Ireland

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    The Irish Times -

  • Majority see ISC funding cut

    9 Feb 2010 | 10:32 am
    Irish Sports Council Funding:Special Olympics Ireland and Horse Sport Ireland are among the biggest losers in the scaled down funding announced by the sports council (ISC) today.

  • Sri Lanka parliament dissolved

    9 Feb 2010 | 10:32 am
    Sri Lanka's president has dissolved parliament before legislative elections on April 8th, a senior government official said today, a day after a leading opposition figure was arrested on military offences.

  • Statement by the Financial Regulator

    9 Feb 2010 | 10:17 am
    The following is the full text of the statement by the Financial Regulator in relation to today's announcement by Bank of Scotland (Ireland):

  • Zola angered by timing of owners

    9 Feb 2010 | 10:01 am
    Gianfranco Zola has taken a swipe at West Ham's new owners after David Sullivan announced in the media the entire staff would have to take a pay cut in the summer.

  • Man arrested over 1985 UK murder

    9 Feb 2010 | 9:45 am
    Detectives have arrested a man over the murder of a policeman hacked to death almost 25 years ago during one of Britain's worst race riots, police said today.
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    Twenty Major - Still smoking in Dublin bars

  • Poor old dreams

    Twenty Major
    9 Feb 2010 | 9:15 am
    “Twenty”, said Dirty Dave this afternoon in Ron’s, “I’ve got to the age I am, an age I won’t disclose as I know the minute you go home you’ll tell the readers of your blog all about this conversation and I want to retain some air of mystery about me, and I have not realised my life’s main ambition”. “That’s nothing to be ashamed of. Very few of us get to crossbreed people from Leitrim with gibbons to make a new kind of super-ape that’s rubbish at all Gaelic games”. “No, not that life’s ambition. I meant…

  • George Lee

    Twenty Major
    9 Feb 2010 | 1:52 am
    I find the stick he’s getting over his resignation a bit weird. Sure, he might have given it longer. He probably did expect to be more involved, however naive that was. And he probably has damaged Fine Gael (though not as much as Enda) and let down the people who voted for him. Yet he has walked away from a career in politics. Politicians, for the most part, are a bunch of self-serving, mendacious, power hungry cunts who are in it for what they can get out of it, rather than any great desire for public service. Look at all the quotes about how he never fitted in or how he ‘looked…

  • Filthy fuckers

    Twenty Major
    8 Feb 2010 | 4:23 am
    I had forgotten the animal magnetism of Dame Street on a Saturday night. Those muscular thighs in short dresses, the staggering, stumbling gentlemen and the overall atmosphere of ‘Will I vomit or fight someone’ was not something I’ve missed, I have to admit. Nevertheless, found myself in a bar on Dame Street around midnight. It was quite busy. Some pissed up rugby fans and assorted folk, nothing crazy. Went downstairs for a piss, took my place at the urinal and noticed the one next to me was full. These urinals were quite deep, I’d estimate about 6-8 pints of piss was…

  • I’m not paying for this

    Twenty Major
    7 Feb 2010 | 4:39 am
    Via Election.ie today’s Sunday Tribune is running a story saying the Church wants its legal fees, arising from the Ryan Report, to be covered by the taxpayer: While the orders are close to a final agreement with the government to make additional contributions of €100m plus properties to the redress scheme, the Sunday Tribune has learned that the Department of Finance has been notified that the orders have applied to have their massive legal bills arising from the Ryan inquiry covered by the taxpayer. It sounds ridiculous. Scandalous. Beyond the pale. But would you be in any way…

  • Haiti fundraiser

    Twenty Major
    5 Feb 2010 | 2:15 am
    We had a fundraiser in Ron’s last night for that old earthquake thing. “Hatin’ for Haiti’ was a resounding success. Each person had to get up and rant about something they disliked intensely. Jimmy’s prolonged tirade about the fat old one from Boyzone and how he could be directly linked to the financial and political crisis in this country was a thing of wonder. Stinking Pete spoke about how much he detests public speaking, Splodge about people from Luxembourg and even old Charlie down the end of the bar had a go, explaining why people who put your change on the…
 
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    The Irish Times -

  • Majority see ISC funding cut

    9 Feb 2010 | 10:32 am
    Irish Sports Council Funding:Special Olympics Ireland and Horse Sport Ireland are among the biggest losers in the scaled down funding announced by the sports council (ISC) today.

  • Sri Lanka parliament dissolved

    9 Feb 2010 | 10:32 am
    Sri Lanka's president has dissolved parliament before legislative elections on April 8th, a senior government official said today, a day after a leading opposition figure was arrested on military offences.

  • Statement by the Financial Regulator

    9 Feb 2010 | 10:17 am
    The following is the full text of the statement by the Financial Regulator in relation to today's announcement by Bank of Scotland (Ireland):

  • Zola angered by timing of owners

    9 Feb 2010 | 10:01 am
    Gianfranco Zola has taken a swipe at West Ham's new owners after David Sullivan announced in the media the entire staff would have to take a pay cut in the summer.

  • Man arrested over 1985 UK murder

    9 Feb 2010 | 9:45 am
    Detectives have arrested a man over the murder of a policeman hacked to death almost 25 years ago during one of Britain's worst race riots, police said today.
 
 
 
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    Ireland News

  • 175 jobs to go at Boston Scientific

    8 Feb 2010 | 6:01 pm
    Medical device manufacturer Boston Scientific has advised staff at its Galway plant that it plans to reduce the workforce by 175.

  • Argos Ireland profit up despite downturn

    7 Feb 2010 | 7:37 pm
    Friday, February 05 16:29:45 Despite the worst recession in memory and the biggest and fastest contraction in consumer spending in a generation, catalogue retailer, Argos nearly tripled its pre-tax profits in Ireland in the full year to the end of February 2009 to E17m, accounts just filed reveal.

  • Daylami to Coolagown in Ireland

    6 Feb 2010 | 7:33 pm
    Daylami, a Cartier Horse of the Year and winner of the 1999 Breeders' Cup Turf , has been relocated to stand at Coolagown Stud in Co.

  • Robinson: Northern Ireland agreement means 'politics is working'

    5 Feb 2010 | 7:23 pm
    DUBLIN, Ireland a * What started four weeks ago as a sex scandal that threatened to plunge Northern Ireland into crisis has ended in a new political agreement that strengthens the province's unique power-sharing arrangements.

  • Louth to have a leading role in promoting a greener Ireland

    4 Feb 2010 | 7:06 pm
    Plans are in advanced stages to make Louth a hub for innovation and number one country for using technologies to reduce energy consumption.
 
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    EirePreneur

  • Spatial Computing

    jcorbett
    25 Jan 2010 | 8:34 am
    A few months ago I wrote an article, on behalf of Daynuv, for the Computers in Education Society of Ireland Digiteach series, about the future of computing (in the third dimension). And then last week I wrote about how the emergence of full body interfaces (Microsoft's Project Natal) along with 3D TVs will make this future a reality sooner than I'd realised. Well today I came across these wonderful videos on Spatial Computing which visualize brilliantly very similar ideas -

  • How to get Google Voice working in Ireland

    jcorbett
    23 Jan 2010 | 1:50 am
    Gavin Cooney, CEO of Learnosity in Drogheda, detailed on Twitter the steps he followed to get Google Voice working in Ireland- Go to Google Voice webpage by using a server in NYC as a proxy server. Use a US Skype-In number to activate Google Voice. It calls you and you have to enter a code. Answer using Skype. Make Google Voice divert all calls to voicemail (Gavin just wants to use it as my voice mail on his Irish O2 phone). Do this in GV settings. Setup a new Skype account, with Irish Skype-In number. When unavailable divert to US Google Voice number. Divert calls on mobile when unavailable…

  • Irish startup completes fundraising on social networking site

    jcorbett
    22 Jan 2010 | 2:25 am
    This Irish Times has a big story this morning - GOSHIDO, A Limerick company which has developed software for managing projects, has completed a private fundraising round using only the social networking website LinkedIn.According to executive chairman Frank Hannigan, the company is selling off 10 slots to investors at €25,000 each – each equivalent to a 2 per cent stake in the company.Seven hundred e-mails were sent to potential investors through LinkedIn earlier this month, generating 200 replies by phone, e-mail and Twitter. The company raised €162,500 in just eight days.Goshido…

  • Experimenting with Hashcamp

    jcorbett
    17 Jan 2010 | 9:50 am
    Hashtags are keywords on Twitter prefixed by the symbol #. They are often used by people attending conferences as a way of broadcasting presentation bullet points and extending the discussion beyond the corridors of the venue. Joe Drumgoole, CEO and founder of CloudSplit.com used the power of this convention last week when covering the latest IGAP. IGAP is the Internet Growth and Acceleration Programme which was developed by Enterprise Ireland and the Internet Growth Alliance and is aimed exclusively at high potential internet companies. Using the #IGAP hashtag Joe broadcast dozens of bullet…

  • World builders

    jcorbett
    13 Jan 2010 | 2:24 am
    I've done a 'holodeck is nearly here' post before but reading Steven Rosenbaum's summary of last week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) made me realize a holodeck-lite is even closer at hand. Rosenbaum writes -"Last year,.. I wrote a pretty snarky thing about how 3D would never happen. Well, I was wrong. And way wrong.The one thing I saw that totally blew my mind was a 3D Menu system by Motorola. It was so cool to see all your shows, music, pictures and such in a 'cover flow format' floating in midair. I wanted to reach out and touch the navigation. And that can't be far behind." Well yes,…
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    THE LIMERICK BLOGGER

  • Boy Dies Of Meningitis In Limerick

    Brian
    14 Jan 2010 | 8:16 am
    A young boy has died in Limerick Regional Hospital, he died yesterday after contracting meningitis. The The HSE has advised parents to bring their children to their local GP if they are showing symptoms of the virus. No other details such as name or age of the deceased boy have been released as of yet.

  • Limerick Plumbers Working Flat Out Due To Big Freeze

    Brian
    14 Jan 2010 | 8:08 am
    Plumbers all over Limerick have never been busier due to the ongoing bad weather which caused many water pipes to freeze in Limerick. Hundreds of homes throughout Limerick were left without water for up to a week, and some are still without water, due to frozen and bursting  pipes. The people who have been left without water are being assisted by Limerick city council, who have provided standpipe water points in various parts of the county. One plumber has said the biggest problem is water pipes bursting in the attics of many houses. See below for a list of tips to prevent pipes freezing or…

  • The Show Goes On

    A Twist of Fate
    7 Jan 2010 | 6:08 am
    A quick update on the soap opera that is the Limerick Senior Hurling. Justin McCarthy’s appointment just over 12 months ago was heralded by some as the Messiah coming to resurrect Limerick from the dead. After a timid League campaign and an unmerciful ass whipping at the hands of our next door neighbours Tipperary, the Messiah is been readied for crucifixion by last years panel. To date all but 6 of last years panel have withdrawn their services for this year. Recent departures of Gavin O’Mahony, Tom Condon, Dinny Moloney and Stephen Walsh increase the chances of anyone turning up for…

  • St. Joesph’s Hospital Fire

    Brian
    7 Jan 2010 | 5:00 am
    Gardai are satisfied that a fire at St. Joesph’s hospital in the city was not malicious. The fire broke out at around 6.00 PM yesterday. Three units of the Limerick fire brigade were called to the scene, they attended the blaze for over an hour, before it was brought under control. There was no patients in the building at the time of the fire, as work was being carried out. The chief fire officer said, all indications point to accidental cause.

  • Archbishop Martin “not satisfied” with Murray’s response; Theologian seeks Murray resignation

    Editors
    1 Dec 2009 | 5:15 pm
    Speaking on RTE’s Prime Time last night, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said that he was “not satisfied” with Bishop of Limerick Donal Murray’s response to the Murphy Report, and that he hoped “they will clarify their positions and respond appropriately”. He also said that he will be writing to the bishops named in the report to remind them “that their responses are a matter for the people of the Dublin Archdiocese and not their own dioceses”. “Everybody has to stand up and accept responsibility for what they did,” he…
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    Silicon Republic - News

  • Irish broadband market to be boosted by LLU breakthrough

    9 Feb 2010 | 10:24 am
    The adoption of LLU in Ireland by Eircom's competitors has been negligible to date and Ireland compares unfavourably with most other European countries in this respect, Comreg has said.

  • Accused Mario pirate agrees to pay millions

    9 Feb 2010 | 9:03 am
    A 24-year-old man has agreed to pay Nintendo AUS$1.5 million for loss of sales revenue after he allegedly illegally copied and uploaded the New Super Mario Bros. for the Wii online prior to the game's release in Australia last year.

  • Dun & Bradstreet brings 100 new technology jobs to Dublin

    9 Feb 2010 | 4:49 am
    Business information leader Dun & Bradstreet has invested in a new operation in Dublin that will generate up to 100 new jobs over the next 18 months.

  • Budding tech entrepreneurs sought for free support programme

    9 Feb 2010 | 4:16 am
    The Synergy Centre at the Institute of Technology Tallaght, Dublin (ITT Dublin) is currently taking applications for the Synergy Enterprise Platform Programme, which is a free, practical support programme aimed at budding entrepreneurs who are in the early stages of setting up a technology-based or a knowledge-intensive business.

  • Opel unveils €11-billion restructuring plan; 8,300 jobs to go

    9 Feb 2010 | 4:15 am
    General Motors' Opel division has today unveiled a five-year, €11-billion plan under which it hopes to break even by 2011 and return to profitability by 2012, although it does not believe the western European car market will come back to the levels seen earlier in this century "for quite some time".
 
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    In Photos dot org

  • The Jedward Angel

    Donncha
    6 Feb 2010 | 2:11 pm
    Bishop Lucey Park in Cork City was the location of a wonderful display of angel statues. They were decorated in all sorts of ways and even had one dedicated to Jedward! Adam had a great time running around them, and had loads of fun playing with another boy named Nathaniel. They went crazy chasing around and screaming as loud as they could at the pigeons who had an unexpected bout of exercise! Related PostsJoe, the Devil and an AngelThe best photos of 2006

  • Five Arches

    Donncha
    1 Feb 2010 | 12:12 pm
    The bridge spanning the river outside Abbeystrowry Cemetery near Skibereen in County Cork. My wife was driving, I was able to enjoy the scenery! Related PostsGolden ArchesThe Big M

  • Gates of the Dead

    Donncha
    28 Jan 2010 | 2:06 pm
    The roofed gates of Abbeystrowry Cemetery near Skibereen in County Cork. Related PostsTourists outside Windsor CastleBlarney on a sunny winter dayCourtmacsherry Dead End

  • Abbeystrowry Cemetery

    Donncha
    24 Jan 2010 | 12:21 pm
    Abbeystrowry Cemetery is located near Skibereen in County Cork. It is the site of some of the mass graves used in the area during the famine around 1845. I didn’t know, or had forgotten there was a famine in 1740/1741 when 400,000 people died. That many people died on this little island of ours in such a short time? The mind boggles. Related PostsFive ArchesGates of the DeadTullagh Cemetery at Sunset

  • Walsh BSC

    Donncha
    21 Jan 2010 | 7:56 am
    A small boat in Baltimore, County Cork. The Galleries on Mallow Camera Club are back in operation! The site used to use a modified fGallery to allow members to upload photos but there’s an exploit for the last version of that plugin, it doesn’t work in WP 2.9.x and the author has abandoned the project unfortunately. WordPress now supports galleries anyway so I converted the fGallery galleries into pages and upload files in the posts table. Works nicely now! Related PostsNo related posts
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    Anthony McG

  • The War Memorial Gardens, Islandbridge

    anthony
    8 Feb 2010 | 6:36 am
    Yesterday morning I went along with Peter’s Garden Group to visit the War Memorial Gardens (thanks to @curlydena for the lift). Located in Islandbridge, they are a beautiful tribute to the Irish men who lost their lives fighting in the Great War 1914-1918. We were guided by Craig, one of the resident gardeners who obviously enjoys his job. Craig explained how the gardens are symmetrical in design with certain trees representing soldiers whilst others are on a raised level representing generals overlooking the battlefield. Whilst a lot of the roses have been pruned back for winter, the…

  • Friday Photo – Aviva Stadium

    anthony
    5 Feb 2010 | 8:02 am
    Got to tour the new Aviva Stadium this morning. It’s about two months away from completion with the pitch being laid on St Patrick’s Day. The boxes you can see in the shot are full of seats which are being fitted at the moment. We got a look at one of the corporate boxes too and there should be a great atmosphere once it’s finished. There are more photos here. Like Unlike

  • Tweasurehunt

    anthony
    5 Feb 2010 | 7:26 am
    Last Saturday was Dublin’s first ever Tweasurehunt. Our team (led by @darraghdoyle) came second with @curlydena’s team taking the prize after a frantic two hours running around 9 way-points in Dublin 1. Well done to Damien Mulley, Alexia Golez and Willie White, it really was a great way to spend a Saturday. Jentertainment’s fantastic video explains how it unfolded: Like Unlike

  • Sledgehammers and fireworks

    anthony
    3 Feb 2010 | 3:05 pm
    A friend of mine recently traveled through Mexico over the course of three months and mentioned something about strapping fireworks to sledgehammers. I didn’t quite believe Mexicans were this crazy: Like Unlike

  • Friday Photo – …and this is now

    anthony
    29 Jan 2010 | 5:35 am
    The follow on from last week’s photo which was taken at Paddy’s 30th last Saturday. A great 80s themed night was had by all. Like Unlike
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    ask direct

  • Sometimes the tail really can wag the dog: why you should inspire your copywriter to write a more powerful PS, and how…

    jules
    3 Feb 2010 | 1:32 am
    Like a lot of direct response copywriters, I rate the importance of the PS very highly. The reason is simple - all the research conducted on the way people read direct mail letters shows that after reading their name in the address line, most people flip straight to the end of your letter. And if there’s a PS there, they read it. In other words, your PS is possibly the first thing your donors read after opening your direct mail. Plus, if your letter hooks the donor, and they read to the end, it will also be the last thing they read (or rather re-read) before they reach for their cheque…

  • Be careful what you ask for

    john
    21 Dec 2009 | 3:56 am
    Even the boldest fundraisers might blush at the thought of asking donors for significantly larger gifts. And for good reason too. Asked the wrong way, it can feel inappropriate, even downright rude and may damage carefully nurtured donor relationships. The general assumption underpinning ask amounts is that individual donors make gifts more or less in line with their previous giving patterns. And over time as the relationship deepens they will hopefully give more. This makes sense for most donors. But what about supporters who may have the wallets and the wish to donate more, but don’t…

  • Stand Up For Education

    john
    9 Dec 2009 | 12:56 am
    Here’s the name and visual identity we created for the Teachers’ Union of Ireland campaign against education cuts. The campaign website, which you can see here was developed by our friends at Digital Revolutionaries.

  • New Fundraising Ireland Membership Programme

    damian
    3 Dec 2009 | 4:58 am
    This just in from Fundraising Ireland: In 2010 Fundraising Ireland will be launching their official Membership Programme, in order to ensure that they can provide a professional and tailored range of services to those engaged in fundraising activity in Ireland. They want to deliver the best membership programme for you – one that takes account of what those professionally engaged in fundraising see as being essential to their roles and one that delivers what you need to succeed. In developing the membership programme Fundraising Ireland want to ensure we take account of the views of all…

  • Almost as good as being there… #29thIFC

    damian
    21 Oct 2009 | 3:15 am
    Sadly, I’m not enjoying the wonders of Nordwijkerhout and the International Fundraising Congress this year (although our Edwina is there). But I have been able to pick up on some of the buzz… and some of the key tips and ideas by following the twitter feed from the event. I’ve set up a column on my tweetdeck to track all mentions of #29thIFC. You can also follow the live feed at Howard Lake’s UK Fundraising site, or you can simply search twitter for the IFC hashtag: #29thIFC. There’s also a twitter billboard at the IFC, so that delegates and those not there can…
 
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    Inside View

  • Working Within a Group

    insideview@podcasting.ie (Bernard Goldbach)
    9 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am
    A GUEST POST from the Tipperary Institute project management Skunkworks. Several things become very obvious when working within a group. On one hand, there are things you expected along with things you did not. Things you thought you knew quickly become things you don't know. On the other hand you can find a subject you like and become quite good at it. As a mature student in a creative multimedia project group, I mingle with men and women of mixed ages and differing backgrounds. Most of us are mature students and we find it can be difficult to touch base outside of the classroom. We have,…
 
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    Caricatures Ireland

  • Spotted at the Galway Solemn Novena

    Allan
    9 Feb 2010 | 10:36 am

  • George Lee- It’s my ball and I’m going home. #glee

    Allan
    8 Feb 2010 | 6:03 am
    George Lee has resigned from Fine Gael and has resigned his seat in the Dáil for the most petulant, self-indulgent reasons. Quitting the party is one thing, but to resign the seat after 9 months spits in the eye of the Dublin South electorate. I’d be surprised if there’s more than a 40% turn out in the inevitable by-election to come. Quitting a Dáil seat in frustration at not being able to change things in 9 months is a complete contradiction in terms and a copout that Sarah Palin would be proud of. Like this post? Share it! Click an icon above to be safely taken to your…

  • Friday Music Video: Danielson Family, Idiot Boksen

    Allan
    5 Feb 2010 | 5:09 am
    Like this post? Share it! Click an icon above to be safely taken to your preferred social site!

  • Theatre Show Proposal from 2001: The Tasks of Harry Cleese

    Allan
    2 Feb 2010 | 3:24 am
    Click images to embiggen. I used to work for Macnas in Galway and in 2001 I was inspired to draft a proposal for a show based on the myth of Heracles (or Hercules as the Romans had him). I submitted it on spec and nothing ever came of it (and I mean nothing, it wasn’t even acknowledged). The written treatment is lost on a crashed harddrive somewhere but I found the designs I drew up to go with the proposal last night so I thought I’d share them here. Macnas at the time had an obsession with The Odyssey, producing no less than 3 shows based around the epic, including a promenade…

  • Warp Factor PML.

    Allan
    1 Feb 2010 | 4:37 pm
    I LOVE this strip from Eoin Ryan’s Space Avalanche. Check out the previous toons too! Via Paddy Brown. Like this post? Share it! Click an icon above to be safely taken to your preferred social site!
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    Conor's Bandon Blog

  • Techie updates have moved

    Conor O'Neill
    9 Feb 2010 | 1:54 am
    I know the tech stuff annoys the foodie readers here and vice versa. So last week I started up a new Posterous blog over on conoroneill.net. It is much more high volume than this blog and consists mainly of pointers to interesting tech stuff, opinions thereof and the odd funny bit. So basically pretty much anything except food/Bandon, which will remain here. I’ll do the odd cross-reference when it makes sense. And hopefully the volume here will improve over the Spring as I get into a gardening groove. next post up is one on Jimmy Doherty’s “From Crop to Shop” which may…

  • Fat Club Update

    Conor O'Neill
    9 Feb 2010 | 1:34 am
    The idea of relentlessly banging on about weight and fitness here and on Twitter didn’t really work. There are only two people that I follow on Twitter doing it and one of them is my sister. But I have been marking major milestones and today was one of them. So from Dec 29th to Feb 9th, I have lost 20 pounds. How? No booze, no snacking, no sweets, normal breakfast, normal lunch, smaller dinner, fruit whenever I’m peckish and a small amount of treadmill Mon-Fri. My BMI, body fat and visceral fat are all still atrocious but on the way down. On advice from @adventsparky on Twitter,…

  • Just in case you haven’t seen/heard it

    Conor O'Neill
    3 Feb 2010 | 3:18 am
    Very very funny.

  • Neven watchable but not memorable

    Conor O'Neill
    12 Jan 2010 | 12:07 am
    Neven Maguire: Home Chef I’ve always been a huge fan of Neven. Anyone who can run a successful restaurant in the middle of nowhere in rural Cavan gets my vote. His energy is always fantastic too. This new show is ok but nothing amazing. I’m surprised to see cookery programmes still being made that refer to “dinner parties”. Does anyone still have those? His three dishes in the opening episode were asparagus and smoked salmon tartlet, confit duck and a tiramsu variant. Whilst I loved the look of the first dish, it seems a bit ridiculous to have an asparagus recipe in…

  • The Rules of Fat Club

    Conor O'Neill
    22 Dec 2009 | 1:16 am
    Pat Phelan’s recent post about losing weight and giving up ciggies highlighted that we all stand a better chance of success if we do some online group supoort of each other via Twitter/Facebook. The bruv in law came up with Fat Club. So here we go: #1 – The first rule of Fat Club is, you must talk all the time about Fat Club online. #2 – The second rule of Fat Club is, you MUST TALK about Fat Club online. #3 – If someone says stop, goes limp or taps out, the de-fatting has just begun. #4 – Lots of guys fighting fat. #5 – One kilo at a time. #6 – Baggy…
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    Grannymar

  • A Facelift

    Grannymar
    8 Feb 2010 | 10:04 pm
    We had that chat. You know the one about the effects of passing time….. Who else but my Elly?  You know how it goes…. “Mum, I think you need updating!” There are days when I am glad that I had only one daughter.  What must it be like to have an army of young ladies surrounding you like a gaggle of geese pointing out all those little faults.  Too fat, too thin, well the first never applied to me so that is something I suppose.   Then there is the “Take that off it makes you look….. look… look OLD!” So I had a long think about this face…

  • Food Monday ~ Pineapple Chicken Stir Fry

    Grannymar
    7 Feb 2010 | 10:04 pm
    Pineapple Chicken Stir Fry ½ lb Chicken Breast cut in strips ¼ Sliced Green Pepper ½ cup Pineapple Chunks drained Chicken Broth or Stock 4 tablespoons Oil 2 tablespoons Cornflour mixed to a thick paste with water 1/8 teaspoon Sesame Oil 1 teaspoon Brandy 1 teaspoon Soy Sauce 1 teaspoon Sugar Dash Salt Heat the oil in a pan and fry green pepper and pineapple until pepper is crisp-tender.  Add enough chicken broth to cover, and a dash of salt.  Cook for 1 minute.  Add chicken and cornflour paste, sesame oil, brandy, soy sauce and sugar.  Cook for 2-3 minutes stirring constantly. Serve…

  • Just because

    Grannymar
    7 Feb 2010 | 2:11 am
    Just because… You are not in full time employment, doesn’t mean you don’t need to eat. You are on a diet, doesn’t mean you cannot peruse the menu. You are alone, doesn’t mean you are lonely It is Sunday, does not mean the sun will shine. If the sun don’t shine, does not mean you cannot be happy.

  • Caricatures

    Grannymar
    5 Feb 2010 | 10:12 pm
    A few weeks ago there was talk of caricatures. Baino way down under in Sydney was the first to strike.  She digitally played with one of my Podcasting photos from way back.  Right now I am unable to turn my hand to the original. GM by Baino Then moving a little further west, we have an entry from India.  Ramana sent this one. GM by Ramana And Finally… GM as you have never seen her before.  I am not sure if it represents a woman of many parts or the fact that I am made up of so many odd pieces that it is impossible to make them all fit together. GM by Maynard I love them all.  Thank…

  • The Visitors

    Grannymar
    5 Feb 2010 | 6:48 am
    The brave souls Anu, Ashok, Conrad, Gaelikaa, Ginger, Judy, Magpie 11, Maria,Ramana of the Loose  Blogging consortiumHelen is on sabbatical & Ashok might be otherwise engaged right now) once more entertain us with their offering on the topic for the week, chosen today by me Visitor or Visitors We had the yanks coming home to visit, from time to time. They were relations who had emigrated many years earlier, flute relations that might have emigrated many years earlier, friends of the relations who emigrated many years earlier and sometimes friends of the friends who emigrated many years…
 
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    This is what I do.

  • An interview with Eleanor McEvoy

    Darragh
    26 Jan 2010 | 5:51 am
    It was a distinct pleasure to sit with Eleanor McEvoy recently to discuss her career, her adoption to the internet, the start of her career and her change from classical music to becoming one of the most popular singer-songwriters in the country. We also discussed the Irish music industry, the labels and media and her involvement in IMRO. We talked about the upcoming Tradfest in Temple Bar (on this coming weekend) and her upcoming Australian tour.We also discussed her charity work - the background of her "Oh Uganda" video with Oxfam Unwrapped, her massively popular online, but commercially…

  • News just in: We love Sharon Ní Bheoláin - a RTÉ ballad of injustice.

    Darragh
    22 Jan 2010 | 3:35 am

  • The press release re Boards.ie being hacked today

    Darragh
    21 Jan 2010 | 10:19 am
    Not a post I'm happy about posting (major deal internally, obviously) but here's the press release we sent out today regarding the incident we've had:Today, Thursday 21 Jan 2010 at 11:20 GMT the Boards.ie database was attacked by source from outside the country. This breach was discovered during routine security monitoring. We discovered this intrusion and took the site offline.In the attack, part of the database which includes our members usernames, email addresses and obfuscated passwords was accessed. We are currently working with independent security consultants to ensure our systems are…

  • Review: Little Gem at the Peacock Theatre, Dublin

    Darragh
    20 Jan 2010 | 5:30 pm
    "Love, sex, birth, death and salsa classes. Three generations of women. One extraordinary year" I'm delighted I took the opportunity to go to tonight's opening performance of Little Gem, the award winning play by Elaine Murphy, running at the Peacock Theatre until February 27.Starring Anita Reeves, Hilda Fay and Sarah Greene, Little Gem is a wonderfully touching, sentimental and - though I dislike the word for its maudlin overtones - heartwarming story of a year in the life of three women, three generations in the one family, told by each of them in turn."I loved this play, i went from…

  • Nominees for 2010 Meteor Irish Music Awards announced today

    Darragh
    7 Jan 2010 | 5:01 am
    I've been invited along to the launch of the 2010 Meteor Music Awards (Facebook link here) and here, as I've just posted on Boards.ie, is the list of the nominees as I have in front of me:(EDIT: To vote in each category, just click on the category headline below)Best Radio DJ - National (vote here)Ian Dempsey - Today FMDamien Farrelly - 2FMTony Fenton - Today FMRay Foley - Today FMLarry Gogan - 2FMDan Hegarty - 2FMRadio DJ - Regional (vote here)Leigh Doyle - BEATJim & Niamh - FM 104KC & Lenny - Red FMMichelle McMahon - Spin SWJon Richards - Galway Bay FMShona Ryan - Spin 1038Best…
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    Slugger O'Toole

  • Are Irish jokes still racist?

    Brian Walker
    9 Feb 2010 | 8:52 am
    A man walked into a Dublin bar and saw a friend sitting with an empty glass. ‘Paddy can I buy you another’, he asked, to which Paddy replied - ‘now what would I be wanting with another empty glass?’” ConservativeHome reports that a councillor in Medway Kent was ordered to pay compensation on racist grounds to an Irish-born union official for telling this joke.  Allowing for context, surely a piece of nonsense in 2010?

  • “Let me take this particular issue away..”

    Pete Baker
    9 Feb 2010 | 8:50 am
    When the Speaker informed the NI Assembly yesterday that Peter Robinson had decided to return “to exercise the functions of the office of First Minister”, a point of order from the SDLP’s Alex Attwood - calling for the publication of legal opinion which Peter Robinson has stated clears his name - was met with short shrift, “Those are matters for the First Minister to deal with.”  As the BBC noted.  However, today in the Assembly, Alex Attwood was back.  This time armed with a copy of Erskine May.  And he got a much different response from the…

  • “He was subsequently executed and buried in an unmarked grave”

    Pete Baker
    9 Feb 2010 | 3:31 am
    The Provisional IRA’s “P O’Neill” has been briefing selected members of the press again.  Or as Brian Rowan puts it in the Belfast Telegraph, “the man I met yesterday no longer functions as P O’Neill, but he still speaks with all the authority of the republican leadership”.  They’ve suddenly remembered they ‘disappeared’ somebody else.  Joe Lynskey, described as a “senior IRA intelligence officer” in the Irish News which reported “it is believed that Mr Lynskey had a relationship with a married woman,…

  • Bloggers v Journalists redux

    Paul Evans
    9 Feb 2010 | 2:17 am
    Mick was speaking at a lively event organised by Westminster Skeptics in the Pub last night, and I tagged along. Dave Cole has given a good detailed account of it here. The question was supposed to be ‘What difference does political blogs really make?’ but because everyone was there for a boozy night rather than a seminar, and because Nick Cohen (surely the most argumentative man in London) was the ringmaster, it rapidly turned into an opposition between diligent paid-for journalism and irresponsible narcissistic blogging. Whatever else, it was an entertaining night. For me, the…

  • The politicians still don’t get it

    Brian Walker
    8 Feb 2010 | 11:46 pm
    70% of UK voters bemoan “ a broken society” (although 60% are optimistic about the future). The MPs expenses scandal rumbles on.  In the pre-election period politicians’ appeals for public trust will be tested as never before. They’ve got a lot to do. Mary Riddell in the Telegraph has a fine piece exposing the gap between rhetoric and record. In the Commons today, Labour is testing the waters of support for a controversial change in the voting system, too late for this Parliament to pass it. David Cameron launches a vicious personal attack on Gordon Brown because…
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    Splintered Sunrise

  • The latest round of peace processing

    splinteredsunrise
    8 Feb 2010 | 4:55 pm
    There’s been rather a lot going on in the north this past week, so let’s do a quick roundup of the major stories. The Big Deal: Devolution has been saved, huzzah! So what, after so many days of negotiation, was hammered out? The full text is here [pdf], but most of it is newspeak and waffle. Here are the highlights: Policing and justice: This will be devolved on 12 April, way before the DUP wanted. There will be a minister appointed by the Assembly on a cross-community vote, probably Alliance leader David Ford. The SDLP are spitting blood because under d’Hondt they would be…

  • Meascra na mblaganna

    splinteredsunrise
    7 Feb 2010 | 12:20 pm
    I’ll be doing an overview of the latest developments in local politics separately, but there’s still plenty of interest in this blog roundup. To begin with, we have the sad news of the death of Tomás Mac Giolla, formerly long-time president of (Official) Sinn Féin and latterly the Workers’ Party, at the age of 86. Garibaldy has an obituary, WorldbyStorm notes a remarkably candid interview, and Conor reproduces a clip of the great man at last September’s Desmond Greaves School, in one of his final public appearances. For jaw-dropping moments, Madam Miaow is not taken…

  • Apostles of Empire find romance… pity about the wife and kids…

    splinteredsunrise
    6 Feb 2010 | 5:37 pm
    This is too delicious to miss: The internationally celebrated historian and TV presenter Niall Ferguson has broken up with his wife of 16 years after a string of adulterous affairs. The 45-year-old Harvard professor has left former newspaper editor Susan Douglas, with whom he has three children, for his mistress, the Somalian-born feminist Ayaan Hirsi Ali. At which point Ms Douglas may be thinking hard thoughts about the nature of sisterhood. Professor Ferguson, whose books, television programmes and work with financial hedge funds earn an estimated £5million a year, is understood to have…

  • The rogues’ gallery, and a wee bit of meta-blogging

    splinteredsunrise
    6 Feb 2010 | 4:58 pm
    Well, the entries for the Orwell Prize are out, and your humble host is among the 164 eligible contenders in the blogging category. I stress, of course, that the OP is self-nominating, and the fact that you’re an entrant doesn’t betoken anything beyond your ability to fill out the online form. We shall await the longlists for a sense of what’s being looked for. Nonetheless, I recognise a good lot of those on the list. It’s nice to see some of the extended family there, of course, and some of my regular reads are there too. There are only a couple that I recognise as…

  • Department of the lowest common denominator

    splinteredsunrise
    4 Feb 2010 | 5:26 pm
    And now for something completely different. The incomparable Madame Arcati draws our attention to a company called “Dapper Dicks”, which makes… well, there’s no way to say this politely… clothing for the penis. I kid you not. You know when you see people out walking those wee dogs with beady eyes, and at this time of year the dog often has a coat on it? This is the same idea. There is a one-piece garment, in a coat or jacket style, that you can wrap around your member, as well as a rinky dinky little hat that you can stick on top of John Thomas if you so desire. And a…
 
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    Pat Phelan: Bits, bytes and telecoms

  • My Dell Hell

    Pat Phelan
    21 Jan 2010 | 8:21 am
    One company I will absolutely never deal with again is Dell Its actually practically impossible to contain myself whilst writing this post. Their customer service is beyond a joke, their helplines will run you from pillar to post and here I am yet again listening to Kate Bush for an hour. What’s my sin? I gave Dell my money One of the guys here needed a new laptop and picked out a Dell which we ordered over 20 days ago, initially I got no confirmation of the order and had to go through an hour of Tears for Fears, Woman in Chains for that and was told that 100% laptop would be delivered…

  • Apple still blocking Voice over 3G-Good decision

    Pat Phelan
    17 Jan 2010 | 12:52 pm
    I can’t believe we are back here again in a discussion regarding Apple blocking voice over 3G. Voice over 3G is an appalling standard, it just doesn’t work without massive compression. If any iPhone user runs a standard ping test I would be shocked to see ping times of under 100ms, in fact I have just run one now and am getting 146ms on Vodafone Ireland. This speed is just not good enough for voice and Skype know it, Apple know it, in fact most bloggers/trade experts know it too. It makes a great headline though and that’s the reason we keep hearing about it. Its old news,…

  • Rubinstein comment shows how far Palm are off the mark

    Pat Phelan
    10 Jan 2010 | 5:34 am
    During interview with All Things Digital’s Kara Swisher at CES Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein said three of the most incredible things I have ever heard, not only in telephony but in business in general. Q:How does Palm (PALM) view Apple (AAPL)? “We don’t pay that much attention to Apple….I know it sounds really strange,” says Rubinstein. “Really?” Kara replies. “You don’t worry about the iPhone?” “No, I really don’t,” Rubinstein answers. “I don’t believe you,” says Kara, telegraphing a sentiment I imagine is widely held among the audience. Rubinstein is sometimes…

  • Withings, helping this slob turn over a new leaf in 2010

    Pat Phelan
    31 Dec 2009 | 7:10 am
    As I said in my last post 2010 involves some big changes for me. I have this urge to get fit and not to die young, its that serious. One of the really cool devices which I have purchased is Withings a wifi enabled scales which pushes your weight to where you decide. I have decided its going to be on Twitter so I will weigh myself everyday for the next year and for the first time announce to the world tomorrow how out of shape I really am. Anyone who knows me is aware that whilst being the greatest gadget freak on the planet I hate complexity, if it doesn’t work out of the box I am not…

  • Christmas meet-up

    Pat Phelan
    27 Dec 2009 | 1:52 am
    To celebrate the arrival in Cork of Jackie Danicki I am organizing a soiree We are going to meet in The Coal Quay Bar @ 7.30pm tonight and move on for there for a snack somewhere I really hope you can make it.
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    The Cedar Lounge Revolution

  • Those polls… Garret FitzGerald has some thoughts…

    WorldbyStorm
    8 Feb 2010 | 11:23 pm
    Garret FitzGerald is convinced that things have changed. And he may well be right. Although not necessarily in the way he thinks, at least not after yesterday’s news. But… presuming he had no advance knowledge of that, what has changed and where? Why, in RoI politics. Consider his piece at the weekend. A clear shift away from Fianna Fáil emerges from a careful reading of opinion polls, despite recent small gains, TWO WEEKS ago, Noel Whelan in his column sought to clarify some aspects of political polling in the Irish context. I entirely agree with his comments in that article,…

  • Well, at least the Guardian gets who the ORM are…

    WorldbyStorm
    8 Feb 2010 | 2:26 pm
    Two Irish republican groups which fought a bitter feud in the 1970s have united to disarm their illegal arsenals. The Official Republican Movement (ORM), a faction of the Official IRA, revealed today that it had put its weapons beyond use. Its statement came just under an hour after the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) announced it had decommissioned its weapons. The INLA was responsible for more than 120 deaths during the Troubles, including the assassination of Margaret Thatcher’s friend and ally Airey Neave MP in 1979. It was born out of a split within the Officials over the…

  • Official Republican Movement Statement on Decommissioning

    WorldbyStorm
    8 Feb 2010 | 10:58 am
    The Official IRA have confirmed that, in keeping with the long held position within the Official Republican tradition of promoting and pursuing the development of peaceful, democratic and inclusive politics on the Island of Ireland; a process of engagement was unilaterally entered into with the Decommissioning Body and has reached a successful conclusion. The purpose of this engagement was to ensure that all weapons which were under the control of the Official IRA or to which the Official IRA had access were accounted for and transferred to the control of the Decommissioning Body. We have…

  • A day for decommissioning…

    WorldbyStorm
    8 Feb 2010 | 8:58 am
    According to Henry McDonald on the RTÉ News at One the Official Republican Movement disarmed as well as the INLA. Just ahead of the British government deadline tomorrow… However I note that later on the RTÉ site it says its the the Official IRA. Curious. I’d heard the ORM had been in talks with the decommissioning body. Which one is it? Or is it both? Anyone able to clarify? Addendum… it would indeed appear to be the Official IRA. Well now, that’s two surprises in one day.

  • Area man turns back on constitutional politics… reapplies to RTÉ…

    WorldbyStorm
    8 Feb 2010 | 8:52 am
    Area man turns back on constitutional politics… reapplies to RTÉ… Statement from George Lee TD. I wish to announce that I have resigned from the Fine Gael Party and from my seat in Dáil Eireann today Monday 8th February 2010. It has been a very difficult decision, but it is one that I have taken after a great deal of reflection on my position and on the role that I have been playing in Fine Gael since I joined that Party in May last year. The nine months since then have been a period of enormous economic upheaval. Throughout that period I have done my best to play a positive…
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    le craic

  • George Lee – one time TD

    aj@lecraic
    8 Feb 2010 | 9:20 am
    George has gone. Enda is next.

  • Instead of a header here’s something about Oz

    aj@lecraic
    31 Jan 2010 | 9:00 am
    Wasn’t in the mood for firing up the main computer today, scouring flickr for images and photoshopping a new header. Instead, I offer you this quote from Salman Rushdie’s account of the Wizard of Oz. Published by the British Film Institute, this book is a wonderful insight into the much loved classic. “So Oz finally became home, the imagined world became the actual world, as it does for us all, because the truth is that once we have left our childhoold places and started out to make up our lives, armed only with what we have and are, we understand that the real secret of the…

  • In praise of reading

    aj@lecraic
    24 Jan 2010 | 3:20 pm
    “The person who opens a book acquires wings, and the better that book the higher he flies. He does not travel alone. The writer bears him company, and together they go hand in hand. And that is the purpose of – and the justification for – not only reading but for writing as well. To fly, not alone, but in companionship.” Hugh Leonard. From the wonderful book ‘The curious mind’. It is a treasure trove of thoughts from 25 years of the RTE radio programme.

  • RTE News App for iPhone – How to share articles on Twitter

    aj@lecraic
    24 Jan 2010 | 7:07 am
    RTE released a really nice iPhone App on January 18th for keeping up to date with all the latest news from the rte.ie website. A lot of people will already get their RTE news delivered via RSS feed or browsing the mobile version of the RTE website so it may seem pointless to have a dedicated app for the task. Having installed just yesterday I think it’s a more pleasant viewing experience. The addition of the live news video stream makes it a must have. One slight oversight is the omission of Twitter as a share option when viewing articles. Email, Reddit, Digg, Facebook, MySpace, Delicious…

  • This week’s header image on le craic

    aj@lecraic
    24 Jan 2010 | 5:20 am
    On a train from Dublin to Belfast. Image credit robertpaulyoung [cc license]
 
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    Sour Grapes

  • Bargain bubbly: Phillipe Michel Crémant du Jura (Aldi €10)

    Lar
    6 Feb 2010 | 2:00 pm
    Bubbly, sparkling, champers. Conventional wisdom would suggest they warrant a special occasion. However, that view wasn’t always held as a universal truth. “Champagne! In victory one deserves it; in defeat one needs it.”, attributed to Napolean, often misquoted, here possibly too. Another popular champagne quote comes from Madame Lily Bollinger “I only drink champagne when I’m happy, and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company, I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I am not hungry and drink it when I am.

  • El Molinet 2007, Valencia

    Lar
    5 Feb 2010 | 3:06 am
    Lots of fruit and spice combine for a complex, balanced and above all, delicious wine. Taken from Grapes of Spain, this project started as a tribute to Tempranillo by winemaker Joaquin Galvez and Aurelio. With Tempranillo forming the backbone of Spain’s most famous wines, the La Viña Cooperative in Valencia planted Tempranillo widely with the goal of reproducing some of the qualities of those famous wines. This project would not be possible without the wealth of vineyards and range of altitudes the coop has planted. Contrary to popular opinion that Valencia is too warm for Tempranillo, the…

  • Spotted: crazy Americans wine tasting on Carrauntoohil

    Lar
    4 Feb 2010 | 2:48 pm
    The Wine Buff in Ennis has in its employ, a crazy American dude called Dave and his partner in crime, Eamon. Check out this video tasting of a Riesling on Ireland’s highest peak, Carrauntoohil.

  • Three of the best from Barossa on Australia Day

    Lar
    3 Feb 2010 | 12:28 pm
    To celebrate Australia Day last week on Tuesday, 26th, John McDonnell of Wine Australia hosted a tasting and dinner with Tony Barlow, winemaker with St. Hallett. The venue was Fallon & Byrne and the theme was “Welcome to the Barossa“, a deep dive into Australia’s most famous wine region, the Barossa Valley. Quick overview of the Barossa Winemaking in the Barossa Valley dates back to 1842 when German Luterans settled there bringing their century old traditions and techniques with them. The Barossa climate is ideally suited to producing full-bodied red wines for which the…

  • Wine of the week: Vina Alta Garnacha Samsó

    Lar
    31 Jan 2010 | 9:28 am
    More on Garnacha/Grenache Garnacha (in French, Grenache, in Catalan, Garnatxa) is probably the most widely planted variety of red wine grape in the world. It ripens late, so needs warm, dry conditions such as those found in Spain and in the south of France. It is generally spicy, red berry-flavoured and soft on the palate with a relatively high alcohol content. It tends to lack acid, tannin and colour, and is usually blended with other varieties such as Syrah, Carignan and Cinsault. Grenache is the dominant variety in most Southern Rhône wines, especially in Châteauneuf-du-Pape where it is…
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    Head Rambles

  • A little damp problem

    Grandad
    9 Feb 2010 | 4:13 am
    For a long time now, I have been suffering from a dribble. I would aim, and the main flow would hit the spot, but now matter how careful I was, there would always be a little puddle on the floor after. Herself was always complaining.  “What’s all that liquid on the kitchen floor?” she’d shriek. I would explain that it was just my dribble and there was nothing I could do about it. Visitors to Head Rambles Man0r would often remark about the number of little puddles around the place, and I would have to explain to them about my little problem.  They were always very understanding and…

  • The Perfect Pipe

    Grandad
    8 Feb 2010 | 5:42 am
    For as long as I can remember, I have been searching for the perfect pipe. I wanted a pipe that was comfortable and well balanced, and it must provide a cool dry smoke. My first perfect pipe was the Ronson.  It was lovely, as it had a nice cooling system built in.  Unfortunately, it turned out to be not so perfect after all, as the bowl screwed into the stem, and after a while the threads in the wooden bowl wore, and the damn thing leaked. I tried a Falcon.  Again, that had had exactly the same problem as the Ronson, and I gave up on that.  Tobacco juice is not pleasant stuff when it…

  • Welcome to The Third Reich

    Grandad
    7 Feb 2010 | 5:19 am
    Anyone who visits here on a regular basis will know that I was vehemently opposed to the Lisbon Treaty. Ay the time, I gave my main reasons which I won’t rehash in detail, but basically I said that the whole process was anti-democratic and Europe was building a United States of Europe, where we would loose all rights to self determination. The pro-Lisbon crowd came back at me and said this was a load of bollox and that it was merely a ‘tidying up exercise’ and that it wouldn’t affect our national status in any way.  The pros also said we had to sign up to help us out of the…

  • Paedophilia and prostitution

    Grandad
    6 Feb 2010 | 5:16 am
    Maybe it’s just me and my old fashioned attitude to life, but I found this rather nauseating. You know that kid Miley Cyrus?  She’s the one who was forced into a life of show business at the age of fourteen or fifteen or something by her father.  She is now probably facing a life of substance abuse and mental torment as a result. She has a nine year old sister, Noah.  I suppose it gives a little insight into the family’s mentality that they should call a daughter Noah? Anyway, this Noah, at the age of nine, is producing her own range of lingerie for kids! Is it just me,…

  • Caught in the headlights

    Grandad
    5 Feb 2010 | 4:05 am
    I had a bit of a rough night the night before last.  Maybe it was just old age or maybe it was a bad pint, but I didn’t sleep very well. Last night I made up for it.  I had a great sleep with beautiful dreams where sunny beaches, Sharon Ni Bheolain and bikinis featured prominently.  It was good, and I didn’t wake ‘til late in the morning. I was just contemplating putting my clothes on, when the phone rang. I managed to answer it, which was quite an accomplishment, as essentially I was still asleep.  It was TippFM wanting to know if I would do a live interview for their morning…
 
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    Everyone's Journal Posts - Diddlyi Irish Dance and Music

  • Shamrock Feis

    Martin Bradshaw
    Okay so I competed in the Shamrock Feis today and we were staying in a hotel, so after eating breakfast we accidentally locked ourselves out of out hotel room. But that was no problem the person at the front desk gave us a new room key but then while we were outside getting ready to go to the feis my mom got the car running and she realized that she had forgotten something in the hotel so i closed the car door but when we got back the car was locked and running! But mom called Triple A and he arrived 20 minutes later and unlocked the car in under 5 minutes so we arrived at the feis and i…

  • My friends

    Layla Healy
    My friends ! My friends in dancing are: Olivia,Orla,Donna,Susie,Saffron,Lisa,Katie,Aoibhe,Sandra,Lyndsey and loads more

  • Health, dieting, staying injury-free

    Sarah Whitworth
    Getting older is not for the faint of heart!! I struggle with it everyday. I have always been active in high intensity pursuits. Since I have moved into my 5th decade I have to really work hard at staying injury-free. I go head long into things, work very hard, and won't stop until I'm exhausted. I can't do that anymore and have had to learn to temper my intensity. When I started Irish dancing 6 years ago I would practice every night for 2 hours! Now just 6 short years later I can't practice more than an hour 2-3 days a week without becoming crippled for a few days. I have been working on…

  • For the love of it!

    Aine McGovern
    Well I've remembered why I used to dance. My feet ache, my legs are tired and generally my body is exhausted! BUT I've learnt St Patrick's day steps again, I've almost got my biddly bumps and I'm very proud of myself! I've been attending my classes on tuesday, it's great having someone point out where you need to improve and practicing it until you get it right! My technique is thoroughly rubbish because I'm so out of practice, but I am definitely improving with the weeks. I've also taught my first Irish dancing class. It went fantastically well, more than I could have hoped for! I had 8…

  • Still got that "New year, New goals, New hopes" feelin'?

    Shane @ Diddlyi
    Hey! It is extremely hard to believe but we are now actually heading speedily towards the end of January 2010! It feels like only yesterday when the fireworks were flying, champagne was flowing and people were happily counting in the new year with that feeling of freshness that comes with saying goodbye to the old and hello to the new year! Lots of us woke up on January 1st with a long list of "New years resolutions" and eagerly set about implementing all of these new rituals/habits/attitudes/regimes/diets/detox etc. For me, the start of 2010 felt different to other years. As usual I had that…
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    Maxi Cane

  • Production values

    Maxi
    7 Feb 2010 | 4:36 pm
    Now, this will come as a complete shock to none of you, but I once had a stint selling porn.  I’d buy DVD’s in bulk from the internet and sell through small ads in the local ads paper.  Buying in bulk from the internet means that from time to time not all your DVD’s will be what you want.  Among your copies of “All Anal Asians” and “Munting Midgets” will be the odd copy of a classic American sitcom. Quite a novel way to make some pocket money.  That’s all it was really, pocket money. Now you’d think that when you go about a venture…

  • Poor Marley

    Maxi
    3 Feb 2010 | 7:46 pm
    Was driving to Navan the other day.  Took a road a little less travelled and just as I was coming into Trim, the road became a little uneven and narrow and bendy. So of course you take caution, well I did as I didn’t know the road all that well.  But then came a straight, of about a half mile or so.  So pick up a little bit of speed and trundle on. Then out of nowhere a full of beans little Labrador puppy comes bounding out of a concealed entrance and WHACK! FUCK! BRAKES SKID SCREECH STOP SQUEAL I got out of the car, and instead of checking to see what kind of damage was done to my…

  • Word association

    Maxi
    2 Feb 2010 | 7:16 pm
    Fragrant

  • No more cheese before bedtime

    Maxi
    31 Jan 2010 | 5:29 pm
    I had a dream last night. Things seemed a little blurry, but most dreams are so I didn’t take much notice.  Then I noticed that I seemed to be floating, but people have dreams about flying all the time, so I just kind of enjoyed the sensation. Then I noticed I was a goldfish.  I had orangey coloured scales and big bulgy eyes.  There were little pebbles that served no real function underneath me, food that tasted like crap.  But then again it could have literally been my crap as bits of that were floating around too.  I’d swim around and find myself back at the same little plastic…

  • Evolution

    Maxi
    29 Jan 2010 | 9:40 am
    There is a sea snail in the waters around Australia that has enough venom in its body to kill 15,000 people. Or one Madonna, cunt. Daddy long legs have the worlds’ most poisonous venom, but no teeth or fangs to bite or administer the venom, so it’s like having a chocolate teapot. There is a fish that has blades on its spine that are sharper than the finest engineered surgical scalpel, and there laced with, you guessed it, deadly poison. I didn’t join a library and ingest useless information today I watched a doozy of a nature program. Basically all the strange creatures of…
 
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    Skin Flicks

  • Bury the dream with this poor girl

    8 Feb 2010 | 6:28 am
    I've been to Turkey, and I've nice memories of the place.It was full of beautiful ancient Ottoman buildings, and earlier remnants of other awe-inspiring eras like the Greeks and Romans and Persians.The people were urbane and friendly, the beer flowed freely, the transport infrastructure was impressive by Irish standards and the food was wonderful.So I can see what people mean when they claim that Turkey is a European nation, that deserves to take its place in the European Union.But of course, when I was in Turkey, I didn't leave Europe. I was in Istanbul, a city under its previous…

  • Sympathy for the daddy devil at last?

    28 Jan 2010 | 6:53 am
    Obviously, men are evil and wrong. We already knew that.Even when women murder their own children in cold blood, it's not their fault but that of some man, somewhere, who drove them to it by callously leaving them, or having the audacity to sleep with someone who isn't a crazy child-killer.Yup, somehow, it's always a man's fault.We've seen this in some of the commentary about this sad case, where an upper middle-class affluent mum lost the plot and killed her two toddlers.Not one article has failed to mention that her husband left her insane ass before Christmas, as if that was the causative…

  • Who raped Martin Cullen?

    22 Jan 2010 | 8:32 am
    Who raped Martin Cullen?According to the Minister for Fun and Junkets, media intrusion into his life has been like being raped.Obviously, no cabinet minister would dare belittle victims of aggravated sexual assault by comparing their suffering to being written about in a paper, so presumably Cullen would only make such a statement if he was genuinely capable of comparing the two experiences.Hence my question: who raped Martin Cullen?Because frankly, if he has never been raped, then his statement is a thundering disgrace and a slap of contempt across the face of all victims of rape.But did…

  • Karma in its most overt form

    16 Jan 2010 | 11:05 am
    Tiger Woods and his many skanks.All the Olympic sprinters and their designer doping kits.That Hans Ritter UN weapons inspector chap who just got busted trying to seduce what he thought was a kid.Why do they do it? What makes them think they're going to get away with it?Ego is obviously one reason. (Because I can.) That at least accounts for the first skank, the first steroid injection, the first - um - inappropriate internet contact with a minor.But why keep doing it (whatever it is)? Why not quit the cheating (or whatever) once you've tried it and satisfied the curiosity?Perhaps the answer…

  • Nostricles in my frostrils

    11 Jan 2010 | 1:07 am
    I woke up with nostricles in my frostrils this morning.That's when I realised the boiler had packed in again.I really, really am getting bored with being freezing all the time.Having to undergo a crash course in boiler engineering by mobile phone in the dark in sub zero temperatures was not one of my resolutions for 2010.But at least it's working now.Global warming, where are you?
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    McAWilliams.com

  • Howth Hillwalkers

    McAWilliams
    19 Jan 2010 | 4:57 am
    Sunday, woke up, not sure what to do, decided to get up out of bed, go into town with my camera and decide what to do then, decided to take the dart to Howth. It was after all a beautiful day. I was brought up to the summit by a good friend Ruth to take photos of the lighthouse and on heading back from the hill I took this sneaky photo of hill walkers in front of us! I dunno I know its dark and what not but I actually really like it for some weird reason, maybe its my mood today or something.

  • Snowy Rushes

    McAWilliams
    15 Jan 2010 | 6:24 am
    Ok I am trying my best not to put up snow pictures but as I have said I do love the snow and since we seldom see it in Ireland I went a little mad with the camera!

  • Baggot Street White

    McAWilliams
    14 Jan 2010 | 8:29 am
    As I have said I love what the snow did to Dublin. Suddenly even Lower Baggot Street, the road where I work, was made look beautiful. Enough Said.

  • Snow Tracks

    McAWilliams
    13 Jan 2010 | 7:53 am
    Well I have a few more photos from the snow to go this week, I love snow and I have to be honest when it was falling and fresh on the ground it really did make Dublin a much prettier city. This is another photo from the Smithfield area in town looking up the Luas Tram Tracks, something a little more industrial about this I like.

  • Smithfield Luas

    McAWilliams
    12 Jan 2010 | 1:54 pm
    On Sunday, I was invited to a photowalk with Vodafone as a start to their “Cheer up Ireland” campaign along with 14 other photographers, unfortunately the snow did not show as forecast and instead a thaw had begun from early morning. But we still ended up in Phoenix Park and built a huge snowman and we were certainly cheered up. This shot was taken from the ferris wheel in Smithfield, looking down on a Luas leaving the tram station.
 
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    Paddy in Buenos Asia

  • The Great Irish Potato Surplus of 1974

    1 Feb 2010 | 3:14 am
    I have a terrible habit of being repetitious when it comes to food.  I think it hails back to my childhood when you could tell what day of the week it was, simply from the smell (or should that be aroma) that was coming from the kitchen at lunch time.  In Ireland (at least in my house back then) the main meal of the day was at lunchtime and confusingly called 'dinner'.  In the evening (dinnertime) you'd have a light meal called 'tea' which was usually sandwiches or salad or the type of food that most people think of as 'lunch'.  We called this 'teatime' as it was…

  • Win a Trip to Learn Spanish in Argentina with a Friend!

    28 Jan 2010 | 3:43 am
    Win a Trip to Learn Spanish in Argentina with a Friend! These guys really, REALLY, want to help you learn Spanish. The makers of Bueno, entonces..., the hot new Spanish language learning software, are trying to build their Facebook cred by reaching 10,000 Fans by March. If they get there, one lucky fan and a friend will win a trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina, for 10 days of intensive Spanish lessons, a chance to meet the cast and crew, and of course, have way too much fun. From now until March 12th, Bueno, entonces... is offering a series of contests on the…

  • Guangzhou, China

    24 Jan 2010 | 8:06 pm
    We did a quick trip recently to spend 2 days and 1 night in Guangzhou in mainland China which is less than 2 hours by train from Hong Kong and conveniently for us, the train leaves from Hung Hum where we live. Apparently it has more assembly lines, mass production and factories per metre squared than any other city in the world.  Despite all that, there are sights and activities to make a visit worthwhile.  The big activity is shopping and there are different areas of the city carved out for different products, most of which are fake. We visited Watchtown which was 4 square blocks…

  • Yikes - I See DEAD People!

    15 Jan 2010 | 1:15 am
    I wandered off to the back alleys of the local hood a few days ago and it suddenly became extremely morbid in a bizarre sort of way.  Suddenly I was in 'Deadsville' - It was basically 2 blocks of coffin shops and wreath flower shops. In Hong Kong there's an area call 'Sneaker Street' where every shop for 2 blocks sells sneakers. This was the equivalent for coffins and urns. None of the fancy funeral parlors, that are common in the west.  These were tiny little shops, one next to the other, stacked from floor to ceiling with coffins of different shapes and styles. The Chinese take…

  • Underpants are EVIL!

    7 Jan 2010 | 9:21 am
    There has been an unusually cold spell here in Hong Kong for the last few weeks but nothing approaching the Arctic weather bombarding most of the rest of the world e.g. Norway with sub zero temperatures of -40 degrees Celsius - WTF? Since I arrived in Hong Kong back in Feb, I have been consistently donning my 'vagabond' uniform of shorts and tee-shirt for my day wear leisure attire ensemble.  I should clarify that these are shorts with netting i.e. no underwear as this just compounds my SAS syndrome. However with such a cold front upon us, I've been forced to raise the BBC (Brass Balls…
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