Ross O’Mullane, at Energia, writes:
Season’s greetings, Ho ho ho etc! We’re on the look out for Ireland’s most Christmassy home, and we’re open for entries until Sunday night – I wonder if BS readers know of anyone who might like to win €2000 for themselves and €2000 for a charity of their choice!?
Gulp.
Enter here
A 1961 Ferrari 400 Super America SWB coupé aerodynamico (one of only 17 such variants ever made).
Powered by a 4.0l Colombo V12 with Pininfarina styling, a unique Blu Sera paintjob and leather interior, it was shorter, much prettier but no less powerful than its predecesor.
Yours for a trifling $3.25 million+ from Sothebys.
Henrik’s Norse flag of Dublin
On a recent visit to Dublin, Henrik Jacobsen a Danish graphic designer and architect was quite taken with the city and particularly the Nordic origins of Dublin which date back to 841 AD.
In true Danish, style he gathered up as many books as he could and read up on Viking Dyflin.
Henrik writes:
“The Viking story of Dublin is illuminating both from a Norwegian and Danish perspective.The fact that this city was almost a proto-Venice of the Irish and North sea is something that has largely been forgotten.
One of the things that struck me, is that there is an undercurrent of Nationalism in many of the accounts of Viking Dublin. I think many Irish people narrate the story of the Vikings as ‘us’ and ‘them’, when the truth is far more complex and interesting. I was amazed to learn that a Norse dialect was still spoken in parts of Dublin up until the early 14th century.“
A lifelong vexillologist (flag lover) he set about a simple task (from a design perspective) of crafting a Nordic flag for Dublin using the city’s navy and sky blue colours.
Said Henrik:
“Every town and village in Denmark has its flag and crest. Ireland is no different in that respect, but you don’t see them, unless you attend a Gaelic football game. Indeed many of those flags are of recent origin. I personally think, Dubliners should be proud of the Norse origins of their city.
It took me a while to get my head around the fact that the colours used at those football matches were not the official colours of the city but only introduced when colour television was introduced for GAA matches…
The Danish flag was formulated in 1748, the design but not the colours were copied by the Norwegians, the Swedes (typical) and the Finns etc. I can see no reason why Dubliners cannot have their own Nordic flag.
I think it looks good. Also, one has to accept that the Irish national flag is itself a knock-off of the French tricolore, so there is no need to stand on ceremony about such things”
Anyone/FIGHT!
Thanks Antoine D’Alton
Walter Hobbs
Walter Hobbs was IBRC’s independent expert who oversaw the massively controversial sale of Siteserv to Denis O’Brien-owned Millington.
In a memorable RTÉ Prime Time appearance last year, Mr Hobbs described the deal as the best the state could have achieved.
So what of Walter now?
A Young Covey writes:
That guy now seems to be this guy and nobody appears to have raised a single question about it….
Good times.
Previously:
This morning.
Dublin city centre.
Please sign our petition here: https://t.co/hTVYZAS4Te
Banks are forcing over 40 children to become homeless every single month. pic.twitter.com/xIBVDVJb9d— Focus Ireland (@FocusIreland) December 2, 2016
Rollignews
Reissued digitally and made available for free download yesterday by Limerick’s Out on a Limb Records (after years of only being available on CD-R) is Cork post-metallers Rest’s take on Walking in the Air, a staple of annual indie Irish Xmas playlists and awkward seasonal band communiqués.
Bah, humbug.
Which begs the question of our regulars: favourite Irish-artist Christmas tunes that aren’t by Frank Kelly?
From top: Cover and sample page of Jonathan Sugarman’s book The Whistleblower; and Mr Sugarman (centre) at the launch of his book at Buswells Hotel in Dublin this morning, with MEP Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan and Diarmuid O’Flynn, of Ballyhea Says No
A bit of a hero, in fairness.
Jonathan Sugarman is a former executive at Unicredit Bank Ireland in Dublin’s IFSC who resigned in September 2007 after giving a detailed account of enormous liquidity breaches at his bank a year before the financial crash.
Mr Sugarman, whose warning were ignored by the Central Bank, gave an address (above) to MEPs last week and earlier today launched his book The Whistleblower, published with the help of Luke Flanagan MEP, in Buswells Hotel, Dublin 2.
.@whistleirl “What I did was report a crime…” Resigned, went into central bank reported it, a crime involving billions, nothing happened.
— Seanán Kerr (@seanan_kerr) December 2, 2016
Those who wish can buy the book, priced €3.75, a on Smashwords here
Transcript via Oireachtas.ie
Pics: Smashwords and Denis pⓐrfёnov
Thanks Richard Farrell
Of this brief Rogue One twerkathon, visual effects artist Nicholas King, who made it, sez:
Wrap parties are always necessary, especially if the film was shot on a beautiful island.
