Yearly Archives: 2016

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Dr Gerald Mills, of UCD’s School of Geography, writes:

A common phrase that conveys affluence in Dublin is ‘leafy suburb’, which describes parts of the city that are relatively wealthy and endowed with luxuriant vegetation. Does, the phrase have any basis in fact?

I have plotted the tree canopy cover of Dublin alongside a map showing the price paid for residential property sold in Dublin during 2015.

The latter information was retrieved from the Property Price Register that provides the address and the price; it does not tell you the size of the dwelling or whether it is a house or an apartment or even whether the property has a number of dwellings.

There were over 15,000 properties sold with Dublin addresses in 2015; Google Earth Pro was used to locate many (about 66%) these properties in geographic coordinates. This sample of properties is shown here with each property colour-coded according to its sale value.

I chose to divide the data into quantiles as price values are positively skewed; the greenest properties fall into the top 20% and the reddest fall into the bottom 20% in terms of price.

The patterns for canopy cover and property value show a strong correspondence; overall, it is true to say that the ‘leafiest’ suburbs are also the most valuable from the perspective of property value.

UCD School of Geography (Facebook)

Previously: Streets Full Of Trees

Thanks Reppy

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From top: Results of a Red C poll; Independent TDs Mick Wallace and Clare Daly (centre), with Dr John Lannon (left) and Ed Horgan (right), of Shannonwatch at a press conference in Buswells Hotel, Dublin earlier today 

Independent TDs Mick Wallace and Clare Daly released the results of a Red C poll earlier today, which show over half the population don’t agree with Ireland’s current military relationship with the United States – which uses Shannon Airport to refuel.

Some 55% of those polled say they don’t believe that the Irish Government should allow the US to use the Limerick airport for military purposes.

Mr Wallace and Ms Daly held a press conference earlier today with Dr John Lannon and Ed Horgan, of Shannonwatch, at the Buswells Hotel, Dublin, to discuss the poll’s results.

Clare Daly said:

“A country with a policy of positive neutrality would not facilitate the massive, devastating displacement of tens of millions of people through wars whose only purpose is to keep the gears of the military-industrial complex oiled.”

“It would not find itself in a state of absolute moral abjection when it agreed to accept only the tiniest fraction of those made homeless and stateless by wars it had abetted. We need to put meat on the bones of our neutrality, to actively and vigorously work against war and destruction, against the arms trade, against the absolute devastation of so many lives in pursuit of imperial power and wealth?”

“Until we enshrine a policy of neutrality in our Constitution, and make it so that our neutrality is something that is real, positive, and active, we cannot and will not play that role”.

Mick Wallace said:

“Since 2001, the US Military and their allies have been responsible for the deaths of over 2 million citizens in Afghanistan and Iraq alone. Mindless destruction of the Middle East region & beyond has seen the displacement of over 30 million people and an unprecedented refugee crisis in Europe today.

“It’s long past time that Ireland stopped facilitating this horror by refusing to allow Shannon Airport to be used for any military purposes. We need a change of direction – It should start with the new Government. It’s time for Ireland to work for peace, not war.”

Ed Horgan of Shannonwatch said:

“Shannon airport has been used, or misused by the US military, with the approval of successive Irish Government’s since October 2001. In the meantime over three million armed US troops have transited through Shannon on their way to and from wars and military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Syria and elsewhere.”

“In addition US military aircraft have transported unknown quantities of munitions and other war materials through Shannon airport but the Irish Government has been repeatedly denying that these aircraft are carrying weapons and munitions. Irish neutrality needs to be urgently restored to prevent Irish complicity in crimes against humanity”.

Dr John Lannon of the University of Limerick and Shannonwatch, said:

“Ireland’s failure to uphold national and international law at Shannon is shameful. The routine transit of armed troops to and from war zones is in contravention of the Hague Convention on Neutrality.”

“The authorities have failed in their responsibilities under the Convention Against Torture by not investigating rendition planes at Shannon. And they also turn a blind eye to the fact that the US military aircraft landing at Shannon are likely to be carrying people who are guilty of war crimes in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Under the principle of international jurisdiction, these should be investigated and prosecuted.”

Earlier: Five Years

Previously: For The Record

Pic: Ailbhe Conneely

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A rather excellent video for Disco by composer Ralf Hildenbeutel directed by Boris Seewald and featuring impressionistic visions of real life dancers Althea Corlett and Simone Schmidt.

The technique (best known in the video for A-Ha’s ‘Take on Me’) is called rotoscoping and involves the painstaking animation of drawings and paintings created, in this case, from photo transparencies.

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