Pub Guide
Ireland Calling
by John SpainRSS 
Recent Posts
- The Irish World War II shame - Irish soldiers faced hostility after arriving home
- Ireland will reluctantly vote "Yes" n the EU Fiscal Compact referendum
- Catholic primate Sean Brady guilty of cardinal errors
- Paying the price on overpriced home - Irish property prices and the Irish banking system
- Denis O’Brien extends his media empire - my media mogul story
Archives
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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
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.
Estimates of how big the overall problem is vary from
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.
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?
The gold-plated pensions brigade
In his last year in the job, Goggin got a staggering pay package of over
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.
Most Popular Blog Posts
Most Popular Roots Stories
Connect to IrishCentral with your Facebook account
or Sign-Up directly
Welcome to IrishCentral!
Please provide the following information in order to create your account
Welcome to IrishCentral!
All we need is the following information and you will be part of the #1 Irish community in the US
Just one more step and you will be part of the largest Irish community in America! Tell us a little more about you to start enjoying all the features of IrishCentral.
