Obama in Ireland. Truly Inspiring Speech. Pity He Displays Political & Morale Cowardice on the Palestinian Queston

"Is feidir linn!"

A truly Inspiring speech by Barack O'Bama that must have put a smile on the faces and a steely determination into the hearts of every person in the the huge crowds that came to see him in Dublin.

"...Ireland, if anyone ever says otherwise, if anybody ever tells you that your problems are too big, or your challenges are too great, that we can't do something, that we shouldn't even try - think about all that we've done together. Remember that whatever hardships the winter may bring, springtime is always just around the corner. And if they keep on arguing with you, just respond with a simple creed: Is féidir linn. Yes, we can

He reminded us that Ireland's centuries-long fight against occupation, tyranny and for the cause of liberty inspired peoples and nations across the world, none more so than in the USA.

"..When we strove to blot out the stain of slavery and advance the rights of man, we found common cause with your struggles against oppression. Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave and our great abolitionist, forged an unlikely friendship right here in Dublin with your great liberator, Daniel O'Connell...".

He helped us realise as we face the despondency brought about by economic and political crisis of today's Ireland, that the darkest hour is just before the dawn "..Remember that whatever hardships the winter may bring, springtime is always just around the corner. And if they keep on arguing with you, just respond with a simple creed: Is féidir linn. Yes, we can...." .

Sadly Obama in the last few days has failed to live up to his own words, caving into tyranny as he demonstrated political cowardice and dashed the hopes of millions in the Middle East and elsewhere when he backtracked on his public statement of Thursday last when he said that Israel must withdraw from the West Bank to its 1967 borders to allow for a final peace settlement. On Sunday though he stated the 1967 borders are a starting block for negotiations, that land swaps can occur, that Israel is a Jewish state, that USA will block attempts by the Palestinians to secure recognition at the United Nations for an independent Palestine. Obama, as with other US Presidents over the last five decades, is under the powerful and anti-democratic financial and political influence of the US pro-Israeli Jewish lobby

The Death of a Good Friend from UCG Student Days- Joan O'Brien

Joan O'Brien(second from left) with Maria O'Malley, Trish Harrington & Marcella Corcoran,Graduation Day UCG

A very good friend of mine and of many others died yesterday.
Joan O'Brien was one of the nicest, warmest, loveliest and engaging persons that I have ever had the privilege to befriend whilst I was a student.
Her engaging smile bewitched all those that knew her.
I was lucky enough to be a friend of hers while we were on campus together in what was considered a golden era of UCG and Galway city.
See www.ucgstudents.com .
She was a part of close-knit circle of endearing female students who lit up the lives of so many of us. Their parties were a legend. Whilst I lived in what was then possibly he No. 1 house for disco parties (No 80 Hazel Park), their chalet on Canal Road hosted the most refined, zaniest and wackiest dinner gatherings that Galway possibly has ever known.
A highlight for me & many of my fellow students was to receive an invitation from Joan and the 'girls' to attend dinner in their abode on a Friday night.
Formal dress was expected.
So we would arrive with a bunch of dandelions or daffodils at the door of their tiny damp-lined broken-down chalet dressed in the finest apparel that we could find, usually an eclectic mix of worn-out coloured shirts, mix-matched bow-ties, odd-fitting jackets and rustic floral dresses.Upon crossing the threshold, we would find ourselves entering a magical Arabian Nights world where the aroma of candles and sweet 'n' sour pork would permeate the air, where soft alluring music emanated from an old record-player lying in a corner, where red napkins and broken floral crockery would adorn the table, where smiling females would serve home-brew poteen and cider freshly arrived from the deep vaults of 'Peter Michaels'.On occasions, one of these hardy wenches would, with one powerful strike of a hammer and nail, hit a mysterious silver barrel that would then bring forth a powerful golden river of delicious beer.
Later that night, after much ear-piercing renditions of earthy poetry and rebel songs, these angels would lift up the inebriated menfolk and usher them forth into the darkness of the night before ending up on the floor of the hallowed 'Aula Maxima' in UCG where the male of the species would be expected to dance to the sounds ofHorslips, Boney M, and the Donna Summer as played by illustrious DJs known as the K-Tel Kids & the Big G.

Joan- you and your friends of Maria, Marcella, Rosie & Trish brought so much laughter and goodness into my student days.
Though I have hardly ever seen you since we left UCG, my memories of you and the girls is as fresh and as loving as ever.
I will say a prayer for you tonight
Go gcoinní Dia thú go n-athaontóimid arís

Joan O’Brien-Keogh, Esker, Castleblakeney, Ballinalsoe. Reposing at Franciscan College Oratory, Mountbellew tomorrow Friday from 5. Removal at 7 to St. Peter & Pauls Church, Ballymacward. Mass for Joan O’Brien on Saturday at 1. Funeral afterwards to Killaghán cemetery. Family flowers only, by request. Donations if desired to Cancer Care West.

Goverment Should Ask for Resignation of Irish Taxi Regulator!

Kathleen Doyle, the Irish Taxi Regulator, is a huge waste of taxpayers monies & should resign after her embarrassing interview on RTE Radio's "Morning Ireland" programme.

She took little if any responsibility for the dire state of taxi regulation & monitoring in Ireland as portrayed on last night (May 16th 2011) on RTE's Prime Time excellent investigative programme which exposed the endemic corruption & criminality within the Irish government-created taxi service whereby convicted rapists, gangsters & murderers of innocent people are allowed to own taxis thus threatening the lives of innumerable Irish citizens.
Doyle refused to go onto this public broadcasting programme to answer questions that citizens needed to know. This morning she waffled on & on about how good the regulations are rather than hold her hands up, admit things are bad, apologize to the Irish people, state that she wants stronger legislation and more resources to help her in her new crusade to root out criminality.

Sadly she inspired no confidence whatsoever in her answers that she will undertake such a course of action.Her explanations though shows that there are too many agencies involved in the whole process, thus allowing each one to pass the buck and blame others. Ex-minister Bobby Molloy introduced taxi de-regulation a few years ago, but never put in place a proper regulatory structure. Thus he bears a lot of blame for the present dire state of affairs. The dogs in the street knows how bad things are. But our civil servants and politicians for years have turned a blind eye. Once again it is RTE and public broadcasting's exposure of high levels corruption and state inactivity that may embarrass the political establishment to undertake corrective change.
I am writing to the Minister for Transport asking him to ask for Doyle's resignation and t propose new laws to end criminality and ensure a proper public transport service

Exciting New Local Grassroots Heritage & Eco Tourism Initiative for Galway City

Off the Beaten Track, Galway Cycle Heritage Trail, a new local community-council initiative

A public meeting organised by the community environmental group ‘Galway Friends of the Forest’ will take place at 7.30pm on Tuesday May 10th in the Menlo Park Hotel to look at ways to develop Galway as Ireland’s first eco-city, a move that organisers say could significantly impact on tourism.

Galway city is unique within Ireland in still possessing a fascinating kaleidoscope of rural and natural landscapes that somehow survived the urban sprawl developments of recent times.

Boreen, Ballinfoile

Within the city’s boundaries there is a wonderful network of boreens, woodlands, seashores, lakes, rivers, castles, wetlands, karst limestone hills, seashores and a patchwork of drystone-wall lined fields. Yet most of the city’s inhabitants are not aware of these ‘green jewels’ and heritage treasures that lie in their midst.

Jordan's Island, River Corrib, Galway city

Combined with recent progressive neighbourhood developments such as community gardens, forest parks, and playgrounds in places such as Ballybane, Ballinfoile and Doughiskea, Galway city council-coordinated eco-awareness programems such as An Taisce's schools Green Flag and Glan Suas Gaillimh (clean up Galway), there are now wonderful opportunities for local communities to collectively create an exciting new web-based heritage and eco map for Galway that could be downloaded and used by schools and foreign tourists interested in enjoying an alternative pedestrian, cycling and family friendly city. Furthermore, our natural landscapes have the potential to be further exploited in a sustainable way as major outdoor scientific laboratories for our third-level colleges, outdoor classrooms for local schools and ‘zones of tranquillity’ for city-dwellers.

We should now coordinate, develop and publicise all the different environmental and heritage initiatives that are taking place across the city.

Such a course of action could lead to the establishment of an annual ‘Green Calendar’ of events that could benefit Galwegians of all ages as well as bring a whole new dimension and much-needed sustainable boost to our tourism sector.

American student volunteers, Ballinfoile Mór Community Organic Garden

There is so much happening in this sector thanks to the work being done by educational and local groups. For instance Galway Civic Trust has produced a comprehensive walking tour guide of Galway’s waterways; the people of Castlegar organise annual ‘boreen’ festivals; Atlantaquaria in Salthill regularly hold seashore safaris; Ballinfoile and Ballybane residents host Harvest Festivals in their community gardens; Galway City Partnership and the VEC fund workshops that are re-invigorating old traditional skills such as blacksmithing, willow sculpting and wood-turning; City Council support neighbourhood clean-up drives in public parks and provide a network of children playgrounds; the Community Forum is working with Galway Transport Unit to provide ‘Off the Beaten Track’ guided cycle heritage tours that encompass Ballindooley, Menlo and Ballygarraun some of which are now available as online map resources and which could become a template for the mapping of further pedestrian/cycling local scenic routes within the urban boundaries. Many other groups such as Galway Bat Group, An Taisce, Inland Fisheries Ireland, Birdwatch and Galway Education Centre are also involved also in ‘green’ initiatives.

Public Guided Nature Walk, Terryland Forest Park, with Stephen Walsh

A few months ago, the Friends of Galway Forests hosted a packed meeting where it was agreed to map out many of the natural networks that exist across this city as part of a Green Calendar and mapping exercise.

The event on May 10^th will be a follow up to this last meeting.

However there are major challenges to be overcome if eco-local heritage tourism is to become a reality. None more so than the high level of refuse that exists in our green zones.

But for this potential to be exploited fully there is a need for City officials to implement their own environmental polices such as the 2006 ‘Habitats Inventory’ management directive, the 2002 Strategy for the establishment of ‘ecological corridors’ as well as to re-engage with residents and other stakeholders by re-activating previously successful multi-sectoral groups such as the Terryland Forest Park steering committee which has been left in abeyance since 2005 even though its ambitious programme of Sunday ‘Picnics in the Park’, outdoor cultural festivals, community tree plantings and children’s blub planting days were successful. In a time of job embargoes and budgetary restrictions, local government must not ignore the hand of neighbourhood volunteerism or the specialised scientific expertise that exists within NUI Galway and GMIT.

Councillor Neil McNeilis & Kieran Cunnane taking part in community clean-up of woodlands

Government too must do its bit by following the example of other European countries in introducing a refundable charge on all beverage cans in order to eliminate litter from our parks and seashores.

The Royal Wedding of William & Kate: The Irish & Eco Associations

Shades of a 'Merry Old England'

As a committed republican and anti-imperialist, I have to say t

hough that I was genuinely surprised and impressed at how the ordinary English happily celebrated the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Lots of street parties, and fetes on village greens with music, old-fashioned games, champagne and cups of teas with scones. The huge crowds in London were of all ages & were so well-behaved enjoying family picnics and small group get-togethers.

The 'walkers-pace' mass movement of people to the gates of Buckingham Place was surreal, as if they were all guests in a wedding party group of days gone by chatting and laughing as they merrily followed the bride and bridegroom from the church up to the parents' house. The church service in the picturesque medieval abbey was very spiritual; the fulsome singing of hymns such as 'Jerusalem' absolutely magnificent.
It was at one level a re-awakening of a sense of community and neighbourliness in England.
And boy, do the English do

pageantry like no-one else can. The main parks, boulevards, historical fountains, statutes and buildings seemed to posively sparkle as if they all were given an extra cleaning and polishing. Very impressive- the whole scene was like something out of a fictional pre-WW1 'Merry Old England' novel.

A Happy Couple

The couple too seem genuinely in love, which is really nice and should be celebrated. So I sincerely wish them a long and happy life together.
And to be honest, everyone in our house was watching the television coverage of the wedding at some point during the day and commenting positively, admiring Kate's dress, Harry's ruffled look etc.
On some occasions one has to chill out and not be so serious, take the whole thing at an enjoyment level and not get too caught up in the politics and the unaccceptable hereditary nature of the British aristocracy.

The Wedding: Irish Dimensions

But of interest to me also was:
a) the 'Irish' elements of Kate and William's wedding, especially noticeable in this photo, that shows a large gold shamrock on his uniform, which is that of the Irish Guards, of which he is colonel.

Kate's magnificent wedding dress had a hand-crafted intricately pattern lace design known as 'Carrickmacross lace' after my home town in County Monaghan.

The person that did all the beautiful floral arrangement inside Westminster Abbey was Irishman and royal florist Shane Connolly.

The Wedding: Environmental Aspects

b) the spectacular sight of large trees adorning the interior of Westminster Abbey. The eco-symbolism is obvious. This is so good as trees need friends more than ever due to ever-increasing destruction of the rainforests which is significantly affecting life all across the planet. I feel William's father Charles, who is a great environmental campaigner, had some role to play in this important decision. These Maple and Hornbeam trees will be re-planted in Highgrove Park.

Kate's wedding lace pattern incorporated four plants to represent the four nations of the United Kingdom: the Rose (England), Thistle (Scotland), Shamrock(Ireland) and Daffodil (Wales).

Her bouquet contained five symbolic flora: Lily-of-the-Valley (Happiness), Hyacinth (Constancy), Sweet William (Gallantry), Myrtle (Love) and Ivy (Fidelity).

Actually the use of plants in wedding ceremonies was much more common in earlier times and symbolised humanity's reliance and deep respect for Nature: Laurel Wreaths on the head of the bride and groom, Flowers in the churches, Floral Bouquets, Flower girls and Ivy Garlands that covered walls and doors were for millennia features of weddings and other religious events.

So well done to Kate and William for putting Nature back onto centre stage.

c) the fact that this wedding was really an 'English' and not a 'British' affair. Very few community or street celebratory parties were held in Scotland or Northern Ireland. The 'United Kingdom' now seems like a thing of the past.

Community Ethos & Growing Your Own Food

Eating Weed! Michael McDonnell enjoying home-made locally grown nettle soup prepared by Caitriona Ní Mhuiris in the Ballinfoile Mór Community Organic Garden

Setting up a Galway city Branch of 'Grow It Yourself'

I am involved in helping to organise a public meeting on Tuesday Mary 17th at 7.30pm in the Menlo Park Hotel to launch the establishment of a Galway city branch of 'Grow It Yourself'.

Now with circa 8 ,000 Irish members (& growing), it was set up by the inspirational Michael Kelly from Waterford, who will be guest speaker on the night. All are welcomed to attend. So anyone who has an interest in growing one’s own food in anything from a small window box container to a field, should attend this event which will be launched by famed GIY founder Michael Kelly from Waterford.

So please take us up on our offer!

We as a nation need to become more self-reliant in food- for economic, social and environmental reasons
As the GIY website states;
This current generation is probably the first in human history that is almost entirely incapable of producing its own food. The vast majority of us are almost 100 per cent reliant on a commercial food system to supply us with the very thing that keeps us alive - food.

The power in our food chain is increasingly concentrated

in the hands of a small group of stakeholders (in Ireland 82% of the grocery market is owned by five supermarket chains). We have handed over the keys to our survival to a small number of powerful producers, distributors and retailers.

Growing Together. Volunteers working in the Ballinfoile Mór Community Organic Garden

It would be one thing if the product on offer was above reproach, but it is nothing of the sort. The things that we cherish about food – its ability to nourish us and make us healthy; it’s variety, vibrancy, flavour and taste – have been sacrificed for profit, yield, shelf-life, uniformity and continuity of supply. The food chain relies on entirely unnecessary chemical interventions (pesticides, fertilizers and insecticides), placing an unbearable stress on the health of our planet’s most important natural resource – soil.

As a result, our food is less healthy than it used to be – UK and US government statistics indicate that the levels of trace minerals in fruit and vegetables fell by up to 76% between 1940 and 1991 (McCance and Widdowson, 1991).

Our food chain is no longer about feeding ourselves – it is about trade. We import €5 billion worth of food in to Ireland each year (much of it food that we can grow perfectly well here) and at the same time export €7 billion. Our food spends its time in a state of near perpetual transit - the average distance travelled by vegetables from farm to fork is a staggering 1,494 miles.

Brian Cowen Gives Graveside Oration at my Uncle's Funeral

A few days, my father's oldest brother sadly passed away.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
Michael Smith was a true gentleman, full of wit and charm, loved by his community, neighbours, friends and family. He was a great Gaelic footballer in his youth, a man that was throughout his long life a great traditional musician, a well known stalwart of Comhaltas na Ceoilteorí Éireann, a lover of the Irish language and a great community volunteer in his home village of Cloghan in county Offaly.
I was deeply moved when a lone accordionist played a medley of Irish tunes at the graveside.
Uncle Michael was brought up on a small farm with none of the trappings of wealth. My grandfather Patrick was a farm labourer that had to hire himself out as a ploughman, drover and thatcher to put food on the table. A great all-rounder. But poor like many of his generation.
As with all of his brothers and sisters, Michael worked hard to break out of the poverty trap. As a youngster he spent summers digging turf on of the family holding in what was then the vast Bog of Allen. He found employment at Ireland's first milled-peat fired power station at nearby Ferbane when it was opened by the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) in 1957. It used the turf from the local bogs. He worked himself up to become a senior manager and stayed with the organisation until his retirement.
My grandfather was a great IRA man who fought in the War of Independence. He was captured in a shoot-out during an ambush of a British army unit and spent 2 years in a military prison, securing his freedom only after the ceasefire and the ending of the war. Like the rest of his family, he fought on the losing Republican side during the Civil War.
Like many republicans of that era, the Smiths went with DeValera when he left Sinn Féin and established Fianna Fáil as he continued a campaign for a better more egalitarian more just society that what appeared in the form of the Irish Free State. Uncle Michael followed the family tradition and believed wholeheartedly in the early traditional radical values of the party, that was then the main party of the rural and urban working classes.
He became an important organiser of Fianna Fáil in Offaly over the years and helped out Brian Cowen from when he started out on his long political career. Michael stayed a party loyalist to the end of his days.
Hence it was no surprise when our former Taoiseach gave a deeply moving oration.
My mother's family also came from the same nationalist, republican small farming tradition that went with DeValera in the 1920s.
Yet to be honest, I had to hold back my anger at the funeral, and not say anything that would disrupt the sorrowful occasion and upset the mourners. For I, like the majority of people in this country, am livid at the way Fianna Fail has brought ruination to the country in order to bail out banker friends and property speculators who epitomized greed and arrogance. It seemed for Cowen and co that favours to rich friends mattered more than duty to the citizens of Ireland.
So I was genuinely shocked during the funeral at seeing how many people clapped and chatted with Cowen as if he was some great hero.
I stayed away from the man. But I was in the minority.
For ever since my youth I have been highly critical of a party that betrayed many of its radical founding principles especially with the setting up of 'Taca' by Charles Haughey which soon led to Fianna Fáil becoming hijacked and corrupted by a parasitical elite of 'nouveau riche' property developers, absentee landlords, land-grabbers and carpetbaggers who saw the party as a way of using political connections to secure lucrative government contracts and land re-zonings. There was no real sustainable national wealth created by these men.
There were and are honourable people in the organization such as Eamon O'Cuiv and Noel Treacy. But not enough.
I am proud to say though that most of my brothers and my sister concur (I think!) with my political beliefs and saved me from being viewed by the older family members as the lone radical black sheep. But even most of these cousins have changed their perceptions as the reality of the causes of our recession have been exposed and the betrayal by Fianna Fáil to all those of previous generations who suffered death, imprisonment and torture so that future generations could live in a self-governing democratic society free from the evils of enforced emigration, privilege, absentee landlordism and poverty.

Tradiitonal Craftmaking, Growing Food Locally, 'Meitheal' & Community Self-help Alive & Well in Galway City

Photo: Local children painting the kitchen/storage/toilet container at the Ballinfoile Mór Community Garden

A edited version of my letter below appeared in this week's Galway Independent:

Community Self-reliance

Photo: Local Volunteers in the Ballinfoile Mór Community Garden

Dear Editor,

In response to the recent letter from Councillor Nuala Nolan, members of the Ballinfoile Mór Community Organic Garden would be delighted to transport seaweed from Ballyloughnane strand to the Ballybane Organic Community Garden. Since last spring, we have secured council permission to harvest some seaweed from the same beach for use as a sustainable natural organic fertiliser in our own green facility.

In the spirit of the traditional Irish ‘Meitheal’, we previously made available indigenous marl to our Ballybane colleagues for the construction of their outdoor piazza oven which represented a small gesture of thanks to a community garden that has inspired so many others across the city.

Photo: Local resdients & members of 'Lisbrook' Asylum Seekers Accommodation Centre working in Community Garden

The destruction of the Ballybane garden shed was sad news particularly for all those hard-working volunteers who have given their time, energies, skills and vision in helping to improve the quality of life within the Ballybane region. We too have experienced a rise in anti-social behaviour with severe damage recently to our garden’s poly-tunnel.

Photo: Volunteers involved in the Big Spring Clean-Up adjacent to Ballinfoile Mór Community Garden

On Sunday last, fifty volunteers participated in a clean up of the adjacent woodlands that led to three vanloads of rubbish being collected that was the end result of fly-tipping, bush-drinking and the illegal erection of barbed wire- barriers by unscrupulous owners of emaciated horses who are denying other residents the use of what is after public lands. All such problems are endemic across Ireland with citizens feeling increasingly angered and betrayed by the failure of government to systematically prosecute the perpetrators.

Photo: Galway City Deputy Mayor Frank Fahy surveying foundations of wildlife pond at Ballinfoile Mór Community Garden

So now is the time for city neighbourhoods to increase co-operation and share resources as well as to face up to both mindless local vandalism and the national economic cutbacks that is a consequence of the ‘me-feinism’ ideology of greedy bankers, property speculators and political cronyism that could destroy a growing sense of togetherness that has been evident within many urban suburbs over the last few years.

Photo: Jack O'Connor preparing the stone for the planned drystone wall at the Ballinfoile Mór Community Garden

Likewise, we need more than ever before to look at our ‘own doorstep’ and ascertain what human and physical resources exist amongst us that can improve local services and facilities.

Photo: Building a 'Living Willow Tunnels' at the Ballinfoile Mór Community Garden

For instance the Ballinfoile Community Garden has benefited from the oftentimes dormant talents of residents who have in our case built a performance stage, pathways, raised beds and willow/hazel fencing; laid out a wildlife pond, planted native hedgerows and introduced young people to an almost extinct folk knowledge of medicinal properties of common herbs and old techniques of vegetable/fruit planting.

Photo: Volunteers planting Willow Tree woodlands at the Ballinfoile Mór Community Garden

To facilitate both individual and community self-reliance, we are supporting the first public meeting of Grow It Yourself (GIY) in Galway city which is taking place at 7.30pm on Tuesday May 17^th in the Menlo Park Hotel. So anyone who has an interest in growing one’s own food in anything from a small window sill container to a field, should attend this event which will be launched by famed GIY founder Michael Kelly from Waterford.

Photo: American students from Galway University (NUIG) helping out at the Ballinfoile Mór Community Garden

Photo: Sellling the Fruits of the Volunteers' Labours at the Ballinfoile Mór Community Garden

April Fools' Day in Ireland- Is the Joke on Us?!

Fine Gael's Leo Varadkar

Is the Joke on the Irish people as the new Irish Fine Gael/Labour coalition government breaks public promises made only a few weeks ago just prior to the General Election?!

Yesterday it was yet again more monies to the failed Irish banking sector as the government gave over 24billion euros. This represents the fifth bailout of these incompetent financial institutions that has led to the debt enslavement of the Irish people for at least another generation. The fifth bailout in just over 2 years when we were told at the first bailout in 2008 by the then Fianna Fail/Green government; that the 5billion euro given from the Irish taxpayer then would be the last, & would represent the cheapest bailout by a state in the history of the world. Now we find out that, at a present total of over 70billion euros, it is the most expensive ever in the history of the world!!

This Fine Gael/Labour lot is behaving like the last bunch.

Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore said in February that Labour in government would not take orders from the European Central Bank (ECB) when the interests of the country was been undermined. He called on the electorate to trust Labour to change the terms of the EU-IMF bailout package and stated bluntly “It’s Frankfurt’s (ECB HQ) way or Labour’s way”. Check Irish Times article.

Leo Varadaker said, on behalf of Fine Gael, on Feb 10th:
"Any bank coming to us looking for more money is going to have to show how they are going to impose losses on their junior bondholders, on their senior bondholders, and on other creditors before they come looking to us for any more money. Not another cent."

Read the Irish Examiner for more.

So yet again, these mysterious bondholders (i.e. financial gamblers)
are protected whilst those others responsible for the crisis- the politicians, bankers and property speculators - still enjoy ostentatious lifestyles while we continue to pay for their greedy ways.
I thought that this new bunch of ministers were supposed to bring morality, justice and public service back into governance?

Prosecute Lowry, O'Brien & Dunne!

Dail Éireann (Irish parliament) should ask for criminal proceedings to be brought against Michael Lowry, Denis O'Brien and Ben Dunne for corrupting the Irish political system & undermining democracy in this republic.
Fair play for Judge Moriarity for saying in plain English how Lowry and O'Brien used money to feather their own nests.
But if legislative action is not taken against these men, the taxpayers funding of the decade-old Moriarty Tribunal & its findings was and is a waste of time.

When the 'Bloody Sunday Tribunal' issued its findings, Prime Minister David Cameron made a statement to the British Parliament and apologised for the wrongs of the British Army. Taoiseach Enda Kenny should do likewise and issue a public statement in the Dail within the next few days & apologises for the damage done to Irish democracy by self-serving greedy politicians in Fianna Fail, Fine Gael & other parties who took monies from wealthy business men in return for land re-zoning, issuing of state contracts etc. These parasites need to be kick out of politics and put in jail. Plus there needs to be immediate legislation brought in to ban political donations from businesses, which has contaminated Irish politics since the 1960s when Charles Haughey set up the old boys network known as 'Taca' to fund raise for Fianna Fail.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0322/breaking17.html

St. Patrick & St. Patrick's Day - Not Irish After All!!

Great swathes of the world turn green on March 17th as people anywhere that have some ancestral roots to theEmerald Isle nosily celebrate St. Patrick's Day, the great festival of the Irish.

Yet, as with St. Patrick himself, so many of the traditions associated with our national holiday owe their existence to people and places far beyond our green shamrock shores.

Click here to find out more about this startling revelation from one of my previous and hopefully very interesting articles!

For instance....

Famous Ballad 'Dirty Old Town' - Not an Irish Song!

Dirty Old Town is a song synonymous with Irish Pub Ballads, with most people believing that its title refers to Dublin.

Actually, it was written by Ewan MacColl, an Englishman of Scottish ancestry, about the grimy old industrial town of Salford near Manchester!

Click here to hear Pogues' brilliant version of Dirty Old Town.

Ireland's Forty Shades of Green - Invented by an American Rock 'n' Roller!

Forty Shades of Green has all the hallmarks of a story penned by an Irish emigrant fondly reminiscing about memories of the lover, the landscapes and the people that he left behind in rural Ireland.
In fact it was written by the Man in Black- Johnny Cash, the legendary American Rock 'n' Roll & Country star.
Every line in the song feels like part of an authentic television documentary on Ireland.Who cares if it is sentimental. As an emigrant myself in times gone past, I can empathise with the feelings expressed.

Click here to hear a fine version song by his daughter Rosanne Cash

O No!! Irish Political Parties are already back to their old tricks!

1. An international independent review of the Dept of Finance, that showed successive governments ignored the warnings of officials that tax cuts fueling the property boom was endangering the economy, was only published after the general election even though it was presented to the Minister of Finance Brian Lenihan in early December!
This was blatant deception by the government parties designed to hide the truth from the Irish people until after they had voted.

2. Then we find out a few days ago that the bankrupt Bank of Ireland lied to the Dáil Éireann (parliament) when it said no bonuses were being paid to management. In fact since it was bailed out by the Irish taxpayer in late 2008, it has handed out bonuses worth over 66million euros to senior staff! Will anyone be sacked?

Gilmore, Kenny nor Martin sadly have not demanded such action.

Give the Seanad Over to Independents & Community Campaigners!3. Only hours after the election count is completed, the political parties are back to their old failed ways by displaying an unbelievable arrogance & disrespect to the electorate.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen, leader of a FIanna Fáil/Green government that sold our country into bondage to the pay for the gambling of property speculators/bankers & were decimated at the ballot box, in his last hours in office appoints to the Seanad (Senate) a politician (Darragh O'Brien) who was kicked out of office by his constituents only days ago.
The public institution of the 'Seanad' has for decades been brought into complete disrepute by the political parties (Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Labour & Green Party), with all but the 6 university seats being filled by party political appointees who were largely 'yes-men' & ineffective. It was only the few brave outspoken 'independent' Senators such as Shane Ross & David Norris

that will be remembered for their deeds and words.

Fine Gael says the Seanad should be abolished and will organise a referendum on the issue. But in the meantime, they & the other parties are once again doling out overpaid Senatorships to members of their parties.The Seanad in possibly its last few years in existence should be given over completely to independents such as David McWilliams, Fintan O'Toole & community campaigners with no members of the political parties being allowed to sit in its chambers. After all the parties have Dáil Éireann. Why do they need a second chamber!?

Finally, I am wondering if I made a mistake last week.
As with hundreds of thousands of other citizens, I am angered at the way the political system has failed our country and condemned so many to poverty and emigration. So I thought seriously in the last few days of entering the university Senate elections in the hope that, if I won, I could contribute in some small but meaningful towards securing a more equitable, just and sustainable future for Ireland. But in the end I decided against it as I feel that my present science and technology work combined with my community volunteerism could achieve more.
Hopefully I made the right decision though I feel at present like I chickened out & failed to answer my country's call.

‘Sputniks’, ‘Star Trek’ & ‘Open Government Data’- New Initiative to Promote Science & Engineering

As Outreach Officer at the renowned Digital Enterprise Research Institute (DERI) I am coordinating an eclectic mix of science fiction, video gaming, open data hacker workshops, computer programming courses, science lab tours and the establishment of Ireland’s only computer museum designed to spark interest amongst the Irish school-going population towards careers in science and engineering.

DERI is an internationally acclaimed centre of web science research, with researchers from over 30 countries working on the next generation of the world wide web known as the Semantic Web.

Introducing Computer Programming Courses to Irish Schools

As part of this month’s National Engineers’ Week which commences on February 14^th we are organising a fascinating array of activities designed to capture the imagination of youth and to show them the benefits and challenges that careers in science and technology represent.

A key component of the schedule will be the introduction of computer programming courses to pupils in primary and primary schools across Galway city and county tutored by DERI’s young researchers.

We feel that this initiative if developed further will prove invaluable not to just the pupils involved but to the county as a whole because, though programming forms the basis of much of modern science and engineering, the subject is not taught within either the primary or post primary curricula. We are already providing an after-school pilot course at St. Mary’s College Galway city which has worked out extremely well with students from both the junior and senior cycle attending the classes.

University Science Lab Tours

But programming is only one element in the institute’s attempts to inspire and motivate a whole generation to consider careers in science and technology.

One-day second-level school tours of five of the university’s top research institutes will take place during National Engineers Week.

Ireland’s only Computer and Communications Museum

There will also be guided visits of Ireland’s only Computer and Communications Museum which was established at the institute during 2010 in partnership with the multi-sectoral eGalway group. This unique facility provides a fascinating insight into the development of communications from ancient hieroglyphics to today’s Internet with a particular emphasis on the development of the microcomputer and the involvement of youth as well as Irish people in communications innovation.

Vintage Computer Games: Pacman Returns!

The museum will be the location for a range of events and exhibitions including a vintage computer gaming night known as ‘Pacman Returns’ on February 16^th; exhibits and lectures on topics such as ‘Hidden Histories: Women in Technology’; on ‘Space Exploration from Sputnik to the Space Shuttle’ and how the science fiction of the 1960s television series Star Trek influenced the development of many of today’s electronic devices such as the mobile phone and the iPad. Of special significance to Galwegians will be a special commemorative exhibit on February 18^th to celebrate the 40th year anniversary by Digital Equipment Corporation, then the world’s second largest computer manufacturer, to open its first overseas manufacturing plant in Galway city.

Hackathon: Open Data Hack Day’

In conjunction with the community-based 091 Labs, DERI will host Galway’s first ‘Open Data Hack Day’ on February 19^th to raise public awareness about the benefits of Open Government Data that will allow increased engagement and participation by citizens in the democratic process as well as provide new opportunities to develop meaningful public service applications. This inaugural ‘Hackathon’ should be of interest to all those concerned about improving political governance and accountability in the country including local government officials, public representatives, concerned voters, community activists and social web-developers.”

Stamps: Celebrating Space Technology & Exploration

On display in the museum will be a large collection of hundreds of stamps from the late 1950s onwards that celebrate the history of space technology. The exploration of space inspired many of humanity’s greatest inventions and feats of modern engineering. These triumphs include communications satellites, telemetry, earth observation monitoring, weather forecasting, rockets, space stations, harnessing solar energy, heat insulation, fuel cells and water purification systems.

The historical stamps from many different countries cover themes associated with the space programmes of the United States and the Soviet Union during the 1950s-1980s period

There will also be a selection of 1960s comic and toys associated with the classic era of science fiction.

Barack Obama & the 'Sputnik' moment

Governments across the world are endeavouring to develop sustainable smart economies in order to guarantee futures for their citizens in a world experiencing climate change, recessions, depletion of natural resources and unprecedented population growth. Developing countries such as China and India are now investing heavily in teaching science and mathematics in order to move their economies away from being just low-cost producers of consumer goods to becoming hubs of innovation. In the USA, President Obama’s recent State of the Union speech concentrated on how the American people need to face up to their “Sputnik moment” by emulating a previous generation who responded to the Soviet Union’s success in space exploration, typified by the launch of ‘Sputnik’ the world’s first satellite, by prioritising science education and research thereby spawning inventions that would provide the jobs and new clean technologies needed to positively transform society and the global environment.

Ireland & Galway Need to Utilise Natural & Human Resources To Secure a Sustainable Future

Ireland and particularly Galway possess critical traits and resources that could allow us to become an important dynamic player in providing key services and products in a fast changing world.

Our geographical location gifts us with an inexhaustible supply of renewable energies.

The country is second only to the famed ‘Silicon Valley’ as a global centre of Information Communication Technologies with seven of the top ten companies located here, many engaged in research and development. State funding through the Science Foundation of Ireland (SFI) has led to the establishment of internationally acclaimed third level centres of scientific excellence including biomedical and computing, many located in NUI Galway, which have acted as magnets in attracting in some of the best scientists on the planet. This combination of human and natural resources, and of indigenous and multi-national businesses gives Ireland the opportunity to invent the technologies of the future

The full programme of Engineers Week events at DERI can be viewed at www.engineersireland.ie