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For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X Review: Weighing In There are plenty of obvious flavours in this show, which is as edgy as a marshmallow Fri, Jan 16, 2015, 16:27 Peter Crawley Weighing In Bewley’s Café Theatre, Dublin ** Whatever you make of Ger Gallagher’s undemanding comedy, you can’t fault its timing. When better to stage a two-hander about dieting, tortured self-image and desperate optimism than the beginning of a new year, a period of regrets and as-yet unbroken resolutions? Gallagher’s comedy, now presented by Bewley’s and Jill Thornton, is not exactly a crash-programme, though. It has been touring to theatres since early last year, and, like its characters, it has worked to change its shape - albeit minimally - from a radio play to a stage performance. Like its self-mortifying characters, however, it seems to decide it was happier the way it was. We first see Val (Isobel Mahon), an uptight parody of a D4 mummy determined to stay yummy, in a conspiracy of lycra. Breda (Rose Henderson) meanwhile, camouflaged in bulky layers, is scooping out the last of a demolished crisp packet. Both enter a regional outpost of Easi-Slim, a Weight-Watchers style group that urges its members towards a slimmer future through a steady diet of calorie-counting and psychological humiliation - point-scoring, if you will. An extremely likely “unlikely friendship” develops between the odd couple, built on conversations during various exercise regimes. They talk about their husbands as they power walk; one a corporate vulture, the other a modest middle manager at the same struggling factory. They speak of their children as they stretch; Val’s are high achieving and distant, Breda’s are generically scampish and warm. And by the time they reach yoga, they have changed profoundly; Val on the verge of self-insight, Breda half the woman she used to be. This is all as edgy as a marshmallow, but that’s the intention, and director Caroline FitzGerald doesn’t apologise for the one-note jokes. Henderson and Mahon are personable performers who give the gags all the benefit of their consummate eye acting: widening, darting and rolling through a mild satire on body image, domestic turbulence and food fascism. There are hints, though, that Gallagher considered something slightly more nutritious: a recessionary backdrop that is more famine than feast; how food desire replaces appetites unmet elsewhere; or defining at least one of her characters in anything other than domestic terms (Breda has a job she never talks about). Instead, the play concludes that a life of skinny denial is an isolating misery, while calorific indulgence makes you a more loving person. Now, that’s a regime most of us will try. But it’s going straight to our hips. Until Jan 24 * Topics: * Caroline Fitzgerald * Ger Gallagher * Isobel Mahon * Jill Thornton * Rose Henderson Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Books An illustration from Aharon Appelfeld’s Adam & Thomas Children’s book reviews: a trio of compelling stories * Travel Down under and dirty in the real Outback * People Impossibly photogenic: the Tiger’s Nest, or Taktsang Palphug, monastery, Bhutan’s most sacred site. Photograph: EyesWideOpen/Getty Bhutan: the price of paradise * Music Pop Corner: Selena marks her ex’s spot; Zayn chaffed at control ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268906|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=St age;kvcat=arts,+culture+and+entertainment;cookie=info;] ADVERTISEMENT The Irish Times Logo Sign In Email Address ____________________ Password ____________________ [ ] I agree to the Terms & Conditions, Community Standards and Privacy Policy (BUTTON) Sign In Don't have an account? Sign Up Forgot Password? 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ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268909|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=St age;kvcat=arts,+culture+and+entertainment;cookie=info;] [image.jpg] IFRAME: https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/playl ists/72151780&color=b74f7d&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comm ents=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false Subscribe on iTunes Follow on Soundcloud Listen on Stitcher Most Read in Culture 1 Family sugar audit: Eva Orsmond with Louise and Ollie Ryan Television: A sugar-crash course in how we are poisoning ourselves 2 Michael B Jordan and Sylvester Stallone in Creed ‘Apollo Creed meant everything to African-Americans’ 3 Did Philip K Dick dream of electric sheep? Much worse 4 Final bow: Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc at the end of the final Friends, in 2004 Friends: they lived perfect lives in a time of plenty. Of course we want them back 5 ‘I think cognitive enhancers should be allowed for academics’ Unthinkable: Is it unethical to take brain stimulants? 6 Dublin Rapper Tommy KD: “I never dreamt I’d be doing stuff like this, like getting the album out or playing my own shows. But at the same time, it’s important to say that everything’s not rosy.” Photograph: Cyril Byrne / THE IRISH TIMES Tommy KD: the Dublin rapper with one of the toughest stories in Irish music 7 Giant’s staircase: Utec, Lima has ‘opened up exciting new frontiers for Peruvian architecture’. Photograph: Grafton Architects, Iwan Baan Studio Bravo Lima: the Irish architects designing the ‘new geography’ 8 Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards: And the nominees are . . . 9 Joseph O’Connor on David Bowie, pictured here in 1965: “Kurt Vonnegut once wrote that the only plausible mission of the artist is ‘to make people feel they’re glad to be alive, at least a little bit.’ There are not many artists who’ve ever managed to achieve that highest of accolades. In my own life, David Bowie was one of them. He was part of my soundtrack, my passport, my pillow. I feel I was enriched to be around during his spell on the planet.” Photograph: CA/Redferns/Getty Images David Bowie: Irish writers pay tribute 10 The dialogues the author creates between Plato and various contemporary characters, including a marketing agent, a Google employee, a Tiger Mum, a radio host and a neuroscientist, convincingly demonstrate the value of continuing the job that Socrates started in ancient Greece. But they also show just why Plato would struggle to be heard today. Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won’t Go Away, by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein Never miss a story. 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(BUTTON) Sign In Invalid email or password. Subscriber quick links * Newspaper Archive * Crossword Club * ePaper desktop app * IT Sunday * eBooks * Subscriber Benefits * My Account -- #work rss Apple RSS The Irish Times - Debate Irish Times Letters [p?c1=2&c2=8946263&cv=2.0&cj=1] IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-M9Q373 * Search * Newsletters * Crossword * Notices * My Account * Sign Out * Subscribe * Sign In [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268940|0|225|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Le tters;cookie=info;] Menu The Irish Times Sun, Jan 17, 2016 ^Sign In Welcome * The Irish Times * News * Sport * Business * Opinion * Life & Style * Culture * More * Video * Podcasts * Executive Jobs * Subscribe * My Account * Sign Out * Sign In * * Opinion * Letters * Editorials * Columnists * An Irishman's Diary * Opinion & Analysis * Martyn Turner By using this website, you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X ‘Charlie Hebdo’ and freedom of speech Thu, Jan 15, 2015, 01:08 A chara, – The Irish Times is to be commended for deciding not to republish material it deems “likely to be seen by Muslims as gratuitously offensive and [that] would not contribute significantly to advancing or clarifying the debate on the freedom of the press” (“The Irish Times and the cartoons”, January 13th). The right to risk giving offence by speaking hard truths as the situation warrants should never be mistaken for a duty to offend for its own sake. – Is mise, Rev PATRICK G BURKE, Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny. Sir, – Congratulations to The Irish Times – five words that I don’t often write – for exercising its right not to republish any of the Islamophobic Charlie Hebdo cartoons. Satirising hegemonic power is courageous but satirising the victims of that power is cowardly. Alas, this cowardice is all too often mistaken for courage. The words of the novelist Saladin Ahmed are worth pondering: “In a field dominated by privileged voices, it’s not enough to say ‘Mock everyone!’ In an unequal world, satire that mocks everyone equally ends up serving the powerful. And in the context of brutal inequality, it is worth at least asking what pre-existing injuries we are adding our insults to.” – Yours, etc, RAYMOND DEANE, Dublin 2. Sir, – I am disappointed by your decision not to publish the cover of the post-massacre edition of Charlie Hebdo. The justification that publication would be gratuitously offensive to Muslims ignores the enormous offence given to everyone else by the murderous behaviour of Islamist terrorists in Paris. The Irish Times has had no problem publishing Martyn Turner cartoons which were offensive to devout Catholics, but those carry no threat of violent reprisals. – Yours, etc, PETER MOLLOY, Glenageary, Co Dublin. Sir, – What is lacking in much of the debate concerning the recent tragic events in Paris is common sense and the recognition that a “right” to absolute “free speech” and absolute free expression of any opinion in the media, however offensive, simply does not exist. Nor should it. Legal rights are usually circumscribed by the recognition that they should be exercised in the common good and can be restrained in certain circumstances where their expression is likely to cause such profound offence that violence and communal strife is likely to result. I support the editorial decision made by you not to reproduce the cover of the current issue of Charlie Hebdo, but I consider the coverage of the story and the reproduced cartoons in The Irish Times to be in conflict with the spirit and reasoning that led to that wise decision. – Yours, etc, HUGH McFADDEN, Harold’s Cross, Dublin 6W. Sir, – It was good to see that Ireland was officially represented by the Taoiseach in Paris on Sunday, at the march for freedom of speech, and to show solidarity with the 12 people murdered at the offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, (and the four civilians killed at a kosher grocery and the police officer who was fatally shot last week). Incredibly, officials from Saudi Arabia also attended the march, just two days after Raif Badawi was publicly flogged (the first 50 lashes of 1,000) for exercising his right to freedom of expression. Mr Badawi was jailed for 10 years in May 2014 after starting a website for social and political debate in Saudi Arabia. He was charged with creating the “Saudi Arabian Liberals” website and “insulting Islam”. His sentence also included 1,000 lashes, a 10-year travel ban, and a ban on appearing on media outlets. Last year Mr Kenny congratulated the crown prince of Saudi Arabia on that country’s election to the human rights council of the United Nations. This year he should publicly distance Ireland from this latest abuse, and other gross human rights abuses (violence against women and discrimination on the basis of gender, religion, sect, race and ethnicity) by the Saudi Arabian authorities. The Government should demand that the Saudi authorities cease to continue with Mr Badawi’s punishment of flogging, which violates the prohibition on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in international law. – Yours, etc, DAVID LILBURN, Limerick. Sir, – Free speech is important and must be cherished. But does that include the freedom to insult and deride things that many hold sacred? Maybe it should, but I, for one, feel a bit uneasy. Before we rush into amending the Constitution to decriminalise blasphemy, maybe we should consider a bit more the danger of incitement to hatred and violence. – Yours, etc, WJ MURPHY, Malahide, Co Dublin. Sir, – I fail to see how you are serving your readership by running a Charlie Hebdo centrespread. While respectful of the right of a publication to publish, I contend that this decision was, at best, irresponsible. – Yours, etc, FRANK BYRNE, Terenure, Dublin 6W. Sir, – How disappointing it is that The Irish Times failed to reproduce the cover of this week’s Charlie Hebdo magazine in yesterday’s edition, despite the fact that you trumpeted “two pages of Charlie Hebdo cartoons” in a banner at the top of the front page (January 14th). The issue of the depiction of Muhammad in cartoons and other forms is absolutely central to the Charlie Hebdo news story, and by failing to reproduce the image, you have failed in your duty to inform your readers and to allow them to make up their own minds on the alleged offensiveness of these images. By failing to reproduce the Charlie Hebdo front cover, I’m afraid that protestations of solidarity by The Irish Times ring rather hollow. – Yours, etc, PAUL TIPPER, Dublin 14. Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Opinion “The takeaway message from its negative poster this week might be that it has ceded control of the narrative to Fine Gael.” Photograph: Eric Luke / The Irish Times Fianna Fáil is changing but not quickly enough * Opinion Soldiers attend Mise Eire. George Morrison’s film showed over twenty years of Irish history, from the 1890s to 1918, through existing archive material. Its soundtrack, an orchestral score by Sean O’Riada, became hugely popular Anne Harris: O’Riada’s epic clash of cymbals became a clash of symbols * Opinion The General Post Office from Abbey St after the 1916 Easter Rising: Royal Irish Academy JT Westropp RIA Opinion: Did the 1916 Rising meet the requirements for a ‘just war’? * Opinion Breda O’Brien: Ultrasound is the biggest enemy of abortion on demand ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268939|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Le tters;cookie=info;] ADVERTISEMENT Letters Crisis in emergency departments French Jews and wearing the kippa Mathematics at third level Women’s rights here and abroad Protecting children online National anthem and copyright law Walking routes and public health Global factors and the economy Investing in rural Ireland Oscar bravo ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268941|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Le tters;cookie=info;] Most Discussed Our Columnists Breda O'Brien Breda O'Brien - Breda O’Brien: Ultrasound is the biggest enemy of abortion on demand Cliff Taylor Cliff Taylor - Election 2016: Get ready to be hit by a digital deluge Paul Gillespie Paul Gillespie - Worldview: Ireland should recognise Palestine if peace talks fail Donald Clarke Donald Clarke - Chief Film Correspondent Donald Clarke: Irish Oscar nods were due to great expectations Most Read 1 Television: A sugar-crash course in how we are poisoning ourselves 2 Conservative Germany is ‘mad as hell’ over Merkel’s policies 3 Gardaí say remains those of man who died in recent days 4 Bhutan: the price of paradise 5 Isis ‘kills 300 people’ in Deir al-Zor, Syrian government says Never miss a story. 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For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X Dail observes minute’s silence in solidarity with French people Taoiseach leads strong condemnation of last week’s murders Thu, Jan 15, 2015, 01:00 Michael O'Regan French ambassador to Ireland Jean-Pierre Thébault attended the minute’s silence in the Dáil. Photo: Gareth Chaney/ Collins French ambassador to Ireland Jean-Pierre Thébault attended the minute’s silence in the Dáil. Photo: Gareth Chaney/ Collins A minute’s silence was observed by the Dáil in solidarity with the French people, following a series of statements condemning last week’s murders. The attendance in the VIP gallery included French ambassador to Ireland, Jean-Pierre Thébault. Taoiseach Enda Kenny extended his deepest sympathy, on behalf of the Government and the Irish people, to those grieving the loss of the 17 men and women murdered in Paris. “To us they are artists, police, men and women who lost their lives,’’ he added. “Equally, I extend again my sympathy and solidarity to President Hollande and the French nation.’’ Mr Kenny said the attacks were an assault not only on the people of Europe but also on our basic values of freedom and democracy. “Freedom of the press and freedom of expression are values we in Europe hold dear,’’ he added. Tradition of satire Brendan Howlin said the innocent civilians murdered were guilty of nothing other than availing of their freedom of expression by engaging in the French tradition of satire. “The killers also targeted French police officers who were carrying out their normal work in the line of duty,’’ he added. Micheál Martin and Gerry Adams also expressed their solidarity. * Topics: * Brendan Howlin * Enda Kenny Taoiseach * Gerry Adams * Hollande * Jean Pierre Thebault * Michael O Regan * Micheal Martin * Mr Kenny * Fianna Fáil * French Police * Sinn Fein * Département de Ville-de-Paris * Europe * France * Galway Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Crime & Law Gardaí search the Grand Canal bank in Ardclough, Co Kildare, where the body of a man was found in a suitcase on Saturday afternoon. Photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times. Gardaí say remains those of man who died in recent days * Opinion “The takeaway message from its negative poster this week might be that it has ceded control of the narrative to Fine Gael.” Photograph: Eric Luke / The Irish Times Fianna Fáil is changing but not quickly enough * Politics Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, flanked by party colleagues, waves to supporters after his ardfheis speech at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin. Photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times. 5:35 Coalition has not delivered a fair recovery - Martin * European Cup Leinster’s Sean Cronin celebrates after scoring a try in their clash with Bath in the European Champions Cup. Photo: Billy Stickland/Inpho Fountain of youth comes good for Leinster with fighting victory ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4269110|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Oi reachtas;kvcat=crime,+law+and+justice;kvloc=Département+de+Ville-de-Par is:Europe:France:Galway;kvorg=Fianna+Fáil:French+Police:Sinn+Fein;cooki e=info;] ADVERTISEMENT Latest Politics Coalition has not delivered a fair recovery - Martin 09:21 Miriam Lord: Polls finally close for ‘man of substance’ PJ Mara 09:06 State ‘loses €300m annually’ to cross-border fuel smuggling 19:44 Fianna Fáil support on the rise, poll shows 19:18 PJ Mara ‘made friends everywhere’, funeral Mass hears 19:07 ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4269110|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Oi reachtas;kvcat=crime,+law+and+justice;kvloc=Département+de+Ville-de-Par is:Europe:France:Galway;kvorg=Fianna+Fáil:French+Police:Sinn+Fein;cooki e=info;] Most Read in News 1 Conservative Germany is ‘mad as hell’ over Merkel’s policies 2 Gardaí say remains those of man who died in recent days 3 Isis ‘kills 300 people’ in Deir al-Zor, Syrian government says 4 Irish nanny plans to sue over wrongful detention in US 5 Woman who was asked to leave River Island awarded €7,500 Never miss a story. SUBSCRIBE Irish Times Politics Tweets by @IrishTimesPol Connect IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com% 2Firishtimes&send=false&layout=standard&width=300&show_faces=false&font =trebuchet+ms&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=42210213449 0557 Features & Opinion Fine Gael’s John Perry has no problem being an outcast * Fiach Kelly Fine Gael’s John Perry has no problem being an outcast On the canvass with the Sligo-North Leitrim TD who survived legal battle with his party What’s wrong with going negative? * Hugh Linehan What’s wrong with going negative? Weekend Read: Political parties are defining the narrative of the upcoming election, and the first signs of ‘negative campaigning’ have met with outrage. But highlighting your opponent’s shortcomings is part of politics Miriam Lord: PJ Mara was a charming, disarming spin doctor * Miriam Lord Miriam Lord: PJ Mara was a charming, disarming spin doctor The FF strategist gave the impression he found the whole political thing a bit of a lark PJ Mara: five attributes that defined former strategist * Harry McGee PJ Mara: five attributes that defined former strategist Part of the reason Mara was effective was his character traits made him well suited to role Subscribe About Us Policy & Terms Subscribe * Subscription Bundles * Gift Subscriptions * Home Delivery Irish Times Products & Services * ePaper * eBooks * Crosswords * Newspaper Archive * Dating * Ancestors * Email Alerts & Newsletters * Article Archive * Executive Jobs * Page Sales * Photo Sales About Us * Advertise * Contact Us * The Irish Times Trust * Careers Download on the App Store Download on Google Play * Our Partners * Rewarding Times * MyHome.ie * Irish Racing * Entertainment.ie * Top 1000 * MyAntiques.ie * The Gloss * Irish Times Training * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Policy * Cookie Information * Community Standards * Copyright * FAQs © 2015 THE IRISH TIMES For the best site experience please enable JavaScript in your browser settings Sign In ____________________ ____________________ (BUTTON) Sign In Forgot Password? 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For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X US news pundit apologises over declaring Birmingham ‘no-go’ area for non-Muslims Steven Emerson says comments about UK cities on Fox News a ‘terrible error’ Mon, Jan 12, 2015, 20:34 Video grab taken from Fox News of Fox News host Jeanine Pirro with news commentator Steven Emerson, who has been forced to apologise after claiming Britain’s second city was a “no-go” zone for non-Muslims. Photograph: Fox News/PA Wire Video grab taken from Fox News of Fox News host Jeanine Pirro with news commentator Steven Emerson, who has been forced to apologise after claiming Britain’s second city was a “no-go” zone for non-Muslims. Photograph: Fox News/PA Wire An American news pundit who claimed Britain’s second city was a “no-go” zone for non-Muslims has been branded “a complete idiot” by David Cameron, with others accusing him of fear-mongering. Steven Emerson was forced to apologise after he said “there are actual cities like Birmingham that are totally Muslim, where non-Muslims just simply don’t go in”, while appearing on the Fox News TV channel. His comments were broadcast live on the network to households around the globe. The prime minister told ITV News: “When I heard this, I choked on my porridge and I thought it must be April Fool’s Day. This guy is clearly a complete idiot. “Now he has started with an apology, that’s not a bad start, but what he should do is look at Birmingham and see what a fantastic example it is of bringing people together of different faiths, different backgrounds and actually building a world-class, brilliant city with a great and strong economy.” Birmingham-born comedian Adil Ray, famed for creating BBC One alter-ego Citizen Khan, accused Mr Emerson of spreading fear through his ignorant comments. Muslim Mr Ray added: “I think the response on Twitter is the best way to deal with it — deal with it contempt, and deal with it with humour.” “It goes to show people in Birmingham have got a sense of humour”, he said, adding comedy was a unifying and “universal language”. He praised the residents of Birmingham for taking to social media to pillory Mr Emerson, whose own website states he is an “internationally-recognised expert on terrorism and national security”. Mr Emerson later apologised for his “terrible error” regarding “the beautiful city of Birmingham” and suggested the remarks had been down to “other sources”. He also stated his intention to make a donation to Birmingham Children’s Hospital. According to most recent census data from 2011, the city of more than one million residents has a Muslim population of about 234,000 (21.8 per cent). But during the weekend broadcast, while discussing the recent terror attacks in Paris, Mr Emerson said: “In Britain, it’s not just no-go zones, there are actual cities like Birmingham that are totally Muslim, where non-Muslims just simply don’t go in.” Turning his opinions on the UK capital, he then told Fox News host Jeanine Pirro: “(In) parts of London there are actually Muslim religious police who beat and actually wound seriously anyone who doesn’t dress according to Muslim religious attire.” Ms Pirro appeared to take Mr Emerson’s remarks at face value, making no attempt to correct him. On Twitter the #FoxNewsFacts hashtag was used by bemused residents, who wasted no time in ridiculing the US news channel by posting images of the city landmarks including the Selfridges department store and the Library of Birmingham and querying if Fox News thought these were mosques. Mr Ray said although humour had been the right response, it was important not to miss the potentially “serious ramifications” of Mr Emerson’s actions, claiming his comments could be “instilling fear in people and basically saying Muslims are a scary bunch of people”. He said that in light of the recent Paris terror attacks, it was “scary” when opinion-makers like Mr Emerson were taking to the airwaves to make “divisive” comments. “It is very scary and at a time like this, if we have learned one thing from events in Paris, it is that what we need to be doing is finding commonality amongst ourselves and not allowing these people to divide us,” he added. Mr Ray also drew comparisons with the humorous ridiculing of Mr Emerson, and the often near-the-knuckle satire of French magazine Charlie Hebdo — one of the targets of last week’s shocking terror attacks. He said: “It echoes what the whole issue was with the cartoons, and I’ve always said humour is a fantastic way of unifying people, bringing them together - comedy is a universal language.” Mr Ray also praised “Brummies” for responding with a sense of humour, adding: “Birmingham is the future of Britain in many ways, we’re a proud city — the very core of Birmingham is that you can come to here from wherever you are and become a Brummie. “We did that with (Nobel Peace Prize Winner) Malala Yousafzai — she came here from horrific events in Pakistan, and is made to feel very much a Brummie and that’s what Birmingham is about.” Asked what his comic alter-ego Mr Khan might have made of Emerson’s comments, Mr Ray said: “Well I think Mr Khan would quite clearly say ‘he’s absolutely right — I only just came back from holiday in Pakistan, and somebody asked me how is Pakistan and I said just like Birmingham but with less Pakistanis’.” On Sunday, he had tweeted: “Some new Birmingham districts: Five Prays, King Abdullah Standing and Prayer Hall Green. #FoxNewsFacts” Comedian Sanjeev Bhaskar, star of sketch show Goodness Gracious Me, said: “During summer months, men w/ padding & helmets armed w/ bats and stumps regularly Mullah visitors in a field called Edgbaston #FoxNewsFacts”, adding: “The Archers, M6, M5 and UB40 are all weapons made in and around #Birmingham #FoxNewsFacts”. Comedian Al Murray tweeted: “Ming the Merciless is named after the centre of Birmingham #foxnewsfacts” And fellow comic David Schneider said: “Having imposed strict dietary laws on Birmingham, Jews and Muslims have now renamed it Birming #foxnewsfacts” Former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg was also among those who went on Twitter to mock the comments. He wrote: “‘Birmingham’ spelt backwards means ‘Islamic State’ in Swedish. (No it doesn’t but don’t let #foxnewsfacts get in the way of a good story).” He later added: “Newly discovered #foxnewsfacts reveal that classic Three Musketeers was really about 3 Brummy Mujahids known to US author Alexander Dumbass.” And Mr Begg later wrote: “US soldiers told me Britons reminded them of Mr Bean. I told them Americans reminded me of Dumb & Dumber.” Birmingham City Council said it was clear Mr comments had “no foundation” and invited Fox News to the city to check its facts. James McKay, the council’s cabinet member for social cohesion, equalities and community safety, said: “Maybe Fox News could come and visit some time, and see for themselves what a great city we have here?” Mr Emerson said he had made an “egregious error in not doing my own homework”. He told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme: “It hasn’t been pleasant but I deserve what I got.” “As far as my statement about Birmingham, I was relying on information that was totally incorrect from sources that I had relied on in the past,” he said. “I have been in contact with people in the United Kingdom as well as law enforcement and there are areas where law enforcement doesn’t go into in the United Kingdom. “But, in terms of there being entire cities in the United Kingdom I was totally misled, misinformed.” Mr Emerson said he stood by comments he made about no-go areas in parts of east London and said he did not want the incident to be used “to claim there is no such thing as radical Islam”. “There have been numerous reports in British papers and American television about some of the vigilante Muslim groups in eastern parts of London,” he said. PA * Topics: * David Cameron * David Schneider * Steven Emerson * Birmingham City Council * Pakistan * United Kingdom * United States Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Crime & Law Gardaí search the Grand Canal bank in Ardclough, Co Kildare, where the body of a man was found in a suitcase on Saturday afternoon. Photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times. Gardaí say remains those of man who died in recent days * Opinion “The takeaway message from its negative poster this week might be that it has ceded control of the narrative to Fine Gael.” Photograph: Eric Luke / The Irish Times Fianna Fáil is changing but not quickly enough * European Cup Leinster’s Sean Cronin celebrates after scoring a try in their clash with Bath in the European Champions Cup. Photo: Billy Stickland/Inpho Fountain of youth comes good for Leinster with fighting victory * Politics Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, flanked by party colleagues, waves to supporters after his ardfheis speech at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin. Photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times. 5:35 Coalition has not delivered a fair recovery - Martin ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4269161|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=UK ;kvcat=arts,+culture+and+entertainment;kvloc=Pakistan:United+Kingdom:Un ited+States;kvorg=Birmingham+City+Council;cookie=info;] ADVERTISEMENT Exodus A special report on the desperate plight of migrants trying to make a new life in Europe Latest World Burkina Faso hotel attack: 18 nationalities among 28 dead 14:44 Bill Cosby sexual assault case could be thrown out 13:25 Isis ‘kills 300 people’ in Deir al-Zor, Syrian government says 12:06 Jakarta attacks: Death toll rises to eight after Isis assault 11:20 Independence-minded opposition wins Taiwan election 09:18 ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4269160|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=UK ;kvcat=arts,+culture+and+entertainment;kvloc=Pakistan:United+Kingdom:Un ited+States;kvorg=Birmingham+City+Council;cookie=info;] [image.png] Subscribe on iTunes Follow on Soundcloud Listen on Stitcher Migrant Crisis European unity falters in the face of refugee crisis Most Read in News 1 Conservative Germany is ‘mad as hell’ over Merkel’s policies 2 Gardaí say remains those of man who died in recent days 3 Isis ‘kills 300 people’ in Deir al-Zor, Syrian government says 4 Irish nanny plans to sue over wrongful detention in US 5 Woman who was asked to leave River Island awarded €7,500 Never miss a story. 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(BUTTON) X Why a referendum on blasphemy is long overdue Given its stranglehold on societies for generations, religion should be poked and prodded Mon, Jan 12, 2015, 12:01 Updated: Tue, Jan 13, 2015, 07:33 Una Mullally People hold panels to create the eyes of late Charlie Hebdo editor Stephane Charbonnier, known as “Charb”, as French citizens take part in a solidarity march (Marche Republicaine) in the streets of Paris on Sunday. Photograph: Reuters/Yves Herman People hold panels to create the eyes of late Charlie Hebdo editor Stephane Charbonnier, known as “Charb”, as French citizens take part in a solidarity march (Marche Republicaine) in the streets of Paris on Sunday. Photograph: Reuters/Yves Herman In 2012 Stéphane Charbonnier – aka “Charb” – told Le Monde newspaper: “I’d rather die standing up than live on my knees.” The statement, which Charbonnier, the editor of Charlie Hebdo, prefaced with, “What I’m about to say is maybe a little pompous,” was borrowed from Emiliano Zapata, a leader of the Mexican revolution. Charlie Hebdo’s editor-in-chief Gérard Biard, who was in London at the time his workplace was attacked, put things slightly more bluntly in the same interview: “If we say to religion, ‘you are untouchable’, we’re f****ed.” I would imagine the staff of Charlie Hebdo believed, as many smart tricksters do, that sacred cows are there to be slaughtered. There is a delight in knocking things off pedestals, because they tend to get there by bullying. Truly egalitarian societies should be immune to special statuses born from piousness, pomposity or privilege, while protecting those who are oppressed by the same. With that in mind, we should examine the grandiose status afforded religion in our own Republic. Article 40.6.1.i of our Constitution marks blasphemy out as a criminal offence: “The publication or utterance of blasphemous, seditious, or indecent matter is an offence which shall be punishable in accordance with law.” A referendum amending the Constitution’s statement on blasphemy is long overdue. Barstool simplification Freedom of expression is a more useful term than “free speech”, which people can sometimes take to mean: I have the right to say whatever I want, and screw the consequences. In the aftermath of incidents such as the horrific Charlie Hebdo attack, “free speech” is thrown around a lot, especially online. It’s surprising how often people need to be reminded, while they’re ranting away on Facebook or acting like their own individual news service on Twitter, that we do not live in the United States of America and do not have an equivalent to their first amendment in our Constitution. “Free speech!” is a redundant catch-all term in most contexts, the type of barstool oversimplification that’s emitted mid-debate, such as: “Possession is nine-tenths of the law!” It’s difficult to truly understand how the perimeters of freedom of expression contract and expand from country to country, because it’s almost impossible to place oneself in the cultural context of a nation that is not one’s own. When La Marseillaise was booed at a football match between France and Algeria in 2001, the former took grave offence. Yet Sinéad O’Connor performed a new version of Amhrán na bhFiann at a recent concert in Ireland without the prospect of facing a fine. The Sex Pistols were perfectly entitled to sing “God save the Queen, the fascist regime”, but move that context to Thailand (and change “Queen” to “King”), and the law of lèse-majesté, even in their most recent (2007) constitution, could see such a lyric punished with imprisonment. Jesus is a frequent subject of cartoons, yet there is a clearly a difference between how comfortable Christians are with his image being lampooned and how comfortable Muslims are with Muhammad being lampooned. Christians can’t understand that, because they don’t practise Islam. The desire to remove blasphemy from our Constitution is for a lot of people probably not just an urge born from the principles of freedom of expression, but a resentment of the domination of the Catholic Church in Ireland. Such a resentment is well-placed, but we should check our own emotional biases in this matter, and do what is right for the Republic. Regarding other expressions, the desire to call people out for homophobia, sexism and racism, for example, is not about infringing freedom of expression, but about protecting others from hate speech. The desire to republish cartoons lampooning Muhammad in the aftermath of what happened in Paris was not just about freedom of expression, it was also about an emotional defiance in the face of extremism. The Proclamation of our own Republic declared: “The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts, cherishing all of the children of the nation equally,” a statement that is probably better to adhere to than some of the content of our Constitution and legislation, which at times curtails equal rights and opportunities. Stranglehold Charlie Hebdo’s lampooning of Islam (along with its cartoons at the expense of other religions and equally pious political figures) is not about religious intolerance or any kind of sectarianism but about pushing boundaries. Religion, given its stranglehold on societies for generations, should be poked and prodded. But for some keen to criticise Islam, their enthusiasm is born from their own intolerance of that religion, not an enthusiasm for the values of satire itself. In the aftermath of the killings in Paris, Salman Rushdie said: “Religion, a mediaeval form of unreason, when combined with modern weaponry becomes a real threat to our freedoms . . . I stand with Charlie Hebdo, as we all must, to defend the art of satire, which has always been a force for liberty and against tyranny, dishonesty and stupidity.” He should know. Read More * March for unity the biggest rally in Paris since 1944 * My son just said: ‘one must not draw the prophet’ * Paris pays tribute to three dead police officers – and says ‘Merci’ Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Opinion “The takeaway message from its negative poster this week might be that it has ceded control of the narrative to Fine Gael.” Photograph: Eric Luke / The Irish Times Fianna Fáil is changing but not quickly enough * Opinion Soldiers attend Mise Eire. George Morrison’s film showed over twenty years of Irish history, from the 1890s to 1918, through existing archive material. 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For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X Evidence that Coulibaly’s wife may have fled to Syria before killings Hayat Boumeddiene thought to have arrived at Istanbul January 2nd, Turkish officials say Mon, Jan 12, 2015, 01:00 Anne-Sylvaine Chassany Suspect Hayat Boumeddiene: a signal from her phone on January 8th was traced to Akcakale, Turkey. Photograph: Direction Centrale de la Police Judiciaire via Getty Images Suspect Hayat Boumeddiene: a signal from her phone on January 8th was traced to Akcakale, Turkey. Photograph: Direction Centrale de la Police Judiciaire via Getty Images Hayat Boumeddiene (26), the most wanted remaining suspect in connection with the Charlie Hebdo killings, may have fled to Syria in the days before her partner, Amedy Coulibaly, killed a policewoman and four civilians in a kosher supermarket. Turkish counter-terrorism work indicates that Ms Boumeddiene may now be in Syria, possibly in territory held by the Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant, known as Isis. She is thought to have arrived at Istanbul on a flight from Madrid on January 2nd, Turkish officials say. Turkey subsequently sent photos from Istanbul airport to French authorities that appeared to confirm her identity. Phone signal traced A signal from her phone on January 8th was traced to Akcakale, a Turkish town bordering Isis-held territory in Syria, but there was no subsequent signal. There is no clear indication she is in Syria, but the border is porous and Isis sympathisers have been reported to be in the Akcakale area in Turkey. The development is the latest piece of evidence hinting at a connection between the Paris atrocities and jihadist organisations abroad. French counter-intelligence are analysing a video in which Coulibaly sits by a printed-out image of an Isis flag and justifies the killings as retaliation for French military interventions overseas. A French prosecutor said tests on shell cases from the shooting of a jogger in Paris on the same day as the Charlie Hebdo massacre linked them to a gun used by Coulibaly at the kosher store. Al-Qaeda’s branch in Yemen has claimed responsibility for the attack on Charlie Hebdo by Cherif and Said Kouachi, saying it was to avenge the honour of the Prophet Muhammad, a frequent target of the magazine’s satire. “We know that Cherif Kouachi has stayed in Yemen in 2011 and that he has in his circle jihadist terrorists known for having been trained in Yemen whom we know are . . . in Yemen and Syria,” François Molins, Paris prosecutor, said. Police have found Ms Boumeddiene was linked to the Kouachis and last year made more than 500 calls to Cherif’s wife, Mr Molins said. She married Coulibaly in 2009 and can be seen in pictures on the internet wearing a black niqab. Turkish officials say they were not informed she was a person of interest until January 9th – they were previously unaware of her name – and add that there is no indication that the three chief perpetrators of the Paris attacks, now all dead, passed through Turkey. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2015) * Topics: * Cherif Kouachi * Francois Molins * Hayat Boumeddiene * Al Qaeda * Charlie Hebdo * Département de Ville-de-Paris * Iraq * Istanbul * Madrid * Syria * Turkey * Yemen Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Crime & Law Gardaí search the Grand Canal bank in Ardclough, Co Kildare, where the body of a man was found in a suitcase on Saturday afternoon. Photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times. Gardaí say remains those of man who died in recent days * Opinion “The takeaway message from its negative poster this week might be that it has ceded control of the narrative to Fine Gael.” Photograph: Eric Luke / The Irish Times Fianna Fáil is changing but not quickly enough * European Cup Leinster’s Sean Cronin celebrates after scoring a try in their clash with Bath in the European Champions Cup. Photo: Billy Stickland/Inpho Fountain of youth comes good for Leinster with fighting victory * Politics Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, flanked by party colleagues, waves to supporters after his ardfheis speech at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin. Photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times. 5:35 Coalition has not delivered a fair recovery - Martin ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4269161|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Eu rope;kvcat=crime,+law+and+justice;kvloc=Département+de+Ville-de-Paris:I raq:Istanbul:Madrid:Syria:Turkey:Yemen;kvorg=Al+Qaeda;kvcompany=Charlie +Hebdo;cookie=info;] ADVERTISEMENT Exodus A special report on the desperate plight of migrants trying to make a new life in Europe Latest World Burkina Faso hotel attack: 18 nationalities among 28 dead 14:44 Bill Cosby sexual assault case could be thrown out 13:25 Isis ‘kills 300 people’ in Deir al-Zor, Syrian government says 12:06 Jakarta attacks: Death toll rises to eight after Isis assault 11:20 Independence-minded opposition wins Taiwan election 09:18 ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4269160|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Eu rope;kvcat=crime,+law+and+justice;kvloc=Département+de+Ville-de-Paris:I raq:Istanbul:Madrid:Syria:Turkey:Yemen;kvorg=Al+Qaeda;kvcompany=Charlie +Hebdo;cookie=info;] [image.png] Subscribe on iTunes Follow on Soundcloud Listen on Stitcher Migrant Crisis European unity falters in the face of refugee crisis Most Read in News 1 Conservative Germany is ‘mad as hell’ over Merkel’s policies 2 Gardaí say remains those of man who died in recent days 3 Isis ‘kills 300 people’ in Deir al-Zor, Syrian government says 4 Irish nanny plans to sue over wrongful detention in US 5 Woman who was asked to leave River Island awarded €7,500 Never miss a story. SUBSCRIBE Features & Opinion Migrant crisis sees no slowdown during winter * Europe * Daniel McLaughlin Migrant crisis sees no slowdown during winter The new year has failed to bring cohesion to Europe’s handling of its worst refugee emergency since the second World War Conservative Germany is ‘mad as hell’ over Merkel’s policies * Europe * Derek Scally Conservative Germany is ‘mad as hell’ over Merkel’s policies As vigilantes roam Cologne to protect ‘blonde German women’, the clock ticks for chancellor Republican debate: Gloves come off as fight intensifies * US * Simon Carswell Republican debate: Gloves come off as fight intensifies Analysis: Insults and policy jabs flew in a debate that came at a crucial point Uganda moves to meet women’s contraceptive needs * Africa * Louise McLoughlin Uganda moves to meet women’s contraceptive needs Attitudes changing in country where belief remains strong that contraception causes infertility Taiwan frontrunner conciliatory towards China ahead of poll * Asia-Pacific * Clifford Coonan Taiwan frontrunner conciliatory towards China ahead of poll Tsai Ing-wen expected to unseat President Ma Ying-jeou in Saturday’s election A French police officer stands guard by the Eiffel tower. Photograph: Eric Gaillard/Reuters Paris attacks Full coverage of Europe's counter-terror operations following the Paris attacks Ukraine Crisis The revolt that escalated to a global crisis Galleries Irish artist Colin Davidson with his painting of Angela Merkel which made the front cover of Time magazine. The Belfast artist was commissioned by Time which has made the German chancellor its person of the year. Angela Merkel cover star Policemen stand guard in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis city center on Wednesday as French Police special forces raid an apartment, hunting those behind the attacks that claimed 129 lives in the French capital five days ago. 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(BUTTON) X No shame in laughing at famine satire Rush to condemn a proposed Channel 4 comedy has unleashed avalanche of outrage Sun, Jan 11, 2015, 12:01 Diarmaid Ferriter ‘Is even the idea of a comedy set in 19th-century Ireland such a travesty? Who is to know what could be done with such a notion in the hands of a skilled comedy writer or satirist?’ Above, a special commemorative memorial day walk and wreath laying ceremony at the Famine Memorial at Custom House Quay. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien ‘Is even the idea of a comedy set in 19th-century Ireland such a travesty? Who is to know what could be done with such a notion in the hands of a skilled comedy writer or satirist?’ Above, a special commemorative memorial day walk and wreath laying ceremony at the Famine Memorial at Custom House Quay. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien I did not feel any great shame, over 15 years ago, in laughing at a satirical song about the Irish Famine of the mid-19th century, and I was not alone. Under the title The Potatoes aren’t looking the best, it was sung, or more accurately spat out, late at night at a concert in Dublin city centre being performed by Ding Dong Denny O’Reilly and the Hairy Bowsies, or to strip Ding Dong of his stage name, Paul Woodfull. The repertoire featured other delights, including Spit on the Brits and The craic we had the day we died for Ireland. What one person finds amusing in any satire of Irish history, another might find egregiously offensive. The rush to condemn a proposed comedy by the writer Hugh Travers – what he suggests will be “black humour” set in 19th century Ireland – has unleashed an avalanche of outrage and an accompanying petition to Channel 4 demanding the station abandon the idea. Of course, the words “famine” and “sitcom” appear at first glance to belong as far apart as possible, but there have been too many premature denunciations in the absence of concrete detail, the bare story providing an opportunity for indulgence in a new manifestation of the MOPE syndrome: the Irish as the Most Oppressed People Ever. Historic pieties Is even the idea of a comedy set in 19th-century Ireland such a travesty? Who is to know what could be done with such a notion in the hands of a skilled comedy writer or satirist? I certainly wouldn’t be averse to, for example, David McSavage’s take on 19th-century Irish history given his admirable track record to date in satirising Irish historic pieties and peculiarities; equally, there would be many who would find that prospect abhorrent. The Irish experience of famine has generated satire and comedy in the past. One of Ireland’s most celebrated satirists, Jonathan Swift, travelled extensively throughout this island in the famine-afflicted decade of the 1720s where he witnessed starvation and desperate poverty. This was what informed the outrageous tone of his notorious Irish pamphlet A Modest Proposal, first published in 1729. The suggestion that the impoverished Irish might ease their burdens by selling their children as food for the rich was Swift’s cutting indictment of administrative and moral failure to reform the country. Over 200 years later, Flann O’Brien worked on a satirical novel, never finished, about an American millionaire who sought to prevent more Irish famines and destitute Irish emigrants coming to the US by replacing Irish potato cultivation with a tropical plant called sago. In 1971, playwright Hugh Leonard, in the Patrick Pearse Motel was keen to mock 1960s middle-class pretensions about Irish history and its marketing, with the motel’s restaurant called The Famine Room. Poet Paul Durcan was also on hand in 1987 with the poem What Shall I Wear, Darling, to The Great Hunger, his satire on a middle-class couple preparing to attend Tom MacIntyre’s adaptation of Patrick Kavanagh’s poem at the Peacock Theatre. More recently, Arthur Matthews took a swipe at contemporary crassness in his comedy Wide Open Spaces, which includes a theme park celebrating the Famine, containing a restaurant on a bright pink famine ship. In truth, some of the supposedly serious initiatives regarding memory of the famine have been more farcical than any comedy or satire. In 1998, the year after the 150th anniversary of the height of the famine in 1847, a glossy brochure sought to solicit donations from corporate firms to support charities; in return, the company’s name would be “cast in bronze on one of the many flagstones along the docks of Dublin city”. The companies were told they could “pay tribute to the Great Irish Famine . . . your company name will be forever remembered and immortalised on the docks . . . a place where many left during the famine era”. In reality, this was about corporate advertising to accompany the emaciated human frames depicted in the sculptures on Customs House Key, crafted by Rowan Gillespie and unveiled the previous year. Drumming up business Remembering the famine at that time was about drumming up business; a best-selling “famine diary” turned out to have been fabricated by a novelist half a century after the event, but it was still marketed as history. There was also a party and concert in Cork in June 1997, known as The Great Irish Famine Event, partly funded by the government, which was billed as “a celebration of triumph over disaster”. It included an “apology” from British prime minister Tony Blair for the failures of British government in the 1840s; Blair’s short statement was not delivered personally, but read out by actor Gabriel Byrne. Crassness and commodification abounded as remembrance of the Famine was overtaken by the supposed triumphs of a resilient, changing and economically prosperous Ireland. Farce has already been apparent in relation to depicting the Irish Famine, and not of the Channel 4 fictional variety. Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Opinion “The takeaway message from its negative poster this week might be that it has ceded control of the narrative to Fine Gael.” Photograph: Eric Luke / The Irish Times Fianna Fáil is changing but not quickly enough * Opinion Soldiers attend Mise Eire. George Morrison’s film showed over twenty years of Irish history, from the 1890s to 1918, through existing archive material. 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For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X Arson attack on German newspaper that printed cartoons Hamburger Morgenpost printed Charlie Hebdo cartoons after deadly attack in Paris Sun, Jan 11, 2015, 08:26 Updated: Sun, Jan 11, 2015, 13:33 Firemen at the scene of an arson attack on the headquarters of German daily Hamburger Morgenpost, in Hamburg, Germany on Sunday morning. Photograph: EPA Firemen at the scene of an arson attack on the headquarters of German daily Hamburger Morgenpost, in Hamburg, Germany on Sunday morning. Photograph: EPA A building of German newspaper Hamburger Morgenpost was the target of an arson attack and two suspects were arrested, police said on Sunday. Like many other German newspapers, Hamburger Morgenpost has printed cartoons of French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo after the deadly attack on Wednesday in Paris. A police spokeswoman said that an incendiary device was thrown at the newspaper building in the night and documents were burned inside. Two suspects were arrested near the crime scene because they behaved in an unusual manner, she added. The newspaper said on its web page that there were no people inside the building when the attack happened. Whether the arson attack was connected to the Charlie Hebdo cartoons was still under investigation, the paper added. Police said state security had taken over the investigations. Agencies Read More * Paris gunman’s girlfriend travelled to Syria * Charlie Hebdo: Full coverage Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Crime & Law Gardaí search the Grand Canal bank in Ardclough, Co Kildare, where the body of a man was found in a suitcase on Saturday afternoon. Photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times. Gardaí say remains those of man who died in recent days * Opinion “The takeaway message from its negative poster this week might be that it has ceded control of the narrative to Fine Gael.” Photograph: Eric Luke / The Irish Times Fianna Fáil is changing but not quickly enough * European Cup Leinster’s Sean Cronin celebrates after scoring a try in their clash with Bath in the European Champions Cup. Photo: Billy Stickland/Inpho Fountain of youth comes good for Leinster with fighting victory * Politics Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, flanked by party colleagues, waves to supporters after his ardfheis speech at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin. Photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times. 5:35 Coalition has not delivered a fair recovery - Martin ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4269161|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Eu rope;kvcat=arts,+culture+and+entertainment;cookie=info;] ADVERTISEMENT Exodus A special report on the desperate plight of migrants trying to make a new life in Europe Latest World Burkina Faso hotel attack: 18 nationalities among 28 dead 14:44 Bill Cosby sexual assault case could be thrown out 13:25 Isis ‘kills 300 people’ in Deir al-Zor, Syrian government says 12:06 Jakarta attacks: Death toll rises to eight after Isis assault 11:20 Independence-minded opposition wins Taiwan election 09:18 ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4269160|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Eu rope;kvcat=arts,+culture+and+entertainment;cookie=info;] [image.png] Subscribe on iTunes Follow on Soundcloud Listen on Stitcher Migrant Crisis European unity falters in the face of refugee crisis Most Read in News 1 Conservative Germany is ‘mad as hell’ over Merkel’s policies 2 Gardaí say remains those of man who died in recent days 3 Isis ‘kills 300 people’ in Deir al-Zor, Syrian government says 4 Irish nanny plans to sue over wrongful detention in US 5 Woman who was asked to leave River Island awarded €7,500 Never miss a story. SUBSCRIBE Features & Opinion Migrant crisis sees no slowdown during winter * Europe * Daniel McLaughlin Migrant crisis sees no slowdown during winter The new year has failed to bring cohesion to Europe’s handling of its worst refugee emergency since the second World War Conservative Germany is ‘mad as hell’ over Merkel’s policies * Europe * Derek Scally Conservative Germany is ‘mad as hell’ over Merkel’s policies As vigilantes roam Cologne to protect ‘blonde German women’, the clock ticks for chancellor Republican debate: Gloves come off as fight intensifies * US * Simon Carswell Republican debate: Gloves come off as fight intensifies Analysis: Insults and policy jabs flew in a debate that came at a crucial point Uganda moves to meet women’s contraceptive needs * Africa * Louise McLoughlin Uganda moves to meet women’s contraceptive needs Attitudes changing in country where belief remains strong that contraception causes infertility Taiwan frontrunner conciliatory towards China ahead of poll * Asia-Pacific * Clifford Coonan Taiwan frontrunner conciliatory towards China ahead of poll Tsai Ing-wen expected to unseat President Ma Ying-jeou in Saturday’s election A French police officer stands guard by the Eiffel tower. Photograph: Eric Gaillard/Reuters Paris attacks Full coverage of Europe's counter-terror operations following the Paris attacks Ukraine Crisis The revolt that escalated to a global crisis Galleries Irish artist Colin Davidson with his painting of Angela Merkel which made the front cover of Time magazine. The Belfast artist was commissioned by Time which has made the German chancellor its person of the year. Angela Merkel cover star Policemen stand guard in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis city center on Wednesday as French Police special forces raid an apartment, hunting those behind the attacks that claimed 129 lives in the French capital five days ago. 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(BUTTON) X Internet is an echo chamber for illiberal political correctness Twitterverse is a bubble, removed from most people’s experience Sun, Feb 1, 2015, 07:01 Updated: Sun, Feb 1, 2015, 07:50 Breda O'Brien ‘In Ireland, we have a sad tendency to conform when it comes to political ideas, whether it be the rigid consensus of the 1950s, or the apparently ideologically opposite, but in fact, eerily similar 2015 version.’ Photograph: Getty Images ‘In Ireland, we have a sad tendency to conform when it comes to political ideas, whether it be the rigid consensus of the 1950s, or the apparently ideologically opposite, but in fact, eerily similar 2015 version.’ Photograph: Getty Images Twitter is not the real world. This may seem an obvious statement if you are not on Twitter. It may appear less so if you are. The main requirement to be part of the Twitterverse that deals with Irish current affairs is surgical attachment to a smartphone or computer screen, and a job that allows you to check feeds constantly. This cuts out a significant proportion of the population. It is clear that the self-employed, and those who work in the media and public relations, are going to be online far more often than the average person. So are politicians, or at least, their proxies. It is, in short, a bubble, which considers itself to be vastly important. A Sunday Independent poll last week showed over half of thirtysomethings rarely if ever use Twitter, and only 17 per cent use it every day. One could leave people to their comforting facsimile of the real world, were it not having an impact on media and on general debate. I know radio and television producers who check Twitter obsessively to see the reaction to programmes. They are getting a skewed result, but I suspect they don’t fully realise it. Meanwhile, they are alienating their core audience. On Twitter, very unpleasant people have thousands of followers. So do intelligent, courteous people. But which group has more influence? The echo chamber gets very loud, as people get “called out” for thought crimes. You never know when a tsunami of abuse will be unleashed. Unsurprisingly, the victims’ response is usually shock and withdrawal. Of course, it is not just Twitter. The internet has allowed a culture of blame and shame that is most notable for its irony deficit. So much for free speech For example, not so long ago, people were rightly shocked at the vicious murders in the Charlie Hebdo offices. The event triggered huge debate on free speech. But toleration of free speech is very selective. Take Omar Mahmood, a Muslim student at the University of Michigan, who wrote a gentle satire on political correctness, Do the Left Thing, where he described the “violence” done daily to him as a left-handyd (sic) person in a world of right-handedness. (The “y” in handyd is a reference to womyn’s studies, for those who defy the patriarchy by refusing to engage in patriarchal spelling.) It should have ended there. Instead, Mahmood’s apartment door was vandalised by outraged students, who found his satire “triggering”. Subsequently, he was fired from his job as a columnist with a student paper because it was said his column had created an environment in which the staff felt threatened. Mahmood’s case was highlighted by Jonathan Chait in a piece in the New York magazine. Chait is a self-described liberal hawk who was very supportive of President Obama’s election. His thesis is that a suffocating political correctness is destroying the possibility of civilised debate. Some of the examples he gives make Mahmood’s satire seem anodyne. For example, “UCLA students staged a sit-in to protest microaggressions such as when a professor corrected a student’s decision to spell the word indigenous with an uppercase I.” Capital punishment Apparently, such grammatical choices reflect ideologies. Oppression by denial of the right to use capital letters – you simply could not make it up. Microaggressions, by the way, are small slights that seem insignificant in themselves, but add up to oppressive actions when people are exposed to them every day. When the Twitterverse speaks about microaggressions, it is a politically correct version of “error has no rights”, a phrase attributed to Pope Pius IX, who did not actually use the precise phrase in his (in)famous 1864 Syllabus of Errors. Pius IX had the excuse of writing at a time when nuns and priests were being driven from their religious orders, their property confiscated and bishops arrested or exiled for protesting. There are real injustices in our world too but, ironically, the “error has no rights” attitude which now suffuses the supposed liberal left often damages the very causes they seek to support. Last November, WomenCam, the Women’s Campaign succeeded in getting both Tim Stanley, who is pro-life, and Brendan O’Neill, who is pro-choice, banned from debating in Oxford. They claimed that “it is absurd to think we should be listening to two cisgender men debate about what people with uteruses should be doing with their bodies”. In Ireland, we have a sad tendency to conform: to the rigid consensus of the 1950s, or the apparently ideologically opposite, but in fact, eerily similar 2015 version. Suffocating illiberalism, thinly disguised this time as progressivism, is alive and well. Just ask anyone who has been caught in a Twitterstorm. Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Opinion “The takeaway message from its negative poster this week might be that it has ceded control of the narrative to Fine Gael.” Photograph: Eric Luke / The Irish Times Fianna Fáil is changing but not quickly enough * Opinion Soldiers attend Mise Eire. George Morrison’s film showed over twenty years of Irish history, from the 1890s to 1918, through existing archive material. 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For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X Citizens of Earth | Game Review Exploration, turn-based combat and cheesy puns abound in this retro role-playing game Joe Griffin Game Title: Citizens of Earth Publisher: Atlus Reviewed On: Playstation 4 Available on: Nintendo Wii U,PC,Playstation 4,Playstation Vita,Nintendo 3DS Wed, Feb 4, 2015, 15:14 First published: Wed, Jan 28, 2015, 06:00 * * * * If nothing else, Citizens of Earth boasts a fabulous title. Those three words are so evocative, conjuring images of old sci-fi, from The Day the Earth Stood Still to the infamous Orson Welles prank. This role-playing game is retro in other ways too. While it has the aesthetic of American culture of the 1950s, it also resembles old RPG such as 1994’s Earthbound. The story follows the Vice President of the World, who looks like a splice of Conan O’Brien and Mitt Romney. Still living with his mother and hanging out with his teenage brother, the Vice President (who the player gets to name) notices some strange goings on in his local town. It starts with sentient, running java beans, and then escalates to hostile half-phone deer called “telefauns” (who hit you with a “roaming” charge) – and gets weirder from there. Along with the puns and slapstick, it also sometimes tries its hand at modern satire. When entering a hipster café, the game warns that “Guys with beards don’t like being disturbed from their coffee”. Aint that the truth. This is a cute, reasonably funny game, though possibly too genteel for many tastes. Younger RPG fans, accustomed to the pomp of recent Final Fantasies, the game-play of Dragon Age or sweep of Skyrim will be disappointed. But those who enjoy gently exploring, strategic and dense turn-based combat and groan-inducing puns could do far worse. It’s presented nicely, with rudimentary but colourful graphics that look like an Archer comic. The biggest problem is one that’s common to low-fi RPGs – because it’s often a thicket of menus and wandering, it stands or falls on its humour and personality. And while Citizens of Earth is charming, its pacing and humour can’t hold a candle to the likes of Monkey Island or the recent South Park: The Stick of Truth. With nice graphics and effective turn-based combat, Citizens of Earth is a likeable nostalgia trip, but world domination remains beyond its reach. atlus.com/citizensofearth Wed, Feb 4, 2015, 15:14 First published: Wed, Jan 28, 2015, 06:00 * * * * ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4269142|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Ga me+Reviews;kvcat=arts,+culture+and+entertainment;cookie=info;] ADVERTISEMENT Virtual reality to boost digital games revenues past $100bn Virtual reality to boost digital games revenues past $100bn Oculus Rift, HTC Vive among headsets set to launch early next year Is bitter rivalry driving gamers’ suspicion of episodic games? Is bitter rivalry driving gamers’ suspicion of episodic games? Gaming: The fifth episode of Game of Thrones is about to be released by the king of episodic gaming, Telltale, but, despite the great success of the format, gamers remain divided. But what’s so wrong with going back to your roots, asks Emer Sugrue Galway studio creates 3D-printed Batman replica costume Galway studio creates 3D-printed Batman replica costume Costume created to coincide with release of long-awaited ‘Arkham Knight’ video game ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4269144|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Ga me+Reviews;kvcat=arts,+culture+and+entertainment;cookie=info;] Most Read in Culture 1 Family sugar audit: Eva Orsmond with Louise and Ollie Ryan Television: A sugar-crash course in how we are poisoning ourselves 2 Michael B Jordan and Sylvester Stallone in Creed ‘Apollo Creed meant everything to African-Americans’ 3 Did Philip K Dick dream of electric sheep? Much worse 4 Final bow: Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc at the end of the final Friends, in 2004 Friends: they lived perfect lives in a time of plenty. Of course we want them back 5 ‘I think cognitive enhancers should be allowed for academics’ Unthinkable: Is it unethical to take brain stimulants? 6 Dublin Rapper Tommy KD: “I never dreamt I’d be doing stuff like this, like getting the album out or playing my own shows. But at the same time, it’s important to say that everything’s not rosy.” Photograph: Cyril Byrne / THE IRISH TIMES Tommy KD: the Dublin rapper with one of the toughest stories in Irish music 7 Giant’s staircase: Utec, Lima has ‘opened up exciting new frontiers for Peruvian architecture’. Photograph: Grafton Architects, Iwan Baan Studio Bravo Lima: the Irish architects designing the ‘new geography’ 8 Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards: And the nominees are . . . 9 Joseph O’Connor on David Bowie, pictured here in 1965: “Kurt Vonnegut once wrote that the only plausible mission of the artist is ‘to make people feel they’re glad to be alive, at least a little bit.’ There are not many artists who’ve ever managed to achieve that highest of accolades. In my own life, David Bowie was one of them. He was part of my soundtrack, my passport, my pillow. I feel I was enriched to be around during his spell on the planet.” Photograph: CA/Redferns/Getty Images David Bowie: Irish writers pay tribute 10 The dialogues the author creates between Plato and various contemporary characters, including a marketing agent, a Google employee, a Tiger Mum, a radio host and a neuroscientist, convincingly demonstrate the value of continuing the job that Socrates started in ancient Greece. But they also show just why Plato would struggle to be heard today. Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won’t Go Away, by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein Never miss a story. 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For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X The true history of lying Is lying always a sin or is mendacity not just permissible but the very substance of social cohesion? The author of A History of Lying from the Garden of Eden to the Enlightenment traces its crooked path down the ages Wed, Jan 28, 2015, 01:00 Dallas G Denery II The first liars – Louis le Brocquy’s Adam and Eve in the Garden. “We will always be liars,” argues Dallas G Denery, “but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t always ask ourselves when it is acceptable to lie and when it isn’t” The first liars – Louis le Brocquy’s Adam and Eve in the Garden. “We will always be liars,” argues Dallas G Denery, “but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t always ask ourselves when it is acceptable to lie and when it isn’t” Pulled from the latest headlines: “Mayor Caught in a Lie!” “Did Wall Street Lies Create Financial Downfall?” “Web of Lies Led to Murder of Husband!” “‘I Lied My Way to the Top’ Fake Harvard Grad Confesses!” Studies reveal that each and every one of us lies every few minutes, that lying has reached epidemic proportions threatening the very foundations of society, corroding our civil discourse, warping our politics. Is lying more prevalent now than in the past, more insidious? There are more people in the world than ever before, so odds are good more lies are told than ever before. Television and the internet make it easier than ever to broadcast what we say to untold millions, billions, and given that so much of what we say is false and deceptive, no doubt whatever lies we tell fall on unprecedented numbers of innocent ears. Perhaps things are worse than ever before, that lies will be the end of us. Or perhaps not. Historical perspective is always a useful thing and if history tells us anything about lying it tells us that people have always thought there was too much of it and however much of it there was, there was always more of it now than there had ever been before. The 12th-century English courtier and future Bishop of Chartres, John of Salisbury, feared no time had ever been so dangerous for men of honest virtue. According to John, the royal and ecclesiastical courts of Europe teemed with every sort of deceiver and falsifier, with timeservers and wheedlers, gift-givers, actors, mimics, procurers and gossipmongers. The only thing that surpassed their variety was their number “for the foul inundation of their cancerous disease seeps into all so that there is rarely anyone left uncontaminated”. Long before John, scripture had already warned that “every man is a liar” and after John, throughout the Middle Ages, into and beyond the Renaissance, few people would deny that the problem of lies had reached never-before-witnessed proportions. Writing late in the 16th century, the French skeptic Pierre Charron asked his readers to “observe how all mankind are made up of falsehood and deceit, of tricks and lies, how unfaithful and dangerous, how full of disguise and design all conversation is at present become, but especially, how much more it abounds near [the prince], and how manifestly hypocrisy and dissimulation are the reigning qualities of princes’ courts.” Until the French Revolution, the problem of lying and hypocrisy often seemed to be experienced most keenly in the courts of the European elite, those hybrid spaces, both public and private, political and domestic, in which eager bureaucrats and all manner of hangers-on sought their fortunes. A zero sum game, fortune hunting required the self-serving courtier to deceive and slander his competitors, to fawn over and flatter his superiors. A difficult balance to keep. As the English Renaissance writer Nathaniel Walker noted in The Refin’d Courtier, it was a matter of learning how to “demean ourselves acceptably” before our superiors, without appearing willing “to lick the very spittle from under their feet.” In a place seemingly constructed to promote lying and flattery, a breeding ground for plots, conspiracies and coups, in which every friendly face might well conceal devious designs, how should a person respond? Is it acceptable to fight fire with fire, to lie to the liars? Again and again courtiers asked, is it ever acceptable to lie? and again and again they answered, Yes. Actually, people rarely came out in whole-hearted favour of lies. Almost to a person, medieval and Renaissance writers condemned lies as vile and pernicious. There was tradition behind this opinion. The early fifth-century bishop Augustine had argued that every lie was a sin and every sin must be avoided. No good can come from evil, and even lies told with the best of intentions are sins nonetheless. Augustine’s definition would be repeated incessantly throughout the ensuing centuries, repeated so frequently that historians have too often argued that we can distinguish the Middle Ages from the Renaissance in terms of how people thought about lies. During the Middle Ages, so this story goes, every lie was prohibited (which is different than claiming no one lied – we always have and always will do all sorts of things we shouldn’t), whereas in the Renaissance people became a bit more realistic about what it takes to get on in the world. But this is simply not the case. John of Salisbury thought there was nothing for it but for the virtuous man to lie to accomplish the good and to protect himself from the evil schemers that everywhere surround him. Christine de Pizan, often thought to be Europe’s first professional writer, had similar thoughts about princesses and noblewomen. The princess should never lie, true, but she must also do her best to maintain peaceful relations with her husband and the other members of the court, between the court and the commoners. When lies are needed to secure these worthy ends, then lie she must. A sad truth supported this rather pragmatic line of ethical thinking. We live in a fallen and corrupt world, a world so morally adrift and complicated, knotted and entangled, that there are few, perhaps no, moral certainties, and all too many situations in which we will have no choice but to sin to avoid greater sins. We need moral principles to guide our actions, but principles can conflict with one another, the demand that we be truthful in all our actions may run afoul the demand that we always act with charity towards others. In other words, courtly proponents of mendacity were, more often than not, skeptics and probabilists, finding refuge not in Aristotle’s ethics, but in Cicero’s rhetoric. Like a skilled orator, we must adjust our words and actions to the moment, to the circumstances. Depending upon the circumstances, even the most secure of moral principles may have to give way to others. The seed of a new idea lay buried within these defences of courtly deceit, slowly germinating, growing and supplanting long-standing ideas about lies. Medieval writers like John and Christine argued that we must sometimes lie to protect ourselves, to protect the state. Theologians disagreed. Civil society, they argued, depends upon the assumption that we deal truthfully and honestly with each other. If we were to deem some lies acceptable, how could we ever trust anyone, trust that, even as you sign this contract, make this promise, you have not secretly judged this to be a moment of permissible mendacity? This account of social harmony in no way matched the experience of the members of the European courts, neither in the Middle Ages, nor in the Renaissance. From their vantage point, lies seemed very much like the very substance of social cohesion. We lie to protect ourselves and to advance ourselves. We lie to avoid conflict and simply to grease the wheels of social interaction. “The gentleman courtier is not subject to himself,” wrote Philibert de Vienne in his mid-sixteenth-century satire, The Philosopher of the Court, “if it is necessary to laugh, he laughs, if it is necessary to grieve, he cries, if it is necessary to eat, he eats, and if it is necessary to fast, he fasts.” He says and does whatever the moment requires, regardless of how he feels or what he thinks. Medieval and early modern courtiers labelled this sort of sycophancy flattery, considered it little more than base mendacity, condemned it roundly, and recommended its practice absolutely. In his Renaissance bestseller, Civil Conversation, Stefano Guazo writes, “The world is full of and subsists by flattery, which is more in fashion than peeked beards and large ruffs. You see how all persons for the sake of peace, and to avoid contention, and that they may appear agreeable in company, comport themselves in the best manner they can to other men’s talk and behavior.” Without lies, they realised, society would fall apart. So the next time we hear some pundit railing against lying politicians or read some study about the newfound prominence of lying in modern society, maybe we should look between the lines. Rather than worry about the fact that everyone lies, we should concern ourselves with the reasons why we lie. We will always be liars, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t always ask ourselves when it is acceptable to lie and when it isn’t. A History of Lying from the Garden of Eden to the Enlightenment by Dallas G Denery II is published on January 28th by Princeton University Press Subscribe. [image.jpg] Click here to sign up to the Irish Times Book Club More from The Irish Times * Books Lebanon * Music Pop Corner: Selena marks her ex’s spot; Zayn chaffed at control * People Impossibly photogenic: the Tiger’s Nest, or Taktsang Palphug, monastery, Bhutan’s most sacred site. Photograph: EyesWideOpen/Getty Bhutan: the price of paradise * Opinion “The Red Hand, that ubiquitous symbol of Ulster, straddles the political and sectarian divide.” Right hand, wrong foot – An Irishman’s Diary about political and religious symbolism ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268859|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Bo oks;cookie=info;] ADVERTISEMENT The Irish Times Logo Sign In Email Address ____________________ Password ____________________ [ ] I agree to the Terms & Conditions, Community Standards and Privacy Policy (BUTTON) Sign In Don't have an account? Sign Up Forgot Password? 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ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268858|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Bo oks;cookie=info;] [image.jpg] IFRAME: https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/playl ists/72151780&color=b74f7d&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comm ents=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false Subscribe on iTunes Follow on Soundcloud Listen on Stitcher Thomas Morris: the stories may not range very far geographically, but Morris manages to display remarkable range for a young man in his cast of characters, proving himself equally at home in a middle-aged woman’s heels or an old man’s slippers. The Book Club Click to join in the discussion about this month's book: We Don't Know What We're Doing by Thomas Morris Hennessy short story of the month How to Float by Niamh Donnelly: Two girls drift through a polluted paradise in this month’s winning Hennessy New Irish Writing short story Most Read in Culture 1 Family sugar audit: Eva Orsmond with Louise and Ollie Ryan Television: A sugar-crash course in how we are poisoning ourselves 2 Michael B Jordan and Sylvester Stallone in Creed ‘Apollo Creed meant everything to African-Americans’ 3 Did Philip K Dick dream of electric sheep? Much worse 4 Final bow: Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc at the end of the final Friends, in 2004 Friends: they lived perfect lives in a time of plenty. Of course we want them back 5 ‘I think cognitive enhancers should be allowed for academics’ Unthinkable: Is it unethical to take brain stimulants? Never miss a story. SUBSCRIBE IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2FIrishTimesBooks&width=292&height=258&colorscheme=light&show_faces =true&header=false&stream=false&show_border=true Short stories All the Boys, a short story by Thomas Morris Eilís Ni Dhúibhne New Zealand Flax, a short story by Eílís Ní Dhuibhne Alan McMonagle: has written two collections of short stories, Liar Liar (Wordsonthestreet, 2008) and Psychotic Episodes (Arlen House, 2013) and has just signed two-book deal with Picador Bleeding Boy, a short story by Alan McMonagle Book reviews At Home in the Revolution review: the Rising’s clan na gals Review: Perspectives for a pathbreaker 1916: A Global History review: midpoint for a world engulfed in war High Treason: The Appeal of Roger Casement. By courtesy of Rosensteil’s on behalf of the Estate of Sir John Lavery UK Government Art Collection Making 1916: The stuff of history John De Lorean: a high-octane outline, a glittering absence, always on the move. It’s tempting to see him simply as a gambler where the game always means more than the outcome. But he was also a talented engineer and an innovator, responsible for that classic muscle car the Pontiac Firebird. Photograph: PA Gull by Glenn Patterson: John DeLorean, taking us all for one hell of a ride Sign up to the weekly Irish Times books newsletter for features, podcasts and more Google ID ____________________ Name ____________________ Surname ____________________ Email ____________________ (BUTTON) Sign Up [X] I would also like to receive occasional update emails from The Irish Times New poetry Lebanon Liz Quirke Poems: Nurture and Juno Eva Gore-Booth and Con Markiewicz: inspiration for WB Yeats, Kevin McAleer, Fintan O’Toole ... and you? Photograph: Sligo County Library Improve on Kevin McAleer’s WB Yeats meme: win two silk kimonos and gazelle* Great reads From crosswords to great wines and the best bits from The Irish Times - Buy an Irish Times Book today Brought to Book What lessons has Danielle McLaughlin learned about life from reading? “To question. To see things from different viewpoints. That there are as many versions of a particular story as there are people involved. That some stories don’t get told at all” Danielle McLaughlin: ‘I think we need different books at different times’ Frankie Gaffney: I did fill an artist’s notebook with anecdotes and phrases once I’d decided to write a book. I’d recommend this to anyone; daily life is instantly transformed into research, and life itself becomes more rewarding when you start finding and recording value in the mundane Frankie Gaffney’s advice to writers: ‘give up the booze and break some rules’ Shelved: a selection of books by Irish women writers. Might some of these names figure in the final 12? Women writers Putting Irish women writers back in the picture Subscribe About Us Policy & Terms Subscribe * Subscription Bundles * Gift Subscriptions * Home Delivery Irish Times Products & Services * ePaper * eBooks * Crosswords * Newspaper Archive * Dating * Ancestors * Email Alerts & Newsletters * Article Archive * Executive Jobs * Page Sales * Photo Sales About Us * Advertise * Contact Us * The Irish Times Trust * Careers Download on the App Store Download on Google Play * Our Partners * Rewarding Times * MyHome.ie * Irish Racing * Entertainment.ie * Top 1000 * MyAntiques.ie * The Gloss * Irish Times Training * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Policy * Cookie Information * Community Standards * Copyright * FAQs © 2015 THE IRISH TIMES For the best site experience please enable JavaScript in your browser settings Sign In ____________________ ____________________ (BUTTON) Sign In Forgot Password? Don't have an account? 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For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X Facebook in move to clamp down on hoax news stories Social network introduces option to flag stories as ‘purposefully fake or deceitful news’ Tue, Jan 20, 2015, 20:39 Facebook cited stories about dinosaur sightings as examples of fake news stories. Photograph: Dado Ruvic/Reuters Facebook cited stories about dinosaur sightings as examples of fake news stories. Photograph: Dado Ruvic/Reuters Facebook Inc said on Tuesday it has taken steps to clamp down on “hoaxes” and fake news stories that can spread like wildfire on its 1.35-billion member online social network. The company said it had introduced an option to allow Facebook users to flag a story as “purposefully fake or deceitful news” to reduce the distribution of news stories reported as hoaxes. Facebook said it will not remove fake news stories from its website. Instead, the company’s algorithm, which determines how widely user posts are distributed, will take into account hoax reports. “A post with a link to an article that many people have reported as a hoax or chose to delete will get reduced distribution in the News Feed,” Facebook explained. Facebook has become an increasingly important source of news, with 30 per cent of adults in the US consuming news on the world’s largest social network, according to a 2013 study by the Pew Research Center in collaboration with the John S and James L Knight Foundation. Facebook cited stories about dinosaur sightings as examples of fake news stories. Facebook said “satirical” content, such as news stories “intended to be humorous, or content that is clearly labelled as satire”, should not be affected. Reuters * Topics: * James L Knight Foundation * Facebook * United States More from The Irish Times * Crime & Law Gardaí search the Grand Canal bank in Ardclough, Co Kildare, where the body of a man was found in a suitcase on Saturday afternoon. Photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times. Gardaí say remains those of man who died in recent days * Opinion “The takeaway message from its negative poster this week might be that it has ceded control of the narrative to Fine Gael.” Photograph: Eric Luke / The Irish Times Fianna Fáil is changing but not quickly enough * European Cup Leinster’s Sean Cronin celebrates after scoring a try in their clash with Bath in the European Champions Cup. 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For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X Will a more affecting psychological thriller appear this year? Declan Burke reviews the best new crime fiction including Colette McBeth’s The Life I Left Behind Sat, Jan 17, 2015, 17:05 Declan Burke Crime novels tend to end with the guilty punished and justice served, for the very good reason that fiction allows for scenarios that real life doesn’t always deliver. Colette McBeth’s second novel, The Life I Left Behind (Headline Review, €16.99), takes a significantly different approach to the consequences of a serious crime. Melody Pieterson is celebrated as a “survivor”, a woman who not only fought off her violent attacker but also saw him punished for his crime with a conviction and a jail sentence. But the experience has utterly changed Melody, leaving her insular and terrified. The news that her attacker has struck again, after being released from prison – this time he has killed a young woman called Eve – only heightens her sense of isolation. Melody’s story is but half the tale here, however: another perspective is provided by Eve, a campaigning journalist who speaks to us from beyond the grave about her murder, how she believes that Melody’s attacker was framed and the methods she was using to clear his name in the weeks before she was killed. The ghostly presence of Eve might suggest otherwise, but The Life I Left Behind is less a supernatural thriller than it is a psychological investigation into the damage wreaked by cruelty, emotional and physical brutality, and murder. McBeth, formerly herself a journalist, is unsentimental and clear-eyed about the immediate and lingering consequences of violence on victims and their families and friends, yet her direct, unfussy style evolves into a heartbreakingly poignant tale. If a more affecting psychological thriller is published this year, it will be a very good book indeed. The opening of a new casino gives the depressed Pennsylvania town of Penns River a welcome economic boost in Dana King’s Grind Joint (Stark House, €9.99), even if some of the town’s more upstanding citizens are concerned about the origins of the venture’s start-up capital. When the body of a drug dealer is discovered dumped on the casino’s steps just before its grand opening, it appears that their worst suspicions are confirmed: the casino will serve as a “grind joint”, a clearing house for dirty money. But when detectives Ben “Doc” Dougherty and Willie Grabek begin their investigation they quickly find themselves stymied when confronted by vested interests that include mobsters, politicians, former spooks and high-ranking members of their own department. Rooted in the Slavic ethnic heritage of western Pennsylvania, Dana King’s style – this is his fourth novel – has been compared to the work of the late Elmore Leonard, and it’s easy to see why: Grind Joint is a compelling tale of small-town gangsters and cops rooted in vernacular dialogue and blackly comic in the way the bad guys’ ambitions easily exceed their abilities. Grind Joint reads more like a proto-Leonard story, one more reminiscent of George V Higgins, whose The Friends of Eddie Coyle exerted a major influence on Leonard’s style. There is a chilly and occasionally unsettling quality of realism to King’s unflinching appraisal of the devastating impact of economic downturn on the small-town United States, which leads its protagonists to perform increasingly convoluted moral gymnastics. As its title suggests, there’s more than a hint of the cautionary fable to Antonia Hodgson’s debut novel, The Devil in the Marshalsea (Hodder, €11.90). Set in London in 1727, it features Tom Hawkins, a gentleman rake who gambles his way into the infamous Marshalsea debtors’ prison. Faced with appalling conditions, Hawkins agrees to buy his freedom by investigating the circumstances behind the murder of a former inmate, Captain Roberts – but in the Marshalsea everyone is a potential murderer, and few will take kindly to the idea of Hawkins uncovering the prison’s secrets. Laced with profanity and soaked in the filth and grime of the period, The Devil in the Marshalsea is a delightfully irreverent historical mystery. The lurid cast of characters, some of whom are based on real-life historical figures, represent a cross section of the period’s social hierarchy. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the most fascinating character is the prison itself: Hodgson’s fabulous descriptions lead us through a world within a world where inmates have access to an abundance of food, booze, drugs and sex – providing they can pay for the privilege. Blending mystery, the supernatural and a sharply detailed account of the wretched jail itself, The Devil in the Marshalsea is a wonderfully evocative statement of intent from a very promising debut novelist. The fourth in Adrian McKinty’s award- winning series of police procedurals featuring Seán Duffy, a Catholic detective serving in the RUC during the 1980s, Gun Street Girl (Serpent’s Tail, £12.99), opens in 1985, as the news of the impending Anglo-Irish Agreement sends Northern Ireland into a turmoil of strikes, riots and violence. “How can you investigate a murder in a time of incipient civil war?” Duffy wonders as he attends the scene of what appears to be a professional double killing of “civilians”. That conundrum is quickly left behind as Duffy finds himself investigating the possibility that the murders are connected to the theft of Javelin missile systems from the Shorts manufacturing plant, which may well implicate rogue members of an American secret service. The claustrophobic tension of the previous novels is replaced here by a surprisingly jocular tone, as Duffy resorts to absurdist humour in order to preserve his sanity in an increasingly bleak Northern Ireland. “Out here,” he tells us, “on the edge of the dying British Empire, farce is the only mode of narrative discourse that makes any sense at all.” Gun Street Girl may well be a comically implausible tale, but its roots in historical fact renders it a superb satire of its time and place. Declan Burke’s current novel is The Lost and the Blind (Severn House) * Topics: * Adrian Mckinty * Antonia Hodgson * Dana King * Declan Burke Subscribe. [image.jpg] Click here to sign up to the Irish Times Book Club More from The Irish Times * Books Lebanon * Music Pop Corner: Selena marks her ex’s spot; Zayn chaffed at control * People Impossibly photogenic: the Tiger’s Nest, or Taktsang Palphug, monastery, Bhutan’s most sacred site. Photograph: EyesWideOpen/Getty Bhutan: the price of paradise * Opinion “The Red Hand, that ubiquitous symbol of Ulster, straddles the political and sectarian divide.” Right hand, wrong foot – An Irishman’s Diary about political and religious symbolism ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268859|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Bo oks;kvcat=arts,+culture+and+entertainment;cookie=info;] ADVERTISEMENT The Irish Times Logo Sign In Email Address ____________________ Password ____________________ [ ] I agree to the Terms & Conditions, Community Standards and Privacy Policy (BUTTON) Sign In Don't have an account? Sign Up Forgot Password? The Irish Times Logo Sign Up First Name ____________________ Surname ____________________ Screen Name ____________________ The name that will appear beside your comments. 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ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268858|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Bo oks;kvcat=arts,+culture+and+entertainment;cookie=info;] [image.jpg] IFRAME: https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/playl ists/72151780&color=b74f7d&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comm ents=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false Subscribe on iTunes Follow on Soundcloud Listen on Stitcher Thomas Morris: the stories may not range very far geographically, but Morris manages to display remarkable range for a young man in his cast of characters, proving himself equally at home in a middle-aged woman’s heels or an old man’s slippers. The Book Club Click to join in the discussion about this month's book: We Don't Know What We're Doing by Thomas Morris Hennessy short story of the month How to Float by Niamh Donnelly: Two girls drift through a polluted paradise in this month’s winning Hennessy New Irish Writing short story Most Read in Culture 1 Family sugar audit: Eva Orsmond with Louise and Ollie Ryan Television: A sugar-crash course in how we are poisoning ourselves 2 Michael B Jordan and Sylvester Stallone in Creed ‘Apollo Creed meant everything to African-Americans’ 3 Did Philip K Dick dream of electric sheep? Much worse 4 Final bow: Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc at the end of the final Friends, in 2004 Friends: they lived perfect lives in a time of plenty. Of course we want them back 5 ‘I think cognitive enhancers should be allowed for academics’ Unthinkable: Is it unethical to take brain stimulants? Never miss a story. SUBSCRIBE IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2FIrishTimesBooks&width=292&height=258&colorscheme=light&show_faces =true&header=false&stream=false&show_border=true Short stories All the Boys, a short story by Thomas Morris Eilís Ni Dhúibhne New Zealand Flax, a short story by Eílís Ní Dhuibhne Alan McMonagle: has written two collections of short stories, Liar Liar (Wordsonthestreet, 2008) and Psychotic Episodes (Arlen House, 2013) and has just signed two-book deal with Picador Bleeding Boy, a short story by Alan McMonagle Book reviews At Home in the Revolution review: the Rising’s clan na gals Review: Perspectives for a pathbreaker 1916: A Global History review: midpoint for a world engulfed in war High Treason: The Appeal of Roger Casement. By courtesy of Rosensteil’s on behalf of the Estate of Sir John Lavery UK Government Art Collection Making 1916: The stuff of history John De Lorean: a high-octane outline, a glittering absence, always on the move. It’s tempting to see him simply as a gambler where the game always means more than the outcome. But he was also a talented engineer and an innovator, responsible for that classic muscle car the Pontiac Firebird. Photograph: PA Gull by Glenn Patterson: John DeLorean, taking us all for one hell of a ride Sign up to the weekly Irish Times books newsletter for features, podcasts and more Google ID ____________________ Name ____________________ Surname ____________________ Email ____________________ (BUTTON) Sign Up [X] I would also like to receive occasional update emails from The Irish Times New poetry Lebanon Liz Quirke Poems: Nurture and Juno Eva Gore-Booth and Con Markiewicz: inspiration for WB Yeats, Kevin McAleer, Fintan O’Toole ... and you? Photograph: Sligo County Library Improve on Kevin McAleer’s WB Yeats meme: win two silk kimonos and gazelle* Great reads From crosswords to great wines and the best bits from The Irish Times - Buy an Irish Times Book today Brought to Book What lessons has Danielle McLaughlin learned about life from reading? “To question. To see things from different viewpoints. That there are as many versions of a particular story as there are people involved. That some stories don’t get told at all” Danielle McLaughlin: ‘I think we need different books at different times’ Frankie Gaffney: I did fill an artist’s notebook with anecdotes and phrases once I’d decided to write a book. I’d recommend this to anyone; daily life is instantly transformed into research, and life itself becomes more rewarding when you start finding and recording value in the mundane Frankie Gaffney’s advice to writers: ‘give up the booze and break some rules’ Shelved: a selection of books by Irish women writers. 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For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X Channel 4 Irish Famine comedy fuels lively debate London Irish Comedy Festival discussion focuses on planned C4 ‘Hungry’ script Fri, Feb 20, 2015, 23:59 Updated: Sat, Feb 21, 2015, 00:00 Mark Hennessy Famine statue in Dublin: a debate hosted by the London Irish Comedy Festival about comedy and censorship was dominated by ‘Hungry’, a not-yet written commission for Channel 4 about the Famine. Photograph: Kate Geraghty Famine statue in Dublin: a debate hosted by the London Irish Comedy Festival about comedy and censorship was dominated by ‘Hungry’, a not-yet written commission for Channel 4 about the Famine. Photograph: Kate Geraghty Comedy can live long in the memory. Charlie Walsh, who left Urlingford, Co Kilkenny, for London in the early 1970s, remembers when jokes mocking the Irish were common- place on British TV screens. “We were abused in the so-called comedies of the 1970s: the stupid Irish, Paddy and Mick. Do you think that that doesn’t have a bearing on how we think about ourselves and that it doesn’t hurt us?” he asks. Walsh was among the audience in Shoreditch, east London, for a debate hosted by the London Irish Comedy Festival about comedy and censorship. It quickly became dominated by Hungry, a not-yet written commission for Channel 4 about the Famine. Emotions for some have run high since Irish writer Hugh Travers began work, acknowledged the station’s head of comedy Phil Clarke, adding that much of this may be based on misconceptions. “It has been misreported. We’re not doing a series. We are not even doing a pilot. We have commissioned a script,” Mr Clarke told the audience. His words, however, cut little ice with some. The Famine was the third chapter in “800 years of extermination”, according to an audience member. “Humour is an affront to the genocide that was perpetrated in Ireland,” said the man from Co Offaly. “Should we mock our genocide, laugh at it?” Laws and morality Some in the audience sighed. “There should not be laws against this. There should be morals against it,” he said, to support from others. Austin Harney, who is active in Irish community groups in the UK, has been one of the most vocal in demanding that Channel 4 abandons the idea. “I didn’t find Blackadder or Father Ted offensive, but we have to draw the line here,” he said. “Why not make comedies about negro slavery? Why [not] make comedies about the Holocaust? I’m not going to be laughing about hundreds of thousands of people looking like skeletons in a comedy.” Comedian Gráinne McGuire disagreed. “I have been offended by comedy. I have been offended by really badly written, lazy, cliché-ridden, tedious comedy. That offends me. If we laugh at something, it means we are not afraid of it.” Sometimes, she argued, humour can mark the passage of grief. “It is our way of coping with the scary unknowingness of life; it shows that we are human and not scared. You can find the humour in anything.” Cliché as offence “If there is a sitcom written about the Famine, I’ll be more offended if all of the female characters only want to have babies and complain,” she said, to laughter. “I’ll find that more offensive than the fact that it is set during the Famine.” Jodie Ginsberg from the Index on Censorship campaign pointed out people had gathered in a Copenhagen restaurant last week for a similar discussion about free speech that ended in gunfire. “Some friends of mine joked earlier that they were practising their ducking [coming here],” she said, drily. “I feel extraordinarily passionate about this. What protects people’s ability to say something also protects your right to be offended.” Too often, the former Reuters Dublin bureau chief said, people confuse offence with harassment. “Of course, you may be offended, but there is no right not to be offended. There is a right not to face abuse or discrimination.” Satire is valuable, said Eddie Doyle, RTÉ’s head of comedy, since its undermines prejudice. “That’s the function of comedians, almost to be the advance party testing the frontiers of what is sayable in society.” Mr Clarke appeared to bring some to his side, when he described the Famine “as the Irish Holocaust”. “I don’t think it is [Hugh Travers’s] intention or Channel 4’s intention to mock the suffering. I think it is an original, unusual and difficult subject to do well. We may not pull it off and we may not develop it further, but I think we must be allowed.” * Topics: * Charlie Walsh * Eddie Doyle * Grainne Mcguire * Hugh Travers * Jodie Ginsberg * Mark Hennessy * Phil Clarke * Channel 4 * RTÉ Read More * No shame in laughing at famine satire * Big ideas for 2015: a famine sitcom, music, running, body painting and food * Famine historian criticises ‘unsavoury’ Channel 4 sitcom Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Art & Design Giant’s staircase: Utec, Lima has ‘opened up exciting new frontiers for Peruvian architecture’. Photograph: Grafton Architects, Iwan Baan Studio Bravo Lima: the Irish architects designing the ‘new geography’ * People Impossibly photogenic: the Tiger’s Nest, or Taktsang Palphug, monastery, Bhutan’s most sacred site. Photograph: EyesWideOpen/Getty Bhutan: the price of paradise * Film Michael B Jordan and Sylvester Stallone in Creed ‘Apollo Creed meant everything to African-Americans’ * Health & Family Make breakfast a priority and have some oats with fruit perhaps. Photograph: Thinkstock 25 ways to leave your love handles ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268891|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=TV ,+Radio,+Web;kvcat=arts,+culture+and+entertainment;kvorg=Channel+4:RTÉ; cookie=info;] ADVERTISEMENT The Irish Times Logo Sign In Email Address ____________________ Password ____________________ [ ] I agree to the Terms & Conditions, Community Standards and Privacy Policy (BUTTON) Sign In Don't have an account? Sign Up Forgot Password? The Irish Times Logo Sign Up First Name ____________________ Surname ____________________ Screen Name ____________________ The name that will appear beside your comments. 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Please check your email to verify your account. (BUTTON) Sign In (BUTTON) Close Your Comments Sign In Sign Out We reserve the right to remove any content at any time from this Community, including without limitation if it violates the Community Standards. We ask that you report content that you in good faith believe violates the above rules by clicking the Flag link next to the offending comment or by filling out this form. New comments are only accepted for 3 days from the date of publication. ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268890|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=TV ,+Radio,+Web;kvcat=arts,+culture+and+entertainment;kvorg=Channel+4:RTÉ; cookie=info;] Most Read in Culture 1 Family sugar audit: Eva Orsmond with Louise and Ollie Ryan Television: A sugar-crash course in how we are poisoning ourselves 2 Michael B Jordan and Sylvester Stallone in Creed ‘Apollo Creed meant everything to African-Americans’ 3 Did Philip K Dick dream of electric sheep? Much worse 4 Final bow: Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc at the end of the final Friends, in 2004 Friends: they lived perfect lives in a time of plenty. Of course we want them back 5 ‘I think cognitive enhancers should be allowed for academics’ Unthinkable: Is it unethical to take brain stimulants? 6 Dublin Rapper Tommy KD: “I never dreamt I’d be doing stuff like this, like getting the album out or playing my own shows. But at the same time, it’s important to say that everything’s not rosy.” Photograph: Cyril Byrne / THE IRISH TIMES Tommy KD: the Dublin rapper with one of the toughest stories in Irish music 7 Giant’s staircase: Utec, Lima has ‘opened up exciting new frontiers for Peruvian architecture’. Photograph: Grafton Architects, Iwan Baan Studio Bravo Lima: the Irish architects designing the ‘new geography’ 8 Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards: And the nominees are . . . 9 Joseph O’Connor on David Bowie, pictured here in 1965: “Kurt Vonnegut once wrote that the only plausible mission of the artist is ‘to make people feel they’re glad to be alive, at least a little bit.’ There are not many artists who’ve ever managed to achieve that highest of accolades. In my own life, David Bowie was one of them. He was part of my soundtrack, my passport, my pillow. I feel I was enriched to be around during his spell on the planet.” Photograph: CA/Redferns/Getty Images David Bowie: Irish writers pay tribute 10 The dialogues the author creates between Plato and various contemporary characters, including a marketing agent, a Google employee, a Tiger Mum, a radio host and a neuroscientist, convincingly demonstrate the value of continuing the job that Socrates started in ancient Greece. But they also show just why Plato would struggle to be heard today. Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won’t Go Away, by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein Never miss a story. 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For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X Eight works of Chinese fiction Make it your Chinese New Year’s resolution to get to know some of that country’s best novels Thu, Feb 19, 2015, 14:30 Eileen Battersby See also: Eileen Battersby''s review of Soul Mountain - a romantic book by a pragmatist 1FISHINGROD_WEB Buying a Fishing Rod for My Grandfather by Gao Xingjian (Translation by Mabel Lee) Having read Soul Mountain, you may feel that you have found a friend in Gao. You have. These gentle stories, scenes from a life and shaped by memory, are things of beauty. Also interesting is One Man’s Bible, which is on the scale of Soul Mountain and tells the story of Gao’s Beijing childhood and later memories of life under communism where a foolish remark has a heavy price 2THE_VAGRANTS_WEB The Vagrants by Yiyun Li No one who had read and admired her first book, the collection A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, winner of the inaugural Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award would have believed that Yiyun Li, who writes in English, would have crafted this devastating (it is the only word worthy of it) novel in which a young woman, Gu Shan is executed for her loss of faith in the Communist idea. Her death comes after 10 years in prison. In any list of all-time great novels this would have its place. Harrowing and unflinching, it is beyond praise. The strength of the story telling which includes the vile treatment of the young woman’s dead body; is to be found in Yiyun’s inspired characterisation of the bereft parents, the father an intellectual bewildered at his daughter’s fervour; and the mother, broken-hearted by the loss of her only child. Ironically, Yiyun Li’s second collection of short stories, Gold Boy, Emerald Girl, which was also short-listed for the Frank O’Connor International Award yet failed to win, is even better than her winning debut. 3WAVES_300_438_WEB Waves by Bei Dao (translated by Bonnie S. McDougall and Susette Ternent Cooke) This first, and to date, only work of fiction from Bei Dao (meaning “Northern Island”) is the pen name of Zhao Zhenkai, widely considered one of China’s finest poets and the main figure of the Misty Poets who denounced the Cultural Revolution. It consists of the title novella and six other stories. Waves is the one to look at as it is a study of the shared disillusion of China’s Lost Generation. It was written during the closing stages of the Cultural Revolution, and the various characters, thieves, drifters and factory workers as well as the expected intellectuals seek something to give their lives purpose. His treatment of social class is particularly interesting. 4USEDTODYING_WEB Getting Used to Dying by Zhang Xianliang (translated by Martha Avery) Having spent 22 years in prison and forced labour camps as an “Enemy of the People”, Zhang Xianliang began writing after his “rehabilitation”. This autobiographical novel is the story of how difficult it is to survive. He is a witness and this also undercuts another of his books Half of Man is Woman (also translated by Avery) in which he not only told the political truths, he dared to write about the taboo sexual longing which both consoled and tormented people left with no hope. 5TRAVELLINGCOUCH_WEB Mr Muo’s Travelling Couch by Dai Sijie (translated from the French by Ina Rilke) The follow-up novel to his bestselling Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, this is a delightfully crazy picaresque in which the eponymous hero returns to China from Paris, intent on rescuing his first love. He had heard that she has been imprisoned for selling an article to a foreign newspaper. It is all a bit more complicated than that, and very clever in that particularly French way. Rather more sombre is his Once on a Moonless Night which is about a search for an ancient text. It is also a love story and most movingly of all for a writer who enjoys his jokes, at times overly so, it is about language and identity. 6PERFECTCRIME_WEB A Perfect Crime by A Yi (translated by Anna Holmwood) Previously known as Cat and Mouse, this impressively nasty account of a motiveless murder could well be said to mark a fiendishly clever point where Albert Camus nods benignly to Bret Easton Ellis. A Yi is known to readers of Granta, and the deadpan tone of the narrative does shock and compel in equal measure. The teenage protagonist is also aware of Dostoevsky. It is as much about the society in which it takes place as it is about the killer or the crime. Interesting to see how shocked he becomes while watching someone else coldly murder a cat. 7DREAMOFDING_WEB Dream of Ding Village by Yan Lianke (translation by Cindy Carter) “I died not from the fever, not from Aids, but because my dad had run a blood-collection station in Ding Village ten years earlier. He bought blood from the villagers and resold it for a profit. I died because my dad was the biggest blood merchant not just in Ding Village ... but in ... dozens of other villages for miles around.” The narrator, the dead boy, tells the story, based on real events, about how a blood-selling racket which developed into an expected blood-contamination scandal created a tragedy that was both heart breaking and absurd. Yan Lianke, never a writer given to coyness, in this satiric allegory about a community in which innocent greed, selling one’s own blood, was viciously exploited by heartless crooks. Once the deaths began to multiply, the blood-buying merchants then turn their attention to the next obvious scam, selling coffins. Yan Lianke’s most recent novel, The Four Books, due out next month in an English translation by Carlos Rojas, confronts his country’s most shocking taboo, The Great Famine. It is heavy duty polemical satire at its most candid. 8DICTIONARY_WEB A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo Written in deliberately bad English, this is a wonderful comic romance from the gifted film maker/writer who was born in a fishing village in South China and has mastered English. Village of Stone, her first novel to be published outside China (translated by Cindy Carter) is based partly on her early years, trying to fit into village life. It is a very good novel. 20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth followed A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers, and it follows the personal story of a girl, clearly her, intent on seeking a career in film-making. Her voice is really special; sharp and funny, highly intelligent and brilliantly observed. UFO in Her Eyes, set in 2012, tells what happens next after Kwok Yun, when cycling along minding her own business, sights an UFThing and investigates. I Am China is the story of a romance unfolding against a political backdrop. Based in London since 2004, Xiaolu Guo brings a sense of detached ease to her work, her anger is ironic. Every word seems to count, and she brings a film maker’s eye to her imagery. Anyone on the lookout for an original and astute insight into contemporary Chinese life and the lives of the younger Chinese cultural exiles living abroad will learn a great deal from her writing. Subscribe. [image.jpg] Click here to sign up to the Irish Times Book Club More from The Irish Times * Books Lebanon * Music Pop Corner: Selena marks her ex’s spot; Zayn chaffed at control * People Impossibly photogenic: the Tiger’s Nest, or Taktsang Palphug, monastery, Bhutan’s most sacred site. Photograph: EyesWideOpen/Getty Bhutan: the price of paradise * Opinion “The Red Hand, that ubiquitous symbol of Ulster, straddles the political and sectarian divide.” Right hand, wrong foot – An Irishman’s Diary about political and religious symbolism ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268859|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Bo oks;cookie=info;] ADVERTISEMENT The Irish Times Logo Sign In Email Address ____________________ Password ____________________ [ ] I agree to the Terms & Conditions, Community Standards and Privacy Policy (BUTTON) Sign In Don't have an account? Sign Up Forgot Password? The Irish Times Logo Sign Up First Name ____________________ Surname ____________________ Screen Name ____________________ The name that will appear beside your comments. 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ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268858|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Bo oks;cookie=info;] [image.jpg] IFRAME: https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/playl ists/72151780&color=b74f7d&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comm ents=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false Subscribe on iTunes Follow on Soundcloud Listen on Stitcher Thomas Morris: the stories may not range very far geographically, but Morris manages to display remarkable range for a young man in his cast of characters, proving himself equally at home in a middle-aged woman’s heels or an old man’s slippers. The Book Club Click to join in the discussion about this month's book: We Don't Know What We're Doing by Thomas Morris Hennessy short story of the month How to Float by Niamh Donnelly: Two girls drift through a polluted paradise in this month’s winning Hennessy New Irish Writing short story Most Read in Culture 1 Family sugar audit: Eva Orsmond with Louise and Ollie Ryan Television: A sugar-crash course in how we are poisoning ourselves 2 Michael B Jordan and Sylvester Stallone in Creed ‘Apollo Creed meant everything to African-Americans’ 3 Did Philip K Dick dream of electric sheep? Much worse 4 Final bow: Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc at the end of the final Friends, in 2004 Friends: they lived perfect lives in a time of plenty. Of course we want them back 5 ‘I think cognitive enhancers should be allowed for academics’ Unthinkable: Is it unethical to take brain stimulants? Never miss a story. SUBSCRIBE IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2FIrishTimesBooks&width=292&height=258&colorscheme=light&show_faces =true&header=false&stream=false&show_border=true Short stories All the Boys, a short story by Thomas Morris Eilís Ni Dhúibhne New Zealand Flax, a short story by Eílís Ní Dhuibhne Alan McMonagle: has written two collections of short stories, Liar Liar (Wordsonthestreet, 2008) and Psychotic Episodes (Arlen House, 2013) and has just signed two-book deal with Picador Bleeding Boy, a short story by Alan McMonagle Book reviews At Home in the Revolution review: the Rising’s clan na gals Review: Perspectives for a pathbreaker 1916: A Global History review: midpoint for a world engulfed in war High Treason: The Appeal of Roger Casement. By courtesy of Rosensteil’s on behalf of the Estate of Sir John Lavery UK Government Art Collection Making 1916: The stuff of history John De Lorean: a high-octane outline, a glittering absence, always on the move. It’s tempting to see him simply as a gambler where the game always means more than the outcome. But he was also a talented engineer and an innovator, responsible for that classic muscle car the Pontiac Firebird. Photograph: PA Gull by Glenn Patterson: John DeLorean, taking us all for one hell of a ride Sign up to the weekly Irish Times books newsletter for features, podcasts and more Google ID ____________________ Name ____________________ Surname ____________________ Email ____________________ (BUTTON) Sign Up [X] I would also like to receive occasional update emails from The Irish Times New poetry Lebanon Liz Quirke Poems: Nurture and Juno Eva Gore-Booth and Con Markiewicz: inspiration for WB Yeats, Kevin McAleer, Fintan O’Toole ... and you? Photograph: Sligo County Library Improve on Kevin McAleer’s WB Yeats meme: win two silk kimonos and gazelle* Great reads From crosswords to great wines and the best bits from The Irish Times - Buy an Irish Times Book today Brought to Book What lessons has Danielle McLaughlin learned about life from reading? “To question. To see things from different viewpoints. That there are as many versions of a particular story as there are people involved. That some stories don’t get told at all” Danielle McLaughlin: ‘I think we need different books at different times’ Frankie Gaffney: I did fill an artist’s notebook with anecdotes and phrases once I’d decided to write a book. I’d recommend this to anyone; daily life is instantly transformed into research, and life itself becomes more rewarding when you start finding and recording value in the mundane Frankie Gaffney’s advice to writers: ‘give up the booze and break some rules’ Shelved: a selection of books by Irish women writers. 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For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X Cartoons for the Cause – An Irishman’s Diary about the ‘Lepracaun’ magazine The cartoonist wing of the nationalist movement Fri, Feb 13, 2015, 01:00 Frank McNally A cartoon from the ‘Lepracaun’. Illustration courtesy of Dublin City Public Libraries A cartoon from the ‘Lepracaun’. Illustration courtesy of Dublin City Public Libraries Before the actual shooting of Ireland’s revolutionary period began, to paraphrase Declan Kiberd, there was a preliminary war in which the weapons were all ideas. They were deployed in poetry and plays, songs and speeches. But among the skirmishers in this intellectual conflict, there was also a monthly satirical magazine called the Lepracaun. First published in 1905, it lasted 10 years, during which time it formed the cartoonist wing of the nationalist movement. As such, it provided a much-needed defence against the depredations of Punch, whose racist depictions of the ape-like Irish purported to inform opinion elsewhere. The Lepracaun was founded by, and largely the work of, Thomas Fitzpatrick, then one of the leading political cartoonists in Ireland, although today probably best known as a grandfather of Jim, he of the Celtic art, Thin Lizzy album covers, and the famous Che Guevara poster. There’s an oral tradition, entertaining but probably untrue, that James Joyce was also a contributor to the Lepracaun. And he certainly had an interest in that sort of thing. In fact, in 1903, before departing for exile, he thought about setting up his own humour magazine, to be called the Hobgoblin. Nothing came of that, unfortunately, and he was reduced to writing literature in the end. We also know that, while in Italy in 1906, he did read and enjoy the Leprechaun, which somebody had sent him. But the nearest any scholars have come to connecting him with the editorial production was his own stated concerns at the possibility that a satirical poem in the magazine, signed only by the name “Joyce”, would be mistaken for his work. Even by the standards of its time, the Lepracaun was no Charlie Hebdo. Fitzpatrick’s satire was more gentle than savage, and after a 15-year hiatus in which the Irish market had been without any rival to Punch, it was also very popular. Maybe the shortage of political humour during the preceding decade and a half was part of the hangover that followed the death of Parnell, when nationalism split down the middle. Indeed Fitzpatrick had made his name in part through his work for the anti-Parnellite papers. But this was as likely due to professional expediency as any particular conviction. In any case, his personal popularity and the quality of the drawings ensured a broad welcome for the Lepracaun. Even the then-unionist Irish Times rolled out the carpet for what it called a “capital and entertaining little periodical”. Gentle as it might be, the Lepracaun was not afraid to take on big targets on occasion. Among its apolitical satires, for example, was a well-aimed shot at Guinness, after that brewing behemoth doubled profits in a short period by forcing publicans not to stock rival brands. And although it tended to support John Redmond’s Irish Party, it also betrayed impatience with those Westminster veterans for whom, as we now know, the tide of history was about to go out. Fitzpatrick, sad to say, would not live to portray the turbulent decade whose centenaries are now upon us. He died in 1912, aged only 52. Thereafter, the magazine was continued by his daughter Mary and by another top cartoonist, John F O’Hea. It remained a vibrant publication throughout the 1913 Lockout, in which it criticised both the employers and unions, while sympathising with the public caught between. And it also survived the first months of the war, taking a Redmondite line, with some qualification. But it was probably itself one of the victims of the conflict. In its last issues, there was a precipitous fall in standards, suggesting a shortage of artistic talent if not of staff in general. Then, in February 1915, it quietly disappeared. A century later, Dublin City Council has commissioned a history of the Lepracaun as part of its Decade of Commemorations series. To be published next week by Four Courts Press, this sets the magazine in its sociopolitical context, with commentary by James Curry of NUI Galway’s Moore Institute, and Ciarán Wallace, from the Centre for Contemporary Irish History in Trinity College Dublin. The book will have a preface by the aforementioned Jim Fitzpatrick. And to prove that it’s not just Irish politicians who form dynasties, there will be yet another generation of the family involved. The book’s cover is a 21st-century update on the Lepracaun’s original front page designed by Conánn, son of Jim, great-grandson of Thomas, and the latest in a long line of Fitzpatricks to take up pencils for Ireland. @FrankmcnallyIT Read More * Shady characters, scarlet letters – An Irishman’s Diary about typos * Rebel balladeer without a cause – An Irishman’s Diary about John Todhunter * Damnation once again – An Irishman’s Diary about Dante’s Inferno Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Stage Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards: And the nominees are . . . * Books Lebanon * People Impossibly photogenic: the Tiger’s Nest, or Taktsang Palphug, monastery, Bhutan’s most sacred site. 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Much worse 4 Final bow: Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc at the end of the final Friends, in 2004 Friends: they lived perfect lives in a time of plenty. Of course we want them back 5 ‘I think cognitive enhancers should be allowed for academics’ Unthinkable: Is it unethical to take brain stimulants? 6 Dublin Rapper Tommy KD: “I never dreamt I’d be doing stuff like this, like getting the album out or playing my own shows. But at the same time, it’s important to say that everything’s not rosy.” Photograph: Cyril Byrne / THE IRISH TIMES Tommy KD: the Dublin rapper with one of the toughest stories in Irish music 7 Giant’s staircase: Utec, Lima has ‘opened up exciting new frontiers for Peruvian architecture’. Photograph: Grafton Architects, Iwan Baan Studio Bravo Lima: the Irish architects designing the ‘new geography’ 8 Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards: And the nominees are . . . 9 Joseph O’Connor on David Bowie, pictured here in 1965: “Kurt Vonnegut once wrote that the only plausible mission of the artist is ‘to make people feel they’re glad to be alive, at least a little bit.’ There are not many artists who’ve ever managed to achieve that highest of accolades. In my own life, David Bowie was one of them. He was part of my soundtrack, my passport, my pillow. I feel I was enriched to be around during his spell on the planet.” Photograph: CA/Redferns/Getty Images David Bowie: Irish writers pay tribute 10 The dialogues the author creates between Plato and various contemporary characters, including a marketing agent, a Google employee, a Tiger Mum, a radio host and a neuroscientist, convincingly demonstrate the value of continuing the job that Socrates started in ancient Greece. 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For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X Jon Stewart leaves ‘The Daily Show’ on a career high Show became the satirical prism through which many viewed the US political process Wed, Feb 11, 2015, 10:41 Updated: Wed, Feb 11, 2015, 12:15 Jon Stewart laughs during a taping break while interviewing President Barack Obama on the set of The Daily Show in 2012. Stewart, whose show became a nightly home to sharp-edged political satire, has announced that he would leave the show later this year. Photograph: Damon Winter/The New York Times Jon Stewart laughs during a taping break while interviewing President Barack Obama on the set of The Daily Show in 2012. Stewart, whose show became a nightly home to sharp-edged political satire, has announced that he would leave the show later this year. Photograph: Damon Winter/The New York Times Jon Stewart, who turned Comedy Central’s The Daily Show into a sharp-edged commentary on current events, delivering the news in layers of silliness and mockery, has announced that he is to step down after more than 16 years as its anchor. Stewart, whose contract with Comedy Central ends in September, disclosed his plans during a taping of the program on Tuesday. Saying that “in my heart, I know it is time for someone else” to have the opportunity he had, Stewart told his audience that he was still working out the details of his departure, which “might be December, might be July.” “I don’t have any specific plans,” Stewart said, addressing the camera at the end of his show, at times seeming close to tears. “Got a lot of ideas. I got a lot of things in my head. I’m going to have dinner on a school night with my family, who I have heard from multiple sources are lovely people.” The Daily Show IFRAME: https://www.youtube.com/embed/8KM_kGxVUJw Jon Stewart breaks the news of his departure “I’m not going anywhere tomorrow,” Stewart added, “but this show doesn’t deserve an even slightly restless host, and neither do you.” Comedy Central did not elaborate on the future of the show, except to say that it “will endure for years to come.” In becoming America’s satirist in chief, Stewart imbued the program with a personal sense of justice, even indignation. For a segment of the audience that had lost its faith in broadcast and print news outlets or never regarded them as sacrosanct in the first place, Stewart emerged a figure as trusted as Walter Cronkite or Edward R Murrow. Stewart (52) became the host of The Daily Show in 1999, entering with the identity of a hard-working standup, if not necessarily an astute political commentator. A decade and a half later, his satirical sensibility helped turn The Daily Show, where he also serves as an executive producer, into an influential platform for news and media commentary, both in the United States and around the world. The program - which averaged a respectable 2.2 million viewers a night last year - has been a humorous release valve for politically frustrated (often left-leaning) viewers and a bête noire of (often right-leaning) critics who saw him as a member of the liberal media elite. As recently as Monday night on the show, Stewart had been taking aim at the recent scandal that has engulfed the NBC news anchor Brian Williams, a frequent Daily Show guest who on Tuesday was suspended without pay for six months. Stewart cast him as a journalist with a propensity for personal exaggeration and commented on the failure of the news media to thoroughly question the underpinnings of the Iraq War. Speaking of Williams, Stewart said, “See, I see the problem. We got us a case here of infotainment confusion syndrome.” Noting the widespread media coverage of Williams’ woes, Stewart wryly added, “Finally someone is being held to account for misleading America about the Iraq War.” Created by Lizz Winstead and Madeleine Smithberg, The Daily Show had its debut in 1996 with Craig Kilborn, the former SportsCenter anchor, gaining buzz for its mixture of “Weekend Update”-style, news-driven comedy and Kilborn’s sarcastic celebrity interviews. Under Stewart, The Daily Show made Comedy Central a formidable player in late-night entertainment, a field that had largely belonged to the broadcast networks and programs such as David Letterman’s Late Show (on CBS) and Jay Leno’s Tonight Show (on NBC). During Stewart’s tenure, The Daily Show won 20 Emmy Awards, including numerous trophies for outstanding variety series and outstanding writing of a variety series. The program also became remarkable for its success rate in boosting the careers of other comedic talents, who generally started out as on-air correspondents on The Daily Show. Stephen Colbert used the show to refine his persona as a blowhard commentator and parlay it into his own companion series on Comedy Central, The Colbert Report. In April, CBS announced that Colbert would succeed Letterman as the host of its Late Show. Steve Carell, who went on to become the lead actor of NBC’s The Office and an Academy Award-nominated star of Foxcatcher, broke through as a Daily Show correspondent under Stewart. So did John Oliver, now the host of HBO’s news satire program Last Week Tonight, and Larry Wilmore, who now hosts Comedy Central’s Nightly Show, following The Daily Show. For a generation of television viewers, Stewart and his “Indecision” coverage of presidential and congressional elections became the satirical prism through which they viewed the American political process. Stewart spoke for audience members who became jaded about electoral democracy (some before they were old enough to vote) and was often cited as a primary source of information for a viewership that had given up on the staid evening-news programs of the broadcast networks and the shouting-match arenas of cable television. Whether or not they shared Stewart’s viewpoints, guests from across the political and media spectrums frequently appeared on The Daily Show to promote projects and discuss current events. President Barack Obama gave interviews to Stewart (including one in October 2012, with that year’s presidential campaign in full swing). So too did former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton; Hillary Rodham Clinton; John McCain; Mike Huckabee; and Nancy Pelosi. Bill O’Reilly, the host of The O’Reilly Factor on Fox News and a frequent critic of Stewart’s, was nonetheless a willing and able sparring partner, and often appeared on The Daily Show or invited Stewart onto his show for boisterous debates. Stewart saw no need to pretend to be a neutral host, and sometimes confronted his targets on their home turf. During an October 2004 appearance on the CNN program Crossfire, Stewart criticised its hosts Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson as “partisan hacks” who were participating in mere “theater,” and said to them: “Stop hurting America.” In the summer of 2013, Stewart took a hiatus from The Daily Show to direct a movie, “Rosewater,” adapted from a memoir by Maziar Bahari, an Iranian-born journalist who had been held prisoner in Iran for 118 days after reporting on its disputed 2009 election. Speaking about why he pursued the Rosewater project, Stewart told The New York Times that his desire to celebrate journalists like Bahari was no different from his impulse to make fun of others on The Daily Show. “The only reason you mock something is when it doesn’t live up to the ideal,” Stewart said. “There’s a huge difference between what these journalists are doing on the ground, and the perversion of it that is the 24-hour news networks.” NYT Read More * NBC News presenter suspended over false war story * Jon Stewart to leave The Daily Show * Why TV news has lost all its moral authority Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Crime & Law Gardaí search the Grand Canal bank in Ardclough, Co Kildare, where the body of a man was found in a suitcase on Saturday afternoon. Photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times. Gardaí say remains those of man who died in recent days * Opinion “The takeaway message from its negative poster this week might be that it has ceded control of the narrative to Fine Gael.” Photograph: Eric Luke / The Irish Times Fianna Fáil is changing but not quickly enough * European Cup Leinster’s Sean Cronin celebrates after scoring a try in their clash with Bath in the European Champions Cup. Photo: Billy Stickland/Inpho Fountain of youth comes good for Leinster with fighting victory * Politics Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, flanked by party colleagues, waves to supporters after his ardfheis speech at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin. 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For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X Ireland’s ‘Charlie Hebdo’: the remarkable run of Dublin Opinion Founded in 1922, the satirical magazine poked fun at governments for almost 50 years Tue, Feb 10, 2015, 15:56 Updated: Tue, Feb 10, 2015, 16:15 Felix M Larkin Eamon de Valera was often the butt of Dublin Opinion’s satire. When he sought to replace PR with the “straight vote” system, this cartoon, capitalising on de Valera’s reputation as a maths genius, had him standing at Broom Bridge in Dublin – famously associated with Rowan Hamilton’s discovery of the formula for quaternion multiplication – and chalking up on the side of the bridge this formula: FF - PR = FF to the power of N. The March 1925 issue featured a full-length portrait of de Valera, so tall that his head pushes the top border of the cartoon upwards and distorts the text above it, with the caption “High Treason” Eamon de Valera was often the butt of Dublin Opinion’s satire. When he sought to replace PR with the “straight vote” system, this cartoon, capitalising on de Valera’s reputation as a maths genius, had him standing at Broom Bridge in Dublin – famously associated with Rowan Hamilton’s discovery of the formula for quaternion multiplication – and chalking up on the side of the bridge this formula: FF - PR = FF to the power of N. The March 1925 issue featured a full-length portrait of de Valera, so tall that his head pushes the top border of the cartoon upwards and distorts the text above it, with the caption “High Treason” When recently I published an essay on Ireland’s most celebrated satirical magazine, Dublin Opinion, little did I know that soon afterwards the tragic Charlie Hebdo massacre would spark off a lively debate about the extent to which a cartoon may offend. I have long had an interest in the history of political cartoons. I had previously written about the “Shemus” cartoons that appeared in the Freeman’s Journal from 1920 to 1924, and writing about Dublin Opinion was a logical follow-on from that. My essay appears in Periodicals and journalism in twentieth-century Ireland, published by Four Courts Press and edited by Mark O’Brien and myself. It is a collection of short studies of Irish periodicals ranging from Griffith’s United Irishman and An Claidheamh Soluis, through the Irish Statesman and The Bell, to Hibernia, Hot Press and Magill. Dublin Opinion was founded in March 1922 by Arthur Booth and Charles E Kelly. They were soon joined by Tom Collins. Collins was the main writer; Booth and Kelly would contribute mostly cartoons, the latter signing his distinctive work as ‘C.E.K.’. Booth was the first editor. When he died of tuberculosis in 1926, Kelly and Collins became joint editors – and they continued in that partnership for the next 42 years. They were both civil servants, and Kelly enjoyed a conspicuously successful career. He was director of broadcasting for Radio Éireann from 1948 to 1952 and later director of the Post Office Savings Bank. Collins retired from the civil service in 1934 to work full-time on Dublin Opinion. Dublin Opinion was published monthly, a miscellany of quips, short articles, poems and cartoons – all in a humorous vein, but with serious intent. Its masthead initially included a subtitle in Irish that translated as “Seriousness in humour”. The journal, without sacrificing its humour, always retained the capacity for conveying a serious message – and the message had greater impact because it was delivered in a humorous way. More generally, it saw humour as an inherently serious matter: to quote Kelly, “true humour is not idle words ... but has a useful function as a corrective of folly, pomposity and injustice”. Dublin Opinion would claim “that humour is the safety valve of a nation, and that a nation which has its values right will always be able to laugh at itself”. Kelly characterised its policy as one of giving “kindly criticism ... without inflicting pain” – and he stated that “the successful critical cartoon or article was one which made the victim (if there was one) laugh”. Its political bias has been aptly described as “being humorously ‘agin’ whatever government may be in power”. This meant that it did occasionally fall foul of politicians – a serious matter for Kelly, since he was a serving civil servant. One such occasion was shortly after Fianna Fáil had been defeated in the 1948 general election. Fianna Fáil took exception to a cartoon which was, admittedly, favourable towards the new government. It showed the ministers all superstitiously touching the cabinet table, with the caption: “The government, feeling that things are going with an almost alarming smoothness, touches wood”. The matter was raised in the Dáil by two former ministers, Seán MacEntee and PJ Little. MacEntee described Dublin Opinion as “a certain party political journal published monthly in this country which has been consistently anti-Fianna Fáil”, while Little complained that “a permanent official is running a monthly magazine which has taken sides in politics with considerable emphasis”. He continued: “The Minister will have to take very grave notice of the completely partisan attitude taken up in that paper”. The Minister in question, James Everett, defended Kelly – and his civil service career was not adversely affected. More usually, however, Irish politicians were as amused as everyone else by the fare on offer in Dublin Opinion, and most recognised its value in reducing the deep-seated tensions in Irish public life in the aftermath of the civil war. Seán T. O’Kelly once praised it for “pouring, month after month, the balm of laughter on our wounds”. There are many jocund references to Dublin Opinion in the Dáil debates, further testimony to its acceptance by the political establishment. But it could be very tough. A notable instance of this was the cover of its March 1925 issue. It featured a full length portrait of de Valera, so tall that his head pushes the top border of the cartoon upwards and distorts the text above it, with the caption “High Treason”. For some, that might have been as outrageous as a cartoon about the prophet Muhammad. De Valera was always a target of Dublin Opinion’s humour. It held de Valera largely responsible for the persistence of civil war divisions, and it ridiculed what it perceived as his autocratic tendencies. In the 1950s, it was exasperated by his determination to hold on to power – and this exasperation fuelled its campaign against de Valera’s proposal to change the voting system in 1959. De Valera’s 1937 constitution had retained proportional representation – PR – but Fianna Fáil’s defeat in general elections in 1948 and 1954 caused de Valera to seek to replace PR with the “straight vote” system. Dublin Opinion stoutly defended PR in two remarkable cartoons. The first, capitalising on de Valera’s reputation as a mathematics genius, had him standing at Broom Bridge in Dublin – famously associated with Rowan Hamilton’s discovery of the formula for quaternion multiplication – and chalking up on the side of the bridge this formula: FF - PR = FF to the power of N. The other cartoon set out the issue at stake with devastating clarity. It featured a schoolroom with three boys of differing heights standing at a blackboard on which their teacher had drawn three apples, and the teacher explains: “Under PR, each boy gets an apple; under the ‘straight vote’, the biggest boy gets the lot”. The referendum to abolish PR was lost by a narrow margin – less than 4 per cent – and Dublin Opinion’s campaign was widely credited with having had a huge influence on the outcome. It celebrated with the quip: “A Straight Vote has retained PR”. Arguably, this was its finest hour. In the 1960s the circulation of Dublin Opinion – which had remained constant at over 40,000 per issue since 1925 – began to decline. The politicians whom it had learned to lampoon so brilliantly were passing from the scene, and it did not have the measure of the next generation. Moreover, its humour now seemed very timid compared to the vicious satire in, for example, the British magazine Private Eye and the BBC television programme That was the week that was. Kelly and Collins sold up in 1968, though the journal struggled on under new ownership for a brief period afterwards – a pale shadow of its former self. * Topics: * Felix M Larkin * Dublin Opinion Read More * Children’s book reviews: a trio of compelling stories * Easter Rising books reviewed: the rebels who launched 1,000 volumes * At Home in the Revolution review: the Rising’s clan na gals * Review: Perspectives for a pathbreaker Subscribe. [image.jpg] Click here to sign up to the Irish Times Book Club More from The Irish Times * Books Lebanon * Music Pop Corner: Selena marks her ex’s spot; Zayn chaffed at control * People Impossibly photogenic: the Tiger’s Nest, or Taktsang Palphug, monastery, Bhutan’s most sacred site. 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The Book Club Click to join in the discussion about this month's book: We Don't Know What We're Doing by Thomas Morris Hennessy short story of the month How to Float by Niamh Donnelly: Two girls drift through a polluted paradise in this month’s winning Hennessy New Irish Writing short story Most Read in Culture 1 Family sugar audit: Eva Orsmond with Louise and Ollie Ryan Television: A sugar-crash course in how we are poisoning ourselves 2 Michael B Jordan and Sylvester Stallone in Creed ‘Apollo Creed meant everything to African-Americans’ 3 Did Philip K Dick dream of electric sheep? Much worse 4 Final bow: Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc at the end of the final Friends, in 2004 Friends: they lived perfect lives in a time of plenty. Of course we want them back 5 ‘I think cognitive enhancers should be allowed for academics’ Unthinkable: Is it unethical to take brain stimulants? Never miss a story. SUBSCRIBE IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2FIrishTimesBooks&width=292&height=258&colorscheme=light&show_faces =true&header=false&stream=false&show_border=true Short stories All the Boys, a short story by Thomas Morris Eilís Ni Dhúibhne New Zealand Flax, a short story by Eílís Ní Dhuibhne Alan McMonagle: has written two collections of short stories, Liar Liar (Wordsonthestreet, 2008) and Psychotic Episodes (Arlen House, 2013) and has just signed two-book deal with Picador Bleeding Boy, a short story by Alan McMonagle Book reviews At Home in the Revolution review: the Rising’s clan na gals Review: Perspectives for a pathbreaker 1916: A Global History review: midpoint for a world engulfed in war High Treason: The Appeal of Roger Casement. By courtesy of Rosensteil’s on behalf of the Estate of Sir John Lavery UK Government Art Collection Making 1916: The stuff of history John De Lorean: a high-octane outline, a glittering absence, always on the move. It’s tempting to see him simply as a gambler where the game always means more than the outcome. But he was also a talented engineer and an innovator, responsible for that classic muscle car the Pontiac Firebird. Photograph: PA Gull by Glenn Patterson: John DeLorean, taking us all for one hell of a ride Sign up to the weekly Irish Times books newsletter for features, podcasts and more Google ID ____________________ Name ____________________ Surname ____________________ Email ____________________ (BUTTON) Sign Up [X] I would also like to receive occasional update emails from The Irish Times New poetry Lebanon Liz Quirke Poems: Nurture and Juno Eva Gore-Booth and Con Markiewicz: inspiration for WB Yeats, Kevin McAleer, Fintan O’Toole ... and you? 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For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X How smart is Apple’s attempt to woo the rich? Smart wearable devices are becoming increasingly popular but has Apple’s watch missed the mark Mon, Mar 16, 2015, 01:45 Updated: Mon, Mar 16, 2015, 16:22 Davin O'Dwyer Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, speaks about the Apple Watch. Photograph: Jim Wilson/The New York Times Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, speaks about the Apple Watch. Photograph: Jim Wilson/The New York Times It is a rule of consumer technology that prices fall: what starts as an unfeasibly expensive gizmo eventually becomes affordable and accessible. The textbook example of recent decades is the mobile phone. Not long ago mobiles were the preserve of the obnoxiously rich, eager to signal their affluence, but gradually became so ubiquitous they now outnumber humans. Belying that downward price pattern is no easy feat, which is what makes Vertu one of the oddest and most fascinating mobile phone companies. The English-based company was started in the late 1990s by Nokia after its chief designer, an American named Frank Nuovo, determined that there was a lucrative market in mobiles for the extremely rich. They launched their first phone, or “communications instrument” as they liked to call it, at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris in 2002, with an attention-grabbing price of $7,549 (€7,111). “I wanted to take something as unlikely as a communications technology and present it as art,” said Nuovo at the time. But far from being art, the Signature was a gaudily blinged-up version of a Nokia, and the entire Vertu concept seemed like an exercise in satire, an elaborate joke at the expense of rich fools. The most expensive “Platinum Diamond” model cost $35,275 for goodness sake. When dumb phones were rendered obsolete by smartphones five years later, it seemed like the Vertu strategy was up – surely no one would fork out $15,000 for a technically limited handset when $500 could get you an iPhone? Right? Well, it seems there really are enough people who value status signalling more than having the best device available, because Vertu has managed to survive, sold by Nokia a few years ago and now offering insanely expensive handcrafted Android smartphones starting at $10,300, including models featuring lizard- and alligator-skin backings. Truly, Vertu’s success in extracting cash from the rich can only be explained by seeing the phones as a “Veblen good”, a commodity “whose demand is proportional to their price”, according to Wikipedia. Crudely put, the appeal is directly linked to how expensive it is. And the rise of these sorts of goods has to be seen through the prism of record wealth inequality, a technological by-product of Piketty-isation, so to speak. The growing wealth of the global top 1 per cent has led to huge demand for “luxury” goods that serve merely to signal one’s membership of the top 1 per cent. Which brings us to the Apple Watch, remarkable for being arguably less interesting as a piece of groundbreaking technology than for its pricing strategy, from $349 for the aluminium Sport version to north of $17,000 for the most thoroughly blinged-up gold version. Extensive interviews As part of Apple’s pre-release press blitz, the company’s normally reclusive chief designer Jony Ive gave not one but two extensive interviews. In the first, a fascinating, extremely long profile by Ian Parker in the New Yorker, it was made clear that Ive was the primary architect not just of the itself, but of the device’s positioning as a luxury gadget for the super-rich, convincing chief executive Tim Cook to overcome “concerns about creating a divide between wealthy and less wealthy customers”. Incidentally, Parker tellingly revealed that Ive was “very interested” in Vertu, according to a former colleague. The second interview, with the Financial Times, was less revelatory, but what was perhaps most interesting was the interview’s placement – in the How to Spend It magazine, the rather vulgar FT supplement that revels in conspicuous consumption. Then came the Apple Watch launch event itself, which spent about as much time purring over the luxuriousness of the materials as it did explaining the watch’s practical utility. Such an emphasis, of course, is critical if the company wants to convince potential high-end consumers that they are getting a status symbol worthy of their bank balances. With the Apple Watch, Cook and Ive have set themselves an extremely challenging pair of tasks: convince people that a smartwatch is something they might want and find useful; and price it along a spectrum ranging from relatively affordable to spectacularly unaffordable. At this point, it is extremely difficult to determine whether Apple will be successful with these two challenges in the short to medium term. Wearable technology In the first instance, the wrist is obviously the right place for wearable technology - that’s what even the most basic watches are, after all. As the technology improves and the price falls, expect to see smart devices of some make or other on most of our wrists in the next decade, and don’t rule out the day when wrist-borne devices supplant the smartphone as our primary personal computing device. However, whether it will be Apple Watches on those wrists remains to be seen. Initial reports suggesting that the user interface is uncharacteristically confusing don’t augur well, and there’s every chance another company will refine the template set by Apple and other current rivals. On the second challenge, it will be fascinating to see how simultaneously targeting the mainstream and luxury markets will affect perceptions about both the device and the Apple brand. It’s instructive to note that with Vertu, Nokia took the precaution of releasing jaw-droppingly expensive equivalents of their basic phones under an entirely different brand, whereas Apple just released jaw-droppingly expensive equivalents of their basic watch at the very same event. It would take more than the usual dose of Steve Jobs’s famous “reality distortion field” to overcome the cognitive dissonance that comes from seeing the same device being presented as both a mainstream gadget and a Veblen good. That incongruity offers an unavoidable implication about how Apple is positioning itself to exploit the world’s widening wealth inequality. * Topics: * Davin O Dwyer * Frank Nuovo * Ian Parker * Steve Jobs * Tim Cook * Apple * Nokia * Vertu * Département de Ville-de-Paris Read More * Innovation Talk: In the cult of the start-up, inequality gets short shrift * Twitter is doing what? Expanding its character limit to 10,000 * Innovation Talk: Virtual reality will blow your mind and displace it * Mobile computing will eat the world and change the menu * Questions and issues of the week: The end of an era for Betamax * Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky wears his success well * Dutch start-up aims to make journalism pay * Paddy Cosgrave - ‘Ireland will always be in our hearts’ (BUTTON) Subscribe. 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Be Your Best `What struck me is the importance of creating positive habits - Donal Skehan Facebook IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.c om%2FIrishTimesBiz&width=300&height=300&show_faces=true&colorscheme=lig ht&stream=false&border_color=%23C6C6C6&header=false&appId=4221021344905 57 International Money Transfer Service International Money Transfer Service Save money on international transfers Subscribe About Us Policy & Terms Subscribe * Subscription Bundles * Gift Subscriptions * Home Delivery Irish Times Products & Services * ePaper * eBooks * Crosswords * Newspaper Archive * Dating * Ancestors * Email Alerts & Newsletters * Article Archive * Executive Jobs * Page Sales * Photo Sales About Us * Advertise * Contact Us * The Irish Times Trust * Careers Download on the App Store Download on Google Play * Our Partners * Rewarding Times * MyHome.ie * Irish Racing * Entertainment.ie * Top 1000 * MyAntiques.ie * The Gloss * Irish Times Training * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Policy * Cookie Information * Community Standards * Copyright * FAQs © 2015 THE IRISH TIMES For the best site experience please enable JavaScript in your browser settings Sign In ____________________ ____________________ (BUTTON) Sign In Forgot Password? 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For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X ‘The Simpsons’ co-creator Sam Simon dies after cancer battle 59-year-old gave away his fortune after being diagnosed with incurable colon cancer Mon, Mar 9, 2015, 20:03 Updated: Mon, Mar 9, 2015, 20:30 Sam Simon (59), a co-creator of Fox’s long-running hit animated series ‘The Simpsons’ has died after a battle with colon cancer Sam Simon (59), a co-creator of Fox’s long-running hit animated series ‘The Simpsons’ has died after a battle with colon cancer Sam Simon, a co-creator of Fox’s long-running hit animated series The Simpsons and an ardent philanthropist for animals, died after a battle with colon cancer, his agent said on Monday. He was 59. Simon won nine Emmy awards for his work as a writer, director and executive producer of The Simpsons, the situation comedy that premiered in 1989 and won over a global audience with its portrait of a bumbling father and his wayward family. The Simpsons executive producer, Al Jean, said on Twitter that Simon was “a great man; I owe him everything.” He asked fans to honour Simon’s memory by doing something nice for animals. Top 10 Simpsons episodes IFRAME: https://www.youtube.com/embed/XdAyvrFvEzs Doctors first gave Simon three to six months to live when he was diagnosed with incurable colon cancer in 2012. Simon decided to give away his fortune, estimated by media at $100 million. “I have a desire to help animals,” Simon said last August. “The question of whether it makes financial sense, it’s my money and I get to do what I want with it. It’s an expensive hobby I picked up at the end of my life.” Simon founded the Sam Simon Foundation in 2002 to benefit animals in need and help fund the Save the Children organization. Growing up in Beverly Hills, California, Simon embraced art and was selling cartoons to San Francisco newspapers while still a student at Stanford University. After graduating, he got his big break when the producers of the hit television show Taxi produced a script he had written in 1981. In 1988, he joined producer James Brooks and cartoonist Matt Groening in creating a prime-time series out of The Simpsons for Fox’s broadcast network. The cartoon began as an animated short on The Tracey Ullman Show. Simon was in charge of the writing staff and helped develop the characters populating the dysfunctional world around the oafish but endearing Homer Simpson: his dutiful wife, Marge, and their children, bratty Bart, overachieving Lisa and baby Maggie. The show was a smart social satire built around crass characters and it became the longest-running sitcom on American television. After four seasons of The Simpsons, Simon negotiated a deal to leave the show while retaining a percentage of its future earnings, which would bring him between $20 million and $30 million a year. He is still listed as executive producer in the show’s credits. * Topics: * Homer Simpson * James Brooks * Matt Groening * Sam Simon * Tracey Ullman Show * Sam Simon Foundation * Stanford University * Simpsons * California * San Francisco Read More * Voice of Simpsons’ Edna Krabappel dies Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Crime & Law Gardaí search the Grand Canal bank in Ardclough, Co Kildare, where the body of a man was found in a suitcase on Saturday afternoon. Photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times. Gardaí say remains those of man who died in recent days * Opinion “The takeaway message from its negative poster this week might be that it has ceded control of the narrative to Fine Gael.” Photograph: Eric Luke / The Irish Times Fianna Fáil is changing but not quickly enough * European Cup Leinster’s Sean Cronin celebrates after scoring a try in their clash with Bath in the European Champions Cup. Photo: Billy Stickland/Inpho Fountain of youth comes good for Leinster with fighting victory * Politics Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, flanked by party colleagues, waves to supporters after his ardfheis speech at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin. Photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times. 5:35 Coalition has not delivered a fair recovery - Martin ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4269161|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=US ;kvcat=arts,+culture+and+entertainment;kvloc=California:San+Francisco;k vorg=Sam+Simon+Foundation:Stanford+University;kvcompany=Simpsons;cookie =info;] ADVERTISEMENT Latest World Burkina Faso hotel attack: 18 nationalities among 28 dead 14:44 Bill Cosby sexual assault case could be thrown out 13:25 Isis ‘kills 300 people’ in Deir al-Zor, Syrian government says 12:06 Jakarta attacks: Death toll rises to eight after Isis assault 11:20 Independence-minded opposition wins Taiwan election 09:18 ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4269160|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=US ;kvcat=arts,+culture+and+entertainment;kvloc=California:San+Francisco;k vorg=Sam+Simon+Foundation:Stanford+University;kvcompany=Simpsons;cookie =info;] Most Read in News 1 Conservative Germany is ‘mad as hell’ over Merkel’s policies 2 Gardaí say remains those of man who died in recent days 3 Isis ‘kills 300 people’ in Deir al-Zor, Syrian government says 4 Irish nanny plans to sue over wrongful detention in US 5 Woman who was asked to leave River Island awarded €7,500 Never miss a story. 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(BUTTON) X Donald Clarke: A trigger warning about trigger warnings Warning: this piece contains facetious jokes about precious bloody students and tedious middle-aged snorting on the ‘state of the world today’ Sat, Apr 4, 2015, 01:01 Donald Clarke ‘The censorious, pernickety, self-righteous, haughty nature of such warnings – far removed from the original intentions – insinuates social liberals into a vast collective whinge that threatens to extract the energy from western academia.’ Photograph: Getty Images ‘The censorious, pernickety, self-righteous, haughty nature of such warnings – far removed from the original intentions – insinuates social liberals into a vast collective whinge that threatens to extract the energy from western academia.’ Photograph: Getty Images If you’ve read more than a few articles on the bizarre notion of “trigger warnings” you will know a convention has developed whereby all such pieces begin with arch parodies of those controversial cautions. Warning: this piece contains facetious jokes about precious bloody students and tedious middle-aged snorting on the “state of the world today”. That sort of thing. With that out of the way, these columns move on to an explanation of the term under discussion. Originating on blogs and message boards before moving to US academia (where else?), the messages were originally intended to protect those with post-traumatic stress disorder from subject matter – discussion of sexual violence or mental illness, say – that might precipitate further anguish. If webmasters feel the need to pepper their pages with such alerts, that is their business: nobody is paying to read MonkeyHat.com. The conversation has, however, oozed into US universities. This is real. It is not the invention of conservative wing-nuts on southern radio stations (though they will surely savour the absurdities). Last year, students at the University of California, Santa Barbara, came together to urge the authorities to place mandatory trigger warnings on course reading materials. “The resolution also directs AS executives to . . . appoint a staff member to devise a list of trigger warnings,” a passage reahttp://dailynexus.com/2014-02-27/a-s-senate-passes-proposal-to-label -trauma-provoking-academic-content/d. Elsewhere, the initial aim of protecting those with PTSD has receded over the horizon. The angry website Kyriarchy and Privilege 101 does not appear to be attempting satire when, among its list of “common trigger warnings”, it includes “discussions of sex (even consensual)”, “slimy things” and “trypophobia” [pathological fear of objects with irregular patterns of holes]. You may as well warn against life. A pattern There surely are people for whom any reference to “fear of holes” is a potentially traumatising experience. They are, however, so rare that typing a warning constitutes a waste of keystrokes. Oberlin College, a liberal arts institution in Ohio, got drawn into the debate when it published an official document requiring that Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, among the greatest of African novels, be labelled lest it “trigger readers who have experienced racism, colonialism, religious persecution, violence, suicide and more”. Following revelations of this absurdity in the New Republic magazine, Oberlin explained that the document was under revision, but that such an alert should even be considered causes us to again wonder about the preciousness of modern academia. Songs of the loony left so often rhyme with those of the loony right. The current efforts to label works of literature remind us of the moves to put warning stickers on naughty rock LPs during the 1980s. Both were, it seems, concerned with “sex (even consensual)”. Mind you, only the trigger-warning mob has concerned itself with inorganic holes. On behalf of who? When such campaigns spring up, the driving force is usually moral self-aggrandisement. Nothing makes a fellow feel better than taking a symbolic stand on behalf of an ill-defined injured party. It is even nicer if those one supposedly protects conform to politically accepted norms of victimhood. It is interesting to note that Kyriarchy’s list of common trigger warnings (common where, exactly?) includes a lengthy list of “-isms” that, though correctly acknowledging sexuality, weight, gender and culture, makes no specific mention of religion or faith. Regular readers of this column will know it holds no truck with all that God baloney. Nonetheless, we could forgive any conservative Christian who, perusing that list, concluded that the trigger warning movement leaned to the secular left. Don’t get me wrong. Annoying right-wing Bible-thumpers are reason enough to knock together this sort of campaign. But the censorious, pernickety, self-righteous nature of such warnings insinuates social liberals into a vast collective whinge that threatens to extract the energy from western academia. Over two decades ago, Robert Hughes, the great Australian critic, wrapped the phrase “Culture of Complaint” around both left-wing political correctness and right-wing social paranoia. That culture has metastasised, gone into remission, thrived afresh and then shrunk back into its polyps. But it has never entirely gone away. Now we will, on your behalf, complain about books before you have broken the spine. We will insist that cultural journalism carries warnings about “spoilers”. Everything is dangerous. Everything is bad for you. Don’t eat, drink, listen or read. Bloody students! Look at the state of the world! Read More * Trigger warnings don’t protect, they patronise * Cleavage removed from ‘Empress of China’ * An app that bans the dirty words Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Opinion “The takeaway message from its negative poster this week might be that it has ceded control of the narrative to Fine Gael.” Photograph: Eric Luke / The Irish Times Fianna Fáil is changing but not quickly enough * Opinion Soldiers attend Mise Eire. George Morrison’s film showed over twenty years of Irish history, from the 1890s to 1918, through existing archive material. Its soundtrack, an orchestral score by Sean O’Riada, became hugely popular Anne Harris: O’Riada’s epic clash of cymbals became a clash of symbols * Opinion The General Post Office from Abbey St after the 1916 Easter Rising: Royal Irish Academy JT Westropp RIA Opinion: Did the 1916 Rising meet the requirements for a ‘just war’? * Opinion Breda O’Brien: Ultrasound is the biggest enemy of abortion on demand ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268925|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Op inion;cookie=info;] ADVERTISEMENT The Irish Times Logo Sign In Email Address ____________________ Password ____________________ [ ] I agree to the Terms & Conditions, Community Standards and Privacy Policy (BUTTON) Sign In Don't have an account? Sign Up Forgot Password? The Irish Times Logo Sign Up First Name ____________________ Surname ____________________ Screen Name ____________________ The name that will appear beside your comments. 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Editorials Guarding the guardians Garda Ombudsman accesses journalists’ phone records The silent victims of austerity Children’s rights: Ireland appears before UN Committee on the Rights of the Child Our Columnists Breda O'Brien Breda O'Brien - Breda O’Brien: Ultrasound is the biggest enemy of abortion on demand Cliff Taylor Cliff Taylor - Election 2016: Get ready to be hit by a digital deluge Paul Gillespie Paul Gillespie - Worldview: Ireland should recognise Palestine if peace talks fail Donald Clarke Donald Clarke - Chief Film Correspondent Donald Clarke: Irish Oscar nods were due to great expectations ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268924|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Op inion;cookie=info;] Letters Crisis in emergency departments French Jews and wearing the kippa Mathematics at third level Women’s rights here and abroad Protecting children online National anthem and copyright law Walking routes and public health Global factors and the economy Investing in rural Ireland Oscar bravo Question Time Question Time: What can be done to address the shortage of Catholic priests? 2:34 Question Time: What can be done to address the shortage of Catholic priests? Question Time: Will Leo Varadkar’s latest plans resolve the hospital waiting list crisis? 1:48 Question Time: Will Leo Varadkar’s latest plans resolve the hospital waiting list crisis? Question Time: Will the Coalition voting pact help to boost Labour’s fortunes? 1:31 Question Time: Will the Coalition voting pact help to boost Labour’s fortunes? Most Read 1 Television: A sugar-crash course in how we are poisoning ourselves 2 Conservative Germany is ‘mad as hell’ over Merkel’s policies 3 Gardaí say remains those of man who died in recent days 4 Bhutan: the price of paradise 5 Isis ‘kills 300 people’ in Deir al-Zor, Syrian government says Never miss a story. 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For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X Bugle podcast: political news with satire John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman send-up everyone from Putin to Proust Thu, Apr 2, 2015, 01:00 Marie Boran The Bugle: this long-running podcast was co-created by British comedian John Oliver back in 2007 The Bugle: this long-running podcast was co-created by British comedian John Oliver back in 2007 * Topics: * Andy Zaltzmann * John Oliver * Jon Stewart Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Economy Michael Noonan: the Minister for Finance has predicted a balanced budget in headline terms in 2017. Photograph: Eric Luke Government to get leeway to cut tax as Brussels eases targets * Economy Euclid Tsakalotos: Dublin was not on the itinerary of the Greek finance minister’s tour of European capitals this week. Photograph: Francois Lenoir/Reuters Cantillon: Greek crisis brings chorus of disapproval * European Cup Leinster’s Sean Cronin celebrates after scoring a try in their clash with Bath in the European Champions Cup. Photo: Billy Stickland/Inpho Fountain of youth comes good for Leinster with fighting victory * Business Kieran Normoyle: ‘By adding heat back to the body we can increase survival times and increase the likelihood of someone being rescued.’ Photograph: Conor McCabe Photography Learning to sew eased the way to winning award for life jacket design ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268841|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Te chnology;kvcat=arts,+culture+and+entertainment;cookie=info;] ADVERTISEMENT Latest Business Paddy Power merger with Betfair clears final hurdle 16 Jan Complaint upheld in UK about website Ryanair is suing 16 Jan Bord Gáis Energy and Airtricity compete for Viridian 16 Jan Government to get leeway to cut tax as Brussels eases targets 16 Jan Cantillon: Greek crisis brings chorus of disapproval 16 Jan ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268838|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Te chnology;kvcat=arts,+culture+and+entertainment;cookie=info;] Girl Crew now has more than 20,000 members in 43 cities across the world, including Dublin, London, Melbourne and San Francisco. Photograph: Dara Mac Donaill People to watch in 2016 Ciara O'Brien's pick of tech entrepreneurs to watch in 2016 Tech Tools Tech Tools: Edwin the Duck Edwin stars in a range of interactive stories and games on your tablet Tech Tools: BB-8 Force Band €TBA Band translates your gestures into movement instructions for BB-8 Most Read in Business 1 For the Beeb, the death of Queen Elizabeth will be no joke 2 Starting out on your own: nine things NOT to do 3 Complaint upheld in UK about website Ryanair is suing 4 Netflix to block subscribers from using proxy access services 5 Government to get leeway to cut tax as Brussels eases targets Never miss a story. SUBSCRIBE Web Log Web Log: Intel and Lady Gaga team up to stop online harassment Web Log: Twitter co-founder ‘un-pivots’ with Q&A service Web Log: Close your eyes, breathe … and track Web Log: Habitica app makes a game of new year resolutions Web Log: Polling app Wishbone targets teenage market Game Reviews Tearaway Unfolded Big screen debut for Atoi & Co Angry Birds 2: Bigger, badder, birdier? Not quite. Angry Birds 2 | Game Review Sequel may be fun, but in-app purchases means it falls short of the mark Yoshi’s Woolly World | Game Review Beautifully crafted, but is Yoshi’s latest outing style over substance? Twit or Miss | Game Review Roald Dahl’s ‘Twits’ makes its mobile debut E3 2015 News and analysis from the world's premier trade show for computer and video games Business Today Here is your morning briefing on all our top stories from the Business Desk [image.png] Subscribe on iTunes Follow on Soundcloud Listen on Stitcher Business Columns Arthur Beesley Arthur Beesley - Economics Editor Arthur Beesley: Narrative of recovery must be tempered with caution Laura Slattery Laura Slattery - Journalist No Europuddings as Channel 4 dishes up foreign drama Karlin Lillington Karlin Lillington - Technology Journalist Teenagers risk being defined for life by their social media posts Martin Wolf Martin Wolf - Martin Wolf: Market turmoil means we are in for bumpy ride Business Bites Cantillon: Cantillon: Greek crisis brings chorus of disapproval Cantillon: Cantillon: Tesco turns its Christmas figures around Work: Saying No to things you want to do Work: Social media key tool for B2B firms One More Thing: AIB bolsters its executive ranks One More Thing: Celtic Tiger purrs again as Finance Ireland seeks investors Business Videos CES 2016: robot butlers, Michelin star tea and smart fridges 1:15 CES 2016: robot butlers, Michelin star tea and smart fridges CES 2016: Fitbit and Volvo launch wearable tech 0:53 CES 2016: Fitbit and Volvo launch wearable tech Enterprise Ireland celebrate over 21,000 new jobs in 2015 1:00 Enterprise Ireland celebrate over 21,000 new jobs in 2015 Get an email each morning from the Irish Times business desk briefing you on significant business news. 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For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X Radio: Brendan O’Connor misplaces his broadcaster’s instincts Review: ‘The John Murray Show’, ‘The Last Word’, ‘Sunday With Miriam’ Sat, Mar 28, 2015, 04:00 Mick Heaney Dropping the ball: Brendan O’Connor Dropping the ball: Brendan O’Connor Listeners tuning into Brendan O’Connor’s first day as stand-in host of The John Murray Show (RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays) will not be surprised by what they hear: the grumpy fulminations of a mouthy Cork-born broadcaster and columnist at a loose end as his controversial television career draws to a close. The only problem is that the Corkman in question is not O’Connor but his guest George Hook, the recently retired RTÉ rugby pundit and presenter on the rival station Newstalk. When it comes to generating aural fireworks, O’Connor is a surprisingly damp squib. Expectations that his radio stint will crackle with the antagonistic energy of his newspaper missives or the occasionally cutting wit of his TV chatshow start to dissolve from the moment he begins talking. In his opening segment O’Connor lauds the announcement of the Ireland rugby coach, Joe Schmidt, that, with the Six Nations won, he is off to look after his epileptic son. It’s not the substance of O’Connor’s monologue that’s perplexing but the style in which he delivers it. “Rugby is just rugby, but your kid is your kid,” the presenter says. “And maybe, just maybe, how he looks after his kid is how Joe Schmidt judges himself.” It’s the kind of sentence that might pass muster in a why-oh-why column but on air sounds like a sub-Oprah platitude. John Murray’s cheerily cheesy comic monologues sound like searing satire in comparison. Then again, maybe O’Connor is just a “sentimental Cork boy”, as he remarks to Hook. In their discussion, which leaves out mention of Newstalk, Hook has the odd memorable phrase, such as likening his relationship with Tom McGurk to the Good Friday agreement. In contrast O’Connor bandies about phrases like talking to “the real George” without apparent irony. It seems a far cry from the sceptical persona O’Connor projects elsewhere. But there are welcome flashes of wry humour. When Hook talks of his delight at leading the St Patrick’s Day parade in his hometown O’Connor is deadpan in his response: “All you needed to feel wanted was for all of Cork to turn out.” Talking with the broadcaster Mary Kennedy about her family life, he is disarmingly honest about the difficulties of minding children with a Sunday-morning hangover, while suggesting that his guest is far too “fragrant” to be familiar with such a scenario. As it turns out O’Connor’s family provides his most revealing moment. On Wednesday he describes how children with a so-called mild diagnosis of Down syndrome, such as his own daughter, have been long cut off from State services and extra school help. He then reveals that “this morning is a very happy and emotional day in our house”, thanks to the Government decision to allocate two and a half hours a week of resource teaching for all pupils with Down syndrome. The uncharacteristic tug in the presenter’s voice only hints at his depth of feeling. Talking to Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan about the decision, he is candid about how he feels. “I’ll just warn you, this isn’t going to be the toughest interview,” he says. “I feel like giving you a little hug.” He is as good as his word in the softball encounter that follows – although we don’t see if he actually embraces his guest. But the whole item is affecting in its unabashed emotion. O’Connor may occasionally misplace his instincts as a broadcaster, but his unvarnished sincerity as a parent is winning. Differing visions of family life are debated on The Last Word (Today FM, weekdays) when Matt Cooper hosts a lively exchange between Colm O’Gorman of Amnesty International and Keith Mills of the pressure group Mothers and Fathers Matter. Mills trumpets the argument, increasingly pushed by those opposing the same-sex-marriage referendum, that if such unions are redefined it will impinge the rights of mother and fathers to get preferential treatment when it comes to adoption. For good measure he adds that most Irish people think it better for children to be raised in heterosexual families, citing two polls as support. O’Gorman, who is gay (like Mills) and a parent (unlike Mills), disagrees, citing Cambridge University research suggesting that supportive environments are the key factor. He also remarks that current legislation favours no particular type of family when it comes to adoption, which seems to quash any notion about existing rights being impugned. When Mills shoots back that two men cannot provide a child with a mother, O’Gorman is devastatingly understated in his reply. He believes that two men can provide a nurturing and loving environment for child, “but I didn’t say a man can replace a mother; clearly that’s not the case”. On the show to discuss the possibility of a “conscience clause” should same-sex marriage pass, O’Gorman sounds uneasy at his family life being in the spotlight. But the vigour he addresses the matter with reflects referendum campaigners’ increasing focus on this emotive angle. Some people, it seems, aren’t content to confine their parental priorities to their own children. Moment of the week: Brenda Fricker’s raw emotion Appearing on Sunday With Miriam (RTÉ Radio 1), Brenda Fricker gives an interview that is by turns unbearably raw and refreshingly unsentimental. As well as talking about the death of her husband, the Oscar-winning actor recalls the traumatic experience of having several miscarriages, painting a particularly visceral image of the aftermath of one late miscarriage, when she saw the dead foetus. “That was cruel,” she says. But she also resists Miriam O’Callaghan’s query if she found closure when she realised she wouldn’t have children after such tragedies. “I didn’t feel anything like that,” Fricker says. “I was enjoying trying. I have to face it, that went parallel with the disappointment.” Her stoicism is bracing – “That’s the cards you’re dealt” – which only makes the interview more heartbreaking. radioreview@irishtimes.com * Topics: * Brenda Fricker * Brendan O Connor * Colm O Gorman * George Hook * Jan O Sullivan * Joe Schmidt * John Murray * Keith Mills * Mary Kennedy * Matt Cooper * Miriam O Callaghan * Tom Mcgurk * Amnesty International * RTÉ * Today FM Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Art & Design Giant’s staircase: Utec, Lima has ‘opened up exciting new frontiers for Peruvian architecture’. Photograph: Grafton Architects, Iwan Baan Studio Bravo Lima: the Irish architects designing the ‘new geography’ * People Impossibly photogenic: the Tiger’s Nest, or Taktsang Palphug, monastery, Bhutan’s most sacred site. Photograph: EyesWideOpen/Getty Bhutan: the price of paradise * Film Michael B Jordan and Sylvester Stallone in Creed ‘Apollo Creed meant everything to African-Americans’ * Health & Family Make breakfast a priority and have some oats with fruit perhaps. Photograph: Thinkstock 25 ways to leave your love handles ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268891|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=TV ,+Radio,+Web;kvorg=Amnesty+International:RTÉ;kvcompany=Today+FM;cookie= info;] ADVERTISEMENT The Irish Times Logo Sign In Email Address ____________________ Password ____________________ [ ] I agree to the Terms & Conditions, Community Standards and Privacy Policy (BUTTON) Sign In Don't have an account? Sign Up Forgot Password? The Irish Times Logo Sign Up First Name ____________________ Surname ____________________ Screen Name ____________________ The name that will appear beside your comments. 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Please check your email to verify your account. (BUTTON) Sign In (BUTTON) Close Your Comments Sign In Sign Out We reserve the right to remove any content at any time from this Community, including without limitation if it violates the Community Standards. We ask that you report content that you in good faith believe violates the above rules by clicking the Flag link next to the offending comment or by filling out this form. New comments are only accepted for 3 days from the date of publication. ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268890|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=TV ,+Radio,+Web;kvorg=Amnesty+International:RTÉ;kvcompany=Today+FM;cookie= info;] Most Read in Culture 1 Family sugar audit: Eva Orsmond with Louise and Ollie Ryan Television: A sugar-crash course in how we are poisoning ourselves 2 Michael B Jordan and Sylvester Stallone in Creed ‘Apollo Creed meant everything to African-Americans’ 3 Did Philip K Dick dream of electric sheep? Much worse 4 Final bow: Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc at the end of the final Friends, in 2004 Friends: they lived perfect lives in a time of plenty. Of course we want them back 5 ‘I think cognitive enhancers should be allowed for academics’ Unthinkable: Is it unethical to take brain stimulants? 6 Dublin Rapper Tommy KD: “I never dreamt I’d be doing stuff like this, like getting the album out or playing my own shows. But at the same time, it’s important to say that everything’s not rosy.” Photograph: Cyril Byrne / THE IRISH TIMES Tommy KD: the Dublin rapper with one of the toughest stories in Irish music 7 Giant’s staircase: Utec, Lima has ‘opened up exciting new frontiers for Peruvian architecture’. Photograph: Grafton Architects, Iwan Baan Studio Bravo Lima: the Irish architects designing the ‘new geography’ 8 Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards: And the nominees are . . . 9 Joseph O’Connor on David Bowie, pictured here in 1965: “Kurt Vonnegut once wrote that the only plausible mission of the artist is ‘to make people feel they’re glad to be alive, at least a little bit.’ There are not many artists who’ve ever managed to achieve that highest of accolades. In my own life, David Bowie was one of them. He was part of my soundtrack, my passport, my pillow. I feel I was enriched to be around during his spell on the planet.” Photograph: CA/Redferns/Getty Images David Bowie: Irish writers pay tribute 10 The dialogues the author creates between Plato and various contemporary characters, including a marketing agent, a Google employee, a Tiger Mum, a radio host and a neuroscientist, convincingly demonstrate the value of continuing the job that Socrates started in ancient Greece. But they also show just why Plato would struggle to be heard today. Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won’t Go Away, by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein Never miss a story. 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For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X The Fool review: From Russia with audacity | JDiff 2015 Tara Brady Billy Wilder satire, Russian-style? Yuriy Bykov’s The Fool Billy Wilder satire, Russian-style? Yuriy Bykov’s The Fool Film Title: The Fool Director: Yuriy Bykov Starring: Nina Antyukhova, Sergey Artsybashev Genre: Drama Running Time: 116 min Mon, Mar 23, 2015, 01:00 First published: Mon, Mar 23, 2015, 01:00 * * * * On a routine call-out to a crumbling Soviet-era block of apartments, plumber Dima discovers a fault in the building, one that is serious enough to warrant the evacuation of the 800 residents. An honest man, Dima attempts to alert the authorities, who seem most reluctant to take action against a crisis that, crucially, happened on their watch. As with his previous thriller, The Mayor, writer and director Bykov incorporates accessible genre beats into a dark satire that might have pleased Billy Wilder. The young Russian auteur skilfully switches between a crawling bureaucratic pace redolent of Milos Forman’s Fireman’s Ball and the relentless pound of a post-Watergate conspiracy flick. The Fool doggedly teases out themes of systemic corruption to a wincingly bitter conclusion. An important and audacious allegory. Mon, Mar 23, 2015, 01:00 First published: Mon, Mar 23, 2015, 01:00 * * * * Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Music Pop Corner: Selena marks her ex’s spot; Zayn chaffed at control * Books An illustration from Aharon Appelfeld’s Adam & Thomas Children’s book reviews: a trio of compelling stories * Art & Design Giant’s staircase: Utec, Lima has ‘opened up exciting new frontiers for Peruvian architecture’. Photograph: Grafton Architects, Iwan Baan Studio Bravo Lima: the Irish architects designing the ‘new geography’ * Food & Drink The Drift Inn in Buncrana: an upturned boat with huge, semicircular beams divides the main bar. Barfly: the Drift Inn, Buncrana ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268873|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Fi lm;kvcat=arts,+culture+and+entertainment;cookie=info;] ADVERTISEMENT The Film Show The Irish Times Film Show: The Revenant, Creed & Room 7:47 The Irish Times Film Show: The Revenant, Creed & Room The Irish Times Film Show: The Hateful Eight & A War 6:55 The Irish Times Film Show: The Hateful Eight & A War ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268872|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Fi lm;kvcat=arts,+culture+and+entertainment;cookie=info;] Film Reviews Room The walls close in on a mother and child in Lenny Abrahamson’s moving, harrowing adapation of the acclaimed novel Creed Creed firmly overthrows any notions that the Rocky films are trading on an elaborate Great White Hope mythology The Revenant ‘The Revenant’ is short on dialogue and thin on characterisation; however the misery is well worth enduring A War (Krigen) The war in Afghanistan is the inspiration for a tense Danish courtroom drama Shem the Penman Sings Again A delightful, playful study of the relationship between Joyce and McCormack The Hateful Eight Tarantino sinks deeper into his auto-mythology with more haphazard plotting, gooey violence and endless dialogue, writes Donald Clarke Last Hijack: a real-world prequel to Captain Phillips Last Hijack Tommy Pallotta’s documentary is nicely presented but lacks a coherent narrative Ballerinas get bolshie in Babylon Bolshoi Bolshoi Babylon “The world of theatre is cruel . . . It looks beautiful from the outside, but inside it's boiling” Donald Clarke's Movie Quiz You can see Twilight twinkling in the eye of this week's quiz... Screenwriter 10 things to note about yesterday’s Oscar nominations * Screenwriter * Donald Clarke We had Charlotte, but not Carol. The Force Awakens encounters unfamiliar failure. And an actor who wasn't nominated steals the show Movie quiz for January 15th * Screenwriter * Donald Clarke Warm yourself up with a good hard quiz Most Read in Culture 1 Family sugar audit: Eva Orsmond with Louise and Ollie Ryan Television: A sugar-crash course in how we are poisoning ourselves 2 Michael B Jordan and Sylvester Stallone in Creed ‘Apollo Creed meant everything to African-Americans’ 3 Did Philip K Dick dream of electric sheep? Much worse 4 Final bow: Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc at the end of the final Friends, in 2004 Friends: they lived perfect lives in a time of plenty. Of course we want them back 5 ‘I think cognitive enhancers should be allowed for academics’ Unthinkable: Is it unethical to take brain stimulants? 6 Dublin Rapper Tommy KD: “I never dreamt I’d be doing stuff like this, like getting the album out or playing my own shows. But at the same time, it’s important to say that everything’s not rosy.” Photograph: Cyril Byrne / THE IRISH TIMES Tommy KD: the Dublin rapper with one of the toughest stories in Irish music 7 Giant’s staircase: Utec, Lima has ‘opened up exciting new frontiers for Peruvian architecture’. Photograph: Grafton Architects, Iwan Baan Studio Bravo Lima: the Irish architects designing the ‘new geography’ 8 Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards: And the nominees are . . . 9 Joseph O’Connor on David Bowie, pictured here in 1965: “Kurt Vonnegut once wrote that the only plausible mission of the artist is ‘to make people feel they’re glad to be alive, at least a little bit.’ There are not many artists who’ve ever managed to achieve that highest of accolades. In my own life, David Bowie was one of them. He was part of my soundtrack, my passport, my pillow. I feel I was enriched to be around during his spell on the planet.” Photograph: CA/Redferns/Getty Images David Bowie: Irish writers pay tribute 10 The dialogues the author creates between Plato and various contemporary characters, including a marketing agent, a Google employee, a Tiger Mum, a radio host and a neuroscientist, convincingly demonstrate the value of continuing the job that Socrates started in ancient Greece. But they also show just why Plato would struggle to be heard today. Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won’t Go Away, by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein Never miss a story. SUBSCRIBE IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2FIrishTimesCulture&width=292&height=258&colorscheme=light&show_fac es=true&header=false&stream=false&show_border=true Film News Director Lenny Abrahamson, his wife Monika and James Hickey, chief executive of the Irish Film Board, at a party in the Light House cinema in Dublin. Photograph: Dave Meehan/The Irish Times Irish Oscar nominations exceed all expectations Pictured celebrating four Oscar nominations for Irish film Room are director Lenny Abrahamson, his wife Monika, and James Hickey, chief executive of the Irish Film Board at a party in the Lighthouse cinema last night.Photograph: Dave Meehan/The Irish Times Oscars: ‘You have to mark an event like this,’ Lenny Abrahamson says Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has paid tribute to ‘magnificent actor’ Alan Rickman on his death. Photograph: Jas Lehal/Files/Reuters J.K. Rowling pays tribute to ‘magnificent’ Alan Rickman Subscribe About Us Policy & Terms Subscribe * Subscription Bundles * Gift Subscriptions * Home Delivery Irish Times Products & Services * ePaper * eBooks * Crosswords * Newspaper Archive * Dating * Ancestors * Email Alerts & Newsletters * Article Archive * Executive Jobs * Page Sales * Photo Sales About Us * Advertise * Contact Us * The Irish Times Trust * Careers Download on the App Store Download on Google Play * Our Partners * Rewarding Times * MyHome.ie * Irish Racing * Entertainment.ie * Top 1000 * MyAntiques.ie * The Gloss * Irish Times Training * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Policy * Cookie Information * Community Standards * Copyright * FAQs © 2015 THE IRISH TIMES For the best site experience please enable JavaScript in your browser settings Sign In ____________________ ____________________ (BUTTON) Sign In Forgot Password? Don't have an account? 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Subscriber quick links * Newspaper Archive * Crossword Club * ePaper desktop app * IT Sunday * eBooks * Subscriber Benefits * My Account -- #work rss Apple RSS The Irish Times - Culture [p?c1=2&c2=8946263&cv=2.0&cj=1] IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-M9Q373 * Search * Newsletters * Crossword * Notices * My Account * Sign Out * Subscribe * Sign In [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268868|0|225|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Cu lture;cookie=info;] Menu The Irish Times Sun, Jan 17, 2016 ^Sign In Welcome * The Irish Times * News * Sport * Business * Opinion * Life & Style * Culture * More * Video * Podcasts * Executive Jobs * Subscribe * My Account * Sign Out * Sign In * * Culture * Books * Film * Music * Stage * Art & Design * TV, Radio, Web * Treibh All Culture * Books + Book Reviews + The Book Club + Poetry + Hennessy NIW + IT Books * Film + Film Reviews * Music + Album Reviews * Stage + Stage Reviews * Art & Design * TV, Radio, Web * Photography * Treibh * Heritage * Specials + David Bowie + Century + Modern Ireland in 100 Artworks * Podcasts + Off Topic By using this website, you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X Modern Ireland in 100 Artworks: 1942 – The Great Hunger, by Patrick Kavanagh The poet skewers traditional depictions of Irish country life and highlights the era’s sexual sterility in his long satirical work Sat, May 16, 2015, 01:00 Fintan O'Toole Hungry hills: Patrick Kavanagh could write with great lyric power about the ordinary life of an ordinary farm. Photograph courtesy of the Wiltshire Collection/National Library of Ireland Hungry hills: Patrick Kavanagh could write with great lyric power about the ordinary life of an ordinary farm. Photograph courtesy of the Wiltshire Collection/National Library of Ireland The world looks on And talks of the peasant: The peasant has no worries; In his little lyrical fields He ploughs and sows; He eats fresh food, He loves fresh women, He is his own master As it was in the Beginning The simpleness of peasant life. These mocking lines from Patrick Kavanagh’s long poem The Great Hunger echo in their dark satire Myles na gCopaleen’s attack, in An Béal Bocht, on the representation of Irish rural life. Kavanagh is the first English-language poet of real stature to emerge from a class that was much written about by others: the Catholic small farmers who were supposedly the heart of independent Ireland. But what he had to say was not quite what many wanted to hear. Kavanagh, who grew up on 16 acres of what he called “hungry hills” in Iniskeen, Co Monaghan, could write with great lyric power about the ordinary life of an ordinary farm and found an audience in the late 1920s through publications such as the Dundalk Democrat and George Russell’s Irish Statesman. But as his voice matured he used it to evoke not just rustic pleasures but also poverty, loneliness and sexual frustration. This was never more potently the case than in his ferocious The Great Hunger. Much of it was published, on the recommendation of John Betjeman, in the London journal Horizon in 1942, before the full poem was printed, in a limited edition, by the Yeats family’s Cuala Press, in Dublin, later that year. The most obvious way into the poem is through its title. With the centenary of the Great Famine approaching, Kavanagh can be seen as mapping its long-term emotional and psychological consequences in an Ireland that had to learn to value continence and caution above all else. The soil of the farm has become both language and body for the poem’s protagonist, Patrick Maguire: Clay is the word and clay is the flesh Where the potato-gatherers like mechanised scarecrows move Along the side-fall of the hill – Maguire and his men. Maguire is an embodiment of the sexual sterility that would give Ireland, by the 1950s, the lowest marriage rate of any developed society. He has “stayed with his mother till she died / At the age of ninety-one”. By then he was 65, and it was too late to think of a wife and children – a fate all too common in an Ireland where eldest sons waited to inherit the farm until their own chances of an intimate life had passed them by. “He saw his cattle / And stroked their flanks in lieu of wife to handle.” In the 14 sections that make up the poem, the bitterness of sterility alternates with a pleasurable kind of pointlessness. Kavanagh uses repetition to mimic the patterns into which Maguire’s life is locked: “Sitting on a wooden gate, / Sitting on a wooden gate, / Sitting on a wooden gate / He didn’t care a damn.” These more playful elements remind us that the poem is not a work of sociology or polemic. The poem’s anger is controlled in its often subtle forms. Kavanagh’s withering conclusion that “The hungry fiend / Screams the apocalypse of clay / In every corner of this land” may be aimed at contemporary Ireland, but it also anticipates a far wider sense of absurdity and disillusion that will descend on much of European culture after the second World War. You can read more about Patrick Kavanagh in the Royal Irish Academy’s Dictionary of Irish Biography; ria.ie Subscribe. ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268867|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Cu lture;cookie=info;] ADVERTISEMENT The Irish Times Logo Sign In Email Address ____________________ Password ____________________ [ ] I agree to the Terms & Conditions, Community Standards and Privacy Policy (BUTTON) Sign In Don't have an account? Sign Up Forgot Password? The Irish Times Logo Sign Up First Name ____________________ Surname ____________________ Screen Name ____________________ The name that will appear beside your comments. 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Photograph: Warren Toda/EPA In pictures: British actor Alan Rickman Photograph: Dermot Barry David Bowie at Slane Castle [image.jpg] IFRAME: https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/users /138142444&color=b74f7d&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_user=fa lse&show_playcount=false&show_artwork=true Subscribe on iTunes Follow on Soundcloud Listen on Stitcher Most Read in Culture 1 Family sugar audit: Eva Orsmond with Louise and Ollie Ryan Television: A sugar-crash course in how we are poisoning ourselves 2 Michael B Jordan and Sylvester Stallone in Creed ‘Apollo Creed meant everything to African-Americans’ 3 Did Philip K Dick dream of electric sheep? Much worse 4 Final bow: Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc at the end of the final Friends, in 2004 Friends: they lived perfect lives in a time of plenty. Of course we want them back 5 ‘I think cognitive enhancers should be allowed for academics’ Unthinkable: Is it unethical to take brain stimulants? 6 Dublin Rapper Tommy KD: “I never dreamt I’d be doing stuff like this, like getting the album out or playing my own shows. But at the same time, it’s important to say that everything’s not rosy.” Photograph: Cyril Byrne / THE IRISH TIMES Tommy KD: the Dublin rapper with one of the toughest stories in Irish music 7 Giant’s staircase: Utec, Lima has ‘opened up exciting new frontiers for Peruvian architecture’. Photograph: Grafton Architects, Iwan Baan Studio Bravo Lima: the Irish architects designing the ‘new geography’ 8 Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards: And the nominees are . . . 9 Joseph O’Connor on David Bowie, pictured here in 1965: “Kurt Vonnegut once wrote that the only plausible mission of the artist is ‘to make people feel they’re glad to be alive, at least a little bit.’ There are not many artists who’ve ever managed to achieve that highest of accolades. In my own life, David Bowie was one of them. He was part of my soundtrack, my passport, my pillow. I feel I was enriched to be around during his spell on the planet.” Photograph: CA/Redferns/Getty Images David Bowie: Irish writers pay tribute 10 The dialogues the author creates between Plato and various contemporary characters, including a marketing agent, a Google employee, a Tiger Mum, a radio host and a neuroscientist, convincingly demonstrate the value of continuing the job that Socrates started in ancient Greece. But they also show just why Plato would struggle to be heard today. Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won’t Go Away, by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein Never miss a story. SUBSCRIBE The Film Show The Irish Times Film Show: The Revenant, Creed & Room 7:47 The Irish Times Film Show: The Revenant, Creed & Room The Irish Times Film Show: The Hateful Eight & A War 6:55 The Irish Times Film Show: The Hateful Eight & A War Pop Life Heathers – ‘November’ * Una Mullally The twins return with a new tune and video. A golden moment at the dawn of a golden age * Una Mullally Irish cinema storms the Oscars Children and the Revolution 1916: A guide for children, teenagers and teachers The Hunger Strikes Microsite: 35 years on, exploring the legacy of the Hunger Strikes [image.jpg] IFRAME: https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/playl ists/72151780&color=b74f7d&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comm ents=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false Subscribe on iTunes Follow on Soundcloud Listen on Stitcher Thomas Morris: the stories may not range very far geographically, but Morris manages to display remarkable range for a young man in his cast of characters, proving himself equally at home in a middle-aged woman’s heels or an old man’s slippers. The Book Club Click to join in the discussion about this month's book: We Don't Know What We're Doing by Thomas Morris Hennessy short story of the month How to Float by Niamh Donnelly: Two girls drift through a polluted paradise in this month’s winning Hennessy New Irish Writing short story Culture Videos DiCaprio: Oscar nominations 'feel great' 0:50 DiCaprio: Oscar nominations 'feel great' The homeless rapper, who put beats to his story 3:15 The homeless rapper, who put beats to his story Oscar-nominated director Lenny Abrahamson talks about 'Room' 3:24 Oscar-nominated director Lenny Abrahamson talks about 'Room' The Irish Times Film Show: The Revenant, Creed & Room 7:47 The Irish Times Film Show: The Revenant, Creed & Room Film Reviews Room The walls close in on a mother and child in Lenny Abrahamson’s moving, harrowing adapation of the acclaimed novel Creed Creed firmly overthrows any notions that the Rocky films are trading on an elaborate Great White Hope mythology The Revenant ‘The Revenant’ is short on dialogue and thin on characterisation; however the misery is well worth enduring A War (Krigen) The war in Afghanistan is the inspiration for a tense Danish courtroom drama Shem the Penman Sings Again A delightful, playful study of the relationship between Joyce and McCormack The Hateful Eight Tarantino sinks deeper into his auto-mythology with more haphazard plotting, gooey violence and endless dialogue, writes Donald Clarke Last Hijack: a real-world prequel to Captain Phillips Last Hijack Tommy Pallotta’s documentary is nicely presented but lacks a coherent narrative Ballerinas get bolshie in Babylon Bolshoi Bolshoi Babylon “The world of theatre is cruel . . . It looks beautiful from the outside, but inside it's boiling” Game Reviews Tearaway Unfolded Angry Birds 2: Bigger, badder, birdier? Not quite. Angry Birds 2 | Game Review Yoshi’s Woolly World | Game Review Twit or Miss | Game Review On The Record The playlist – the tunes of the week at OTR HQ * On The Record * Jim Carroll David Bowie, Anderson .Paak, Nicolas Jaar, Maria Schneider Orchestra, Kendrick Lamar, Tommy KD, Khotin and more on the stereo New Music – Pumarosa, Joon Moon, Angus Dawson * On The Record * Jim Carroll Your new music selections for this week from London, Paris and Perth Screenwriter 10 things to note about yesterday’s Oscar nominations * Donald Clarke We had Charlotte, but not Carol. The Force Awakens encounters unfamiliar failure. And an actor who wasn't nominated steals the show Movie quiz for January 15th * Donald Clarke Warm yourself up with a good hard quiz The Razzies are still not funny * Donald Clarke It really is time to do something about the terminally unamusing awards for worst film x Dragons Stirring As part of our Century series, we capture that moment just months ahead of Easter 1916 Great reads From crosswords to great wines and the best bits from The Irish Times - Buy an Irish Times Book today Subscribe About Us Policy & Terms Subscribe * Subscription Bundles * Gift Subscriptions * Home Delivery Irish Times Products & Services * ePaper * eBooks * Crosswords * Newspaper Archive * Dating * Ancestors * Email Alerts & Newsletters * Article Archive * Executive Jobs * Page Sales * Photo Sales About Us * Advertise * Contact Us * The Irish Times Trust * Careers Download on the App Store Download on Google Play * Our Partners * Rewarding Times * MyHome.ie * Irish Racing * Entertainment.ie * Top 1000 * MyAntiques.ie * The Gloss * Irish Times Training * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Policy * Cookie Information * Community Standards * Copyright * FAQs © 2015 THE IRISH TIMES For the best site experience please enable JavaScript in your browser settings Sign In ____________________ ____________________ (BUTTON) Sign In Forgot Password? 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For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X Michelle Obama ‘knocked back’ by race issues in 2008 US presidential contest US first lady describes ‘sting of daily slights’ Tue, May 12, 2015, 01:00 US first lady Michelle Obama at Tuskegee University. Photograph: Brynn Anderson/AP Photo US first lady Michelle Obama at Tuskegee University. Photograph: Brynn Anderson/AP Photo During a commencement speech at Tuskegee University in Alabama, United States first lady Michelle Obama spoke frankly about the role her racial identity played during the 2008 presidential campaign. “As potentially the first African-American first lady, I was also the focus of another set of questions and speculations, conversations sometimes rooted in the fears and misperceptions of others,” she told the class of 2015 on Saturday. “Was I too loud or too emasculating? Or was I too soft? Too much of a mom and not enough of a career woman?” She referred to her satirical portrayal on a July 2008 cover of the New Yorker magazine as a terrorist. “Then there was the first time I was on a magazine cover,” she told the graduates at the historically black college. “It was a cartoon drawing of me with a huge afro and a machine gun. Now, yeah, it was satire, but if I’m really being honest, it knocked me back a bit. It made me wonder: ‘Just how are people seeing me?’” Directing her remarks directly toward her African American audience, Obama spoke from her own experience : “The road ahead is not going to be easy. It never is, especially for folks like you and me.” Mrs Obama then aired a laundry list of slights she said black Americans deal with on a regular basis: “We’ve both felt the sting of those daily slights throughout our entire lives. The folks who crossed the street in fear of their safety, the clerks who kept a close eye on us in all those department stores. The people at formal events who assumed we were the help.” “And those who have questioned our intelligence, our honesty, even our love of this country, and I know that these little indignities are obviously nothing compared to what folks across the country are dealing with every single day. Those nagging worries about whether you’re going to get stopped or pulled over for absolutely no reason. ” She stressed those experiences were “not an excuse” to “lose hope”. – Bloomberg * Topics: * Michelle Obama * Tuskegee University Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Crime & Law Gardaí search the Grand Canal bank in Ardclough, Co Kildare, where the body of a man was found in a suitcase on Saturday afternoon. Photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times. Gardaí say remains those of man who died in recent days * Opinion “The takeaway message from its negative poster this week might be that it has ceded control of the narrative to Fine Gael.” Photograph: Eric Luke / The Irish Times Fianna Fáil is changing but not quickly enough * European Cup Leinster’s Sean Cronin celebrates after scoring a try in their clash with Bath in the European Champions Cup. Photo: Billy Stickland/Inpho Fountain of youth comes good for Leinster with fighting victory * Politics Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, flanked by party colleagues, waves to supporters after his ardfheis speech at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin. Photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times. 5:35 Coalition has not delivered a fair recovery - Martin ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4269161|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=US ;kvcat=politics;kvorg=Tuskegee+University;cookie=info;] ADVERTISEMENT Latest World Burkina Faso hotel attack: 18 nationalities among 28 dead 14:44 Bill Cosby sexual assault case could be thrown out 13:25 Isis ‘kills 300 people’ in Deir al-Zor, Syrian government says 12:06 Jakarta attacks: Death toll rises to eight after Isis assault 11:20 Independence-minded opposition wins Taiwan election 09:18 ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4269160|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=US ;kvcat=politics;kvorg=Tuskegee+University;cookie=info;] Most Read in News 1 Conservative Germany is ‘mad as hell’ over Merkel’s policies 2 Gardaí say remains those of man who died in recent days 3 Isis ‘kills 300 people’ in Deir al-Zor, Syrian government says 4 Irish nanny plans to sue over wrongful detention in US 5 Woman who was asked to leave River Island awarded €7,500 Never miss a story. SUBSCRIBE [image.png] Subscribe on iTunes Follow on Soundcloud Listen on Stitcher Subscribe About Us Policy & Terms Subscribe * Subscription Bundles * Gift Subscriptions * Home Delivery Irish Times Products & Services * ePaper * eBooks * Crosswords * Newspaper Archive * Dating * Ancestors * Email Alerts & Newsletters * Article Archive * Executive Jobs * Page Sales * Photo Sales About Us * Advertise * Contact Us * The Irish Times Trust * Careers Download on the App Store Download on Google Play * Our Partners * Rewarding Times * MyHome.ie * Irish Racing * Entertainment.ie * Top 1000 * MyAntiques.ie * The Gloss * Irish Times Training * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Policy * Cookie Information * Community Standards * Copyright * FAQs © 2015 THE IRISH TIMES For the best site experience please enable JavaScript in your browser settings Sign In ____________________ ____________________ (BUTTON) Sign In Forgot Password? Don't have an account? 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For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X Don’t take Yes vote for granted, warns Eamon Ryan Undecideds will determine result of same sex marriage referendum, Green leader says Sun, Apr 19, 2015, 15:36 Updated: Sun, Apr 19, 2015, 15:52 Kathryn Hayes Green Party leader Eamon Ryan: “If we do take the Yes vote for granted we risk losing it”. Photograph: Aidan Crawley Green Party leader Eamon Ryan: “If we do take the Yes vote for granted we risk losing it”. Photograph: Aidan Crawley Taking a Yes vote for granted in the upcoming marriage equality referendum will not see a positive result for the government, the leader of the Green Party has warned. Speaking during the ‘Limerick Spring Festival of Politics and Ideas’ taking place in Limerick this weekend, Eamon Ryan said tackling the concerns around family was central to securing a Yes result on May 22 next. Stressing the importance of reasoned debate, Mr Ryan said the result will be determined by the ‘undecided’ and warned that unless the Yes side listen to these voters concerns, they will default to a No vote. “If we do take the Yes vote for granted we risk losing it. You have to listen to the other side and we have to look at those who are undecided. We also have to confront the family argument on the No side if we want the Yes side to win,” he said. Calling for an immediate full public debate on the concerns around children, Mr Ryan said nothing is certain when it comes to predicting a result. “One third will vote Yes no matter what, and one third will vote No, but let us have a debate on family to get the remaining 30 per cent over the line...We have got to confront the No family argument to win the Yes side,” he said. ‘We are the leaders we’ve been waiting for’ is the tag line for this year’s Limerick Spring Festival of Politics and Ideas, which has returned to the city for its second year this weekend. The three day itinerary included 15 events ranging from big political debates to music and film premieres, art workshops, pop up protests, and political theatre and satire. The festival started life in 2014 as one of the City of Culture Made in Limerick projects and received funding to help stage and promote events. One of the highlights of the weekend was “The Big Debate” on Saturday which included a high profile panel of speakers tackle the question “Where does the Power Lie?” Among the speakers was Philippe Legrain, author of The European Spring and the former the former advisor to European Commission President Manuel Barroso. Speaking about the future of Greece in the Eurozone, Mr Le Gran, who previously stated publicly that Ireland was treated appallingly by the ECB during the banking crisis, said the best solution for Greece is to stay but only under the correct conditions. “I think that the best situation would be for Greece to remain debt relief by remaining within the Eurozone that is the best option. “That said if Germany isn’t willing to compromise and Greece is not willing to push things far enough in order to obtain debt relieve I think it would would be better off outside the Eurozone than staying in on the current terms.” He said if Greece left the Eurozone it would be very disruptive for Greece in the immediate future but in a short period you would have a country with much lower debt and freedom to set its own policies. Mr Legrain warned that any departure by Greece would have graver consequences for the rest of Europe as it would create an “uncertainty premium” for any other potentially crisis hit country, which would deter investment. “Obviously if Greece were doing well outside the Euro it’s likely that other countries might want to leave too, ” he said. * Topics: * Same-sex Marriage Referendum * Eamon Ryan Read More * Breda O’Brien: Does Mary McAleese understand why people are voting No? * Muslim leader warns against Yes vote in marriage referendum * Donohoe calls for ‘responsible tone’ in referendum debate Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Crime & Law Gardaí search the Grand Canal bank in Ardclough, Co Kildare, where the body of a man was found in a suitcase on Saturday afternoon. Photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times. Gardaí say remains those of man who died in recent days * Opinion “The takeaway message from its negative poster this week might be that it has ceded control of the narrative to Fine Gael.” Photograph: Eric Luke / The Irish Times Fianna Fáil is changing but not quickly enough * Politics Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, flanked by party colleagues, waves to supporters after his ardfheis speech at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin. Photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times. 5:35 Coalition has not delivered a fair recovery - Martin * European Cup Leinster’s Sean Cronin celebrates after scoring a try in their clash with Bath in the European Champions Cup. Photo: Billy Stickland/Inpho Fountain of youth comes good for Leinster with fighting victory ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4269110|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Po litics;cookie=info;] ADVERTISEMENT News, analysis and a prediction for every #ge16 constituency Latest Ireland Gardaí say remains those of man who died in recent days 14:43 Arson attack in Drogheda had potential ‘for loss of life’ 14:07 Cork school to host launch of Catholic Schools Week 12:56 Man (37) dies after car crash in Co Tipperary 12:53 Two held on suspicion of attempted murder in Belfast 12:33 ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4269112|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Po litics;cookie=info;] Our politics team offer their unique take on political events of the day Google ID ____________________ Name ____________________ Surname ____________________ Email ____________________ (BUTTON) Sign Up [X] I would also like to receive occasional update emails from The Irish Times L-R: John Leahy (Renua), Eoin O’Broin (Sinn Fein), Jack Chambers (Fianna Fail). Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill People to watch in 2016 Harry McGee points to five expected do well at the ballot boxes Most Read in News 1 Conservative Germany is ‘mad as hell’ over Merkel’s policies 2 Gardaí say remains those of man who died in recent days 3 Isis ‘kills 300 people’ in Deir al-Zor, Syrian government says 4 Irish nanny plans to sue over wrongful detention in US 5 Woman who was asked to leave River Island awarded €7,500 Never miss a story. SUBSCRIBE Features & Opinion Fine Gael’s John Perry has no problem being an outcast * Fiach Kelly Fine Gael’s John Perry has no problem being an outcast On the canvass with the Sligo-North Leitrim TD who survived legal battle with his party What’s wrong with going negative? * Hugh Linehan What’s wrong with going negative? Weekend Read: Political parties are defining the narrative of the upcoming election, and the first signs of ‘negative campaigning’ have met with outrage. But highlighting your opponent’s shortcomings is part of politics Miriam Lord: PJ Mara was a charming, disarming spin doctor * Miriam Lord Miriam Lord: PJ Mara was a charming, disarming spin doctor The FF strategist gave the impression he found the whole political thing a bit of a lark PJ Mara: five attributes that defined former strategist * Harry McGee PJ Mara: five attributes that defined former strategist Part of the reason Mara was effective was his character traits made him well suited to role Taoiseach Dr Gatret FtizGerald and the British prime minister Margaret Thatcher at the signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement in Hillsborough Castle, Co Down. Photograph: Matt Kavanagh Anglo-Irish Agreement A special collection of articles 30 years on [image.png] Subscribe on iTunes Follow on Soundcloud Listen on Stitcher News - direct to your inbox Which Daily Digest would you like? * ( ) Morning * ( ) Lunchtime * (*) Both Google ID ____________________ Name ____________________ Surname ____________________ Email ____________________ (BUTTON) Sign Up Politics on Twitter Tweets from @IrishTimesPol/oireachtas Follow @IrishTimesPol Connect IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com% 2Firishtimes&send=false&layout=standard&width=300&show_faces=false&font =trebuchet+ms&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=42210213449 0557 Subscribe About Us Policy & Terms Subscribe * Subscription Bundles * Gift Subscriptions * Home Delivery Irish Times Products & Services * ePaper * eBooks * Crosswords * Newspaper Archive * Dating * Ancestors * Email Alerts & Newsletters * Article Archive * Executive Jobs * Page Sales * Photo Sales About Us * Advertise * Contact Us * The Irish Times Trust * Careers Download on the App Store Download on Google Play * Our Partners * Rewarding Times * MyHome.ie * Irish Racing * Entertainment.ie * Top 1000 * MyAntiques.ie * The Gloss * Irish Times Training * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Policy * Cookie Information * Community Standards * Copyright * FAQs © 2015 THE IRISH TIMES For the best site experience please enable JavaScript in your browser settings Sign In ____________________ ____________________ (BUTTON) Sign In Forgot Password? 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For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X Death threats for Saudi satirist who fights Islamic State with humour Sketch show recently shown on Saudi television lampoons holy warriors Mon, Jun 22, 2015, 22:41 Satirist Nasser al-Qasabi. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images Satirist Nasser al-Qasabi. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images A Saudi TV star has earned death threats for deploying a new weapon against Islamic State: laughter. Selfie, a sketch show which debuted last week on Saudi-owned pan-Arab satellite channel MBC, has won praise from influential voices in the Middle East for daring to mock the hardline militant group. In one scene, a group of buffoonish holy warriors at a “girl market” picks concubines from a line of chained women. “Come on guys!” interjects a naive character played by the show’s Saudi star, Nasser al-Qasabi. “This is forbidden by Islam, these are just children!” “God forgives!” the ringleader snaps back. Saudi Arabia observes a strict form of Sunni Islam but is opposed to Islamic State, the group also known as ISIS or ISIL which has seized much of Syria and Iraq and declared a “caliphate” to rule over all Muslims. Al-Qasabi says his show’s message, though presented in the form of satire, is deadly serious. He says he has been unfazed by threats he has received from the militants’ supporters since the broadcast. In a typical response from a supporter of the militants, a Twitter user wrote to al-Qasabi: “I swear to god you will regret what you did, you apostate.” – (Reuters) * Topics: * Saudi Arabia Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Crime & Law Gardaí search the Grand Canal bank in Ardclough, Co Kildare, where the body of a man was found in a suitcase on Saturday afternoon. Photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times. Gardaí say remains those of man who died in recent days * Opinion “The takeaway message from its negative poster this week might be that it has ceded control of the narrative to Fine Gael.” Photograph: Eric Luke / The Irish Times Fianna Fáil is changing but not quickly enough * European Cup Leinster’s Sean Cronin celebrates after scoring a try in their clash with Bath in the European Champions Cup. Photo: Billy Stickland/Inpho Fountain of youth comes good for Leinster with fighting victory * Politics Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, flanked by party colleagues, waves to supporters after his ardfheis speech at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin. Photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times. 5:35 Coalition has not delivered a fair recovery - Martin ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4269161|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Mi ddle+East;kvloc=Saudi+Arabia;cookie=info;] ADVERTISEMENT Exodus A special report on the desperate plight of migrants trying to make a new life in Europe Latest World Burkina Faso hotel attack: 18 nationalities among 28 dead 14:44 Bill Cosby sexual assault case could be thrown out 13:25 Isis ‘kills 300 people’ in Deir al-Zor, Syrian government says 12:06 Jakarta attacks: Death toll rises to eight after Isis assault 11:20 Independence-minded opposition wins Taiwan election 09:18 ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4269160|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Mi ddle+East;kvloc=Saudi+Arabia;cookie=info;] [image.png] Subscribe on iTunes Follow on Soundcloud Listen on Stitcher Migrant Crisis European unity falters in the face of refugee crisis Most Read in News 1 Conservative Germany is ‘mad as hell’ over Merkel’s policies 2 Gardaí say remains those of man who died in recent days 3 Isis ‘kills 300 people’ in Deir al-Zor, Syrian government says 4 Irish nanny plans to sue over wrongful detention in US 5 Woman who was asked to leave River Island awarded €7,500 Never miss a story. SUBSCRIBE Features & Opinion Migrant crisis sees no slowdown during winter * Europe * Daniel McLaughlin Migrant crisis sees no slowdown during winter The new year has failed to bring cohesion to Europe’s handling of its worst refugee emergency since the second World War Conservative Germany is ‘mad as hell’ over Merkel’s policies * Europe * Derek Scally Conservative Germany is ‘mad as hell’ over Merkel’s policies As vigilantes roam Cologne to protect ‘blonde German women’, the clock ticks for chancellor Republican debate: Gloves come off as fight intensifies * US * Simon Carswell Republican debate: Gloves come off as fight intensifies Analysis: Insults and policy jabs flew in a debate that came at a crucial point Uganda moves to meet women’s contraceptive needs * Africa * Louise McLoughlin Uganda moves to meet women’s contraceptive needs Attitudes changing in country where belief remains strong that contraception causes infertility Taiwan frontrunner conciliatory towards China ahead of poll * Asia-Pacific * Clifford Coonan Taiwan frontrunner conciliatory towards China ahead of poll Tsai Ing-wen expected to unseat President Ma Ying-jeou in Saturday’s election A French police officer stands guard by the Eiffel tower. Photograph: Eric Gaillard/Reuters Paris attacks Full coverage of Europe's counter-terror operations following the Paris attacks Ukraine Crisis The revolt that escalated to a global crisis Galleries Irish artist Colin Davidson with his painting of Angela Merkel which made the front cover of Time magazine. The Belfast artist was commissioned by Time which has made the German chancellor its person of the year. Angela Merkel cover star Policemen stand guard in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis city center on Wednesday as French Police special forces raid an apartment, hunting those behind the attacks that claimed 129 lives in the French capital five days ago. 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For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X Irish culture in 1945 was both lively and bleak The ‘Irish Times’ Modern Ireland in 100 Artworks project has published its first 30 entries, covering 1916-1945 – a time of paradoxical philistinism and creativity Sat, Jun 6, 2015, 06:00 Fintan O'Toole The February 1945 edition of ‘The Bell’, Ireland’s main intellectual monthly, carried an essay by one Donat O’Donnell on the Irish Independent. The author was described only as having “recently graduated from Trinity College Dublin”. He was, in fact, the young Conor Cruise O’Brien, writing under a pseudonym. The February 1945 edition of ‘The Bell’, Ireland’s main intellectual monthly, carried an essay by one Donat O’Donnell on the Irish Independent. The author was described only as having “recently graduated from Trinity College Dublin”. He was, in fact, the young Conor Cruise O’Brien, writing under a pseudonym. The February 1945 edition of The Bell, Ireland’s main intellectual monthly, carried an essay by one Donat O’Donnell on the Irish Independent. The author was described only as having “recently graduated from Trinity College Dublin”. He was, in fact, the young Conor Cruise O’Brien, writing under a pseudonym. In his essay, he noted that The Irish Times paid nothing for unsigned book reviews. The Independent, on the other hand, paid good money but only on certain conditions. The neophyte reviewer was given a stern warning: “When you get a book from us the first thing to look for is to see if there’s anything objectionable in it. You know there are a lot of these books coming in now — books with some scene in them. If there’s anything like that in it, we don’t want any review, good bad, or indifferent.” The problem, it was explained, was that the objectionable bits could not be described in print and therefore some innocent parish priest might buy the book and then there would be hell to pay. So books were only to be reviewed if they were “all right, right through”. “With the others you needn’t write anything and you won’t get any pay, but you can sell the book.” That same issue of The Bell carried pieces by Sean O’Casey, Bernard Shaw and others on Ireland’s ferocious censorship; an essay by Peadar O’Donnell on mass emigration to wartime Britain (“If the way were open to the U.S.A., there would be a stampede”) and a gloomy piece by Arland Ussher on the future of the Irish language (“with the improved and cheapened means of travel and radio-transmission which we may expect after the War, nothing is more certain than that the vernacular will very quickly be swept out of its last hiding-holes”). The only mention of the visual arts in the whole issue was a digression in O’Donnell’s essay calling on Irish architects to present their plans for demolishing the older parts of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Derry and Belfast, “for we want our cities transformed, not patched, and we want pictures of the transformed cities NOW”. Bleakly lively This one issue, chosen at random, gives a rather bleak picture of the state of Irish culture as the second World War entered its last year. Yet it is a peculiarly lively kind of bleakness. In these pages alone, there are three young writers who will go on to great things in three different forms. There is Cruise O’Brien, later one of the leading essayists of the late 20th century. There is the first appearance, with the exquisite short story Janey Mary, of James Plunkett, who will go on to become the finest historical novelist Ireland has ever produced. And there is the fifth and final instalment of a groundbreaking autobiographical series on prison life called I Did Penal Servitude. The author is identified by his prison number D 83222. He will later be famous as Brendan Behan. So here we have in one snapshot the paradoxical narrowness and fecundity, philistinism and creativity of Irish culture almost 30 years after the 1916 Rising. Perhaps the key to this paradox lies in the two faces of indifference. In the most sustained satiric attack on the culture of the new State, Denis Johnson’s 1929 expressionist play The Old Lady Say No!, the second act is a burlesque on the arts scene. It features a salon with the “well-known dramatist” O’Cooney, the “famous novelist” O’Rooney, the “rising portrait painter” O’Mooney, and the Minister for Arts and Crafts, along with chorus of the Irish people. At one point the minister explains, “Well, a young fellow comes along to me and he says, Now look Liam, here’s some Art I’m after doing . . . it might be a book, you see, or a drawing, or even a poem . . . and can you do anything for me, he says? Well with that, I do . . . if he deserves it, mind you, only if he deserves it, under Section 15 of the Deserving Artists’ (Support) Act, No 65 of 1926 . . . And of course, then, you see, it helps us to keep an eye on the sort of stuff that’s turned out . . . ” The Chorus intones: “The State supports the Artist./And the Artist supports the State.” This is a very good description of what we might expect in a revolutionary State, an ideological regime using the arts to bolster its authority. And yet, as satire, it is wide of the mark. There was no Deserving Artists Act. There was not even a minister for arts and crafts – or even so much as a humble parliamentary secretary. The State had two main cultural interests. One was stopping the spread of “evil literature”. Hence the rapacious apparatus of censorship. The other was the revival of Irish as the everyday language of the people. But even these were shot through with hypocrisy. The wealthy and well-educated could still get their hands on most “evil literature”. And the revival of Irish was as much a rhetorical as a real project. Beyond these projects, there was in fact a remarkable indifference to artists. The downside was that the first part of the chorus’s claim (the State supports the artist) was largely unfounded. There were some specific projects that the State or its agencies did invest, such as Sean Keating’s paintings of the ESB’s Ardnacrusha scheme, Michael Scott’s Irish pavilion at the New York world’s fair (1939), and Gabriel Hayes’s fine sculptures on public buildings. But even then, these commissions could be horribly fraught experiences, as with Harry Clark’s rejected Geneva window. The Abbey Theatre (and later the Gate) received small State subsidies, but here too writers such as Johnson, Teresa Deevy and the wildly imaginative Kerry playwright George Fitzmaurice could suddenly find themselves on the outside for no obvious reason. What is much more striking than the occasional forays into official patronage is the State’s lack of any sustained interest in developing an artistic hinterland on which it could draw for support. The upside was that the other part of the chorus’s slogan – the artist supports the State – was equally untrue. Official indifference was a cruel kindness, but a kindness nonetheless. For architects, lack of official patronage in an economy with a small and sluggish private sector, was hugely problematic. But for other kinds of artists, it was what might be called a mixed curse. It may be unfair to speculate whether, for example, Keating wold have become a better painter had he not been given a semi-official status and the relative comfort that came with it. But it is worth wondering what might have become of some of his literary counterparts had they not been alienated from the State. One can think of a number of major writers – Sean O’Faolain, Brian O’Nolan, Kate O’Brien, Frank O’Connor, Teresa Deevy – whose backgrounds in nationalism, Catholicism or the Irish language might have made them suitable material for semi-official status. We have no idea how they might have responded to such blandishments. What we do know, of course, is that the State (and the church) spared them the torments of such temptation. They remained, in different ways, on the outside – a relatively free place to be. Hence that paradoxical cultural space, a gloomy sky lit up by flashes of brilliantly jagged anger. * Topics: * Arland Ussher * Bernard Shaw * Brendan Behan * Brian O Nolan * Conor Cruise O Brien * Denis Johnson * Donat O Donnell * Fintan O Toole * Frank O Connor * Gabriel Hayes * George Fitzmaurice * Harry Clark * James Plunkett * Janey Mary * Kate O Brien * Michael Scott * Peadar O Donnell * Sean Keating * Sean O Casey * Sean O Faolain * Teresa Deevy * Abbey Theatre * ESB * Limerick * Trinity College Dublin * Johnson * County Kerry * Galway * Ireland * United Kingdom Read More * 100 Artworks: The first 30. Which is your favourite? Tell us and win Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Stage Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards: And the nominees are . . . * Books Lebanon * People Impossibly photogenic: the Tiger’s Nest, or Taktsang Palphug, monastery, Bhutan’s most sacred site. 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ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268881|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=He ritage;kvcat=arts,+culture+and+entertainment;kvloc=County+Kerry:Galway: Ireland:United+Kingdom;kvorg=Abbey+Theatre:ESB:Limerick:Trinity+College +Dublin;kvcompany=Johnson;cookie=info;] [image.jpg] IFRAME: https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/playl ists/72151780&color=b74f7d&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comm ents=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false Subscribe on iTunes Follow on Soundcloud Listen on Stitcher Most Read in Culture 1 Family sugar audit: Eva Orsmond with Louise and Ollie Ryan Television: A sugar-crash course in how we are poisoning ourselves 2 Michael B Jordan and Sylvester Stallone in Creed ‘Apollo Creed meant everything to African-Americans’ 3 Did Philip K Dick dream of electric sheep? Much worse 4 Final bow: Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc at the end of the final Friends, in 2004 Friends: they lived perfect lives in a time of plenty. Of course we want them back 5 ‘I think cognitive enhancers should be allowed for academics’ Unthinkable: Is it unethical to take brain stimulants? 6 Dublin Rapper Tommy KD: “I never dreamt I’d be doing stuff like this, like getting the album out or playing my own shows. But at the same time, it’s important to say that everything’s not rosy.” Photograph: Cyril Byrne / THE IRISH TIMES Tommy KD: the Dublin rapper with one of the toughest stories in Irish music 7 Giant’s staircase: Utec, Lima has ‘opened up exciting new frontiers for Peruvian architecture’. Photograph: Grafton Architects, Iwan Baan Studio Bravo Lima: the Irish architects designing the ‘new geography’ 8 Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards: And the nominees are . . . 9 Joseph O’Connor on David Bowie, pictured here in 1965: “Kurt Vonnegut once wrote that the only plausible mission of the artist is ‘to make people feel they’re glad to be alive, at least a little bit.’ There are not many artists who’ve ever managed to achieve that highest of accolades. In my own life, David Bowie was one of them. He was part of my soundtrack, my passport, my pillow. I feel I was enriched to be around during his spell on the planet.” Photograph: CA/Redferns/Getty Images David Bowie: Irish writers pay tribute 10 The dialogues the author creates between Plato and various contemporary characters, including a marketing agent, a Google employee, a Tiger Mum, a radio host and a neuroscientist, convincingly demonstrate the value of continuing the job that Socrates started in ancient Greece. But they also show just why Plato would struggle to be heard today. Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won’t Go Away, by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein Never miss a story. SUBSCRIBE IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2FIrishTimesCulture&width=292&height=258&colorscheme=light&show_fac es=true&header=false&stream=false&show_border=true Book Offers Book Offers From The Irish Times Book of the Year to Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales, you'll find books for all tastes and ages. 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Subscriber quick links * Newspaper Archive * Crossword Club * ePaper desktop app * IT Sunday * eBooks * Subscriber Benefits * My Account -- #work rss Apple RSS The Irish Times - Culture [p?c1=2&c2=8946263&cv=2.0&cj=1] IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-M9Q373 * Search * Newsletters * Crossword * Notices * My Account * Sign Out * Subscribe * Sign In [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268871|0|225|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Fi lm;kvcat=arts,+culture+and+entertainment;cookie=info;] Menu The Irish Times Sun, Jan 17, 2016 ^Sign In Welcome * The Irish Times * News * Sport * Business * Opinion * Life & Style * Culture * More * Video * Podcasts * Executive Jobs * Subscribe * My Account * Sign Out * Sign In * * Culture * Film * Film Reviews All Culture * Books + Book Reviews + The Book Club + Poetry + Hennessy NIW + IT Books * Film + Film Reviews * Music + Album Reviews * Stage + Stage Reviews * Art & Design * TV, Radio, Web * Photography * Treibh * Heritage * Specials + David Bowie + Century + Modern Ireland in 100 Artworks * Podcasts + Off Topic By using this website, you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X How did Amy Poehler become Hollywood’s favourite person? She’s got an acerbic wit, frequently speaks her mind, and has burned almost everyone at the Golden Globes: so how did Amy Poehler become Hollywood’s most-loved? Fri, Jul 24, 2015, 05:00 Donald Clarke Amy Poehler: ‘Oh, we were real Irish-American. This was Boston. That meant Jesus, JFK, illustrated pamphlets on St Patrick. Lots of beer and lots of potatoes. That’s the Irish-American version of it all. Ha ha!’ Photograph: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images Amy Poehler: ‘Oh, we were real Irish-American. This was Boston. That meant Jesus, JFK, illustrated pamphlets on St Patrick. Lots of beer and lots of potatoes. That’s the Irish-American version of it all. Ha ha!’ Photograph: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images The word is that Amy Poehler has jet lag. Busy on promotional duties for Pixar’s lovely Inside Out, in which she voices the personification of happiness, the American has barely had a chance to stretch since landing in London. A passing minder notes, however, that: “Amy on jet lag is like the rest of us . . . ” I am shuffled in before the sentence is finished, but the sense is clear: Ms Poehler will not be dozing off. She certainly looks poised for action. Poehler sits cross-legged in the centre of the plush sofa like a hip yogi: hair now copper- coloured; upper half sheathed in a Who T-shirt. The sense of coiled energy is palpable. Inside Out trailer IFRAME: https://www.youtube.com/embed/seMwpP0yeu4 “I was just in Ireland!” she enthuses. I heard. She was given a gold medal from the Philosophical Society in Trinity College. By all accounts, her speech kicked nine colours of bottom. “It was awesome,” she says. “I had spent two months in my 20s on an exchange programme at the Abbey Theatre. And I stayed in Trinity. It was amazing to go back 20 years later. Dublin is now crushing it. The city feels so ahead of the game.’ In the years I have been doing this job, I have rarely, after telling associates who I was about to meet, encountered the sort of enthusiasm that Amy Poehler generates. “Oh I love her!” they say. “You’re so lucky!” Perhaps best known as the psychotically positive Leslie Knope in Parks and Recreation, Poehler has somehow mastered the art of connection. We all feel we know her. “That’s a terrible thing to say to somebody,” she laughs. “I am Irish, you know. We like to be the underdog. Look, that’s very nice to hear. But for me to even comment on that would be too weird. That’s your job. But it is nice to hear.” Globe stars It’s a peculiar one. Poehler can certainly take an acerbic tone when the material requires it. In recent years, she and her great friend Tina Fey have helped transform the Golden Globes from an awards-season backwater to a boozy festival of snark. But, when hosting that ceremony, she also gives the impression of a decent sort allowing herself a rare slide into abrasiveness. “The great thing about the Golden Globes is that people can drink,” she says. “And they are seated at round tables. So, they can look at one another. That’s very helpful for comedy: round tables and drinking. The Irish have known that forever.” When it was announced that Poehler was to voice Joy in Inside Out, most sensible people felt the casting was so appropriate as to be near inevitable. Who better to represent positivity than the woman behind the irrepressible Leslie Knope? “That’s great. But one theme of the film is that it’s okay not to be happy all the time. Most of us aren’t, and that’s probably good news. The pursuit of happiness is a very American thing and Joy is a very American character: ‘Quick! Hurry! Let’s not think! Keep going! Everybody follow me!’ Look, nobody is who . . . erm . . . I don’t know what people expect me to be and I try not to think what they expect of me.” Boston Irish Let’s sort out the Irishness. Poehler’s dad has German, Portuguese and English blood, so you won’t need to be told that she gets most of the Hibernian juices from her mother’s side. Maternal great-great grandparents made their way to the US from Co Cork. There are also ancestors from Sligo. As she explains it, every box in the checklist was hit. “Oh, we were real Irish-American. This was Boston. That meant Jesus, JFK, illustrated pamphlets on St Patrick. Lots of beer and lots of potatoes. That’s the Irish-American version of it all. Ha ha!” Both parents were teachers, but they reacted with equanimity when, after attending Boston College, their daughter drifted towards Chicago and the improvisatory geniuses at Second City. That company could be seen as the Harvard of comedy. Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Mike Myers, Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey: the list of distinguished alumni would fill a phone book. “Yeah, I loved Bill Murray and Gilda Radner,” she says. “So, I thought: how did they do it? I just stood in their giant footsteps and trudged along.” Like so many of the best SC people, Poehler next moved to the fecund comic hothouse that is Saturday Night Live. She arrived on the TV show right after 9/11, and will now admit that a degree of political caution set in following the attacks. But, as the decade progressed, the atmosphere shifted and Poehler found her place. Tina Fey, of course, created a chillingly accurate simulacrum of the intellectually incurious Sarah Palin. Poehler found herself on Hillary Clinton duties. When I ask about Clinton’s current campaign, she adroitly sidesteps political commitment. “Well, I’m excited about the election because it’s always good when Americans are paying attention,” she says. “It was great to work on a weekly variety show during the 2008 election because people were really paying attention. It was also good because, by then, there were so many women in the arena to play.” Park plays At this stage, Poehler was just a little overshadowed by the unstoppable Fey, who co-created 30 Rock. The stealth success of Parks and Recreation changed that. The first series of the show, which goes among bureaucrats at a parks department in Indiana, was virtually ignored, but it built a following to become a genuine phenomenon. The day before we meet, she received an Emmy nomination (her 14th) for her turn in the final series. Poehler responded to inquiries from the New York Times with a hearty: “Fuck yeah!” “You bet. And I said you’d better write it all out. Don’t you asterisk me. And I say ‘Fuck, yeah!’ to The Irish Times too. Fucking A! We were triumphant and super-surprised.” Now divorced from the actor Will Arnett, with whom she has two children, Poehler, still just 43, is nicely poised for a further surge forward. At the end of the year, Sisters, starring her and Fey as siblings, opens as tasty counter-programming to Star Wars Episode 7. Her recent book, Yes, Please, did nicely indeed. The intriguing, star-packed satire Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp will be on Netflix next week. “I love that I am getting to do different things all the time,” she says. “I love that I work in so many different ways. I am happy with the weird twists and turns my career has taken. I really wouldn’t change anything.” Would she not? Few people would say that. “No, no. All of it feels like a lovely slow climb with a talented ensemble. A lot of readiness, luck, timing and . . . bribes. Hee! Hee!” I’ll point out that she laughed. “Yeah, right. Constant bribes,” she says, handing me an envelope. “Ha ha.” Inside Out opens Friday July 24th * Topics: * Albert Brooks * Amy Poehler * Ben Burtt * Carl Fredricksen * Ed Asner * Ellen Degeneres * Gilda Radner * Hillary Clinton * John Ratzenberger * Leslie Knope * Mike Myers * Murray Bill * Murray Radner * Sarah Palin * Stephen Colbert * Tom Hanks * Will Arnett * Willem Dafoe Read More * Inside Out review: emotion in constant motion * Aidan Gillen: chasing character at the top of his game * You’re Ugly Too review: two pains in the asses Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Music Pop Corner: Selena marks her ex’s spot; Zayn chaffed at control * Books An illustration from Aharon Appelfeld’s Adam & Thomas Children’s book reviews: a trio of compelling stories * Art & Design Giant’s staircase: Utec, Lima has ‘opened up exciting new frontiers for Peruvian architecture’. Photograph: Grafton Architects, Iwan Baan Studio Bravo Lima: the Irish architects designing the ‘new geography’ * Food & Drink The Drift Inn in Buncrana: an upturned boat with huge, semicircular beams divides the main bar. Barfly: the Drift Inn, Buncrana ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268873|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Fi lm;kvcat=arts,+culture+and+entertainment;cookie=info;] ADVERTISEMENT The Irish Times Logo Sign In Email Address ____________________ Password ____________________ [ ] I agree to the Terms & Conditions, Community Standards and Privacy Policy (BUTTON) Sign In Don't have an account? Sign Up Forgot Password? The Irish Times Logo Sign Up First Name ____________________ Surname ____________________ Screen Name ____________________ The name that will appear beside your comments. 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The Film Show The Irish Times Film Show: The Revenant, Creed & Room 7:47 The Irish Times Film Show: The Revenant, Creed & Room The Irish Times Film Show: The Hateful Eight & A War 6:55 The Irish Times Film Show: The Hateful Eight & A War ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268872|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Fi lm;kvcat=arts,+culture+and+entertainment;cookie=info;] Film Reviews Room The walls close in on a mother and child in Lenny Abrahamson’s moving, harrowing adapation of the acclaimed novel Creed Creed firmly overthrows any notions that the Rocky films are trading on an elaborate Great White Hope mythology The Revenant ‘The Revenant’ is short on dialogue and thin on characterisation; however the misery is well worth enduring A War (Krigen) The war in Afghanistan is the inspiration for a tense Danish courtroom drama Shem the Penman Sings Again A delightful, playful study of the relationship between Joyce and McCormack The Hateful Eight Tarantino sinks deeper into his auto-mythology with more haphazard plotting, gooey violence and endless dialogue, writes Donald Clarke Last Hijack: a real-world prequel to Captain Phillips Last Hijack Tommy Pallotta’s documentary is nicely presented but lacks a coherent narrative Ballerinas get bolshie in Babylon Bolshoi Bolshoi Babylon “The world of theatre is cruel . . . It looks beautiful from the outside, but inside it's boiling” Donald Clarke's Movie Quiz You can see Twilight twinkling in the eye of this week's quiz... Screenwriter 10 things to note about yesterday’s Oscar nominations * Screenwriter * Donald Clarke We had Charlotte, but not Carol. The Force Awakens encounters unfamiliar failure. And an actor who wasn't nominated steals the show Movie quiz for January 15th * Screenwriter * Donald Clarke Warm yourself up with a good hard quiz Most Read in Culture 1 Family sugar audit: Eva Orsmond with Louise and Ollie Ryan Television: A sugar-crash course in how we are poisoning ourselves 2 Michael B Jordan and Sylvester Stallone in Creed ‘Apollo Creed meant everything to African-Americans’ 3 Did Philip K Dick dream of electric sheep? Much worse 4 Final bow: Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc at the end of the final Friends, in 2004 Friends: they lived perfect lives in a time of plenty. Of course we want them back 5 ‘I think cognitive enhancers should be allowed for academics’ Unthinkable: Is it unethical to take brain stimulants? 6 Dublin Rapper Tommy KD: “I never dreamt I’d be doing stuff like this, like getting the album out or playing my own shows. But at the same time, it’s important to say that everything’s not rosy.” Photograph: Cyril Byrne / THE IRISH TIMES Tommy KD: the Dublin rapper with one of the toughest stories in Irish music 7 Giant’s staircase: Utec, Lima has ‘opened up exciting new frontiers for Peruvian architecture’. Photograph: Grafton Architects, Iwan Baan Studio Bravo Lima: the Irish architects designing the ‘new geography’ 8 Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards: And the nominees are . . . 9 Joseph O’Connor on David Bowie, pictured here in 1965: “Kurt Vonnegut once wrote that the only plausible mission of the artist is ‘to make people feel they’re glad to be alive, at least a little bit.’ There are not many artists who’ve ever managed to achieve that highest of accolades. In my own life, David Bowie was one of them. He was part of my soundtrack, my passport, my pillow. I feel I was enriched to be around during his spell on the planet.” Photograph: CA/Redferns/Getty Images David Bowie: Irish writers pay tribute 10 The dialogues the author creates between Plato and various contemporary characters, including a marketing agent, a Google employee, a Tiger Mum, a radio host and a neuroscientist, convincingly demonstrate the value of continuing the job that Socrates started in ancient Greece. But they also show just why Plato would struggle to be heard today. Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won’t Go Away, by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein Never miss a story. SUBSCRIBE IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2FIrishTimesCulture&width=292&height=258&colorscheme=light&show_fac es=true&header=false&stream=false&show_border=true Film News Director Lenny Abrahamson, his wife Monika and James Hickey, chief executive of the Irish Film Board, at a party in the Light House cinema in Dublin. Photograph: Dave Meehan/The Irish Times Irish Oscar nominations exceed all expectations Pictured celebrating four Oscar nominations for Irish film Room are director Lenny Abrahamson, his wife Monika, and James Hickey, chief executive of the Irish Film Board at a party in the Lighthouse cinema last night.Photograph: Dave Meehan/The Irish Times Oscars: ‘You have to mark an event like this,’ Lenny Abrahamson says Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has paid tribute to ‘magnificent actor’ Alan Rickman on his death. Photograph: Jas Lehal/Files/Reuters J.K. 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For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X Television: Why there’s no lock on the Ladies, and other Irish pub tales Review: ‘The Irish Pub’, ‘Inside the Ku Klux Klan’, ‘The Sound Barrier’ Fri, Jul 17, 2015, 14:00 Bernice Harrison The man behind the counter: Paul Gartlan, the publican star of the RTÉ documentary The Irish Pub The man behind the counter: Paul Gartlan, the publican star of the RTÉ documentary The Irish Pub ‘You go into a pub abroad and they nearly ignore you. You go into one in Ireland and they’d go up in your arse to find out who you are – name, address and creamery number.” That’s Paul Gartlan, standing behind his bar in Cavan, his deadpan delivery honed over years of pulling pints. In one sentence Gartlan captures much about the traditional bar. Alex Fegan’s film The Irish Pub (RTÉ One, Monday) is an atmospheric, almost elegiac homage to traditional bars from Dingle to Donegal. These are the ones with the nicotine-stained ceilings and shelves behind the bar that heave with memorabilia, from ancient advertisements for Player’s Navy Cut to notices of the parish lotto. For such a unique part of Irish life – and a concept that has been widely exported – it’s a wonder more isn’t done to promote and protect the traditional Irish pub. Tourist mandarins, though, might be a little wary of Paul Gartlan. The publican recalls that an American once complained that there was no lock on the toilet door in the Ladies. Gartlan told her that his grandfather founded the pub in 1911, and that he had taken it over from his own father – the tourist must have been charmed by the history lesson – before rounding it off with “and in all that time no one ever stole a shit out of it”. If Dave McSavage, whose Savage Eye features Mick “the Bull” Daly, a searing satire on the traditional Irish publican, didn’t write that gem down, he’s missing a trick. Fegan unearths a seam of Irish eccentricity, and the subtly complex soundtrack, by Denis Clohessy, captures an almost melancholy mood; overall, the pacing is as measured as an old-school barman pulling a pint. The Irish Pub is a true observational film; there is no voiceover or presenter, no questions from behind the camera. The focus is on the publicans, who tell their stories with great ease, direct to camera. Significantly, most are the third generation of the same family to stand behind the counter. The customers are few and elderly. There’s a strong sense, especially in the small rural pubs, that these are businesses that survive only because costs are low. And, even at that, they’re dying out anyway. Covering the Klan Not completely dying out, or so we’re told, is the throwback white-supremacist group, of which even Atticus Finch was a member, apparently, featured in Inside the Ku Klux Klan (Channel 4, Monday). The Bafta-winning film-maker Dan Vernon spent seven months with the Traditionalist American Knights of the Klan in a middle-of-nowhere town in Missouri. Vernon’s documentary begins by suggesting that recruitment for the chapter is booming, but there is no real sense – or, indeed, proof – of that. What we see instead is a sad group of ageing, mostly beardy inadequates – what is it with hate organisations and straggly beards? – dressed in ridiculous robes and pointy hats. “Remember, they’re polyester, so stay well back from the fire,” advises the imperial wizard just before the Klan’s centrepiece ritual, in which they burn a giant cross in the forest. I would laugh at that advice if I weren’t too busy murmuring, “What is wrong with these people?” Where else would a guy like Frank Ancona, a van driver, get to be a leader of men, wear elaborate robes, conduct complex rituals and be given the title of imperial wizard, observes Vernon, who questions and comments off camera throughout. In the middle of filming, the activist hacker group Anonymous makes public the list of the chapter’s members. This causes some new recruits to leave, including a young couple in their 20s who joined because they’d been a long time on the housing waiting list, which isn’t right for white Americans – and, anyway, joining made their marriage stronger. Many in the chapter, who portray themselves as wounded and misunderstood, say that being a member is much the same as being in any sort of club. Deeply ugly racist things are said, although I suspect that these Klan members are trying hard, with occasional telling slips, to put their least offensive foot forward. In one scene the “grand klugg” – the titles make excellent fantasy-fiction fodder – stops a teenage Klan fan from giving the Nazi salute because of the negative impression it gives. “Have a white day,” he says cheerily as the teen wanders off. The members come across more as pathetic gun lovers looking for something to identify with than ideologically driven hatemongers. Towards the end of filming the race riots kick off in neighbouring Ferguson, prompted by the police killing of a black teenager. This leads to the unspoken conclusion that this Klan chapter – with their dress-up box robes, stupid cross-burning rituals and racist-spouting website – are at least obvious. The really dangerous racists, the ones with real power, don’t reveal themselves so clearly. Hear, hear In different hands The Sound Barrier (RTÉ One, Tuesday) could be laden with saccharine: four deaf people – man, woman, toddler, baby – receive cochlear implants, and, hey presto, they can clearly hear their loved ones for the first time. Cue tears all round and a million hits on YouTube. This sort of neat narrative drives the hearing specialists mad at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin. The implant doesn’t switch on perfect hearing; it’s a process. In the course of the documentary we get to know the four patients, see them at home, learn how their deafness affects their lives, and witness the gruesome-looking operation. By the time their implants are activated we have become heavily invested in their stories. It’s heart-breaking to see the disappointment of the parents of Tegan Kavanagh, a profoundly deaf one-year-old, after the electronic device is switched on. No matter how many rattles are rattled, Tegan still obviously can’t hear. The audiologist reassures them, and we see the baby later at home with her happier parents, this time reacting to sound. The well-thought-through documentary also tackles the broader political issue of implants: deaf people have their own language and culture, and some would prefer that was validated more by society. Still, when the cochlear implant of Gemma, a Lucan woman, is switched on, and her face light up in pure joy as she hears her husband say her name, it really will make a classic YouTube moment. tvreview@irishtimes.com * Topics: * Alex Fegan * Dave Mcsavage * Denis Clohessy * Frank Ancona * Paul Gartlan * Beaumont Hospital * RTÉ * Dan Vernon Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Art & Design Giant’s staircase: Utec, Lima has ‘opened up exciting new frontiers for Peruvian architecture’. Photograph: Grafton Architects, Iwan Baan Studio Bravo Lima: the Irish architects designing the ‘new geography’ * People Impossibly photogenic: the Tiger’s Nest, or Taktsang Palphug, monastery, Bhutan’s most sacred site. Photograph: EyesWideOpen/Getty Bhutan: the price of paradise * Film Michael B Jordan and Sylvester Stallone in Creed ‘Apollo Creed meant everything to African-Americans’ * Health & Family Make breakfast a priority and have some oats with fruit perhaps. 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Please check your email to verify your account. (BUTTON) Sign In (BUTTON) Close Your Comments Sign In Sign Out We reserve the right to remove any content at any time from this Community, including without limitation if it violates the Community Standards. We ask that you report content that you in good faith believe violates the above rules by clicking the Flag link next to the offending comment or by filling out this form. New comments are only accepted for 3 days from the date of publication. ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268890|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=TV ,+Radio,+Web;kvcat=arts,+culture+and+entertainment;kvorg=Beaumont+Hospi tal:RTÉ;kvcompany=Dan+Vernon;cookie=info;] Most Read in Culture 1 Family sugar audit: Eva Orsmond with Louise and Ollie Ryan Television: A sugar-crash course in how we are poisoning ourselves 2 Michael B Jordan and Sylvester Stallone in Creed ‘Apollo Creed meant everything to African-Americans’ 3 Did Philip K Dick dream of electric sheep? Much worse 4 Final bow: Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc at the end of the final Friends, in 2004 Friends: they lived perfect lives in a time of plenty. Of course we want them back 5 ‘I think cognitive enhancers should be allowed for academics’ Unthinkable: Is it unethical to take brain stimulants? 6 Dublin Rapper Tommy KD: “I never dreamt I’d be doing stuff like this, like getting the album out or playing my own shows. But at the same time, it’s important to say that everything’s not rosy.” Photograph: Cyril Byrne / THE IRISH TIMES Tommy KD: the Dublin rapper with one of the toughest stories in Irish music 7 Giant’s staircase: Utec, Lima has ‘opened up exciting new frontiers for Peruvian architecture’. Photograph: Grafton Architects, Iwan Baan Studio Bravo Lima: the Irish architects designing the ‘new geography’ 8 Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards: And the nominees are . . . 9 Joseph O’Connor on David Bowie, pictured here in 1965: “Kurt Vonnegut once wrote that the only plausible mission of the artist is ‘to make people feel they’re glad to be alive, at least a little bit.’ There are not many artists who’ve ever managed to achieve that highest of accolades. In my own life, David Bowie was one of them. He was part of my soundtrack, my passport, my pillow. I feel I was enriched to be around during his spell on the planet.” Photograph: CA/Redferns/Getty Images David Bowie: Irish writers pay tribute 10 The dialogues the author creates between Plato and various contemporary characters, including a marketing agent, a Google employee, a Tiger Mum, a radio host and a neuroscientist, convincingly demonstrate the value of continuing the job that Socrates started in ancient Greece. But they also show just why Plato would struggle to be heard today. Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won’t Go Away, by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein Never miss a story. 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For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X ‘Dismaland’ promises the familiar misery of a grim day out If history has taught us anything, it’s that while some things are rubbish and depressing on purpose, others are just rubbish and depressing Thu, Aug 27, 2015, 05:45 Laura Slattery * Video * Images Watch the trailer for Banksy's theme park art installation, Dismaland, in Weston-Super-Mare. Just don't expect spinning teacups and candy floss. Banksy’s ‘Dismaland’ installation at Weston-Super-Mare, in southwest England. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters Banksy’s ‘Dismaland’ installation at Weston-Super-Mare, in southwest England. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters If you go down to the woods today, you might find a ride called the “farting dog”, a few plastic sheets masquerading as an ice rink or a desolate site strewn with car tyres that have been frosted white. You might see a man pretending to be an elf pretending to be Simon Cowell, or a giant potato mascot in a red jacket and a bowler hat. But only if you bought a ticket. Because these are all things that have been spotted at real theme parks – some of them abject failures (the many temporary “Craplands” that closed early), some of them deliberately tasteless (Denmark’s BonBon Land) and some of them surprisingly successful at luring the public past the gates (Tayto Park). When it comes to creating “great days out” guaranteed to provide “fun for all the family”, the first rule is this: there must be adults dressed as animals on the payroll. This makes the standard amusement park surreal by definition, while the substandard ones are so grim – wet garden sheds billed as Arctic “log cabins”, rubbery hot dogs smeared with yellow gunk – that they move firmly beyond satire. As a result, Banksy’s pop-up “Dismaland Bemusement Park”, a giant art installation spread over a 2.5 acre seafront site in Weston-super-Mare, England, is a wearisome concept from the off. A “Dystopian version of a Disney theme park”? Oh. So happy-clappy kids’ stuff created by a Californian media conglomerate to make money is . . . just that? Glum An “escape from mindless escapism” is what we kidults apparently deserve. So Dismaland is populated with performers channelling their inner Kristen Stewart as they pose as glum, bored staff in pink hi-vis jackets and bunny ears. Elsewhere, Cinderella’s coach has crashed amid paparazzi camera flashes and the Grim Reaper is hogging the bumper cars. The experience sounds like a cross between a pre-2014 Ryanair flight and Culture Night in Dublin at about 10pm, when everything is closing and the culture is over for another year. Naturally, demand for tickets is soaring faster than you can say, “How about a trip to Stalin’s World instead?” Closer to home, Tayto Park in Co Meath is less about art and more about crisps, which may be no bad thing. The park, in its fifth season, has had €26 million poured into it this year, giving Mr Tayto a reason at last for his incessant cheeriness. For its new 100km per hour Cú Chulainn Coaster, the operators of Tayto Park “worked with UCD research teams to get the full background for the character of Cú Chulainn”, which is fun attention to detail, although presumably its customers are less interested in historical accuracy than they are its 31m “drop zone”. People in Ireland now use the words “Tayto Park” and “queues” in the same sentence the way they have for decades with Disneyland, which will only encourage more local entrepreneurs to have a shot at theme-park glory – notwithstanding Banksy’s searing social commentary. But if history has taught us anything, it’s that while some things are rubbish and depressing on purpose, others are just rubbish and depressing. So for any amateurs poised to erect a “Winter Wonderland” or similar in a nearby car park, here’s some advice. Mascots Don’t skimp on costumes. An army of gormless mascots posing for selfies as they schlep up and down queues will generate infinite goodwill even if the thing being queued for is anticlimax city. Clowns and elves in outfits bought in Dealz do not count. Know that the number of fairy lights that qualify as “magical” has been subject to horrifying inflation in recent years. Paying customers are guaranteed to be unimpressed by venues with less sparkle than their own front gardens. If your target market is hipsters, be aware that salted caramel and pulled pork are mainstream now. Try harder. Imagine what a theme park created by The Grand Budapest Hotel director Wes Anderson might look like, then build it before he does. Watch out for snowballs: all social-media storms begin as a single dark cloud. It takes just one angry adult with pictorial evidence of a skinny, teenage Santa Claus vomiting in his grotto to prompt a refund frenzy. Think twice. Children cry all the time, but parents have an uncanny ability to tell the difference between a cry that says, “Why did you make me come here?” and one that translates as, “This place is so awful, only a full media shaming and the bankruptcy of all involved will remedy the trauma.” * Topics: * Kristen Stewart * Mr Tayto * Simon Cowell * Wes Anderson * Cu Chulainn Coaster * Dealz * Ryanair Read More * Raw and real ‘Recruits’ marches on to RTÉ screens * Camogie, cookery and country music lined up for Irish TV * Irish TV viewing figures hotter than July despite repeats Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Economy Michael Noonan: the Minister for Finance has predicted a balanced budget in headline terms in 2017. Photograph: Eric Luke Government to get leeway to cut tax as Brussels eases targets * Economy Euclid Tsakalotos: Dublin was not on the itinerary of the Greek finance minister’s tour of European capitals this week. Photograph: Francois Lenoir/Reuters Cantillon: Greek crisis brings chorus of disapproval * European Cup Leinster’s Sean Cronin celebrates after scoring a try in their clash with Bath in the European Champions Cup. Photo: Billy Stickland/Inpho Fountain of youth comes good for Leinster with fighting victory * Business Kieran Normoyle: ‘By adding heat back to the body we can increase survival times and increase the likelihood of someone being rescued.’ Photograph: Conor McCabe Photography Learning to sew eased the way to winning award for life jacket design ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4366794|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=Me dia+&+Marketing;kvcat=arts,+culture+and+entertainment;kvcompany=Cu+Chul ainn+Coaster:Dealz:Ryanair;cookie=info;] ADVERTISEMENT The Irish Times Logo Sign In Email Address ____________________ Password ____________________ [ ] I agree to the Terms & Conditions, Community Standards and Privacy Policy (BUTTON) Sign In Don't have an account? Sign Up Forgot Password? The Irish Times Logo Sign Up First Name ____________________ Surname ____________________ Screen Name ____________________ The name that will appear beside your comments. 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(BUTTON) X Water charges, beyond satire Fri, Aug 21, 2015, 01:03 Sir, – So, the Government (ie, the taxpayer) will pay a €100 grant to offset a charge which hasn’t been paid? Where is Flann O’Brien in this hour of need? – Yours, etc, ANGELA POLSEN-EMY Rathmines Road, Dublin 6. Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Opinion “The takeaway message from its negative poster this week might be that it has ceded control of the narrative to Fine Gael.” Photograph: Eric Luke / The Irish Times Fianna Fáil is changing but not quickly enough * Opinion Soldiers attend Mise Eire. George Morrison’s film showed over twenty years of Irish history, from the 1890s to 1918, through existing archive material. 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Subscriber quick links * Newspaper Archive * Crossword Club * ePaper desktop app * IT Sunday * eBooks * Subscriber Benefits * My Account -- #alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› At least 12 dead in Paris shooting Adam Withnall – 07 January 2015 11:20 AM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size At least 12 people have been killed in a shooting incident at the Paris office of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, police have said. Witnesses and police officials said that multiple gunmen were involved, and that they were seen armed with AK47s and pump action shotguns. According to France's AFP news agency, the men were armed with at least one rocket launcher. Armed gunmen face police officers near the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris Handout photo taken with permission from the Twitter feed of @Lestatmp of the scene in Paris, France Handout photo taken with permission from the Twitter feed of @julienrbcc of the scene in Paris, France French cartoonist Charb, publishing director of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, poses for photographs at their offices in Paris, in this September 19, 2012 file photo A journalist works in the Paris newsroom of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, in this February 9, 2006 file photo The scene in Paris A police spokesperson confirmed that the death toll had risen to 12, and that up to 10 others were injured. Five were reported to be in a critical condition. Officials said two police officers were among those killed, and that the other 10 were journalists. Luc Poignard, an official with the French police union official, had earlier confirmed that three officers had been injured and that the attackers had escaped in two vehicles. Video footage posted to social media showed armed gunmen running through the streets of Paris, shooting with automatic weapons and shouting "Allahu Akbar". French President Francois Hollande has travelled to the scene in Paris's 11th arrondissement after what he called the "terrorist attack". Speaking to reporters, he repeated the figure of 11 dead, as well as stating that four of those injured were "between life and death". He said it was the latest in a series of terrorist incidents on French soil, and that the nation was in a state of shock. "We are a country of liberty, and because of that we receive threats," he said. Paris has raised its terror alert to the highest setting in the aftermath of the attack, while the gunmen themselves are still reported to be on the run. The Charlie Hebdo magazine is most famous internationally for publishing a controversial series of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed in 2012. A year earlier, its offices had been firebombed after a spoof issue featured a caricature of Mohammed on its cover. According to Le Monde, a source said that one of the magazine's cartoonists, known as Riss, was injured during the attack. The latest post sent by the Charlie Hebdo Twitter account was a picture of the Isis militant group leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Gilles Boulanger, who works in the same building as the Charlie Hebdo offices, likened the scene to a war zone. He told the BBC: "A neighbour called to warn me that there were armed men in the building and that we had to shut all the doors. "And several minutes later there were several shots heard in the building from automatic weapons firing in all directions. "So then we looked out of the window and saw the shooting was on Boulevard Richard-Lenoir, with the police. It was really upsetting. You'd think it was a war zone." [INS: :INS] Another witness, Benoit Bringer, told TV station France Info: "We heard shouting in the street. We saw hooded men carrying Kalashnikovs enter the building. We called the police. After a few minutes we heard heavy firing, a lot of firing. We went upstairs onto the roof. "After about 10 minutes we saw two armed men come out into the street. Three policemen arrived on bikes but had to leave because the men were armed. There was a lot more shouting in the street, a lot more gunshots. The attackers took off in a car." David Cameron led the British response to the unfolding incident, condemning the attack on Twitter. "The murders in Paris are sickening," he said. "We stand with the French people in the fight against terror and defending the freedom of the press." Philip Hammond, the British Foreign Secretary, wrote: "Appalled to hear news of apparent terrorist attack in Paris. My thoughts are with the family and friends of those killed." A Twitter campaign under the banner #JeSuisCharlie has quickly grown momentum as thousands pledge support for the magazine and to the victims of the attack. 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... 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Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› INM newsrooms fall silent to show solidarity with murdered Charlie Hebdo journalists Daniel McConnell Group Political Correspondent – 08 January 2015 12:17 PM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size Phones taken off the hook, radios were turned off, the tapping of keyboards ceased. Independent News and Media journalists held a minute's silence this morning to mark the tragic events at the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo. Members of the NUJ and Staff from all the Titles at Independent News and Media pictured in the Irish Independent Newsroom during the minute silence for the victims of the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris Members of the NUJ and Staff from all the Titles at Independent News and Media pictured in the Irish Independent Newsroom during the minute silence for the victims of the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris Journalists, editors, senior managers and NUJ officials gathered this morning to pause. Colleagues from the Irish Independent, the Herald, the Sunday Independent, Independent.ie and Herald.ie stopped what they were doing and joined together to show our solidarity in opposition to what happened in France yesterday. Twelve people were killed when the masked gunmen armed with Kalashnikovs burst into the offices of the French satirical weekly newspaper yesterday morning and opened fire indiscriminately. French president Francois Hollande declared a national day of mourning and ‘Sixty Seconds of Silent Solidarity’ was organised for 12pm in France (11am Irish time). Before the minute's silence began, INM's Group Editor-in-Chief Stephen Rae spoke to the crowd of fellow journalists who had come together to mark the tragedy. "I’m glad to see so many our journalism teams here today. I think it reflects the horror that we all feel at the massacre in Paris," he said. "As journalists I think we can count on one hand those moments that leave us genuinely shocked. "At INM we are an organisation that has seen two of our journalists, Veronica Guerin and Marty O’Hagan assassinated because of the campaigning work they carried out. Many of us in this room remember those convulsing events like they were only yesterday. "At that time many international media organisations stood in solidarity with us. "That’s why it’s important that we today hold this 60 seconds of Silent Solidarity in memory of the journalists who were cruelly and cold bloodedly cut down in Paris yesterday. "The idea of today’s Silent Solidarity came from our journalists and is fully supported by all our senior editors in Talbot Street, Belfast and our regional colleagues." Journalists from across all titles - The Irish Independent, The Sunday Independent, The Herald, The Belfast Telegraph and The Sunday World – and regional titles The Argus, The Bray people, The Carlow People, The Corkman, The Drogheda Independent, The Enniscorthy Guardian, The Fingal Independent, The Gorey Guardian, The Kerryman, The New Ross Standard, The Sligo Champion, The Wexford People and The Wicklow People as well as the online operations held the minute's silence as a show of solidarity for our French colleagues at Charlie Hebdo. But the attack yesterday, which left 10 journalists and two police officers dead, was an attack on democracy, on freedom of expression and liberty. Such freedoms many of us take for granted on daily basis. It was a stark reminder of how fragile an ideal democracy is. [INS: :INS] That is why we stood together, in support of our colleagues who lost their lives, but also in support of that ideal. 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our Privacy & Cookie Policy * News + Breaking News + News + Weather * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports * Entertainment + Around Town + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Competitions * Lifestyle + Health & Beauty + Motoring + Travel * Opinion * Jobs * Property * Directory * Cars * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Add us on google+ * Download our apps * Subscribe to our newsletters * Sitemap * Contact * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Statement * Advertise with Us * Group Websites Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go © Herald.ie Logo Inm A one pixel graphics -- #alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› Hostage taken in northern France in hunt for terrorist brothers John Irish – 09 January 2015 09:04 AM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size A hostage was seized in a town northeast of Paris on Friday during a huge manhunt for two brothers suspected of killing 12 people at a satirical weekly, according to a police source. It now appears the two suspects stolen a car in Montagny Sainte Felicite, 30 miles northeast of Paris. A helicopter with members of the French intervention gendarme forces hover above the scene of a hostage taking at an industrial zone in Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast of Paris January 9, 2015 A helicopter with members of the French intervention gendarme forces hover above the scene of a hostage taking at an industrial zone in Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast of Paris January 9, 2015 A French Air Force helicopter with intervention forces hovers above the scene of a hostage taking at an industrial zone in Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast of Paris January 9, 2015 Police officers control the access to Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast of Paris, Friday Jan. 9, 2015. French security forces swarmed this small industrial town northeast of Paris Friday in an operation to capture a pair of heavily armed suspects in the deadly storming of a satirical newspaper. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) Police vans are lined up in Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast Paris, as part of an operation to seize two heavily armed suspects, Friday, Jan. 9, 2015 A French Army helicopter with intervention forces hovers near the scene of a hostage taking at an industrial zone in Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast of Paris January 9, 2015 It is understood they drove the vehcile to a location close to Dammartin-en-Goële where they have taken one or more hostages.It Police have established a ring of steel around Dammartin-en-Goele. Armed officers have ushered members of the public away from the scene. At this stage, it is not clear whether the two suspects are on the move or in a "static stand-off" situation. Meanwhile, media organisation RTL have reported that at least two people have been seriously injured after shots were fired earlier this morning. Five helicopters were seen flying over an industrial zone outside the town of Dammartin-en-Goele and the French Interior Minister confirmed an operation was taking place there. A police source said the two suspects had been sighted in the town, where at least one person was taken hostage. Before night fell on Thursday, officers had been focusing on their search some 40 km (25 miles) away on the woodland village of Corcy, not far from a service station where police sources said the brothers had been sighted in ski masks a day after the shootings at the newspaper. The fugitive suspects are French-born sons of Algerian-born parents, both in their early 30s, and already under police surveillance. One was jailed for 18 months for trying to travel to Iraq a decade ago to fight as part of an Islamist cell. Police said they were "armed and dangerous". U.S. and European sources close to the investigation said on Thursday that one of the brothers, Said Kouachi, was in Yemen in 2011 for several months training with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), one of the group's most active affiliates. A Yemeni official familiar with the matter said the Yemen government was aware of the possibility of a connection between Said Kouachi and AQAP, and was looking into any possible links. U.S. government sources said Said Kouachi and his brother Cherif Kouachi were listed in two U.S. security databases, a highly classified database containing information on 1.2 million possible counter-terrorism suspects, called TIDE, and the much smaller "no fly" list maintained by the Terrorist Screening Center, an interagency unit. U.S. television network ABC reported that the brothers had been listed in the databases for "years." Dave Joly, a spokesman for the Terrorist Screening Center, said he could neither confirm nor deny if the Kouachis were listed in counter-terrorism databases. While world leaders described Wednesday's attack on the weekly newspaper Cahrlie Hebdo as an assault on democracy, al Qaeda's North Africa branch praised the gunmen as "knight(s) of truth". Charlie Hebdo, where journalists were gunned down during an editorial meeting, had been firebombed in the past for printing cartoons that poked fun at militant Islam and some that mocked the Prophet Muhammad. [INS: :INS] Two of those killed were police posted to protect the paper. On Thursday, U.S. President Barack Obama made an unannounced visit to the French Embassy in Washington to pay his respects. He wrote in a condolence book: "As allies across the centuries, we stand united with our French brothers to ensure that justice is done and our way of life is defended. We go forward together knowing that terror is no match for freedom and ideals we stand for - ideals that light the world." Amid local media reports of isolated incidents of violence directed at Muslims in France, President Francois Hollande and his Socialist government have called on the French not to blame the Islam faith for the Charlie Hebdo killings. Hollande has held talks with opposition leaders and, in a rare move, was due to invite Marine Le Pen, leader of the resurgent anti-immigrant National Front, to his Elysee Palace for discussions on Friday. MOURNING Bewildered and tearful French people held a national day of mourning on Thursday. The bells of Notre Dame pealed for those killed in the attack on the left-leaning slayer of sacred cows whose cartoonists have been national figures since the Parisian counter-cultural heyday of the 1960s and 1970s. Many European newspapers either re-published Charlie Hebdo cartoons or lampooned the killers with images of their own. Searches were taking place in Corcy and the nearby village of Longpont, set in thick forest and boggy marshland about 70 km north of Paris, but it was not clear whether the fugitives who had been spotted in the area were holed up or had moved on. Corcy residents looked bewildered as heavily armed policeman in ski masks and helmets combed the village meticulously from houses to garages and barns. "We're hearing that the men could be in the forest, but there's no information so we're watching television to see," said Corcy villager Jacques. In neighbouring Longpont, a resident said police had told villagers to stay indoors because the gunmen may have abandoned their car there. Anti-terrorism officers pulled back as darkness fell. The silence was broken by the sound of a forest owl. Prime Minister Manuel Valls, asked on RTL radio on Thursday whether he feared a further attack, said: "That's obviously our main concern and that is why thousands of police and investigators have been mobilised to catch these individuals." SUSPECT JAILED Police released photographs of the two suspects, Cherif and Said Kouachi, 32 and 34. The brothers were born in eastern Paris and grew up in an orphanage in the western city of Rennes after their parents died. The younger brother's jail sentence for trying to fight in Iraq a decade ago, and more recent tangles with the authorities over suspected involvement in militant plots, raised questions over whether police could have done more to watch them. Cherif Kouachi was arrested on Jan. 25, 2005 preparing to fly to Syria en route to Iraq. He served 18 months of a three-year sentence. "He was part of a group of young people who were a little lost, confused, not really fanatics in the proper sense of the word," lawyer Vincent Ollivier, who represented Cherif in the case, told Liberation daily. In 2010 he was suspected of being part of a group that tried to break from prison Smain Ali Belkacem, a militant jailed for the 1995 bombings of Paris train and metro stations that killed eight people and wounded 120. The case against Cherif Kouachi was dismissed for lack of evidence. In the wake of the killings, authorities tightened security at transport hubs, religious sites, media offices and stores. Police also increased their presence at entry points to Paris. The defence ministry said it sent 200 extra soldiers from parachute regiments across the country to help guard Paris. Le Figaro newspaper reported that the interior ministry had been inundated with dozens of requests for police protection from "personalities feeling in danger", citing a high-ranking police official. Related Content * We can't let these murderers define Islam, says Dublin sheikh * Irish in Paris say city is like aftermath of 9/11 ... 'shock yesterday, but fear today' __________________________________________________________________ 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our Privacy & Cookie Policy * News + Breaking News + News + Weather * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports * Entertainment + Around Town + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Competitions * Lifestyle + Health & Beauty + Motoring + Travel * Opinion * Jobs * Property * Directory * Cars * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Add us on google+ * Download our apps * Subscribe to our newsletters * Sitemap * Contact * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Statement * Advertise with Us * Group Websites Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go © Herald.ie Logo Inm A * News * Courts * Sport * Staying In * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion * Facebook * Twitter one pixel graphics -- #alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› Taoiseach says Ireland 'stands united' with France By Daniel McConnell Group Political Correspondent – 10 January 2015 02:30 PM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size Taoiseach Enda Kenny has signed a book of condolence at the French embassy in Dublin for the victims of the terror attacks in Paris. He was greeted on his arrival by the French ambassador to Ireland Jean-Pierre Thebault and his staff who held signs which read: "Je suis Charlie." Mr Kenny wrote a message in Irish and French, saying: "Today as always, the people of Ireland stand in solidarity with the people of France." As he left, the Taoiseach stopped and posed for photos with embassy staff and held up a 'Je suis Charlie' sign. After his departure, Mr Thebault said he appreciated the Taoiseach's important message of solidarity and drew significance that he signed the book of condolence in French. Today, Mr Thebault will attend a National Union of Journalists (NUJ) ceremony at Dublin Castle. honour NUJ members and dignitaries will gather at the Dubh Linn garden in the castle grounds to honour the memory of those murdered this week - including the staff of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo - and to stand in solidarity with the people of France. Mr Thebault will deliver a brief address along with the chairman of the NUJ's Irish executive council, Gerry Curran. Industry and political representatives, civil societies and trade unions will be represented, along with representatives of the French community in Ireland. Separately, Dublin City Council opened its own book of condolence for the victims of the attacks in France. The book was opened by Lord Mayor Christy Burke as a mark of sympathy and respect for the victims of the atrocities and in recognition of Dublin's ties with France and the French people. hnews@herald.ie [INS: :INS] 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our Privacy & Cookie Policy * News + Breaking News + News + Weather * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports * Entertainment + Around Town + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Competitions * Lifestyle + Health & Beauty + Motoring + Travel * Opinion * Jobs * Property * Directory * Cars * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Add us on google+ * Download our apps * Subscribe to our newsletters * Sitemap * Contact * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Statement * Advertise with Us * Group Websites Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go © Herald.ie Logo Inm A one pixel graphics -- #alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› There's no stopping this 'force of nature' in 2015 head HEA TALENT: Reese Witherspoon has put romcoms behind her and reinvented herself as a Holywood mogul, finds Kate Bussmann 10 January 2015 03:00 AM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size There is no doubt about it: 2015 is going to be Reese Witherspoon's year. Award nominations are piling up for her lead performance in Wild - an adaptation of Cheryl Strayed's inspirational hiking memoir, and there are some enticingly meaty roles to follow. Coming after several years' worth of frothy romcoms and forgettable dramas, this feels like a classic Hollywood comeback - one Witherspoon has pulled off on her own terms. Her luck began to change when, before it had even been published, Witherspoon bought the rights to Gillian Flynn's murder mystery Gone Girl - a film that has made more than $350m worldwide, and been nominated for four Golden Globes. Of course, this is not the first time the 38-year-old has been feted by the critics. Almost a decade ago, in 2006, she won an Oscar, a Bafta and a Golden Globe for her measured, heartfelt performance as June Carter Cash in Walk the Line. comedies It was the culmination of a successful early career that had begun when, at 14, Witherspoon made her astonishingly assured debut in the family drama The Man in the Moon. She had an amped-up charm that translated just as well to comedies such as Alexander Payne's 1999 high-school satire Election (her portrayal of the nightmarishly ambitious student Tracy Flick was nominated for a Golden Globe) and the pastel-hued Legally Blonde, the 2001 film that brought her international stardom. These successes were interspersed with adaptations such as American Psycho and Vanity Fair, but for the most part the films with which she remains associated in the public's mind are her rom-coms. When I interviewed her in 2010, she may have been glass-half-full to a fault, her impeccable Southern manners dialled high, but she was also thoughtful and obviously intelligent; a complex person with darkness as well as light. But in the years that followed her Oscar victory, Witherspoon made a series of films that invoked at best shrugs, and at worst sneers. It wasn't catastrophic - in fact, the Oscar had helped her to become the best-paid actress in Hollywood, able to command $15m-$20m-a-film - but her work didn't live up to her own hopes. Like many actresses, she found that Hollywood wasn't interested in making films led by complex female characters, and particularly not those in their mid-30s. By 2010, Witherspoon was becoming increasingly frustrated. She was tired of the romcoms, but when she and her agent looked for more demanding roles, they came up blank. "I think literally one studio had a project for a female lead over 30," she recalled recently. "And I thought to myself, 'I've got to get busy'." The situation was all the more frustrating given that the studios appeared to have been working on false assumptions: that female-led films only interested female audiences, and that romantic comedies were safe bets. Women have opened some of the biggest films of the past 12 months - think of Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, or Angelina Jolie in Maleficent - proving that having a woman in the lead role is no bar to success. In 2010, Witherspoon decided to take matters into her own hands, joining the Australian producer Bruna Papandrea to set up their own production company, Pacific Standard, with the goal of making the type of complex, female-driven stories that were largely absent from the screen. In Wild and Gone Girl, they found characters with the depth they had been looking for. In fact, if it weren't for Witherspoon, Wild might never have made it to the big screen: she spotted the book before it was published, and snapped up the rights within days of reading it. injected A memoir of the 1,100-mile hike that helped Strayed get over the death of her mother, it tells how in her grief she slept with strangers in alleys and injected heroin. "My agent told me, 'The only way this is ever going to get made is if an actress attaches herself to it because she wants to play that role'," says Strayed. "So you need not just an actress who passionately wants to make it, but one who's powerful enough in Hollywood that she can get it done. Reese was the first person we sent it to. She read it immediately and called me. And that was it." Witherspoon moved just as decisively with Gone Girl, proving that she has a keen eye for a potential hit. Witherspoon's bookish side was something neither Papandrea nor Nick Hornby, who wrote the screenplay for Wild, had counted on. Hornby recalls their first meeting at a party in 2010, where they had what he describes as "quite a surprising talk about books. She started talking about a short story of mine that had been in an anthology about 10 years ago," he says. [INS: :INS] "You can see in her performances that she's super-smart, but her literary side was a revelation to me." Papandrea also had her expectations turned on their head. "Would she really read everything, take the calls and move as quickly as you need to? That was a real test for me," she says, recalling her initial concerns. "I was kind of amazed: she's a force of nature." positive As well as producing, Witherspoon also began taking small acting roles in striking films, such as Mud, in which she appeared as the object of Matthew McConaughey's affections. The film went on to score 98pc positive reviews according to Rotten Tomatoes, the highest rating of any film on Witherspoon's CV. She has taken another small role in Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice (due out later this month), and in the summer she'll also be seen in Atom Egoyan's Devil's Knot. Perhaps because they'd handed over control of Gone Girl to Fincher, who brought his own production team with him, when it came to Wild, Witherspoon and Papandrea decided to stay close to the project. They kept the film to themselves until they had a finished script, and shot it on a small budget. Witherspoon threw herself into what she has since described as the hardest role of her career. The backpack that the actress hauls around on screen was as heavy as the one Strayed had carried herself, and the director, Jean-Marc Vallee, banned her from wearing any make-up (not a minor consideration for a major female film star). She has already been nominated for a Golden Globe and a Bafta with an Oscar nomination sure to follow on January 15. In November, news leaked of Big Little Lies, a television series based on a novel which Witherspoon is developing with Nicole Kidman and David E Kelley, creator of Ally McBeal. She's also developing two fantasy franchises. The message could hardly be clearer: you underestimate Witherspoon at your peril. Wild is released on January 16 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our Privacy & Cookie Policy * News + Breaking News + News + Weather * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports * Entertainment + Around Town + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Competitions * Lifestyle + Health & Beauty + Motoring + Travel * Opinion * Jobs * Property * Directory * Cars * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Add us on google+ * Download our apps * Subscribe to our newsletters * Sitemap * Contact * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Statement * Advertise with Us * Group Websites Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go © Herald.ie Logo Inm A * News * Courts * Sport * Staying In * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion * Facebook * Twitter one pixel graphics -- #alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› Opinion› Loony liberal left treading on eggshells in wake of atrocities visited on France 10 January 2015 03:00 AM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size In a week dominated by the dreadful events in Paris, there wasn't really too much to brighten the mood. That 12 people should be shot dead in the offices of a satirical magazine is utterly outrageous, an assault on the freedoms we in the West take for granted but which clearly haven't taken hold among the crazier adherents of a creed around which critics must tread very warily. The most obvious people on their tippy-toes are, of course, those corners of the media who'd classify themselves as the liberal left. The crazies on that wing of world politics responded with the usual playbook straight from the cranks' charter. You could have held a drinking game with the statement issued by the Socialist Workers' Party and still been hammered even though it barely ran to a paragraph. PUSSYFOOTED Let's see. "Rogue state of Israel" - check. "US imperialism and aggression" - check. That kind of thing is to be expected from those deluded and dangerous headcases, but the liberal types are in a different quandary. A typical example was the panel on Tonight with Vincent Browne on the night of the atrocity. Rather than admit that the US and Israel are bang to rights trying to keep a lid on this kind of savagery, a panel including journalists(and someone from The Journal.ie) pussyfooted around the issue and actually pondered what this attack would mean for "the wider Muslim community". Jesus, your colleagues have been murdered by madmen earlier in the day and you're worried whether some equally misguided nutjob might launch an attack on a mosque. The real problem Vincent Browne and his ilk face is that they simply can't bring themselves to acknowledge that anything the US and Israel do might be in any way right, and instead try to ponder the "causes" of Islamic extremism. Well, Vincent and Co, I'll make things really, really easy for you. There is no "cause". It's been there since the 16th Century and didn't suddenly emerge after the Six Day War, the first Gulf War, the Iraq War or even the bloody Crusades. Just admit it and stop tying yourselves in knots. Oh, and while condemnation of the outrage was everywhere from Wednesday lunchtime onwards, it was interesting that there wasn't a peep out of the Shinners. I wonder did they keep their heads down due to the fact that a couple of months ago their president for life Gerry Adams was making wisecracks at a fundraising dinner in the States about taking a gun into the offices of this newspaper group, as Michael Collins allegedly once did. What a card that man truly is. On a slightly lighter note, we had the distraction of a pub in Coolock raising hackles by holding a 'Welfare Wednesday' and offering pints and shorts for €3 all day on production of a social welfare card or bus pass. Using the Department of Social Welfare's actual logo on the poster wasn't the brightest idea, admittedly, and I'm not too fond of these kind of schemes. REACTION However, the manager of said establishment did make a good point in response to Tanaiste Joan Burton's indignant reaction. He pointed out, quite correctly, that Ms Burton condemned his pub for trying to give people with limited money an opportunity to socialise without it costing them an arm and a leg, but the Government of which she's a part is quite happy to stand over the fact that supermarkets continue to sell alcohol below cost. This, he said, is directly encouraging people to drink at home where there's absolutely no restriction on how much they consume or how they behave. [INS: :INS] 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our Privacy & Cookie Policy * News + Breaking News + News + Weather * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports * Entertainment + Around Town + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Competitions * Lifestyle + Health & Beauty + Motoring + Travel * Opinion * Jobs * Property * Directory * Cars * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Add us on google+ * Download our apps * Subscribe to our newsletters * Sitemap * Contact * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Statement * Advertise with Us * Group Websites Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go © Herald.ie Logo Inm A * News * Courts * Sport * Staying In * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion * Facebook * Twitter one pixel graphics -- #alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› Opinion› Dr Gav in dire need of humour transplant 12 January 2015 03:00 AM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size There's something insufferably annoying about some of the people who insist on putting the title 'Dr' in front of their name - even though they don't have any use for it as they no longer practise medicine - in the belief that it makes them sound a bit more impressive than the rest of us. Take Dr Gavin Jennings, a former doc turned full-time presenter on RTE's Morning Ireland, who showed the world the pomposity of his ilk last week. Gavin Jennings Gavin Jennings Dr Gavin Jennings Satirical website Waterford Whispers joked about the Irish habit of over-indulging at Christmas, with a skit about an Irishman slowly easing himself back into work who claimed he would not be back to full operating capacity for nine months. They called their fictional character Gavin Jennings. It didn't take long for Dr Gavin Jennings to email them, demanding that they either change the name or take down the story, even though Waterford Whispers described their Jennings as a seller of home alarm systems, and there was nothing in the piece to remotely suggest any reference to the RTE presenter. The sorry little episode has revealed Dr Gavin to be in bad need of a sense of humour and an urgent pompous-ectomy. Ironically, his medical background could actually now come in useful as he may know a doctor who can help him with his. [INS: :INS] 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our Privacy & Cookie Policy * News + Breaking News + News + Weather * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports * Entertainment + Around Town + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Competitions * Lifestyle + Health & Beauty + Motoring + Travel * Opinion * Jobs * Property * Directory * Cars * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Add us on google+ * Download our apps * Subscribe to our newsletters * Sitemap * Contact * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Statement * Advertise with Us * Group Websites Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go © Herald.ie Logo Inm A one pixel graphics -- #alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› President sketches not 'bullying', says Oliver Callan By Majella O'Sullivan – 13 January 2015 03:00 AM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size SATIRIST Oliver Callan has said he would encourage President Michael D Higgins to "scold" a close friend who has complained about how his lampooning of the head of state had crossed the line from humour to "toxic bullying". Callan said that in a week when satire was a huge talking point around the world in light of the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, it was "petty" for the Abbot of Glenstal Abbey in Co Limerick to criticise him for just mentioning President Higgins' height in his sketches. Top comic Oliver Callan Top comic Oliver Callan Michael D Higgins The creator of the hugely popular Callan's Kicks on RTE went head to head with Abbot Mark Patrick Hederman on Today with Sean O'Rourke over an opinion piece written by the abbot in the Sunday Independent. In it he accuses RTE radio and television and the newspaper's LIFE magazine of bullying and harassing the president. Mr Higgins has been a regular visitor to Glenstal Abbey since 1976 and spent time there reflecting following the election and his installation as president. Abbot Hederman told Mr O'Rourke that he knew Mr Higgins (right) well, but said they had never discussed sketches he was portrayed in. destructive Abbot Hederman praised the "genius" of comedians like Oliver Callan and Mario Rosenstock, saying they had a "gift" that could be used for important or useful purposes but could also be destructive. "I think it is destructive when you start making insinuations about people's sexuality or about their height, their colour or any other aspects of their personality they can do nothing about," he said. The abbot said he was not suggesting the president was above reproach or parody, but that he was above "a certain kind of parody". But Callan insisted he was not making any insinuations about the president's relationship with his executive assistant Kevin McCarthy. Rather, he was raising the issue of cronyism that a special position that never existed before should have been created for Mr McCarthy who was Mr Higgins' driver during the presidential election campaign. "If I thought the president was crying late at night because I'm making fun of his height I would not be doing it," he said. hnews@herald.ie [INS: :INS] 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our Privacy & Cookie Policy * News + Breaking News + News + Weather * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports * Entertainment + Around Town + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Competitions * Lifestyle + Health & Beauty + Motoring + Travel * Opinion * Jobs * Property * Directory * Cars * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Add us on google+ * Download our apps * Subscribe to our newsletters * Sitemap * Contact * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Statement * Advertise with Us * Group Websites Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go © Herald.ie Logo Inm A * News * Courts * Sport * Staying In * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion * Facebook * Twitter one pixel graphics -- #alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› Easons to stock Charlie as ‘survivors’ edition sells out in minutes By Conor Feehan – 14 January 2015 03:00 AM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size The first edition of Charlie Hebdo published after the deadly attacks by Islamist gunmen sold out within minutes at newspaper kiosks around France today, with people queuing up to buy copies to support the satirical weekly. “I’ve never bought it before, it’s not quite my political stripes, but it’s important for me to buy it today and support freedom of expression,” said David Sullo, standing at the end of a queue of two dozen people at a kiosk in central Paris. People browse a newsstand advertising "We don't have any more Charlie Hebdo" in Paris, France, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015. Charlie Hebdo's defiant new issue sold out before dawn around Paris on Wednesday, with scuffles at kiosks over dwindling copies of the paper fronting the Prophet Muhammad People browse a newsstand advertising "We don't have any more Charlie Hebdo" in Paris, France, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015. Charlie Hebdo's defiant new issue sold out before dawn around Paris on Wednesday, with scuffles at kiosks over dwindling copies of the paper fronting the Prophet Muhammad Survivors A print run of up to three million copies has been set for what has been called “the survivors’ edition”, dwarfing the usual 60,000 run. But still, many outlets were selling out fast. “It’s important for me to buy it and show solidarity by doing so, and not only by marching,” said 42-year old Laurent in the same queue, adding he had no guarantee he would get a copy because he had not reserved one the day before. The newsagent at Gare du Nord rail station said it opened at 5:15 am local instead of the usual 6:00, and its 200 copies sold out in less than 15 minutes. Seventeen people died in Paris in three days of violence that began with the attack by two Islamist gunmen on the offices of Charlie Hebdo on January 7 – in which 12 people were killed – and ended with a siege at a kosher supermarket two days later. At least 3.7 million marched through Paris on Sunday to honour the memory of the journalists, police officers and supermarket customers who had died. The front page of Charlie Hebdo’s edition today shows a cartoon of a tearful Mohammad with a sign “Je suis Charlie” (I am Charlie) below the headline: “Tout est pardonne” (All is forgiven). “I wrote ‘all is forgiven’ and I cried,” Renald “Luz” Luzier, who created the image, told a news conference on Tuesday at the weekly’s temporary office at left-wing daily Liberation. “This is our front page ... it’s not the one the terrorists wanted us to draw,” he said. “I’m not worried at all ... I trust people’s intelligence, the intelligence of humour.” Inside the edition, the weekly’s usual irreverent humour was on display. One cartoon shows jihadists saying: “We shouldn’t touch Charlie people ... otherwise they will look like martyrs and, once in heaven, these bastards will steal our virgins.” All proceeds from the sale of this week’s edition will go directly to Charlie Hebdo, in a windfall for a publication that had been struggling financially, after distributors decided to waive their cut. A call for donations has also been aired on national media. Digital versions will be posted in English, Spanish and Arabic, while print editions in Italian and Turkish will also appear. Meanwhile, the magazine is expected to reach shop shelves here by the end of the week. “Eason will be stocking the magazine,” a spokesman for the retailer said. “There is a delay in distribution, so although it goes on sale in France today, it will not be available internationally until Friday. “We’re still trying to figure out what stores we’ll be able to distribute it to, but O’Connell Street would be a sure one. It’s the first time that it’s been distributed here,” they said. [INS: :INS] cfeehan@herald.ie 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our Privacy & Cookie Policy * News + Breaking News + News + Weather * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports * Entertainment + Around Town + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Competitions * Lifestyle + Health & Beauty + Motoring + Travel * Opinion * Jobs * Property * Directory * Cars * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Add us on google+ * Download our apps * Subscribe to our newsletters * Sitemap * Contact * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Statement * Advertise with Us * Group Websites Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go © Herald.ie Logo Inm A * News * Courts * Sport * Staying In * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion * Facebook * Twitter one pixel graphics -- #alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› Police check paper trucks for 'offensive' cartoons 14 January 2015 03:00 AM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size Turkish Police stopped trucks as they left a pro-secular newspaper's printing center today and checked the paper's content after it decided to print a selection of Charlie Hebdo caricatures, the paper said. Cumhuriyet newspaper said police allowed distribution to proceed after verifying that the satirical French newspaper's controversial cover featuring the Prophet Muhammad was not published. The paper printed a four-page selection of cartoons and articles in a show of solidarity with Charlie Hebdo but left out cartoons which Muslims may find offensive. Respect "We respected societies' freedoms of faith and religious sensitivities," said Cumhuriyet's editor-in-chief Uktu Cakirozer. Caricatures featured in Cumhuriyet included some depicting Pope Francis and French President Francois Hollande and one referring to a massacre by Boko Haram in Nigeria. Meanwhile, French comic Dieudonne (inset) has been detained for defending terrorism after posting comments on Facebook that seemed to support the attackers who left 17 dead in the Paris region. Dieudonne has been convicted repeatedly of racism and anti-Semitism. On Monday, a man who praised the attackers in a drunken rant while resisting arrest was sentenced to four years in prison. hnews@herald.ie [INS: :INS] 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our Privacy & Cookie Policy * News + Breaking News + News + Weather * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports * Entertainment + Around Town + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Competitions * Lifestyle + Health & Beauty + Motoring + Travel * Opinion * Jobs * Property * Directory * Cars * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Add us on google+ * Download our apps * Subscribe to our newsletters * Sitemap * Contact * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Statement * Advertise with Us * Group Websites Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go © Herald.ie Logo Inm A one pixel graphics -- #alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› Opinion› Carol Hunt: Our President is well able to shoulder jokes about his height (or lack of it) Carol Hunt – 15 January 2015 02:30 PM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size Poor President Higgins. My heart is half broken for the man. Seemingly our diminutive head of state is a victim of "toxic bullying" and harassment. Professor Michael D Higgins at the All-Ireland football final last September Professor Michael D Higgins at the All-Ireland football final last September Oliver Callan Whew, that's a pretty strong accusation, isn't it? What on earth is going on in the Aras these days? There I was thinking that Michael D was one of the most popular presidents we've ever had. Well, comedian Oliver Callan - among others - has been lampooning Michael D in sketches, making much of the fact that the President is knee-high to a grasshopper. As a person who only hits five foot three on a tall day, I can sympathise. My lack of inches in the height department has provided years of humourless (in my opinion) quips from both family and friends. Still, their enthusiasm to belittle (geddit) my lack of growth keeps them amused and in the interest of free speech and the entertainment of the easily distracted, I have never tried to prevent them from engaging in their little amusements. Which was why I was so surprised to hear that a pal of Michael D wasn't at all amused by Callan's sketches. The President's friend, Abbot Mark Patrick Hederman of Glenstal Abbey, is downight offended. Last Sunday he wrote: "Laughing at someone's height is unacceptable in general, but when it comes to the elected head of State, it enters an area of insult and defamation which undermines the prestige, authority and influence of the person elected to represent us." LAUGH It wha'? The man is surely having a laugh? President Higgins may be small in statue but in every other way he is a giant. Has anyone ever bested his razor-sharp brain in debate? Not that I've ever heard. When talents were being handed out, the President hit pay-dirt with an intellect that many a much taller person would gladly lose inches - and quite possibly limbs - for. If we are to accept that an action can be actually defined as bullying it must contain at least three elements: an imbalance of power, an intent to harm and repetition - even when told to desist. Now, there is most certainly an imbalance of power between those who dare to lampoon their betters and the President, but it's all in his favour. petty Similarly any of the sketches I've seen certainly do not mean to cause harm but rather to entertain viewers while gently sending the President up. [INS: :INS] While we may argue about whether it's good comedy or not, we really can't seriously expect to believe that our whip sharp, politically seasoned president could ever be deemed a victim purely because his lack of height features in comedy sketches. Michael D Higgins has been a politician since before I was born. In all those years he has been able to take every criticism, complaint and jeer thrown at him with aplomb and send them back with vigour and intelligence. No one person - or office - can be above satire or ridicule, particularly those in authority. In a week in which we are mourning people who have died for the right to free speech, the complaints of Abbot Hederman about harmless satire directed at his powerful friend seem little more than petty and irrelevant. 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our Privacy & Cookie Policy * News + Breaking News + News + Weather * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports * Entertainment + Around Town + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Competitions * Lifestyle + Health & Beauty + Motoring + Travel * Opinion * Jobs * Property * Directory * Cars * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Add us on google+ * Download our apps * Subscribe to our newsletters * Sitemap * Contact * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Statement * Advertise with Us * Group Websites Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go © Herald.ie Logo Inm A one pixel graphics -- #alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› Opinion› Colette Fitzpatrick: It's time we stopped making excuses and started wiggling it Colette Fitzpatrick – 16 January 2015 02:30 PM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size The satirical website Waterford Whispers News was spot on with its recent headline: 'Juice Diet Sparks Verbal Diarrhoea Epidemic'. It reported that a new juice diet craze sweeping the nation "may be the cause of several unwanted side-effects, most notably a severe dose of verbal diarrhoea with people 'deluding' themselves into eating healthy for the rest of their lives." Exercise: An image from the This Girl Can campaign Exercise: An image from the This Girl Can campaign Helen Mirren. Pope Francis. "Families, friends and co-workers," it continued, "are incapable of doing anything other than talking s**t." What the website was doing, of course, was sending up the utter nonsense that most of us fall foul of at this time of year. Juicing, gimmicky diets, starvation. Then mass carbicide. Nil-by-mouth, quick-fix detox, then binge - and of course, the mass communal enrolment in gyms. But 80pc of January joiners are back on the couch by mid-Feb apparently. Women are the worst for excuses, it seems: 'I've just got my hair blow dried, I'm not ruining it by sweating' etc. Men aren't anywhere near as vain. They're nearly twice as active as women - getting at least 30 minutes of daily exercise, according to a study in the journal Preventive Medicine. This compares to 18 minutes for women. Which bring us to #thisgirlcan, a campaign not here (alas) but in the UK, which celebrates women who move, no matter how red or how sweaty they get. They're wiggling and jiggling bellies, muffin tops, big thighs and arms - and they're getting a massive endorphin rush. The campaign's 90-second ad shows real women, of all body types, exercising - and loving it. Phrases like "I jiggle, therefore I am" are interspersed with shots of women working out - red-faced, cellulite wobbling, smudged makeup, sweat patches and muffin top. This reinforces the message that exercise is for everyone. It's sort of 'in your face' to the phenomenon of airbrushed selfies. This is an empowering, refreshing campaign and has already been endorsed by celebs such as Martina Navratilova and Missy Elliot. Here in Ireland, meanwhile, it was revealed this week that more than half of women are unhappy with their bodies, and 40pc also consider going under the surgeon's knife for help. [INS: :INS] Hundreds of scientific studies have shown exposure to unrealistic bodies can lead to this body dissatisfaction. So we're back to where we started, thinking we're too ugly to exercise. That's why this campaign is so important. Irish women need to follow their UK counterparts and jiggle it, just a little bit. Contraception? Termination? At least the Church got it spot on about breasts Some women feel that the Catholic Church treats them like second class citizens or that some Scripture is sexist. Contraception and terminations are banned, practices many believe hold the key to women's economic and sexual freedom. They believe they're discriminated against because only men can be ordained. Former president Mary McAleese has previously said: "The old boys' club are going to have to go." Yet this week saw one of the most positive moments for women within the Catholic Church, with Pope Francis encouraging infant's mothers to breastfeed their babies at a baptism ceremony in the Sistine Chapel. "You mothers give your children milk and even now... breastfeed them, don't worry," Pope Francis declared. puritanical God knows, the Catholic Church can be accused of having a puritanical relationship or obsession with women's bodies. But when the Pope proclaimed breastfeeding as completely natural rather than something sinful, it was a boon to women everywhere. This changes the narrative on breastfeeding. Yes there's the 'breast is best' message everywhere but it sometimes feels that there's an 'only if it's done in the privacy of your home where nobody has to be forced to watch you' subtext with it. It also feels like a continuing type of control over women's bodies to tell them what to do with them. Who'd have thought a celibate, 77-year-old man, would become a breastfeeding champion? A rational, important endorsement of breastfeeding from a conservative organisation, who've often stood accused of misogyny, is really rather welcome. Hopefully this holy approval will spur on the Catholic hierarchy to examine how else they can help and care for women. Helen showed Globes' girls how to wear it THIS year was surely the most disappointing Golden Globes for red carpet watchers? Kate Hudson's dress wasn't really about the dress, was it? It was more 'look at my incredible body', less 'look at the couture'. Well, you can't do much with just a few inches of material. Rosamund Pike's dress was less about how little there was of it and more about how badly it fitted her (It just didn't). For a fashion slam dunk though, give legends Jane Fonda or Helen Mirren a bell. As the Americans say, they knocked it out of the ballpark. * British child star Sophia Grace has just released a single and is being hailed as a role model for little girls everywhere. Ugghh. The video only demonstrates how important it is for 11-year olds to wear mascara and lipstick, and to emulate the moves of female strippers. Aren't the lyrics "stupid boys come around, me and my girls shut 'em down, nobody can stop us now, women take over, we run this town", actually quite sexist and offensive? Related Content * Contraception? Termination? At least the Church got it spot on about breasts * Helen showed Globes' girls how to wear it __________________________________________________________________ 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our Privacy & Cookie Policy * News + Breaking News + News + Weather * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports * Entertainment + Around Town + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Competitions * Lifestyle + Health & Beauty + Motoring + Travel * Opinion * Jobs * Property * Directory * Cars * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Add us on google+ * Download our apps * Subscribe to our newsletters * Sitemap * Contact * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Statement * Advertise with Us * Group Websites Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go © Herald.ie Logo Inm A one pixel graphics -- #alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› Belgian police killed two men who opened fire on them during one of about a dozen raids yesterday against an Islamist group that federal prosecutors said was about to launch "terrorist attacks on a grand scale". 16 January 2015 03:00 AM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size Belgian police killed two men who opened fire on them during one of about a dozen raids yesterday against an Islamist group that federal prosecutors said was about to launch "terrorist attacks on a grand scale". Coming a week after Islamist gunmen killed 17 people in Paris, the incident heightened fears across Europe of young local Muslims returning radicalised from Syria. But prosecutors' spokesman Eric Van Der Sypt said the Belgian probe had been under way from before the January 7 attack on French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. NEUTRALISED A third man was detained in the eastern city of Verviers, where police commandos ran into a hail of gunfire after trying to gain entry to an apartment above a town centre bakery. All three were citizens of Belgium, which has one of the biggest concentrations of European Islamists fighting in Syria. Other raids on the homes of men returned from the civil war there were conducted across the country, said Mr Van Der Sypt, adding that they were suspected of planning attacks on Belgian police stations. "The searches were carried out as part of an investigation into an operational cell, some of whose members had returned from Syria," he said. "For the time being, there is no connection with the attacks in Paris." Describing events in the quiet provincial town just after dark, he said: "The suspects immediately and for several minutes opened fire with military weaponry and handguns on the special units of the federal police before they were neutralised." Earlier, prosecutors said they had detained a man in southern Belgium who they suspected of supplying weaponry to Amedy Coulibaly, the killer of four people at a Paris Jewish grocer's after the Charlie Hebdo attack. After the violence in Verviers, La Meuse newspaper quoted an unidentified police officer as saying: "We've averted a Belgian Charlie Hebdo." Two French brothers, who like Coulibaly claimed allegiance to Islamist militants in the Middle East, killed 12 people at the offices of Charlie Hebdo. Belgium has seen significant radical Islamist activity among its Muslim population. Public television RTBF showed video of a building at night lit up by flames with the sound of shots being fired. Marie-Laure from Verviers told RTBF she was in the street with her children when a police commando told them to run for cover. "When we began running, we heard three or four big explosions and shots," she said. Per head of population, Belgium is the European country from where the highest number of citizens have taken part in fighting with Syrian rebels in the past four years, data compiled by security researchers have shown. Belgium has taken a lead in EU efforts to counter the threat perceived from the return of "foreign fighters" from Syria. [INS: :INS] The Belgian government believes about 100 of its nationals have come back from there, while a further 40 may have been killed and about 170 are still in the ranks of fighters in Syria and Iraq. hnews@herald.ie 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our Privacy & Cookie Policy * News + Breaking News + News + Weather * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports * Entertainment + Around Town + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Competitions * Lifestyle + Health & Beauty + Motoring + Travel * Opinion * Jobs * Property * Directory * Cars * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Add us on google+ * Download our apps * Subscribe to our newsletters * Sitemap * Contact * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Statement * Advertise with Us * Group Websites Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go © Herald.ie Logo Inm A one pixel graphics -- #alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› Man stabbed in church grounds 20 January 2015 03:00 AM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size GARDAI in Mayo are appealing for witnesses after a man received serious stab wounds on the grounds of a local church. The incident occurred at St Colman's Church last Friday just before a month's mind mass was to take place. The injured man, who is in his mid 20s, received serious stab wounds and was rushed to Mayo General Hospital. The victim has since been released. "It was an awful shock to people. They had gathered to remember a local man who was very respected when it all kicked off," said one local. Drone attack kills four A suspected US drone strike killed four militants near Pakistan's northwestern border with Afghanistan while three security troops and seven militants were killed in a clash in another tribal region near the border, officials said. Two missiles fired from the drone targeted a militant hideout in the Shawal area of Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region, officials said. They did not elaborate. Hebdo protest at embassy Hundreds of Iranians have demonstrated outside the French Embassy in Tehran to protest against the publication of a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad on the cover of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. Demonstrators, mainly students, chanted "Death to France" alongside the traditional slogans of "Down with USA" and "Death to Israel" at the protest. Some demanded the Embassy be closed and the ambassador expelled. They also torched US and Israeli flags. Fighting rages at airport Pro-Russian separatists renewed attacks on Ukrainian forces at an airport complex in the east after Kiev launched a mass operation to reclaim lost ground there that Russia called a "strategic mistake". Ukrainian officials said three soldiers had been killed and 66 wounded over the past 24 hours, during which they said they had returned battle lines at the airport to the status quo under a much violated international peace plan. [INS: :INS] 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our Privacy & Cookie Policy * News + Breaking News + News + Weather * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports * Entertainment + Around Town + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Competitions * Lifestyle + Health & Beauty + Motoring + Travel * Opinion * Jobs * Property * Directory * Cars * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Add us on google+ * Download our apps * Subscribe to our newsletters * Sitemap * Contact * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Statement * Advertise with Us * Group Websites Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go © Herald.ie Logo Inm A one pixel graphics -- #alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› Terror threat may end visa-free trips to States for Irish By Paul Healy – 02 February 2015 03:00 AM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size IT COULD soon be more difficult for Irish tourists to visit the United States following a review of the visa system by the US Congress. Democratic Senator Diane Feinstein plans to introduce legislation that would overhaul the visa waiver programme that currently allows Irish people easy access to the States every year. Diane Feinstein Diane Feinstein extremists Under the current system, nations including Britain and Ireland can travel to the US without a visa for stays of 90 days or less. However, Senator Feinstein has argued that the law has made it easier for terrorists to enter the country. "There's no question in my mind that the visa waiver programme is a weak link in our efforts to keep violent extremists out of the country and it needs to be tightened up," she said. The attack against satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris last month have sparked the recent debates over the visa waiver system. The White House also expressed the view that change was needed, with counter- terrorism chief Lisa Monacco saying western passport holders were "of particular concern". She went on to say that western tourists are "a very potent mixture and pose a potential threat, if left unchecked, to the homeland". However, the move to change the law has been strongly criticised by US Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, who said it would be an error to scrap the "valuable" agreement which applies to citizens from 38 approved countries. MISTAKE "The visa-waiver programme is an important, valuable programme. There are some out there who want to scrap it, but I think that's a big mistake," he said. Some tightening of security has already occurred with changes to the US electronic system for travel authorisation. Since last November, tourists have been asked for more passport information and details of any other names or aliases they may have had. hnews@herald.ie [INS: :INS] 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our Privacy & Cookie Policy * News + Breaking News + News + Weather * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports * Entertainment + Around Town + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Competitions * Lifestyle + Health & Beauty + Motoring + Travel * Opinion * Jobs * Property * Directory * Cars * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Add us on google+ * Download our apps * Subscribe to our newsletters * Sitemap * Contact * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Statement * Advertise with Us * Group Websites Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go © Herald.ie Logo Inm A one pixel graphics -- #alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› Entertainment› TV & Radio› Jeremy Clarkson backs out of hosting TV satire By Robert Dex – 10 April 2015 03:00 AM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size Former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson has pulled out of his planned appearance hosting BBC satirical show Have I Got News For You. The star was due to appear later this month - marking his first BBC appearance since the corporation let him go after he attacked a producer on the hit motoring show. Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Clarkson Jimmy Mulville, managing director of Hat Trick Productions which makes Have I Got News For You, said: "On reflection, Jeremy Clarkson has decided not to host the show. We fully expect him to resume his hosting duties later in the year." He had been due to record his appearance on Have I Got News For You on April 23 to be broadcast on April 24. The star was suspended by the BBC on March 10 after he attacked Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon, splitting his lip and verbally abusing him. Clarkson's contract was not renewed, with director-general Tony Hall saying at the time "a line has been crossed" and "there cannot be one rule for one and one rule for another". But the star received widespread public support in the aftermath of the fracas, and one million people signed a petition calling for the BBC to reinstate him. hnews@herald.ie [INS: :INS] 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our Privacy & Cookie Policy * News + Breaking News + News + Weather * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports * Entertainment + Around Town + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Competitions * Lifestyle + Health & Beauty + Motoring + Travel * Opinion * Jobs * Property * Directory * Cars * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Add us on google+ * Download our apps * Subscribe to our newsletters * Sitemap * Contact * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Statement * Advertise with Us * Group Websites Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go © Herald.ie Logo Inm A one pixel graphics -- #alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› Opinion› Sure aren't we all great little pixies? 05 May 2015 03:00 AM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size Pixie. Who would have thought that this cute word, normally associated with small, innocent, tiny creatures, could be so cutting? As a child, if your parent called you a pixie, it was a term of endearment. I'm sure plenty of adults use it in a similarly affectionate way with their partners. Angela Merkel Angela Merkel Barry Murphy as Angela Merkel Yet when Barry Murphy as Angela Merkel on Irish Pictorial Weekly, calls us all pixies every week, he makes us feel like the most stupid, useless creatures in the whole of Europe. This satire is brilliant and the Merkel sketches make for some of the most uncomfortable comedy I have seen in a long time. You want to laugh, but you know you'll only be laughing at yourself. Pixies, that's all we are. [INS: :INS] 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our Privacy & Cookie Policy * News + Breaking News + News + Weather * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports * Entertainment + Around Town + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Competitions * Lifestyle + Health & Beauty + Motoring + Travel * Opinion * Jobs * Property * Directory * Cars * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Add us on google+ * Download our apps * Subscribe to our newsletters * Sitemap * Contact * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Statement * Advertise with Us * Group Websites Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go © Herald.ie Logo Inm A * News * Courts * Sport * Staying In * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion * Facebook * Twitter one pixel graphics -- #alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› Entertainment› TV & Radio› I turn hate into jokes, reveals comedian Tara Flynn Elaine McCahill – 05 May 2015 06:55 AM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size Comedian Tara Flynn said she likes to cover topics that make her angry in her stand up and sketches. The Irish pictorial weekly star has made sketches about her husband, Carl Austin – who is African American – receiving racist abuse and others about the ‘No’ campaign’s arguments in the upcoming same sex marriage referendum. Tara Flynn in Dulux spot Tara Flynn in Dulux spot “I try to tackle issues that make me cross through satirical videos or little sketches about issues like racism or equality,” Tara told the Herald. “There are two elements to tackling issues through comedy. One is that it is easier to hear someone’s point when it’s enjoyable, and two is that it deflates the opposite argument. “I wanted to use laughter to get my message across, because it beats hate every time,” she added. Her debut book, You’re Grand, has just been released in paperback but she’s already working on a follow-up. “It [the follow-up] is due out in the autumn and it’s all about complaining so there’s no shortage of inspiration,” she laughed. “I’ve been listening to Liveline podcasts to see if there are any recurring themes of what we like to moan about and there definitely are.” Tara has also lent her voice to a new animated movie called Two by Two, which is a funny telling of the story of Noah’s Ark and is currently showing across Dublin. Tara will perform at the first Vodafone Comedy Tent which is set to feature at this year’s Body & Soul festival, from June 19 to 21. “I’m really excited for it. It won’t just be work as I’ll get to see my pals perform as well and check out some music too,” she said. [INS: :INS] 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our Privacy & Cookie Policy * News + Breaking News + News + Weather * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports * Entertainment + Around Town + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Competitions * Lifestyle + Health & Beauty + Motoring + Travel * Opinion * Jobs * Property * Directory * Cars * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Add us on google+ * Download our apps * Subscribe to our newsletters * Sitemap * Contact * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Statement * Advertise with Us * Group Websites Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go © Herald.ie Logo Inm A one pixel graphics -- #alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› Opinion› Columnists› Anton Savage: Disagree with the consensus? I hope you lose your job, you moronic idiot 04 June 2015 03:00 AM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size Persuasion should be a subject taught in school; right now, there should be Leaving Cert students preparing to sit an exam on "How to change people's opinions". Because persuasion is clearly a skill being lost to mankind. The reaction to Bruce Jenner's coming out as Caitlyn Jenner proves this. The July issue of Vanity Fair features Bruce Jenner debuting as a transgender woman named Caitlyn Jenner, in a photo by Annie Leibovitz (Annie Leibovitz/Vanity Fair/AP) The July issue of Vanity Fair features Bruce Jenner debuting as a transgender woman named Caitlyn Jenner, in a photo by Annie Leibovitz (Annie Leibovitz/Vanity Fair/AP) Drake Bell Ryan Magee Woman with bottle of shampoo Social media did it's usual two-step process in response to the announcement. First, everyone split into the two cliched camps - moral majority and apparently bigoted minority. Second, the moral majority waited until someone in the minority said something stupid then pummelled them half to death (metaphorically). scapegoat In this instance, the person silly enough to become the scapegoat for all "wrong-thinking" people was minor actor Drake Bell. He tweeted: "Sorry - still calling you Bruce." As offensive statements go, it's bad, but it ain't exactly hate speech. Nonetheless, he was set upon with the inappropriate ferocity that's now common on social media - people calling him an idiot, ignorant, bigoted and wishing failure upon him. This is what now passes for discourse - looking behind you to make sure there's a mob, then roaring abuse at someone dumb enough to think 'wrong' thoughts. It gets no one anywhere. In Drake Bell's case, he first deleted the tweet, then tried to explain it, then hid. This is not how minds are changed. This is how people are intimidated into silence. In the old days, we mainly communicated with people we knew, or had met, or were members of our wider community, or who were people we might bump into again. Those loose connections put a brake on our desire to lean in a stranger's window and shout something derogatory at them. Now, much of what happens on social media is the outpourings of people who pay limited attention to the facts (why read up on something when you can jump to an ill-informed prejudice?), roaring their preconceived views at someone in the expectation of mass support or, even better, the frightened capitulation of the victim. Journalist Jon Ronson's book, So You've Been Publicly Shamed, looks at this process in detail, citing example after example of people on whom the mob turned for almost nothing. Two guys who lost their jobs for making juvenile jokes at a tech conference. A woman who was fired and humiliated for attempting satire on racism. A writer character-assassinated for making up a quote. This pattern keeps occurring, benefiting neither victim nor attacker. So let's make the syllabus teach kids a new way - persuasion, empathy, analysis and argument. [INS: :INS] Then maybe people will learn that if they think someone is wrong to call Caitlyn "Bruce" after her transition, explaining the experience of living a lie and feeling lost is bound to be more effective than screaming: "Oi, moron!" Congratulations, you've just won the lottery - and by the way, you're doomed 2015-06-04_opi_10103362_I1.JPG Ryan Magee Ryan Magee is an example of an old theory that may still hold true. The theory is that winning the lottery doesn't make you happy. Magee won £6.4m (€8.4m) on the Euromillions in 2008 and promptly did the kind of things lottery winners should do - he bought a Ferrari 458 and a house with a champagne bar. And he looked very happy. This was despite a study of winners of the Illinois State Lottery in the 1970s that showed that (after a brief spike) their long-term happiness was the same as someone paralysed with a spinal injury. It's not a new study, and more recent ones demonstrated that lottery winners show improved psychological well-being, so it seemed there might have been some hope for Magee. offences But this week he showed up in court. To be banned for driving offences. In a Ford Focus, not a Ferrari. Next, we discovered that he was on legal aid - having sold his house and car, he still hadn't enough money left in his accounts to pay a lawyer. Still, maybe it was possible he was still happy? Not according to his wife and solicitor. The former has left him and the latter told the court: "He has found himself not back at square one but several steps behind square one. He has appreciated somewhat late in the day his responsibilities to others, particularly in terms of his driving." The solicitor went on to say that in the case of his client "every silver lining has a dark cloud". Maybe there's still a lesson for us all. If Magee can win all that money, buy the dream house and dream car and still end up in misery, we should be careful what we wish for. Magee was one of 16 people who shared the £96m (€131m) jackpot. Wonder how they're getting on? It's not theft, I paid for this hotel room A survey by hotels.com shows the Irish are third on a list of nationalities most likely to steal from hotel rooms. Not big stuff (like the telly or the kettle), but also not terribly little stuff (removing unused shampoo was considered fair game, for instance). If you're curious, we're apparently not as bad as the Germans and the Argentinians. For some reason, we don't think it's stealing. Which it obviously is. I suppose it's just another of those examples of how reality gets twisted in hotel rooms. 2015-06-04_opi_10103787_I1.JPG Why, for instance, do we expect free shampoo but no shaving foam? Or free conditioner but no toothpaste? We should start a campaign for loads more stuff to be provided by hoteliers. Which we can then nick. Charity stunts are getting to be stupid Yet another stupid viral campaign has hit the internet. It's called "holdacokewithyourboobs". And in case you fear you're missing some subtlety, you're not. It's just women pinning cans of Coke between their breasts. This "raises awareness" of breast cancer, we are told. "Raising awareness" is the grown-up version of a kid pointing at a friend and saying they did something stupid "coz Billy did it". It means nothing, justifies nothing and explains nothing. This campaign is so daft that it actually started as a promotion for pornography that unexpectedly caught on, so someone grafted on a more socially acceptable cause. The best course of action is to it. And go film yourself eating a chilli pepper. Yup, that's a thing now too. Oh, lord. 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our Privacy & Cookie Policy * News + Breaking News + News + Weather * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports * Entertainment + Around Town + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Competitions * Lifestyle + Health & Beauty + Motoring + Travel * Opinion * Jobs * Property * Directory * Cars * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Add us on google+ * Download our apps * Subscribe to our newsletters * Sitemap * Contact * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Statement * Advertise with Us * Group Websites Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go © Herald.ie Logo Inm A one pixel graphics -- #alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› Man beheaded and Islamist flag found at French factory terror Catherine LaGrange – 26 June 2015 02:30 PM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size A man has been decapitated during a suspected Islamist terror attack in France. A message in Arabic was reportedly found on the victim's head, which had been pinned to a fence. Two attackers arrived at a gas factory near Grenoble in a car, bearing banners written in Arabic, and set off explosions. France's anti-terror prosecutor said the attack was carried out by "a terrorist group" and it is understood one man has been arrested. The decapitated head was found at the site of a US gas company in southeast France. One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the torso was found near the site of the explosion but that the victim was not decapitated by the blast. Two flags, one white and one black and both with Arabic inscriptions, were found at the scene. Injured The official said police were searching for anyone else possibly involved in the attack, in which one person was killed and at least one other was injured this morning. France's anti-terror prosecutor said the attack was carried out by "a terrorist group". At least one person holding an Islamist flag drove into the plant and rammed into gas canisters at about 10am, causing an explosion. The decapitated body was found nearby, it said. The French public prosecutor said its anti-terrorist section had been deployed to investigate. Police sources said the decapitated head was found at the site, along with a flag bearing Islamist inscriptions. "It is definitely a terrorist attack," Joelle Huillier, a Socialist member of parliament for the Isere region, said on BFM TV. "I am terrified. No one is safe." Local newspaper Le Dauphine said the head was also covered in Arabic writing. One suspect had been arrested and was already known to French intelligence sources, one of the sources said. Appalling [INS: :INS] British Prime Minister David Cameron has spoken to French President Francois Hollande at the EU summit in Brussels to express his sympathies over what Downing Street described as the "appalling incident" near Grenoble. The two leaders were attending a European Council summit. A Downing Street spokeswoman said: "He [Mr Cameron] expressed his sympathies for what looks like an appalling incident. "Details are still emerging, so we wait to see those. But it clearly looks an extremely concerning situation and our thoughts are with all those affected by it." The attack comes after 17 people were killed at a satirical magazine and a kosher grocery in Paris in January by a radicalised trio, catapulting France's capital on to the front pages of newspapers around the world. The French government mobilised 10,000 soldiers to guard vulnerable sites around the country. The attack today was at a factory belonging to Allentown, Pennsylvania-based Air Products. Situated in an industrial zone outside the French town of Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, the site produces gas used by industry and hospitals, according to a website dedicated to local industries. In addition to the factory, the company has a customer services centre in Aubervilliers outside Paris. 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our Privacy & Cookie Policy * News + Breaking News + News + Weather * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports * Entertainment + Around Town + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Competitions * Lifestyle + Health & Beauty + Motoring + Travel * Opinion * Jobs * Property * Directory * Cars * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Add us on google+ * Download our apps * Subscribe to our newsletters * Sitemap * Contact * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Statement * Advertise with Us * Group Websites Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go © Herald.ie Logo Inm A one pixel graphics -- #alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› Opinion› Images of bloodshed on the beach have erased my happy Tunisia memories 01 July 2015 03:00 AM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size LAST Tuesday, when I heard of the massacre in the Tunisian seaside resort of Sousse, a shiver went down my spine. Shortly after I retired from An Garda Siochana in 2000, my wife Kathleen and I went to that very resort and stayed at the Imperial Marhaba Hotel, where some of the killings took place. We found the Tunisian people, warm and friendly. Seifeddine Reguiz Seifeddine Reguiz Killer Seifeddine Rezgui (24), over a short period of time went from being a fun-loving lad to a deranged, bloodthirsty mass murderer. We know now that he was a follower of Islamic State, which wreaked havoc in Libya, Syria and indeed in the US. Remember the Boston bombings. His distraught father finds it almost impossible to understand the ideology behind this extreme Islamic cult. These lone wolf attacks by deranged Islamic fundamentalists can occur anywhere and at any time. SECURITY It is proving an almost insurmountable challenge for security forces across Europe to combat this growing and deadly menace. Last January we had the attack by the same fundamentalists on the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris. On the same day as the Tunisian massacre, another Islamic fanatic cut his boss's head off and impaled it on a fence flanked by two IS flags in France. IS was also responsible for the bomb attack - on the same day - in Kuwait that left at least 30 Shiite Muslims dead in a mosque. This terrorist organisation has now taken centre stage with its death cult and hate-fuelled ideology. The world is a much more dangerous place. My prayers and condolences go out to the three Irish people - Lorna Carty and Laurence and Martina Hayes - and all the other innocents who died in that terrible massacre. My happy memories of that lovely holiday in Tunisia have been spoiled forever. [INS: :INS] 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our Privacy & Cookie Policy * News + Breaking News + News + Weather * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports * Entertainment + Around Town + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Competitions * Lifestyle + Health & Beauty + Motoring + Travel * Opinion * Jobs * Property * Directory * Cars * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Add us on google+ * Download our apps * Subscribe to our newsletters * Sitemap * Contact * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Statement * Advertise with Us * Group Websites Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go © Herald.ie Logo Inm A * News * Courts * Sport * Staying In * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion * Facebook * Twitter one pixel graphics -- #alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› Opinion› Columnists› How RTE finally got in on the joke 06 July 2015 03:00 AM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size The Apres Match team are, finally, to be given their own stand-alone comedy show on RTE. Funny, satirical and inventive way beyond the confines of their sports-based show, Gary Cooke (left) and the lads have consistently proven themselves to be the most skilled comedy writers working on Irish television. And the only question is why on earth it has taken RTE so long to realise this? I am particularly delighted at the news, as I myself suggested such a move in this very column, when I wrote "RTE desperately needs a consistently funny comedy show, so why don't they give the (Apres Match) lads a full-time gig?" I wrote those lines, by the way in February 2011, and it's taken RTE over four years to heed them. Well, better late than never... [INS: :INS] 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our Privacy & Cookie Policy * News + Breaking News + News + Weather * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports * Entertainment + Around Town + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Competitions * Lifestyle + Health & Beauty + Motoring + Travel * Opinion * Jobs * Property * Directory * Cars * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Add us on google+ * Download our apps * Subscribe to our newsletters * Sitemap * Contact * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Statement * Advertise with Us * Group Websites Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go © Herald.ie Logo Inm A * News * Courts * Sport * Staying In * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion * Facebook * Twitter one pixel graphics -- #alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› Entertainment› Mexican ambassador wanted meeting on Garthgate satire Kirsty Blake Knox – 08 July 2015 03:00 AM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size It seems the Mexican Ambassador to Ireland, Carlos Garcia de Alba, wanted information regarding his portrayal in the upcoming theatre show, Are You There Garth? It's Me, Margaret. The stage play, written by Fiona Looney (pictured right), explores the "highs, lows and sheer madness" surrounding the cancellation of all five Garth Brooks Croke Park gigs last summer. Garth Brooks Garth Brooks The Mexican Ambassador to Ireland, Mr Carlos Eugenio Garcia de Alba at the Mexican Embassy on Eglinton rd Pix Ronan Lang/Feature File All the key players involved in the debacle appear in the new show - including Enda Kenny, Owen Keegan, Michael Martin and former Lord Mayor Christy Burke. According to Looney, His Excellency Carlos Garcia de Alba has "persistently" contacted the producers of the stage show in recent months. "I think he wanted to discuss his role and make sure he was portrayed in a favourable light," Looney told the Herald. "Obviously, I declined as I thought it would be a little strange to have the Mexican Ambassador to Ireland involved in the creative process. It would be a conflict of interests, but he really persisted. "You can't meet up with the people you are satirising - it would definitely affect your writing," she added. The Mexican Ambassador became embroiled in Garthgate thanks to Mr Burke, who thought the ambassador would be able to "intervene at a diplomatic level" and save the gigs. His Excellency also contacted the show's producer, Darren Smith, several times requesting a meeting. Smith - perhaps best-known as one of the writers of Dustin the Turkey's ill-fated Eurovision entries Irelande Douze Points - politely declined the offers. When contacted last night, the Mexican Ambassador's cultural attache, Laura Mora, refused to comment on whether His Excellency had been in touch with Smith or Looney. Ms Mora added she had "no idea" how the ambassador currently feels about his depiction in the show. But Looney says Carlos needn't worry about her script. "I've turned the farce and idiocy up to 11, but he looks no more foolish than anyone else in the play," she said. The production will open at the Gaiety Theatre in October with Deirdre O'Kane in the lead role of Margaret. [INS: :INS] 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our Privacy & Cookie Policy * News + Breaking News + News + Weather * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports * Entertainment + Around Town + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Competitions * Lifestyle + Health & Beauty + Motoring + Travel * Opinion * Jobs * Property * Directory * Cars * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Add us on google+ * Download our apps * Subscribe to our newsletters * Sitemap * Contact * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Statement * Advertise with Us * Group Websites Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go © Herald.ie Logo Inm A one pixel graphics -- #alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› Opinion› Michael O'Doherty: There's only one way a dinosaur like George Hook is going to go and that's extinct 20 July 2015 03:00 AM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size What type of dinosaur is George Hook? It's a question which continues to baffle anthropologists, as the man from the land that time forgot continues to spout opinions that most of us thought were long extinct. George Hook George Hook Ruth O'Neill Black comedy: David McSavage is starring in Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin next month Sean O'Brien, Paul O'Connell and Rob Kearney at the unveiling of the new Irish Rugby World Cup 2015 jersey by Canterbury and the IRFU INPHO A brontosaurus, perhaps - the enormous, lumbering, tree-munching monster that slayed all in its path? It's a possibility. A velociraptor - the lightening quick, agile predator that hunted down its prey with graceful ease? I don't think so. Most likely, George is descended from the Ornithorhynchus anatinus: a sea-loving mammal whose globular features marked him out as little-maligned upon extinction. Except, however - and this is where the association with Hooky is most evident - it is not extinct like its contemporaries, living on in the shape of the charming, though tragically ugly, duck-billed platypus. As evidence of George's prehistoric lineage, he recently engaged in a debate about Dublin cyclists, wheeling out lazy, cliched and appallingly outdated generalisations, dismissing cyclists as "criminals.' Stuck in a time when the car was king, George has seen evolution pass him by, unfettered by the convenience, environmental friendliness, and personal health benefits to be derived from getting on your bike. And lest one thought that his advocacy of the neanderthal "four wheels good, two wheels bad" argument was a once-off, the Hookosaurus came out with an even more extraordinary proposition last week. Discussing the controversial judgement which saw rapist Magnus Meyer Hustveit walk free after a series of assaults on his girlfriend while she lay sleeping, George threw out the argument that what he did might not be a crime. "You're sharing a bed with somebody," George suggested, "and obviously sexual congress takes place on a regular basis because you're living with someone. Is there not an implied consent therefore that you consent to sexual congress?" While there is no suggestion that George agrees with this proposition, his very asking of the question, without any qualification on his part, was at best astonishing clumsiness, and at worst the re-airing of long discredited beliefs. It seems extraordinary now, but up to 25 years ago, no matter how often he forced himself on his wife without her consent, a husband could not be accused of rape in Ireland - the wife having 'implied' that her consent was always going to be present once she agreed to marry him. But in 1990 the law was changed, as society's attitude to domestic violence, along with previously tolerated ills such as homophobia, drinking and driving, or polluting the planet, have evolved. It is, perhaps, strangely reassuring to hear echoes of the dark ages sometimes rekindled, as George did last week, because it reminds us how far we've come. But unless he learns to adapt more quickly to the changing environment, the Hook-billed platypus of Newstalk is in danger of heading in the same direction as all the other dinosaurs: extinction. [INS: :INS] Ruth's return from the US for RTE gig shows one thing - I can't spot talent 2015-07-20_opi_11283620_I1.png It's exactly six years since I last saw Ruth O'Neill, the former Irish model who applied to become a presenter on TV3's Xpose back in 2009, by entering the show Total Xposure, on which I was a judge. After berating Ruth for her south county Dublin accent, she only managed to finish third in the contest and, her dreams of a TV career in tatters, left Ireland to seek solace LA. Since then, Ruth has worked her way up through the ranks of US television and, through a combination of hard work and a laid-back, charming personality, secured a presenting gig on entertainment channel E!. Now comes the news that Ruth has returned to her home town in order to front RTE's new show, Bounce, an entertainment show which will, ironically enough, take on Xpose, the very show that turned her down six years ago. It would be unwise at this juncture to crack open the champagne on Ruth's behalf, given the somewhat chequered history of Bounce thus far. When first announced over two years ago, RTE's rival to Xpose was going to be fronted by Vogue Williams, Daniella Moyles and Paul Galvin. In the intervening time, the names associated with the project have been dizzying in their multitude - Rosanna Davison, Nadia Forde, Madeline Mulqueen, Nicola Hughes and Diana Bunici, as well as the original suspects of Vogue and Daniella. The general consensus, however, is that Eoghan McDermott and Ruth O'Neill are set to be the two main presenters. And the fact that I have previously dismissed the career possibilities of both in very forceful terms - calling Eoghan "shouty" and "cheesy", and dismissing Ruth's ability to do little except look pretty, has at least clarified one thing without question. When it comes to spotting talent, I know absolutely nothing. This is what you call satire, David? 2015-02-14_ent_6775080_I1.JPG David McSavage not only remains unrepentant about his portrayal of Joe Duffy on The Savage Eye, but still refers to the RTE star as "a gobshite". David yesterday defended his portrayal of Joe by saying that "we open him up, and rip him apart. That's what good satire does". And just to show how incisive and surgical his satire can be, McSavage turned his attentions to Brian McFadden and Vogue Williams. "Brian deserves to be put on trial for crimes against music ... and Vogue? (She's) a strange looking creature that belongs in a zoo." If those stupendously unfunny comments are "satire", we can safely say that the next series of The Savage Eye will be the least eagerly-awaited show ever... Sean O'Brien's witty blasts lack just one thing page60_oconnell.jpg They’re crazy, those rugby lads, what with their constantly hilarious exchanges on social media. The latest online rib-tickler to come from Irish international rugby ranks, designed to show that underneath those impressive physiques lie razor-sharp brains, features an exchange between Brian O’Driscoll and Sean O’Brien. BOD remarked that Sean (inset) seemed to be wearing an Irish jersey that was a couple of sizes to small for him, posting the hashtag “#nextsizeupmaybe?” Sean, quick as a flash, replied “Don’t be worrying about it, your retired Remember!” – a retort that manages the rare feat of including two typos within the last three words. Might one suggest that before he takes on BOD on Twitter, Sean may want to brush up on his grammar? 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our Privacy & Cookie Policy * News + Breaking News + News + Weather * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports * Entertainment + Around Town + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Competitions * Lifestyle + Health & Beauty + Motoring + Travel * Opinion * Jobs * Property * Directory * Cars * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Add us on google+ * Download our apps * Subscribe to our newsletters * Sitemap * Contact * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Statement * Advertise with Us * Group Websites Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go © Herald.ie Logo Inm A * News * Courts * Sport * Staying In * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion * Facebook * Twitter one pixel graphics -- #alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› Opinion› This is what you call satire, David? 20 July 2015 03:00 AM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size David McSavage not only remains unrepentant about his portrayal of Joe Duffy on The Savage Eye, but still refers to the RTE star as "a gobshite". David yesterday defended his portrayal of Joe by saying that "we open him up, and rip him apart. That's what good satire does". And just to show how incisive and surgical his satire can be, McSavage (right) turned his attentions to Brian McFadden and Vogue Williams. "Brian deserves to be put on trial for crimes against music ... and Vogue? (She's) a strange looking creature that belongs in a zoo." If those stupendously unfunny comments are "satire", we can safely say that the next series of The Savage Eye will be the least eagerly-awaited show ever... [INS: :INS] 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our Privacy & Cookie Policy * News + Breaking News + News + Weather * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports * Entertainment + Around Town + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Competitions * Lifestyle + Health & Beauty + Motoring + Travel * Opinion * Jobs * Property * Directory * Cars * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Add us on google+ * Download our apps * Subscribe to our newsletters * Sitemap * Contact * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Statement * Advertise with Us * Group Websites Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go © Herald.ie Logo Inm A * News * Courts * Sport * Staying In * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion * Facebook * Twitter one pixel graphics -- #alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› Entertainment› TV & Radio› David McWilliams put his finger on our brutal inequalities Pat Stacey – 22 September 2015 09:34 AM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size DAVID McWilliams is one of the good guys — and this is probably the last time you’ll hear anyone say that about an economist. When others in his profession were busy obfuscating and bullshitting and talking about soft landings (remember those?), McWilliams was warning us that we were about to crash and burn. David McWilliams David McWilliams The politicians didn’t listen, of course, so here we are now, crashed and burned and smouldering on the runway, with no sign of a fire engine squealing to our rescue. Mock the man if you wish — and plenty, including satire show Irish Pictorial Weekly, have — for his Blackrock College/Trinity background (some think he was the inspiration for Paul Howard’s Ross O’Carroll Kelly) or his capacity for self-publicity. The Phoenix magazine, ever the one for the witless one-liner, dubbed him the David Beckham of the Irish media; frankly, if you can name anyone working in the Irish media who doesn’t have a capacity for self-publicity, they’re probably in the wrong business. Me, I’d prefer it if somebody erected a statue of him. Unlike the British, we’re not big on declaring human beings national treasures, but McWilliams is a national treasure. His latest authored documentary, The Great Irish Wealth Divide, was the kind of programme that made you feel like putting your boot through the television out of sheer anger. Do that, though, and you might not be able to afford a new one. Who knows what else you might not be able to afford as you slide down the poverty scale from society’s squeezed middle to its bottom 20 per cent, who are trying to scrape by on their 0.2 per cent share of the wealth sloshing around the country? HARD-WORKING The thrust of the documentary was that if things keep going the way they are, this is where many decent, hard-working people, who’ve spent their lives playing by the rules and doing all the things decent, hard-working people are supposed to do, will end up. The lion’s share of the country’s wealth, 70 per cent, is currently in the hands and pockets of the super-rich, the elite few (and by comparison they are few) who can zip over to Rome in their private jets to buy exclusive — ie, obscenely expensive — luxury goods, such as watches from Bulgari (prices start at a modest €50,000). They prefer to splash the cash there, or in London or New York, because doing it in Grafton Street might look like showing off. Even our billionaires know that’s not the Irish way. The point of McWilliams’s film wasn’t that the rich getting richer is wrong — he’s a capitalist, not Karl Marx — or even that there’s a gap between the haves and the have-nots. There always has been, and there’s nothing at all wrong with trying to better yourself. The point was that the gap between rich and poor has widened, and will only continue to widen. The recession didn’t sink the super-rich, it just made them super-richer, because they know how to manage and manipulate and massage their assets, with the help of banks — which only lend money to people who already have assets — and politicians and favourable tax deals. The recovery won’t re-float the ordinary people who have sunk to the bottom. Capitalism, according to McWilliams, isn’t the problem; it’s “hyper-capitalism”, the kind where acquisition is everything. Wealth creates nothing but more wealth, which is of no value to anyone but the wealth-owners; there’s no trickle-down effect. He had a simple solution: tax the super-rich. Good luck with that. [INS: :INS] 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. 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