Author Archives: Bodger

From top: Fine Gael’s Fergus O’Dowd and Catherine Connolly

This afternoon.

Amid sweary voting drama, Independent TD Catherine Connolly was elected the Dáil’s first female Leas Cheann Comhairle.

Via The Irish Examiner:

Ms Connolly beat the agreed government candidate, Fine Gael’s Fergus O’Dowd, in a further embarrassment to the Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Green Party coalition.

It’s understood the government had 84 available votes, with Mr O’Dowd only garnering 74. Sources say “a post mortem” was underway in the aftermath of the result, as the vote is held in a secret ballot, it is not yet known who defected from the government.

One source said that the suspicion is mostly within Fianna Fáil, who last night agreed in a parliamentary party meeting to back Mr O’Dowd “through gritted teeth” but there is potential some Fine Gael colleagues also voted against the government.

Seemed to go well.

Catherine Connolly is the first woman to be elected Leas Ceann Comhairle (irish Examiner)

Ms Connolly pic via John Campbell

Meanwhile…

Jack Chambers

Oh.

This morning/afternoon.

Sky News Australia.

Conservative radio host and former Australian rugby coach Alan Jones comes down hard on the rona suggesting blokes and sheilas are entitled to think:

“There is an agenda out there comprehensively determined to destroy Western society as we know it.”

A fair suck of the sauce bottle?

Or a few stubbies short of a six-pack?

We may never know.

Sky News Australia

This afternoon.

Whelan’s, Wexford Street, Dublin 2 has announced the re-opening of its bar and concert venue for live gigs on August 10.

However, the club’s capacity, formerly 450, is now 88 with all shows being seated (strictly no moshing).

And there will be a number of safety measures.

For punters:

Assigned Seating at tables only.
Temperature checks at the entry.
Disinfectant hand rub at entry and throughout venue.
Table service only.
Advance booking only.
Lead contact details taken.

For bands:

No sharing of vocal mics.
Vocal mics disinfected after use and not used for at least 3 days later.
Vocal mics using pop shields.
Mic stands and leads also disinfected after use.
Socially distanced dressingroom.
No more than 3 or 4 on stage at any one time.
Safe distance between band and front of audience.

Looks like my crowd surfing days are over.

Whelan’s

Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall

This morning.

RTÉ Radio One’s Today with Sarah McInerney.

Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall responded to new figures which show that just 7% of people are being contacted after arriving in Ireland to check their location.

Via RTÉ:

 Ms Shortall said the Government is “asleep at the wheel” and has “little or no control” over the status of people travelling into Ireland.

Just over 4,000 follow up calls were made to check up on 60,000 people arriving in to Dublin Airport in the first two weeks in July, according to figures from the Department of Justice and released in response to a parliamentary question from Deputy Shortall.

The figures also show 52% of the 4,121 calls made to passengers were answered.

Deputy Shortall said the Department of Justice is responsible for tracking the movements of people who come into the country, “but they clearly don’t want to do that“.

She said: “The Department of Justice is waiting for the Department of Health to take over, which they haven’t done and this means that there are a significant number of people coming here as tourists and there are little or no checks on their status.”

Anyone?

Govt ‘asleep at the wheel’ over arrivals into Ireland – Shortall (RTÉ)

Rollingnews

This afternoon.

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar urges a school re-opening policy that won’t make us look bad to other countries.

Fine Gael.

Never change.

Friendly Dude VS Life-Crushing Scum.

A tale as old as time.

Disturbing? Or ‘Finally, someone had to say it’?

Only you can decide.

Ted Bundy?

ireland’s largest single span masonry arch bridge (33 metres)

Meanwhile on Da Northside writes:

Lucan Bridge…. By George Knowles – Ireland’s larges single span [masonry] bridge 1841, not too shabby but hey could do with a clean and a lighting up…

Anyone?

Lucan Bridge

 

The Irish History Show.

Episode 68: Bram Stoker and the Sligo Cholera Epidemic of 1832 (listen above).

Cathal Brennan writes:

We had Dr. Marion McGarry and Dr. Fiona Gallagher on to talk about Bram Stoker and the great cholera epidemic in Sligo in 1832.

Stoker’s mother Charlotte was from Sligo and lived through the outbreak in the town and wrote about her experience of it.

Marion and Fiona believe that it was these events, and Stoker’s interest in Irish folklore, that inspired Dracula….

Bram Stoker and the Sligo Cholera Epidemic (The Irish History Show)

Irish-made LOGÜ’s desks can be assembled and disassembled in less than 60 seconds

This morning.

LOGÜ is a father and son woodworking and design business based in Letterkenny, County Donegal.

John Logue writes:

 We have launched a new DESK + DONATE campaign to support struggling Irish charities this week.

We manufacture sustainable birch wood desks for remote workers and have pledged to donate 10% of profits from 2020’s corporate sales to a charity partner of each participating company’s choosing.

Companies signing up for the DESK + DONATE programme will be asked to nominate a charity partner. They will then be given a unique company code for employees to use on the LOGÜ website…

LOGÜ’s stylish desks can be assembled and disassembled in less than 60 seconds, making them the perfect choice for remote workers who want to keep their work and home lives separate….

LOGÜ

Irish-made stuff to broadsheet@broadsheet.ie marked ‘Irish-Made Stuff’. No fee.