Ireland's political and cultural magazine
In the mid-nineteen-nineties developer and architect, Paul Clinton, came up with an idea for a new street and shopping centre on O’Connell Street centring on the former Carlton Cinema site and brought together a group of four partners who had varying degrees of involvement. They developed ambitious plans for the ‘Millennium Mall’ retail scheme stretching […]
I rang the doorbell on Joan Burton’s modest semi in the Dublin’s North inner suburbs, between Stoneybatter and Cabra. I had been at a conference at Maynooth, and she agreed to an evening interview to save me a second trip from Galway. She answered the door herself and insisted I rescue my wife from the […]
For more years than we care to remember, it has been the staple of the Irish diet. Whole generations were reared on this humble foodstuff which cannot be found outside Ireland. But our love for it peaked in the boom and, as with all affairs, the flower of romance has begun to droop of […]
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In late November 2009, hundreds of emails allegedly exchanged by some of the world’s leading climate change scientists over the previous thirteen years were stolen by hackers from the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit, and leaked online. George Monbiot publishes the secret email that shows that global warming is makey uppy.
No political party has sought to garner votes by espousing equality in Ireland. A political party, it would appear, will not rise in the opinion polls by espousing equality.
When Obama came to power last year, he pledged to close the prison at Guantanamo within one year, by January 2010. Not only did he fail to do that, but he has also maintained a second similar prison in Afghanistan, at Bagram Air Base, near Kabul.
In January 2003, Willie O’Dea who was then a junior minister said that the policy being implemented by his government in relation to planes carrying military personnel refuelling at Shannon Airport was the same policy that had been pursued by successive Irish governments for decades.
Before new legislation for a Dublin Mayor is introduced, Dublin City’s Lord Mayor, Emer Costello, explains how a Mayor can work under the existing legislation Last June I was deeply honoured to be elected the 340th Lord Mayor of Dublin – the seventh woman to hold the position. I was elected unanimously by the […]
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At my increasingly advanced age, I have learned a healthy scepticism about stuff the media tells me. So when lots of papers and pundits were telling me that George Lee was a uniquely talented individual, a thoroughbred among cart-horses who, given the chance, would have got on to the rail and won us victory in our race against permanent recession – no, I didn’t believe it.
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The view that electric cars will one day occupy the position now held by their internal combustion counterparts is an impression frequently conveyed, but it isn’t backed up by the facts.
Councillor Killian Forde was once considered the rising star of Sinn Féin, until he followed a recent countrywide trend and left for pastures new. The opening of the last decade – when Sinn Féin held a seat in Europe, and there was talk of a move into Government in the republic, and murmurings of Gerry Adams for President – seems a long time ago. These days a Councillor leaving Sinn Féin is no longer out of the ordinary
By Michael Smith and Ruadhán Mac Eoin The heroic but failed champion of Tara is leading the campaign against a motorway near Newgrange Vincent Salafia is back with a “Save Newgrange” campaign. A man with a panache for publicity, the populace associates the 43-year old with the Tara/ M3 and Carrickmines Castle campaigns. Now he […]
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The fundamental problem with Irish politics is not our much-decried proportional representation electoral system or the absurd subatomic fragmentation of politics into parish-pump power brokerages. The most rotten aspect of our political environment is the culture of clientelism that underlies the foundation of society.
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Many Irish are hypocritical, intolerant, and ignorant, especially about social welfare
UN’s ambitious upgrading of its role including to state-building
has backfired
There was a terrible rumpus in Fine Gael and Labour as they realised they voted for the draft Dublin City Development Plan provisions on height – without understanding them. Not surprising really: the Irish Times totally misreported them also. And they are complicated. Management of course always manoeuvre these things and, in this case, describing the changes as “modest” when they were dramatic helped grease the voting wheels of some uncomprehending local councillors.
The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission – acting through local Gardaí – is currently reviewing an investigation of the original Garda probe into how Declan Ganley acquired 3,000 first-preference votes from independent candidate, Fiachra Ó Luain, in the European election count in early June 2009 in Castlebar.
The following is the full transcript of Tony Lowes’ interview with John Gormley, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. To see the version as it was published in Village’s March-April edition, click here.
The thirst to see people in public life humiliated for their ‘sins’ is doing more harm than good
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Meath County Council and its Management are out of their depth in planning and ignore their own plans
