Year: 2013

News from Ireland1 Comment

Lose Your Cable TV If You Want a Mortgage Write-Down

Michael Green

The issue of mortgage write-downs or ‘debt forgiveness’ has been a very thorny one in Ireland ever since the Irish banks effectively collapsed and were taken into state ownership. Thousands of home-owners lost their jobs at about the same time as the value of their property plunged. They found themselves in negative equity, preventing them from selling their now-devalued property and trapping them in apartment blocks and rural housing estates in a vicious circle that is hard to escape. The realization that a certain level of mortgage write-downs would have to be granted was greeted with a mixture of despair … Continue reading Lose Your Cable TV If You Want a Mortgage Write-Down

Articles, History, TouristLeave a comment

Saint Patrick’s Day Traditions

Michael Green

The Wearing of the Green The tradition of wearing Shamrock to celebrate Saint Patrick seems to date from the seventeenth or eighteenth century. This was a very turbulent time in Irish history. The suppression of the Gaelic way of life by the ruling British invaders resulted in many aspects of the Catholic religion in Ireland being forced underground. Strict laws were enforced which prevented the Catholic population from attending schools so ‘hedge-schools’ were operated in secret. These were schools run outdoors in secluded places (sometimes literally ‘under a hedge!). The teaching of religion was also forbidden so it is only … Continue reading Saint Patrick’s Day Traditions

News from Ireland, Tourist1 Comment

Blow to Economy as Tourists from Britain Desert Ireland

Michael Green

The number of visitors from Britain has fallen by as many as a Million visits since 2007 when 3.7 Million trips from Britain to Ireland were recorded. Six short years ago Ireland was a very different place. The ‘Celtic Tiger’ still stalked the land although his days were numbered. A property market collapse and financial ruin were just around the corner. Britain suffered its own recession too but was spared the carnage caused by the banks that Ireland suffered. Against this backdrop it is perhaps no surprise that visitors from our closest neighbour have decided to opt for sunnier climes. … Continue reading Blow to Economy as Tourists from Britain Desert Ireland

News from Ireland1 Comment

Government ‘Divide & Conqueror’ Strategy to Test the Resolve of Public Sector Unions

Michael Green

A successor to the ‘Croke Park Agreement’ has been finalized that will see cuts of 1 Billion Euro from the Government pay bill. The deal includes pay cuts for all staff, and up to 10% for top-earners, additional hours of work at no extra pay, and reductions in allowances and premium payments. As many as nine Unions have already indicated that they will not support the new deal and are recommending that their membership reject it. The consequences of being outside of the new arrangements are likely to make for a very difficult situation for the Unions. It is very … Continue reading Government ‘Divide & Conqueror’ Strategy to Test the Resolve of Public Sector Unions

MusingsLeave a comment

Further Fianna Fail Poll Surge Is The Low-Mark Of Irish Despondency

Michael Green

The ruling Fianna Fail Party was trounced in the 2011 election. At 17% of the vote they seemed to be on the very edge of oblivion. Fine Gael and Labour had brushed them aside, bolted into power on a wave of optimism about ‘real change’ and ‘burning the bond-holders’ (a reference to not paying back bank loans to unsecured bond-holders in Europe). For a while it seemed that there might actually be some a change in direction. But alas it is now clear that the current Government has merely assimilated the trappings of power worn with such gusto by Fianna … Continue reading Further Fianna Fail Poll Surge Is The Low-Mark Of Irish Despondency

News from Ireland5 Comments

Irish Government Finally Issues Apology to Magdalene Survivors

Michael Green

The Irish Government response to the release of the Report into the extent of Irish State involvement in the now infamous ‘Magdalene Laundries was very poor indeed. Taoiseach Enda Kenny botched the response and unwittingly inflicted more stress and hardship on the victims. The easy and honorable thing to do would have been to immediately apologise to the victims of what were essentially State-Sponsored Labour camps. Instead of apologising Enda Kenny decided that his Government needed more time to examine and consider the findings of the Report. Now, in respect of putting together a proper financial compensation package for the … Continue reading Irish Government Finally Issues Apology to Magdalene Survivors

Musings, PeopleLeave a comment

Saint Valentine Was Irish!

Michael Green

Ok, he was not really Irish but in the true Irish tradition of claiming association to just about anything that is good we Irish are claiming the Saint as our own. We do have some grounds for this assertion – bear with me. Whitefriar Street Church in Dublin is the unlikely resting place for the relics of Saint Valentine. That’s right! While desperate men the world over rush to their nearest Garage fore-court to buy half-battered bunches of red roses in the hope that it will get them out of jail, the knowledge that there is an Irish connection to … Continue reading Saint Valentine Was Irish!