Category Archives: Misc


Wallis Bird – Pretty Lies

“It’s been a long-ass year.”

Berlin-based Irish songsmith Wallis Bird (top) reflects on the lockdown in her new video shot in Germany by Joe Wright.

Wallis writes:

“It documents the silence and the beauty of hearing the birds for miles and miles at the beginning of lockdown when there was no traffic and nobody was leaving their house. It moves from that into when things began reopening a little more.

“This quiet, uneasy safety at the start develops into a spiral of unending possibilities. The end of this song expresses all of the possibilities of where we’re going to go from here.”

Wallis releases her new album Hands on May 27.

Nick says: Bird song.

Wallis Bird

Gulp.

Truckers and ‘smokey bears’!

Meanwhile….

A poll says that, should a meaningful number of truckers show up near Washington, D.C. in the coming days to protest two years of COVID restrictions, they will have the support of the majority of Republicans and independents in the country.

The poll, conducted by Trafalgar Group, indicates that 50.3 percent of adult Americans are “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to support the U.S. demonstration of truckers, a few of whom departed last week from various parts of the country for an expected 11-day trek to the nation’s capital.

People’s Convoy Is Gathering Support as It Heads Toward Washington: Poll (Newsweek)

Getty

From top: Tanaiste Leo Varadkar, Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney and Taoiseach Micheal Martin

This afternoon.

Dublin Castle, Dublin 2.

The Taoiseach and ministers leave a cabinet meeting to discuss the situation in Ukraine.

Meanwhile…

Well.

As long as you don’t mind sharing the couch with Nick. It’s a pull-out so plenty of room. Bring milk.

RollingNews

Russian conductor Valery Gergiev (right) with Russian president Vladimir Putin

Um.

This morning.

Meanwhile…

…Via EuroNews:

Gergiev’s closeness to Putin, whom he has known since 1992, and his loyalty to the Russian president on the annexation of Crimea, as well as his participation in concerts in bombarded South Ossetia and in Palmyra alongside the Syrian army, have been the subject of much controversy over the past decade. But only now are they conducting the direction of his professional life.

That’ll learn him.

Russian conductor Valery Gergiev sacked from yet another role as Munich’s mayor waves baton (EuroNews)

‘sup?

This morning.

Unidentified locations.

Shane O’Reilly, Angling Advisor at Inland Fisheries Ireland, launching a new historical picture book containing traditional Irish salmon flies commissioned 120 years ago for the Cork International Exhibition.

Fly tying involves the ‘dressing’ of a fishing hook to create an artificial fly, which is then used by anglers at the end of a rod and line to catch fish.

Described as the “long-lost treasure” of Irish angling, the ‘1902 Cork Collection of Salmon Flies’ book is published online this week by Inland Fisheries Ireland, ‘making it freely available to new generations around the world’.

The book can be viewed here.

Any excuse

Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland

This morning.

Emma Fagen writes:

‘Following rave reviews, standing ovations and an IFTA nomination for Best Documentary Break Out Pictures are delighted to announce the on-demand release of Ross Killeen’s debut film Love Yourself Today.

‘The film will be released on March 14th to stream or download-to-own on various platforms including Google Play, Virgin Media, IFI @Home, Volta, Amazon Prime, Apple TV/iTunes, Microsoft Films & TV and Vimeo.

‘Love Yourself Today centres around the music of Irish singer songwriter Damien Dempsey but also turns the lens onto his fans. Every Christmas in Dublin, the crowds gather for Damo’s Christmas gig at Vicar Street. Through the prism of the concert, we meet Dempsey and three members of the audience. We hear their stories, unravel their grief and find the light in the darkness through communal art. For them,these shows have become a cathartic ritual, a safe space where emotions can be laid bare.’

Previously: For Your Consideration

From top: Alison O’Connor  (second left) on Claire Byrne Live on RTÉ One on February 14; Anthony Sheridan

Irish Examiner columnist Alison O’Connor found herself all alone on Valentine’s night last. Claire Byrne/RTÉ had invited her to participate in a discussion on the dramatic rise in Sinn Féin’s popularity.

As a favourite of the establishment media and strident anti-Sinn Féin commentator Ms. O’Connor probably expected that she would be joining the usual RTE anti-Sinn Fein panel.

But, amazingly, that didn’t happen, the panel was balanced and fair. O’Connor seemed to be genuinely confused with the situation. She began by telling the nation that, given how bad things are, even an opposition of chimpanzees would find it easy to pick it [the Government] off.

This crude and insulting political analysis was followed up with the usual tired guff about Sinn Fein being a ‘strange, cultish party’ that could cause a lot of offence if it got into power.

But then, O’Connor ran out of words. It was as if she suddenly realised that nobody was really listening to her, that they had heard it all before, and, of course they had, ad infinitum

So, in desperation, she did something that no establishment journalist has ever done before – she criticised RTE for imbalanced broadcasting, complaining:

“I would say about some of the debate I heard tonight…that there was some imbalance there. Listening to some of it you’d think we live in a banana republic and that’s not true… I think balance is important.”

O’Connor was confused because by the time she joined the panel, the anti-Sinn Féin side had been routed.

Passionate, articulate Sinn Féin members backed up by others such as Martin Ward and Tony Groves dismantled every argument put by supporters of the political establishment.

Property developer Michael Flynn’s condescending claim that people were being ‘over simplistic’ on the housing crisis, and Fine Gael TD Jennifer Carroll MacNeil’s defence of the private sector’s role in solving the crisis was torn to shreds by a well-informed opposition.

The opinions expressed by the eccentric financial advisor and failed politician Eddie Hobbs provided some light relief. Anybody tempted to take Hobbs seriously has only to recall that after co-founding the far-right party Renua Ireland, he refused to stand for election because he was too busy with other stuff.

And then there was the Fianna Fáil politician, Cllr. Briege Mac Oscar who said parties should be judged on their record. Let’s just repeat that – a Fianna Fáil politician thinks that parties should be judged on their record. Surely, if that was true, Fianna Fail would be struggling for its very survival…oh, wait.

So what happened in that RTÉ studio on Valentine’s night when Ms. O’Connor, at one point, found herself all alone in her titanic struggle against the evils of Sinn Féin?

Could it be that RTÉ was testing out a new producer who was unaware of the station’s long-established policy of packing discussion panels with anti-Sinn Féin commentators?

Or…could it be that the national broadcaster has finally conceded that Sinn Féin is a legitimate political party and the 500,000-plus citizens who voted for the party deserve a fair hearing?

Anthony Sheridan is a freelance journalist and blogs at Back Garden Philosophy