In his first address as Fine Gael’s leader, Simon Harris intimated his potential future as a taoiseach whilst quoting a line made famous by the phenomenal poet Seamus Heaney. The quote, “Hope is not optimism, expecting a favourable outcome, but firmly believing in the worthiness of good work”, attributes its roots to Harris’s guiding principle. However, this line is not purely Heaney’s creation; the Irish laureate borrowed it from Vaclav Havel, the influential Czech statesman and writer. Havel utilised these powerful words in 1985, as a dissident envisioning a brighter future beyond his country’s then Eastern Bloc regime. Heaney repurposed the quote in a lecture on poetic philosophy in the 90s. Despite this, many speakers, including Finance Minister Michael McGrath, have mistakenly attributed this quote to Heaney, leading to questions about whether Harris is truly taoiseach material without proper Heaney quoting knowledge.
Regarding nightclub opening hours, Fine Gael has raised concerns about places of entertainment being open all night. Michael Ring, an Irish politician from Mayo, has asked the leader to reconsider this imprudent notion, with fellow member Charlie Flanagan further citing this as “round the clock drinking”. These concerns seem rather surprising, especially when compared to the past. Back in 1952, Ireland boasted of 1,258 licenced dance venues compared to the current meagre total of 89 nightclubs. Those in Kenmare could boogie till 4am at the annual hunt ball in 1953, while dance floors at Clonmel Rowing Club’s gala in 1946 didn’t even warm up until 10pm. Numerous organisations, from Conradh na Gaeilge to district Garda Siochána hosted late-night revelries in Ireland during that time.
The prospect of all-night orchestras making a comeback appears doubtful. Even under the supportive leadership of nightlife advocate Leo Varadkar, he proposed that the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee had pressing matters. It’s also feared that the prospective Bill, if passed, could impose strict boundaries that only serve pubs, either by lengthening their licenses or obligating aspiring club owners to purchase extinguishments from existing pub-license holders.
Dance music devotees who favour license liberalisation don’t particularly mind whether pubs remain open all night or not and would be content with a warehouse. However, it looks like the country’s citizens will be tucked up in bed by midnight for the foreseeable future.
There have been some developments in West Mayo’s greenway. Increasingly avant-garde reasons for preventing the construction of greenways are coming to light every day. Despite the south Dublin Dodder greenway still facing challenges, the problems in the west are escalating.
A resident living adjacent to the West Mayo greenway may be compelled to relocate his clothesline. This greenway is generating particularly vibrant discussion. Local columnist John Bradley cited Yeats in his Mayo News article, stating that the proposal demonstrated “all signs of fumbling in a greasy till”. Fianna Fáil councillor Brendan Mulroy raised concerns that a section susceptible to flooding could potentially be fatal for cyclists.
Independent councillor John O’Malley cleared up previous comments he made to IrishCycle.com, suggesting that a war similar to Ukraine could ensue if land was forcibly seized for the route. He clarified that he was not drawing a direct comparison, but emphasizing the potential conflict if Irish authorities were to forcibly purchase the land for the greenway route.
With the turn of the century sees China growing in prominence, a transformation the Department of Defence is not ignoring – they are actively searching for a Mandarin speaker. This is demonstrated by a recent job advertisement seeking a “civil civilian language expert and cultural advisor” possessing skills in Chinese Mandarin. The requirements are somewhat stringent, requiring an Irish citizen who has a minimum of three years of Chinese translation under their belt, an understanding of Chinese culture and ideally, knowledge of the intricate geopolitical climate. However, the role does not offer overtime payment for extra hours worked in accordance with Beijing’s time. The starting salary is €69,000 per annum. In addition, the department is also seeking a carpenter for those whose Mandarin proficiency is not up to par.
Attention has been drawn to Ireland’s vibrant museum scene, particularly the National Museum of Ireland (NMI) in 2021. This institution created moderate international ripples as it considered returning its 21 artefacts from Benin City. The Hunt Museum in Limerick has also shown openness to giving up its piece from the collection.
The Benin bronzes stand as a painful reminder of colonial theft of cultural riches. Unlike numerous invaluable artefacts from Greece or Egypt that were legally exported in some instances, the ornamental pieces from Edo State in Nigeria were plundered by British forces following a retaliatory military raid on the royal palace in 1897.
There have been instances of artefact return, such as by the Aberdeen Museum in Scotland, the modestly-named Horniman Museum in suburban London, and the Ethnologisches Museum in Berlin. However, the Irish artefacts remain in Ireland, despite no restitution requests having been received by NMI. Jill Cousins, director of the Hunt Museum, confessed not much progress has been made but expressed optimism for the emergence of a policy this year, with an expert committee diligently working on the matter.
Colin Coyle is unavailable at the moment.