WINTRY LAND - The Latin name for Ireland is Hibernia, "the land of winter".This winter, Ireland is living up to its name! Freezing temperatures and snowfall these past several weeks have seriously disrupted travel and life all over Ireland, and all 4,000 primary and post primary schools in the Irish Republic are closed this week.

BUNGLED TEST - A Slovak man unwittingly carried high-grade explosives on a recent flight from Slovakia to Dublin as part of a Slovak airport-security test that went seriously wrong. Hidden in his luggage as a test, the cell-phone-sized explosives went undetected until three days after he arrived in Dublin when the Slovaks alerted Dublin Gardai (Police). The Slovak government has apologized. 
 

SAFE DRIVERS - Ireland has the most law-abiding drivers in Europe, according to a recent insurance company survey. Irish and British drivers were least likely to drink and drive, to use hand-held cell-phones, to drive without a seatbelt, or to speed or jump the lights.

DRIVING CHANGES - A new credit card-style driving license containing a computer chip will shortly be introduced in Ireland. In addition to the standard information that most licenses carry, the chip will also carry a record of penalty points on the driver's record and can carry a thumbprint or an eyeprint if the EU decides to introduce those features. The changes will also permit the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland to mutually recognize driving disqualifications for reckless or dangerous driving, hit-and-runs, drink-driving and speeding infractions.

CATHEDRAL FIRE - An investigation into the fire that completely destroyed St Mel's Cathedral in Longford on Christmas Day has concluded that arson was unlikely. St. Mel's was one of Ireland's finest churches, and numerous irreplaceable artifacts were destroyed. Although construction was started in 1840, it was delayed because of the Famine, but its completion in 1856 gave hope to an impoverished nation. Mel Gibson's mother hails from Longford, and the actor is named after St. Mel, who came to Ireland with St. Patrick in the Fifth Century.

DIALECT RECORDINGS - The Royal Irish Academy Library now has online a digital archive of Irish dialect recordings made from 1928-1931. It comprises early Irish language recordings of folktales, songs and other material and is an invaluable link back to the language as it was spoken at the time of the Famine. It includes recordings from many regions of Ireland where the traditional Irish dialects have disappeared since the time the recordings were made.

IRISH-BRITISH ETHNICITY - Next year's British census should show a big increase in the number of people claiming to be Irish. Until now the only relevant question related to the country of birth and some 670,000 indicated in the last census that they were born in Ireland. Next year a question on ethnicity will allow those with Irish ancestry to declare themselves as Irish.

IMMIGRANT RESOURCE - A Living in Ireland Website is intended to be a comprehensive, multi-language, free resource designed to assist immigrants to integrate with Irish society. In several languages, the website contains information about education, healthcare and accommodation, in addition to sections on culture, society and the political system and a short video documentary on Irish history.

NEW AIRLINE - A planned new low fare no frills airline, with fares 30% to 50% cheaper than currently available, will serve Ireland and the United States. Ryanair's Michael O'Leary is believed to be one of the investors in AerFair.