The Prime Minister who oversaw the collapse of Ireland’s Celtic Tiger economy has gone back to college in America – to learn how to become a good manager.
Former Irish PM Brian Cowen has embarked on a $58,000 executive programme at Stanford University in California.
The Irish Mail on Sunday reported that Cowen has enrolled on the course as he comes to terms with the end of his political life.
The paper quoted sources as saying the six week long course in America has offered Cowen an ‘escape’ from the ‘terrible’ verbal abuse he regularly encounters back in Ireland.
In a follow-up report in Monday’s Irish Times, other sources close to Cowen have insisted that the former PM, beneficiary of a pension worth at least $5million over his lifetime, is paying his own way in the States.
Despite earlier suggestions in the Mail that the government body Enterprise Ireland may be assisting with Cowen’s college fees, his friend said the Offaly man is funding the course himself.
“It’s a personal thing,” the source told the Irish Times, while Enterprise Ireland confirmed it had no connection with the course.
A spokesman insisted: “The Enterprise Ireland leadership for growth programme is totally separate and aimed at chief executives and chief financial officers of Irish companies aiming for global expansion.”
The report also says that Cowen’s course at the Stanford Graduate School of Business involves a ‘general management curriculum’ customised to the needs of senior executives working in global companies, government agencies, and non-profit organisations.
The Mail reported that Cowen is a student in the Executive Education Programme, which includes a range of courses and features prestigious speakers such as Condoleezza Rice.
Friends told the paper that Cowen intends to use the summer study programme to ‘work towards something else’ and maybe ‘return to public life’.
Cowen, 52, refused to comment when he was approached by the paper while leaving morning lectures last Friday.
He said: “I’m not doing any interviews, I’m here on a private matter.”
Cowen’s Fianna Fáil party, via a spokesman, said he was a private citizen, the issue was not a party matter, and it would make no comment.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.dingle999 | Jul 12, 2012, 05:06 AM EDT
WoundedKnee you are just an ignorant Tea Party hack. Take an ignorant pathetic Yankee seriously when he talking about our country....nah I rather puke. Keep your racist/intolerant views in your own country do not attempt to export them to our country
WoundedKnee | Jul 12, 2012, 02:55 AM EDT
Isn't it weird how some Irish posters, such as ciaradexy, sirpeter and now dingle, put forward "I am Irish" as the only reason we should take their opinions seriously? Guys, Ireland has just as high a percentage of fools and dopes as any other country--you three provide specific examples. Why not try to argue with rationality and logic rather than petulantly screaming "I demand you take me seriously, I am Irish"?
dingle999 | Jul 11, 2012, 04:49 PM EDT
"You yourself can't even rub two words together in Irish. Shame on you." WoundedKnee aka GeorgeRedmond aka sillyYankee at least I am Irish
WoundedKnee | Jul 11, 2012, 01:02 PM EDT
dingle: You're right. They speak more Irish in Georgia than do the hypocrites and professional gaeilgeoiri (the ones who have their hands out for government subventions) in your dumpy Dingle! You yourself can't even rub two words together in Irish. Shame on you.
dingle999 | Jul 11, 2012, 08:35 AM EDT
Thanks ciaradexy for the info... He is from Georgia that explains everything :)) They probably speak Irish in their sleep there....
IrelandNorth | Jul 11, 2012, 07:55 AM EDT
Is this not a case of locking the stable when the horse has bolted. A case of retrospective requalification to learn what one should have done contemporanously but didn't because they couldn't. That career politicians needn't be qualified says a lot about the state of the state. Despite being a qualified accountant, I fear Brian was used by the Mé-Féiner soldiers of fortune within the Failed Fianna as someone naive enough to manipulate. Bertie was devious and cunning enough to jump ship when he intuited everything was going to go pearshaped. One question remains unanswered. Who exactly in Dáil Éireann did Beverly Flynn sell National Irish Bank (NIB) tax avoidant Caymen Islands offshore investments products to?
ciaradexy | Jul 11, 2012, 07:54 AM EDT
Dingle, WoundedKnee is indeed American. Hes from Savannah in Georgia. He also goes by the name George Dillon on this iste and on the Indo site hes Kev408. A mate of mine from Argentina who has been living here 8 years is getting her Irish citizenship on the 30th. We are gonna have some party! She has contributed more to Ireland in 8 years than George has during his holidays here.
dingle999 | Jul 10, 2012, 03:22 PM EDT
WoundedKnee you probably lived in the Blasket Islands in a tent for two days talking to the birds there... You are an American with 'some' Irish genealogy.. For us real Irish that does not make you a 'pure' Irish person. You were born and reared (and you have the same opinions as the racist Tea Party) in America... You are indeed a conservative American. Oh now you slagging off the people of the Dingle Peninsula Eamonn ó Cuiv would be proud of you... And idiot I spent 5 years in secondary school learning Irish - looks like you went to public school in America your comprehension skills are very low... I have a new name for you 'Bill "the Butcher" Cutting'.. Funny you are a Gaelic nativist yet you do not live in my country and to boot you are a foreigner... Seriously next time you are in Ireland come down to Dingle and state the people of Dingle are frauds... Anyway Slainte Foreigner I am going out now to listen to some good Irish trad music in the Irish town I live... you cannot do that as yourself reside in a foreign country.. but wait it is foreign to me but to you it is HOME. See you Yankee if you are up late I give you a report on the trad music ...
WoundedKnee | Jul 10, 2012, 12:14 PM EDT
dingle999: Not only have I lived in Ireland, I am an Irish citizen. I'll wager I know a lot more about Ireland than you do, judging by the level of your contributions here. And I represent the views of approximately 70% of my fellow-citizens, because that's about the number who express opposition to the settlement of their country by foreign migrants on the rare occasions that they are consulted about this. You're in the minority, you have a right to your racist opinions supporting unlimited colonization of Ireland by foreigners, but have some respect for the majority of Irish people. As to your inability in Irish, turns out I was quite right in my initial diagnosis--you live in an area that quite falsely claims to be Irish-speaking in order to get government hand-outs, yet you can't speak a word of the language. Mo naire thu, a chladhaire.
Maggie47 | Jul 10, 2012, 10:24 AM EDT
wow, this is good entertainment! Love the Americans here in Connemara.
dingle999 | Jul 10, 2012, 09:22 AM EDT
WoundedKnee - You are an American right ? Have you ever LIVED in Ireland Yes or No ? . (you can plead the 5th Amendment ) No comment on what I wrote "You are like the racist character from the film 'Gangs of New York' who despised emigrants (including the Irish) coming off the boats in New York .. WoundedKnee.. you are so pathetic I had to learn Irish for my Junior/Leaving Certificate... Next time you are in Dingle on a holiday let's meet up .. myself and the locals need some good comedy... Please tell me you do not talk like Sarah Palin
WoundedKnee | Jul 10, 2012, 09:03 AM EDT
What a ludicrous piece of work you are, dingle. What's this about Muslims? I never mentioned Muslims, you crazy racist. Or did my reference to Palestinians confuse you? I guess you're too ignorant to know that a lot of Palestinians are Christian, though regardless of Christian or Muslim, the sad state of the Palestinians shows what happens to a people who are supplanted in their ancient homeland by foreign settlers. How long have you been living in Dingle? How come you never went to the bother of learning some Irish? You're some sad advertizement for "multiculturalism", can't even write a sentence in Irish. And what the hell does Australian Immigration policy have to do with Ireland? You show your utter ignorance in this, too, since Australian immigrration policy is far stricter than is the the Open Door policy that the corrupt Fianna Failers (your slumlord buddies) implemented in Ireland.
dingle999 | Jul 10, 2012, 08:43 AM EDT
WoundedKnee calling me a clown now.. You are an American right ? Have you ever LIVED in Ireland Yes or No ? . You are like the racist character from the film 'Gangs of New York' who despised emigrants (including the Irish) coming off the boats in New York ... ------------ "I bet he's one of the English-speakers who have settled the gaeltacht area and refused to learn the language of the people." Now you are the liar and an ignorant idiot and I live in the town .. the locals would get a great laugh listening to you... "People like dingle have almost killed the Irish language in Corcha Dhuibhne" Another lie ... all the young people have emigrated... and foreigners (like you ) from America brought summer houses in the region ... I bet you cannot stand Muslims/ foreigners in your own country.. You have issues... please keep your sad twisted views of Ireland to yourself... BTW what about all the Irish who are currently allowed into Australia ? Yep in your eyes they should all be deported.. I like the Irish you typed... Google Translation is indeed great but it does not make you Irish
dingle999 | Jul 10, 2012, 08:12 AM EDT
Dingle doesn't understand the relevance of my ID. Lol - amadán .. I am a very left wing liberal .. BTW amadan there is no mass migration to Ireland .. Who the ** want to come here ? there is mass emigration of young people leaving Ireland. If I am 'dopey' God Know what that make you.. BTW in relation to Palestine .. go and complain to your Congressman.. US policy towards Israel has a blame for the situation
WoundedKnee | Jul 10, 2012, 07:48 AM EDT
Dingle doesn't understand the relevance of my ID. Wounded Knee was an event that showed what can happen to a people which is unable to resist Mass Immigration into its territories. Dopey dingle doesn't get that. Let me put it simply for you. If you think Mass Immigration is a good idea, dingle, ask an American Indian. Or a Palestinian.
WoundedKnee | Jul 10, 2012, 07:44 AM EDT
Dingle999 thinks "foreigner" is some kind of offensive word. Look, you clown, we're all foreigners in just about every country--save one or two--in the world. In my case, I'm a foreigner (no parentheses, you clown) everywhere except the USA and Ireland. As to your claim that living in Ireland means you can't be a liar, you may peddle that garbage elsewhere, but not here, please. In the present case you accused a poster of being a liar because he had pointed to the huge cost (he actually underestimates it) of Mass Immigration to Ireland. You made no effort to offer alternative figures, all you are capable of is empty insult. The Mass Immigration project suited you and your corrupt buddies in Fianna Fail, but Irish workers got nothing out of it. And now they're paying the price: --Huge costs to the Irish state in the shape of free education for the children of migrants, free housing in many cases, welfare when they don't work, welfare payments for each of the children of those Eastern Europeans, even if they have never set foot in Ireland or don't exist, translation/interpretation costs, prison places (every prisoner in an Irish jail costs over $50k a year--one prisoner in three is a foreign migrant) etc. etc. As to dingle living in what used to be an Irish-speaking area, I bet he's one of the English-speakers who have settled the gaeltacht area and refused to learn the language of the people. People like dingle have almost killed the Irish language in Corcha Dhuibhne. Just like the other migrants and settlers in that region, such as the Russian who objected to learning Irish in Dingle a couple of years back. I was on Inis Mor last year, and I was struck by the number of Poles working there. I addressed several of them in Irish, to be greeted by just a stupid state or grin. Sin é díreach an freagra a thabharfadh an pleidhce seo dingle dom dá gcuirfinn caint air trí Ghaeilge.
dingle999 | Jul 10, 2012, 06:42 AM EDT
WoundedKnee calling me a liar and I live in Ireland ... First off idiot ever heard of Anglo Irish Bank ? WTF are you talking about "the cultural destruction of Ireland" ? Are you talking about American TV programmes broadcast on Irish Television. BTW I live in the Dingle Peninsula so I know a lot more about Irish culture than you...Cowen /FF are idiots.. they let the banks conned them thus we as a nation have to pay off 60 Billion Euros in debt.. WoundedKnee you sound like a member of the Tea Party please keep their looney politics out of Irish politics..at least we do not have those nutcases here ... BTW I love your nick 'WoundedKnee' and look what the 'foreigners' did to the Native Americans etc
WoundedKnee | Jul 10, 2012, 02:36 AM EDT
dingle999: What's with putting the word FOREIGNER in parentheses? Do you think everyone who sets foot in Ireland is Irish? What nonsense. And are you a paid-up member of Fianna Fail? You have some nerve posting here. Your party brought ruin to Ireland, even while its capos are leading the high life. Now you attack seanmor's post, yet you are unable to refute it. Clown. Technically seanmor is right that Cowen didn't "establish" the Mass Immigration policy, it was Ahern who was leader when that happened. But Cowen did institute the Open Door policy to migrants and settlers from Eastern Europe, at a time when most other European countries put it on the long finger. The result? Huge costs to the Irish state in the shape of free education for the children of those migrants, free housing in many cases, welfare when they don't work, welfare payments for each of the children of those Eastern Europeans, even if they don't exist, translation/interpretation costs, prison places (every prisoner in an Irish jail costs over $50k a year--one prisoner in three is a foreign migrant) etc. etc. Not to mention the cultural destruction of Ireland as the unique homeland of the Irish people. So it's you, dingle999 who is the liar.
angrypaddy | Jul 10, 2012, 01:02 AM EDT
Its very unlikely he be sober enough to finish the coarse,i have it on good athority that he was blind drunk when he signed the bank guarantee,also he owes a fortune for a block of flats he bought in Leeds to Anglo that he has no intention of paying back
dingle999 | Jul 09, 2012, 11:05 PM EDT
Seanmor - are you a Troll ? Please stop posting lies in relation to 'foreigners' living in Ireland... The financial mess Ireland is is due to the Banks/the Property Bubble
Seanmor | Jul 09, 2012, 04:56 PM EDT
Former Taoiseach Cowen should NOT be held solely responsible for the Irish state's current economic mess. In 2009 foregners 'on the dole' cost the Irish state €400 million (about a half a billion dollars). Cowen didn't establish his state's ultra liberal immigration policy. Irish natives, not immigrants, legal and illegal, should always come before foreigners, regardless of which party or parties are in control in the Dáil.
Towngate | Jul 09, 2012, 03:08 PM EDT
'BIFFO' is paying $58k for a six week course ~ the clownen has clearly learned nothing since destroying the Irish economy. He will be jeered and derided for the rest of his ~ life and all he needs to avoid that is a pair of $2 earplugs. If he dares attempt a return to 'Public Life' - outside jail,that is, - he better return all the salary, Severance and Pensions he is receiving from his disgraceful time 'in Office'.
ciaradexy | Jul 09, 2012, 12:39 PM EDT
Citizen, German unemployment is at 7.1%.
oldboreen | Jul 09, 2012, 12:14 PM EDT
This has got to be true. You couldn't possibly make it up!
CitizenWhy | Jul 09, 2012, 10:46 AM EDT
He's going to learn three main things ... 1. How to apply neo-liberal economics (laissez-faire capitalism) to everything, including the government of Ireland. Oh, wait, that 's what he did when in office, plus cronyism, of course but that's part of the US laissez-faire system - loot the government to enrich yourself, otherwise screw it. ... 2. Numbers crunching and quantitative analysis, a real skill, but usable for bad end when enforcing certain things like "austerity" and "maximizing shareholder value by minimizing labor, jobs, wages." ... 3. Trickle down policies, making sure all the wealth flows upward to a few through tax breaks and other privileges extended only to the rich. The fact that nothing trickles down does not disturb the trickle downers, since you also learn to live with ambiguity (and contradiction) at these programs. ... Years ago my Uncle in Ireland went to Harvard for this. He found the constant preaching about how "You're all going to be very, very, very rich" disturbing. No concern for the common good and middle class prosperity. ... This training could position Brian C to be hand-picked by the German bankers to rule Ireland in their interest. Of course Ireland could learn a lot from Germany, especially how to create full employment.
michaelidaho | Jul 09, 2012, 10:24 AM EDT
At least he recognized his weaknesses and that his management skills needed some serious improvement.
greensod | Jul 09, 2012, 10:01 AM EDT
He is a little late.Possibly he may learn that he should return all of the tax payers money he acquired.Just after he is released from prison.
bear022013 | Jul 09, 2012, 09:39 AM EDT
Agree with Wounded Knee..throw in a carjacking too. The suffering those fools caused..he and others. 5 million??
Murph46 | Jul 09, 2012, 09:33 AM EDT
WoundedKnee-You are probably right about him but why has no one gone after Anglo Irish Bank officials ,they lost 31 Billion Euro's!
WoundedKnee | Jul 09, 2012, 09:13 AM EDT
Too bad this jerk is going to go back to Ireland, he and his ilk ruined the country. Couldn't he get a job in some McDonalds in the Bay Area?