Danny Boy
by Daniel O'CarrollRSS 
Recent Posts
- National hero Donal Walsh loses battle with cancer - teen's optimism and courage inspired thousands
- Irish professor with multiple sclerosis Marie Fleming loses landmark right-to-die case in Irish Supreme Court
- Irish government cracks down on scam motorists - stamp out loopholes to scrub penalty points
- Terminally ill Irish teen Donal Walsh makes emotional plea to end youth suicide - VIDEO
- Drunk Irish teen charged with threatening to kill Guyanan president - 17-year-old told bodyguards he'd like to shoot Donald Ramotar
Archives
One of the much under-noticed trends in the history of Ireland's traditionally conservative and State-dominated media is the emergence of a number of exciting and user-generated websites that are challenging the Brian Dobson/Six One News style of reporting that's been lulling Irish audiences into a dinner-time coma for years, and offering a new and exciting take on the nation's tumultuous political and current affairs.
Among the several recent startups I've recently noticed in this category, Newswhip, TheJournal.ie, and Joe.ie stand out as good examples of this new media Zeitgeist that's putting the power of expression back into the hands of the Irish media consumer and out of the boardrooms of Donnybrook, where Ireland's main State-sponsored broadcaster is based.
The future of compulsory Irish-language education is now hanging in doubt after opposition parties Fine Gael and Labour have confirmed that they're planning to follow different stances on the controversial issue in the lead-up to the recently announced general election.
Currently the teaching of Irish - Gaeilge in the native tongue - is compulsory right up to and including the Leaving Certificate, Irish high schools' finishing exam which is broadly equivalent to the College Board SATs.
