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			IN THIS ISSUE
~~~~~ Foreword
~~~~~ Keep us Free!
~~~~~ New Free resources at the site
~~~~~ News Snaps from Ireland
~~~~~ Irish Film Review: Hear My Song         by Dawn Hayden
~~~~~ Irish Quotations of the Month
~~~~~ Emblems of Ireland: The Shamrock   by Bridget Haggerty 
~~~~~ Gaelic Phrases of the Month
~~~~~ Shamrock Site of the Month: Irish Government
~~~~~ Searcher Site of the Month: Irish Townland Database 
~~~~~ Monthly free competition result

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FOREWORD
~~~~~~~~

Hello again from Ireland!

The pace of change in Ireland in the last ten years takes 
some believing. It is hard to become modern and developed 
without losing some innocence and charm and this is 
precisely what is happening in Ireland today.

If you have ever thought of visiting Ireland then do it 
soon because the old Ireland is disappearing fast.
 
Enough of the nostalgia and on with business! We have a 
great issue for you this month as well as a great new free 
facility that allows you send a coat of arms electronic 
postcard to anyone you choose - over 1000 to choose from.

You do know someone that has an Irish name don't you!

BEST WISHES FROM IRELAND!

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/jun01.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:
 
https://www.ireland-information.com/newsletter.htm

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KEEP THIS NEWSLETTER ALIVE!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Visit our shop and help to keep this newsletter alive. 
Click here to visit:

 https://www.irishnation.com

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

SEND AN ELECTRONIC POSTCARD WITH THE FAMILY CREST - FREE!

Our programmers have been at it again. Not content with 
letting you view the 1000 family crests with historical 
information that reside in the Gallery you can now send them 
as electronic postcards to as many people as you like.

Know any Murphys's, Doyle's, Smith's or Kelly's - send them 
their family crest postcard! It's free!

View the Gallery here and then choose the name you want 
to send. Click the postbox in the bottom right of the 
screen and away you go!

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

NEW COATS OF ARMS ADDED TO THE GALLERY:

The following 12 coats of arms images and family history
details have been added to the Gallery:

C: McConnell McCrirrick
D: Dawson Donahue Dwyer
F: Flatley
G: McGreevy
L: Luker
M: Murnane
P: Purdon
T: Tharp Twamley

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, Claddagh Ring, Screensaver, 
Watch, T-Shirt Transfer or Clock for your name at:

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

NEW IRISH RECIPES ARCHIVE

The archive has just been started. We will be offering a 
downloadable ebook soon with all of the recipes. Here 
are the second five to keep you going!

Boiled Bacon And Cabbage
Dublin Corned Beef and Cabbage
Irish Brown Bread
Irish Parsnip and Apple Soup
Wicklow Pancakes

View at:

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

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

IRELAND REJECTS EXPANSION OF EU

The Treaty of Nice was finalised in the French city that 
gave it it's name after weeks of tortuous negotiations. 
It agreed to an enlargement of the European Union (the EU) 
from 15 member states to 27 as well as an adjustment of the 
voting rights of members that would have given the larger 
economies more of a say in the affairs of the Union.

All of the main political parties in Ireland backed the 
Treaty when it was put to a vote by the Irish people in one 
of three referenda that were held in June and political 
leaders were confident that the Irish people would say 
'Yes' to the treaty.

In a dramatic turn of events the treaty has been rejected 
by the Irish electorate by a margin of 54% to 46%. In a 
stunning defeat of Bertie Ahearn's government and of the 
political establishment as a whole, the treaty, including 
the enlargement clauses, received an unexpected 'No' from 
the few voters who actually voted.

In the aftermath, the low turnout of only 35% of those 
entitled to vote is being blamed as one of the reasons for 
the defeat. The 'No' voters were more motivated claim the 
'Yes' campaign. But the fact still remains that Ireland is 
in danger of becoming the outcasts of Europe because of the 
rejection. Ireland has benefitted more than most from the 
EU and the vote that results in keeping the likes of Poland, 
Czechoslovakia, Latvia and others out of the Union has 
prompted anger in those countries and disbelief at home.

Some observers in Ireland have indicated that the 'No' vote 
was merely a 'protest' vote against the political 
establishment that tried to expedite the treaty into law 
without their being sufficient debate. The fact that the 
Irish electorate chose this referendum to demonstrate their 
contempt for the political establishment has resulted in 
what Church leaders have described as 'an act of supreme 
selfishness by Ireland'. 
 
It is very likely that a second referendum will be put 
before the people next year but only after the Fianna Fail 
led Government have had time to recover from the bruising 
they received this time around.

Two other referenda were held on the same day as the Nice 
Treaty vote. The complete removal of Capital Punishment 
(the death penalty) from the Irish Constitution was enabled 
by a majority of nearly 2 to 1. The death penalty has not 
been used in Ireland since 1954 and it had already been 
abolished in 1964 for all but crimes relating to treason, 
capital murder and certain military offences.

The same margin saw an acceptance of the ratification of 
the international criminal court which was set up to deal 
with war crimes and genocide.

NORTHERN IRELAND PEACE PROCESS IS ON THE EDGE

The recent General Election in England that saw the Tony 
Blair Labour government easily sweep back into power meant 
that there had to be elections in Northern Ireland too. The 
main opponent of the 'Good Friday agreement' is the DUP who 
made significant gains against the pro-agreement UUP party 
led by David Trimble. The moderate nationalist SDLP party 
also lost heavily against Sinn Fein who gained more than 
20% of the vote for the first time.

David Trimble is the 'First Minister' of the Northern 
Assembly and he has said that he will resign by the end of 
June unless there is substantial progress in the 
decommissioning of IRA weapons. It is very possible that the 
Assembly will be suspended and direct rule from London 
reimposed if this deadline is not met.  

IRISH GOVERNMENT TO TAKE LEGAL ACTION OVER SELLAFIELD

Sellafield is a nuclear power plant located in Cumbria 
directly across the Irish sea. The plant regularly disposes 
of nuclear waste into the Irish sea and the result is that 
certain parts of the South-Eastern seaboard of Ireland are 
deemed unsuitable for swimming and sea-sports.

The Irish government has given the go ahead to take legal 
action against the UK government in a move that is sure to 
strain relations between Dublin and London.

EIRCOM TO BE SOLD

Anthony O'Reilly's Valentia consortium have won the battle 
for Eircom after seeing off Dennis O'Brien's eIsland bid. 
The shares recovered some of their lost stock market value 
on foot of the news but are still languishing well below 
their IPO value.

The bad experience had by the tens of thousands of Irish 
investors have made the proposed IPO of Aer Lingus, the 
State Airline, seem less likely. The Government has even 
mooted the possibility of a private sale in a move which 
has seen the very active Aer Lingus staff Unions warn 
against such an idea. 

'HELP WANTED - FOREIGN APPLICANTS WELCOME!'

The Irish economic miracle continues to cause employment 
shortfalls. With the country at 'full employment' 
(unemployment is around 3%) foreign workers are being 
wooed to this country to fill the large number of vacancies 
that exist, particularly in the Tourist and Service 
industries. It is estimated that about 40% of Irish firms 
now have staff vacancies.
 
IRISH TOURISM HIT BY US CANCELLATIONS 

The fact that the Foot and Mouth scare appears to be 
receding is little comfort to the Irish tourist industry 
which has seen losses of over IR£300 caused by the 
cancellation of over half of the lucrative US 'coach 
tours' bookings.

A major advertising campaign is under way by Irish tourism 
chiefs who are desperate to get international visitors back 
into Ireland. Visiting to Ireland is especially good value 
at the moment for people from the US as the Irish pound 
(the punt) has again collapsed against the US dollar making 
it a very economic time to visit the Emerald Isle.

IRELAND DRAW AND WIN IN WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS

Ireland's soccer team have the goal of runners-up spot (and 
a 'play-off' place) in their own hands after a 1-1 home 
draw against Portugal and a 2-0 victory away to Estonia.

For much of the home game the Portugal team demonstrated 
their superiority and should have been a couple of goals 
ahead at half-time. It was Ireland's Roy Keane however who 
popped up with a goal that was eventually equalised by Luis 
Figo. The result suits Portugal much more than Ireland and 
it now seems virtually certain that Portugal will top the 
group and qualify automatically for the World Cup Finals 
in Japan and Korea next year.

Ireland must avoid defeat against Holland at home in 
September to keep their hopes of reaching the 'play-off' 
alive. A Holland victory would almost certainly allow the 
Dutch to pip Ireland for second place and condemn Mick 
McCarthy's men to yet another 'hard-luck' story.

The game against Holland is easily Ireland's most important 
game since the successive defeats in play-offs for 
France 98 and Euro 2000. 

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IRISH MOVIE REVIEW: HEAR MY SONG             by Dawn Hayden
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hear my Song is terrific!

The film is based loosely on the life of famed Irish singer 
Josef Locke who escaped the taxman in England. Locke could 
make women cry with his singing!

Mickey O'Neill (played by Adrian Dunbar) is the owner of a 
working class nightclub that caters to the older generation 
by booking such dubious acts as Frank Cinatra. He has a line 
of Blarney for every situation but cannot commit to his 
girlfriend played by Tara Fitzgerald.

Desperate to boost his flagging business he books 'Mr. X' 
who is popularly believed to be the famous tax-exiled 
singer. He plays to a packed house but is exposed as a 
fraud, a cheap imitation, much to the chagrin of Mickey 
O'Neill and his investors who close the club down.

Prompted by the loss of his girlfriend and his club he sets 
off for Ireland to track down the genuine article to try 
to convince him to return for one last performance. He has 
trouble finding the real singer (played by Ned Beatty) but 
when he does he has even more trouble convincing him to 
return as the taxman (played by David McCallum) is still 
waiting to get his hands on him.

Will he return? Will he be caught? Can O'Neill do it?

Rent it and see!

'Hear My Song' is riddled with gentle comedy and backed up 
by the wonderful songs of the day. It is a forgiveable and 
unoffensive collection of blarney, stereotypes and good 
humour that is just perfect for a dreary cold wet night 
when you need cheering up. Very enjoyable!

Dawn Hayden

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

	It is next to impossible, I believe, to toss a brick 
	in the air anywhere in County Galway without it 
	landing on the head of some musician.

James Galway, An Autobiography, 1978

	Hell is full of musical amateurs: 
	music is the brandy of the damned.

George Bernard Shaw: Man and Superman, 1903

	My father and mother were Irish, 
	and I am Irish too,
	I bought a wee fidil for ninepence, 
	and it is Irish too.

Joseph Campbell,  1879-1944, The Ninepenny Fidil

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EMBLEMS OF IRELAND: THE SHAMROCK	by Bridget Haggerty 

According to the Concise Columbia Encyclopedia, the identity 
of the true shamrock has long been debated, but the plants 
most often designated as the emblem of Ireland are the white 
clover, the small hop clover, and the wood sorrel, or oxalis.  
 
It's likely that some or all of this information was 
provided by the botanist, Nathaniel Colgan, who endeavored 
to identify "the real shamrock" at the turn of the 20th 
century.

He asked people all over Ireland to send him living, rooted 
specimens which he carefully planted and labeled. When the 
plants matured and blossomed, he was able to identify four 
different types - the three already mentioned and one called 
Black Medick. Compared to the American plant, which is 
oxalis, the leaves on the sprigs from Ireland were tiny and 
featured a dark stain on the green. Undoubtedly, whatever 
the botanists call it, this was, and still is, the shamrock 
that the majority of Irish people wear in their lapels on 
Saint Patrick's Day.

So how did the shamrock become an emblem of Ireland? It may 
surprise many readers to learn that the plant's international 
association with the Emerald Isle is relatively recent.

It wasn't until the 17th century that it became the custom 
to wear the shamrock on the feast of Ireland's patron saint. 
Until then, the Irish wore a special St. Patrick's cross, 
made just for the occasion. Then, in the late 18th century, 
the shamrock was adopted as an emblem by the Volunteers of 
1777. But it didn't really become widely popular until the 
19th century, when the emerging Nationalist movements took 
the shamrock, along with the harp, as their emblems.

Viewed as an act of rebellion in Victorian England, Irish 
regiments were forbidden to display it. This one single act 
may have done more to establish the shamrock as Ireland's 
national emblem than anything else. It was also the catalyst 
for the creation of the famous ballad that became known as 
'The Wearin' O' The Green':

'Oh Paddy dear, and did ye hear the news that's going round?
The shamrock is forbid by law to grow on Irish ground!
No more St. Patrick's Day we'll keep, 
his color can't be seen, 
For there's a cruel law agin' the wearing o' the Green!'

While the lyrics may have stirred the souls and hearts of 
rebellious Irishmen, there are a couple of strange 
contradictions in this verse: it's very likely that Saint 
Patrick wore vestments of blue, not green and since the 
plant wasn't cultivated but grew wild, there was no way 
the Crown could have successfully banned its growth!

As for Saint Patrick using it to teach us the mystery of 
the Holy Trinity, it was never mentioned in any of his 
writings. So, that of itself, remains a mystery. On the 
other hand, Triads, or groups of three, were of major 
significance in ancient Ireland so it is quite possible 
that the shamrock may have been used by early Christian 
teachers because, not only could it instantly illustrate 
and explain an important belief, it would also have been 
symbolically acceptable.

But that was then.

Today, the shamrock is firmly established as the most 
instantly recognizable emblem of Ireland. For good luck, 
it's usually included in the bouquet of an Irish bride, and 
also in the boutonniere of the groom. It's the symbol of a 
quality B & B that's earned the right to display it. It's 
part of the Aer Lingus logo, as well as those of many other 
companies, sports teams and organizations. It is also an 
integral part of an old tradition called 'drowning the 
shamrock'.

This takes place on Saint Patrick's Day, when the shamrock 
that has been worn in the hat or lapel is removed and put 
into the last drink of the evening. A toast is proposed and 
then, when the toast has been honored, the shamrock is taken 
from the bottom of the glass and thrown over the left 
shoulder. 

Slainte! 

Bridget Haggerty is the author of 'The Traditional Irish 
Wedding', visit here for more:

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

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

PHRASE:		Breith lá Sona Duit!  
PRONOUNCED:	breht law sunna dwit!
MEANING:		Happy birthday to you!

PHRASE:		Go maire tú an lá!  
PRONOUNCED:	go marra two on law
MEANING:		Many happy returns! (Congratulations!)

PHRASE:		Sláinte agus saol chugat! 
PRONOUNCED:	slawn/che ogg/us sail koo/gut!  
MEANING:		Health and long life to you! 

View the archive of phrases here:

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

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

Irish Government website: All the information about Irish 
government services. 

 http://www.irlgov.ie

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

Irish Townland Database: Know the name of a townland that 
your descendants are from but cannot find it on a map? Use 
this free search facility to find out where in Ireland the 
townland is. Visit at:

 http://www.seanruad.com

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SUPPORT THE INFORMATION ABOUT IRELAND SITE
HELP US TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE FREE RESOURCES

Get family crest gifts for your or a friends family name and 
get a free email account:

 https://www.irishnation.com


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JUNE COMPETITION RESULT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The winner was: carol.doyle@on.aibn.com

who will receive the following:

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

Send us an email to claim your prize, and well done! 
Remember that all subscribers to this newsletter are 
automatically entered into the competition every time. 

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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
Click here to contact us