It’s All Down to the IRA
After all the euphoria of the past week based on the belief that we were just a photograph away from the final settlement in the North, it was back to reality over the weekend.
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(Irish Voice) 16 December 2004
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The High Price of Peace
It seems possible now, even probable, that we are on the verge of the final historic settlement in the North. more...
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(Irish Voice) 8 December 2004
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Tea Time No More at Bewley’s
It's difficult to know what to make of the demise of the famed Bewley’s cafes, which on Tuesday closed their doors at 6 p.m. for the last time in Dublin’s city center.
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(Irish Voice) 2 December 2004
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Our Leader “Red” Ahern
First of all the good news. We’re living in heaven, or at least as close to heaven as you can get on earth. That’s according to a scientific survey designed to measure happiness which was carried out by the prestigious Economist Intelligence Unit, and published last week by The Economist magazine.
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(Irish Voice) 25 November 2004
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Rewriting Arafat’s History – Irish Style
IT’S been a tough month for Ireland’s soft left establishment. Just as the Prozac was kicking in to help deal with the trauma of President George W. Bush’s re-election (never mind the hopelessly deluded folk here who have convinced themselves that Bush couldn’t have won, and therefore the vote was rigged)...
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(Irish Voice) 18 November 2004
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Beating Around the Bush Win
THERE have been some exceptions, but the most common reaction in the media in Ireland to the return of President George W. Bush for another four years has been one of incomprehension and disappointment, tinged with distaste.
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(Irish Voice) 11 November 2004
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Ireland Waits As You Vote
LAST week it was the half-term break in schools in Ireland, and myself and my young scholars were grabbing some winter sun on the island of Lanzarote, about 70 miles off the west coast of Africa. Around the pool each day, there was only one topic of conversation....
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(Irish Voice) 4 November 2004
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The Annoying Irish Bush Haters
YOU might think that an American working as a journalist in Ireland would have to cut himself off from politics at home. Not so in my case.
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(Irish Voice) 28 October 2004
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Irish Lessons After Hostage Death
IRISH people received a grim lesson last week, a by-product of the savage butchery of hostage Ken Bigley in Iraq — an Irish passport is not a magical charm to ward off evil.
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(Irish Voice) 13 October 2004
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The Government’s New Face
AFTER talking for months about reshuffling his Cabinet, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern finally did it last week. And it turned out to be a bit of a disappointment
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(Irish Voice) 5 October 2004
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How Ireland Got Its Boom Back
THERE have been encouraging signs for some time now that our economy has been doing well again.
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(Irish Voice) 30 September 2004
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So Near and Yet So Far
THE elusive, ultimate prize of a final settlement in the North never seemed so close as it did over the weekend. Yet now, just a couple of days later, no one seems sure just how far away it may be.
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(Irish Voice) 22 September 2004
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The 4 Million Person Question
DID you know that Ireland now gets more immigrants FROM the U.S. than it sends emigrants TO the Land of the Free?
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(Irish Voice) 17 September 2004
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Tribunal Finally Makes an Impact
THE various tribunals of inquiry set up by the government in Ireland to examine corruption in high places and state screw-ups of one kind or another have been heavily criticized.
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(Irish Voice) 8 September 2004
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Our Olympic Dilemma
After two weeks of deep disappointment as one dismal Irish performance followed another in failure, our brilliant young showjump rider Cian O’Connor triumphed at the end of the Games and took
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(Irish Voice) 1 September 2004
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Turning Point for Irish Property
OVER the past year or two, the turning point in the Irish property market has been predicted by economists and financial experts here almost as often as suburban houses in the better parts of
Dublin have been making more than a million euro.
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(Irish Voice) 26 August 2004
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Blood on Fianna Fail’s Carpet
"IT’S been an interesting week here in politics, even though officially all our politicians are on holidays. Behind the scenes, however, there’s a lot going on..."
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(Irish Voice) 20 August 2004
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The Shafting of McCreevy
THE comments made by Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams last week in which he spoke about winding up the IRA have caused considerable excitement. Could this be for real? Or is Gerry Adams winding us up, rather than the IRA?
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(Irish Voice) 12 August 2004
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The Shafting of McCreevy
USUALLY in Ireland we wait until someone is dead before we canonize them. Last week, however, Minister for Finance Charlie McCreevy was elevated to sainthood here in spite of being very much alive.
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(Irish Voice) 28 July 2004
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Speaking Irish, Talking Bull
LAST week our great national hypocrisy about the Irish language was in full view here. With breathtaking cheek, the government announced that it is to seek official status for the Irish language in the European Union.
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(Irish Voice) 21 July 2004
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Bush Bashers Stay Away
THE security surrounding President George W. Bush’s visit to Ireland over the weekend was extraordinary. It was the biggest ring of steel ever mounted
here.
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(Irish Voice) 2 July 2004
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The Great Debate on Sinn Fein
THERE has been a great deal of middle class soul searching here in the past week as the country slowly wakes up to the Sinn Fein monster in our midst.
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(Irish Voice) 23 June 2004
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Fianna Fail Pays the Price
THIS week you will be reading a lot of over-the-top reports on the election results here, reports about the triumph of Sinn Fein and the humiliation of Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern’s government.
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(Irish Voice) 16 June 2004
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Culture of Greed at Irish Banks
ON the way back from our holiday in Florida in April, we flew up from Tampa to Kennedy Airport to catch the evening flight home.
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(Irish Voice) 2 June 2004
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Getting the Stories Wrong
TWO misguided views have gained wide acceptance in the media here in recent weeks and, for those of you who see the Irish papers, they need to be nailed on the head without delay.
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(Irish Voice) 26 May 2004
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Let Them Do the Time
WE’RE in the run-up to the local and European elections here and the country is festooned with posters.
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(Irish Voice) 20 May 2004
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New Europe Is Born in Dublin
IT’S nice to come home to a party. Last Saturday was May 1 and the Spain family, myself included, was still jet-lagged after our three week visit to Florida and the long flights home.
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(Irish Voice) 6 May 2004
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Speaking Out, Finally
FOR a country infamous for its silver-tongued, Blarney Stone-enhanced artists, public speaking is long dead and buried in Ireland. For 50 years there hasn’t been a public space dedicated to the practice.
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(Irish Voice) 29 April 2004
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Redefining Irish Citizenship
“What is your nation if I may ask,” says the citizen. “Ireland,” says Bloom. “I was born here. Ireland.”– Ulysses 12: Cyclops
JAMES Joyce was once asked why he chose to make the central character in Ulysses, his most celebrated (and least-read) masterpiece, a Jew, in the form of Leopold Bloom.
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(Irish Voice) 22 April 2004
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Keane Will Shake Us Up Again
WITHIN days of the big news on May 23, 2002, the t-shirts were rolling off the screen presses. You’d see them occasionally on the streets of Dublin, a lot more down in the Rebel County of Cork.
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(Irish Voice) 16 April 2004
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Who Cares About Ireland?
"IT’S often been said that one reason the Irish lingered around certain New York neighborhood’s for so long was because of their fierce attachment to local parish schools and churches...." more...
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(Irish Voice) 2 April 2004
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Clearing the Air in Dublin
UNUSUALLY, Monday was a clear night all over Ireland. Not outside, of course, but in.
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(Irish Voice) 2 April 2004
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After Madrid, Is Dublin Safe?
THERE are a lot of worried people here after Madrid. The question – first being whispered here in the days after the bombs and by the end of last week being asked out loud – is could we be next?
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(Irish Voice) 25 March 2004
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Pudgy Paddies on the Rise
ONCE upon a time, people here were fond of sneering at the obesity of American tourists, watching our grossly overweight cousins from the U.S. heaving themselves off their coaches in Dublin to watch the St. Patrick’s Day parade. Those shiny Kelly green jackets and plaid green pants are not the things to wear if you’re carrying a lot of extra pounds.
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(Irish Voice) 19 March 2004
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Beginning of the Endgame
TAOISEACH (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern continued the new level of pressure on Sinn Fein in his main address to Fianna Fail’s annual party conference in Dublin last weekend.
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(Irish Voice) 11 March 2004
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A Bonfire of the Vanities
THERE was only one story here that mattered over the past week, one that filled pages of the newspapers and simultaneously fascinated and disgusted the nation. And no, it wasn’t the bizarre spectacle of Gerry Adams declaring that he was flabbergasted – flabbergasted! – that Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern would say that he thought that at some stage Gerry was probably in the IRA.
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(Irish Voice) 4 March 2004
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New Views of the Ancient Enemy
THE visit to Dublin by Princess Anne last week stirred up the predictable adverse reaction from the usual quarters here. There were Sinn Fein demonstrations, there were bomb hoaxes and traffic disruption. And there was a great deal of argument.
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(Irish Voice) 26 Feb 2004
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Deportations Are Common Sense
THE shambles that is Ireland’s immigration policy was on view here in the last couple of weeks.
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(Irish Voice) 19 Feb 2004
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Big Ian to the Rescue
HE has been one of the most destructive, malignant forces in the North over the last three or four decades.
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(Irish Voice) 12 Feb 2004
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A High Flyer Hits Turbulence
RYANAIR, the phenomenally successful budget Irish airline, hit major turbulence over the past week. Given our national fondness for begrudgery this meant stories of doom and gloom and barely veiled delight at the discomfort of Michael O’Leary, the outspoken Ryanair boss.
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(Irish Voice) 6 Feb 2004
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Global Warming Irish Style
I HAD a call last week from a friend of mine in New York who is a regular reader of this column. (Yes, I know, it takes all sorts!)
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(Irish Voice) 29 Jan 2004
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The Polish Joke on Ireland
HAVE you heard the latest Polish joke? Yes, I know, they’re almost as bad (and as popular) as jokes about Paddy the Irishman.
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(Irish Voice) 22 Jan 2004
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Immigration Once Again
A FRIEND of mine was stopped on O’Connell Street a few days ago by a young blonde woman who asked him the following question – “Where is Breege?”
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(Irish Voice) 15 Jan 2004
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The Irish Presidency of Europe
LAST week Ireland once again took center stage in Europe for all things European when we donned the mantle of the European Union presidency, for the sixth time, from the last hosts Italy. Exhaustive preparations are now taking place for our six-month term of office during which time Ireland will take the lead role in all EU business..
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(Irish Voice) 8 Jan 2004
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Sinn Fein’s Southern Challenge
SOMETIMES it takes a few weeks for the dust to settle. And now, a few weeks after the shock of the Northern Ireland election, the real effect of what has happened is beginning to become clear as the dust settles and visibility improves..
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(Irish Voice) 18 Dec 2003
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Budget Ups and Downs
LAST week was budget week in Ireland, and there was an air of foreboding about what the Minister for Finance Charlie McCreevy, might do.
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(Irish Voice) 11 Dec 2003
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