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		IN THIS ISSUE
~~~ Foreword
~~~ Keep us Free!
~~~ Irish Recipes ebook - A Free Christmas Gift!
~~~ News Snaps from Ireland
~~~ The Lamplighter        by Geraldine Flanagan
~~~ The Homeless in Ireland       by Noel Cleere
~~~ Last Minute Gifts from Ireland
~~~ Irish Quotations of the Month
~~~ Monthly free competition result

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FOREWORD
~~~~~~~~

A very happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year to 
you all. After a traumatic and historic time it is 
good to reflect on a year that, while so many will 
be glad to it put behind them, still did offer some 
hope.

Perhaps the most hopeful event of the year was the 
decision by the IRA to decommission some of its 
weapons. This is the first time in Irish history 
that an armed revolutionary group has done this.

Joe Hayden's article on Northern Ireland and 
Robert McElroy's article on the disappearance of 
our cultural heritage certainly struck a chord 
with readers last month. Be sure to stop by the 
Newsletter Forum to see the various comments you 
made.

We have a beautiful story from Geraldine Flanagan 
entitled 'The Lamplighter' which describes the 
passing of another part of our culture: the men 
who used to nightly light the street lamps in 
Dublin and other Irish cities. Anyone who has been 
to Dublin may have seen these very same lamps. 
Now, mere ornaments.

Finally, we received a few enquires about the 
absence of our Irish Recipes from the last 
newsletter. The reason for the absence was a good 
one because we are now providing an ebook (a 
downloadable electronic book) that gives you all 
of the most popular Irish recipes, including a 
few especially for Christmas, free of charge!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS FROM IRELAND!

Michael.


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KEEP THIS NEWSLETTER ALIVE!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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IRISH RECIPES EBOOK - A FREE CHRISTMAS GIFT!

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Happy Christmas!

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NEWS SNAPS FROM IRELAND
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE EURO IS ON THE WAY!

The new currency for Ireland and Europe (but not 
Britain), will be available to citizens from 
January 1st. There will be a short period of 'dual 
circulation' of both the Irish Punt and the 
new EURO currency for a few weeks before the 
Irish currency is consigned to the history books.

The expected last gasp rush to get rid of the 
Irish currency before it becomes worthless has 
seen some frenetic activity in banks and post 
offices as well as in Auction Houses! Auctioneers 
have indicated that they are experiencing their 
busiest winter in years as 'matress money' is 
taken out of storage and used to buy fine artwork, 
paintings, antique furniture and the like. It is 
speculated that the rush to the auction rooms is 
to try to keep this money away from the taxman!

The Government has issue every household in the 
country with a EURO conversion calculator and has 
been prominent on television, radio and in the 
print media in trying to get the message about 
the changeover across.

One EURO is worth just under 79 Irish pence 
(.79 punts) and so calculating the price into 
Irish Punts is relatively easy (10 EUROs is 
approximately 8 Irish Punts, etc.) Pity the poor 
Italians and Spanish however who are use to 
dealing in hundreds and thousands of Lira and 
Pesetas!

The English government has indicated that they 
will probably put this issue before their 
electorate in a Referendum soon as it if 
economically costly for them to remain outside 
the new currency.

Several countries who are not in the European 
Community (EC) have adopted the new currency too. 
Small nation states such as Andorra, The Vatican 
City, Monaco, San Marino, etc. were quick to jump 
on the bandwagon but what is more surprising is 
to see the likes of Montenegro (part of the 
Yugoslav Federation) and Kosovo also opt for the 
new money.

Irish people living abroad as well as Tourists to 
Ireland have been warned that they need to convert 
any Irish Currency or Cheques that they have in 
their possession immediately because in a few 
weeks they will be completely worthless!

NORWAY TO JOIN FIGHT TO CLOSE SELLAFIELD

The reprocessing of nuclear waste has begun at 
Sellafield in the new MOX plant despite severe 
criticism from the Irish Government, a member of 
which who described the decision to give the 
facility the go-ahead as an act of extreme 
arrogance on the part of the English government.

This follows on from the recent revelation that 
the four nuclear reactors at Sellafield will be 
out of action until the new year because of a 
technical malfunction in November.

Norway has indicated that it will join the fight 
to have the plant in Cumbria closed down 
permanently as they have seen increases in the 
levels of radiation in their coastal waters in 
recent years, which they blame on the English 
nuclear plant.

IRISH TROOPS TO BE SENT TO AFGHANISTAN

Irish leader Bertie Ahearn announced at a recent 
meeting of EU leaders that Ireland will send 
troops to Afghanistan as part of the EU 
peace-keeping force, if requested. 300 Irish 
soldiers are likely to be deployed.

IRISH EDUCATION SYSTEM GETS TOP MARKS

A recent OECD survey has shown that Ireland is 
in third place for literacy and ninth in science, 
in a survey of 32 of the World's developed 
countries.

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THE LAMPLIGHTER  	by Geraldine Flanagan

Nothing stays the same. Everything changes. My 
grandfather said this to me once when I was a 
little girl in Dublin in the mid-sixties. Dublin 
was considered a village then and despite 
misleading appearances of modernity many facets 
of an even older Dublin, a Dickensian Dublin, 
lingered on.

The old ways were all around as though they were 
hanging on just to see the last of the old 
crooked people out. When I say crooked I mean the 
bent-backed and stooping shoulders belonging to 
many of our old-timers. My grandfather, though, 
was tall, slender, wiry and quiet. He rarely spoke 
and when he did I found it hard to understand him: 
his voice a muffled mingling of everyday English 
with Elizabethan words. Like all the old-timers of 
that time, my grandfather dressed formally. He 
wore a dark suit, white shirt and tie, a long 
overcoat also dark and a soft hat. He also used a 
walking stick but more from habit than necessity. 
He walked, neither at a leisurely nor hurried 
pace, all around Dublin.

Granddad's idea of a walk was to leave his home 
four miles outside of the city center and walk in 
and about town by the most indirect way possible. 
His walks would bring you by the canal, by imposing 
decorative black wrought-iron railings belonging 
to houses with long gardens and by old churches. 
One day when he called to my home on his way to 
town he silently beckoned me to join him. My 
mother thought I was too young, frail and thin to 
go with him but I was willing because I knew there 
was a halfway point where he unfailingly stopped 
to purchase a brown bag of sweets. This 
information I got from my older brother.

An old crooked man with wild silver hair owned all 
those huge glass jars filled with sweets and 
broken biscuits. The only sweet for a child of my 
unspoilt upbringing was the black and white 
stripped everlasting Bullseye. A half a dozen were 
put in a small brown bag and I held that bag in 
such a tight fist for the rest of the walk because 
one Bullseye in your mouth would last for miles. 
I would complete the journey like an open-mouthed 
Christmas caroller. Once I had one in my mouth 
there was no use in trying to talk and, perhaps, 
that was granddad's intent all along. 

It was October, the month of my birth, and dusk 
had descended early. Quite suddenly granddad 
paused in his stride and turned around. Since he 
was holding my hand I stopped but continued to 
slurp on my sweet, which had managed to put me 
in a trance. Granddad, uncharacteristically, bent 
down slowly to my height and pointed with his long 
bony finger. 

'See that man' he said. 

The man he pointed to was old but not as old as 
granddad. He also had a body that looked like it 
had fallen down and been repaired many times only 
not perfectly. He wore a black suit that was 
old-fashioned in style as if he were an undertaker. 

'Yes' I answered. 

'This is not something you will see for much 
longer. That's a gas lamp and that man's job is 
to light and quench the remaining gas lamps in 
Dublin.' 

We then watched in silence and in awe as the odd 
man, who seemed to be apart from everyone, held a 
long rod of sorts up to the elegantly designed 
Victorian gas lamp. When the lamp was lighted it 
cast a shine on the wet black pavement. It was a 
mysterious warm light and comforting. We stood in 
that moment in time taking in our surroundings. 
The street was not crowded and people moved about 
in a hushed way. I felt important  It was grown-up 
conversation and, more importantly, from a man not 
known to talk. I looked up and saw his tired and 
kind eyes follow the skewed gait of the lonely 
Lamplighter and there was kinship there.

We resumed our long walk even though granddad 
seemed saddened. I was glad I had seen the 
Lamplighter working that evening. I never saw 
another in my life but when I think of my 
grandfather his memory is inextricably linked 
with that of the last of the Dublin Lamplighters.

Geraldine Flanagan,
Pennsylvania, USA

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THE HOMELESS IN IRELAND 	by Noel Cleere

I was in Dublin recently and I am appalled at the 
number of Irish people begging on the streets. 
The homelessness problem in all our major towns 
and cities is a major cause for concern. The level 
of poverty is increasing and many of the 
charitable organisations whose sole function is 
to deal with these issues receive little or no 
government funding.

I was speaking to the proprietor of an 
establishment that houses asylum seekers. I was 
informed that besides receiving £15.00 per week, 
asylum seekers receive clothing allowances and 
travel allowances (when travel pertains to their 
application for asylum). They also receive three 
substantial meals every day. Fruit, tea, coffee 
etc. must be made available to them whenever they 
require it. Satellite TV must be provided in each 
of their rooms and the temperature of the room 
must be 20 or more degrees. Toothpaste, soap, 
washing powder, towels etc. are also provided.
Their every need is catered for. Support groups 
provide them with classes in English, Mathematics, 
Computers, Football, etc., etc., totally free!! 
They also have free medical and dental treatment
...need I say more?

Now, I am not interested in the rights and wrongs 
of the Asylum issue.

What I am concerned about is equality. If our 
government can provide accommodation and a full 
range of services for non-nationals, why are they 
not providing the same level of services to our 
own people?

I am sure that many a homeless person in Dublin 
or Cork today would settle for far less than those 
services that are provided for asylum seekers.  

Surely our country can provide our poor with 
accommodation, food, clothing - sufficient to meet 
their basic needs? Surely the dignity and 
understanding extended to asylum seekers should 
also be extended to our own people and to the 
Charitable organisations that struggle to support 
them?

Now some people reading this article may think 
that I am racist. This is the 'whip' used by many 
asylum seeker support groups against people who 
speak frankly about these issues. My reply to 
these people is simple. I believe that every 
person - black, white, red or yellow - have the 
right to life, dignity, hope and equal treatment. 
If we can provide such excellent facilities for 
asylum seekers then we should provide on par 
facilities for our homeless, poor and destitute. 
If this means that I am racist - then so be it.

I wish you all a very happy Christmas and peaceful 
new year and I look forward to your opinions.

Noel Cleere.


Voice your opinion about this article here:

http://www.ireland-information.com/cgi-bin/newsletterboardindex.cgi

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IRISH QUOTATIONS OF THE MONTH
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 If the Three Wise Men arrived here tonight, 
 the likelihood is that they would be deported.

Pronsias de Rossa, Irish Politician, 
advocating an amnesty for asylum-seekers, 1997

 There are some people who want to throw their 
 arms round you simply because it is Christmas; 
 there are other people who want to strangle 
 you simply because it is Christmas.

Robert Lynd, 1879-1949, The Book of This and That

 Christmas Eve can be hell on earth... Everyone 
 running round doing their last-minute shopping. 
 It's as if Christmas comes on people by surprise, 
 as if they hadn't known for weeks it was on the 
 way.

Maeve Binchy, The Glass Lake, 1994

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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I hope that you have enjoyed this issue.
Please keep the feedback coming!

Until the next time,

STAY SAFE!

Michael Green,
Editor,
The Information about Ireland Site.

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