Author Archives: Bodger

This afternoon.

Kildare Street, Dublin 2.

Gardai and protesters from separate, opposing rallies [see below] clash outside Leinster House.

Three arrests after anti-racism, free speech protests in Dublin (RTÉ)

Rollingnews

Earlier…

This afternoon.

Kildare Street, Dublin 2.

Under the pale male gaze of WB Yeats, muffled-up members of ‘Feminists Against Fascists’ (above) assemble outside Leinster House at the reportedly state-sanctioned Solidarity Alliance against Racism and Fascism (SARF) Rally for Peace on Earth and Against The Politics of Hate.

Confusingly, this Santifa rally is a counter-rally to a Protect Free Speech demonstration (pics 2 and 3) across Kildare street happening at  the same time organised by Yellow Vest Ireland.

One thing we can all agree on.

The ski mask is this season’s go to accessory for the stylish millennial.

Rollingnews

Previously: All They Are Saying

This afternoon.

Trinity College Dublin Alumni Office tweetz:

“Might this (above) be your great-great-granny’s birth certificate?

“The destruction of seven centuries of Ireland’s recorded history in the Four Courts blaze of 1922 (top) was one of the great tragedies of the Irish Civil War.

“The day after, charred documents salvaged from the wreckage were packed into 300 boxes and sent to storage for 100 years.

“Now, a Trinity team is using technology to decipher records once thought lost forever, gather copies from around the world, and create a Virtual Record Treasury to open 30 June 2022, centenary of the fire.

In fairness.

Watch video here for more.

Pics: TCD Alumni; South Dublin County Libraries

This afternoon.

Met Éireann issued a Status Yellow snow/ice warning for Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon and Sligo from around midnight tonight until midnight tomorrow.

It’s also issued a Status Yellow wind warning for Donegal from 5pm this evening until 5pm tomorrow.

Via Met Eireann

Hi-B Bar on Oliver Plunkett Street, Cork; late publican Brian O’Donnell

Early this morning.

Brian O’Donnell, of the Hi-B Bar on Oliver Plunkett Street, Cork city, passed away.

On the pub’s Facebook page, the family wrote:

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of my father Brian O’Donnell at 12.30am Friday morning in the Mercy Hospital after a short illness. On behalf of the family we would like to thank the wonderful staff of both St Luke’s Home and the Mercy Hospital for the wonderful care that he received over the last number of years. Arrangements to follow. May he Rest In Peace.

RIP.

Cork’s Echo reports:

Lord Mayor John Sheehan described Mr O’Donnell’s passing as a loss to the city.

“He was iconic in Cork. He almost became a tourist attraction in himself. I remember bringing visitors over from America and we went for a drink in the bar. They were shocked when one took out their phone to check a restaurant reservation and they were brought to book and told to put it away.

“That was part of the charm. It wasn’t like a regular bar. It was a place where conversation was encouraged and he encouraged it in his own unique manner. It’s a loss for the city.”

Owner of Cork’s iconic Hi-B bar passes away (Irish Examiner)

‘He was a tourist attraction in himself’: Tributes pour in for Hi-B owner (Evening Echo)

Sinn Féin’s John Finucane (top centre) celebrates his win over DUP Deputy Leader Nigel Dodds (above centre) this morning

This afternoon.

Via RTÉ:

Unionists will not have a majority of the 18 seats in Westminster for the first time…

its deputy leader was ousted by Sinn Féin and the party lost out to the Alliance Party in North Down…SDLP leader Colum Eastwood won in Foyle and Alliance Party deputy leader Stephen Farry took the North Down seat vacated by Sylvia Hermon.

The results will be seen as potential evidence of a shift towards more centre-ground politics in the region – a trend that appears to be borne out by another positive showing for the cross-community Alliance Party.

Hmm.

Nigel Dodds loses North Belfast seat to SF’s Finucane (RTÉ)

Earlier…

Via Irish Political Maps

For the first time ever, Northern Ireland has returned a majority of nationalist MPs with a total of 9 (7 SF, 2 SDLP) compared to 8 unionist MPs (all DUP).

Whatever your political inclination, there’s no denying this is historic.

Pics: AP/Getty

Keith Swanick as a GP (left) And as Fianna Fail  Senator and his voting record – the poorest in Seanad Eireann by some distance

Further to an RTE Investigates investigation into missed votes – and expense claims – in the upper house.

Via RTÉ Investigates:

In the first seven months of this year, Dr [Keith]Swanick voted in just six of the 114 votes that took place.

Dr Swanick has claimed his full entitlements under the TAA scheme. As a Mayo resident, he is entitled to claim just over €28,000 each year. From June 2016 to the end of 2018, he received close to €73,000 in travel expenses.

Dr Swanick has a general practice in Belmullet, Co Mayo. Last year, he received €520,000 under the General Medical Services (GMS) scheme, the highest amount for any GP in Mayo. In a statement, Dr Swanick said this figure was a “gross amount” and did not represent his personal income.

On Monday 8 July, RTÉ Investigates phoned his surgery to see if he was available to see patients the following day, Tuesday 9 July, which was also a Seanad voting day.

We were told Dr Swanick would be available for appointments that Tuesday at 3.30pm and at 4.50pm.

Oireachtas records show Dr Swanick was recorded at Leinster House that Tuesday.

He was at Leinster House the following morning, Wednesday 10 July, at 9am and participated in a Health Committee meeting.

RTÉ Investigates asked Dr Swanick if, following the completion of surgery on Tuesday 9 July, at around 5pm, he drove to Leinster House – about a four-hour drive from Belmullet – to record his attendance that evening.

He did not respond.

Senators, expenses and the missed votes (RTÉ)

Gúlp.

;Coiste na bhFocal’ Nua writes:

#GuerillaGaeilge is Coiste na bhFocal Nua’s (The Committee of New Words) latest effort to spread modern (and dirty) words online and in the wider world.

The stickers feature bilingual conversations that deal with terms and concepts sometimes avoided when teaching Irish.

The last one of 4 stickers has been launched today on the subject The Morning After (above).

We want people to be able to discuss all aspects of modern life in Irish.

We want to print at least 10,000 stickers, send them out and have people stick them up in pubs, car windows, buses, on your granny, wherever people will see them.

We have a target of €1,200 which will allow us to print and distribute 10,000+ high quality stickers. People who support us with €10 will get 32 stickers across the range of 4 [at link below]…

Troid!

Guerilla Gaeilge (go Fund Me)