Text version here: https://www.ireland-information.com/jul11.txt
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===========
IN THIS ISSUE
===========
=== News Snaps from Ireland
=== New free resources at the site
=== Play the Irish Draw
=== 'I'm Grand. I'm Grand.' by John J.O'Callaghan
=== Evocation of a Patriot and a Prophet by Roibeard McElroy
=== When Doolin Comes by Kishe Wallace
=== The Kerry Patch in Saint Louis by John B. McGinnis
=== Shamrock Site of the Month: Celticattic.com
=== Gaelic Phrases of the Month
=== Monthly free competition result
=== AND FINALLY... Funny Irish quote of the month
==========
FOREWORD
==========
Hello again,
Ireland continues to bounce along the bottom
of the recession and the consequent harsh
economic remedies. What is it about the Irish
that there were no widescale riots or general
strikes to accompany this severe pain? Is it
apathy? Are we still too aware that the tap of
emigration can be turned on and off at will
should we need it? Or is it that the economic
gains made before the bust have raised the
overall standard of living to such an extent
that the fall, when it came, was really not
that severe? Judge for yourself!
In this issue we have a poem, a short story, a
history of a St. Louis Irish neighbourhood
and an evocation to an Irish Patriot. As well
as the latest news!
Enjoy your FREE Ireland Newsletter.
Michael
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NEWS SNAPS FROM IRELAND
========================
MORE BUDGET CUTS AND TAX INCREASES ON THE WAY
The cost of the EU/IMF loan packages to keep
the country running are becoming more apparent
as time progresses. Hot on the heels of a new
property tax comes the news that at least 2.1 BN
Euro in cuts are expected in the December budget
with tax set to increase by a further 1.5 BN Euro.
It is clear that the pain is not yet over for the
beleaguered Irish taxpayer with a new property
tax of 100 Euro introduced. While this amount may
seem modest it is the principal that is at stake
here. A tax on property is very controversial in
Ireland with the old system of 'rates' being
abolished in 1977. The new tax is expected to be
increased greatly in the coming years and was
insisted upon by the EU/IMF. Every homeowner will
be required to pay the property tax with a grading
system likely to be introduced, meaning those with
larger and more valuable houses will pay more.
It is expected that State assets of up to 2 BN
will also have to be sold in order to balance
the books. Personal income tax will also be
increased in the budget, capital gains tax will
likely be increased while tax relief for pension
payments reduced. Social Welfare payments face a
cut which may prove problematic for the Fine Gael
and Labour coalition government, given that the
Labour party will be come under great pressure to
oppose any significant reductions. Savings in
expenditure on welfare is critical given that the
Central Bank has revised downwards it forecast for
economic growth for 2011 to just 0.8%.
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES REVEALED
The Irish Presidential election will be held on
October 27th later this year. The one-time
favourite to win the race was independent Senator
David Norris but his campaign is now teetering on
the brink of collapse as revelations about past
representations he made to Israel come to light.
The Senator wrote to the Israeli authorities
seeking clemency for his former partner who was
eventually convicted of statutory rape. Several
senior members of his campaign team have resigned
while several of the 14 T.D.s (members of the
Irish parliament) who had supported his candidacy
said they were reconsidering their position.
The problems with the Norris campaign run deeper
than this controversy. According to the Irish
electoral system for the Presidency any candidate
must have the recognition of 4 Local Councils or
20 TD's. Most political parties thus select their
own candidate making it very difficult for an
independent to ever be elected. The Norris
campaign has already been damaged by the
publication of his views on paedophilia and
sexuality.
Fianna Fail have yet to announce their candidate
but they must surely know that they have zero
chance of success. Just five months after leaving
office the Fianna Fail brand is still toxic and
it is obvious that the party will need every
penny of funding it can get to run its next
General Election campaign. Fielding a Presidential
candidate of their own would likely cost the party
in excess of 1 MN Euro, funds the party can
ill-afford to waste. They had considered
supporting the David Norris campaign but this
now looks very unlikely.
Fianna Fail has set up a committee to examine the
possibility of running a candidate but this seems
like a fool's errand at this stage of the
political cycle.
Of the other candidates the Labour Party have a
very strong candidate in Michael D. Higgins while
Fine Gael have nominated Gay Mitchell. The Special
Olympics chief Mary Davis is also well regarded
and is running as an independent.
Should David Norris withdraw from the race then
the focus will likely shift onto Michael D.
Higgins who certainly has a higher profile than
Jim Mitchell of Fine Gael.
TAX INSPECTORS TARGET MUSIC GIGS
The recent high-profile concerts at Slane and
Oxegen have been targeted by tax officials who
are investigating the expansion of the 'black
economy'. At future such events the tax agents
will be observing the staff running stalls and
deciding if cash income is being under-reported
or if the staff on the stalls are perhaps in
receipt of welfare payments. It is a sign of
the times that welfare and tax fraud have
increased greatly in recent years.
Welfare Minister Joan Burton is also considering
a Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) system of
welfare payments that is used in other countries.
Such a scheme would incentivise welfare
recipients into ensuring that their children
attend school, attend medical immunization
programs, and other State requirements.
SMOKING BAN IN CARS A POSSIBILITY
New laws are being introduced that will ban
smoking in cars that contain any person under
the age of 16. Irish Health Minister James Reilly
has been keen on introducing the ban for some
time and now looks set to get his way. Needless
to say the proposed new laws have been welcomed
by the Irish Cancer Society while being rejected
by the smoking lobby group 'Forest Eireann'.
BATTLE OF DINGLE IS SETTLED
The battle by residents of Dingle town in County
Kerry to have the name of their town retained as
Dingle and not the Irish equivalent of 'An
Daingean' has been settled. The original name of
Dingle will be reinstated after a 6 year battle.
The Gaeltacht town was officially renamed as
'An Daingean' by the last government but the
campaign to have that decision reversed
has finally prevailed.
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history details have been added to the Gallery:
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Received my plaque, carefully wrapped,
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=======================
'I'M GRAND. I'M GRAND.'
by John J.O'Callaghan
=======================
Years ago, when I owned a small farm in Ireland,
I was taking one of my cows to the Limerick Meat
Market when me and the cow were hit by a truck
and tossed three feet up in the air and into a
deep ditch by the side of the road.
When I recovered I sued the truck driver. However,
the truck driver employed a hotshot lawyer who
gave me a very hard time in court.
'But, Mr.O'Callaghan', the lawyer said, 'The
Patrol Officer's statement clearly says that when
he asked you how you were at the time of the
accident, you said, 'I'm grand. I'm grand.' 'You
surely can't deny that, now, can you?'
'Well, it was like this you see,' I responded,
'I had decided to take my brown and white speckled
cow to the market. I was walking down the Limerick
road in broad daylight, under a clear blue sky
when...'
'I didn't ask you for all the details,' the lawyer
interrupted. 'Just answer my question. Did you or
did you not say to the police officer at the scene
of the accident, 'I'm grand.'?
'Well, as I was trying to tell you,' I said,
'I was taking my brown and white speckled cow to
the market, and minding my own business, when all
of a sudden...'
The lawyer interrupted again and said 'Judge, I am
only trying to establish the fact that, the
plaintiff told the Highway Patrolman he was
feeling grand. Now several weeks later he claims he
was badly injured in the accident. Your honor, I
suggest this is a fraudulent attempt to extract
unwarranted damages from my client. Since the
plaintiff can't deny that he said what he said, I
ask the court to dismiss the personal damages
claim.'
'I'd like to hear the full text of what
Mr.O'Callaghan has to say,' the judge said.
'Thank you, your honor,' I replied. 'As I was
saying, I was walking down the Limerick road in
broad daylight and as sober as a judge, when Mick
Murphy's truck came around the corner and drove
right into me and my cow. Both of us were tossed
upside down into the ditch. My neck, my leg and
my arm were hurting real bad and I was afraid to
move.
'But poor Molly was worse than me. In fact, she
was moaning and groaning worse than a wild
banshee. I must have blacked out from the pain
because when I awoke I saw the Patrol Officer
take one look at Molly, pull out his gun and shoot
her in the head!
'Then he looked down at me. The smoking gun was
still in his hand. I thought he had a strange look
in his eyes as he said, 'Are you hurt very bad,
son?'.'
'Now, what would you say?'
Copyright John J.O'Callaghan, 2003.
johnoc29@aol.com
====================================
EVOCATION OF A PATRIOT AND A PROPHET
by Roibeard McElroy
====================================
One of the unsung heroes of Irish history is
James Fintan Lawlor - a man whose influence fans
out like a tentacle of many parts: Lalor, the
writer and wordsmith whose precision with words
was a quixotic quill which weaved mesmeric
patterns, whose mind and intellect were like a
lynchpin for the finer things in life to take
tangible form, whose legacy can be read and
discerned in the proclamation, whose presence can
be felt in the words of Pearse and Connolly, in
addition, to the Land League and Michael Davitt.
James Fintan Lawlor truly was a man ahead of his
time, the fact that he was just 42 when he died,
means that Ireland was robbed of a powerful light
and a powerful vibration had ceased to resonate
in the isle of emerald dreams. Lalor was connected
to the land at some deep subconscious and visceral
level. It was like he had dwelled in the depths
and bowels of the earth for infinity. He seemed to
perceive every nuance and sensibility as if his
faculty was possessed of the maternal instinct for
her bounty. He seemed to apprehend the thief that
would dare take away the essence of the land and
its mystique. Lalor was the guardian of Ireland's
lifeblood - her raison d'etre!
The boycott went all around the world, after it
was first utilised during the agrarian/land wars
in Ballinrobe, County Mayo, in 1879. Whilst the
Land League and the outstanding Michael Davitt
rightly reaped the kudos, the undoubted oracle for
such a tactic - in its embryonic stage - was Fintan
Lalor! For it was he who argued in 1849, during the
great Irish Famine, in the heady post Young Ireland
days, for its enaction. During the deep dark night
of his twilight - the final year of his presence on
this plane of existence, Lalor premised the tactic
of defying the landlord through an, at first
Gandhiesque type of passive resistance
(accelerating it into full blown physical force,
if necessary), in which withholding the rent or
tithe would force the landlord into submission and
callow capitulation! This was the first articulate
sounding and evocation of what became known as the
boycott! In many ways, just like the poet, James
Clarence Mangan, and to a lesser extent, fellow
poet Thomas Davis, had both personified the soul
of the famine, so too did Lalor!
'Ireland her own, and all therein, from the sod to
the sky. The soil of Ireland for the people of
Ireland, to have and to hold from God alone who
gave it - to have and to hold to them and their
heirs forever, without service or suit, rent or
render, to any power under Heaven.'
This famous quote of Lalor, could be described as
a pioneering oracle for the immortal words of the
Proclamation:
'We declare the right of the people of Ireland to
the ownership of Ireland, and the unfettered
control of Irish destinies, both sovereign and
indeafisible.'
Such are the parallels, it's almost as if Connolly
and Pearse had travelled back in time, or were his
earnest students, and were kneeling down in
respect and humble servitude before their master!
He was the sage of the Irish maelstrom, he was the
guru for those who followed, the path he marked
out was zealously and religiously followed by the
apostles of 1916, he was the pastor or shepherd
in the rural wilderness of Ireland's heartache.
The seed that he planted, bloomed graciously with
Davitt and the Land League in the 1870's/'80's,
and then blossomed and burgeoned in 1916 with
Pearse and Connolly into a tidal wave of profound
positivity.
Oh for the Midlands! What genes embroiled
themselves in the genealogy of County Laois to
produce such greatness? For at the dawn of the
nineteenth century, a child was born, who lived
but 42 years, yet in that time, through the
power of his quixotic quill, the vast, uncountable
and ingenious wonder of his mind, the ultra long
luminescent funnel of his vision, the infinite love
of his passion, the mystical and almost psychic
attachment to the earth, and the land of Ireland,
that he bore and carried within his heart,
succeeded in carving a tapestry of infinite light.
James Fintan Lalor was a prophet, a visionary,
whose perennial vision needs to be sung and played
once and for all! His vision just like the
aforementioned Connolly is as relevant and valid
today, as in his own lifetime, as for Davitt and
the era of the Land League, as for Connolly and
Pearse and Clarke and the men of '16. For that
bi-polar duality, that fusion of the two belief
systems: the Land Question and the National
Question into one solid unit and mass, as
personified by Fintan Lalor himself, can still
resonate today via a seismic movement to bring
back the land and its constituents to its rightful
owners: the people!
Roibeard McElroy
=================
WHEN DOOLIN COMES
by Kishe Wallace
=================
Doolin comes to me at night
Just a faded memory
Yet I've never known such fright
Since it appeared to me
Never been to Ireland
Never seen the shore
Never danced along its sand
Nor touched the Inishmore
And yet it calls to me all day
And visits me in dreams
It lures in some enchanting way
Beyond common Irish themes.
I long to see a faerie castle
On the Connemara side
I'd love to catch a leprechaun
Before he runs to hide
I'd take that pot of gold along
Into a pub on O'Connell Street
And pay the pipers for a song
As fiddlers tap their feet
Doolin, I will say a prayer
To meet you in due time
Watch for me in mists so fair
Of Irish rain, sublime
I'll drench in it, I'll
Soak my hair and smile all
Along—I'll stay awhile
'Till the sun comes out and
Then I'll think about
The legends that are calling through
The Aran island skies of blue
Kishe Wallace
From the novel:
'Like Twisty Trees-Chronicle I'
available from Amazon.com
==============================
THE KERRY PATCH IN SAINT LOUIS
by John B. McGinnis
==============================
By 1842, a group of Irish immigrants from County
Kerry, Ireland named and settled in the area
known as the 'Kerry Patch' just North of downtown
St. Louis, MO.
Other Irish immigrant neighborhoods that once
existed in the surrounding area included 'Clabber
Alley', 'Poverty Pocket', 'Wild Cat Chute',
'Castle Thunder', and 'Battle Row'.
The Irish immigrants who lived in these areas were
ridiculed and discriminated against in housing and
jobs. They were left with no choices in employment
and forced to take jobs that were dangerous, dirty
and socially frowned upon. Examples: policemen,
firefighters, firemen that stoked engines,etc.
According to the book 'The Streets of St. Louis'
by Wm. and Marcella Magnan, It was understood
in business that 'a good slave was worth about
$1700.00'. 'Companies preferred hiring an Irishman
whose wages were often less than 1 dollar a week'.
'There was no use risking the life of a valuable
slave on a dangerous project when an Irish worker
could do it.'
However, there were a few socially acceptable
Irish families who rose to power in business and
government such as the Mullanphy's who were
probably the most notable due to their
philanthropy.
They helped fund Irish immigration from Ireland to
the US among other numerous charities. They
furthermore established a house called 'The
Mullanphy House' on the corner of Howard and
N.14th in the 'Kerry Patch' neighborhood to help
newly arriving Irish immigrants get the help
needed to establish a place in society.
Like most ethnic ghettos the Patch had its
'king', and one such was named Sheehan. The
City of St. Louis had a City Alderman Sheehan in
the 1990's, the name is not a very common one,
I assume he was related to the 'King of the Patch'
if his family was from St. Louis.
I became interested in the 'Kerry Patch'
neighborhood when I discovered that my family,
after immigrating from County Mayo in Ireland,
lived there. Although, I don't know the history
of my family's place in the neighborhood, I feel an
attachment and desire to discover as much history
about the area as I can.
As a new St. Louis Firefighter, stationed at
Engine house 9 located at N.9th and LaBeaume my
still district included the 'Kerry Patch'
neighborhood. I fought my first structure fire on
N. 15th St. in the 'Patch'. I wasn't aware of my
kindred connection to this area until transferring
to another firehouse.
Most of the houses and structures of 'Kerry Patch'
are no longer standing and are now vacant lots
and run down buildings.
One newer apartment complex called 'The O'Fallon
Place Apartments' is located right in the heart
of this area.
All of the Irish Churches are now razed and there
is very little sign of a former Irish neighborhood
except the school and some Irish street names
although I did notice a nearby business that I'm
certain has Irish roots just because of its
name, 'Sligo Steel'.
John B. McGinnis
Bibliography: Most of this information was taken from 3
sources:
1. 'The streets of St. Louis' by Wm. B. and Marcella C. Magnan
2. 'Gateway Heritage' reference 1988-90 Vol. 9-10
3. Internet address:
http://stlouis.missouri.org/neighborhoods/history/north/text22.htm
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===========================
GAELIC PHRASES OF THE MONTH
===========================
PHRASE: Ni h-e la na baisti la na bpaisti
PRONOUNCED: nee hay law na bawshtee law na bawshtee
MEANING: A rainy day isn't a day for the children
PHRASE: Is e do bhaile do chaislean
PRONOUNCED: iss ay duh vol-yah duh cosh-lawn
MEANING: Your house is your castle
PHRASE: Tir gan teanga, tir gan anam
PRONOUNCED: teer gon tyong-ga, teer gon on-umm
MEANING: A country (land) without a language,
a country without a soul
View the archive of phrases here:
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==================
COMPETITION RESULT
==================
The winner was: c.cleary157@virginmedia.com
who will receive the following:
A Single Family Crest Print (decorative)
(US$19.99 value)
Send us an email to claim your print, and well done!
Remember that all subscribers to this
newsletter are automatically entered into the
competition every time.
=========================================
AND FINALLY... FUNNY IRISH QUOTE OF THE MONTH
=========================================
George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, (renowned Irish
Nobel Prize winner, author of Pygmalion and
co-founder of the London School of Economics).
'The more I see of the moneyed classes,
the more I understand the guillotine'
'The government who robs Peter to pay Paul
can always depend on the support of Paul'
'Better keep yourself clean and bright.
You are the window through which you
must see the world'
I hope that you have enjoyed this issue.
Until next month,
Michael Green,
Editor,
The Information about Ireland Site.
https://www.ireland-information.com
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