The Free Hug Sofa, designed by Eun Kyoung Lee (pictured), who sez of her creation:
It will hold you warm and soft like your mother, friend, and a lover without feeling lonely.
Fair enough, so.
A letter sent from former IBRC chairman Alan Dukes to Finance Minister Michael Noonan on February 14, 2013
You may recall how Mr Justice Brian Cregan was appointed to carry out a Commission of Investigation into IBRC on June 16, 2015.
One of the terms of reference is “whether the Minister for Finance or his Department was kept informed where appropriate in respect of the transactions concerned, and whether he, or officials on his behalf, took appropriate steps in respect of the information provided to them.”
The commission’s establishment followed Social Democrat TD Catherine Murphy asking Finance Minister Michael Noonan questions about the sale of Siteserv to a company owned by Denis O’Brien.
Further to this.
The former chairman of IBRC Alan Dukes sent a letter to Finance Minister Michael Noonan on February 14, 2013 – a week after IBRC went into liquidation.
This letter was obtained from the Department of Finance by Ms Murphy, following a Freedom of Information request.
Readers will note there were three sentences redacted in the letter of February 14, 2013.
Following an appeal to the Information Commissioner, the commissioner annulled the decision of the department to redact these sentences.
It found the manner in which the Department had processed the request “most unsatisfactory” and not in keeping with the statutory provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.
Further to this, Justine McCarthy, in yesterday’s Sunday Times, reported:
The Sunday Times has established that the three missing sentences from Dukes’s letter are:
“1. The Department of Finance has at all times been provided with all papers presented to the board;
2. The Department of Finance has been entitled to have an observer at every meeting of the board;
3. The minutes of all committee meetings were systematically provided to the Department of Finance.”
…The ruling by Stephen Rafferty, an investigator in the information commissioner’s office, was made on February 8 but only made public last Thursday. The department has until March 1 to lodge an appeal to the High Court.
…When told what the redacted portion of Dukes’s letter says, Murphy replied: “It’s strange the department would have redacted that. It obviously gives a clue about something. There seems to be a surprisingly small amount of information [available] about the relationship between the department and the bank, given how bad we know that relationship was.
“The information commissioner was quite scathing about the department and the fact they are taking their time about whether they’ll release it or lodge an appeal indicates there is not a culture of openness there.”
Anyone?
Revealed: Hidden claims over IBRC liquidation (Justine McCarthy, Sunday Times)
Clear Haze writes:
“Recently a well-known comic musician from Limerick described his generation as either getting on planes or jumping in rivers. With a suicide rate of about twice the national average, Limerick City is an extreme example of the national mental health and suicide crisis.
Jack Olohan met with the Corbett Suicide Prevention Patrol to discuss their work and the problems being faced on a daily basis. In the run-up to the election the issue of mental illness and suicide rates in Ireland must be clearly addressed.”
Previously: My Generation
Earlier: Facebook Update
https://player.vimeo.com/video/153227017
Solar Bears – Wild Flowers
What you may need to know…
01. Released a week or two ago by Rob da Bank’s independent label Sunday Best, Wild Flowers marks the return after a three-year hiatus of Dublin/Wicklow electronica duo Solar Bears.
02. Comprised of Rian Trench and John Kowalski, the duo have previously been signed to the Planet Mu label, with publishing through legendary electronic label Warp. They’re currently preparing their third full-length, Advancement, due on Friday March 18.
03. The Wild Flowers vid was directed by Michael Robinson, who’s previously done promos for Bibio, The Go! Team, and Ronika.
04. To make up for their extended live absence, and to prepare for said upcoming LP, the lads have recorded a fantastic live set of nearly an hour’s worth of new material, for Boiler Room’s Upfront sessions. Stream and download it for free.
Verdict: Simply put: welcome back, Solar Bears. We’ve missed you. Now hurry on and get the new LP out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiVSLO7ksjU
He’s back!
Hitting the Bullseye.
Are Ya Having That writes:
‘LeatherJacketGuy’ watches the worst prizes ever won on TV Shows….
It appears as though nothing in this State is immune to the modern need for rebranding, even where there appears to be neither want nor need.
The new Swat-style uniform being worn by members of An Garda Síochána on the streets of Dublin last week now (above) no longer carries just the word “Garda” but also “Police”. Is this an image-enhancing marketing ploy?
Whatever next?
Trevor Tory,
Baile Átha Buí,
Co na Mí.
Garda branding (Irish Times letters page)
Pics: TV3
February 2016 (A Dubliner’s Protest)
What need you, other more than cents,
Why fumble in the streets and moan?
You value halfwit over wit,
Tick ‘none of the above‘ to groan
and make a powerhouse void of power,
Yet no Plan B have you to claim;
Pro-Active Ireland’s dead and gone,
It’s now with Lenihan, in the grave.
Yet we are now a different kind
To those old names who made us free.
What right have we to claim ’16,
When Mother Erin’s daughters bleed?
But only out of sight, of course –
Keep the provinces holy, save!
A woman’s Ireland was never born,
While Markievicz spins in her grave.
Was it for this our children fled,
With grey steel wings over every tide?
For this that citizens’ blood has shed,
For this Veronica Guerin died,
And Declan Flynn, Savita too?
Did your grumbling avenge their souls some way?
An innocent Ireland’s dead and gone,
It’s with Shane Geoghegan, in the grave.
Yet you could claim freedom again,
Remember heroes for as they were,
In their sacrifice and pain,
You’d cry ‘Some drag queen’s yellow hair
Has maddened every voter’s son,
But then, that May, we saw the power
Of what hopes and aspirations made;
So go, take action, of hope lose none,
And leave the past within the grave.
Scott De Buitléir
Top Pic via Kirkbadaz, who writes:
Homeless man beneath bridge before Boland’s Mills where Dev saw no action for a week 100 years back.
Sweet Jesus
at
‘sup?
Some Dad writes:
A few of these on Griffith Ave [Dublin 9]. Is this the new Renua candidate in Dublin Bay North?
Meanwhile…
Yikes.
Kevin Markham writes:
One of the more impressive Fine Gael posters. He gets my vote..
Meanwhile…
Ah here.
Reeler writes:
Abortions for some, faceswap for others…
Mayor of London Boris Johnson (left) and British Prime Minister David Cameron
It’s the moment we’ve all waited for,
As the posh boys are going to war,
With themselves. There’ll be blood,
On the floor, which is good,
For the game matters more than the score.
John Moynes
Press Association
RoadBurren Fleadh @ The Roadside Tavern, Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare. April 30.
What you may need to know…
01. From a town famed for matchmaking festivals and so forth, springs up RoadBurren Fleadh, packing both a killer line-out of Irish heaviosity, and a delicious festival-name pun.
02. An all-dayer rather than a weekend blowout, in the style of the Siege of Limerick and its various imitators (fight, etc.), RoadBurren packs a varied bill of artists and producers on the heavier end of the metal and electronic spectra.
03. Headlining are noise/ambient unit From the Bogs of Aughiska, and Galwegian post-metalcore outfit Ilenkus (seen freaking out Saturday shoppers in their home city in the video above). Also on the bill: folk-metallers Celtachor, black-metallers Mortichnia, dark ambient from Ruairí O’Baoghaill, and electroacoustic soundscaping from Barry Dillon.
04. Alongside the merchandise stands and craft beer will be a screening of the excellent Fractured series of documentaries. A must-see look at the unfairly-ignored but infinitely compelling and evolving Irish metal scene.
Verdict: Get to this if you possibly can. As Ireland’s independent music scene continues to grow and diversify across all genres (without much in the way of help or industry resources), festivals and all-dayers like it will need all the support they receive to become (and stay) viable options for venues and promoters alike, especially outside of the major urban centres.