Author Archives: Bodger

Sinn Féin’s negotiating team, from left: Pearse Doherty TD, David Cullinane TD, and Eoin O’Broin TD

This afternoon.

Via historian Brian Hanley in The Guardian (full article at link below):

This hysteria has several roots. Some evidently dislike the idea of a “northern” party holding power “down here”.

Others, usually sotto voce, echo the view of the political correspondent John Drennan who once suggested that Sinn Féin supporters existed on a diet of “chips, Dutch Gold and batter burgers” – a nod to the party’s supporters being mainly working class.

The negative coverage of Sinn Féin’s breakthrough also reflects annoyance at the disruption of the two-party system, which has served as a comfort blanket for commentators who like to portray Irish politics as “non-ideological”.

… There is no doubt that republican veterans retain huge influence within Sinn Féin. But references to the IRA’s campaign had little impact on the new voters attracted to the party. For them the recession is far more relevant than a conflict that ended 25 years ago…

….Ironically the partitionist nature of Irish politics also benefits Sinn Féin. Most voters in the Republic pay little attention to day-to-day northern politics.

But what people are aware of is that since 2017 Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have been demanding that Sinn Féin return to government with the Democratic Unionist party in Belfast.

It seems strange then to assert that it is unfit for power in the Republic. Indeed if the IRA army council is really running Sinn Féin, then how does DUP leader Arlene Foster (a woman whose father was actually shot by the IRA), share power with them in Northern Ireland?

For many voters, particularly the young, the exclusion of Sinn Féin is more about the establishment protecting itself than morality…

Hysteria over Sinn Féin entering government is about power, not the past (Brian Hanley, The Guardian)

Earlier: After The Deluge

Rollingnews

This evening.

Leinster House, Dublin 2.

Fianna Fáil Leader Micheal Martin with Thomas Byrne TD (above left) talking to the media in The Portico following talks with Fine Gael leader and acting Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on a possible FF/FG alliance.

Get a room.

Varadkar and Martin discuss health, housing in ‘preliminary’ meeting (RTÉ)

Rollingnews

From top Peter Donegan; Peter’s design for this year’s RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show

This Summer

Following the WW1 Centenary Peace garden he designed for the 13th century Chateau de Peronne in France, Dublin-born garden designer Peter Donegan returns to ‘show gardening’ at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2020.

Peter’s show garden – ‘Northern Roots Oldham Garden’ (top) – has been designed to showcase the new green space project Northern Roots, the UK’s largest urban farm and eco-park placed in 160 acres of green space in the heart of Oldham, Greater Manchester.

Paying homage to Oldham’s Industrial heritage, the Northern Roots Oldham Garden will incorporate York stone and sandstone salvaged from Oldham’s Grade 2 listed Town Hall and 19th century mills.

In fairness.

Peter Donegan

RHS Hampton Court Festival 2020

Previously: Peter Donegan on Broadsheet

This morning.

Browns Barn Estate, Kingswood, County Dublin.

A man in his 20s who was killed in Kingswood in Co Dublin this morning was stabbed as he tried to start his car to go to work.

A woman in her 30s was arrested near the scene a short time later.

Gardaí are trying to establish a motive for the murder. Detectives are investigating the possibility that the attack could have happened because the man parked his car in the wrong parking space.

Man may have been stabbed after parking in wrong space – sources (RTÉ)

Man stabbed to death in Dublin (RTÉ)

Sam Boal/RollingNews


Stop that!

Cliodhna McAllister writes:

In preparation for our production of ‘Masterpieces’ at Dublin’s Smock Alley Theatre (March 2-7 at 7:30pm nightly), we wanted to get some perspectives on the big questions at the heart of the play:

Is porn good?

Is porn bad?

Is porn responsible for creating and encouraging real-world rape or violence?

To do that, we interviewed experts in the fields of assault legislation, victim support, porn, horror film, and kink for a short docu series called ‘Masterpieces: Face to Face’. The first episode is up now (above) interviewing Seanad candidate Ruth Coppinger.

Masterpieces (Smock Alley Theatre)

Journalist and academic Ken Foxe has obtained through Freedom of Information Irish Water’s plans to begin charging 58,000 households for excessive water use.

Ken writes:

Meeting with Dept of Housing told process would need to be “carefully managed”. Concern raised over advising people to cut down on “toilet flushing”

Dept of Housing said Irish Water needed to be careful to be “faithful” to exactly what the law allows for. “If [excessive use letters] appear to suggest Irish Water is operating differently to what is in legislation, they will be open to challenge.”

Proposed timeline would be an initial “call to action” letter for those using excessive water. This would be followed up with a “notice” letter, a “reminder”, and finally the bill.

Charges would be capped at €500 per year for those with water in and water out services. It would only apply to those who had used more than 213,000 litres of water in the previous 12 months.

Overall, 58,061 customers were deemed to be excessively using water.

Of those, around 6,000 would be the first to be contacted. This would be followed by a “pause” to determine operational impact and the level of leak repairs that might be needed…

The project is, according to Irish Water, “reaching a state of readiness” for letters to be sent.

They had been preparing to start issuing the first batch of letters last October. The process was delayed because of (among other reasons) issues over data protection and how customer information would be handled:

The data being managed includes obvious things like name & address, but also number of occupants in a house, and any special medical conditions requiring extra water. In addition, it could provide info on people’s habits and when they’re likely to be home based on usage.

*pulls chain*

Right To Know

Ken Foxe

This afternoon.

Athlone, County Westmeath.

Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald is meeting with residents in Westmeath affected by flooding and inspecting the damage caused by the overflow in the River Shannon and the preparations for the expected increase in water levels in the coming days.

Earlier: Shadowy Figures

Rollingnews

James Joyce with his grandson Stephen in 1934

Terence Killeeen reflects the predominant view of the late Stephen Joyce as a tricky, awkward custodian of the James Joyce estate. I have a different take on Mr Joyce.

In 1999, while resident in the Middle East, I wrote an article for the London Independent describing the work of my friend and translator, Mohammed Darweesh, entitled “The Last Joyce Scholar of Baghdad”.

Mohammed had recently completed a PhD on the challenge of translating James Joyce’s work. He loved Joyce and Beckett but had few to share his literary passions with in Saddam’s Iraq.

Stephen Joyce got in touch and offered to pay for Mohammed to travel from sanctions-bound Baghdad to London to attend a Joyce symposium in the UK – a considerable challenge and an enormous expense. He was as good as his word and Mohammed travelled to London and on to Dublin in 2000.

It was a rare joyful experience for Mohammed, as his country and his life were subsequently torn apart by invasion, conflict, murder and pointless wars.

Richard Downes,
Howth,
Co Dublin.

Remembering Stephen Joyce (The Irish Times letters page)

Stephen Joyce, last direct descendant of James Joyce, dies aged 87 (The Guardian)

Pic: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

from left: Incantata Director Sam Yates, Uma Thurman and Paul Muldoon

Sunday.

Irish Repertory Theatre, West 22nd Street, New York, New York

The  US premiere of the Galway International Arts Festival and Jen Coppinger production of Incantata.  Written by Paul Muldoon, Incantata is interpreted for the stage by director Sam Yates and actor Stanley Townsend. It first premiered in 2018 as part of Galway International Arts Festival.

It runs at the rep until March 15.

UMA!

Incantata

Pic: James Higgins

Green Party’s Steven Matthews and Erika Doyle, Steven’s wife and his General Election 2020 campaign manager

This morning.

Via Independent.ie:

Wicklow TD Steven Matthews was forced to give up his council seat after he was elected to the Dáil.

But now his wife, Erika Doyle, has been co-opted to replace him on Wicklow County Council…

“The Green Party is a fully democratic party,” she said, before adding: “People are not appointed because of who they know and I wasn’t appointed.

“I was selected, I was nominated and a full process was gone through and the Green Party members in Wicklow believe I am capable to represent them.”

‘I was transparently selected’: Green TD’s council seat is taken by his wife (Independent.ie)

Journalist Erika Doyle To Replace Green Party’s Steven Matthews On Wicklow County Council (Wicklow Now)

Pic via Wicklow People