Category Archives: Business & Environment

Strange stories from the (animal) Kingdom of Kerry

I’m always partial to stories from Kerry, my ancestral homeland. Lately, there’s been a run of unusual stories about animals.

  • Giant seagulls have reportedly attacked and killed mature mountain ewes in south and west Kerry; and a swimmer was bitten near the beach at Fenit, “part of a pattern of unusual behavior by gulls.”
  • Animal rights activists are raising concerns about the welfare of the wild male mountain goat selected to reign over the annual Puck Fair at Killorglin.
  • Gardaí in north Kerry say 20 cattle, mostly cows and their calves, died after ingesting lead from batteries thrown into a field near Tarbert.
  • Two new species of amphipods, small shrimp-like creatures, have been discovered in deep waters off the southwest coast of Ireland.

Making Dublin city center a car-free zone

As someone nearly clipped by cars a few times in hectic Dublin city center, I was pleased to read this Fast Company story passed along by my friend Margaret C.:

…the city wants to route cars around the city center, and turn major streets into car-free plazas and passages for buses, bikes, pedestrians, and a new tram line. Along the banks of the River Liffey, polluted roads will become promenades. On Grafton Street, a former car lane will turn into a tree-shaded terrace with cafe tables, while the other lane has tram tracks. New bike lanes and wider sidewalks will be added as well.

Transit, but no cars, leaves more room for pedestrians in Dublin city center.

Transit, but no cars, leaves more room for pedestrians in Dublin city center.

The Irish Times calls it “the most radical redrafting … ever” of transportation plans within the downtown area. This story contains a good map and video report of the proposals, which have an eight-year horizon. Here’s additional reporting from RTE.

Or go directly to the proposal website.

Wonders and threats in Ireland’s natural environment

A few environmental stories:

  • Irish marine scientists have discovered a new cold water coral habitat nearly 200 miles off the Co. Kerry coastline. Story in The Irish Times.
  • The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, were visible in Co. Donegal and parts of Northern Ireland due to a huge solar storm, the Belfast Telegraph reports.
  • Meanwhile, the Times also covered a recent “climate justice” conference, where scientists complained the government isn’t doing enough to address greenhouse gas emissions. Scientists say 2014 was the warmest in Ireland since 1880 (start of the Land War period) and average temperatures had increased by 0.5 degrees since 1981. At current rates, temperatures in Ireland are expected to rise by between one degree and 1.5 degrees over the next 30 years.

Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency offers this scorecard of key environmental indicators, including ratings for climate change, water, air, land and nature.

Irish students killed in California balcony collapse

Six college students, five from Ireland and one holding Irish and U.S. citizenship, were killed 16 June in Berkeley, California, when the fifth floor apartment balcony where they were partying collapsed and plunged them 50 feet to the ground.

Extensive reporting in The Irish Times. Coverage from The New York Times. 

The NYT quickly came under fire for this second paragraph in its story:

But the work-visa program that allowed for the exchanges has in recent years become not just a source of aspiration, but also a source of embarrassment for Ireland, marked by a series of high-profile episodes involving drunken partying and the wrecking of apartments in places like San Francisco and Santa Barbara.

The paper quickly issued an explanation, if not an apology, but that didn’t satisfy Irish government minister Aodhán Ó Ríordáin. He tweeted:

.@nytimes Your attempt at an apology for your offensive article is pathetic. It’s clearly futile appealing to your better nature.

These are “valid complaints,” wrote NYT public editor Margaret Sullivan.

Clerys store closes on O’Connell Street in Dublin

Clerys, a landmark department store in Dublin that dates to 1853, was closed Friday after being sold to real estate and venture capital interests.

One hundred thirty store employees lost their jobs, as did another 330 employed by 50 concession holders who operated in the department store, according to The Irish Times.

Irish Times photo.

Irish Times photo, and 10 “fascinating facts” about Clerys.

The O’Connell Street store is located across from the General Post Office, epicenter of the 1916 Rising, when the wide boulevard was known as Sackville Street. At the time, the store was destroyed.

Clerys was placed in receivership in 1941, and again in 2012.

Through the decades the large clock that hangs over the front entrance of Clerys was a popular rendezvous point for Dubliners and visitors to the city. In that regard, it reminds me of the tradition of meeting under the Kaufman’s clock in my native Pittsburgh.

FIFA scandal touches Ireland

FIFA, the international soccer federation, paid the Irish soccer association €5 million (about $7.5 million) not to file a legal protest regarding a controversial call in the 2009 World Cup playoffs. Neither party denies the payoff.

Reporting from the Irish Independent. Coverage in The New York Times.

U.S. prosecutors are pursuing corruption charges against FIFA’s top leaders, claiming the federation acted as a criminal syndicate.

Irish whiskey: whole lotta’ sippin’ going on

The Irish Whiskey Association announced an ambitions plan to grow global market share by 300 percent over the next 15 years, from 4 percent to 12 percent. The “Vision for Irish Whiskey” was released 12 May and is generating a lot press attention.

“Irish whiskey led the world in 1900, with 88 distilleries in operation – but a combination of events meant the sector went into decline and Scotch and bourbon took over,” The Irish Times reported.

What happened?

“After Ireland declared independence in 1919, England enacted a trade embargo against it, and then Prohibition shut down the United States market,” according to a story in the Daily Beast. “By the 1960s only a few Irish whiskey distilleries remained and they consolidated into Irish Distillers Ltd., which produced Jameson, Bushmills and Powers.”

The IWA plan calls for capital investment in new distilleries and brands, plus strong marketing and promotion, including the creation of an all-island whiskey tourism trail. Here’s a map.

jameson-irish-whiskey-jameson-oil-paintings-3-of-3-franklin-tbwachiatday-new-york

NYT story calls water protests “a new Irish rebellion”

The New York Times has added to its coverage of the populist backlash against consumer water charges in Ireland. Under the headline “A New Irish Rebellion, This Time Against Water Fees,” the Times reports:

… some experts say that the protests are far from over, reflecting growing fatigue with austerity policies that have taken a toll on most families, even as the economy has recovered to the point that it is the fastest-growing in Europe. Many expect a widespread refusal to pay when the bills are sent out in April.

Some form of the word “protest” is used 11 times in the 1,200-word story. Despite the provocative headline, however, there is no mention of next year’s centennial of the 1916 Rising, or other Irish rebellions.

I was reminded of a Times editorial from April 1916, shortly after the Rising, which I found while researching my book about my immigrant grandfather. Remember, this is the generally anti-Irish, anti-Catholic, anti-Tammany Hall Times of the late 19th and early 20th century. While Tammany is gone, I’d argue the Times’ anti-Catholic bias remains.

Regardless, here’s what the newspaper said 99 years ago:

Ireland in a state of rebellion is Irish. Her history emerges from myths and legends of which the very theme was strife … a logical projection of her special feud with life. … Rebellion has been the chronic, almost to say the natural, condition of Ireland, being now and then only a little more acute than usual.

St. Patrick’s Day, 2015

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Here’s a round up of some of the best coverage and related material.

BONUS: While many drank the night away, Angie Drobnic Holan and I read to each other some of our favorite Irish poems, which can seen from the link on her name.

shamrock

Is deal to acquire Aer Lingus about to take off?

There’s been a lot of attention lately to the possible sale of Irish airlines Aer Lingues to International Consolidated Airlines Group, or IAG.

At issue is whether the Republic of Ireland sells its 25.1 percent share of the airline, best know for the iconic green shamrock on the tail wing. IAG has said it wants state approval for the deal.

aerlingus

“There is, however, another scenario: IAG could still pick up the remaining 74.9 percent of the airline,” The Irish Times reported 7 February. “The institutional shareholders are said to be happy with the price, while many of the retail shareholders stand to gain handsomely.”

The proposed deal is said to be worth 1.36 billion euro ($1.5 billion).

Doubts about whether IAG keeps current employment rates at the airline and maintains popular routes to England’s Heathrow are making Irish politicians nervous ahead of 2016 elections. “If IAG are going to do something they have to do it very quickly if the entrenched positions people have been forced to take are to be unwound,” a senior government source told Reuters.

Herald.ie notes that although Aer Lingus is technically no longer the national airline, “the average Irishman and woman has an extraordinary attachment to it.” The editorial continues:

Aer Lingus was one of the first success stories of the fledgling Irish state. It remains a source of national pride and identity. Despite the proliferation in recent times of budget airlines, many of us still prefer to fly with our one-time national carrier – as Aer Lingus passenger numbers indicate.

Aer Lingus was founded by the Irish government in 1936 to provide air services between Ireland and the UK, according to this company history. The first transatlantic service to New York began in 1958.

The name Aer Lingus translates as “Air Fleet” from the Irish word for “long,” as meaning a “ship.” Here’s a four-part history produced for the airline’s 75th anniversary in 2011. Each segment runs seven minutes: Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; and Part 4.

And here’s more history from the Historical Aviation Society of Ireland, compiled five years before the 75th anniversary.

***

In other aviation news, Icelandic budget airline WOW announced new routes between Dublin and Boston and Washington, D.C., with stops in Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital. Flights begin in October and will take 12 to 13 hours, including the stopover.

The D.C. flights will use Baltimore-Washington Airport, not Dulles or Reagan. Depending on traffic and mode of transportation, that’s about 45 minutes to 90 minutes from the heart of D.C.