IRELAND 2009

Monday, February 23, 2009

Getting it right...

Ireland has a number of economists who predicted the fall of the Celtic Tiger. David Mc Williams ..Alan Aherne..George Lee. The current woes are well covered in the Irish media.Brendan Keenan of the Irish Indo Group newspapers is the voice of moderation and the so called daddy of them all. On T.V. Vincent Browne presents an intriguing show... with a diverse set of guests each night. R.T.E. meanwhile gets the job done very well. R.T.E.s wall to wall coverage of everything that happens is public broadcasting at its best. The young cubs at Montrose ... David Murphy.. Emma Mc Namara..Chritopher Mc Kevitt are excellent. The publics access to the air ways is provided by Gerry Ryan and Joe Duffy on radio . With so much going on its good to have free press...maybe the quotation below will give you is the reason for all that is happening at the moment....

"There's a certain chemical that gets released in your stomach when you make ten times your money and it's addictive" .(W.Brouder)

Slumdog Millionaire...

Slumdog Millionaire just picked up a bag full of Oscars. The low budget film hits all the right spots..love...betrayl..struggle and great direction by Danny Boyle. The film shows us the human struggle to survive in the Indian city of Mumbai in often abject poverty. A couple of years ago while staying in Cape Town with my son we witnessed the poverty on a daily basis in the shanty towns scattered throughout the city. Driving home one evening we were stopped at the traffic lights when a young guy came begging at the car window. I said hello .. gave him some money. His eyes lit up and he smiled happily . As we moved on I turned to my son and said"It could have been you". He understood what I meant.

Iconic Thomand Park....

I grew up in the shadow of Thomand Park.In all those years I never adopted any Limerick rugby team preferring to enjoy the teak tough games ...the local cup derbies ..the mud..the fisti cuffs and the true rugby spirit and passion of all the players.I had the privilege of playing some schools cup games there.The old stand would come alive with supporters kicking their heels against the wooden seats.It was a long way to kick for touch from under the posts... I remember...

Rugby players loved playing in Thomand Park and the tradition of resistance.. of never giving up started way back.Names like Frank Hogan.. Terry Moore.. Noel Ryan.. Colm Tucker..Tony Grant..Tony Ward..Larry Maloney..Ted Mulcahy..Phil O'Callaghan..and many others grew the Munster tradition and spirit.. a truly solid foundation stone for the new iconic stadium ...Thomand Park.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Irish media... take a break...

The Irish media has a certain frenzy about it.The rapid growth of radio stations.. massive newspaper.....TV ... competition has made us a nation of media junkies.A recent observation however cast the main players in the media as a kind of teacher we need to help guide our lives .A fix really.I try to take one full day free from this tyranny and last week managed a full day.. listening to music..enjoying the sunset at the Connor Pass in Kerry.Clear the head... Take a break...

Where to go ? Canada...U.S.A... O.Z.... N.Z ... Europe

I've never had to work abroad and I know I missed out on the experience or perhaps not. Many are now faced with the prospect of heading off for work to other countries. Choices are important and my tip would be Canada. A well run country with plenty of potential and jobs....with English and French spoken. If you attend college take the new U.S. 1 year student programme...go to a city where you know someone . OZ is under a little financial pressure but if you have a skill you have a better chance. N.Z. looks great and they love their rugby. If you want to go to a European country why not try teaching English. This is a well known way of getting work.

Best of luck.....