Irish economist David McWilliams takes to the stage this week at the Abbey’s Peacock Theatre in Dublin for a rather unorthodox theatrical offering – a 90 minute monologue on what’s wrong with the Irish economy, why our political leaders and civil servants aren’t getting Ireland out of the mess, and what might be done to fix it.
McWilliams has become a popular public figure, known now as one of the few economists who predicted the collapse of the housing market and the subsequent credit crunch. Through books like The Pope’s Children and The Generation Game, and special television series such as ‘Addicted to Money,’ McWilliams has been something of a wet blanket on the party like there’s no tomorrow approach to the Irish economy. During a stint as a host on the RTE comedy series ‘The Panel,’ one of the comedians once referred to him as ‘the ginger horseman of the apocalypse.’
Continue reading ‘David McWilliams: Review of the Outsiders’
The Belfast City Marathon is one of Northern Ireland’s premier sporting events. More than 20,000 people hit the streets on Bank Holiday Monday for the race, including 3,300 marathon runners and 11,000 who participated in five-person relay teams. The event raised thousands for charity. It is mass participation sport at its very best.
Now that this year’s marathon is over, there is a movement afoot to switch the race from Monday to Sunday. This would save significantly on the costs of policing the event, and limit traffic disruption in the city on the increasingly busy Bank Holiday Monday.
Continue reading ‘Should the Belfast City Marathon Run on Sunday?’
Earlier this week, the NGO Social Justice Ireland (SJI) published ‘An Agenda for a New Ireland,’ a 250-page socio-economic review of what went wrong in Ireland, what hasn’t changed, and what state and citizens might do to improve living on this island. The entire text of the document is available on-line.
The Irish Times’ Jamie Smyth summed up SJI’s recommendations this way,
Continue reading ‘Social Justice Ireland & ‘An Agenda for a New Ireland’’
There is a stunning lack of accountability in Ireland. It doesn’t have to be that way. Writing in today’s Irish Times, columnist Elaine Byrne recounts how an indignant and industrious Icelandic citizenry has peacefully and effectively achieved meaningful political change in the wake of the country’s financial crisis.
Demonstrations and mass protests, many organised by young people using social networking websites, have basically brought down a government and contributed to the establishment of a National Assembly, consisting of:
Continue reading ‘Contemplating Ireland’s Apathy: Do Irish Citizens Want a Say in their Future?’
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