Author Archives: Aaron McAllorum

Broadsheet believes this is a new low in Irish journalism.

Alan and Carol Shatter are a respectable, nice, middle-class couple.

What has University-educated Carol done to deserve this kind of coverage, apart from, you know, breaking the law.

We plan to write a major think-piece in one of the quality newspapers over the weekend bemoaning the low standards in English-owned tabloids.

We will illustrate this with a large picture of Carol Shatter and the text shall contain all the relevant juicy bits from the Mirror’s sordid coverage.

Expect the phrase: ‘race to the bottom’.

Thus we shall have our cake and eat it; washing it down with a nice claret.

Then we’ll drive home.

While you were voting, Pat Carey (pictured after he lost his seat on Saturday) was a busy man.

On the day of the election he was signing “key consents” for the last section of the Corrib gas pipeline

The consent application by Shell, according to Green Party sources,  had not arrived on outgoing energy minister Eamon Ryan’s desk before he left office.

The approved 8km of pipeline linking the landfall to the gas terminal at Ballinaboy runs through a special area of conservation in Sruwaddacon estuary.

The Department of Energy has said the consent to construct the pipeline and approval of the project’s amended plan of development was issued as a matter of course after An Bord Pleanála approved the new pipeline route in January.

An Taisce says it is seeking a judicial review of the Bord Pleanála decision, as it believes it is in breach of several EU directives.

Sinn Féin’s spokesman on natural resources Martin Ferris described the Minister’s move as “sharp practice”.

“Pat Carey issued this order on the day that he lost his seat and Fianna Fáil lost power. He had no political or moral authority to give the go-ahead to a pipeline over which many concerns still exist even with the changes made following the Bord Pleanála ruling.”

Leaving the obvious question: What else was signed on election day?

Criticism As Carey Signs Off On Corrib Pipeline (Deaglan  de Breadun and Lorna Siggins, Irish Times)

Oblivious to the political sea-change occuring all around them, Georgia Salpa and Vogue Williams promote “Celtic Horizon tours announcement of its partnership with EagleRider, the biggest motorcycle tourism organiser in the world” this morning. Helping to provide red top sub-editors with a throbbing tankload of bike-related puns and single entendres. Yes, they prefer to ride without a helmet. You can have that for free.

(Photocall Ireland)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwyo0C4AyQo&feature=player_embedded

February 28.

1973.

Charismatic Fine Gael Leader ties the knot with old Labour lion.

Oh, how we rejoiced.

Street parties, bunting and barm brack with a sixpenny in the middle.

All in black and white.

Ma allowed us to stay up to see the look on old Mr. De Valera’s face.

It gave us nightmares for years.