Author Archives: Bodger

Today.

A Status Orange wind warning for Connacht, Donegal and Kerry is in place until 9pm tonight.

Met Éireann has also issued a similar warning for Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan, Clare, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford.

The latter warning will remain in place until 3pm this afternoon.

Meanwhile…

Via Met.ie

This evening.

Now get back to work for pity’s sake.

Harrumph.

Earlier: Meanwhile, In Belfast

This evening.

Eoghan and Ted make for home.

Previously: Eoghan And Ted’s Excellent Adventure

MacKenzie’s Ground Floor Unit, Opus Building, 6 Hanover Quay, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 2

Hungry?

Enjoy the first restaurant review by The Fussy Eater – a new blog series from Ronan Leonard (aka the Tec Dr) – tucking into the the newly-opened Mackenzie’s in Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 2.

‘The restaurant scene in Dublin is being dominated by the Press Up Entertainment Group and the chances are that you will end up in one of their restaurants.

Having eaten in 7 of their restaurants, I was looking forward to visiting their latest restaurant, Mackenzie’s based near me in Hanover Quay.

As this is my first restaurant review, I was looking forward to seeing how MacKenzie’s compared to the other Press Up Entertainment Group restaurants that I have visited recently.

The restaurant that MacKenzie’s most compares with is Angelina’s, which has a similar décor and a woodfired oven, which is used to cook their fish, pizzas, steaks and some chicken dishes.

Recognising that the Grand Canal Docks area is popular with rowers, a wooden single sculling rowboat can be seen on the ceiling.

The first thing that hit me as I walked into the restaurant is how big it is, and I then noticed that I had come at an usually busy lunchtime.

My lunch companion who had arrived before me had been given the last 2 seat table, which had nice panoramic views of the Grand Canal riverside, and the unfortunate glare of the sun aimed at my face. This was the only low point of our visit. Our waitress apologised and mentioned that blinds would be installed in the restaurant soon.

The menu at Mackenzie’s is wide, varied focusing on modern American cuisine, and as there is an all-day menu means you won’t get any lunch specials.

The pizza’s and burgers looked tempting but in the end, we both chose the Barbecue St Louis Pork Ribs, with Spicy Apple Slaw, which was bizarrely listed under Entrees in the menu and cost €21.95.

If you are on a budget, salads start at €8.50, sandwiches start at €12.95 pizzas start at €13.95 and burgers start at €15.50.

As you can see being a fussy eater, my ribs did not come with the spicy apple slaw and both our meals came with fries. The one thing you can expect to get with pork ribs is a sticky experience as you try to stop some of the barbecue sauce dripping onto your clothes.

Thankfully the ribs had just the right amount of sweet barbecue sauce and the fries that came with them were nice, crunchy and not too thick.

Drinks are reasonably priced and my lunch colleague was surprised to get a glass of house white wine for €6 especially as most restaurants charge at least €7, soft drinks come in at €3, and beers start of at €4.80 for a non-alcohol- free beer right up to €8.00 for a Paulaner. My friend and I did not have any desserts which start at €7.95.

So, what’s my final verdict? I would definitely come here again and being a big pizza lover especially of Neapolitan ones, I would have to order one. The service was excellent and we were both well looked after, which is not always the case when a restaurant is very busy.

Mackenzie’s is a welcome addition to the Grand Canal Docks area, and with tech companies, law firms and the Bord Gais theatre nearby, getting customers won’t be a problem.’

Mackenzie’s (The Fussy Eater)

Mackenzie’s

US military planes at Shannon Airport; tweets from Irish Times journalist Simon Carswell

This morning.

Iran’s ambassador to Ireland Masoud Eslami spoke to journalists in Dublin.

Simon Carswell, of The Irish Times, reports:

On the question of whether Shannon could be targeted by Iran in response to US military action against Tehran, Mr Eslami said: “I would rule that out for the time being. This is a very far speculation. We are very far from such a situation.”

Mr Eslami called on the Irish Government to reconsider Shannon Airport being used by American troops transiting through Ireland as they travel between the United States and the country’s military bases in the Middle East.

“In principle, we would ask the authorities to reconsider the use of Shannon Airport to facilitate military action by the US, which has been an issue at the local level, at the national level in Ireland,” the diplomat told reporters at the Iran’s embassy in south Dublin.

Slain general Suleimani was Iran’s Michael Collins, says Iranian ambassador (Simon Carswell, The Irish Times)

Previously: For The Record (August 2014)

Nothing To Read Here (September 2014)

Dirty Stop Overs (July 2014)

Chef at The Brehon Killarney Chad Byrne

Doing Veganuary?

Buying oat milk?

In fairness.

This afternoon.

On RTÉ’s News at One.

Journalist Kate Egan reported:

“This lunchtime the Early Years Alliance has announced that it will be holding a national protest march involving what they say are thousands of educators, providers and parents, demanding a sustainable solution to what they say is the worsening childcare crisis in the country.

“That protest is going to be held on Wednesday, the 5th of February. Among the calls that the protesters say will be for the development of a funding model that supports affordable and accessible childcare for parents and the introduction of the living wage for all workers in the sector in 2020.”

Meanwhile…

In a press release, Federation of Early Childhood Providers’ chairperson, Elaine Dunne, said:

“We are calling on all those concerned by the worsening childcare crisis to join us on Wednesday 5th February to say enough is enough.”

“We are educators and need to be paid accordingly. The reason the insurance hike in the sector has hit us so hard, is because we are paid so little in the first place. The ECCE grant pays us €4.60 an hour, we only get paid for three hours a day. Sustainability is a real issue for providers”.

SIPTU Head of Strategic Organising, Darragh O’Connor, said:

“Early years educators across the country are committed to delivering high quality, child focused education and care.

“However, the current Government funding model for the sector is making it impossible to achieve this. Despite qualifications and hard work, early years educators earn just €11.45 [an hour] on average, well below the living wage.

“The majority are struggling to make ends meet and will be unable to stay in their profession if things don’t change. That’s why we are calling for the introduction of the Living Wage in 2020 as the first step towards professional pay scales.”

Listen back in full here

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, centre, Minister for Business Heather Humphries TD, left, and Fine Gael chairman Martin Heydon at City Assembly House, Dublin ahead of a Fine Gael party meeting today

This afternoon.

Michael Brennan, in the Business Post, reports:

There has to be a three-week election campaign, because the election date must be between the 18th and 25th day of the clerk of the Dáil moving the writ for a general election.

So the earliest election date would be in early to mid-February – such as Friday 7 or Friday 14.

Varadkar has been joking that he could go for an election on February 14 for the love of the people and a “Valentine’s day massacre” of his opponents.

Right so.

Varadkar ponders a Valentine’s Day massacre (Michael Brennan, Business Post)

Sam Boal/Rollingnews

Meanwhile…