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			IN THIS ISSUE
~~~~~ Foreword
~~~~~ Keep us Free!
~~~~~ New Free resources at the site
~~~~~ News Snaps from Ireland
~~~~~ Irish Film Review: Michael Collins    by Dawn Hayden
~~~~~ Irish Quotations of the Month
~~~~~ A Donegal Fairy		 by Letitia MacLintock
~~~~~ Gaelic Phrases of the Month
~~~~~ Shamrock Site of the Month: Irish Recipes
~~~~~ Searcher Site of the Month: Genealogy Detective
~~~~~ Monthly free competition result

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FOREWORD
~~~~~~~~

Hello again from Ireland,

Only in a country like Ireland could the Saint Patrick's day 
festival (usually held in March) be actually scheduled for 
May but that is exactly what is planned. All because of the 
scourge of Foot and Mouth disease (FMD) which has hit the 
country.

Many people are not aware that FMD is an animal disease and 
does not harm humans. Tourist attractions are still open 
folks so if you are planning a holiday to Ireland: 
come on over!

Our free music download with 74 Irish songs and lyrics has 
proved a great success but some readers seem to have had a 
problem with the link. FInd a fresh link in the 'free 
resources' section below.

ENJOY SPRING ! (the best time of the year!)

Michael.


PLEASE - send this newsletter on to your friend's or
relatives who you think are interested in Ireland. By 
doing this you are helping to keep us 'free'.

Got something to say? Don't keep it to yourself!
Why don't you submit an article for inclusion
in the next edition? Email to:	
 
newsletterarticle@ireland-information.com

This newsletter is available on-line at:
 
https://www.ireland-information.com/apr01.htm

The only way that you could have been subscribed to this
newsletter is by filling out a subscription form at the site
whereupon a confirmation notice would have been issued.

If you wish to unsubscribe then go here:
 
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KEEP US ALIVE!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NEW FREE NEWSLETTERS: You can help us to continue supplying 
free resources and information from Ireland by signing up to 
receive more great free information:

 http://www.allnewsletters.com/?116328

Get a free Family Crest Watch when you order a hand engraved 
Claddagh or Signet Ring that shows YOUR family crest

 https://www.irishnation.com/familycrestrings.htm

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NEW FREE RESOURCES AT THE SITE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IRISH MUSIC: FREE SONGS AND LYRICS

Our free download of the tunes and lyrics to 74 of the most 
popular Irish songs can be found below:

https://www.ireland-information.com/irishmusic/

NEW COATS OF ARMS ADDED TO THE GALLERY:

The following 18 coats of arms images and family history
details have been added to the Gallery:

C: Clancy, Comiskey, Cook
G: McGhee 
H: O'Hanlon
K: McKinney
M: Maddison, Maloney, May, Maye
P: Padgett, Peck, Peckham
S: Skillman, Smalley
T: Teague 
W: Whitty, Worrell

View the Gallery here:

http://www.irishsurnames.com/coatsofarms/gm.htm

We now have over 20,000 worldwide names available.
Get the Coat of Arms Print, Screensaver, Watch, T-Shirt
Transfer, Clock or Claddagh Ring for your name at:

https://www.irishnation.com/familycrestgifts.htm

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NEWS SNAPS FROM IRELAND
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE HITS IRELAND

In a disastrous development for the Irish economy a single 
case of foot and mouth disease was confirmed in County Louth. 
Fortunately the EU imposed sanctions against Ireland as a 
result of the loss of our 'disease-free' status are about to 
be lifted but not before the Agriculture and Tourist 
industries have taken a major hit.

The Saint Patrick's Day Festival and Parade (which usually 
takes place in March) has been provisionally rescheduled 
for May 18th to 20th but even this is now looking uncertain 
as further cases of the disease are confirmed in the North 
of Ireland.

Estimates of the loss to the tourist industry range as high 
as IR£20 million so far but this will get worse if the 
expected 1 Million visitors are turned away form the May 
extravaganza because of a further outbreak down South.

Tourism Minister Jim McDaid is at pains to point out that 
the country is still very much open for business and that 
visitors are very welcome, unless they plan on trudging 
around pig, sheep and cattle farms that is.

IRISH ARE AMONG THE BIGGEST INVESTORS IN EUROPEAN PROPERTY

A recent report has shown that successive Government 
measures to try to curb investor interest in the domestic 
housing market have led to a severe shortage of 
accommodation available to rent as well as huge increases 
in investment in property abroad by Irish people.

Irish people wanting to buy a second home for pension or 
investment purposes have deserted the Irish market because 
of the taxes imposed. The housing crisis is still very 
much in evidence in Ireland as the lack of supply of 
housing has kept prices high. Until such time as supply 
meets demand the high prices are likely to continue.

England, Portugal, France, Florida and especially Spain 
are the most favoured locations for those Irish seeking to 
put their money into something other than the volatile 
stock market. So successful have the advertising campaigns 
been in Ireland, promoting property ownership abroad, that 
one particular Spanish development of 64 houses saw 57 of 
them bought by Irish people! This example alone represents 
over IR£5 Million of investment that could otherwise have 
been put into the Irish property market.

EIRCOM TO SELL OFF ITS BIGGEST ASSET

Eircom is the former state owned telephone company that is 
now in private ownership and represents the most widely 
owned stock in Ireland. Its share price has been in free 
fall in recent years and it is now trading at well below 
its flotation price.

It now plans to sell of its mobile phone business in a move 
that will see the company profits cut by 44%. Eircom is 
holding an EGM on May 11th when the plan is expected to be 
approved despite the reservations of 'the small investor'.

GUINNESS TO STRIKE - BREWERIES MAY CLOSE

The possibility of Ireland running out of Guinness is a very 
real one as staff problems continue to mount within Guinness. 
The company has indicated that it may have to close two of 
the most historic breweries in Ireland, McArdle's of Dundalk 
and Smithwicks of Kilkenny.

Further talks between Guinness management and staff unions 
are pending.

GATEWAY TO AXE IT JOBS

There was further bad news for the Irish IT industry with 
the news that Gateway is to shed 200 jobs at its Dublin 
plant in Clonshaugh. There are fears too for the 4200 staff 
employed by Intel in Leixlip as the global technology 
meltdown continues and as the US economy declines.

IRISH GET BIG BROTHER FEVER

Over 30,000 Irish people have applied to be participants in 
the Irish version of 'Big Brother' or 'Castaway'. The lure 
of 30 days on a SOuth Pacific island proved too much for 
many would be contestants eager to escape the Irish drizzle 
and perhaps achieve fame and fortune (IR£50,00 to th winner) 
on the way. 10 extra staff have had to be employed by the 
promoters of the competition to sift through the mountain of 
applications.

MONAGHAN PEOPLE LESS LIKELY TO DIVORCE

The release of the most recent divorce statistics have shown 
that the Irish home of marital bliss is none other than 
County Monaghan! Only 15 couples applied for divorce in the 
county in 2000 - five times fewer than in County Dublin. The 
capital city has 29% of the Ireland's population but accounts 
for 46% of all divorce applications.

Counties Longford and Roscommon are the next two Counties 
where divorce is less popular so it seems clear: if you want 
a stable marriage, move to the Midlands!

SPORT: IRELAND MARCH ON IN WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS

Ireland achieved the expected victories against Cyprus and 
Andorra in the most recent round of world cup qualifiers. Two 
Goals from Roy Keane and one each for Gary Kelly and Ian 
Harte (who are Uncle and Nephew!) secured the first win in 
Nicosia. In Barcelona it was again Ian Harte on the 
scoresheet with Kevin Kilbane and Matt Holland pitching in. 
Sounds easy. It wasn't! Especially against Cyprus the Irish 
team looked vulnerable to lapses of concentration and sloppy 
passing that surely would have been punished by a better 
team. Time reveals all however and the arrival of both 
Portugal and Estonia to Landsdowne Road in June will tell us 
a lot about Mick McCarthy's chance of taking Ireland to the 
holy grail of soccer - the World Cup Finals.

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IRISH MOVIE REVIEW: MICHAEL COLLINS	     by Dawn Hayden
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The film 'Michael Collins' is a perfect example of the 
favourable treatment that a biographical movie can afford to 
its subject and to slant the perception of history at the 
same time.

Liam Neeson plays the lead, ably assisted by Aidan Quinn as 
Harry Boland, Alan Rickman as Eamon de Valera and Julia 
Roberts as the love interest. Stephen Rea and Brendan 
Gleeson complete this impressive cast of actors.

The story is based about the fight for Irish independence 
starting with the failed Easter Rising in 1916 and 
culminating with the War of Independence, the Treaty and 
the subsequent Civil war that followed.

Collins is portrayed by a perfectly cast Liam Neeson as the 
general, the military tactician and organiser. de Valera is 
portrayed as the politician, the schemer. The relationship
between the two is stretched to the limit, eventually 
exploding when Collins returns from London with a Treaty 
that will divide the country, giving up six Northern 
counties to partition.

The civil war ensues, Collins is killed and it is not until 
1926 that de Valera leads the anti-Treaty irregulars back 
into democratic politics and government.

This is an excellent film and very entertaining. It takes 
certain historical liberties of course (Harry Boland was 
actually killed in a Skerries Hotel for example) but overall 
the telling of the tale is faithful to the pro-'Free State' 
side.

But there are still some questions about Collins that are 
left unanswered. Just why did he lead the Irish delegation 
to London? Surely he was aware that a full Republic would 
not be granted? Surely he knew that despite the dwindling 
forces at his disposal that a guerrilla war fought by a 
native people simply cannot be lost. 

And what of de Valera? The man who was to rule Ireland in 
successive Governments over the following decades 
eventually conceded that....

	'History will one day review its opinion of 
	Michael Collins and it will be at MY expense'

Prophetic words.

Great entertainment, excellent acting and an opportunity 
to form an opinion about two of Ireland's most significant 
historical figures. Well worth viewing.

Dawn Hayden

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IRISH QUOTATIONS OF THE MONTH
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

	Negotiating with de Valera is like trying to pick 
	up mercury with a fork

David Lloyd George, 1863-1945

	(to which de Valera replied: 
			'Why doesn't he use a spoon?')

	How could one argue with a man who was 
	always drawing lines and circles to 
	explain his position

Michael Collins, 1890-1922, speaking about de Valera

	Mother was in favour of accepting the Treaty. 
	I fell out with her of over that. But she soon 
	changed her mind when the executions started.

Sean MacBride, 1904-1988

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A DONEGAL FAIRY			By Letitia MacLintock

Ay it's a bad thing to displeasure the gentry, sure enough 
- they can be unfriendly if they're angered, and they can 
be the very best o' gude neighbors if they're treated 
kindly.

My mother's sister was her lone in the house one day wi' a' 
big pot o‘ water boiling on the fire, and ane of the wee 
folk fell down the chimney, and slipped wi' his leg in the 
hot water.

He let a terrible squeal out o' him, an' in a minute the 
house was full o' wee crathurs pulling him out o' the pot, 
an' carrying him across the floor.

'Did she scald you?” my aunt heard them saying to him.

'Na, na, it was mysel' scalded my ainsel',' quoth the wee 
fellow.

'A weel, a weel,' says they. 'If it was your ainsel' 
scalded yoursel', we'll say nothing, but if she had 
scalded you, we'd made her pay.'

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GAELIC PHRASES OF THE MONTH
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PHRASE:		Cén dath atá ar ?
PRONOUNCED:	cain dawt ah/taw air?
MEANING:		What color is it?

PHRASE:		Ta se dearg/gorm/bui/glas/dubh/ban
PRONOUNCED:	Taw shay djar-ig/gurm/gloss/duve/bawn
MEANING:		It is red/blue/green/black/white

PHRASE:		Cad e sin?
PRONOUNCED:	Cod eh shin?
MEANING:		What is that 

PHRASE:		Is clog/balla/blathanna e
PRONOUNCED:	Iss clug/bolla/blaw-on-ah eh
MEANING:		It's a clock/wall/flowers 

View the archive of phrases here:

 https://www.ireland-information.com/irishphrases.htm

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SHAMROCK SITE OF THE MONTH
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

102 Irish recipes from Berkeley. Visit at: 

 http://soar.berkeley.edu/recipes/ethnic/irish/indexall.htm


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SEARCHER SITE OF THE MONTH
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Genealogy Detective

Stop wasting time! Access 5000 databases. Find out anything!

Visit at: https://www.ireland-information.com/gd.htm

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APRIL COMPETITION RESULT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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who will receive the following:

A Single Family Crest Print (decorative) (US$19.99 value)

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I hope that you have enjoyed this issue.
Please keep the feedback coming!

Until the next time,

STAY SAFE!

Michael Green,
Editor,
The Information about Ireland Site.

https://www.ireland-information.com
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