But not an actual beached whale.
An incredibly lifelike 55 foot long sculpture of a beached sperm whale by Belgian art collective Captain Boomer (complete with performers playing the parts of scientists and environmental cleanup workers) installed by the Thames at the Old Royal Naval College as part of the Greenwich and Docklands International Festival (which ends this Saturday).
(Pix: Mike King)
Van Rompuy sings praises of Enda Kenny. Hint that Taoiseach will be EPP’s man to succeed Barroso as president of European Commission?
— Anton La Guardia (@AntonLaGuardia) June 28, 2013
Thanks Niall O’M
Nassau Street, Dublin at lunchtime
Meanwhile,
Stephen’s Green, Dublin also at lunchtime.
Thanks Mark Sugrue
The latest New Yorker cover referencing this week’s US Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage.
By Jack Hunter.
Mmmf.
Previously: Meanwhile, In California
Via Buzzfeed
(The moolah men, top from left: Darragh Kelly, Mark Lambert and Peter Daly in Guaranteed! and, above, playwright Colin Murphy))
Now this is good timing.
Colin Murphy’s play Guaranteed! by (Fishamble Theatre Company) about the night of the bank deal, looked like it might become a modest, critically acclalmed success.
That was last Friday.
Then the Anglo Tapes EXPLODED.
Colin writes:
I’d like to claim that I came up with the Anglo tapes as a publicity ruse; in any case, we couldn’t have planned a more effective one, and Guaranteed! is selling out.
The play tells the true story of the bank guarantee and how we got there, in a way that is (hopefully) entertaining and dramatic. No facts in it are invented, but I had to imagine the behind-closed-doors dialogue – based on descriptions I was given.
In an earlier draft, I had a scene where a foul-mouthed Anglo executive phoned somebody who had been talking Anglo down, and let rip. It was very funny. It was one of my favourites. It was based on descriptions I’d been given of the laddish, aggressive culture in Anglo, and on the fact that they did phone their critics to complain, robustly – but it was, essentially, a fiction.
When I looked at it coldly, I realised I couldn’t stand over it. It was too far a foray into fiction – it was entertainment without any actual documentary evidence to back it up. So I cut the scene.
Hmmm.
What my play tries to do – and what an inquiry will hopefully pursue – is understand how and why all of the institutions that were supposed to protect us against the excesses of outliers like Anglo failed so utterly.
Laughing at the Anglo boys is good fun, and anger at them is well deserved, and possibly a useful political force in itself – it may force an inquiry, for example. But what we need is to learn where we went wrong, so we don’t repeat it.
An inquiry may help that – as long as it’s effectively bipartisan. In the meantime, Guaranteed! is a modest contribution. It’s not the full story but, maybe, it helps us on our way.
Guaranteed! is in Bray tonight at the Mermaid Arts Centre; Waterford at Garter Lane on Saturday and the Civic Theatre in Tallaght on Monday and Tuesday.
Pics: Pat Redmond (top) and Fergal Ward (above)
The Pixies released ‘Bagboy’ this morning. Their first song since 2004.
Enjoy.
Pixies Release ‘Bagboy,’ First New Song in Nine Years (Rolling Stone)
Hello.
A slightly unsettling welcome/farewell at the opening of Hansfield Station, Clonsilla, Dublin, the newest station on the Iarnród Éireann network that will serve residents of Ongar and the surrounding areas
Finally.
Meanwhile, mind the gap
Transport minister Leo Varadkar and Joan Burton (they share the constituency) with a future disgruntled passenger/voter.
Pics by Jason Clarke
Hansfield Station today.
(Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62Gh-DsvV-Q
Stephen Hannon writes:
I’m just after completing my leaving certificate examinations here in Ireland, and I have just directed my first low budget short film.
G’wan the Stephen!
It’s a comical tribute to Charlie Chaplin with an unusual horror plot line that shows a younger version of him, experiencing some very abnormal circumstances with a lot of laughs. Beginning with an early morning rising, we follow Charlie through out the day, as his mental health is
put into question by what appears to be a ‘stuffed toy’ uprising.I would really appreciate a reply, with any constructive criticism so that I can improve upon my techniques and further my skills.
Dr Eoin Daly is a lecturer in the School of Law at University College Dublin.
He has written a piece on the Human Rights in Ireland blog, in the wake of the Anglo Tapes. His piece is in relation to recent calls for a referendum which would bestow greater powers on the Oireachtas to hold a banking inquiry.
He explains that an inquiry under current legislation would be bound by the Supreme Court’s 2001 Abbeylara judgement, which decided the Constitution gave no power to the Oireachtas to hold inquiries in which the findings could adversely affect private individuals.
He writes:
“The prohibition of inquiries pertaining to the conduct of “private” individuals seems odd given the enormous power such individuals can wield in our society, as has now so painfully been established.”
“Given the broad consensus that our political system provides insufficient mechanisms for accountability and public scrutiny, the Abbeylara judgment now seems peculiarly inapt and misplaced. Therefore, in light of recent events there is a strong argument that a referendum should be held to reverse the judgment.
“This would create an explicit power for the Oireachtas to hold inquiries in accordance with legislation – including, crucially, the power to hold inquiries whose findings adversely affect the reputations of private individuals, albeit subject to certain protections.
“The 2011 referendum on Oireachtas inquiries would have had this effect had it passed. However, it was rejected partly because in addition to granting the Oireachtas an explicit inquiry jurisdiction – effectively reversing “Abbeylara” – it went further by implying that the inquiries could limit individuals’ ability to defend their rights of procedural fairness through access to judicial review proceedings.
“However there is no reason why a fresh, differently-worded amendment could address the narrower jurisdiction point yet while fully respecting the right of those adversely affected by inquiries to access the courts if necessary, as is currently the case in relation to all inquiry types. Although that may lead to further delays and costs, such is the inevitable price for protecting individuals’ constitutional rights.”
Dr Daly suggested the limits of a future inquiry could be removed by adding the following to Article 15 of the Constitution:
“The Houses of the Oireachtas may conduct public inquiries on matters of public interest in a manner regulated by law. Such inquiries may produce adverse findings concerning the conduct of individuals, whether in public employment or otherwise, subject to established rights of natural justice being respected.”
What say ye?
New focus needed In Oireachtas inquiries amendment (Dr Eoin Daly, Human Rights In Ireland)
