March 2016 5
Village
is Ireland’s
Political and Cultural
Magazine
Village
is published 10 times annually. The
cover price is €3.95 in the Republic and
£3.30 in Northern Ireland. A subscription
for ten editions costs €39.50 in the
Republic and £33 in Northern Ireland.
Village
pays for postage.
A
Village
subscription is an
ideal Christmas gift.
Village
is published by:
Ormond Quay Publishing,
6 Ormond Quay Upper, Dublin 7.
Email: sales@villagemagazine.ie;
Tel: 01 873 5824
RECIPIENT
First name:.............................................................................
Surname:................................................................................
Address:.................................................................................
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
Tel:.........................................................................................
Email.....................................................................................
⁄
I enclose a cheque for €.........
(Please make cheque payable to Ormond Quay Publishing)
Please send to:
Ormond Quay Publishing, 6 Ormond Quay Upper, Dublin 7
We also welcome bank transfers.
Tel: +353 1 873 5824; Email: sales@villagemagazine.ie
Ireland’s political magazine www.villagemagazine.ie
CHALLENGING
EQUALITY | SUSTAINABILITY | ACCOUNTABILITY
6 March 2016
News Miscellany
Villager
Laundering history
DeepintheheartlandofDonnybrook,hidden
in a crescent behind the re station, sur-
roundedbyhousesandleanesstheresits,
intact,abuildingwhichembodiedpartofour
cruelsocialhistory.KnownlocallyastheDon-
nybrooklaundry,butmorewidelyknownin
sub-culturesandStatereportsastheMagda-
lenelaundryoftheSistersofCharity.
NomentionismadeintheColliers’brochure
forsaleofthesiteofitsformeruse.Nomen-
tion of the many women who toiled there,
scrubbing shirts,washing socks,endlessly
ironing,endlesslystarching,endlesslywash-
ing. Nor of the clients that came from the
afuentfamiliesinthesurroundingareas,nor
thatÁrasanÚachtaráinwasaclienttoo.The
labelled basket that carried the laundry –
pressed,starched,immaculatespotless–now
liesdiscardedwithapileofothers,rottingand
abandoned.
AccordingtoDublinCityCouncillor,Mannix
Flynn,whoservedtimeinanindustrialschool
inLetterfrackwhichhasbeenturnedintoa
wood-turningschool(toeradicatethememo-
rieshesays),thisistherealthing.Ifeverthere
was to be a memorial, a gesture, an
acknowledgment–thisisit.Thisisaplaceof
angerandatonement.Aplaceoflossand
maybeaplacetobefound.
“Failure”?
SolastmonthVillagerpredictedthere’dbea
hung Dáil: “Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil will
struggletoworkoutwhethertheyshouldcoa-
lesce risking their exposure as ideological
charlatansandthelong-termgrowthofSinn
Féin.Anotherelectionwithinayear”.
Village’stwitteraccountnowfeaturestwo
dinosaurs,rutting.Butwhatisthecorrectterm
foracoalitionofFiannaFáilandFineGael?
We’veseenFiannaGaelandFineFail.We’ve
seenTweedlegaelandTweedlefail.Tweedle
Dummer.
Andwhataboutanelectionsloganforthem?
“Let’skeepthedoinggoing”.
Famous
Bargaintownisafaintlytackyfurniturestore
on Queen’s Street Bridge on the quays in
Dublin.ThelateTerryWogan(muchmissedby
theTVgeneration)oncevoicedanadwiththe
stage-Irish slogan, “the prices are only
famous”.ThetightarsesinBargaintownused
hisrecordingforadecadeormore.
AnywayBargaintownwhichwasonceinfact
acinema,thePhoenixpicturehouse,isnow
thenameofamoviewhichshowedattheIrish
FilmCentrebeforeChristmas.It’sanevocation
ofDublininthe1980s,ameditationonurban
decay made by then teenage German lm-
maker, David Jazay, in Dublin in 1988.
Featuringinterviewswithantiquedealers,bar-
bersandbarmen–itisarecordofthelivesand
opinionsofavanishedDublin,beforetheCeltic
Tigeroverhauleditsfabricanditsatmosphere.
Highlights include an animated auction
atTormeyBrothers,anightofsonganddance
attheoldWorkingmen’sClubonWellington
Quay,andperformancesbyout-of-keyblues-
manFrankQuigley.ThehighlightforVillager
wasthepieceonDickTynan,featuredplaying
jazzdrumsinarun-downbuildingonOrmond
NEWS
Now a movie
Side laundry room, Donnybrook
Áras an Uachtaráin laundry box,
Donnybrook Laundry
March 2016 7
Quayandbemoaningthereinhisbuilding
that precluded re-openinghisEssex guest-
house.Thereoncewasafamouspicureonthe
gablewalloftheOrmondHotelwithapicture
ofTynanlookinglikea1970sElvisproclaiming
“Icangetitforyouwholesale”.Whenthesign
wasremovedinthe1990sitrevealedapicture
ofTynandeliveringthesamemessage,butthis
timeasElviscirca1960.Villager’sinterestwas
piquedbecauseTynanisshownplayingthe
drumsinwhatisnowtheVillageofce.The
onlydifferenceisseemstohavebeeninbetter
shapein1988.
Misinformation drip, drip
TheabolitionofIrishWaterbyanewgovern-
mentwouldcosttheStateupto€7bnoverthe
nextveyears,accordingtoitsown–unreli-
ablyinated-internalestimates.Lossesare
envisagedunderfourheads:cashcosts,sunk
costs,benetsforgoneandthelostpossibility
ofgettingitsdebtsofftheexchequer’sbooks.
The actual cash costs, it says, would be
around€100m,andlargelyinvolvepayingoff
staffwhowouldnotbetransferredtolocal
authorities.Itwouldalsoincludethecostof
breakingleasesandcontracts,andthecosts
oftransferringbackthepropertyalreadyput
intoIrishWaterownership.Theconceptofa
one-stop shop for Water is a good one - it
worksinScotlandand,thoughSimonCoveney
andtheEU,amongothers,seemtohaveseen
itasavehiclethatcouldbeprivatisedthat
neednothavebeenthecase.Itisalsodesir-
abletospreadthetaxbase,toseewhatyour
lifestylecosts,andtopaytheenvironmental
andeconomic costsofwater,partlyonthe
basisofthepolluter-paysprinciple.TheSocial
Democratsunwiselyproposed its abolition
andstateditwouldcostnothingastheadmin-
istrativecostsweregreaterthantherevenue
fromthecharge.Thisfailedtoaccountfor
legalandlogisticaldifculties.Nowaspartof
itshermaphroditematingritualitseemsFine
Fáilmaysimplysuspendpaymentsforafew
years.
Climate DeBates
An Taisce has complained to RTÉ and the
Broadcasting Authority of Ireland that the
recent 'Prime Time' programme on climate
changegaveavoicetoRayBates,aprofessor
ofmeteorologywhoseexpertiseisweather–
day-to-dayclimateevents,notclimatewhich
dealswiththelong-term.AnTaiscesaysitis
awareofatleasttwoacademicspecialistswho
wereinvitedtoparticipateinthepanel,but
whodeclinedtodosocitingconcernsthatthe
presenceonthepanelofBates,whochairsthe
Royal Irish Academy’s climate committee,
wouldverylikelyresultina“falsebalance”,so
underminingpublicunderstandingand“pro-
motingaperceptionofdoubtaroundwhatare,
infact,extremelystronglyestablished,robust,
resultsfromstate-of-the-artclimatescience”.
AtthetimeofwritingRTÉwaslateinreplying
tothecomplaint.
Labour leader
AlanKellywentapewenthewonthelastseat
inTipperary.Villagerwondershowhe’vehave
takenitifhe’dlost.
Presidential
MiriamO’Callaghandodgeddealingwithher
brotherJim,duringhislongandultimatelysuc-
cessfulelectioncountinDublinBaySouth.
Villagerwasterriedofwhatwarmthshe’d
devotetohim,particularlyifhelost.Buther
cloyingiscastwidely.Thenightoftheelection
countpoorBrianHayes,FineGael’sdirectorof
elections, had his condences about how
badlythepartywasdoinginterruptednotonce
buttwicebyMiriam’sspecialsimpering,whim-
pering.Theleaders’debateshechairedwas
muchlessedifyingandextractedlessfromthe
candidatesthantheoneClaireByrnehosted.
Miriamisinclinedtopersonalise,toofferher
ownopinions,toover-usethe“I”word.The
TV3onewasworsestill-atonestageco-pre-
senterColetteSextonhadtostepawayfrom
PatKennywhowasthemerestshadowofyes-
terday’splank.Thehighlightwaswhenthe
doyenofIreland’spoliticalbroadcastersnally
musteredthesensetodrawtheexcruciating
gaggleofleaders’attentiontothefactno-one
hadactuallybeenabletohearthem.
Alan Kelly goes ape Claire Byrne: not cloying
A shadow of yesterday's plank
8 March 2016
NEWS
Carchitecture
FosteringtheFoster+Partners,starchitects
behind London’s Gherkin and auto brand
Nissanhavecombinedtechnologiesincluding
wirelesscharging,autonomousdrivingandbat-
tery storage in a proposal for the future of
vehiclesandcities.Theproposalconcludesthe
companies'year-longprojecttoredesignelec-
tric-carfuel-stations.
Butinsteadofaphysicalstation,Nissanand
Fostersuggestthatthecarsthemselvescould
be used to store and distribute renewable
energyalonga"smartstreet".
Nissanisalreadydoingtrialsofavehicle-to-
gridsysteminEurope.Thiscouldallowcarsto
operate as individual "energy hubs"ableto
store,useorreturncleanenergytothegrid.
Arecentlyreleasedvideoshowsafurther
developmentofthisidea,withcarsconnecting
toanundergroundelectricitygridwirelessly
throughpointsintheroadsurfaceofparking
spaces.Thispowerwouldbegeneratedfroma
combinationofsolar,windandwavesources.
Thecarswouldparkthemselvesintothebays
tochargeovernight,andautomaticallyswap
withothervehicleswhenfullypowered.Unfor-
tunately it still amounts to unsustainable
energyembodiedinagratuitousmetalboxfor
use by self-oriented anti-social
squanderbugs.
Red(mond)-handed
Sofar,theplanningtribunalhascost€116m,
including€52minfeesforthetribunallegal
staffand€33minadministrationcosts.
Theestimatednalcostoftheinquiryisnow
€159million.JudgeAlanMahonpredictedin
2006thatthecostwouldbe€300m.Former
MinisterforJustice,barrister(forandagainst–
thoughnotquiteatthesametime–Village)and
exciting new Seanad candidate, Michael
McDowell,saiditwouldcost€1bn.
€1.4millionwasirritatinglypaidrecentlyto
lawyersforthelatewhistleblowerandproperty
developerTomGilmartin,and€738,315toMac-
Geehin Toale solicitors, who represented
former Fine Gael council Tom Hand and his
family.Hand,whowasfoundtohaverepeatedly
soughtcorruptpayments,diedin1996,two
yearsbeforethetribunalgotstuckin.
€419,000wasalsopaidinlegalfeestothe
recentlydeceased former planning ofcial,
GeorgeRedmond,whodiedinFebruarybutnot
beforehehad(legallyifnotfactually)under-
minedthendingsofthetribunalabouthim
andeveryoneelseimplicatedbyJamesGoga-
rty.Thereremainsnosignofthebarristersand
judgewhoallowedthisofferingtoreimburse
thestatefortheirbloatedfees.
Redmond’sindefatigablesolicitor,Anthony
Harris,whohaswritteninthesecolumns,wrote
afeistylettertotheIrish Timesaccusingitof
publishinganarticlebyitsformerEnvironment
Editor,FrankMcDonald,thatwas“longonself-
servingvitriol,shortonevidencesupporting
such a sweepingclaim, manipulative of the
factsandrepletewithseriousinaccuracies”,
includingitscentralthemes–thatRedmond
was complicit in Dublin’s frenzy of dubious
rezonings and that he subverted its proper
planninganddevelopment.IntriguinglyHarris
claims that if Redmond was responsiblefor
undermining Dublin’s planning system, he
could–becauseofthelimitednatureofhisrole
-onlyhaveachievedthisaspartofacabalof
corruptofcials.“Butwhoandwherearethese
officials? Certainly the planning tribunal
unearthednoneofthem”.
Harrisconcedesthathisformerclient“was
amanwhoclearlyhadbeenonthetakeandhas
carriedtheanswerstomanyquestionsabout
hisactivitiestothegrave…Tothemanycouncil-
lors who should have endured more of the
tribunal’sattention,hemusthavebeenawel-
come distraction…Once rumbled, he
co-operatedwiththetribunalandwiththeCrim-
inalAssetsBureau,hehadtosellhishouseand
surrenderhis‘savings’topayhistax”.
Redmondhimselfadmittedinthewitness
box:“Itookthemoney.ItwasaswordofDamo-
cles.Ilivedwiththatswordovermyheadandit
obviouslyhasruinedmylife”.
The Peoples' issues
Vincent Browne berated the left for getting
boggeddownindistractionsandstuntsduring
therecentelection,insteadoffocusingonthe
overridingissueofinequalityinsociety.But
surelytheprimaryplatformfortheLeft’svitu-
perations on Water and Property, were the
populist People’s debate. In 2012, Village
assessedBrowneasthethirdmostinuential
personinthecountry.Hisprogrammewas
inuentialtoo,inallowingaccesstotheair
-
wavestounheardvoices,butalsoallowingalot
ofpopulistbleatingfromright-wingantago-
nists of state intervention through
redistribution,includingbytaxation.
Wound-up parrots
FineGael‘sMarkMortell,theperennialenfant
terribleofitselectoralstragetywascentralto
theconceptionandstubbornretentionofthe
smugslogan“let’skeeptherecoverygoing”.
“ToseeCabinetMinisters,whoareveryintelli-
gent, parrot a slogan like a wind-up toy is
embarrassing”,onepartysourcetoldtheIrish
Times.VillagerwouldhavethoughthatCabinet
ministersareasaruleonlyquiteintelligentand
that abitofparroting could be closetothe
limitsoftheirlargelyidea-and-ideology-free
range.
MayoTDMichaelRingderisivelydismissed
thecabalaroundKennyasa“Dublin4”outt.
BrianHayes,Mortell,TomCurranandadvisers
Mark Kennelly, Majella Fitzpatrick, Ciaran
Conlon,AndrewMcDowellandTerryMurphy
metdailyduringthecampaign,tolittleavail.
FineGael’sintellectbeatsbestinthevapid
cerebellaofsilverfox,FrankFlannery,theman
whomilkedRehab,andgolden-tonguedBig
PhilHogan.Flannerywenteverywhereafterthe
election,gloatinglikethecatwhogotthecream
butHoganisnowtowayimportanttocrow.
Starchitecture to carchitecture
March 2016 9
eM News Distribution (Ireland) Ltd
PO Box 5192
Willsborough Industrial Estate
Clonshaugh
Dublin 17
Phone Number: 8023200
Fax: 8671866
Web: emnewsdistribution.com
E-mail: dublin.customer.enquiries@emnewsdistribution.ie

Loading

© 2015 Village Magazine

Back to Top