No Cells Allowed In Cellblocks Denis Kelly of County Cork has the odd distinction of being the first prisoner in Ireland ever convicted of committing an odd crime: having a cell phone in jail. Posessing a mobile phone in Irish prison today can result in a fine of up to 5,000 Euros, and a sentence of five (additional) years in jail.
Green and Blue Jets Combine To Ireland Aer Lingus has closed a deal with US budget airline Jet Blue to allow American travelers to buy a single ticket for trips that involve taking a domestic flight to New York and then going across the puddle on Aer Lingus. This will make it easier to set up flight plans to Ireland from US cities including Denver and Seattle, and make it possible to buy tickets to Ireland directly from these cities online. Passengers will change between Aer Lingus and Jet Blue flights at JFK’s Terminal 6.
Euros Even More Expensive The dollar’s plunge against the Euro continued this week, reaching a low-water mark of $1.50 per Euro. It’s the first time the greenback has been that low since the Euro was launched in 1999.
Schools Galore In Capital Perhaps the best statistic we’ve come across to illustrate how rapidly Dublin is growing: The Irish Minister of Education has announced that 30 new primary schools are planned to for the city.
America's Downturn Hits Eire In economic terms, if the US catches cold, Ireland will get pneumonia. That’s the conclusion of a recent study by the International Monetary Fund, which warned the Ireland will be far more damaged by an American recession than by any slowdown in Europe’s economy. That’s because Ireland has an exceptionally high level of dependence on investment from the United States, and sells a very high proportion of its exports to Americans. At the same time, Ireland’s Exchequer reported that tax receipts fell significantly during January of 2008, due to a downturn in the Irish real estate market and weak consumer spending during the Christmas season.
Blarney Stone Bru Ha-Ha A new book by two archaeologists from Britain has caused a minor furor over whether or not that piece of rock that tourists line up to plant their lips on in Blarney Castle is actually the real Blarney stone. Authors Mark Samuel and Kate Hamlyn say the true Blarney stone is actually somewhere else in the famous County Cork castle. Sir Charles Colthurst, the current owner of the castle, says they’re wrong. Though the approach to the stone was changed some years ago for safety purposes, he argues, the much-smootched rock is the real item. In case you’re wondering, there are two versions of the legend of how the Blarney Stone came into being. The first is that Cormac MacCarthy, owner of the castle during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, was extraordinarily skilled at never giving the queen what she wanted. Every request she made of MacCarthy was met with long-winded elaborations and bluffs, to the point where the “Virgin Queen” yelled out one day “This is all Blarney, he never says what he means!” Version number two is that a magic stone was built into the castle in the 1400’s, but no one knew exactly where. When one of the castle’s owners found a witch drowning in a river and saved her, she told him where the magic stone was, and that kissing it would give anyone the power of persuasion evermore.
Irish Immigrants Return To U.S. In additional economic news, The Irish Times reports that there has been a new influx of Irish immigrants coming into the United States since the start of 2008. The reason: Ireland’s economy has weakened, making jobs there more difficult to find.
Stalactite Crazy In Clare If you’re bringing young kids to Ireland and looking for ways to divert them this spring, you might try a visit to recently-opened Pol an Ionáin, a cave not far from Doolin in County Clare that boasts the largest free-hanging stalactite in the world. The owners of the cave are planning to build a visitor center there if the local planning council approves. Cave lovers can enjoy the smaller, more personal scale of the Pol an Ionain cave site after a visit to Ireland’s most popular cave, Aillwee Cave in Ballyvaughan, also in County Clare.
No More Ring In The Cake? You wouldn’t think it would upset anyone but the makers of Cracker Jacks to have the EU ban toys or other foreign objects from being included in the packaging with food products. But the Irish are a bit upset about it. That’s because one of the oldest traditions in the Celtic world is to bake a ring into the Halloween “barmbrack” cake, and declare that whoever bites into it will soon get married, come into money are enjoy good luck of some other type. Apparently, only homemade barmbracks will carry on this tradition henceforth.
Irish Get Used To Welcoming Immigrants Ireland’s economic success has attracted lots of immigrants, particularly from Eastern Europe. At times, that’s been a bit of a problem for Irish folk, most of whom grew up in the very homogenous environment that existed in the country until the early 1980’s. Reports have popped up in newspapers of immigrants feeling they were being discriminated against or treated rudely in Ireland. But apparently, most Irish people feel the new arrivals are a plus for the island. According to a survey conducted by the European Union, over 80% of people in Ireland feel that the nation’s cultural life has been improved by the arrival of new immigrants.
Fat Irish Lady To Sing In Wexford A new ultra-modern Wexford Opera House is scheduled to stage it’s first production this September. The €33 million building, which is currently a hard-hat construction site, will feature a horseshoe-shaped auditorium that keeps even the “cheap seats” relatively close to the stage, and walls clad in Canadian walnut.
Paying More For Extras On Ryanair Irish airlines are honing their skill at charging hidden fees. After Aer Lingus announced charges for baggage and then raised the rates less than a year later, budget airline Ryanair is boosting charges for bags and other sundry items. The fee for a checked bag will now go from €6 to €9, with the cost of a second bag rising from €12 to €18. This seems like small change, until you realize that some of Ryanair’s passenger tickets only cost €20. Charges for baby equipment, musical instruments and sports items will also go up.
No “Get Out Of Jail” Card Needed You may have stayed in castles, but you haven’t lived until you’ve spent a night in prison. Under a proposal by a Dublin area developer, you could soon have the chance to fill in that gap in your resume, while being taken care of by a concierge instead of a prison guard. The Dublin City Council is considering a plan to convert 19th century Mountjoy prison into a boutique hotel, as part of a larger plan to repurpose a large government-owned property that includes the prison and several other old buildings. The building has wrought iron gates and numerous other old-world features, though the windows are said to be a bit on the small side. One small obstacle: the prison is currently full of, well, prisoners. Remodeling can begin after they are moved to a new facility in 2011.
St. Everywhere But Ireland If you go to a hospital in Ireland these days, don’t expect to hear your nurses speaking in that familiar Irish brogue – or in any other European language for that matter. The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland reports that over 50% of all new nurses registered in The Republic in 2006 were not only from outside Ireland, but outside the European Union.
Don’t Drink The Irish Water? Ireland’s weak enforcement of environmental standards has become less and less of a secret as it’s building boom has spread new houses willy-nilly across the landscape and manufacturing companies have been given something close to a free ride on pollution issues (technology people have long referred to Ireland as “the ghetto,” because of the unregulated production of CDs and other computer products that create very toxic waste). The Irish Environmental Protection Agency has now issued a statement that well over one third of all public water supplies in the country are so dirty that they may now pose a risk to the public, and need to be either replaced or simply closed down.
Previous Blog Entries
Lovin’ – And Stealin’ – That Good Old Guinness A “low tech” thief with lots of moxie stole more than 450 kegs (about 40,000 bottles worth) of Guinness from the main factory in Dublin recently. The fellow, who has not been found as yet, simply backed a truck into the yard at the St. James Gate Facility, hitched up a trailer full of the brown stuff, and drove off unmolested. The trailer, minus the Guinness, was later discovered in the countryside.
Your Bag’s Airfare More Than Yours? Aer Lingus seems to have fallen in love with baggage charges. The airline announced last week that it will raise their fees for checked baggage for the third time since the charges were introduced in early 2007. With a new fee of 9 Euro per bag each way now being levied, travel pundits estimate that an average family will probably be forking out over 100 Euro in baggage fees on a round trip from now on.
Irish Trinity Right now, Ireland has three Catholic cardinals for the first time in its history. They are Cardinal Sean Brady, who was elevated to cardinal by The Pope in November 2007, and two retired cardinals: Cahal Daly and Desmond Connell.
Make Mine Cavan And Not Coca You’ve seen the defunct brands of small beer brewers brought back in recent years, but what about old soft drinks? Apparently hearts in County Cavan are yearning for an old cola once sold their by Cavan Mineral Water Ltd. “Cavan Cola” was made from 1984 until the 1990’s, when its manufacturer was taken over by a larger concern. Enter one Mr. Don Leahy, who this year has created a website and a T-shirt to rekindle interest in the soft drink. Mr. Leahy has been covered in The Irish Times and seen lots of traffic to his website. He says he wants to bring the drink back because "Cavan Cola is a forgotten symbol of what Cavan stood for - Cavan Cola defines refreshment, coolness and vintage Cavan culture.” Apparently, one key element in the drink’s popularity was the fact that when poured in a glass, it had a frothy head that allowed young bucks to pretend they were imbibing Guinness.
Collins Note Sells For A Bundle A letter written by Michael Collins to Thomas Ashe, a 1916 Rising leader who ultimately died in a hunger strike, was recently sold at auction for €260, about five times what it was expected to draw. Written in 1917, the letter makes some rather negative comments about Éamon De Valera. It was offered up to auction by Ashe’s family, and bought by an anonymous collector.
Nervous Tax Cut The Irish government, clearly nervous about a decline in the real estate market, recently lowered the “stamp duty” paid by buyers of second-hand homes. The move was made, according to Minister for Finance Brian Cowen, to “provide a floor” for homes prices.
Saving Kerry’s Stone Walls A controversy has arisen about plans to put up precast concrete barriers along many parts of the Ring of Kerry. Irish Minister for the Environment John Gormley is complaining that the modern barriers will destroy the scenic vistas along the crowded tourist route.
Waterford’s Future Even Less Crystal Clear The troubled Waterford Crystal Company appears to be continuing its long downhill slide. Owners recently announced they will cut another 470 jobs at the southeastern Ireland headquarters. That’s almost 50 per cent of the people left at the old factory. Waterford, once one of the biggest employers in Ireland, may shortly run out of people to cut.
A Crazy Way To Start A Water Company Brand new company Clare Spring Water Ltd will draw it’s product from three top quality springs that they found the old fashioned way. Local government official P.J. Kelly seems to have proved that he has a talent for “divining.” Not long ago he took a coat hanger and went out into the countryside looking for water, something he says he was been able to do for over forty years. Sure enough, Kelly located three water sources big enough to support a new company that’s going to employ 10 people. He says he discovered his talent for finding water four decades ago when he picked up a pair of tongs and felt a shock go through them.
Has The Celtic Tiger Caught A Flu? You don’t have to look far these days for indications that the Irish economy, after an incredible run, is finally slowing signs of slowing down. After The Irish Times reported that, in September, the construction Irish sector fell to its lowest rate of output in 52 months, economists warned that Irish real estate faced a huge risk from the fallout of the American subprime market mess. The nation’s central band then followed with news that unemployment is expected to rise from 4.5 to 5.3% in 2008, and that consumer spending will probably fall by as much as 50%. Meanwhile, a few foreign observers expressed fear about the possibility of a bank run, given that unlike the U.S., where the FDIC covers depositor’s losses up to $100,000, Ireland’s government only covers losses up to 20,000 Euro – the lowest level of coverage anywhere in the European Union.
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Copyright © 2008-2009 Sterling Scott Publishing. All Rights Reserved
