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Ireland Calling


Ireland Calling

by John Spain
John doesn't mince words, and uses the unminced words to talk about Ireland's problems.

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Posted on Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 09:18 AM


The Irish World War II shame - Irish soldiers faced hostility after arriving home

This week we're going to give you a break from the mind-numbing economics and politics of the euro crisis and the referendum here on the Fiscal Compact Treaty.  It will be unavoidable  next week in the run up to the vote in Ireland on May 31, so make the most of your time off!

So this week we will ignore all that euro stuff.  There also happens to be a good reason for switching the focus this week because it gives us the chance to take a look at an important new book which was published in Dublin on Tuesday, May 22.  



Posted on Wednesday, May 09, 2012 at 09:41 AM


Catholic primate Sean Brady guilty of cardinal errors

He was rampant -- there is no other word for it -- over four decades from the 1950s to the 1990s as he was shifted around from parish to parish and even from country to country.  
Dozens, possibly hundreds, of children were abused by him.

Eventually he was jailed in the north, and subsequently in the south.  His case was so controversial that it led to the fall of the Fianna Fail/Labor government here in the 1990s over the attorney general's handling of Smyth's extradition.

Having brought down a taoiseach (prime minister) back then, it seems certain that Smyth, who died in prison here in 1997, will now be responsible for bringing down a cardinal as well. 




Posted on Wednesday, April 18, 2012 at 09:49 AM


The Irish Government - teachers with no class control



Posted on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 at 10:07 AM


Census 2011- what does the future hold for Ireland?



Posted on Wednesday, April 04, 2012 at 11:08 AM


Irish have no time for Fine Gael annual convention




Posted on Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at 11:09 AM


Bertie Ahern and the Irish Banana Republic




Posted on Wednesday, March 21, 2012 at 10:32 AM


A Dublin St. Patrick’s bah humbug



Posted on Wednesday, March 07, 2012 at 09:24 AM


Time for Ireland to play hardball in Europe - Ireland's referendum on the European Fiscal Stability Treaty


The big news here last week was that we are to have a referendum on the European Fiscal Stability Treaty. Which will be about as exciting as watching paint dry. I bet you're really looking forward to the debate, just like me.

Will the Irish people vote yes? Will they vote no? Will it make any difference?



Posted on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at 09:13 AM


Why Enda Kenny needs to do more than positive thinking



Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 09:27 AM


Time for Ireland to start thinking like the Chinese



Posted on Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 08:48 AM


Irish public sector workers take money and run



Posted on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 10:04 AM


Bailout boys from Europe are back in Ireland



Posted on Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at 10:05 AM


A letter to Santa Claus from Ireland at Christmas



Posted on Wednesday, December 14, 2011 at 09:36 AM


Ireland's position in Europe: between a rock and a hard place


The deal done last week between the countries of Europe to save the euro means that Ireland, by accident, finds itself in a difficult position.  We're between a rock and a hard place.

Or between the devil and the deep blue sea, the devil being the U.K. and the deep blue sea being Europe.
It's a critical juncture for us, one fraught with danger.  Uniquely among all the EU countries, the deal raises a fundamental question for Ireland because of our close ties with the U.K., the only one of the 27-nation European Union countries to veto the new agreement.



Posted on Wednesday, December 07, 2011 at 08:59 AM


Irish budget irrelevant because Germans own us anyway



Posted on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 08:39 AM


Darren Scully's comments: are we racists, or realists?


Probably the most talked about story here over the past week has been the allegedly racist comments made by a local politician called Darren Scully, the mayor of Naas, a large commuter town about 20 miles from Dublin in Co. Kildare.

Scully said in an interview last week on a local radio station that he had a problem with black African immigrants who are now living in the Naas area and who were coming to see him about issues like housing and welfare benefits.  



Posted on Wednesday, November 23, 2011 at 08:55 AM


Running Ireland from Germany



Posted on Wednesday, November 09, 2011 at 09:43 AM


Can Ireland get a Greek deal too?



Posted on Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 10:49 AM


The Irish Presidency and the vision thing

But there is huge spending that is questionable, and the state is seen both as a soft touch and a bottomless pit.  One much publicized welfare case here recently showed that an out of work Dublin family with four children (one with special needs) is getting just over 



Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 10:40 AM


Is the Irish presidential election just a distraction?

No name was given, and I'm not handing out prizes for guessing right.  It just shows the level we've got down to here.



Posted on Wednesday, October 05, 2011 at 10:51 AM


Martin McGuinness feels the heat



Posted on Wednesday, September 28, 2011 at 09:20 AM


Why McGuinness shouldn’t be President



Posted on Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 09:20 AM


All the President's gunmen



Posted on Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 09:31 AM


Home is where the mortgage is

Estimates of how big the overall problem is vary from 



Posted on Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 10:22 AM


Ireland's unemployment at 14.3 percent - where are the entrepreneurs?


The most recent figure for those out of work in Ireland is for July this year, and it shows around 470,000 without a full time job. When it's seasonally adjusted this comes back to 447,000 which equates to 14.3% of the workforce.


So if you think President Obama has a problem with the "jobs crisis" in the U.S. (where unemployment in July was 9.1%), spare a thought for Ireland.

Last week in this column we were exploring some of the politically incorrect issues that have been raised about the numbers out of work here. The most contentious of these has been the suggestion that the Irish are work shy.



Posted on Wednesday, August 24, 2011 at 10:20 AM


Are the Irish work shy?



Here we are back again after our summer break, a few weeks in which the world economy has teetered on the brink and poor little Ireland's vulnerability has been cruelly exposed.  

To make us feel even more depressed it's been raining -- we've had the wettest summer in years; in Kerry it was the wettest summer since records began in 1886!

Plus it's been colder than normal over the past month.  Where's all that global warming when you need it?



Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at 08:48 AM


Breathing space for Irish economy



Posted on Wednesday, July 20, 2011 at 08:51 AM


Omerta Code and the Irish Church



Posted on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 08:55 AM


Ireland is broke - with a growing population



Posted on Wednesday, July 06, 2011 at 09:11 AM


The gold-plated pensions brigade

In his last year in the job, Goggin got a staggering pay package of over



Posted on Wednesday, June 29, 2011 at 08:46 AM


Greek financial mess not comparable to Ireland



Posted on Wednesday, June 22, 2011 at 09:26 AM


A gutless first 100 days for new Irish government



Posted on Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 01:12 PM


Brian Lenihan: the lost leader



Posted on Wednesday, June 08, 2011 at 11:25 AM


We’re broke and we don’t need blarney



Posted on Wednesday, June 01, 2011 at 08:32 AM


Guinness promos were in bad taste



Posted on Saturday, May 28, 2011 at 10:42 AM


James Bond’s latest villian is an Irishman - Dunne, Niall Dunne


The return is James Bond has been marked by the latest novel by Jeffrey Deaver, the best selling American author. John Spain reviews the newest adventure of the reborn spy.

He has bravely taken on and suavely defeated the likes of Oddjob, May Day, Jaws and Rosa Klebb in the past.

But James Bond faces an entirely more humdrum henchman in his latest adventure -- an Irishman called Niall Dunne.



Posted on Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 08:44 AM


Two visits we will remember forever



Posted on Wednesday, May 18, 2011 at 08:36 AM


The great jobs initiative hoax





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