52 Comments

• hermitTalker | May 12, 2012, 12:14 PM EDT

  AmAZING that Mr Kenny did a US-presidential style national TV braodcast to tell the people they were not responsible for the huge bailout. Then on TV later in Brussles he blamed the peoples' wild spending. His handlers tried to "correct" that. SO, with all the leaks, corrections and broken election promises and fumbled handling of the water, budget and health care who really gives a rat's bum about what any of them says.

• faberm1 | Jan 30, 2012, 10:01 AM EST

  @MB Dublin: Why don't you come over here and spend some Euros with us. We've spent far more in Ireland than you have here. Turn-around is fair play. And try coming somewhere other than Disney world, Chicago, New York, or San Francisco. We need your money as much down south.

• IrelandNorth | Jan 30, 2012, 08:30 AM EST

  "The Irish thrive on blaming everyone for their woes[!]" Was that why Enda Kenny, being Irish, blamed citizens for over-borrowing from over-lending bankers, from which Govts. rewarded themselves 16% salary increases from a booming economy. Kenny! Blame your banker cronies.

• timmy45 | Jan 30, 2012, 12:34 AM EST

  typo , DAVOS , (NOT DEAP);

• timmy45 | Jan 30, 2012, 12:28 AM EST

  not totally agreeable with your standard report, Kenny ought to have known how much distance he put from mentioning his 'theory' to the general audience , as in Deap Switzerland 'far across the Sea', to the Island of Ireland . Kenny sits like ' Lord Muck ' over his 'peepel',testing the waters for ripple effect , Phil Hogan is then left to skutter the Irish version as if we needed him to decipher the words we heard and the meaning of Kenny;470,000 unemployed, misery everywhere,marriages going along the yellow brick road towards a brick wall of corruption with the legal fraternity at an all time high , civil serpants expecting and receiving massive pensions coupled with hugh 'Fat Kat' ''see ya when i see ya chickens knecks'', try and get a straight reply to and honest question from any government department is a joke , Irish People being hounded off the Dole/ being denied their weekly benefits pre paid for in their work contributions,Houses not worth a tuppeny you know what, etc , and Kenny goes and blabbers off to the World Press how the Irish 'peepel' are to blame for everything is not an uplifting stairway to heaven at all at all . Good afternoon , Good evening & Goodnight to all you Irish and Americans so far away , drop over sometime as we need your company and your dollars like never before . Thank You .MBDublin.

• PolinDeB | Jan 29, 2012, 10:05 PM EST

  And most people who bought a 400,000 house at the height of the Tiger are still paying it back if they can, despite everything. We were irresponsible and are paying for our over the top spending.. it's other peoples we object to.. ie the BANKS>.....

• PolinDeB | Jan 29, 2012, 10:03 PM EST

  Alright.. but where was Enda Kenny saying this before the crash? It is politicians jobs to tell people what we need to do to succeed, none of our politicians stood up against the Celtic Tiger bandwagon.. and for that they should all be shot ; )

• awoken32 | Jan 29, 2012, 08:34 PM EST

  Thats just the way it goes joycean,altleast you respected the that differance,differant strokes for differant fokes

• joycean | Jan 29, 2012, 07:21 PM EST

  In American English, middle class,educated Americans do not mispronouce "th." In America, pronounciation is an indication of what part of the country you are from, how well educated you are,and a lot about you. When I moved from Boston to Virginia, I found my Bostonian English could not be understood by my students, so I had to learn to pronouce "r's," which Bostonians do not pronounce in the middle and at the ends of words. My students could not understand my accent, so I had to consciously pronounce "r's." My daughter once pointed out to me that sometimes I exaggerate them and sometimes drop them; sometimes in the same word.

• awoken32 | Jan 29, 2012, 06:52 PM EST

  The only differance between fianna fail an fianna gael is,fianna gael are gettimg the bigger wage packet now,their agendas are identical,all lying cowtowing traitors to their people an cultures,they act like solicitors for the elites rather than patriotic leaders of their peoples,they will do what they are told to do aslong as THEIR big wage packets are not affected,now fianna fail are playing the opposition card,its all fake opposition infront of the cameras,they should all be disbanded as failed traitor political parties,there should be accountability on politics,we dont live in democracies at all,we live in dictatorships with the elites controlling everything from politics to education/indoctrination the presstitutes in the media,will the awakening of the masses happen before nuclear WW3 leading to their NWO,were the survivors will live in an orwellion nightmare science dictatorship reduced to human slaves,

• awoken32 | Jan 29, 2012, 06:39 PM EST

  the th mainly came about out of disrespect for the queens english as did a lot of the the curses an they just stuck,me myself i think its fkn top of the range lol,i love my irish broga,to the irish it couldnt be further from offensive language,and anyone that knows the irish know it to be the case,it has nothing to do with education its an irish thing

• seanomelbourne | Jan 29, 2012, 06:16 PM EST

  Your reference "only working class" Irish harden the "th" sound because of the lack of education is misguided and lacks an understanding of the Irish psyche.

• awoken32 | Jan 29, 2012, 05:54 PM EST

  alri ciara hope your keeping well

• joycean | Jan 29, 2012, 05:02 PM EST

  Gobdawpaddy, I am pretty sure that the "d" sound replacing "th" is a Dublin accent. I remember hearing it as a child growing up in Boston, usually used by working class Irish-Americans. So it actually made it to this country and was passed on for a generation or two in places like South Boston. I believe it actually comes from Irish-language speakers who were unfamiliar with the "th" sound. I've noticed that my Kerry relatives did not use it, but that might be because they were more educated.

• ciaradexy | Jan 29, 2012, 03:01 PM EST

  So Gobshite is now slagging the Irish accent and way of speaking? Im delighted you speak the Queens English better than us. Hope it makes you feel less Oirish and more Irish.

• awoken32 | Jan 29, 2012, 12:35 PM EST

  gobshitepaddy goes on to slags our politicans when his country gave the world goerge w bush lol,he couldnt even pronounce the countries that his army were murdering millions of innocent civilians,why do you even come to ireland man,you obviously do not belong amongst the decent irish people and give the ecent people in america a bad name,how ignorant can you get,everything you say wrong an small minded,by any chance are you related to G W BUSH lol

• sirpeter | Jan 29, 2012, 11:46 AM EST

  Gobshitepaddy again trying to rub his two brain cells together and one of THEM is on the blink.Americans spending trillions of dollars on war and war products and causing the death of millions of innocent ordinary people in their quest to control the worlds resources.This coming from a buffoon whose country has over 6.6 million violent crimes (murder, rape, assault and robbery) committed in the US each year.Over 9000 murders EVERY YEAR using fire arms alone.When you think about it the NI conflict with it's less then 4000 dead over 30 years.It's quite easy to see where the maniacs are living.Gobshite!!!In your face.We Irish use caps at times because with a retarded mentality like yours IC doesn't give us the option of pictures for dummies.It's just a pity the Irish Americans on this site haven't got the guts to put the likes of you in your place.There is a smell of a trouble maker Brit from ya more than anything else.So I'll treat ya like one.Tell me when you have enough of American politeness.I'll give you more.

• gobdawpaddy | Jan 29, 2012, 11:27 AM EST

  awoken32, I agree that the actions of dictators in Libya and Syria against their own citizens was/is appalling. Similarly crackdowns in Iran by their government are equally reprehensible, as are Israeli actions against the Palestinians. Bullies, one and all.

• RockNReel | Jan 29, 2012, 10:56 AM EST

  Gobbydawpaddy , its easy to see what side of the fence you are on and obviously you see Ireland through misty fogged over glasses. You probably read a lot about The Emerald Isle but obviously know very little facts about it otherwise you would not write the gibberish that you do.Firstly if you did know anything then you would not refer to Enda Kenny as Our Prime Minister--thats what they call the leader of the country in the Uk--not here. I'm sure you can look it up in Wikipedia or Google to find out what he is called in Ireland ? So , ordinary irish citizens lost the run of themselves by buying houses? are you sure the same did not happen in the USA ? And Spain? and lots of other countries. Your anti Irish bias shines through in every word you write. Why the large chip on your shoulder I wonder ? Whats the Irish education system got to do with anything . You live in a forgotten past of 50 years ago if you think we all sit in darkened rooms swilling bottles of whiskey and heading into town for some aggro--what planet do you live on I wonder? I would venture to guess that you never stood on Irish soil because if you did you would see a different reality.Even with our difficulties here right now we are still being hailed as a forward thinking country that is working its way out of recession and being put forward as a template for how other countries should be tackling this worldwide recession that every country including the USA finds themselves in.Why not pay us a visit some day and you will still see a country thats the envy of others and we are not letting the downturn get to us because the Irish have always refused to lie down and despite centuries of oppression we can still have a laugh--especially at clowns like yourself who don't know what you're talking about--only what you read in the papers and we all know the papers get it it right every time . I'm sure you would agree ?

• gobdawpaddy | Jan 29, 2012, 10:44 AM EST

  mamaginnty suggests in her early post that 'I run down the Irish'. mamaginnty, the Irish don't need any help from me. Just look at the 'contributions' from certain Ireland based posters here, you know who they are. Even in their writing they can't avoid foul language. There was a story here about 2 visiting mutants to Tennesee who cut down an american flag for 'de craic'. I encounter visitors from Ireland every summer in New York and LA. They embarrass your whole country with their use of the 'f' word, the 'c' word, the term 'bx' etc., no class. I tune into a quality Irish radio station most weekdays and appalled that so many people cannot pronounce 'th'. You have elected representatives such as Willie O'Dea, Kathleen Lynch etc. who can't do so. Willie was a lecturer at NIHE in Limerick. Michael Martin refers to 'tis morning and last year during your election he told you 'debates is important'. Of course BBertie spoke of 'dis and dat and doze'. I arrived in Ireland yesterday, sat next to a guy at the bar in my hotel last night and couldn't understand anything he said, I just nodded my head and laughed when he did. People worldwide know where 'stab city' is. Visitors to Ireland witness the litter, the pools of vomit and urine in your streets at night. Anybody who tunes into Jay Leno on NBC knows who 'the drunken moron' is. The mess in Ireland has featured on the front pages of the NY Times, WSJ and FT. The IMF are presently in Ireland monitoring your budget decisions.The IMF only go to countries where people are deemed too stupid to manage their own affairs. As I said, the Irish don't need any assistance from me in embarrassing themselves.

• awoken32 | Jan 29, 2012, 08:00 AM EST

  correct johnny111 or libya or syria or iran or palestine you name it a country not affected by the worlds bullies

• johnny111 | Jan 29, 2012, 07:47 AM EST

  Ask the people of Iraq who has the most aggression gombeen.

• gobdawpaddy | Jan 29, 2012, 07:20 AM EST

  Kennedy, I must commend your command of the english language.

• gobdawpaddy | Jan 29, 2012, 07:19 AM EST

  Ah Kennedy, the Irish education system surfaces its ugly head. Has there ever been a study done on why the Irish have this 'aggressive' gene, in their posts here or on their urban streets on weekends? It is very easy to distinguish between Irish American posters here from Ireland based 'contributors'. The former make, for the most part, polite, intelligent contributions to the debate, whereas the latter, again for the most part, present this 'get in your face' approach, utilizing capital letters to emphasize their aggression. One can almost picture them sitting in a dark, cold room, their fingers pounding the keyboard, bottle of whiskey by the side as they prepare to venture into town for some aggro.

• awoken32 | Jan 29, 2012, 04:48 AM EST

  an also mr allen what are you talking about the irish people blaming the catholic church,are you talking about the so-called holy order that has been purposley abusing an murdering in innocent children throughout the world?? even to this day they still will not deal with the problem,they do not represent god they represent the exact opposite,an then you even bring up the english???? my god you are a anti irish racist,the same english royal family that are responcible for the deaths millions of irish people in the holocaut of 1845,an covered it up as the english elite have always done,through british bribary an terrorism,its one the biggest lies in history,the famine lol,yeh there was a potato plight that spead from america in 1845 over here,but was not the cause of the deaths,the cause of the deaths was food which was took by the royals armies,the irish were starved to death,YOUR AN AROGENT PEICE OF WORL PAUL ALLEN,WITH YOUR DISGUSTING ANTI IRISH POST

• larryobrian | Jan 29, 2012, 04:35 AM EST

  Truth truth nothing but the truth

• awoken32 | Jan 29, 2012, 04:27 AM EST

  ive never read such total tripe before in my life,mr paul allen you do talk some rubbish like a true presstitute from the system,blaming the irish people an their so-called greed for the financial collapse,not a mention of the real culprits here THE BANKING ELITE,which deliberatley brought this recession on in order to centralise power an wealth for themselves,recessions are an always have been by desighn rather than mistake throughout history an thats no differant today,systems an advertising were brought into the target countries of the recessions to hoodwink the people into borrowing money through tractor mortages an so on,with the mostliy ignorant governments encouraging the people to borrow aswell,to blame the population for the totally corrupted system that are experts in the feild of manipulation is totally wrong an moreover not independant journalism,its the words of a repeater that knows nothing about reality

• sirpeter | Jan 28, 2012, 09:52 PM EST

  Those who were born from 1980 onwards cannot be at fault for the burst or blamed for over spending.Those people didn't know any better.By the time they were ten in 1990 that was the start of the Celtic tiger.I remember it well.From then on money was starting to become freely available.By the time we joined the Euro with cheap money available and the banks ringing and sending letters to everyone that you now have a pre-approved load of €100,000 or €150,000 and it's just waiting for you in the bank.They thought this was the way life was.The real problem was the loads were not stress tested and they almost forced loans on everyone.Those born around 1980 never had to do without in their teens.There inexperience was their downfall.They didn't think in a million years it was going to get this bad.Kenny said it wasn't the ordinary peoples fault.He was right the first time.The government was lied to by the banks on how bad things were when they guaranteed the unsecured bondholders.You don't have bad soldiers just bad leaders.I know plenty who didn't party all that much.They continued to spend within their means.

• barneyjo | Jan 28, 2012, 08:03 PM EST

  @georgedillon - "Blaming Irish people because they had to pay $400.000 in order to purchase a modest three-bedroom row house home for their families" Yeah, and then re-mortgaging those same properties in order to fund a lifestyle they could only otherwise dream of. Civil servants taking three, maybe four separate holidays during ONE summer vacation. Changing the car every year. Re-decorating every year. Shopping Trips to New York......the list of excess displayed by Irish people of ALL classes and creeds has been too well documented to be exaggerated or dreamt up. I saw it at first hand during the years of the Celtic Tiger and the boom. And what I still see are those same people still in denial that the "good times" are over and looking for ways to try to stop them from being over. Kenny like anyone else for that matter has a right to revisionism. I dont think even he realised just how bad things were when he came into office. Well, he does now I'm sure. And he should not baulk at telling the electorate just how bad it is, and how much worse it is likely to get. "No pain, is no gain" as the saying goes!!

• RockNReel | Jan 28, 2012, 04:38 PM EST

  The author of this piece comes across as an apologist for the crooks in government who brought our country to the ground while at the same time playing golf with the equally crooked bankers--proven fact !! The cronyism that was Fianna fail government was equal to the mafia scamming billions while at the same time protecting their Pals and crony's in Dirty banks. Most of these crooks are still walking free but the net is closing in some cases. Mr Allen who wrote this piece is either close to these politicians or alternatively he didn't bother doing any research for the article. otherwise how could he have got it so badly wrong ??

• RGLAWLESS | Jan 28, 2012, 04:31 PM EST

  Very poor analysis by IrishCentral. When Enda Kenny addressed the nation he told us that it wasn't our fault even though we would be paying the price for the mistakes made. He now tells the rest of the World that "we" partied. In doing so he insulted the majority of people in this country and lead the World to believe the stereotype of "the Irish". He gave a very superficial and ignorant answer to a complex question that would lead one to question his own understanding of the current situation. His government has over the last ten months lied, broken many promises and is failing to deliver the reform promised. The failings of this government lie at the Taoiseach's feet. It is invidious to be leader of a country which faces financial ruin. This does not mean that this country should tolerate any Taoiseach that does not appear able for the job.

• seanomelbourne | Jan 28, 2012, 03:56 PM EST

  I might add that transfering the guilt to the ordinary public just does'nt cut it.

• seanomelbourne | Jan 28, 2012, 03:52 PM EST

  Mr Allen should take a leaf out of his own book and cease using the middle class as scapegoats. He reads like an apologist for the right, greedy bankers,developers,bond holders and politicians who are responsible for the financial disaster.to blame the average Joe is dispicable.

• GeorgeDillon | Jan 28, 2012, 03:43 PM EST

  Is this columnist Allen new? I've never noticed him before. In any case what he writes is utter tripe. Blaming Irish people because they had to pay $400.000 in order to purchase a modest three-bedroom row house home for their families. Blaming Irish people because the Irish ruling class stoked the "Boom" by importing foreign workers to build houses to rent to foreign workers... Blaming Irish workers because now their taxes are going to pay welfare to these foreign workers and welfare parasites and their families, even those of their children (whether they exist or not) who have never even set foot in Ireland. Classic case of blame the victim. Garbage.

• Keynyata | Jan 28, 2012, 03:16 PM EST

  This is an appallingly stupid and badly written story.Mr.Allen is obviously the new breed of "journalist" who reads something elsewhere,then copies it down and claims it as his own. To say we all went mad borrowing and have only ourselves to blame for cruel taxes and levies on taxes we've already paid,is not where any blame should lay,and Kenny is a pathetic crawler to his Euro bosses to even suggest such a thing.We know where the fault lies,and it is not with the population of this so called republic.If this is the standard of newspaper journalism which is acceptable in the 21st century,then I fear the news of the anonymous blogger is just as legitimate.Any lie will do.Ethics in politics and truth in the news? - I don't think so.

• johnny111 | Jan 28, 2012, 02:47 PM EST

  So British invaded Ireland and its the Irish that caused it. Young boys and girls that were raped by priests well the children are to blame. Thats the worse bit of reporting I have ever read.

• supersurvivor77 | Jan 28, 2012, 02:46 PM EST

  CATHOLICABUSESURVIVORSNI.COM----enda kenny for the whitehouse, irelands hero.

• CaptainCon | Jan 28, 2012, 02:24 PM EST

  Were the Irish people involved in billions of euros in illegal share ramping in the case of Anglo-Irish Bank shares when Quinn threatened to dump the lot on the market? Where are the so-called 'Maple 10' investors now who were roped in by Drumm (since fled to Massachusetts and busy trying to go bankrupt while staying unofficially wealthy)? If anyone would like to check the European Union's Market Abuse Directive and then take another look at the 'Maple 10' surrpetitious operation to ramp Anglo shares then you'll soon realise wh o was 'partying'. And it wasn't Mrs Murphy down the road.

• cillowen | Jan 28, 2012, 02:00 PM EST

  this kenny is ill equipped to understand the dilemna that his party and Fianna Fail have and are causing. Under such leadership there is only one way - but to get the hell out of the asylum.

• kennedy23 | Jan 28, 2012, 01:43 PM EST

  gobdawpaddy farting hot air yet again!! you know nothing on Ireland or its people so shut your insulting mouth .as for sharpest knives in the drawer,you have to one thick bastard .

• gobdawpaddy | Jan 28, 2012, 01:41 PM EST

  Ma, in my post I was complimenting your prime minister for stating a truth. Yes there were others who were involved in a far greater way in Ireland's demise, but regular Irish citizens did lose the run of themselves investing in holiday homes, boats, property in places like Bulgaria, shares etc. Of course the people who funded this craziness are more to blame, as are your previous government who encouraged it all. Was there anything in my post that wasn't true?

• Searlit | Jan 28, 2012, 01:35 PM EST

  Portia777, is always at the ready to make mincemeat out the pompous postings made here. ;-)

• CaptainCon | Jan 28, 2012, 01:09 PM EST

  One other point- if there was 'mad borrowing' then it follows that there was 'mad lending' as one cannot have one without the other. Enda doesn't want to talk about that one sided equation of his.

• CaptainCon | Jan 28, 2012, 12:56 PM EST

  I think you will find that the 'we all partied' line thrown out by Brian Lenihan the notorious Irish liar is part of a deliberate PR ploy by the Irish political establishment to disguise the party backers among the 'developers' and 'wealth creators' who owe hundreds of millions and in some cases billions borrowed not because they were a young couple being encouraged to go to the limit and slightly beyond because they wanted a garden for the child they hoped to have- but because the party backers wanted to be billionaires at least on paper. Enda Kenny has simply picked up the baton from the greatest fraudster ever to sit in the Finance Minister's chair in an Irish Dail and run with it. It is a catholic guilt thing and is the Irish establishment's version of 'the little boys tempted us' and just as integrity filled. The developers/party funders got NAMA and salaries from that fraudulent piece of command economics for the 1% and the young couple get the blame. Guilt has always been a lever in Ireland for control and the politicians now replace the priests with their conrol and command language.

• irishpjk | Jan 28, 2012, 12:46 PM EST

  The real truth today is, Ireland is a puppet nation and our leaders dance when the strings are pulled in Brussels. Most of our people wanted this, to bad we did not think about it first.

• mamaginnty | Jan 28, 2012, 12:38 PM EST

  GobdowBaddy, every chance you get you try and run down the irish, Most irish that borrowed from a bank to build a home are still trying hard to pay that morgage back, but on top of that Kenny is making them pay bondholders who gambled and LOST. Plus making pensioners, disabled, etc etc. pay the gamblers. Ireland listened to lies up until voting day. Now people are beginning to pull them on the lies. Can't blame them for that. Governments never want you to know the truth on what they are up too, propaganda is what they fill you with. The lowest paid TD here is getting almost 200k. 90k plus 90k or more expenses. The only truth we have heard from him is things will get tough for the People, but he should have added " but not for us in government, we give ourselves a rise every couple of months " Paul Allen get a life, I dare you to change your story just a little, say American People instead of irish, then read what comments you get. Shame on You. We the people are paying for billionaire gamblers from America England Germany, you name a billionaire and we are paying for his losses.

• joycean | Jan 28, 2012, 12:35 PM EST

  My experience is that both individuals and governments can overspend. A few years ago, people in this country were being urged to buy things they could do without: houses and cars they could barely afford, designer handbags, on and on. I realize government can overspend vastly more, but losing your house can be a personal tragedy. And when all the foreclosures and the bankruptcies are added up, they represent a significant amount.

• SeamusMor | Jan 28, 2012, 11:15 AM EST

  Kenny is wrong. Irish lenders, themselves borrowers, not the people, went mad with their lending. After lending the people more than they could pay, they couldn't pay back what they had borrowed, and then turned to the government to bail them out. The Irish politicians were forced into the Troika bail out because by not going along they ran the risk of losing the source of funding for their multi-billion euro annual operating deficits. If anyone is to be blamed, it should be the banking regulators, for allowing the bubble to be created in the first place. Portia777 makes one good point: the people should take power. How to do it? Referendums to replace the majorities of elected representatives to make law and policy, with the majority of the people, voting through the Internet, to make law and policy. "Representatives" have represented their contributors, not their constituents, with the result that laws and policies reflect the sum of special interests, not the common good. The path to true people power and real democracy leads through the ballot box.

• Portia777 | Jan 28, 2012, 10:03 AM EST

  We Irish had our sovereignity taken in the past,now it is up to all of us to take it back. Go to TaRa and simply take the power back. The power on the physical plain is not the real power.

• Portia777 | Jan 28, 2012, 10:01 AM EST

  it is not the people at the bottom of the money pyramid who are at fault anyway. Money is simply paper but the elite give it value and make it "legal", but if Joe Ireland printed paper it would be deemed illegal. Why? Same paper.

• Portia777 | Jan 28, 2012, 09:58 AM EST

  Most of the people on the planet cannot handle the truth. Lots of truth to surface soon, then let us see that no nation is capable of handling truth. Pitting nations against each other is PATRIARCHY at its best- divide and conquer- the minds of men do it daily.

• gobdawpaddy | Jan 28, 2012, 08:41 AM EST

  'The Irish thrive on blaming others for their woes. We blame the British, the Catholic Church and just about anyone else that saves us from embracing collective responsibility for our own missteps. But it is high time for people to grow up'. Paul, you are spot on, but wait for it, you are in for a deluge of criticism from the usual Irish based mutants that vist this site. There is a famous line from the Jack Nicholsan movie 'A Few Good Men', 'you can't handle the truth' and it is very applicable to the Irish. The Irish electorate have repeatedly voted for people such as Martin Cullen, Bertie Ahern aka the clown in the closet, BIFFO aka the drunken moron, Mary Coughlan,Conor Lenihan, Willie O'Dea. They were aware Charlie Haughey was a crook, but still voted for him. In any other jurisdiction, the Healy-Rae's would be regarded as a circus act, but this is what the people of South Kerry choose as representative of them. When everything went pear shaped in Ireland, they blamed it on 'dem Layman brudders', while I would suggest that the majority who were doing so, thought Lehman Brothers was a couple of lads in upstate New York. Then there were the bar stool economists whose solution was 'burn de bondholders' most with no clue as to what a bondholder is, or the consequences of defaulting. Enda Kenny's comments were a little insensitive, but he was dead right. Irish people borrowed money right, left and center during 'Bertie's Fairy Tale' aka The Celtic Tiger. They are not the sharpest knives in the drawer, yet as Enda has discovered, you daren't allude to that.