Monthly Archives: May 2014

“The Kerry Girls” launches at Listowel Writers’ Week

I’m longing for Kerry because I’m missing the 43rd Listowel Writers’ Week. What could be better than strolling the narrow streets of that lovely town along the Feale, hopping from one poetry reading to the next author’s talk, then gathering with friends at the Listowel Arms bar?

Kerry Girls launch

One of the events I’m missing is the launch of a book called “The Kerry Girls: Emigration and the Earl Grey Scheme” by Kay Maloney Caball. Fom a post on her My Kerry Ancestors blog:

“This is the true story of 117 Kerry girls sent out to Australia in 1849/1850 from Workhouses in Dingle (20), Kenmare (25), Killarney (35) and Listowel (37), under the auspices of the Earl Grey ‘Orphan’ scheme. The majority of these Kerry teenage girls were not in fact ‘Orphans’ as many had one parent alive. Their emigration has become known as the ‘Earl Grey scheme’ after its principal architect, Earl Grey, Secretary of State for the Colonies in Lord John Russell’s Whig government at the time of the Great Irish Famine.”

Here’s an interview with Kay posted in Irish Genealogy News. We wish her much success with the book.

Independents, Sinn Féin win big in Irish elections

Independent and Sinn Féin candidates have surged into local offices in Ireland and appear to being gaining ground in European elections.

Some results of the 23 May elections are still being tabulated.

“Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny and his Labour Party coalition partners have suffered a huge slump in support … as voters kicked back against the long years of painful austerity measures, The Wall Street Journal reported at the weekend.

Here’s more reaction from Irish Times‘ columnist Stephen Collins:

The 2011 general election marked the end of Fianna Fáil dominance, which had lasted almost 80 years. If the [latest] local election results are the harbinger of things to come, they could mark the end of party politics as we know it. More than 40 percent of the votes in the local elections went to Independents, smaller parties and Sinn Féin, while in Dublin that trend was even stronger with over half the vote drifting away from the three parties that have dominated politics since the foundation of the State. … (T)he scale of the slump in the vote of both Coalition parties, the substantial breakthrough by Sinn Féin right across the country and the sheer scale of the swing to Independents of all hues could presage political instability on quite a scale in the years ahead.

Of 949 contested seats, 45 remained to be filled as of 26 May, according to this election summary by the Irish Independent. Here’s the summary for Kerry, where all 33 seats have been decided.

Some races are still being decided. Image from http://www.breakingnews.ie/

Some races are still being decided. Image from http://www.breakingnews.ie/

 

 

Wounded U.S. military to play golf in Ireland

Twenty-five wounded U.S. soldiers will be treated to a 12-day golf trip to Ireland in September. I learned about the charitable event while covering a Capitol Hill press event about the economic impact of golf in America.

The Ireland trip is sponsored by the Salute Military Golf Association, which seeks to “provide rehabilitative golf experiences and family-inclusive golf opportunities for post-9/11 wounded war veterans.” Eleven wounded veterans made the inaugural trip last year.

This year’s tour, Sept. 13-20, includes Ballybunion Old Course, Tralee Golf Club and four other courses.

For those looking for regular golf tours of Ireland, please consider contacting Niall Leogue, president of Caddie Tours in Vienna, Va, just outside Washington. Niall was one of the featured businesses at Irish Network DC’s recent Members’ Business Show (post below). Here’a link to the golf page on Niall’s website.

irelandgolf

Irish Network DC hosting first business show

Irish Network DC is holding its first members Business Show in Washington on 22 May. Details are available here.

“Learn more about the industries, services and markets represented within our membership while building new connections and socializing with your Irish Network DC friends.”

Ballybunion gets “Happy” in video

Irish Abroad reports that Ballybunion has joined the “Happy” craze with its own video remake of the Pharrell William’s song. I have to say that watching it brought a smile to my face and makes me want to get back to the ancestral homeland as quickly as possible.

Enjoy:

Dissecting the Irish banking and economic crisis

UPDATE: Couple of related editorials in The Irish Times within days of this post. Here, Vincent Browne poses “13 questions that have to be answered” about the banking crisis. And here, Ray Kinsella says that financial ethics are more important than regulation.

ORIGINAL POST:

Could the Irish banking and economic crisis been prevented? Is a similar financial fiasco likely in the future?

The answers appear to be maybe and probably, according to former International Monetary Fund economist and Irish Fiscal Advisory Council member Donal Donovan. He fielded questions from Irish Times Washington correspondent Simon Carswell and audience members during a 5 May forum sponsored by Irish Network-DC.

Donovan has served on two panels investigating Ireland’s property bubble, which fueled the country’s banking and budget bust. He said there is “high risk of another crisis.”

Despite such government probes, courtroom dramas and media headlines of the past few years, “more national debate” is needed about the systemic issues at the heart of Ireland’s financial woes, Donovan said.

Those problems can not be simply set at the feet of a few greedy bankers and civil servants who looked the other way as their elected bosses focused on the next election, he said. The Irish people also enjoyed riding the Celtic Tiger, and even financial experts from the IMF missed signs of the pending disaster.

A suggested third investigative committee might provide a “cathartic exercise,” Donovan said. “Only if we do this are we going to be able to go on.”

Simon Carswell, standing left talking with woman, and Donal Donovan, seated in tan jacket, sign copies of their books.

Simon Carswell, standing left talking with woman, and Donal Donovan, seated in tan jacket, sign copies of their books.

Some other highlights of the evening:

  • Amazingly, there was no record made of the government’s 2008 guarantee to back the failing banks, Donovan said.
  • Most of Ireland’s crushing debt was related to its inflated national budget, not the bank’s bad loans. But all the problems were driven by the property bust.
  • 3 percent annual growth appears to be the best Ireland can hope for in the near future, gradually lowering unemployment and emigration. “Four to five percent is hard to see,” Donovan said, adding the country still has to cope with high cost of living.
  • One member of the audience suggested the influence of Roman Catholicism is at the heart of the financial crisis in Ireland and other South American and Southern European nations. The religion’s “lack of contrarianism” and group think “could have played a role,” Donovan agreed.
  • Another audience member said the roots of the problem date to Alan Greenspan’s decision to lower interest rates in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack.

Donovan is co-author of “The Fall of the Celtic Tiger: Ireland & the Euro Debt Crisis. Carswell is the author of “Anglo Republic: Inside the Bank That Broke Ireland.”

Adams released without charges

Gerry Adams was released without being charged Sunday after four days of questioning by the Police Service of Northern Ireland.  Irish republicans and their supporters have insisted an old guard of the former Royal Ulster Constabulary were behind the arrest, which they say was politically motivated.

Sky News has video of Adams’ giving a press conference after he was freed, as well as Northern Ireland loyalist who tried to block his release.

This story is far from over. A report from the police agency will be reviewed by Northern Ireland’s Director of Public Prosecutions, which could still bring charges. Upcoming Irish and European elections bear watching, as does the Orange marching season just around the corner.

Gerry Adams questioned about ’72 IRA murder

Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has been arrested for questioning about the 1972 abduction and murder of Jean McConville, a widow wrongly suspected of informing against the Irish Republican Army.

Adams2Feb14_Swf

Adams was implicated by two IRA veterans who gave taped interviews to researchers for a Boston College oral history project on the four-decade Northern Ireland conflict known as the Troubles. The tapes were made available to Northern Ireland/British police in a complicated court battle. Here’s some perspective from a B.U. trustee.

Adams made himself available to the authorities, but denies any role in the killing. Here’s his statement on the Sinn Féin website.

Obviously, this story is developing. We will have to see if Adams is charged, and what impact this might have on upcoming elections and the ongoing peace process in Northern Ireland. No doubt many on the island of Ireland would like to see Adams removed from politics and the public stage. But he has his supporters, as well, and has demonstrated an amazing talent for survival over the decades.