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March, 2007

Global Movement

There's a bit of a debate over on Slugger on the news that 10% of the Irish population is now made up of non-Irish nationals. Keeping in mind that percentage changes can look more dramatic than realities on the ground (viz figures for Luxembourg), the differences with the last census are amazing. I've collated from the current census and the 2002 document (both pdf) to come up with the table below. The evidence tells us what I suppose we thought we knew anyway: although the number of people from the old EU15 and third countries are up, the new EU members are the primary source of immigration.

The table is far from perfect since there were very few figures for the 2004 accession states (never mind Romania and Bulgaria) in 2002.

Anyway, here it is in pdf form and here it is as a picture (click for clarity):


Oh, and the commenters on Slugger who think that there must be more Poles really ought to tell us how they know.

Posted by Ciarán on Fri, 30/03/2007 - 19:13

Maria Farrell on the Irish Economy

I see that Maria Farrell has posted some depressing news on the Irish economy over on Crooked Timber. It seems that 2006 final quarter net exports fell 10% year on year, with housing stalling too.1 Even though I'm a person who, to coin Nick Cohen's phrase, has forecast ten out of the last three recessions, I suspect Maria's spot on. An economy reliant on equity-lead consumer demand is in very deep shit indeed.

How deep is a difficult question though. And this question matters very much for Belfast too.

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Posted by Ciarán on Thu, 29/03/2007 - 14:50

Summer

I think I posted this on Flickr at some stage. Anyway, I came across it last week and thought to stick it up again. Blue skies in Dublin are worth remarking on!

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Posted by Ciarán on Thu, 29/03/2007 - 10:01

You'll never grow old in a little check suit

I have been going through the cupboard this evening to see if I can free up some badly needed hanger space. Outfits that have long since passed the "have I worn it in the last 2 years and if not chuck it out" rule are staring me in the face but, for many, I can't think of parting with them.

One example is a rather trendy check suit in the Burberry mode inherited from my sister who, in turn, rescued it from a sale of unclaimed items in a dry-cleaners in London. I had a rather surreal experience wearing it a couple of Summers ago. I was sitting on a bench outside my previous place of work at lunch time when an old lady sat down beside me. It was coming up to 2 pm and after a few pleasantries she said "Is it not time you went back in love?". "No", I said. "They are pretty flexible in there. You can take lunch whenever you like". "That's great for you" she said rather incredulously. Shortly afterwards I hoisted myself up to re-enter the building and said goodbye to her. "Goodbye love. Good luck in the exams!". Since being mistaken for a lying, school-going teenager at aged 30, I have not been able to wear the suit in public. Yet!

Posted by isabel on Tue, 27/03/2007 - 23:11

Trying to Have It Both Ways

I'm still trying to catch up on the weekend's newspapers and have come across the Guardian's challenge to contemporary writers to follow in Hemingway's footsteps by composing a six-word short story.

Hemingway's is a stunning piece:

"For sale: baby shoes, never worn."

Phenomenal.

The commissioned writers seem to me to fall into two camps. Some try to follow Hemingway explicitly and produce something in the vein of a short-story: a postcard snapshot of a life moving on. Hence Patrick Neate's

"The pillow smelled like my brother."

Others try, with less effect to my mind, to fit a whole story into the six words. The worst sinner on this is Alexander McCall Smith. Sadly this is also the route taken by John Banville:

"Set sail, great storm, all lost."

Anyway, you can see the other ones over on the Guardian's site.

One other thing that strikes me is that the most effective of these are the ones that convey some sense of despondency either through perceived loss or forbeboding. I suppose that, as with Hemingway's original, horrible things get our emotional attention in quick order.

And finally: I wouldn't be a proper blogger without having a go myself. So, keeping all the above in mind (and following Helen Fielding's contraction cheat)...

He lay empty. It's over now.

Posted by Ciarán on Mon, 26/03/2007 - 23:23

Six Weeks to Drumcree?

So, all the reports go, the DUP is looking for a six-week breather before heading into an executive with Sinn Féin. United Irelander is understandably unsure as to what's going on, whereas the commenters over on Slugger O'Toole are generally impressed with the DUP's machinations, but not entirely clear on why the machinations are happening in the first place. Well, my guess is that it's a stop gap, simply a method for avoiding a split right now or they're preparing the fanbase for joint-government or, as some commenters here point out, they want to save face. It's possible, however, that as we get closer to the Summer other issues will arise.

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Posted by Ciarán on Sun, 25/03/2007 - 13:16

Corruption of the Zealots

There's a great article on torture from Slavoj Zizek in the New York Times. He argues that we all are the victims of the routinisation of torture. Corruption comes in many ways and "we are in the middle of a process of moral corruption: those in power are literally trying to break a part of our ethical backbone, to dampen and undo what is arguably our civilization’s greatest achievement, the growth of our spontaneous moral sensitivity."

Welcome to the desert of the real.

Posted by Ciarán on Sat, 24/03/2007 - 10:07

Major PSd

Well, lots of people have mentioned it, including Twenty Major himself, and I certainly have nothing to add (except that this solves my what-do-you-buy-children-and-elderly-relatives-for-Christmas issues), but I think Gerry puts it best.

Posted by Ciarán on Fri, 23/03/2007 - 10:32

Pages and Pints

The afternoon today was spent at the British Library Roadshow at which they demonstrated their rather brilliant Turning the Pages project and software. This technology has been used to create virtual books online by photographing each page of an old book and dropping the jpgs into an online book template.

The Roadshow was held at the Guinness Hopstore and participants were treated to a tour of the premises afterwards. The tour is informative and fun and culminates at the viewing area at the top of the building.

A few items of information on Guinness follow based on what I heard today:

Arthur Guinness inherited £100 from his godfather, a clergyman who dabbled in brewing. He used this money to set himself up in Leixlip before locating to a four acre site at St James's Gate (on which an earlier brewing operation existed).

Ale - Porter - Stout corresponds to Strong - Stronger - Strongest.

There are 5 breweries for Guinness in the world. The second biggest after Ireland is in Nigeria. Nigerian Guinness is a much stronger beast apparently.

Posted by isabel on Wed, 21/03/2007 - 23:39

When They Had Hair

I've been exploring Youtube, mainly for Clancy Brother tunes but came across this Planxty gem. Perm-tastic! And as for Christy on the piano: recede-abulos!

That said, I've always thought that the two songs bookending The Woman I Loved So Well were Planxty at their best.

The last song, Little Musgrave, is a variation on a 17th Century folk song called Matty Groves. There's something wonderful about the very old songs giving as they do tiny snapshots of sensibilities long passed. Also: The Rocks of Bawn with its aspirations for joining up, and the distinctly pro-Napoleon Isle of Saint Helena (I can't find lyrics, but it's on this album).

Anyway, I'm wandering. Here's all ten minutes of an older and less hirsute Planxty's Little Musgrave:

Posted by Ciarán on Tue, 20/03/2007 - 23:34