Breda O’Brien: …the whole slippery …

Time to redefine a more functional sense of what patriotism practically means…

Eamonn Mallie on November 29, 2009, 7:51 pm

| Readers 11

Are trade union leaders in the Republic of Ireland bringing people onto the streets acting patriotically? The extraordinary economic environment in which we are currently living is intellectually very thought provoking. What an opportunity has been missed by leaders generally not to redefine ‘patriotism.’In nationalist Ireland for far too long ‘nationalism’ has been identified with the notion of giving one’s life for one’s country: The song ‘ The Patriot Game’ with the immortal words: “For the love of one’s country …

“the Wild West of European finance”

Pete Baker on November 29, 2009, 2:41 am

| Readers 18

In today’s Guardian, Terry Eagleton reviews Fintan O’Toole’s Ship of Fools – “As O’Toole points out, bribery, tax evasion and false evidence under oath have not simply gone unpunished; the very idea of penalising the culprits is viewed by the governing elite as unsporting or even unpatriotic.” This is partly because Ireland, having in O’Toole’s words “imported” its modernity from elsewhere, is in some ways a country with a first-world economy and a third-world political system. Local, cronyist and clientelist …

Bordering on ridiculous: striking, shopping and the absence of alternatives

Jason Walsh on November 27, 2009, 8:25 pm

| Readers 8

Two hollow themes from Irish political dialogue have collided – the ‘patriotism’ of shopping in the South and the anti-public servant mood. The result? An even more pointless ‘debate’ about nothing An unusual news story hit the headlines on Tuesday, one that is unverifiable by any means: public sector employees were selfishly destroying the economy. Tuesday November 24 was a ‘national day of action’ for members of public sector unions. Understandably this issue was the news story of the day, …

Why only €10 million?

Paschal Donohoe on November 27, 2009, 5:08 pm

| Readers 3

This question was raised every day by my colleagues in Seanad Eireann and in a stormy Dail debate. It referred to the Government commitment of €10 million to deal with the devastating floods that destroyed large parts of Ireland. Why so little? The deserts and sky rise cities of Dubai have literally nothing in common with the ruined homes in Athlone, Carrick on Shannon and Ennis. But some of the answer to the question of how the Government can find …

“Pint of milk and a f**kin Mars bar…”

Mick Fealty on November 27, 2009, 2:33 pm

| Readers 1

Just got my copy of the The Emergency’s Use Democracy Sensibly.. The TD Tubbies… banky toxy custard… they follow the big recession… all lead to Dipsy whose drinking Bass in Drumcondra… Dipsy scared, Dipsy run away… Drinky Winky tries to sort it out with budgets… Then they get Noo Noo Nama to clean up the mess… Noo Noo Nama not working… Then, Irish Economy Byes Byes… Bye Bye Jobs… Bye Bye Pensions… Bye Bye Living Standards… Fecking great CD from …

“What does it tell us about ourselves…”

Mick Fealty on November 27, 2009, 12:07 am

| Readers 3

RTE has the full report on the cover up of child abuse within the Dublin Archdiocese stretching back over 30 years… A shameful litany says Ruth Gledhill… appropriate for the context of the story… In this piece from the BBC: Maeve Lewis, director of victim support group One in Four said the report helps get to the heart of the power structure in the Catholic Church in Ireland. “What is it about Irish society that we will pay such deference …

“economic downturn is so acute it is causing many to consider leaving the country..”

Pete Baker on November 26, 2009, 3:43 am

| Readers 2

In yesterday’s Irish Times, the Republic of Ireland’s President, Mary McAleese, was telling anyone who would listen that “Ireland’s young people have the sort of can-do mentality, combined with education and confidence, that is needed to lift the country out of its gloom.” Elaine Byrne chipped in on the opinion pages – “Rising generation will regenerate a better Ireland”. Unfortunately for their argument, the same edition carried these details from the latest Irish Times /Behaviour Attitudes opinion poll. THE VAST …

“In each case, the most appropriate and proportionate measures are taken.”

Pete Baker on November 21, 2009, 8:09 pm

| Readers 7

Two Irish News reports of interest from yesterday, both relating to the arrest of Harry Fitzsimmons on an European Arrest Warrant. The first report notes that Acting on intelligence, Dublin-based detectives from the force’s Extradition Unit travelled to the Co Louth town on Tuesday November 10 and arrested the 40-year-old Belfast man, who had been on the run for three years. Garda sources confirmed that officers from Dundalk itself were not involved in the arrest operation. The second report notes …

Extra time in Paris

Pete Baker on November 19, 2009, 3:56 am

| Readers 4

Where in the 90 minutes Ireland scored the away goal required to level the aggregate score in the World Cup qualifier against France. Full Time France 0 – 1 Ireland (agg 1-1). Live [radio] coverage here. Update A blatant hand-ball by Henri in 1st period of extra time, but the goal is given. France 1 – 1 Ireland (agg 2 – 1) And That’s how it ends. “A travesty in Paris”. Adds The Guardian’s coverage includes this quote from Irish …

And how was your weekend?

Pete Baker on November 17, 2009, 5:52 pm

| Readers 1

Did anything happen at the weekend’s “nice diversion” for the First and deputy First Ministers, et al, of the 13th British-Irish Council summit in Jersey? Apparently Peter Hain vetoed Edinburgh as a proposed site for the permanent secretariat, but on the theme of the summit – indigenous, minority and lesser-used languages? Here’s Northern Ireland Minister Paul Goggins’ statement The Minister also welcomed recent comments by the Northern Ireland Culture Minister Nelson McCausland. “The St Andrews Agreement acknowledged the importance of …

Village Magazine editor more influential than Enda Kenny, according to Village Magazine…

Mick Fealty on November 16, 2009, 7:46 pm

| Readers 1

I’m always intrigued as to how you might go about ordering the most influential people in a country from 1 – 100, but that’s what the Village Magazine has done by convening a committee of the great (Denis Hickie) and the good. Several things are worthy of note. Not least how far down the greasy poll comes the leader of the largest party in the Opposition: Enda comes in at 90!, two below Simon Cowell, and 60 behind Rupert Murdoch!!! …

Oileán amhainn, ach cad faoi Aontas na Gaeilge?

Mick Fealty on November 16, 2009, 7:07 pm

| Readers 3

Cé go mbeadh nach bhfuil sé ceart a rá go bhfuil an córas tras-teorainn ag titim as a cheile, níl Con ró shásta leis na thograí á bhí curtha i láthair ag an tAire Eamonn O Cuív chun a bheith cúrsaí náisiúnta a dícheangail ón cúrsaí thuaigh theas: …bunaíodh an Fhoras mar institiúid uile oileánda chun an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn. Anois tá orthu dul san iomaíocht leis an Udarás seo nó tá orthu focas as an úr a …

“every euro you spend in your local community is a stake in the community”

Pete Baker on November 16, 2009, 5:46 pm

| Readers 3

The Irish government’s criticism of those un-patriotic shoppers just got a little more pointed. From the Irish Times Referring to cross-Border shopping, the Tánaiste said that most people shopping in the North “go to get alcohol. It’s true. People who don’t have a lot of money are not the people going shopping in their cars across the Border”. She said that “every euro you spend in your local community is a stake in the community”. It was making a positive …

“I never thought the Sinn Fein-IRA family and the DUP family would ever accommodate each other…”

Mick Fealty on November 16, 2009, 4:30 pm

| Readers 51

Niall O’Dowd gleefully notes Kevin Myers’ mea culpa on Friday over the way he refused to believe (or his dogged determination to ‘future’ on the matter) a shift in attitudes amongst the DUP and Sinn Fein would ever be possible. Though as is often the case with Myers, the substantive secondary point he makes is worth noting: I confess that I never thought the Sinn Fein-IRA family and the DUP family would ever accommodate one another, not least because I …

“Kennedy accused the church of fanning ‘flames of dissent and discord’ on Capitol Hill”

Pete Baker on November 15, 2009, 3:55 am

| Readers 5

An Irish Times report identifies one potential rock upon which US President Obama’s Public Government Health Insurance Bill might founder. It was a Democratic congressman, Bart Stupak from Michigan, who put forward an amendment demanding not only that the government insurance option in the healthcare Bill be banned from covering abortion, but that private insurance companies participating in an insurance market or exchange to be established under the Bill also be forbidden from paying for abortions. The Bill would give …

Book Review: “The Bankers” by Shane Ross

Mack on November 12, 2009, 3:59 pm

| Readers 24

The Bankers: How the Banks Brought Ireland to Its Knees is an important book. It is a highly readable account of the defining political and economic story of our time. How a group of elite bankers fueled a credit bubble, fought back against government pressure in the wake of it’s collapse and ensured the survival of their culture at taxpayers expense. Shane Ross, the author, is an Irish Senator and business editor of the Sunday Independent. An extract from the …