Éire / Ireland

A culture card programme would see young Irish citizens given money to spend on cultural and sporting activities, in a bid to make these more accessible.

What makes this Not The Onion to me is how normalized this story is. How did things get to this point? Would she be happy with a job that only had a 2.5 hour commute each way!? Maybe, and that is what makes it existentially funny to me.

The responses to Thomas Gould TDs speeches from Jamaica have been very heartwarming. Here’s a nice tribute.

It’s the first day of Seachtain na Gaeilge (1st - 17th March). The link will show you events in your area so why not go along regardless of your level?

Ireland’s soccer governing body committed to playing Israel in the Nations League after the two sides were drawn to face each other in the competition on Thursday, three months after Ireland called for Israel’s expulsion from European competitions.

Delighted for her.

Source

Full article available on archive.ph

Due to Ireland’s current military deficiencies, the country de facto relies on the UK for national defence. The Royal Navy would be required to deter an incursion by hostile surface vessels and submarines. Similarly, the Royal Air Force is relied upon for interception missions against suspicious aircraft.

Long before Game of Thrones, or when TV3 had the Friday night B-movie horror, RTÉ released a show called The Spike. It quickly had the church and its loyalists so outraged that RTÉ were pressured into cancelling the broadcasts after just 5 episodes. The rest remain in a vault in RTÉ somewhere, presumably. The crime? Nudity, in a scene where art students were drawing a still-life subject, and violence in a domestic violence scene.

Full article https://archive.ph/JF1lB

Its very own Snooper’s Charter comes a month after proposed biometric tech expansion

European Citizens’ Initiative

85% of the population oppose blood sports. Government votes to keep it anyway.

Press release: https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-justice-home-affairs-and-migration/press-releases/minister-jim-ocallaghan-secures-government-approval-to-publish-legislation-to-enable-garda%C3%AD-use-biometric-recognition-technologies/

A new one for your podcast subs. And if you’re looking for something as Gaeilge, or even to improve your Gaeilge, let me recommend the vibrant, playful and insightful Gaylgeori podcast: https://gcn.ie/new-queer-podcast-gay-linn/

Bit of an embarrassment here. No attempt to shoot them down or use electonic warfare on them.

Couldn’t have happened to a nicer person (edit: /s for the non-Irish; He’s a cunt)

In 2024, President Higgins delivered a speech to his guests, the Dunnes Stores anti-apartheid strikers. They sacrificed and suffered so much that it’s great to hear them recognised. Presidential speeches are uploaded to SoundCloud and iTunes (among others, presumably). They now also include Catherine Connolly’s speeches.

Archived version