GENUINE DUB - Ronnie Drew, 73, the gravelly-voiced founder and lead singer of
The Dubliners, died of cancer in Dublin last week. The Ronnie Drew Group started in 1962 and in 1965 took their new name from James Joyce's famous novel. For over 40 years, the Dubliners have been known and loved for their Irish drinking songs and Irish folk music. Respect for Drew and his battle with cancer led members of the Irish music industry, including U2, the Pogues, Sinead O'Connor, Bob Geldof, Mary Black, Moya Brennan, Andrea Corr, Glen Hansard, Christy Moore and many others to record a CD tribute earlier this year called
The Ballad of Ronnie Drew. Available only in Ireland, all profits went to the Irish Cancer Society.
OLYMPIC BOXER - Paddy Barnes, a Belfast boxer, has won at least a bronze medal at the Beijing Games by qualifying for the semi-final of the light flyweight competition. After taking up boxing in his teens, he lost his first 15 fights but persevered. His semi-final bout on Friday is against Zou Shiming, the Chinese star and world champion. Another Irish boxer, Kenny Egan from Dublin, has also qualified for the semi-final of the light heavyweight division.
TELEGRAPH ANNIVERSARY - 2008 marks the 150th Anniversary of the first transatlantic telegraph message from Europe to America. The transatlantic cable was successfully installed on the third attempt between Valentia Island in Co. Kerry and Trinity Bay, Newfoundland. Because of transmission difficulties, the first message of 99 words on August 16 1858 took 17 hours. This week, the Irish Post Office launched a
commemorative stamp to mark the feat.
UN COUNSEL - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has appointed Dubliner Patricia O'Brien to be the UN's legal counsel and Under Secretary General for legal affairs. A graduate of Trinity College and the King's Inns, Dublin, O'Brien previously taught law at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and also was a legal adviser in Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs.
FENIAN ANNIVERSARY - 2008 is the 150th anniversary of the birth of Fenianism. The
Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) was formed in 1858, and its members in Ireland and elsewhere were known as Fenians. The IRB's main principles were that Ireland had a natural right to independence, and that right could be won only by armed revolution. 58 years after its founding, the IRB organized the 1916 Easter Rising which ultimately led to almost complete Irish independence.
SAVING WATER - Starting in November, all new toilets fitted in Irish homes must have a dual-flush system and older models may no longer be sold in stores. Standard toilets flush between 1½ and 2½ gallons of water while dual flush toilets release 1 gallon in water-saving mode, and 1½ gallons for a full flush.
IRISH DIASPORA - During his recent visit to New York, Irish Taoiseach (PM) Brian Cowen announced a full review of Ireland's relationship with the USA, and in particular with Irish America. Among his proposals was one for freer travel between Ireland and America that could also include the right to work in Ireland for people who are not Irish citizens but who are of Irish heritage.
IDENTITY CHECKS - Although Northern Ireland (NI) is officially still part of the UK, by 2009 it'll be much easier to travel to the Irish Republic than it will be to travel to England or Scotland. British police plan to perfrom identity checks onm people arriving from NI's airports and ports. Passport and other identity checks will also be introduced between the Irish Republic and Great Britain - but not between the Republic and NI.
CULTURE NIGHT - Friday, September 19 is
Culture Night in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick. Hundreds of free events, including exhibitions, tours, talks, workshops, performances and concerts, will take place on the night, with over 100 cultural venues participating. About 80,000 people participated in last year's Culture Night, 70% of whom were aged 18-44.
ANCESTRY RECORDS - The personnel records of over 80,000 men who served in the Irish Constabulary between 1816 and 1921 are being made available online at
Ancestry.co.uk. During those years, thousands of men came to Ireland from the US, Australia and England to enlist. In 1920 alone, almost 10,000 recruits applied from those returning after serving in the first World War.
TEXT CONTROL - A 5-passenger plane that lost all onboard electrical power, communications and weather radar after take-off from Kerry airport, was guided to a safe landing using cell phone text messages sent by an air traffic controller in Cork.
MORE O'BAMA - Previous reports listed Barack Obama as being directly descended from a shoemaker in Co. Offaly. Now
The Irish Times says that a Tipperary cousin of Obama's (a many times great granduncle!) was provost of Trinity College and later Bishop of Ossory. Yet another Obama ancestor, a wig-maker, fought political corruption in Dublin in the 1700s.
HIGHEST SEISÚIN - Co. Limerick mountaineer Gerard McDonnell lived in Alaska for the last 11 years where he climbed Mount McKinley in 2006 and celebrated by playing the bodhrán on the summit. O'Donnell was among the 11 mountaineers who recently lost their lives on K2, the world's second highest mountin.
SCOUTING ANNIVERSARY - Around 12,500 scouts recently pitched their tents at Punchestown Racecourse in Co. Kildare to celebrate a century of scouting in Ireland. Troops from Ireland, England, Sweden, the Philippines, the US and many other nations were represented at what is said to be the largest gathering in the history of the European scouting movement. Scouting Ireland members number about 40,000, of whom 30% are female.
CHARITY SISTERS - 2008 marks the 150th anniversary of the death of Mary Aikenhead, the founder of the
Religious Sisters of Charity. Aikenhead was born in Cork in 1787, and died on 22nd July, 1858. Born the daughter of a wealthy Protestant doctor and a Catholic mother, she started her religious order in 1816 to serve the poor and it now has almost 150 communities on four continents.
INNOCENCE PROVED - A young Cork woman who worked as a law intern at the Innocence Project in New York,
uncovered the evidence that set an innocent Detroit man free from prison after he had served 26 years for a rape he did not commit. She uncovered a flawed witness ID, an unreliable police line-up and an original investigating officer who also did not believe in her client's guilt. She was recently honored by the Law Society in Dublin.
EASY IRISH -
Na Comharsana Nua is the name of a novel in Gaelic geared towards adult learners of the Irish language. It is written in relatively simple Irish and includes a glossary of difficult words.
CELL PHONE - An inmate in Limerick Prison was recently discovered using a smuggled cellular phone to upload photos of himself to his page on the social networking website BeBo.
