Yearly Archives: 2017

ibrahim

A candlelit vigil for Ibrahim Halawa will take place at 6.30pm outside Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2.

Last month, the trial of Mr Halawa, 21, who is in poor health, was postponed for the twentieth time in Egypt and his family .

Free Ibrahim Halawa (Facebook)

Meanwhile…

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has written to the Egyptian president requesting the release of Ibrahim Halawa on humanitarian grounds.

Mr Kenny was responding to Richard Boyd Barrett of Solidarity-People Before Profit and the Fianna Fáil’s Dara O’Brien, who expressed concern in the Dáil over Mr Halawa’s health.

Mr Kenny said an Irish doctor visited Mr Halawa in Egypt last week and supervised a medical examination which was conducted by an Egyptian doctor.

The Taoiseach said it was not appropriate to comment on his condition as medical records were confidential. However, he said the doctor recommended that a special medical evaluation take place and that Mr Halawa returns to Ireland on humanitarian grounds for that assessment.

Kenny requests Ibrahim Halawa’s release on humanitarian grounds (RTÉ)

leigh

Debating battle mentality, that’ll addle your strategy.
I dabble a magical scrabble a channel that’ll challenge reality
A Capella academy, catch a casual casualty
Rapidly rip rap apart, analyse its anatomy

Leigh Michael – A Cappella Archive Ep. 14 – Philosophical Battleraps

Leigh, from Bray, County Wicklow writes:

You may enjoy taking a look at my latest rap A Capella video. It explores philosophical themes through the art of rhyme….

Leigh Michael

Previously: Decent Irish Political Hip Hop

o'sullivan:fitz

Garda Commissioner Noirin O’Sillivan (left) and Justice Minister and Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald

Earlier today, Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald outlined the proposed areas for a root and branch review of An Garda Síochána including:

The structure of the force, recruitment and training, oversight and accountability, its culture and ethos as well as the legislative framework for policing.

Meanwhile, via RTÉ

It is understood that the Oireachtas Justice Committee has agreed to give the Garda Commissioner a week to respond to a list of questions on how the force responded to the controversies over breath tests and fixed charge notices The committee will meet tomorrow to sign off on the questions.

Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan has already said an interim report will be delivered on the controversies in a month and a final report in 3 months.

However, the Justice Committee will focus on the timeline of the gardaí response to the discrepancies over 14,700 wrongful convictions and the number of breath tests being exaggerrated by 1 million.

Meanwhile…

The Taoiseach told the Dáil that he received the Fennelly Report last weekend and has given it to the Attorney General. The report was into the recordings of phone calls at garda stations.

He said the report ran to over 740 pages, with the summary running to 85 pages. He said he would publish it as soon as the Attorney General informs him that he can.

Live Politics, Finance Committee, Garda review (RTÉ)

Rollingnews

ogle1

Above from left: Wicklow community activist Fiona Nichols with Unite official and Right2Water coordinator Brendan Ogle and Solidarity TD Paul Murphy

This morning.

Buswells Hotel, Dublin 2

Right2Water activists, including Brendan Ogle and Paul Murphy,  welcomed the “now inevitable” ending of domestic water charges and blanket metering programme, the “consensus that there must be a referendum on protecting the ownership of the public water system in the Constitution” and called on all charges against water protesters to be dropped.

Community campaigner Fiona Nichols, from Wicklow added:

“This is our win, it is a win for a peoples’ movement all over Ireland, but while it is a massive win it is also a partial win. We want all single meters gone.

These meters save nothing, suck up money needed to fix leaks and ultimately they become the hardware of water privatisation”

Details of the planned Right2Water demonstration  in Dublin next Saturday were also confirmed.

to wit:

right2water

FIGHT!

Right2Water (Facebook)

17349821_625407850988277_1266674245593448884_o

Touts – punk rock from Derry

What you may need to know…

01. What’s that, you say? Handsome boys in jumpers from Derry City playing enthusiastic rock ‘n’ roll? That’ll be Touts, then.

02. Riffing on the obvious NI punk comparisons, the lads take that energy and give it a modern, more aggro take on the classic power-chord sound.

03. Streaming above is Sold Out, the band’s new single. Shouted-out today on Nialler9, the lads are releasing an E.P. soon on Hometown, the label that’s currently giving us Rejjie Snow among others.

04. Belfast locals can catch the band while they can, this August on the 23rd, playing alongside Blossoms at Customs House Square. They’re supporting some UK pop band or other.

Thoughts: Is yer man Fergal Sharkey or Joe Strummer? He is neither, but these lads are great, making an earnest callback to grittier times without leaning too hard on its clichés.

Touts

C8j5_4-XgAA3_2S

C8j8WfnXkAEJJta

C8j2lvuXoAAgcZ5

2

This morning.

A press conference help by members of the Republic of Ireland senior women’s national team outlining a series of complaints against the Football Association of Ireland.

More as we get it.

Irish Women’s Team Highlight Allege Appalling Treatment By The FAI (Balls.ie)

Top pic via SIPTU

Thanks Frilly