Danny Boy
by Daniel O'CarrollRSS 
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- 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
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Irish students are up in arms after education minister Ruairi Quinn yesterday backtracked on a promiseto campaign against any increase in college fees by refusing to rule out such an increase, and confirming that the registration fee would rise by €500 ($720).
It's been a busy few days here in Cork.
Just fourty-eight hours after the Queen and Duke headed back to England after their final stop-off here, Cork and its little airport are back in the headline news again, this time after a crazed man hijacked a police jeep, broke through the airport perimeter fence, and almost managed to drive the vehicle into a departing Aer Lingus passenger jet, before tragedy was averted when the fire service vehicle he changed into broke down after striking a luggage truck.
It's a fairly dramatic news story in its own right (the policeman in charge of the jeep was slashed in the face with a knife prior to the hijacking), but even more dramatic I think are the questions that need to be asked of the Gardai in light of this incident, which is a real rarity in Ireland.
The five day state visit of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh to Ireland was a true coming-of-age moment for Ireland, and the undoubted beginnings of a new era of cooperation between the independent state and its closest neighbour.
That may sound like a variation on an endlessly repeated theme that's been coming out of the Irish media for the past three weeks, but the surprising thing is that it actually seems to be true.
The Queen's reception in Cork today was for me (disclaimer: a Corkman) the culmination of her five day visit here.
One of the issues I've heard discussed a lot recently in the Irish media is the issue of Irish students' record-breaking enrollment in higher education courses, and the possibility that this constitutes a bubble in the making. We all know what happened the Irish property market, but could Ireland's third level sector also be facing an implosion from over-enrollment and under-funding?
Apparently some think so. Whether referred to as the 'higher education bubble', the third level 'funding crisis', or some other way of denoting imminent financial meltdown at Ireland's universities and institutes of technology, there seems to be a rising crescendo of voices in the Irish media and academia claiming that Ireland's third level sector can't be sustained if current enrollment figures and minimal funding continue.
Today's historical visit of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh began with a monumental wreath-laying ceremony at the Garden of Remembrance this afternoon, but those watching the state broadcaster's day-long coverage of the State trip could be forgiven that Ireland was a country comprised almost solely of army personnel, plain-clothes detectives, and a press corps.
The trip has necessitated the largest security operation that the Irish State has ever seen, with even elite former SAS soldiers also being drafted into to protect the Queen's safety during her five day trip, but the precautions taken have even gone so far as to ensure that no member of the public not officially involved with the itinerary get within fourty feet of the monarch -- at all times.
(Note: 'Danny Boy' hasn't been updated a while as I'm currently finishing my final university exams in UCC, but I intend to get back to updating it regularly from now on.)
An interesting fracas going on in Irish academia at the moment involves the embattled president of Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT), a small Irish higher education provider, and a bunch of incredibly ridiculous expenses which he has incurred while furnishing his presidential office, and hosting guests.
(Note: 'Danny Boy' hasn't been updated a while as I'm currently finishing my final university exams in UCC, but I intend to get back to updating it regularly from now on.)
An interesting fracas going on in Irish academia at the moment involves the embattled president of Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT), a small Irish higher education provider, and a bunch of incredibly ridiculous expenses which he has incurred while furnishing his presidential office, and hosting guests.
