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  The Information about Ireland Site Newsletter 
                  February 2009
 
The Newsletter for people interested in Ireland 
 Now received by over 50,000 people worldwide 
      https://www.ireland-information.com 
          https://www.irishnation.com
              Copyright (C) 2009  

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		IN THIS ISSUE

=== News Snaps from Ireland 
=== New free resources at the site
=== Countess Markievicz - a Biography
=== Famous Irish Inventors and Inventions #1
=== Luas or the London Tube Train by Pat Watson
=== Gaelic Phrases of the Month
=== Monthly free competition result

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FOREWORD
========

Greetings from Ireland where the coldest January 
in decades has been replaced by an occasionally 
balmy February. It was a real surprise to see 
snow on the ground recently for the first time in 
years and it was even better to see it melt.

Of course the talk in Ireland is all about the 
economy but other news is finally beginning to 
seep through. The Irish being what they are, 
some people have never been happier now that 
tough times have returned!

Until next month,

Michael

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=======================
NEWS SNAPS FROM IRELAND
=======================

ECONOMY CONTINUES TO DOMINATE IRELAND

The deterioration in the Irish economy continues 
to dominate the media and political classes in 
Ireland alike. According to recent opinion polls 
the ruling Fianna Fail and Green Party coalition 
would be decimated if an election were to be 
held this year. The breakdown in talks between 
Unions and Government representatives was followed 
by the unilateral imposition of a pension levy 
which effectively reduced the wages of tens of 
thousands of public servants. The Unions responded 
by organising huge street marches although it is 
unclear just how much support the public sector 
workers actually will receive from their private 
sector colleagues.

The government led by Brian Cowen and Finance 
Minister Brian Lenihan have for long periods 
seemed to be buckling under the strain of the 
massive downturn in economic fortune that has 
suddenly engulfed Ireland. In recent weeks however, 
they have been showing signs of a fight-back with 
the pension levy ranking among the boldest 
cutbacks by a government in living memory. Despite 
the hammering they have received in the opinion 
polls Fianna Fail seem intent on carrying out 
their policies despite widescale criticism, in the 
hope that their electoral prospects will recover 
just as the economy might recover during the 2010 
and 2011.

The Irish media have certainly joined in and are 
taking great delight at the governments travails. 
Reports of new jobs being created it the economy 
are quickly being drowned out by reports of big 
job losses in certain sectors. Already the famous 
Waterford Irish Crystal company has fallen victim 
to the global economic downturn and is to close. 
The fact that the company has been devastated by 
high staff costs and a weak dollar over the last 
5 years hardly seems to matter to those unions 
and politicians who are clamoring for the 
government to bail out the business.

Ireland has been either a little bit unlucky or 
very imprudent, depending on your viewpoint. The 
international credit crunch has combined with the 
decline in the Irish property market, just as the 
US and European economies start to decline. The 
combination of these factors has been severe on 
the Irish economy to say the least and this looks 
likely to be the scenario through 2010 and into 
2011 at the very least. 

IRISH PROPERTY MARKET HITTING THE BOTTOM?

The property market seems to be showing signs of 
reaching the bottom with current estimates putting 
the overall market at late-2005 prices which 
represents a drop of between 15% and 30% depending 
on which micro-market a particular property is in. 
Reports from estate agents, who are always keen to 
'talk up' the market, have suggested that investors 
are re-entering the market bargain-hunting while 
at the same time banks make mortgages more readily 
available. The dramatic fall in interest rates by 
the ECB can only help the construction sector 
which has been severely hit by the economic 
downturn.

IRISH BANKING SECTOR ON ITS KNEES

Anglo Irish Bank has been nationalised while both 
AIB and BOI have received massive funding 
injections. The main problem with the banks is 
their exposure to the ailing property market. 
Investors are uncertain as to the actual level of 
bad debt that the main banks are exposed to. Their 
share prices have tumbled and seniors bank 
officials and directors have resigned. Revelations 
of dodgy deposits and elevated salaries for the 
banking hierarchy have not gone down well with a 
public that is being constantly reminded of the 
need for austerity. Rightly or wrongly the 
government has taken the hit for its attempts 
to rescue the banks and it is by no means certain 
that its efforts will succeed. Recent estimates 
indicate the likely unemployment tally will top 
the  half million mark.


UNEMPLOYMENT MAY REACH 500,000

A new plan is being considered by the government 
to allow workers to keep their social welfare 
payments while working. The novel scheme is 
designed to boost the numbers in employment 
with the obvious advantage to employers of only 
having to subsidise the government payment to 
new staff. Up to 51,000 extra training places are 
also to be provided by the State in an effort to 
get people into employment.

LISBON RE-RUN MAY HAVE TO WAIT

Speculation is growing that the proposed re-run of 
the Lisbon Treaty referendum may have to wait, 
despite opinion polls revealing that the Treaty 
would be approved if a new referendum were held 
immediately. The downturn in the economy has 
proved to be a big boost to those in favour of 
Lisbon as greater co-operation with the EU is 
cited by them as a means to economic recovery. 
The government is clearly wary however, that if it 
held a quick referendum then the public would use 
the poll as an opportunity to vent its displeasure 
with the ruling coalition for its handling of the 
economy and reject Lisbon again. No immediate poll 
is therefore likely despite the wishes of the EU. 
The European elections are being held this June 
with anti-Lisbon activists expected to stand for 
office. Their success or otherwise will be very 
telling of the attitude of the Irish people to the 
Treaty that was originally spectacularly rejected.

US EMBASSY IN DUBLIN TO BE MOVED

The famous US Embassy building in Ballsbridge in 
Dublin is to be closed and the Embassy moved on 
foot of instructions from the US State Department. 
A new embassy building is to be constructed with 
a site near St. James Gate being mooted as a 
possibility. The change is necessary as the 
current building does not meet security 
requirements for US embassies.

MOBILE PHONES CAN BE USED ON SOME RYANAIR FLIGHTS

Mobile phone calls at a rate of up to 3 euro per 
minute are now available on 20 planes operated by 
budget-airline Ryanair. Text messages cost 50 cent 
each. Vodafone and O2 have signed up for the 
service but Meteor and 3 have not, citing the 
exorbitant costs to its customers. Plans to expand 
the service to all 170 of Ryanair's planes depends 
on customer demand. It remains to be seen just how 
popular the service becomes with air-travellers.

IRELAND SOCCER TEAM DEFEAT GEORGIA

The Irish international soccer team have beaten 
Georgia 2-1 at Croke Park to boost their chances 
of qualifying for the World Cup in South Africa 
next year. Having trailed from the very first 
minute the 'boys in green' were awarded a very 
dubious late penalty which changed the game. 
Robbie Keane powered home the equaliser and 
followed it up with a bungled header a few minutes 
later. The Georgians were understandably furious. 
The Irish team is currently managed by Giovanni 
Trapattoni and the wily Italian has certainly 
impressed with his ability to coax results from 
what most observers would agree is not the most 
talented Irish squad ever assembled. A defeat of 
Bulgaria by the Irish in March would put them in 
a great position to finish at least second in the 
group, ensuring a 2-match play-off place and the 
chance to qualify. Could the Irish top the group 
ahead of Italy? Perhaps unlikely but if they can 
catch the Italians napping and produce an 
outstanding display then that dream would be very 
much alive. Ireland face Italy in April.


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B: Bowyer
D: Davenport
M: Mackie, Maddox
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COUNTESS MARKIEVICZ - A BIOGRAPHY
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The famous Irish revolutionary known as Countess 
Markiewicz was born Constance Gore-Booth in 1868. 
She was born in London to Sir Henry Gore-Booth, 
the famous arctic explorer. As an Anglo-Irish 
landlord, her father was not typical of his type 
and administered his lands with a degree of 
compassion for the peasantry who farmed it.

He is reported to have provided famine relief at 
his estate in Sligo during the famine of 1879. 
This act of compassion undoubtedly inspired 
humanity and concern for the poor in his daughter. 
Living in Sligo the family were friends with the 
family of W.B. Yeats, the romantic Irish poet. 
He later wrote the poem 'In Memory Of Eva 
Gore-Booth and Con Markievicz'. 

Constance initially studied painting in London in 
1893 where she became involved in the issue of 
suffrage for women, joining the 'National Union 
of Women's Suffrage Societies'. She continued her 
artistic studies in Paris in 1898 where she met 
Count Markiewicz, who was a Ukrainian aristocrat 
of Polish origin. They wed in 1901 after which she 
assumed the title Countess Markievicz. The couple 
settled in Dublin in 1903 where the Countess 
co-founded the 'United Artists Club' which was a 
cultural and artistic organisation. It was perhaps 
inevitable that while circulating in such society 
she would be exposed to the revolutionary ideas 
that were being swept along with the Gaelic 
revival of the time. In 1908 she joined Sinn Fein 
and Inghinidhe na hEireann - 'The Daughters of 
Ireland', which was a revolutionary group 
established by Maud Gonne, with whom she later 
acted at the fledgling Abbey Theatre. She 
continued to participate in the Suffragette 
movement in England and by standing for election 
she helped to defeat Winston Churchill in a 1908 
Manchester by-election. 

In 1909 she established the radical 'Fianna 
Eireann' which was aimed at instructing a youth 
army in the use of firearms. She was jailed by the 
British authorities in 1913 after speaking at an 
IRB rally to protest the visit of George V to 
Dublin. She had also joined the Irish Citizen Army 
(ICA) established by James Connolly in response to 
the 1913 'lockout' of workers. She established soup 
kitchens and aid for the Dublin poor, often using 
her own funds. Her marriage had by now 
disintegrated with her husband returning to Europe 
in 1913. 

As a Lieutenant in the ICA the Countess 
participated in the Easter Rising of 1916 where she 
was second-in-command at the fight on St. Stephens 
Green. Initially the rebels dug trenches in the 
green but soon retreated from this position once 
they were became vulnerable to snipers positioned 
on the high buildings around the enclosed green. 
Under the command of fellow ICA member Michael 
Mallin they occupied the Royal College of Surgeons, 
rebelling for a total of 6 days. They surrendered 
only when they received a copy of Padraig Pearse's 
surrender order. The Countess was jailed in 
Kilmainham and sentenced to death but her sentence 
was commuted on grounds of her gender. 'I do wish 
your lot had the decency to shoot me' she retorted. 
She was released from prison in 1917 by which time 
the tide of support had turned in favour of the 
rebels and the path to independence was set.

In 1918 she was again jailed for her 
anti-conscription campaigning but upon release was 
elected to the English parliament, refusing to 
take her seat. She was the first woman to be 
elected to the House of Commons. She was a member 
of the first 'Dail' (Irish Parliament) in 1919 and 
became the first Irish (and indeed European) 
Cabinet Minister, serving as Minister for Labour 
from 1919 to 1922.

She joined DeValera in opposition to the 
Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1922 which partitioned the 
country and fought in Dublin in the ensuing civil 
war. She was again imprisoned but this time by her 
former comrades-in-arms. Upon her release she 
became a founder member of Fianna Fail and was 
elected to the fifth Dail in 1927. DeValera had by 
this time changed tactics and intended to 
participate in the parliament. The Countess 
however, never got her chance when, at the age of 
59, she died of tuberculosis (or possibly 
appendicitis) in July of 1927. She likely caught 
the disease while working in the Dublin slums. 
Her husband and family were by her side.

She was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery, the final 
resting place of so many Irish patriots with a 
farewell crowd of 300,000 in attendance.

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FAMOUS IRISH INVENTORS AND INVENTIONS #1
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JOHN PHILIP HOLLAND AND THE SUBMARINE

Although there had been submersed boats in 
existence before 1896, including in the US Civil 
War, it was not until John Philip Holland, who 
hailed from County Clare, made use of battery 
power for submerged conditions that the first 
modern submarine came into being. In 1900 the 
US Navy purchased the 'Holland VI' renaming it 
the 'USS Holland' and the modern submarine age 
began.

ADMIRAL SIR FRANCIS BEAUFORT AND WIND SPEED

Francis Beaufort was born in 1774 in Navan, 
County Meath in Ireland. Despite his humble 
beginning as a cabin boy in the British navy 
he eventually became an Admiral while also 
inventing a scale to measure wind speed at 
sea. That scale still bears his name: 
'The Beaufort Scale'.

JAMES DRUMM AND THE RECHARGEABLE BATTERY

Doctor James Drumm was born in Dundrum in County 
Down. In 1931 he developed the Drumm traction 
battery which was a nickel-zinc rechargeable 
battery. In February 1932 a battery-powered train 
travelled the 80 miles from Inchicore to 
Portarlington and back on a single charge, 
which was a great advance in the use of batteries 
and it was rechargeable!

FRANCIS RYND AND THE HYPODERMIC NEEDLE

In hospitals around the world the hypodermic 
needle is taken for granted. Millions (perhaps 
billions) of needles have been used since 1844 
when Doctor Francis Rynd, a Dublin-based doctor, 
invented the hypodermic syringe. The worlds first 
subcutaneous injection was administered in 
Dublin's Meath hospital.

LOUIS BRENNAN AND THE TORPEDO

Louis Brennan was born in Castlebar in the west 
of Ireland in 1852. His family emigrated to 
Australia in 1862. Having begun his career as a 
watchmaker he developed a keen interest in 
engineering. He invented the worlds first 
steerable torpedo in 1974. He later worked on 
monorails and on developing a helicopter. He was 
knocked down by a car in Switzerland and died 
in 1932.

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=============================
LUAS OR THE LONDON TUBE TRAIN
by Pat Watson
=============================
 
Fifty years later we have the Luas, Ireland's 
answer to the London Tube Train. I don't 
understand a word that the four Polish lads in 
front of me are saying, but they look just like 
the four west of Ireland lads on the London tube 
train in nineteen fifty-five. They were talking 
about their ability to dig spuds with a spade, 
to drive pigs to the fair and one of them claimed 
to be the best 'slanesman' at digging turf in the 
west. I suppose the Poles were talking of 
something similar. They have the bogs, the pigs 
and the spuds and they looked like rural dwellers 
so why not? There were no bogs in London then, 
just as there are no bogs in Dublin now. Like the 
Irish of old they work in construction. It may 
not be for McAlpine or Wimpey, but it's sure to 
be someone similar.

The driver calls out the next stop. The Four 
Courts, 'Na Ceithre Cuirteanna'. I thought for a 
minute he might say Camden Town or Tottenham 
Court Road. The young Chinese girl sitting 
opposite in the sunlight is talking on her 
mobile. Her over done lipstick is showing on 
her teeth as she laughs. Perhaps she comes from 
teeming Beijing but I prefer to think she is 
talking about the paddy-fields or the little 
terraced hillsides above the Yangtze River. 
Then again she may be ordering a take-away.

The two Nigerian women with the children on their 
backs speak perfect English. As they are wearing 
crucifixes round their necks, I suspect Irish 
Missionaries educated them or their parents or 
built their schools. They are talking about their 
jobs in an accountancy office. It's great to see 
them here. I hope they integrate happily into 
Irish society as good or better than the last 
generation did in London. The driver calls, 
Smithfield, Margadh Na Feirme. It used to be The 
Dublin Cattle Market. The young Irish couple 
getting off here told me they just bought an 
apartment for three hundred thousand euro. They 
have one room let to Lithuanians who pay half 
the mortgage. We Irish paid the Londoner's 
mortgages in the fifties.
 
The two Philippino nurses are probably on their 
way to Tallaght hospital or Saint James's. They 
remind me of Mary-Ann and Peggy who nursed in 
Guys in London. I wonder where are they now. 
Isn't it great the way nurses seem forever young? 
The Irish nurses used to be just 'it'. Now they 
are just 'IT' people, hence the Philippine help 
who are now just 'it'. I hope the 'IT' people 
appreciate the 'it' people. The driver calls 
'The Museum, Ard Mhusaem.' The Londoners never 
said Baile An Camden or Bohar Na Tottenham 
Cuirteanna. They're all the poorer for that. 

Isn't it grand the way you can see the sun, the 
rain and the scudding clouds through the windows 
of the Luas. One never saw anything only the 
dark dirty walls of the tube. You could dream of 
the bogs, the green hills or the wild mountains 
but there you were like a rat in a hole singing 
about when there's brighter days in Ireland. 
Well! The brighter days are here, as are all the 
immigrants including second and third generation 
Irish who emigrated in the last century. May they 
find the old Ireland that their ancestors dreamed 
about! 

The next stop is Heuston, connecting with all 
mainline rail lines to the country. Having crossed 
two countries we arrived at Euston main line 
station in London all those years ago. 
It's great to be back!  


'Luas or the London Tube Train' 
is one of sixty lyrical yarns from 
'Original Irish Stories' by Pat Watson, 
Creagh, Bealnamulla, Athlone, Ireland. 
First published in March 2006.
To get your copy email the author here:

pjwatson@utvinternet.com

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GAELIC PHRASES OF THE MONTH
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PHRASE:		Thalla a chluiche le do deideagan
PRONOUNCED:	hallah ah clih-heh leh duh daid-aginn
MEANING:	Go play with your toys

PHRASE:		De tha thu ah deanamh?
PRONOUNCED:	day taw two ah dyane-iff 
MEANING:	What are you making/doing ?

PHRASE:		Ta me a dheanamh dealbh
PRONOUNCED:	Taw may ah yea/niff dyalb
MEANING:	I am making a picture

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https://www.ireland-information.com/irishphrases.htm

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FEBRUARY COMPETITION RESULT
===========================

The winner was: colleenmal@tadaust.org.au
who will receive the following: 

A Single Family Crest Print (decorative) 
(US$19.99 value)

Send us an email to claim your print, and well 
done! Remember that all subscribers to this 
newsletter are automatically entered into the 
competition every time. 

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I hope that you have enjoyed this issue.

Until next month!

Michael Green,
Editor,
The Information about Ireland Site.

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