Category Archives: Misc

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From top: Environment Minister Alan Kelly (left) with Áodhán Ó Ríordáin; Mr Ó Ríordáin surrounded by his wife Áine Kerr and Labour supporters; and Mr Ó Ríordáin speaking to media at the count centre in the RDS this morning

Labour’s Áodhán Ó Riordáin has lost his seat in Dublin Bay North.

Independent TD Tommy Broughan, Sinn Féin’s Denise Mitchell and Independent Finian McGrath have been elected.

Earlier: Dignity

Pics: Gavan Reilly, Jennifer Bray and Rollingnews

UPDATE:

UPDATE:

Meanwhile, over in Longford-Westmeath…

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A second recount is under way.

Via Fergal O’Brien

Floral Collar in Feather by Aine Knitwear
telephoneboxBrown Bull of Cooley Apron by Duinn Designs(1)Go On Go On Teapot by Bog BuddiesA Soft Day Candle by SoilseThanks Mum by Fab Cow Design

Irish-made gift ideas for Mother’s Day this Sunday, March 6.

But hurry.

They will ship TODAY!

Charmaine Kenny writes:

You might remember that The Irish Workshop launched only a few months ago – we provide a platform for shoppers to buy directly from the workshops of Irish makers, designers and craftspeople. Above (with details below) are six ideas for Irish-made Mother’s Day Gifts. Items can be ordered by clicking the links.

1. For the Style Queen Mammy: She might be your mother, but she still appreciates a bit of sch-tyle! Áine Knitwear’s range of contemporary Irish knitwear is a real hit with Irish mammies.

2. For the Mammy Who Loves to Talk: Dublin artist Orla Walsh pays homage to the Irish Telefón boxes that only two decades ago sprinkled the Irish countryside with these awesome limited edition pop-art prints.

3. For the Chef Mammy: Remember that old Irish myth of The Brown Bull of Cooley? It was the one where Queen Maeve of Connacht desires to have a bull to match that of her rival, and Cuchulainn gets involved and is forced to kill his best friend Ferdia. All very tragic but it teaches us about the futility of war and the worthlessness of possessions. Anyway…. this beautiful Apron designed by Dúinn Designs is a modern nod to this old epic tale, and a great way to encourage your Mammy to cook up another Sunday roast.

4. For the Mrs. Doyle Mammy: Ah go on…. go on, go on, go on, sure you’ll have a cup of tea…. This teapot picture is made from turf in Co.Roscommon by Bog Buddies and can be customized to say whatever you want. Extra thoughtful Mother’s Day gift = extra brownie points.

5. For the “Hard-to-Buy-For” Mammy: You can never go wrong by gifting a candle. Meath-based Soilse has taken fragrances of Ireland and captured them in a gorgeous range of scented candles – choose from: A Soft Day, Connemara Mist, Donegal Dew, Wild West Cork and My Mother’s Garden.

6. For every Mammy: Fab Cow Design have managed to capture into words all that we want to say but don’t say.

The Irish Workshop

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YESSSSSS!

He has none.

From top: Leo DiCaprio winning best actor Oscar after five previous nominations; Nelson Mandela on his release from prison after 27 years; Andy Murray wins Britain’s first Wimbledon in 77 years; A Chilean miner freed after 69 days underground; Labour’s Alan Kelly after winning the final General Election seat in the Tipperary constituency on Saturday night.

PA/Getty/AFP/Independent.ie

Thank MC

F_

F_ Festival
Dublin City, March 12th, 2016

All-dayer at various venues around Dublin City, aimed at increasing visibility and presence for women in the arts in Ireland. All events are FREE.

Bands like Kevyn, Spines and Twin-Headed Wolf play The Grand Social from 5-11pm, while the North’s Sister Ghost headline the stage at Sweeney’s. The ground floor of the Grand Social also plays host to spoken-word sets from Ailish J Kerr, Victoria Curtis & Alicia Byrne Keane. Joanne McNally of Republic of Telly headlines comedy at Wigwam, while cinema and photography goes down at Hangar, Filmbase, and Gallery of Photography. More to be announced in the full programme.

F_Festival

BARE LAUNCH

B.A.R.E. In The Woods Festival Launch
Good Friday March 25th, Roll ‘n’ Bowl, Portlaoise

Not so much a fest in and of itself as a Good Friday hooley in an non-licensed space, this one marks the launch of Laois’ “other” major contributor to the Irish festival scene. The price of admission gets you a tenner off the festival, free entertainments all over the complex, and live appearances from Sounds of System Breakdown, Laurie Shaw and Suan. Roller disco thrown in for good measure.

BAREly able for it.

BD

BD Festival
Good Friday March 25th, Glendalough House, Annamoe, Co. Wicklow

A BYOB barn-dance in the Wicklow Mountains, BD Festival leads with a strong topline of electronic acts, Dimitri from Paris, Mylo and Dense and Pika, with Irish indie veteran RSAG, young post-rockers Megacone, and math-rock upstarts Punch Face Champions among the undercard. FIGHT Session!

Yeehaw.

 

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Scrobarnach Good Friday Society
Friday-Saturday March 25th-26th, undisclosed location

Galway’s Scrobarnach Music Society head to a mystery location in County Cork for some whooping and a-hollering away from the drinks ban on Good Friday. Rather than sell tickets, the lads are selling memberships via Eventbrite. Highlights of the line-up include John Heckle, Bastardo Electrico, Same D4ence and Cuttin’ Heads Collective.

Scrub up for a pass here.

 

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Community Skratch Games X
Saturday March 26th and Sunday March 27th, Bierhaus, Galway

The tenth anniversary of Ireland’s showcase skratch and boom-bap excursion stretches across the weekend, and lists a who’s who of Irish hip-hop on the line-out. Wat Tyler’s Soundcard (that is, Jimmy Penguin, Hatetank and DJ Chile), mynameisjOhn & Naive Ted in a collaborative DJ set, Danny Deepo, T-Woc, JusMe and the wonderfully-monikered Fidel Cutstro are among the massive line-up.

Holdin’ it down.

SIEGE

Siege of Limerick Earrach,
Sunday March 27th, Dolan’s Warehouse, Limerick

The centre of Ireland’s metal community, the biannual Siege of Limerick all-dayer comes forth for its annual spring excursion, with the Bad Rep boys rolling out another quality line-up for absolutely zero door-tax. UK doom-metal legends Esoteric headline, with Irish metal vets Cruachán and Stormzone also at the top of the bill. The undercard is lined with the cream of Ireland’s metal scene, with Shardborne, Okus, dark_matter, Zombified, zhOra and Bailer among those on the bill.

More info here.

 

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From top: Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Michael Noonan and Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson; Minutes of a meeting between Mr Robinson and Mr Noonan in which they discuss the sale of Northern Ireland’s Nama portfolio; and a clip of a secretly recorded meeting involving Frank Cushnahan – both on BBC Northern Ireland’s Spotlight last night

You may recall how Independent TD Mick Wallace, on several occasions in the Dáil last year, raised concerns about the sale of Nama’s Northern Ireland property portfolio, Project Eagle, in 2014.

On the first occasion, in July 2015, his microphone was turned off.

On another, in October 2015, after making yet another call for a Commission of Investigation into the Project Eagle sale, Mr Wallace told Taoiseach Enda Kenny:

“The Irish people have not been served well by Nama. It stinks to high heaven and you are involved in the cover-up because you refuse to do anything about it.”

The sale is now the subject of investigation by the National Crime Agency in the UK and the Securities and Exchange Commission in the US.

Further to this.

Last night, BBC Northern Ireland’s Spotlight programme, presented by Mandy McAuley, outlined the sequence of events which led to the portfolio eventually being sold to US private equity firm, Cerebus Capital.

Contributors to the programme included Sunday Business Post journalist Elaine Byrne and Independent Alliance TD and Sunday Independent journalist Shane Ross.

Ms McAuley first explained how former banker Frank Cushnahan is an “incredibly well-connected” Belfast businessman who, nine years ago, left his position as an advisor to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive to become chairman of east Belfast firm Red Sky – a company that worked for the Housing Executive.

She explained that Mr Cushnahan convinced the Housing Executive to forgive most of Red Sky’s debts so that its debts went from £250,000 to £20,000.

His behaviour was later criticised by a Stormont investigation which found his actions to be “totally unethical and could and should have been avoided”.

Two years later, in 2009, £4.5billion of Nama’s debt was owed by developers in Northern Ireland and politicians feared there would be a fire sale of property, prompting property rises to drop – a fear Northern Ireland’s Finance Minister Sammy Wilson told BBC’s Spotlight in 2011.

These fears, Ms McAuley explained, prompted the establishment of Nama’s Northern Ireland Advisory Committee.

And who did Sammy Wilson choose to sit on that committee?

Frank Cushnahan – who, Ms McAuley reported, held clinics for developers in Nama, where he would tell developers “how to survive” Nama.

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