Itunes Free Musak Saturday on Bebo

Ya know you're on to a good thing when Itunes are following your lead...I also bought the Album during the week on Itunes. Fantastic.

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"Perverts" in Disguise

Image by jgrantmac via Flickr

The Definition of Pervert will be very important in this post:

Pervert: to cause to turn aside or away from what is generally done or accepted
Source: Merriman-Websters

I am not a pervert. I am many many things. I am a son. I am a friend. I am a lover. I am a brother. I am not a Pervert.

Not a typical mantra I have to say to myself everyday of the week but every so often Something appears which makes your blood boil and your bile turn over so that it acidifies the entrails of your body. Tonight such an event has happened. I have been sent a copy of the Mayo Echo's article entitled "Castlebar Lake Attracts Hundreds of Perverts".

Now as you can imagine since I have read the article, I have been told to take a deep breath and calm down. Not my style much. This time I am pretty pissed off . I have a copy of the article below because funnily enough the Actual Article is no longer available on the Mayo Echo's Website.

Published under the title "Castlebar Lake Attracts Hundreds of Perverts"


Hundreds of perverts are descending on Castlebar every week as the town has become the 'cruising' capital of Connaught. The carpark at Lough Lannagh has become a meeting point for so called 'cruising', where gay men walk or drive to a specific place in search of a sex partner, usually of the anonymous, casual, onetime variety.
Hundreds of gay perverts gather at this carpark at Lough Lannagh in Castlebar every week. When they find a partner, most make their way across the bridge and up the pathway to the left. In recent months, the men have begun arriving in the daytime, propositioning passers-by, including teenagers, for casual sex.

Over the past two years, the carpark at Lough Lannagh has become a magnet for men looking for such encounters, and their actions are making the area a nogo area for ordinary visitors and walkers. Many of our readers have contacted the Mayo Echo in recent times to complain about the activities of these perverts, and following an in-depth investigation, it can be revealed that the situation is much more worrying than anyone imagined.

Initially, the practice of cruising by men was confined to night-time, and the area it was taking place was usually quiet enough during these hours. However, over the past six months the practice has now spread to the daytime, when children are around, and many more members of the public are around. The perverts are approaching unaccompanied men and teenage boys who are walking, fishing, or visiting the local graves. Numerous complaints have been made to local Gardai in relation to unsolicited approaches for sex. Complaints have also been made about men having sex in public places, around the Lough Lannagh area. Walkers have come across men in various stages of undress, in different positions.

The Mayo Echo has been carrying out an investigation of the situation at Lough Lannagh over quite some time following complaints from our readers. The first thing to strike any observer is just how busy the area is. Many people visit the area to eat their lunch, read the newspaper, go for a stroll, feed the ducks, or just have a daytime snooze in their car. In fact, it should be stressed that the majority of people who visit Lough Lannagh are doing so for completely innocent reasons. However, as you spend more time in the area, you begin to notice that there is a hidden world. Over the course of the past week, up to fifty men visited the area looking for other gay men, every day. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the busiest, when upwards of one seventy men will visit the area, right throughout the day. The vast majority will arrive by car, although an increasing number are arriving by foot, leaving their vehicles elsewhere in the town. Most of the men do not know their partner before they meet up, and do not stay in touch after the encounter.

The men follow the same sort of procedure to meet other men. They arrive by car or on foot, and walk about the immediate area. They say hello in a casual nature to other passing men , and if the other men engage them in conversation, they make their way to a remote spot and the sexual activity begins. They may also leave the area in one of their cars, although many refuse to do so as this can prove much more dangerous than staying in the locality. Most of the men make their way to one of three spots in the hedge-growth around the area.

The most popular spot is up in a corner alongside the river. Any sounds are drowned out by the noise of the river. The ground at these spots is strewn with discarded condoms and tissues. Worryingly, at the busier spot, there are pages from young boys' magazines strewn in the area. There is a well-worn branch where the men hold onto whilst engaging in their business. The most worrying aspect of the whole situation is that this spot overlooks a children's playground, and the noise of children playing can clearly be heard from just 50 metres away, whilst these man take part in their perversion. Unbeknown to parents who are minding their children playing on the swings or the slide, drooling perverts are getting off whilst watching their children.

Some men visit the area regularly, many times a day. The same faces and vehicles can be seen acting suspiciously almost every day. Men also travel from as far away as Sligo, Galway, Roscommon and even Donegal to visit the area. However, as word has spread about the practice, groups of young men have begun visiting the area to launch attacks on the perverts. Gardai have also been mounting undercover operations to detect the activities, and the Mayo Echo understands that a number of men have been arrested for crimes connected with the scandal over recent weeks. However, the Gardai operation is both ineffective, and barely discreet. Many of the men who use the area are already aware of the vehicles used by the Gardai. The undercover operations tend to be mounted at night, so the men increasingly visit the area in the daytime. Within the first day of watching the area, the Mayo Echo was able to detect the Gardai undercover operation.

On one occasion, the Mayo Echo came across two men in a sexual embrace in a public place, just a few metres from the car park, at 4.30pm in the day. Whilst these men were at this, a number of very young children were feeding the ducks with their parents, only 40 feet away.

The Mayo Echo managed to speak with a small number of the men who are taking part in the practice. Some complained that it was getting more dangerous. Many of the men have been attacked and robbed whilst taking part in the activity. Naturally, they do not report these attacks to the Gardai. They say they carry out the activity for the thrill of it, whilst some say they are married with children.

The Mayo Echo would like to give the men engaged in these practices fair warning. We shall be publishing pictures of the men engaged in these activities. It is completely unacceptable that ordinary decent people cannot enjoy a stroll with their children without coming across such disgusting scenes. These going ons are attracting criminals into the area, and are putting our children at risk. The acts are also putting the men's own health at risk. Innocent teenagers are now being propositioned for sex by older men, and this might lead to sexual attacks in the future. But most worrying of all is that these perverts are engaging in these activities whilst overlooking children playing in the nearby playground, and also looking at images of young boys from magazines strewn about the area. Extremely worrying, a boys' magazine is discarded in the den where the men gather.

Source: Mayo Echo. (Online link unavailable, as article was sent via email after site went down)

Am I pissed off? Yes I am pissed off. I don't care about the cruising. Cruising will happen despite any Garda Operation, effective or ineffective. So long as we live in a society which considers homosexuality as a deviance from the norm and endorses homophobic actions such as the actions of vigilantes which the Mayo Echo has reported on, nothing will ever change and cruising will continue. All any Garda Operation is going to do is to move the problem to another location and all things being equal of course, Will any Garda operation be required to make the same crackdown on heterosexual couples who fornicate in our public parks and upsetting my view from time to time by throwing their heterosexuality in my face all of the time.

No what I care about is the fact that the Mayo Echo has taken it up on themselves to be the Vanguard of the Good People of Mayo and to expose these "perverts" in their Paper. The piece is littered with homophobic bigotry dressed up in the language of "will somebody think of the children". It is completely unacceptable. For the record I am not and will not defend Child Abuse, nor the cruising of Minors. If it is non-consensual sex, then it is Rape & abuse. End of.

I want to know how extensive their research was. I want to know if they in fact interviewed these men to find out why they cruise these areas. I want to know if the Mayo Echo is aware of any services for Gay Men in the West and NW of the island. My own personal opinion is that they don't know and don't necessarily care. This piece is entirely disgraceful and is worthy only to become pulp for concrete in a sewerage drain pipe.


I don't even know if any of that made any sense. I am still quiet Irate about it. I will have to see in the morning how I am feeling to see what else can be done. This time, you will not be let get away with using such homophobic and backward thinking. If you think this is over Mayo Echo, I would not rest on your laurels too much. I can do threats too and It aint over till this queen says it is.

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Celine!

Image via Wikipedia

As I write this I am a little worse for wear: Lets just say Cineoke was great great fun but some mortification occurred!

ANYWAYs moving along. Today is Friday the 30th May 2008 and on this most glorious day, a certain Lady of Leisure who has been working damn hard in Vegas for the last couple of years is appearing on stage in Croke Park. Yes I am going to that Concert and in true Hedgehog style here, we have a Youtube Video-(I really need to stop goring myself on Youtube, its soo distracting, but at least its not Wikipedia :;-) )

So for those of you who Judge me for going to see Celine Dion well lets just say it's gonna be Epic and I don't care what you think. 80,000 people can't be that wrong.

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New Artiste: Johnny Flynn

Whilst scouting the Interweb yesterday, in the middle of finishing off that Bleeding essay(those of you following my Twitter updates will be aware how long it has been taking to get this finished!), I came across an article in the Monday's English Times about an up and coming artiste, Johnny Flyn. Article very well brought together and headlines with:

" Johnny Flynn: the next poster boy of the nu-folk scene"

Well he is pretty! However looks aint everything and it certainly doesn't help to ensure your music will last on and on....in this case however, his debut "Tickle me Pink!" is a great folky/wake me up before you go go type of a song. His Voice is absolutely Fantastic and I have fallen in love with its tone. I expected his Voice to be somewhat of a higher pitch, or perhaps that is just me (I've been listening to too much wailing crap of late). However he has this amazing husky, gruff, melodic voice which just flows over the notes of the music and makes the music work for him rather than having to make his voice work for the music.

Youtube Vid of "Tickle Me Pink" is below. Just have to wait for a Dublin Date now to see him in Concert, though for once I *may* be tempted to actually travel to see this guy play in the UK.

Speaking of Indie nights, I also got a facebook invite for a new Indie night in SPY which is starting this Thursday, called Soundchecks. Looks pretttyyy good!I am hoping to get to it at some stage during the night.

I have, however, to go sing my socks off in the G though that night at a fundraiser, Cineoke, for the Emerald Warriors' Rugby Club. For those of you not in the know, the Warriors will be hosting the Rugby World Cup, the Bingham Cup here over June 13th -15th 2008. That is going to be a fun weekend! Considering everything that has gone on with Munster RFC(*cough*HeinekenCupChampions2008*cough*) in the last couple of days, it is shaping up to be one of the biggest events in the Irish Sporting Calender this year. For more infomation on Bingham Cup just click here.

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Dublin: "Sexual Orientation and Mental Health", June 11th, St. Patricks Hospital

Got the Latest Bulletin from Marie in GLEN this afternoon. I grabbed these two items out of it because they interested me and hopefully somebody else who reads this blog.

• “Sexual Orientation and Mental Health” – Odhrán Allen, Director of Mental Health Strategy at GLEN will be giving a lecture on the topic of Sexual Orientation and Mental Health in the next lecture in the Aware Monthly Lecture Series. The lecture takes place on Wednesday June 11^th at 7.15pm sharp in the Swift Lecture Theatre, St. Patrick’s Hospital, James’s Street, Dublin 8. Admission Free and all are welcome.

• Greenbow Deaf LGBT Karaoke Night with Miss Panti-Date: Sunday 22^nd June 2008, Venue: Pantibar, Capel Street, Dublin 1 at 9pm. ISL/English Interpreters will be provided. Any donations are welcome and in aid of Dublin Pride! Many Spot prizes!! Admission Free.

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Labour Conference: Human Trafficking & the Sex Industry

Image via Wikipedia

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Via Equal-L
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Dear Colleague,

Due to the interest in a Human Trafficking event Labour Women hosted some time ago, Labour Women will again be hosting an Open Event on Human Trafficking & the Sex Industry to highlight and raise awareness about what is really happening in the Sex Industry in Ireland.

Human Trafficking & The Sex Industry

Open event

hosted by

Cllr. Veronica Cawley & Labour Women

Date : Sat 14^th June 2008 12noon

Venue : The Glasshouse Hotel, Swan Point, Sligo (off O’Connell St)

Everyone welcome! For more information and RSVP contact Kirsi Hanifin Labour Party 01-6784721 / 087-6258043 or Kirsi.hanifin@labour.ie. RSVP by 12^th June for us to have an idea of numbers, you are welcome to attend without RSVP.

Kirsi Hanifin

Women and Equality Officer

The Labour Party

17 Ely Place

Dublin 2

Tel. 01-6784700

kirsi.hanifin@labour.ie

www.labour.ie/women

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Dublin Pride's Youtube Channel

Remember how the Hedgehog brought you the news about the Gay Map of Dublin, courtesy of the Gayglers? Well the Boys and Gals were also developing a Youtube Channel for people to upload video during the event to make it a truely interactive event.


You can see the Youtube channel at here. The guys and gals at Dublin Pride have kicked things off with the posing of a challenge of "What does Pride mean to you?".

Currently there is some interesting commentary clips from people at the Launch of Dublin Pride in the Mansion House yesterday. Have a look at the first clip of the girl from the George!-plain simple and to the point. :-)

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Gay Clare Summer Disco.

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From Gay-Clare
=======

Hello,


The Gay Clare Group wishes to let you know that we are holding a Summer disco . It will take place on Saturday 5th July in the Inisheer Suite of the West County Hotel, Clare
Road , Ennis.
Time 10.30 till late. Admission €10.

We are hoping to have a very special guest on the night, details of which will follow once they are confirmed.

More information is available on www.gayclare.com or
www.bebo.com/gayclare.

We also have the photos from our last disco up on the website.

We have accommodation details on our website.


Please spread the word and let anyone you know who
might be interested in coming along.
The night can only be a success with everyone’s support.

Hope to see you on July 5th

Regards & thanks

Diarmuid

Gay Clare Group

www.gayclare.com

www.bebo.com/gayclare

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Cork Pride 2008

Image via Wikipedia

I want to wish all those involved in or going to Cork Pride 2008 a very HAPPY PRIDE! I won't be able to get down this year but I trust that will not hold the Corkonians back from having a fantastic time. Last year was an amazing Pride, between the Gay Olympics, Handbag Competitions, Irish Dancing, Running out of Petrol for the Generator among other things. However lessons learned etc(ie its impossible to find petrol for a generator on a sunday afternoon in cork unless you go to Blackpool so make sure you get it before hand.)

Ar aon nós, I hope y'all have another great Pride Week.


For more Information on Cork Pride, see the following:

• Cork Pride
  
• Cork Pride Event's List:
  

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Obama & Hillary

I found this picture online.....Highly amusing. :-) Unfortunately I never saved the url so I can't credit it but I assume its from a pageant or something. But Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton are still fighting it out as of this morning, with RTE reporting that she is still defiantly confident that she can secure the Party nomination.....

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Public Funding of Political Parties and Ireland

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Has the time come for Public Funding of Irish Political Parties?
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Ok I will not be the first to comment nor will I be the last. I am delighted that Fianna Fáil have dropped their Fundraising tent at the Galway Races. To summarize Mary O Rourke, on the Pat Kenny Show earlier this morning, it was something for the bigwigs and "the fashion was crazy & it was not just the women". She also stated that there was something wrong with arriving in Helicopters to the event, by invitation, and having champers whilst looking out at the world go by.

O'Cuiv this morning was also welcoming the decision, but also made the point that it is time for Fianna Fáil supporters to begin to contribute more to the Party coffers on a more regular basis. I would tend to agree with O'Cuiv and O'Rourke on this one but perhaps now is the time that parties would become publicly funded, to reduce the utter insanity in spending which comes with Campaigning.

Fundraising for any event is a such a tedious, time-consuming but ultimately necessary part of Everyday life. We have all done the bake-sales, the Gala Dinners, the Table-quizes, the Christmas Draws. Whatever we can do to help out whatever cause we are supporting at the time. And Jaysus do we know how to support our causes here in this little Republic.

In 2004, following the wake of the Tsunami in the South Pacific, we contributed €80 million of €100 million of the Irish Contibution towards the rescue effort. The remaining €20 million came from the Irish Government. The 2007 Trocaire Lentan Appeal raised €11.65 million from the generosity of Irish People. All worthy contributions and causes, regardless of some people's apprehension of where the money is being spent, appeal to people altruistic nature.

Whilst not wishing to dictate to Fianna Fáil supporters or Fine Gael supporters or any Irish political party I am curious to know why they have not been contributing to their Party of Choice (ie the one's who elected the 77 of the 166 TD's) in their droves. I know that some branches of Fianna Fáil do not have a membership fee for being a member of the party. Surely this would be a relatively good source of Income for the party. A Card-carrying member of a Political Party. Now that would be a novelty.

No No I think a question needs to be seriously posed. If as O'Cuiv says that "FF needs more money from its members" because "it would be possible given the enormous membership of Fianna Fáil", Then we have to examine the Election spending from last year's General Election. FF spent some €10 million on the General Election. Fine Gael spent €4.3 million in the same campaign. Those are obscene amounts of money. Perhaps then it is now time to consider Public funding of parties and the removal of the need "for more money from..members".


Oh but wait, Frank Connolly, Justine McCarthy & Emma Browne reported that

Fianna Fáil has built up the kitty of €3.5m from its current and accumulated party leader's allowances, paid by the exchequer. According to the Standards in Public Offices Commission's (SIPO) most recent report, the party received €2.473m in 2005 to add to its existing surplus of €994,658. Fine Gael, in contrast, had no money left over from previous allocations.

Source: Village Magazine (September, 2006)

So lets see initially I was going to go and say that perhaps we should scrap Private donations and go with Public funding of Political Parties. Well that what Village found out was Indirect Public Funding of Political Parties. However I think perhaps Direct Public Funding is still a route that we should go down. We can accuse those in power of abusing their position and contributing to a charity ie themselves. However with the Public Funding of Parties, we can at least regulate somewhat how much obscene money is spent on a General Election.

I appreciate that some people will disagree with my sentiments. They will argue that they are over-paid, under-worked, un-representative and now You want to offer more money to run their campaigns when the Elections run around. Fair enough.

Public funding would have to be accompanied by other reforms within the political arena, such as a limitation of terms TDs are allowed to be served to reduce Family Dynasty's (Honestly a Political "career" is a stupid Idea; It is a duty, which one serves not a Career!), a reduction to a relatively OK Salary, Prohibition of getting a Pension until one retires from Work & not from the Dáil etc. Unless those reforms come along, no public will nor should agree with Public Funding of parties; However how many Nurses could €10 million pay for? How many School teachers would €10 million pay for? (€10million divided by €36,000/annum=277). Perhaps Public Funding is worth it in the long run, if it means that more Services become available.

For some more Information on Public Funding see here:

• Germany's Bundestag: - A Hybrid Model:
  
• USA's Federal Election Commission, An Evaluation of Public Funding since the 1960s.

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Limerick's Rental Confusion

Image via WikipediaSo this is Headline One from Todays Limerick Post

Limerick rents rise by 2 per cent:

Limerick City rents have bucked the national downturn by increasing by 2 per cent, in the face of falls as high as 6 per cent in South Dublin. The surprise finding, espicially factored against a doubling of the available rental pool of housing, was in Daft.ie's latest Rent Report.
Source: Limerick Post

And This Is Headline Two from Todays Limerick Independent:

City rents fall by 3%

There is good news for renters of properties in Limerick, according to the latest figures from property website Daft.ie, which shows that rents in Limerick have fallen by 3%
Source: Limerick Independent

Two City Newspapers. The Same Story. Two Completely Different Outcomes. Now I am no expert in Stats, but the old cliché goes that you can make Statistics say whatever you want 95% percent of the time. However both Headlines cannot be right?! So what does Daft Say then? Well Daft's own report says :

Rents falling for first time since 2004:
....The nationwide fall of 2% masks some regional variation - in Limerick city and Dublin city centre rents have fallen by almost 3%, whereas in West Dublin and West Leinster rents rose slightly....
Source: Daft.ie

So the Limerick Post has it wrong then. Time to go back and learn the basics about Checking your facts before you publish a story me thinks. Or at the very least, make sure you read the correct headline before you publish.

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Its too soon.

It's still a little raw yes I know I didnt like the entry but that does not mean I did not want the Turkey to fall on his first hurdle! Right now I cannot bring myself to join this Facebook profile, I may in the next couple of days but we shall see...

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Who Will Buy?

Some of you will be aware of the BBC 1 Production "I'd Do Anything" which takes a relative nobody and selects her to become a leading "Nancy"/leading "Oliver" in the West End production of "Oliver" later this year, produced by Andrew Lloyd Weber. It is a spin off from the 'Maria' and 'Joseph' series last year and the year before and has proven to be hugely popular.

So the semi-final is on this weekend and to get me in the mood before I do my Eurovision post, I figured I would give y'all this to feast on from the original Movie version of Oliver because it is a fantastic day outside!Coupled with not seeing the movie in full in years-I think I still have it on VHS at home!, its a nice one to have. :-)

Also for those of you who don't know who the original Oliver was and in case you get asked in a Trivia quiz, see here for Wikipedia Article on Mark Lester.

For more information on the BBC's "I'd Do Anything" go to the BBC website:

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Barnardos Conference November 2008

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Dublin City centre "Private Car" ban

Image via WikipediaSo let's get this straight. There will not be a "Private car ban" in Dublin City until 2011. Aside from the obvious cycnicism I have right now for that comment from Noel Dempsey I obviously welcome the fact that I may be able to get through Dublin City Center on my bike without the necessity of carrying around a copy of my Last Will and Testament in my back pocket! Well it had to happen sooner or later I guess. They got rid of the HGV's in 2005 and the humble car's days have been numbered since then coupled with the "success" of the congestion charge in London City.

However my cynicism lies in the fact that 2011 is no ordinary date. Have a look below to see the key Governmental events of the next couple of years.

• 2008, Lisbon I and Lisbon II, if it does not get passed the first time.
• 2008, Possibility of the Children's "Rights" Referendum at the end of the year.
  
• 2009, Local and European Elections.
  
• 2009, 90th Anniversary (officially) of the Irish State, with the Declaration of Independence and some Events to mark this will be held.
  
• 2012, Next General Election if this government runs to Full term.

So they will be delaying for a while whilst these events roll out and are forgotten and only then will the construction work on the Metro and Luas Extension begins in 2011 after this private car ban has been introduced. Meanwhile these events will be forgotten about by the time the General Election rolls out and we will trundle along again. Unless those in the opposition finally get into shape. But erm in the meanwhile I will be holding on to that copy of my Will in my back pocket for another couple of years. Just in Case and the War between me and Dublin Bus continues onwards. Watch out Dublin Bus-I am not afraid to cycle in my lane!! Bah.

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A Lil Gay Map of Dublin..online..

Image via WikipediaSo I have a little pressie for those of you who will be attending the Annual Dublin Gay Pride event this June. The wonderful Gayglers of Google's Dublin Office, using that lifesaver which is Google Maps have created a guide for Gay Dublin and you can see it here first on theangryhedgehog.com. :-)

On this map you will find, the route of the Pride Parade, Venues which will be used for Pride Events, Restaurants, Support Services...You name it, it's invariably there. :-) Dublin Pride is celebrating 25 years this year so it is going to be a fantastic event by all accounts. :-) For more information on the Events etc go to the Dublin Pride website.

Congrats to the Guys and Gals in the Gayglers for this one! Once again, Google Maps comes to the Rescue! I'll be adding this embedded map to the side bar for ease of reference so people won't have to trawl through posts to get access to it. (Honestly though it is more so me because despite living here some 10 months now, I still manage to get lost in Dublin!)

Remember you heard it first here and yes I do want the back links! :-)

View Larger Map

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Random Musak Video.

This band has been recommended to me so I'm recommending them to y'all. :-)

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The Community and Celebrity Banisteoir experience

Last evening I was at the final of "Celebrity Banisteoir" in Parnell Park, Dublin. I've never been to Parnell Park before so it was a bit of a interesting feat to be in the home of Dublin GAA. The match was between Westmeath's Maryland and Cork's Mayfield and what a cracker of a match it was. For those of you who have no idea what "Celebrity Banisteoir" is, check out the RTE website here:

I was there to support Maryland, mainly because I thought they got a bit of a raw deal when they had to swap Managers mid-way through the series from Mary O'Rourke TD to Marty Whelan, Broadcaster. On top of that, the lads in Maryland looked like they took the spirit of the GAA to a level which I was used to seeing at underage level.....and they were also not too bad on the eye as well ;-).

However the whole "Celebrity Banisteoir" idea is a fascinating concept and something so Irish its amazing. We have all heard the stories which come from Irish GAA dressing rooms, of coaches who used to break the hurleys off the seats to put the fear of God in you in order to win a match; to the greatly refined coaching skills of others. Growing up in North Tipperary, arguably one of the best GAA counties in the country- (Note I said one of the best, not the best; that was for the benefit of those Cork readers before they bite my head off)-GAA has been in my blood since I was born. I may never necessarily have gone out and played for my club-(I officially retired at the tender age of 11 and helped my Dad coach instead)- but that does not mean that I do not understand the unique sense of pride which one gets for playing for one's own local parish. It is something which only you can do. Something which is inate and unless you have a connection with that place, you will not feel that sense of pride of place that goes with it.

Why then did Celebrity Banisteoir work? These are the best parish teams of 8 counties on the island of Ireland coming together to battle it out, surely it should be the case that it would only appeal to a certain select group of people. Yet it has attracted ratings and has shown the level of dedication, sweat and tears in excruciating detail which goes with playing for your own place. The late night training sessions, the dramas of inter-county teams vs the county board players, as Baz Ashmawy found out in the quarter-final stage. Well I'll hazzard a guess. It worked because those who watched and followed the series, all has the sense of place which goes with growing up anywhere-Urban or Rural. That is the success of the series, tapping into that sense of place and promoting it in all its gory details.

It makes great TV but also comes at a time when this Government is pushing for greater participation within our communities using the Active Citizenship model. Funnily enough their own Taskforce on the issue last year found that Volunteering is not dwindling but just not as noticeable in our fast pace society. Even Brian Cowen last weekend when he returned to Clara in an empassioned speech talked about togging out in the Black and White of Clara. All this falls under the need to have a more active citizenry. Also last week, RTE did a story about Gort GAA club's pilot programme for integration of the large Brazillian Community who live their within the Community. One of the Members of the Gort Club said he looks forward to the day "when we are talking about Brazilian Hurlers or Irish Hurlers, just Hurlers". I agree but I think that also applies to every other facet of Irish life. Communities take time to prosper and that is an admirable start, Among many other projects which are appear across the country.

Yes it is hard. Yes we all have our commitments. We have a responsibility to get involved in our communities and build up strong communities. However if the support I saw at the Game yesterday is anything to go by, that sense of strong Community, no matter what your parish/town, I felt, we have a very solid base to build up a more proactive citizenry in this country.


So I have some pictures and videos which I will upload on here or on my Bebo page. There is one Video in Particular which I have included on this post simply for its sheer Randomness. The half-time entertainment was provided by the Artane Boys Band who broke into a medley which was completly unexpected but marvelously put together.

As for the result of the match, well let's just say the best team won and it will be shown in its edited version on RTE 1 tomorrow evening at 6.30pm.

PS ignore the background din provided by myself and those in my company. Also My vocals were not the best so ignore those also. ;-)

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Oh the Goldenpages cracks me up

Oh the endless fun one can have with the Goldenpages.ie website search function...Thanks to mulley for this one......

"An Equal-Pay Problem"

Image from Flickr

As I put hand to keyboard here, it seems somewhat ironic considering what I am about to post about that there is a group of drunken students in the Apartment above me singing "Amhrán na bhFiann"(i.e. the Republic of Ireland's National Anthem). It has emerged tonight by Peter Robinson that some 9,000 civil servants of lower grades, two-thirds of which are women have been paid improperly over roughly 38 years.(!) Of those 9,000 60% were Catholic in those grades. RTE has reported that some £20,000 per person will have to paid in back-pay to employees.

I guess it is a case of Fair play for actually owning up to these particular situation, even if it would appear that it was on foot of a Parliamentary question. However it needs to be established if this was a part of a hangover from the Troubles and a part of something more sinister within the Executive. Alternatively it may be the case that this is a huge oversight and someone "forgot" to cross their t's and dot their i's. However 38 years? Like seriously that is not so much an oversight as it is a huge blot of ink on a blank A4 sheet.

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Well who knew?!?

Whilst looking for the number for the Garda Station in Donnybrook, the Goldenpages.ie tells me they cannot be found......... ;-)

California's Supreme Court rules ban on Same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

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The State of California has begun the process of becoming the second state in the United States to allow for Same-Sex Marriage, ruling that the ban as it stands is unconstitutional in a 4-3 ruling. Marvellous. Another reason to love the State of California. :-).

The full story is on the BBC website and their Blurb is as follows.

California lifts gay marriage ban:

California's top court has ruled that a state law banning marriage between same-sex couples is unconstitutional.

The state's Supreme Court ruled that the "right to form a family relationship" applied to all Californians regardless of sexuality.

The ban was approved by voters in 2000 but challenged by gay rights activists and the city of San Francisco.

California's legislature has twice passed laws to make gay marriage legal but the state governor has vetoed them.

The ruling paves the way for California to become only the second US state, after Massachusetts, to allow same-sex marriage, although more challenges are expected.

The seven-judge panel voted 4-3 in favour of the plaintiffs who argued that the 2000 law was discriminatory.

"Limiting the designation of marriage to a union 'between a man and a woman' is unconstitutional and must be stricken from the statute," California Chief Justice Ron George said in the written opinion.

The decision is expected to re-invigorate the fight for same-sex marriage rights nationwide, say gay activists.

Source & Cont'd: BBC.co.uk

The Problems with Mary Coughlan

Image via WikipediaAs of last week, Ms. Coughlan T.D., was elevated to the position of Táinaiste in our dear little Republic. Ordinarily one would be congratulatory of such a move. The distinct lack of female role models in Dáil Éireann, by comparison to our European counterparts is shocking; 13 out of 166 TD's in the last General Election. That statistic is something which needs to be examined by the major, and minor Parties and seek to encourage more participation within the Political process.

So what is my problem with Mary Coughlan. Well nobody will deny that she has done a pretty good job in Agriculture. Between the pro-activeness following the outbreak of Blue Tounge in the UK and the measures that were enforced here, as well as beginning the World Trade Talks and the usual jaunts to and from Europe. She has been a relatively reliable safe bet for those who need her to be just that.

No my issue with the new Táiniste is her track record to date regarding LGBT issues. Ms. Coughlan's previous role in the Department of Social and Family affairs (Thats the one that Mary Hanafin got shifted to, from Education). In the early 2000s, a particular case went through the Equality Tribunal regarding a bus pass extension for a gentleman's partner in Dublin. Social and Family Affairs rejected this and a case was brought through the Tribunal on the grounds of discrimination on the Sexual Orientation. As there was nothing up to that point in law which warranted the Department's actions, the case was deemed a prima facia case and it proceeded in the Tribunal.

However by the time it came for review in the Tribunal it was in 2002/early 2003 when Ms. Coughlan was Minister for Social and Family Affairs. Realising the possible implications from loosing the case, it was settled out of court with a discretionary action by the Department which resulted in the Injustice committed being resolved and thus not setting a precedent in the Tribunal.

Coughlan came into Social and Family Affairs at a time when some €500 million worth of cut backs needed to be instigated. The vast majority of this appeared in the Social Welfare Miscellaneous Act 2003. What also appeared in that act was the stipulation that any benefits accrued to spouses of benefit recipitants was within the confines of Marriage. This was the first definition of what marriage is in Irish Law, as defined as one man and one woman. I might also so add, that despite precedent in the High Court of defining marriage as such, including Revenue's Oxford Dictionary definition; The Ultimate Interpreter of the Irish Constitution is the Supreme Court who have not yet been asked to define what marriage is, either positively or negatively.

This also meant that under art 14.1.a of the Equal Status Act nobody will be able to take a case to the Tribunal on these grounds again. 14.1.a exempts any law which is already enacted, regardless of whether this is a discrimination measure.

Perhaps it is the case that Ms. Coughlan has changed her ways, whilst she was in Agriculture. Perhaps I shaln't hold my breath too much. Perhaps she was not the instigator and it was some random Civil Servant who noticed the loophole and didn't realise the consequences. Then again perhaps not. I will live in hope that perhaps she has changed. We shall wait and see. We will also wait and hope she doesn't screw it up.


For more information on the new Minister for Justice, Noel Ahern see Maman Poullet's here:

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The sshh factor

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So it's been a little quiet around here for the last couple of weeks. Unfortunately it is that time of year again when the world seems sooo much more interesting outside and Everything needs to be done, except for the work that you actually need to be done i.e. Studying and Essays. *le sigh*. However such is the way of Academia and the joys of wanting to go back to do further study. I don't think that I will ever get over the chill of reality which overcomes one in early December and the end of April, when I at least have had exams for roughly 18 out of my 24 years on this earth. That is a scary reality actually.

So anyways I promise there will be a few more random posts thrown up here over the next while. Once exams are over and I'm settled in the new job all will be good in the world again. :-)

MarriagEquality Conference in TCD

A quick note from MarriagEquality about an upcoming conference which is being organised in Trinity.

The Irish School of Ecumenics is holding a two-day conference this month on 'Why Marriage? Love and Justice in 21st Century Ireland'. The conference provides a framework for Christians to move towards an understanding and acceptance of same-sex unions and marriages.

The response to the conference has been very positive to-date and with only one week to go, members of the public are invited to attend the public debate on Wednesaday 21st May or to reserve a place for the all-day seminar on Thursday 22nd.

On the first day, Wednesday 21 May, there will be a public lecture on 'Equality and Just Love: A Framework for a Christian Ethic' by Professor Margaret Farley of Yale Divinity School. It will take place in the Walton Theatre, Arts Block, TCD, at 7.30pm. All are welcome.

The next day, Thursday 22, there will be an all-day seminar in IIIS Seminar Room, Level 6, TCD A rts Building, beginning at 9.30am. The seminar sessions will examine same-sex marriage from theological, legal and ecclesiastical perspectives. Seminar places are very limited, so booking is essential. The booking form can be downloaded from the ISE website, http://www.tcd.ie/ise/news/events.php.

About the visiting Professor
Professor Emeritus Margaret Farley of Yale Divinity school is the keynote speaker at the event and author of several books including 'Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics.

Farley has written more than 90 articles on topics such as celibacy, AIDS and faith, divorce, feminism and embryonic stem cell research and how they relate to religion. In addition, she has lectured on these topics in communities across the United States, Europe, Asia and Africa.
Professort Farley will provide a framework that allows for the acceptance of same-sex unions and marriages within the Christian community.

We hop e to see you there.

Moninne Griffith

Coordinator

MarriagEquality

National Library of Ireland's May Bulletin

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The National Library of Ireland's e-bulletin for May arrived in my inbox this morning so it may beof interest to some of you.

Bealtaine: Celebrating creativity in older age…free story-telling workshops

To mark Bealtaine, the annual festival celebrating creativity in older age, the Library will host a number of creative storytelling and reminiscence workshops during May with well-known storyteller, Susie Minto. Admission is free but as places are limited, early booking is advised. For more information about the workshops and how to book your place, please see http://www.nli.ie/en/list/current-events.aspx?article=629af668-cedc-4a49-85a3-550aed3261d4.

For more information about Bealtaine, please see Age & Opportunity’s website, http://www.olderinireland.ie/

In conjunction with these workshops and the Bealtaine festival, an exhibition of storytelling materials from the NLI’s collection will be on display in the Library’s main building during May.

Library Late: Summer line-up announced

This May, June and July the Library will celebrate summer with a special season of Library Late dedicated to the genre of travel writing. Beginning with a panel discussion on the ‘History & Art of Travel Writing’ the series will also include interviews with well-known travel writers Peter Somerville-Large and Dervla Murphy.

The first event will take place on Wednesday 28 May at 7.30pm – to book up to two places, please call (01) 6030317.

For more information about the series, please see our website http://www.nli.ie/en/udlist/events.aspx .

Treasures exhibition – choose your treasures!

National Library readers and visitors are being asked to nominate their favourite NLI ‘treasures’ for inclusion in the forthcoming ‘Treasures’ exhibition, due to open at the Library in early 2009. The closing date for submissions is 9 May and nominations should be sent to emkirwan@nli.ie.

See http://www.nli.ie/en/list/latest-news.aspx?article=9d9791f5-8c50-4b98-8633-954d189ac8a6 for further information.

Roddy Doyle Donation

The National Library of Ireland is delighted to announce its acquisition of the literary papers of 1993 Man Booker prize winner, Roddy Doyle. The Roddy Doyle Archive spans over 20 years, from Doyle’s first published work The Commitments (1987) to his most recent, Paula Spencer. Welcoming the donation, NLI Director, Aongus Ó hAonghusa stated that the papers would be ‘an invaluable source for researchers and others interested in Irish writing in the latter decade of the 20^th century and the early years of the 21^st century in particular’.

More information is available on our website: http://www.nli.ie/en/list/latest-news.aspx?article=845130b8-4377-4125-bf91-163a46dcc7eb

NLI NEWS

In celebration of the 20^th anniversary of Newsplan Ireland, the cooperative preservation project of newspapers in Ireland, the spring issue of NLI NEWS is dedicated to newspapers, the most heavily used Library collection. It will look at the Newsplan project itself and include articles on changing trends in print and online Irish newspapers, 18^th century Irish papers and the value of newspapers as a research source. A digital copy of the NLI NEWS is available online at

http://www.nli.ie/en/national-library-of-ireland-newsletter.aspx
Current exhibitions at the Library

Yeats continues at the Library’s main building on Kildare Street while Strangers to Citizens runs in 2/3 Kildare Street. The National Photographic Archive’s current exhibition, Beyond the Pale, will run at the Library’s Temple Bar premises until the end of May.

For more information about these exhibitions, including how to visit, please see our website

http://www.nli.ie/en/udlist/current-exhibitions.aspx

Dragnet: Fundraiser for LGBT Noise

Hey Guys and Girls, LGBT Noise will be having a fundraiser this Friday night at the Suagr Club. Come along and give some support, it should be a laugh. I'll be there later on in the night, I'm hoping to get to the Celebrity Banisteoir final in Parnell Park first. Go Marty and the Mary's! :-)

• *www.lgbtnoise.ie

Thomond Park Progression works

Some relatively bad pictures of Thomond Park development taken from the top of Arthur's Quay Shopping Centre from my phone.

New Arrival

As with the beginning of Summer, so comes the beginning of a new life, a colt foal to be exact.......

Don't Even Ask me but its fantastic.

Life is a Fragile thing

Image from FlickrLife and Death are two interesting concepts. Of course they are more than concepts, they are also bounded by two rules; to have life is to live, to be in death is to have died. Such simplicity however is problematic because Life like Death is a fragile thing. When we forget to remember that, we take for granted our own fragile state and that of those around us.

We live in a fast paced world which we are told is a positive thing and something which we have to embrace with both hands because if we do not, then we will be left behind. Yet in the embrace of a fast paced life, we suffer casualties in our lives. Sometimes this means that the development of the self and thus one's life is ignored in the pursuit of the next night out, the next Car, the next Job, Always searching for Bigger and Better. Then something happens in our bigger and better lives and we need to rely on our underdeveloped selves. Sometimes we continue onwards and cope and "get on" with our lives but with a recognition that Life is a fragile thing. Sometimes we cannot cope, but we use our network of friends and family to support us and help us get through. Sometimes we need to talk and express ourselves. All of these If's and maybes all hopefully, contribute to the development of one's self and thus the expression of one's self in life. Sometimes though this is not enough. If we don't know that we are loved or that we forget from time to time about our network of friends and family, then Sometimes the fragility of life gives way to the fragility of death.

It is this movement from Life to death, that the fragility of both actions are most illuminated. In Life we celebrate with the person their achievements and they celebrate with us in their lives. They show us laughter, happiness, decorum, bad jokes, bad decisions and we revel in these because they all form a mental picture of the person and help us in our development. In Death, we celebrate their life and contribution to the world and reminisce with the memories we have, however short or fleeting their life may have been.


We may never understand how or why Life transfers to Death. We may never understand what appear to be 'untimely' deaths either. We simply cannot, just the same way as we cannot understand every single human emotion outside of our own experiences. We can try but we can never fully understand. That is Ok. There is nothing wrong with that. We must however learn to engage with our Friends and family. We must talk to them and express our fears, anxieties and our Hopes and goals. When we do this, we are living our lives and we are embracing its own fragility.


Michéal, go and Rest now. Be at Peace and remember us as fondly as you will be remembered. Oh and no matter where you are, Nothing will ever help that Clare team win an all-Ireland. :-).

Black Ribbon

I don't have a title for this post. I will be back blogging come Tuesday or Wednesday when I feel up to it. At the moment there's way too much going on for me to even verbalize or write.

Rgds,
John.

Heineken Cup Final

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Most people will be aware that Heineken Rugby Cup Final day is the 24th May 2008 in Cardiff. Watch this advert from Sky. Talk about being impassioned about rugby...

Happy May Day

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Happy May Day one and All. What better way to celebrate this bastion day of the triumph of Labour than with a poem. Also there's a March later this evening from Parnell Square to Liberty Hall this evening. Meet at the Garden of Remembrance at 7.30pm. The theme of this year's march is 'Defend and Extend Trade Union Rights'. (Some of you may be interested in a post from a couple of weeks ago on declining Union Membership to give this some context.)

"Into the Streets May First"
by Alfred Hayes
(May, 1934)

Into the streets May First!
Into the roaring Square!
Shake the midtown towers!
Shatter the downtown air!
Come with a storm of banners,
Come with an earthquake tread,
Bells, hurl out of your belfries,
Red flag, unfurl your red!

Out of the shops and factories,
Up with the sickle and hammer,
Comrades, these are our tools,
A song and a banner!
Roll song, from the sea of hearts,
Banner, leap and be free;
Song and banner together,
Down with the bourgeoisie!

Pour forth like a second flood!
Thunder the Alps of the air!
Subways are roaring our milllons --
"Comrades, into the square !!!"