After Gabriel Byrne slammed The Gathering it emerges he ran up $20,000 in expenses as cultural ambassador

Oh all of these crap articles 'slamming' Gabriel just because of what he said about "The Gathering" just because government people are embarrassed because as an actor Gabriel is more "for the people" than they themselves can ever be-a bunch of jealous MF's the government sounds like just because they're greedy and he's not! Hahaha..Go Gabriel-prove the government wrong! I say kudos to Gabriel on everything! Since-one knows damn well that Gabriel was not the only one behind the cultural movement-and there were others involved who ran the damn bill up-not just Gabriel himself!

spoirtfest, for me it's not about the financial rip-off. It's about the cultural rip-off. The government dumped writer, actor, brilliant cultural doyen, IRISH Gabriel Byrne and brought in millionaire American CEOs like Denis Swanson, President of Fox Broadcasting Company, instead. There are plenty of devotees of Fox TV who post at Irish Central. They are Obama haters with little regard for facts and much regard for "white America," and they worship at the altars of the cult of prosperity. I hope Ireland makes MANY MILLIONS, or BILLIONS of Euro off them! But the thought of attending a gathering that caters to such people scares the expletive deleted out of ME. So tell me please, in just one sentence if you can, what kind of "cultural experience" has the group of millionaires designed for The Gathering? Why should someone who's not an arch-conservative, culturally insular, wealthy member of the Diaspora in the USA attend it?

Its very disappointing to hear so many dissenting voices. I head up a volunteer led group and we are working our socks off to put on events for The GAthering, because gimmicky marketing ploy or not, we need to be doing something positive for ourselves over here and working together as a community and interacting with cousins, families and friends abroad, and hopefully meeting many of them too, is a great fillup for the soul. Of course it is unfortunate that some business will take the mickey out of it, but out of interest how fair are New York hotels for instance at New Years or in the run up to the marathon? And how often do you think the Dublin hotels have jacked up their prices on All-Ireland weekends, fleecing us Cork folk for many a year in recent decades. It is the nature of the beast in every City in the world. And in our case, we will be deliberately offering up college accommodation centres as ideal places to stay and we've asked them if they wish to partner with us, to not change their prices, so a lot of us are concious of not fleecing anyone. Regardless of the optics outside of Ireland, and regardless of Mr Byrnes comments, The Gathering initiative, for all its flaws, is the only, single positive initiative for Joe Public to have a hand in and take pride in over here, which is a damning indictment of the Government, but nonetheless, and seeing those effort ridiculed and mocked by those who aren't on the ground over here is incredibly disheartening. So you know what, anyone who would like to visit next year, but is afraid of being ripped off, book your flights and turn up at my door and i will make sure you have a free bed and good grub for the duration of your stay.

I'm glad Gabriel Byrne said what he did. It definitely needed to be pointed out and it's good the Gathering is being shown as the corny ad-campaign it represents. I'm bummed all the same that I'm one of the many, many Irish-Americans who has never been to Eire and probably will never be able to afford to go.

Once when I was an unpaid volunteer in Ireland, I needed a medical exam for a license application. The doctor refused to take the usual 25 Euro fee from me because I was working unpaid. And the Dublin hotels wouldn't even cut their rates for an unpaid ambassador? How much has the government paid to host 100's of business people for Global Economic Forum meetings at Farmleigh, Buenos Aries, etc.? And how much return has Ireland had on Gabriel Byrne's unpaid work? Millions in revenue plus priceless good will, I'd guess.

I've been going to Ireland 3 to 4 times each year since 1984 and lived there between 1979 and 1984. Gabriel Byrne is quite correct, indeed. American Tourists have always been viewed as cash cows and were actively preyed upon by unscrupulous hoteliers throughout Ireland. And, it really got out of hand during the so called boom years of the tiger. These "bad egg" hotels deserved to fall by the wayside since the crash of ' 08. Half the hotels in Ireland are empty and the other half are on the verge of collapse. If "The Gathering" brings "yanks" back to Eire, the locals had better be fair and true as beggars can't be choosey and this can serve as a chance for redemption. So, take heed all ye money grabbing bed owners and shop keepers, wise up and consider the future of your business's and your country.

Ireland is a rip off and the prices described prove Gabriel is right.

I don't think this article is really helping the gathering redeem itself by showing how expensive the hotels in Dublin are. You know, I kind of agree with Gabriel Byrne here - why else would they be doing this if not to bring money into the country, and it would be very surprising if prices didn't go up.... Scam/opportunity - as a visitor, I'd see the high prices as a scam but I'm sure that the hoteliers etc. and the government would see it as an 'opportunity'. I say fair play to Gabriel for calling them on it.

the quislings are even devouring themselves

D'oibrigh an fear seo tuirse gan stad gan pá ar son na hÉireann an bhliain sin go léir. Ar chóir dó codladh ar an tsráid? Ní hé a locht é go mbíonn óstáin i mBÁC chomh daor sin. Cinnte gur eitil sé "sa chéad rang". Ar chóir dó eitilt i gcóiste le gach tuarasóir ag iarraidh síniú uaidh gan stad do shé uair an chloig? Tabhair dom briseadh. Rinne an fear seo jab iontach. Is bualtrach an t-alt seo. This man worked for Ireland tirelessly non-stop without pay for that entire year. Was he supposed to sleep in the street? Is it his fault hotels in Dublin are so expensive? Was he supposed to fly coach with every tourist asking for his autograph non-stop for six hours? Gimme a break. This man did a great job. This article is bualtrach.

Regardless of that,is there anyone who will dispute the point I made on this issue-There is not an Airline,Car Rental,Hotel ,or B&B that won't raise their rates to gouge visitors?