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This 1916 thing!

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
This 1916 thing!

So, it is 2016 and all you read and hear in news and newspapers about is 1916. Dublin City, Dun Laoghaire, the libraries, RTE, all newspapers and radio and TV stations are constantly referring to it and if it wasn’t for the speculations about the date for the next general elections, they would probably probably give it even more airtime and print centimetres. …and even the Dublin Event Guide (for Free Events) is filled with (free!) events that make a big story about this year a long long time ago.

So what is this 1916 thing?

If you had hoped you will get through 2016 without having to think about it, I have no good news for you. Actually, my recommendation is that you do read a little about it and maybe go to one or two (or more of the talks) so that you understand what and why people make such a big issue about it.

The event is big in Irish History and if you are not from Ireland, you might be surprised when you find out that it was a total failure and still it is such a big thing 100 years later. It was an attempt to get rid of the British occupiers, but it was badly planned and had no much support in the normal Irish population and after a few days of fighting and a LOT of deaths on both sides, the Irish fighters surrendered.

So we are celebrating this failure in 2016? No, not exactly! We are commemorating! (A small difference.) And the importance of the event comes from what came from it not what it was in 1916. Put in simple terms, you could say that it was the start of what resulted in Ireland’s Independence from Britain. So without the failure in 1916, Ireland possibly would have never (or much later) become a Republic.

The fuzz that is made about 1916 this year might appear to be unproportionally big and you could think that more fuzz should be made about the SUCCESSFUL steps to independence, but when people die for an idea, then this often leads to a certain heroification and that will be a more or less strong component of this year’s commemorations.

By the way: Not everyone agrees fully with that heroification and you might find some talks that look at the role of the leaders of the Rising in a slightly more critical way.

So, inform yourself about this piece of history of the country you live in, so that you can form your own informed opinion about the events this year.

A good starting point for finding out more is via this Google driven tour

Dublin, Events, Politics, Society,

Festival Sponsorship not the way it should be?

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
Festival Sponsorship not the way it should be?

Junior Minister Michael Ring (Tourism & Sport) has announced which festivals will get funding from Failte Ireland this year and there are some oddities among them. In total 23 national festivals and events are getting 1.8mio in 2016, but some should get (a lot) less and others should get more. Have a look at the list here, before you continue reading so that you can form your own opinion first.

One single festival takes the majority of money and really just leaves crumbs for the rest: The St. Patrick’s Festival sucks up a whole 1 mio and I really don’t think it is worth that amount. While the parade has significantly improved from the parades 10 or 20 years ago, it has come to a standstill for many years now. There is no more improvement and year after year, the same formula with just slight alterations will be applied. The festival route is still too short for the amount of people that would like to see something and are left bitterly disappointed and the festival would definitely benefit from an overhaul. Sure, there are still up to approximately 300,000 people on the streets for it (don’t believe the 500k lie!!) but in terms of cultural value, the St. Patrick’s Day Festival is definitely not the top event!

And a little further down the list, there are these four:
Ireland BikeFest EUR 30,000
Bloomsday EUR 25,000
City Spectacular EUR 25,000
Rock n Roll, Dublin Half Marathon EUR 20,000

The Bikefest hasn’t really impressed in recent years and 30k seems relatively high for that, where the Bloomsday uses up 25k is difficult to see and that the 100% commercial Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon gets ANY funding is extremely surprising. But the City Spectacular on the other hand, which is one of the, if not THE best event in Dublin only gets 25k!? That’s odd!! They deserve a LOT more!

Dublin, Events, Politics, Society, , , , ,

Web Summit vs Irish Government

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
Web Summit vs Irish Government

When the Web Summit, Paddy Cosgrave’s yearly Internet conference, declared that they will move to Lisbon from 2016 after four successful years in Dublin, the surprise and even shock in Dublin was sizeable. Immediately there were speculations about Lisbon “buying” the event with subsidies or even direct payments to Cosgrave’s company, but after a few days it seemed to die down and there was not that much talk about it anymore.

But maybe there was still a lot of rumbling going on behind the scenes OR it is an intentional marketing “trick” to bring the focus back onto the Web Summit: Suddenly – and to most people unexpectedly – Paddy Cosgrave released the e-mail correspondence between him and a clearly very little interested Nick Reddy, who is the Taoiseach’s Private Secretary, in the run up to the announcement about the move to Lisbon.

I am of the opinion that the Web Summit far outgrew Dublin and that the vast amount of 30,000 participants this November, will bring Dublin to its breakpoint. Neither the RDS, not the traffic and public transport infrastructure in the area is suitable for such a massive event. And with the goals of growing the conference to even 50-60,000 delegates, it was absolutely unavoidable that event would have to move. Dublin is too small for it and Ballsbridge is not the place where you can implement the traffic management plans that the Web Summit management expected.

But it seems that despite this, Paddy Cosgrave didn’t want to move and desperately tried to get the current Irish Government to listen to him and to help him. He repeatedly stresses that he is not looking for money and that instead he is looking for help with Traffic Management, Public Transport, the over pricing by hotels and the WiFi in the RDS. He received no support. Maybe that was because there IS no solution to the problem, but there was not even the attempt to help or to fight to keep the Web Summit. The Taoiseach’s Private Secretary couldn’t have been any less interested.

The most interesting document in this exchange of e-mails however is a mail from 03 September. I strongly recommend that you read it on Page 9. It shows how totally incompetent the Irish Government behaved in comparison to governments from other countries in making good use of this huge event. The ignorance and incompetence is truly shocking!

Sure, we all know that Enda Kenny and his accomplices are not in the premier league when it comes to statesmanship or management skills, but the picture described in this mail from 03 September makes you wonder if they even make it into the lowest league.

Economy, Politics, , , , ,

Ireland, a (catholic) banana republic?

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
Ireland, a (catholic) banana republic?

Let me start with a disclaimer: I am catholic and I do go to church. I am very much what strict catholics call an “a la card” catholic. I choose some elements for me and ignore others. And most importantly I am a strong proponent of tolerant acceptance of all religions and other believes and of complete separation of religious and state matters. But at the same time I am German and that means that rules are needed and these rules should be clear and non-quibbleable (I made that non-existing word up…so much about sticking to strict rules, right? ;-) )

With that in mind, imagine my shock and abhorrence when I read on Friday on the RTE News website (www.rte.ie/news/vote2015/2015/0522/7030), that bibles were provided to Polling Stations in cases “where a presiding officer asks a voter with no identification to swear an oath”!

WHAT???

So, you find a polling card that is not yours and for which you clearly have no identification and you will be allowed to vote just by putting your hand on a book and declaring that you are that person?? I so hope that I got that wrong!?

Because if I didn’t get it wrong, I should leave my passport at home next time I travel and ask for a bible at Dublin airport.

What Banana republic do we live in where a) you are allowed to vote without and identification, b) where a religious book and a few words count more than a formal, state issued document and c) where the Department of Environment explains that as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

To buy a phone and get services from a company, I need an ID and also a proof of address. To vote in a constitution changing referendum, I just need a book and a promise. *shaking head*

What if I am a Trekkie? Will then a Star Trek DVD replace the book? Or as Rastafarian? Just bring the Holy Piby?

It gets better!! It seems there is a bit of a preference for catholicism, because if you are not religious you can just “make an affirmation” says the Department of Environment, you don’t even need a book! I should try that next time I am at a traffic checkpoint: “I can positively affirm that my name is Enda Kenny…and that I will pay that speeding ticket when you send it to me.”

Looks like a Banana Republic to me!!!

Elections, Irish, Justice, Odd, Politics, Society, , , ,

1916 Easter Rising Commemoration

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
1916 Easter Rising Commemoration

The 1916 Easter Rising Commemoration is celebrated at Easter Sunday every year. It doesn’t make sense really, because we all know that Easter is literally a moving feast. The actual Easter Rising in 1916 took place on Easter Monday, which was 24 April 1916. So this year we are quite close to the actual date. Considering how significant the event is in Irish history, you would think the right thing would be to celebrate it on the correct date, no? Imagine you were born at Easter, would you then celebrate your birthday at Easter every year or rather on the correct date?

No matter what you think, this year the commemoration will take place on Easter Sunday again. It is an odd celebration all the important people are involved: The president, the Taoiseach and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence but apart from the reading of the Proclamation of independence, it is mainly a military parade, that seems totally out of date.

Let’s hope that the 100th anniversary in 2016 (on the random date of 27 March) will be more appropriate to the historical significance of the date.

If you want to attend the spectacle this year, you have to be in position (near the GPO) by 11:15 and then wait until 12:00. Video screens on either side of the GPO will show what is happening.
www.merrionstreet.ie/index.php/2014/04/commemoration-to-mark-98th-anniversary-of-the-1916-rising-this-sunday/?cat=3

Dublin, Odd, Politics, President, , ,
 
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