SEPTEMBER 2007 ISSUE 129 WWW.VILLAGE.IE ¤3.95. £2.

60

VILLAGE
IRELAND’S CURRENT AFFAIRS MONTHLY FREE
SUPPLEMENT

our in vain INSIDE

Lab

WRONGLY
CONVICTED

N e v in m ur de r
of th e Cath er ine
na lysis by V il lage eli ab ili ty o f he r
An a s ti o ns ab ou t the r io n e vid en ce
qu e
trial raises d the credibility of prose c u t
conviction an
Vincent Browne, Brent Pope, Harry Browne, Chekov Feeney, Leo Enright,
Evanna Ní Chuilinn and Éanna Ní Lamhna in Ireland’s agenda-setting monthly magazine
 Nokia N95.
It’s what computers have become.
It’s a PC. It’s a voice. It’s a camera. It’s an audience. It’s a media player.
It’s a book. It’s a GPS. It’s a market. It’s an MP3 player. It’s an eye. It’s a phone.
It’s not one thing‚ it’s many.

www.nokia.ie/nseries

Copyright © Nokia 2007. The availability of particular products and services may vary by region. Please check with the Nokia dealer nearest you. Services and
some features may be dependent on the network and/or SIM card as well as on the compatibility of the devices used and the content formats supported.
 SEPTEMBER2007
Village
WWW.VILLAGE.IE
The Big Stories At A Glance
Labour in vain FRAGMENTS
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 12
4

With strategy coming before LABOUR 16

policy, it is not clear what CATHERINE NEVIN 24
JUNIOR MINISTERS 28
Labour now stands for.
ROISIN MCALISKEY 30
By Niamh Puirséil. WASTE 32

Broken promisies: The Greens had TAX 34

Gilmore promises no promised to decrease the number of VILLAGE WORLD 36
junior ministers by a fifth in their pre- YEMEN 38
change: new Labour leader
electoral promises. But in fact the SPORT: GAA 40
has abandoned the radical- number has increased by a fifth and PHOTOSPREAD 42
ism of his leadership of five some of them gained NATURE 48

years ago. By Joe O’Malley. Page 42 SPACE 50

MEEJIT 52
By Eoin O’Murchú PRESSWATCH 54
Pages 16 - 23 WEBWATCH 55
MAGGIE KENNEALLY 56
MEDIA JUNKIE 57
DIVISIONS AMONG ISLAMIC SECTS CINEMA 58
AND POVERTY CHARATERISE THE THEATRE 59
FORGOTTEN STATE OF YEMEN. PREVIEW 60
BY MAIREAD RYAN Catherine Nevin: Village raises Q+A 62
PAGE 46 questions about the reliabilty of her
conviction and the credibility of the
prosecution evidence.
By Vincent Browne. Page 24

Eoin O’Murchú Chekov Feeney Harry Browne

“Labour under Gilmore is to be
undistinguishable from Labour
under Rabbitte, from Labour
under Quinn. The absence of a
leadership contest has done
Labour no favour.”
Page 22
Pat McCabe, writer
Are you getting closer to the ‘dark side’
with time, as your latest novel Winterwood
would suggest?
Can’t say for sure. Seems that way
“The denunciations of Michael “Continuously the impression given
O’Leary were aired, without a remark (in the US media) is that Iraq is a How much time do you spend writing per
on the irony of a multi-millionaire who basket case, and that perhaps even week?
spends his time posing for wacky the very best efforts of a selfless 45 - 50 hours
photo-opportunities referring to pilots American military involvement will
as ‘overpaid, underworked peacocks’” prove insufficient to sort it out.” Village Q&A page 62
Page 54 Page 56

EDITOR VINCENT BROWNE VINCENTBROWNE@VILLAGE.IE ASSISTANT EDITOR MALACHY BROWNE MALACHYBROWNE@VILLAGE.IE DESIGN LUCY CLARKE LUCY@VILLAGE.IE
Contributors Brent Pope (Rugby); Joe O’Malley (News); Eoin O’Broin (News); Eoin O’Murchú (News); David Shanks (Foreign); Mairead Ryan (Foreign); Evanne NiChuillinn (Sport); Harry Browne
(Media); Chekov Feeney (Media); Maggie Kenneally (Television/Radio); Colin Murphy (Theatre); Gavin Burke (Cinema); Éanna Ní Lamhna (Nature); Niall Hatch (Birds); Tony Quinn (Walks); Leo Enright
(Space); Emma Browne (Fragments); Malachy Browne (News); Tom Rowe (Technology); Aisling O’Rourke(Technology)
ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR NIALL DOYLE 01 642 5050 NIALLDOYLE@@VILLAGE.IE GENERAL MANAGER TOM VAVASOUR 01 642 5067 TOMVAVASOUR@@VILLAGE.IE
ONLINE EDITOR MALACHY BROWNE 01 642 5072 MALACHYBROWNE@VILLAGE.IE Cover Photograph: Cyril Byrne/The Irish Times
Village Magazine is published by Village Communications Ltd. 44, Westland Row, Dublin 2. (01)642 5050
3 Village
www.village.ie
DASHBOARD VOX POP SPOTLIGHT NUMBERS PEOPLE

Fragments
Diana’s Death
‘no watershed’
here is a great line one billion people. Short- most famous woman in

T in Stephen Frears
film The Queen (the
Helen Mirren one) where
ly afterwards Charles
resumed his relationship
to Camilla Parker Bowles
the world, certainly the
most photographed. She
seemed to encapsulate
Prince Philip ( James and shortly after that an era, and perhaps
Cromwell), referring to Diana commenced a she did in that
the inconsolable multi- series of affairs; with her she represent-
tudes at the funeral of riding instructor, James ed little and
Diana Spencer, says look Hewitt, then with James achieved
at them grieving over Gilbey, with whom she less.
someone they didn’t had steamy telephone
know and they think it is conversations, then her
us who are odd. detective/bodyguard
In retrospect that Barry Mannakee, later an
funeral was no water- art dealer Oliver Hoare,
shed, the British monar- and the rugby player
chy did not wither into Will Carling. Other
oblivion, Charles recov- names in that connec-
ered his composure (not tion included King Juan
that he was devastated Carlos I of Spain, the
at the death of his for- singer Bryan Adams, and
mer wife), the children John F Kennedy, Jr. She
were as ok as British roy- dated the heart surgeon
als can be, the grieving Hasnat Khan and finally
multitudes got over it. Dodi Al-Fayed.
Diana still sells newspa- After her divorce she
pers, magazines, televi- campaigned on the issue
sion documentaries and of land mines and on
films, as the recent 10th AIDS. She cultivated “an
anniversary of her death alternative court”
(on 31 August) showed. involving Gianni Ver-
She married the heir sace, George Michael,
to the British throne on Elton John, and
24 February 1981 Michael Barrymore.
because she was a Protes- She was buried on
tant, a virgin and had an 6 September 1997,
aristocratic lineage. amid scenes of
Their marriage at St extraordinary public
Paul’s cathedral was grieving.
watched on television by She became the WIREIMAGE / GETTY IMAGES

September 2007 5 Village

www.village.ie
 Fragments

JURYS HOTEL, BALLSBRIDGE, DUBLIN LEAVING CERT RESULTS WEATHER THE SHANNON AER LING
A model of the plan for the Jurys and 50,000 students around the country got Ireland had the wettest summer in nine 300 business lead- ers m
Berkeley Court Hotel site was unveiled their results on 15 August years – 10 more wet days than average cuss the stoppage of He

Iraq
Surge in
Violence
There has been an intensifica-
tion of US bombardments in
Iraq and Afghanistan entailing
an increasing number of civilian
casualties and the growing role
of pilot-less killers in the con-
flict. According to Associated
Press, there has been a five-fold
increase in the number of
bombs dropped on Iraq during
the first six months of 2007 over
the same period in 2006. More
than 30 tons of those have been
cluster weapons, which take an ALAN BETSON / IRISH TIMES
especially heavy toll on civilians.
According to Iraq Body Count, Society
there have been 14 deaths per
day from vehicle bombs and 29 Government to address begging ‘loophole’
deaths per day from gunfire and The Department of Justice, Equality and Law freedom of expression. The court agreed and the act
executions. Reform is drawing up legislation to tackle a loop- was struck down. The act was introduced at the
GETTY IMAGES hole that has allowed begging to become a legal height of the Great Famine to curb the massive
activity. increase in begging that had occurred.
Dubliner Niall Dillon challenged the Vagrancy Act The Department of Justice is said to be drawing up
1847 last March. He had been charged with begging legislation in line with last March’s ruling. It is like-
under section three of the Act, in September 2003 ly that a vagrancy bill will be published before the
for begging on Parliament Street. Dillon argued the year is out, with the new statute expected early next
section interfered with his constitutional right to year.

Murders in August...
3 AUGUST 4 AUGUST 4 AUGUST 9 AUGUST 9 AUGUST 13 AUGUST
A 17-year-old Liam Devlin Mark Spellman Claudio A man who Tom Ward (23),
Nigerian boy is (19) dies from (26) from Fernandes (33) burned to a traveller dies
shot through head injuries Dalkey, Co dies in hospital death in a after being
the front door following an Dublin is after being Clontarf period assaulted
of his apart- assault in stabbed to death stabbed in the house may viciously with
ment, Co Derry. Two in Sandymount, head on 29 July have been an axe outside
Meath. It is not young from after intervening following a row assaulted his parents’
a gangland Derry men are in a row with a teenager before the fire home in
killing say gar- charged with between a cou- in Duleek, Co was started Cranmore,
daí. his murder. ple. Meath. deliberately. Sligo.

CREDIT: ALL PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE IRISH TIMES. PHOTGRAPHERS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT - CYRIL BYRNE; KATE GERAGHTY; CYRIL BYRNE; DAVID SLEATOR; KATE GERAGHTY; ALAN BETSON; KATE GERAGHTY

Village 6 September2007
www.village.ie
N AER LINGUS CRISIS ELECTRIC PICNIC KILKENNY WIN ALL IRELAND ROLLING STONES
s lead- ers meet to dis- 32,000 fans attend the boutique festival Fans celebrating Kilkenny’s win over Returning after 25 years to Slane the
ppage of Heathrow flights in Laois Limerick in the All Ireland Hurling final Stones wowed 70,000 fans

Opium Dublin Film Festival Penalty Points

OPIUM PRODUCTION in Afghanistan hit Tarantino to hit Dublin 6,000 caught
on mobiles
a record $3 billion this year, accounting
GETTY IMAGES

for more than 90 per cent of the world’s Cult film director Quentin Taranti-
illegal output, a United Nations report no is to hit Dublin for the Dublin The threat of four penalty points
said. Production was concentrated in the film festival in mid-September. has not dissuaded 6,171 people
strife-torn south of the country, run by Tarantino was made famous by his from driving with a mobile
the Taliban. The harvest grew from 6,100 movies Pulp Fiction and Reservoir phone last year, Courts Service
Dogs. His trademarks include shots statistics show. It has been a year
tons in 2006 to 8,200 tons, the largest
from inside car boots and ‘Mexi-
national output of narcotics since China
can standoffs’, and his films are
in the 19th century.
always wacky and wonderful.
His visit will include the Irish premiere of his movie Death Proof
SEIZURES Predictions that the record and a question and answer session.
opium crop in Afghanistan will soon
reach Irish shores may be true. A record
heroin seisure was made by the Guinness Record Attempt Transport
Customs Service in August - 12kg of
Oasis to help break Air Vatican

GETTY IMAGES
heroin with an estimated street value of
€2.4 million was found in two wood- world record The Vatican has contracted a
burning ranges shipped from Rotterdam. cargo airline, Mistral Air, to
In June Customs at Rosslare seized 10.6 Oasis famed Gallagher brothers fly Pilgrims to holy sites such as since the then minister for trans-
kg of heroin (€2.1 million) in a van Liam and Noel may be among Lourdes, Fatima, Santiago di port, Martin Cullen introduced
arriving from France. the hundreds of Gallaghers Compostela, Israel, Poland, Mex- penalty points for driving while
expected in Letterkenny from 8 ico and Knock. The first flight holding a mobile phone. But a
ADDICTS Merchants Quay Ireland (MQI) to 15 September. went from Rome to Lourdes on quick survey of the roads reveals
annual reported a dramatic increase in The clan is hoping to break the 27 August with the vicar of the penalty has done little to dis-
the number of drugs addicts coming to Guinness world record Largest Rome, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, suade Irish drivers.
its centre. 1,700 new addicts with a Same Name Gathering made by on board. Specalist cabin crew Research in Britain has shown
“chronic problem” availed of their the Joneses last year when 1,224 operate the aircraft, the interi- that driver's reaction times are
syringe exchange service last year. MQI Joneses landed in Cardiff for ors of which are decorated with up to 50 per cent slower that
assists 5,000 addicts a year. their get together. sacred inscriptions. normal when driving and using a
mobile phone. It also shows that
reaction times are 30 per cent
Murders in August...
ERIC LUKE / IRISH TIMES

worse than when driving under

19 AUGUST 23 AUGUST 25 AUGUST 28 AUGUST 30 AUGUST 3 SEPTEMBER the influence of alcohol. Other
Pat Burke (55), Gardai launch a Brian McGee (24) Jean Gilbert (46) is Thomas Canning Patrick Coleman research suggests that a driver
Ballybrittas, dies murder investi- is stabbed in Cork stabbed at the (42) dies from (33) is found dead
of head injuries gation after city after fleeing family home in head injuries, at his home in using a mobile phone while driv-
at his home in Co Thomas from his attack- Carpenterstown found dead in a John Carew Park ing is four times more likely to
Laois. Gardaí Cunningham ers, gardaí Dublin. Her hus- campervan. A in Limerick after be in a road collision.
believe he could (46) is discovered believe. Brian was band David man known to being violently
have been killed in the garden of the father of two Bourke is charged the victim, John assaulted. Two The Courts Service figures stats
with a hammer, his family home young children with her murder. Mooney, was youths were also showed that 181,335 people
found at the in Ballinlough, and was from They have three charged with his being ques- were arrested for speeding last
scene. Roscommon. Mahon, Co Cork. young children. murder. tioned.
year and 17,868 drink drivers
were arrested.

September 2007 7 Village

www.village.ie
 Fragments
Animals in the News...

Willie Walsh and the fat cats

ormer Aer Lingus chief Willie his co-workers at the airport

F Walsh may have flown the

coop in 2005 to make bigger
and better
Willie has a comfortable working
life being fed and watered by the
l o c a l
things of offices.
British Air- It was also
ways, but confirmed
during the this month
Aer Lingus that Ire-
pilots dis- land is a
pute
namesake
a nation of
fat cats.
Sophisticated Spammers
of his was According pam now accounts for more The most prevalent strain of
keeping a
close eye on
proceed-
to a study
by UCD 40
per cent
S than 85 per cent of all email
traffic since last July, accord-
ing to figures released by Elive Ltd
Spam using PDF attachments at
present are the “Pump and
Dump” stock scams. These type
ings. Willie of Ire- anti-spam and hosting providers. of Spam messages attempt to
Walsh, the land’s cats Elive claims that Spammers have lure email users into purchasing
rooster, qui- are over- diverted to using PDF (Portable low cost “penny” stock and
etly sat on weight or Document Format) attachments shares, thereby artificially raising
the sidelines obese. to clog up individuals email the value of these shares which
outside his And 33 accounts, rather than the com- these scammers can then cash in
home at the Dublin airport head- per cent of all dogs are in need of mon image file types such a Gifs. at an increased value.
quarters of the Irish Airline Pilots' a trimming down as well. More These changes also mean that Email Scanning specialists Aso-
Association (Ialpa), as the trade female cats and dogs are over- the size of an average spam email metric predict that spam levels
union officials came and went. weight than their male counter- has now increased by up to 80 per will continue to increase
Willie lives in bushes near Dublin parts and Labradors and terriers cent, leading to greater traffic throughout the coming months
airport, between the offices of are the most likely breeds of dog levels, affecting client bandwidth as well as ongoing changes of
Siptu and Ialpa. Unlike some of to be overweight. allocations. tactics.
Statistics for this study were
based on figures of over 13 mil-
Rabbite’s Retirement lion emails scanned in the month
Pat Rabbitte will have a lot of time on his hands now he of July. Conversely, virus and bad
is no longer leader of Labour. It is unlikely he will accept content email traffic now mere-
an onerous front bench position under Eamon Gilmore. ly accounts for below 1 per cent
He may opt to remain on the Committee of Public
in this monthly average.
Accounts but that, on its own won’t occupy him. He was
a columnist for a while in the 1990s and may opt for that Three per cent of people sur-
again. Perhaps a television series, maybe a book. Or a job veyed said they had received
in the EU Commission – Bertie would not mind appoint- spam in relation to the general
ing him – which would be ironic since he was among elction campaign this year.
those who campaigned against entry into Europe in 1973
Founded in 1997, Elive is a pri-
and campaigned against several of the Treaties since
then. vately held company located in
Mungret Office Park, Limerick.

Should the drinking age be raised to 21?

It will be difficult for No, it’s unrealistic. Yes. My sister lives Yes,
18 or 19 year olds People won’t follow in Canada and it The
who are already it. Prohibition never seems to work drin
drinking. Won’t work. solved anything. quite well there. peo
Difficult to but
implement.
the
AMY GROVES, PAT MCDONNELL, GERTIE MCNALLY, AND
WOLVERHAMPTON MAYO DUBLIN MCA

Village 8 September 2007

www.village.ie
 Numbers
Spotlight...
Numbers
Spotlight... 16,000
Number of grants amounting to €47
million given to home owners under
Greener Homes Scheme
“Where is my faith? Even deep down right in there is nothing but emptiness and
darkness… I have no faith.”
A new book based on the correspondence of Mother Theresa has revealed that she €4 million
The estimated damage caused in
was tormented by a crisis of faith through much of her life. Britain by three weeks of torrential
rain in July
“Those who put their trust in horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, tarot cards and
mediums lack trust in God’s providence and are colluding with an illusion, promot-
ing a fiction” 764,400
The number of overseas trips by Irish
Archbishop Brady in a recent speech at Knock. residents in June

“Asking Sikh community members to get rid of the turban is like asking a Sikh to
remove his head.” 300,000
A United Nations estimate of the num-
Harpreet Singh, the President of the Irish Sikh Council in response to the Garda ber of child soldiers involved in 50
Siochana’s banning of turbans for its members. conflicts worldwide

“There’s a pack of arseholes in Ireland who are trying to give me a bad time.”
Showjumper Jessica Kurten responding to revelations that her horse tested positive
21,000
The number of patients admitted to
for a banned substance in May. psychiatric hospitals in Ireland in 1958

“I am still dealing with the legacy now. He should have acknowledged me. I have
spent a few nights drinking on my own ranting at the air and getting nowhere.”
€3
The amount Ryanair passengers will be
Ross Hamilton Cleary speaking about his father, Fr forced to pay if they do not use the web
Michael Cleary who refused to acknowledge his check in system from 20 September
son

“His genuine passion for his cause was married

11
The percentage of the population over
to a forensic intelligence and 65 in 2006
considerable wit that made him a politician to
be reckoned with, as well as a parliamentarian
who engaged the public’s interest”,
Bertie Ahern paying tribute to Pat Rab-
€500,000
The amount three Irish Aid organisa-
bitte as he stepped down as Labour tions, Goal, Concern and TrÛcaire,
were granted in order to help them
Party leader. respond speedily to global emergen-
cies.

Yes, a sensible idea.

There is too much
No, it won’t work.
People drink at 16
No. It won’t make the
slightest difference.
1,100
The number of tubes of fake tooth-
drink around young anyway. We must People will get alcohol
paste laced with a toxic ingredient
people. It will help address the if they want it.
but it is only part of psychological have been sold in Ireland since Febru-
the answer. issues first. COLLETTE MAC ary, according to the Department of
ANDREW ERIC COOPER, GIOLLAEÓIN, DUBLIN Health and Children
MCALISTER, ANTRIM TERENURE

September 2007 9 Village

www.village.ie
 Fragments
People
Beverley Cooper-Flynn Michael O’Leary

CYRIL BYRNE / IRISH TIMES

Beverley Flynn paid RTÉ on 16 Michael O’Leary has
August €1.25m for the latter’s inflicted terrible dam-
legal costs in the unsuccessful age on his protagonist,
libel action she took against Bertie Ahern, in a piece
the station some years ago. of theatrics, more famil-
How conceivably such costs iar in politics than in
could be justified even in a business. His call for in
protracted libel action was not EGM where he would
questioned, apparently not by join with the workers and
RTÉ nor by herself. That a the government in revers-
person should run the risk of ing the Aer Lingus man-
being wiped out financially to agement decision to
protect their constitutional abandon the Shannon-
right to their good name Heathrow route, forced the government to concede that its protestations
cannot be constitutional, can about protecting the national interest by holding on to a 25 per cent stake
it? It opens the way however in Aer Lingus was a sham. The stroke has caused deep divisions in Fian-
for Beverly’s return to Fianna na Fáil and even in the cabinet and undermined the position of Bertie
Fáil and then her elevation to Ahern, right at a time when he needed all the support he could get in
junior ministerial ranks. advance of the coming ordeal at the Planning Tribunal.

The Press Ombudsman

The new press Ombudsman, John Horgan, started his jour-
nalism career with the Irish Times, where he was variously
religious affairs correspondent (he reported on Vatican II) and
education correspondent. He was a member of the Senate
from 1969 to 1977, a Labour TD for Dublin South from 1977
to 1981, an unelected member of the European Parliament
from 1981 to 1983 (replacing the late Michael O’Leary who
had become Tánaiste in July 1981), and until last year a lec-
turer/professor at DCU in the media faculty. So he should
know a bit about media and politics. But will he have the steel
to stand up to Independent Newspapers, the outfit most like-
ly to engage his attention?

Lisa Murtagh
In a real-life representation of an Richard Nesbitt
oxymoron, a lawyer won a beauty Talking of lawyers, another lawyer (senior coun-
contest in August. Well a sort of sel), Richard Nesbitt, took control of Arnotts,
beauty contest, the Rose of Tralee. ousting the O’Connor family which had want-
Lisa Murtagh, a 27 year old New ed to take control.
York “attorney” was chosen ahead There used to be rules against barristers hav-
of barmaids, cow girls and lap ing outside occupations but, apparently, no
CYRIL BYRNE / IRISH TIMES

dancers (well actually none of the longer, but it was never envisaged previously
other contestants were any of these that barristers could also run ladies clothes
but if Carlsberg ran the Rose of shops.
Tralee... ). Clearly her origins in Arnotts is planning a €750m redevelopment of
Athea, Co Limerick was the decisive an area of Dublin's city centre between O’Connell,
factor, cancelling the disability of Liffey and Abbey streets. Richard Nesbitt is the
her father being from Longford, as fourth generation of his family to be involved with
well as the lawyer bit. The Limerick Arnotts. It is said his great-grandfather Alexander Nes-
players were also the more beauti- bitt first joined the company at the age of 16.
ful in Croke Park at the All Ireland
Hurling Final.

Village 10 September 2007

www.village.ie
MoneyMate Best Pension Fund Manager 2007

There are pensions...

and there are

Eagle Star pensions Contact
Your Broker
or
Eagle Star
1850 202 102

The figures don’t lie - since our three managed pension funds were launched
in 1989, they have considerably outperformed our competitors.
So why invest the same money for less return? Beats us.
Or rather, doesn’t beat us.
www.eaglestarlife.ie

Warning: The value of your investment may go down as well as up. This benefit may be affected by
changes in currency exchange rates. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future performance.

Source: MoneyMate. Figures relate to the Individual Pensions Managed Balanced and Individual Pensions Managed Aggressive Sectors over the period
01/11/1989 to 01/08/2007. Returns are based on offer/offer performance and do not represent the return achieved by individual policies linked to the fund.
Eagle Star Life Assurance Company of Ireland Limited is regulated by the Financial Regulator.
 Letters

GETTY IMAGES
Payback time
Email us at
villagers@ Senator Eoghan Harris
village.ie, write
While I wholeheartedly agree that
to us at
Eoghan Harris will add alot to the
Villagers, Village gaiety of the Senate, I must draw
Magazine, 44 your attention to flawed basis of
Westland Row, your publication’s dissection on the
Dublin 2 or fax Senator. It seems to be based on two
01 642 5001. central thrusts. Firstly, that Mr
The deadline for Harris is essentially dancing to the
receipt of letters tune of Tony O’Reilly and secondly
is 10am on the that he is an uncontrollable
Friday before maverick constantly jumping from
one ideology to another.
publication.
These two points are
Please keep
incompatible. Both cannot possibly
submissions
be correct. I can only conclude that harrier hounds with young fox cubs. Aer Lingus
under 300 common sense has eluded the Cub hunting is the bloody training
words and
include a
Village, and personal attacks have ground for new hounds coming into Shannon debacle: the price
taken the place of balanced the pack and for older hounds to
contact number argument. rekindle their interest in hunting we pay
for verification. On the first point, anyone who has foxes. The huntsman’s intention is I am absolutely appalled and outraged,
Village retains followed the career of Mr Harris to gel the hounds in one single but not at all surprised at the Aer
the right to edit would know that he will not dance killing unit, ready and able to do his Lingus decision to cease their
submissions for to anyone’s tune, it is simply not in or her bidding on the hunting day. Shannon to Heathrow Flights.
reasons of his make-up. On the second point, Hounds are guided by the Unfortunately that is the price we
his “flip-flops” as you call them huntsman to scent, hunt down and will pay for selling off our national
length or libel.
mark the career of a man who fully kill fox cubs. The more foxcubs that assets. A private company is
Letters will be
understands that to hold a fixed end up in the mouths of the hounds, interested in nothing more than
posted for
position in politics is as absurd as it the more hounds they understand making money and maximising their
discussion on is self-defeating. He has held a firm their role. profits. They’re not interested in
the Village moral line throughout his life, and After months of hunting down providing a social service, although
blog at this has cut through party politics and killing fox cubs hounds are the ironic thing is, that the Shannon
www.village.ie and current trends. There is no ready to face up to a demanding to Heathrow service was making a
contradiction as I can see it, rather hunting season. Many hounds will profit, but not enough to satisfy the
an integrity and steadfastness to not see a hunting season through as greedy management of the now
permanent values, at the expense of among the hazards a hunting privatised Aer Lingus.
impermanent obstacles. hounds faces is death by traffic, Plus by operating a Belfast to
IAN COX shooting by landowners who don’t Heathrow service they could employ
Gorey, Co Wexford want the hunt on their land, falls pilots and cabin crew at cheaper rates
over cliffs, kicks by horses and over- than operating out of Shannon.
Hunting hunting leading to an early death. Here lies a warning of what could
Even at the end of a hunting happen at Dublin and Cork Airports as
Winter of cruelty begins season there is no respite for well. What is to stop Aer Lingus doing
hounds. Each year a pack of hounds the same and stopping the Dublin and
as fox hunting season needs to bring in new hounds with Cork to Heathrow services? Don’t
starts the result that some hounds must forget that a private company has no
August is start of the winter of go, to make way for the new entry. sense of loyalty or conscience.
cruelty with the commencement of Hunting with hounds is a bloody Just think of all the damage that
the foxcub hunting season. Over the cruelty soaked activity. would be done to northside Dublin
next three months, mounted and JOHN TIERNEY communities such as Ballymun,
foot foxhunters will be in the Campaigns Director, Association of Hunt Coolock, and Santry; to name but a few
countryside blooding foxhounds and Saboteurs that rely on Aer Lingus and Dublin

Village 12 September 2007

www.village.ie
 Letters

“ People on free
travel and other
allowances are
finding that often
services are fully
booked out
through online
booking when
they arrive at
Airport for employment. If Aer Lingus
decided to end or cutback their flights
into and out of Dublin because they
weren’t economical enough.
Potentially thousands of jobs could be
lost. And the same applies to Cork too.
We have to stand up and be ready to
fight any similar moves by Aer Lingus
in Dublin and Cork.
One bit of good news; a recent
opinion poll by the Irish Examiner found
that a majority of people (53 per cent)
opposed any further privatisations of
our semi state Companies such as An
Post, Dublin Bus and the ESB.
PAUL KINSELLA
Santry, Dublin 9

Tara/ M3 Motorway
historical and scholarly community, its
loss is all the more poignant as it is univer-
sally accepted that this supposedly isolat-
ed monument is but a constituent part of
the broader, seamless National Monu-
ment of Tara.
The Lismullen temple is simply one of
a string of Tara’s archaeological monu-
ments which are currently being ‘pre-
served by record’ as part of the initial
construction phase of the M3 motorway
and interchange through the Gabhra val-
ley.
Its impact, however, is not limited to
the broad linear swathe of motorway
and its sheath of landscaping that is
being culturally sterilised by bulldozer
and trowel: its aftershock will resonate
throughout Tara’s riven landscape and
artificially landscaped embankments
and the glow of concealed
floodlighting. These mitigating
measures are designed solely to disguise
the visual intrusion, if not physical
impact, of the motorway when viewed
from the Hills of Tara and Skryne.
When completed, however, such
remedial landscaping will also render it
impossible for passing motorists to
observe the offending hills and
‘contested landscape’ from the valley
floor. The NRA’s ‘hear no evil, see no
evil’ solution to this appalling planning
decision, however, reveals something of
Ireland’s commitment to the protection
and preservation of our national
heritage and our shared European
patrimony.
the rail or bus beyond to the wider international Those remaining apologists who

station Tara an appalling vista
While the seemingly inevitable fate of the
prehistoric temple at Lismullen is bitter-
ly lamented by the greater archaeological,
community who look on in disbelief.
Under such circumstances it seems
oddly apt that the noise and visual
intrusion that this development will
bring to Tara is to be masked by
continue to champion this flawed
development must surely be lacking a
sense of smell.
JOE FENWICK
Department of Archaeology, NUIG

Village 14 September 2007

www.village.ie
Village 16
Gilmore promises
no change
The new Labour leader has abandoned the radicalism of his
leadership bid of five years ago. He is following the same course
as his predecesors and seems fated to fail as they did
By Eoin O’Murchú
hen Eamon Gilmore stood for the lead-
W ership of the Labour party in 2002,
against Pat Rabbitte and Brendan Howl-
in, he offered a very different prospectus
from the one he has advanced this time.
In 2002 he argued Labour should seek to
construct a united Left, which Labour as the
strongest element, would lead, harnessing the
combined energies of Labour, Sinn Féin and
the Greens to present a challenge to both the
leading capitalist blocs – Fianna Fáil and Fine
Gael. His focus then was on a left agenda, on
substantive equality and justice.
But now that is all abandoned. He has
made it clear there will be no alliance of the
left, no cooperation with Sinn Fein and left-
wing Independents. Labour is not to change,
it is to be available yet again for government
with one or other of the ‘capitalist’ parties.
Five years ago he was talking about becom-
ing a Labour Taoiseach, implying an objective
of 40 plus seats, now that too is pared back,
the target is ‘up to’ 30 seats.
Perhaps this repositioning was because he
expected a challenge from Brendan Howlin
or Joan Burton or Tommy Broughan and he
did not want to be exposed again as he was
in 2002 when he got just 17 per cent of the
party membership vote, a dismal perform-
ance. But whatever the reason, he is now
stuck with the mantle he has taken on.
Labour under Gilmore is to be undistinguish-
able from Labour under Rabbitte, from
Labour under Quinn.
The absence of a leadership contest has
September 2007
done Labour no favour. The party needed a
contest, needed a debate about itself and
what it was about and where it was going.
Now that opportunity has been closed down,
the debate can hardly centre credibly around
the deputy leader contest – who cares who is
deputy leader, who knows who is deputy
leader?
The failure of Pat Rabbitte’s Mullingar
Accord will lie unanalysed, the paucity of the
position ABFF (Anyone But Fianna Fáil) has
sufficed as the main identifier of Labour,
now is it to do so again?
So far Gilmore has been satisfied to claim
Labour nearly did it, another three seats
would have put them in government with
Fine Gael and the Greens thereby enabling
Labour to implement its programme of
“equality and solidarity”. All that is needed,
it appears, is more effort and better organi-
sation.
Labour had as good an organisation as it is
likely to get in most of the constituencies
where seats were a prospect. It failed to con-
vince voters that it offered an alternative
that was in any way a real alternative and it
completely failed to harness the unhappiness
with health, education and transport in any
effective way.
And when voters were asked who would be
best at managing the existing economy, with-
in its existing parameters of defined policy,
there was really no alternative to Fianna Fáil.
And had Labour won through and brought
the Rainbow to power, the result may not
have been what Labour expected. There was
an assumption in Labour that they define the
direction of any such government, complete-
ly ignoring the self-confident assertiveness
that a Fine Gael revival would have prompt-
ed. Fine Gael would not have been as quies-
cent, rather triumphant. It would have set the
agenda, not Labour.
Gilmore’s strength is his ability to focus on
detailed policy options to deal with prob-
lems that people have: on housing, for exam-
ple, he is far and away ahead of every other
competitor in any party, whatever he turns
his mind to it seems he can come up with the
goods.
His personality is aloof and defensive, very
alike Pat Rabbitte’s. And like Pat Rabbitte he
is prone to pomposity and arrogance, which
will do him no favours. His resort to cliché
and banality for the purpose of that anticipat-
ed leadership contest has blunted his policy-
wonk strength.
Where now stands the Seanad deal with
Sinn Féin? That deal is done, and Gilmore is
unlikely to renege on it. In essence, even if
the idea of Left unity is played down, the real-
ity of that deal is closer cooperation in prac-
tice between Labour and Republicanism.
It is just a pity that Gilmore feels the need
to slink his way in rather than argue openly
for the strategic changes that Labour must
adopt if it is to avoid decline and irrelevance.
Eoin O’Murchú is the Eagra Polaitíochta of RTÉ
Raidió na Gaeltachta. He is writing here in a
personal capacity.
17 Village
www.village.ie
 AGENDA
The abandonment
of Socialism
The Labour Party has never defined a distinctive
position, it has floundered ideologically and failed
electorally. By Niamh Puirséil
The origins of Labour’s failures run deep.
0 Until recently Ireland’s had been a rural,
Catholic conservative society. Lacking a
strong industrial base, the State’s working
class was small, and the size of the self-con-
sciously working class smaller still. Further-
more, the national question and the identities
created and fostered during and following
the civil war over-rode economic identities.
Labour, founded as a party of trade union-
ists for trade unionists, had a limited appeal
from the outset. It contested its first election
in 1922 and took over 21 per cent of the poll
– its largest ever share of the vote, but even
then at least half of these were protest votes
which went to Labour rather than to either pro-
or anti-Treaty Sinn Féin.
Since its 1922 result it has been down hill all
the way. It was not until 1992’s Spring tide that
Labour came close to matching its best result
(taking 19.3 per cent of the poll and winning
a record 33 seats), but for the most part Labour
has bobbed around ten per cent. Based on
every general election since 1922 Labour’s
average vote is 10.5 per cent; its average num-
ber of seats is 16. This time it won 10.1 per cent
and 20 seats, effectively the same as the last
election in 2002. Ultimately, 2007 saw Labour
perform as well (or as badly) as it ever does. Per-
haps we would do well to remember observa-
tion of Tom Garvin (the UCD historian): “The
reasons for Labour’s weakness have often
been debated by Irish political scientists and
historians; it might be more appropriate to
inquire into the reasons why it managed to sur-
vive at all.”
Village 18
www.village.ie
Labour was established as the political wing
of the trade unions but the problem was that
even generous estimates suggested that even
if all union members voted Labour (and they
did not) it would never manage to win more
than a sixth of the national vote. Moreover, in
areas where Labour was successful, it was
based on the hard work of local candidates so
that seats were held by personalities rather
than the party. (This is a trend which contin-
ues to the present day, and in light of the aging
parliamentary party, is significant cause for
concern as these deputies begin to think about
stepping down the next time around.)
If it was going to become a force to be reck-
oned with it would have to broaden its appeal
and the urgency of doing so was highlighted
at a general election in September 1927 when
Labour managed to return with only seven
deputies. The solution at the time was to
engage in some re-branding.
In 1930 Labour re-launched itself. In order
to attract white collar workers and profes-
sionals to its ranks, it cut some of its ties with
the trade union movement, adopted a watered
down constitution which would not frighten
off the middle classes and considered chang-
ing its name to something a little less proletar-
ian to shake off its image as ‘the labourers
party’. The Social Democratic Party, the Pro-
gressive Party and the Party of Social Justice
BRENDAN CORISH/IT
Continued on page 20
Brendan Corish speaking at a Labour Party
Conference, June 1977. Photo Irish Times
 AGENDA
were among the names mooted at the time,
before deciding to stick with the familiar.
There was, however, a small flaw in this cun-
ning plan for Labour to thrive as a catch-all,
social democratic party: they were three years
too late.
Fianna Fáil had already done it. With immea-
surably better resources both in finance and
personnel, it was well on its way to establish-
ing itself as a progressive republican party of
the working and lower-middle class. It avoid-
ed Labour’s sectionalism completely – indeed
it painted itself as being something more
than a party, but a national movement. With
its combination of nationalism and econom-
ic reform and de Valera’s curious charisma,
Fianna Fáil offered bread and cir-
cuses where Labour offered
bread alone, and in so doing
managed to harvest the sup-
port of men and women who in
other circumstances would oth-
erwise have voted for Labour.
The mark of an honest elec-
torate is that once bought, they
stay bought. Labour never had
a chance. Fianna Fáil govern-
ments introduced significant
improvements in housing and
benefits during the 1930s and
fostered close relations with the
trade unions during the 1940,
often implementing Labour pol-
icy while the smaller party was
relegated to the sidelines.
Labour under Spring won 33 seats in the 1992 general election – the
most seats in the party’s history. Photo Bryan O’Brien/Irish Times
IDEOLOGY & COALITION
At the 1966 Labour conference, party leader
Brendan Corish declared the party’s adher-
ence to socialism to a rapturous response
from the floor. In any other western demo-
cratic country his speech would have been
unremarkable, but on this occasion it was
astounding. It was a radical declaration of the
party’s ethos and for a party which had
recently been described as “probably the
most opportunistically conservative Labour
party in the known world” it was a monu-
mental new departure in rhetoric if nothing
else.
Until then Labour had pursued a reformist
agenda, looking for better employment leg-
islation, improved welfare benefits, more
public housing and calling for the national-
isation of certain industries. It was afraid of
going beyond such limited agendas lest it risk
Village 20
www.village.ie
the censure of Catholic groups who feared
Labour was promoting socialist policies which
would be the thin end of the communist
wedge.
Labour was subjected to various red-scares
over the years – indeed one in the 1940s
sundered the party for almost a decade –
and so took care not to attract unwanted
criticism, a strategy which made Labour
appear particularly insipid and earned it the
description of the “political wing of the St Vin-
cent de Paul organisation”.
The political climate had changed consid-
erably by the 1960s, and Labour’s foray into
socialism seemed like a good idea at the
time. Brendan Corish announced that “The
seventies will be socialist”. They weren’t, but
Labour managed to reinvent itself as a radi-
cal young party, at least for a while as the
party shed some of its fusty image, attracting
legions of new members, among them stars
of academe and screen such as Conor Cruise
O’Brien, Justin Keating and David Thornley.
The party that exists today is built on the
bones of that time. Many, if not most, of
Labour’s public representatives and activists
joined then: much of the party’s problem is
that not many have joined since. If some of
the more radical rhetoric of the 1960s was
diluted subsequently, Labour’s ideology
remained centre left over subsequent
decades, despite the best efforts of Militant
and Labour leftists to move the party in a
more radical direction.
One of Labour’s key positions under Bren-
dan Corish during the 1960s was its anti-
coalitionism. Labour had first gone into
coalition with Fine Gael and others between
1948-51 but a second inter-party government
(1954-57) dominated by the conservative Fine
Gael minister for finance, Gerard Sweetman,
left Labour badly bruised and the party swore
off coalition until 1970. The end result that
it left Fianna Fáil in government for sixteen
years.
Ending Labour’s go-it-alone policy was nec-
essary but difficult and the issue of coalition
was one which caused some of the most bit-
ter fissures within the party ever since.
Although it had adopted a degree of social
democratic gloss with the Just Society, Fine
Gael remained a conservative party both
socially and economically, its social
support base diametrically opposite
that of Labour.
What is remarkable about the
Fine Gael-Labour coalitions of 1973-
7, 1981-2 and 1982-7 was that they
managed to function as well as
they did. For Labour’s coalitionists,
it was question of pragmatism – not
whether the party went into gov-
ernment but what it could achieve
once in there – for the anti-coali-
tionists, it seemed that whenever
Labour went into government with
Fine Gael, it always came out the
worse for it. Significantly, no outgo-
ing coalition featuring Labour has
ever been returned at a general
election.
The coalition question was the
scourge of conference after confer-
ence, battles over the issue lending
the party an image of never so exercised as
when fighting itself and as far as elections
were concerned, Labour may well have had
no policies at all: the only issue the media or
other parties were concerned with was will
you coalesce afterwards. Thus the dilemma
for Labour is significant – put the question to
rest by ruling it in or out afterwards. It means
strategy overshadows policy ever time.
LABOUR SINCE THE SPRING TIDE
The 1992 general election saw Labour win
almost twenty per cent of the poll and 33
seats. It was the party’s best ever result by a
long shot but brilliant as its performance
was, it remained only the third largest party
in the Dáil. Undoubtedly, the poll marked a
dramatic shift in electoral behaviour, but
Continued on page 22
September 2007
Doing business with
Government
BASIS simplifies dealing with
Government at all stages of
business, from start-up, through
expansion to wind-up and pro-
vides a wealth of information in
the process.
The lifecycle of a business is
divided up into 12 stages and
each of these are expanded
upon on the BASIS site.
Everyday activities such as
paying tax, applying for
planning permission and
determining staff entitlements
are explained on the site with
links to appropriate agencies,
forms, online services and
information downloads.
BASIS constantly revises and
updates the information on its
site to reflect ongoing changes
in legislation, services and
schemes.
Other features of the site
include:
Service Locator - pinpointing
the business services in your
area;
Free Newsletter - tailored to
your specific business interests;
What’s New - keeping you up
to date with Government News
affecting business
How do I? - with frequently
asked questions and topical
issues answered in a step-by-
step manner.
Phone & Email Helpline - to
provide assistance with your
business queries.
Forms - giving access to the
most commonly used forms.
‘Business Continuity Planning -
Responding to an Influenza
Pandemic’
The above guide launched by
Minister Martin early this year
highlights the threats to busi-
ness from a flu pandemic and
gives them an invaluable tool
to assist in preparing their own
business continuity plan. It con-
tains a checklist which business-
es can use to plan effectively
for such a situation as well as
including ten illustrative case
studies across various sectors.
The Minister said, ‘If businesses
in general, and small businesses
in particular, are not prepared
for a pandemic then there is a
danger that they will lose com-
petitiveness. I urge all business
owners and managers to give
serious consideration to the
advice contained in the guide
and to use the checklist in their
business planning prepara-
tions’.
All businesses are urged to
download this Report and use
the “checklist” to prepare for
this eventuality. The Report is
available under the “What’s
new” section of the BASIS web-
site.
 AGENDA
talk of earthquakes, cataclysms and water-
sheds, and the ‘end of civil war politics’ were
more than a little previous. It is easy to see
how commentators could get carried away –
support for both civil war parties had dropped
and it seemed as though following on from
Mary Robinson’s success two years earlier, that
the public mood was swinging towards Labour.
It was, but only a little. Perhaps it was more
that it had swung away from Fianna Fáil. 1992
had begun with the X case and a succession of
scandals (Greencore, beef tribunal) had done
nothing to bolster the government’s popular-
ity, still less the grim economic situation (polling ly stands for.
day came only weeks after
black Wednesday). Fine Gael
under John Bruton was un-
enticing. Labour under Dick
Spring, widely regarded as a
very capable politician of
integrity, was the main bene-
ficiary of public discontent.
The problem for Labour was
this: even if Labour’s perform-
ance in 1992 was not a protest
vote, it still only managed 20
per cent of the poll – an out-
standing result in Ireland but
one which would have consti-
tuted near decimation for her
sister parties in Europe.
The really momentous
aspect of 1992, however, was The Labour manifesto in 2007 offered little to the electorate, and voters were
Fianna Fáil’s decision to court unsure what Labour stood for
Labour and Labour’s decision
to let them. Until then, Labour had been
plagued by the question of whether or not to
go into coalition. Now it was a case of coalition
or not, and if so, who with? In 1992, Fianna Fáil
offered Labour the best deal and Labour took
it. If some in the party felt uncomfortable with
this, many others did not (as Dick Spring
observed at the time “The party isn’t full of anti- Labour did so much to promote and execute, has
coalitionists after all. They were just anti-Fine
Gael.”) and the Fianna Fáil-Labour partnership
worked well until breaches of trust between the
two parties made it untenable, prompting
Labour’s exit into the Rainbow government
with Fine Gael and Democratic Left.
The result of the 1997 election which saw
Labour’s vote and seats halve suggests that
the party went wrong somewhere, but opinion
is deeply divided over whether Labour suf-
fered because it went in with Fianna Fáil in the
outset, because it jumped ship in 1994 or
because having done both it appeared at best
flighty and at worst mendacious.
Either way, the end result was that when
Village 22
www.village.ie
Labour faced the electorate following the only
time in its history that it was in office during
a period of prosperity, it lost half its seats. A
change in leadership with Ruairí Quinn taking
over, followed soon after by the merger with
Democratic Left made no impact at the 2002
election. When Quinn stood down after that
poll, it was not policy which differentiated the
four candidates standing for leadership, but
coalition, as Pat Rabbitte held himself up as the
anti-Fianna Fáil candidate. With strategy com-
ing before policy, it is easier to see who Labour
is prepared to stand with, than what it actual-
LABOUR NOW
Labour is in an invidious position today. Certain
battle grounds have been abandoned because
fights have been won or moved elsewhere. The
trade unions do not need Labour because their
agendas can fruitfully be pursued through the
partnership process. The liberal agenda, which
been won by the liberals. Talk of social justice
and re-distribution might be dangerous – it is pos-
sible the 2007 electorate was wary of a party that
focused more on how they would spend than
how they would create wealth – but it is neces-
sary.
This does not mean the adoption of far left
policies – few people in the country wish to see
Ireland become the new Venezuela – but taking
on an ultra-centrist image to fight Fianna Fáil
when Labour’s natural constituency is being
chipped away either side by the Green Party and
Sinn Féin does nothing to develop a strong
sense of identity and a reason for people to join
the party and work to get the vote out. At a time
when election slogans have become increasing-
ly meaningless, Labour’s reached new levels of
glib.
During the summer, Pat Rabbitte complained
that Labour had fallen foul of working class peo-
ple trying to live middle class lifestyles (does this
mean drinking wine instead of stout, a liking for
opera, or perhaps a third level education?), a
statement that seems strange in a number of
ways. Firstly, the suggestion that working class
people should know their place (imagine, try-
ing to live middle class lifestyles! The nerve!) is
astonishing, but more pertinently, it is on exact-
ly that platform that Labour fought the election.
Make it easier to buy hous-
es (number five of Pat’s five
election pledges), ensure “pre-
school education for all our
children” (Pat’s pledge num-
ber two). If universal access to
finger painting is such a core
value, why not tell Eamon
Gilmore not to bother and
just get in Barney the dinosaur
instead. At least it might add
a little colour to the party.
What of people on waiting
lists for council houses? It
has even adopted the lan-
guage of Blairism, promising
more gardaí on the beat in
neighbourhoods because
“hard working families are
entitled to live in peaceful
law-abiding communities”.
(Clearly, single and unemployed people can
take their chances.)
On the face of it, Labour’s campaign offered
little to those who had a bit, and even less to those
who have nothing. Labour is a sectional party.
It always has been and if it to remain relevant it
must remain so. The lack of appetite for the lead-
ership contest does not bode well for the party.
It is less that Gilmore enjoys his colleagues sup-
port, than his would-be opponents do not have
the energy or the will to make a play for it. If the
parliamentary party have not the heart to fight
for the party, why should its members? Strateºgy
and organisation are all very well but Labour
needs to mobilise the voters who need Labour
most. It needs members to go out and work for
the vote (a strategy which has brought Sinn Féin
rewards) and at the moment it does not have
them. Until Labour remembers what it wants to
fight for, nothing will change.
Niamh Puirséil is a lecturer in the School of History and
Archives, UCD. She is author of The Irish Labour Party,
1922-73 recently published by UCD Press.
September 2007
 Wrongly Convicted
The evidence of three witnesses against Catherine Nevin at her trial raise
serious doubts about the reliability of her convinction. By Vincent Browne
n 10 April 2000 Catherine Nevin was found
O guilty of the murder of her husband, Tom
Nevin, on 19 March 1996. She was sen-
tenced to life imprisonment and is serving her
sentence at the Dochas Centre at Mountjoy.
Her conviction hinged on the evidence of
three witnesses, John Jones, Gerry Heapes and
William McClean, all of whom said Catherine
Nevin had asked the or solicited them to murder
her husband or have her husband murdered, sev-
eral years before the murder took place. There
was no forensic evidence supporting the case
against her. There was no eye-witness evidence,
no admission by her of having been implicated
in the murder of her husband. There was circum-
stantial evidence but it was made clear at the trial
the circumstantial evidence could not have con-
victed her on its own.
In his closing address, one of the prosecuting
counsel, Tom O’Connell, stated: “You (members
of the jury) should actually consider the solicit-
ing charges before you go on to consider the mur-
der charge because the soliciting charges or a
finding of guilt in relation to one or more of he
soliciting charges is necessary, and the prosecu-
tion accepts this, is necessary to support a find-
ing on the murder charge..., there is insufficient
circumstantial evidence to justify a finding of guilt
on the murder charge.”
Village 24
www.village.ie
And it is because of the frailties of the evidence
of these three witnesses that concern arises
about the safety of Catherine Nevin’s conviction
for the murder of her husband.
John Jones
John Jones said in evidence he lived in Balbrig-
gan, Co Dublin. He said from about 1980 he
made his living from a television rental and
repair business, based in Finglas. The bottom
floor of this premises was a Sinn Féin advice cen-
tre.
He said in evidence he was chairman of the
local Sinn Féin Cumann and had been a member
of this party from around 1970 (when Provi-
sional Sinn Féin was formed – almost every
male then involved in Provisional Sinn Féin was
also a member of the Provisional IRA). He said he
had remained a member of Sinn Féin until
around 1994. He said in evidence Catherine
Nevin came into the advice centre in 1984 or 1985
and said she had been advised by a well-known
Sinn Féin activist, Christie Burke, to seek advice
from Sinn Féin in Finglas about the purchase of
a pub in the area. John Jones said he told her he
couldn’t assist her.
He said in evidence he later became aware she
and her husband had leased the Barry House or
Cappagh House (the two names are used) pub and
she had allowed Sinn Féin to use the pub for fund-
raising and allowed An Phoblacht (the Sinn Féin
newspaper) to be sold there. He said: “General-
ly she was helpful to us”.
He said that after the Nevins had moved to
Wicklow to Jack White’s pub he visited there on
two occasions, within a fortnight of each other.
He said that even after the Nevins moved to Wick-
low, Catherine Nevin would call in to the Sinn
Féin offices in Finglas four or five times a year.
Then around 1989 she said to him “I have a propo-
sition for you... I want you to get the IRA to
shoot Tom”.
About six weeks later he said she visited him
again. He said she asked him: “have you thought
about the proposition. He said he asked what she
was talking about and he said she said: “I want
you to get the IRA to shoot Tom in what would
look like a botched hold-up”. She went on to say,
according to him: “I can guarantee you that it
would be either £23,000 or £25,000 and that it
would be after a bank holiday weekend”.
Asked about Tom Nevin he said he knew him
and got on with him “very well”.
Under cross examinationfrom Paddy McEntee
SC, counsel for Catherine Nevin, John Jones said
he said Dessie Ellis was his partner in the TV
repair business. Dessie Ellis was convicted of
September 2007
possession of explosives and served a 10 year sen-
tence. (Dessie Ellis was a Sinn Féin candidate in
the recent elections in Dublin North West but,
contrary to expectations, he failed to be elected.)
In 1990 Dessie Ellis became the first political
prisoner to be extradited to Britain, again on
explosives charges. He went on hunger strike to
protest his extradition. He was eventually acquit-
ted of the charges in Britain. Ellis and Jones,
according to Jones, had been partners from
1978. Ellis was believed to be one of the expert
IRA bomb-makers with special expertise in elec-
tronic circuits. In his evidence Jones purported
to have been unaware of the activities of his busi-
ness partner.
Asked if at the time he ever told the gardaí
about this claim by Catherine Nevin and about
she attempting to get him to get her husband
murdered he said he didn’t. He said: “I didn’t
know where Catherine Nevin had come from or
who she was working for or what she was
doing… Maybe she was trying to infiltrate our
movement and trying to just generally cause trou-
ble, which would have been to the satisfaction
of the guards”.
Asked why he did not inform Tom Nevin that
his wife was trying to get the IRA to have him
murdered, he said: “She would have denied it …
and I don’t know what the repercussions would
have been for me. It was a situation I didn’t
know whether Tom… was involved in this plan”.
He said he had spoken to two “senior” people
in the “movement” about what Catherine Nevin
had been asking him to do. One was Pat Russell,
who was then a university student and secretary
of the Sinn Féin Cumann in Finglas of which he
was chairman (Pat Russell was a member of the
IRA at the time – he is now a practising barrister).
He said in evidence he could not remember
who the other person was that he told at the time
of Catherine Nevin’s request to have her husband
murdered. But in his evidence on depositions in
the District Court (a pre-trial procedure) he had
said not that he couldn’t remember who this
other person was but that he was not at liberty
to name this person. On another occasion he said
this second person was “a prominent member
of the Organisation whom I do not wish to
name”.
Asked if it had occurred to him to inform the
IRA of this, he said: “I don’t know anybody in the
IRA, I am afraid (page 51 of transcript of day 12).
He went on to say (page 52): “I do not know how
to get in touch with any members of the IRA”.
Later: “I have no desire to meet any member of
the IRA or know anyone of the IRA for any pur-
pose.”
Commentary:
* How plausible is it that Catherine Nevin
would go to John Jones to arrange for the mur-
der of her husband knowing that Jones knew her
husband and liked him and might well have told
him (Tom Nevin) what was afoot?
* How can his evidence be believed “beyond
reasonable doubt” given that, clearly, he lied in
claiming he knew nobody in the IRA and did not
know how to contact the IRA.
* How it is believable that any would-be assas-
sin of Tom Nevin would have conducted the assas-
sination in return solely for the takings of the pub
over a bank holiday weekend, when they could
have taken those takings anyway without mur-
dering Tom Nevin?
* Given the seriousness of what was allegedly
proposed to him, why did he not go to the Gar-
daí or, if not them, then an independent commu-
nity or political figure and tell them what she was
up to?
* Why in March 1996, after he had severed his
connections to the republican movement, did he
not go to the gardaí immediately on hearing of
the murder of Tom Nevin and tell them of what
he knew (he did nto speak to the gardaí abut the
murder, he said, until 1998)?
Gerry Heapes
Gerry Heapes said in evidence he had been
from November 1977 to June 1985 on convic-
tion for armed robbery. He was a member of the
IRA. On release from prison a function to cele-
brate his homecoming was held in the Barry
House pub, then run by Tom Nevin. Subse-
quently he worked at the Sinn Féin advice cen-
tre in Finglas.
He said in evidence that around this time
(1985) he was introduced to Catherine Nevin and
he said she kept “popping in and out” of the Sinn
Féin advice centre. He received an invitation to
attend the opening of Jack White’s pub in Wick-
low in June 1986 and went there with his wife.
While at the function he met William McClean,
the third of the critical witnesses in the case.
Some weeks later he went down again to Jack
White’s pub. Catherine Nevin put on a meal for
himself and his wife. Tom Nevin came over and
asked for assistance in putting out bikers who
were causing trouble.
He said that in 1989 or 1990 he was hanging
around outside the Barry House pub in Finglas
when Catherine Nevin drove up. He said she
asked to see him and the two of them went into
the public house for a coffee. He said she told him

Meeting Catherine Nevin

Since last February I have had several meetings with Catherine
Nevin in the Dochas centre at Mountjoy. At each of the meetings,
her solicitor, Anne Fitzgibbon, was in attendance.
In the course of these meetings she told the story of her life and
of her time with her deceased husband, Tom Nevin. She spoke in
detail about his murder and the circumstances surrounding it
(which was essentially an elaboration of what she had said in evi-
dence in the course of her trial). She also made a few startling rev-
elations, the most significant of which her solicitor was able to
confirm.
We intended publishing her story in the May issue of Village but
because this coincided with an application she was making to the
Parole Board in connection with an educational course she wished
to attend, she asked that the publication be deferred and we
agreed.
On Monday 20 August there was a further meeting at Mountjoy,
again attended by Anne Fitzgibbon. At that meeting it emerged
there had been a serious misunderstanding about an agreement
whereby we had undertaken that she would see in advance of pub-
lication anything we planed quoting her as saying and she would
have freedom to change the material. She and her solicitor had
understood they would have a veto over everything we planed
publishing in relation to her. She then withdrew her assent to
the publication of the interview and we are respecting that.
We have excised any material from this article that is based on
what she stated to us in interview. Neither are we publishing any-
thing about her demeanour, her appearance, her time in prison,
nor disclosing the startling new fact about her case which
emerged from the interview and was confirmed by her solicitor.
I accept responsibility for the misunderstanding.

September 2007 25 Village

www.village.ie
 AGENDA
she was being beaten up by her husband and she
wanted to know would he kill him (Tom Nevin)
or could he get someone to kill him. He said in
court he told her he would think about it and
asked her to come back to him.
Subsequently, without any arrangement, he
said in evidence, she drove up some time later and
again he was in the vicinity of the Barry House.
He said this time they drove to the Phoenix Park
and she asked if he had thought about her propo-
sition. He said he asked her “How do you want
it done”. She said she wanted him killed in the
pub to make it look like a robbery. He said that
at that meeting she said if the robbery took
place in the pub after a bank holiday weekend
there would be £25,000 in the till. He said he told
her that wouldn’t be enough and she then said
she could increase it to £40,000, the additional
sum would be paid after things died down.
He said in evidence he had about ten meetings
in all with her. He said that at these meetings he
kept raising objections and difficulties in relation
to the various schemes she proposed on how her
husband might be killed. He said that eventual-
ly these meetings ended.
He said in evidence that some four or five years
later, in 1994 or 1995, he went down again to Jack
White’s pub in the company of a Pearse Moran.
He said the reason he went on that occasion was
that he had been put out of his home by his wife
and he was seeking accommodation and he
knew Tom Nevin rented flats.
He said in evidence:
“The purpose of the visit was myself and
Pearse, basically bombed along and had nothing
to do and if she (Catherine Nevin) got something
into her head and we would go to her and say
what is the story Catherine Nevin and if she still
comes across wanting her husband killed and if
she does to see if we could get some money
because she isn’t able to go to the police about
it. We went up and walked in the door. Cather-
ine walked over and did not say hallo, goodbye,
walked over and said ‘everything is made up’”
He was arrested on 28 July 1998 (the same day
Catherine Nevin was arrested) under Section
30 of the Offensives Against the State Act and
detailed in Enniscorthy Garda station for 2 days.
During that time he said nothing about Cather-
ine Nevin asking him to murder her husband,
indeed he said the exact opposite. He said:
“Catherine Nevin never asked me to kill Tom.
I was never approached by anyone to do it for her.
She could have got that fellow, Willie (William
McClean) that she was having an affair with to
do it”.
On his release he took a train back to Dublin.
A day alter he contacted the gardaí again and
Village 26
www.village.ie
made a statement assaying she had suborned him
to kill Tom Nevin.
Under cross examination by Paddy McEntee SC
he said his job was doing security work at pubs
and nightclubs.
Asked why he did not tell Tom Nevin what his
wife was proposing he said: “I just did not”. He
said he informed other people of his contacts with
Catherine Nevin. Asked who these people were
he said (this is taken from the transcript of day
13, staring on page 70):
A: “A couple of fellows in a pool hall”.
Q: “Who were they?”
A: “I don’t know their first names, in the pool hall
its is all just nick names and first names”….
Q: “You say you just went to the pool hall and told
it casually to people who happened to be playing
pool in the pool hall?”
A: “Yes, that is right”.
Q: “These people thought there was a wind up
(ie that Catherine Nevin was merely playing a
ruse on Gerry Heapes)”?
A: “Yes. Until they came back and I was told to
get as much detail of her and report back”.
Q: “Are you serious”?
A: “Yes”.
Q: “These two nameless people in the pool hall”?
A: “Insofar as I remember I was racking my
brains”.
Q: “We will do without the commentary. Tell us
what you were about to say”?
A: “I was trying to find out their real names”.
Q: “Tell us”.
A: “It was Redser and Macker”.
Q: “There was Redser and Macker”.
A: “And a couple of others. I can’t remember them
offhand”.
Later Gerry Heapes said that Redser and Mack-
er said they were going to take steps to stop the
plan to murder Tom Nevin.
Paddy McEntee quoted from a statement Gerry
Heapes had made to the gardaí after the murder
or Tom Nevin: “A few days later (after his discus-
sions with Redser and Macker) I hear that some
people had either gone to Catherine at Jack
White’s or had brought her to Dublin and told
her that they knew what she was up to and that
it was over and if they heard that she was mak-
ing an approach to anyone else to have Tom
Nevin murdered they would go and inform Tom
and deal with here and whoever she got in con-
tact with”. He asked:
Q: “And was that Redser and Macker again”?
A: “Yes”.
Q: “Redser and Macker at that stage had decid-
ed that they would take the law into their own
hands?”
A: “Yes.”
On day 14 of the trial the following exchanges
occurred (starting on page 3):
Q: “Did (Redser and Macker) come back to you
a few days later and say they had looked after
that”.
A: “Yes”….
Q: “Did you believe these people”?.
A: “No”….
Q: “You are relating this to the police (in the state-
ment he made) as it were the truth and you
believed it but you now tell us you didn’t believe
it”?
A: “I was relating to the police. I made a statement
to the police of everything I knew”.
Q: “You certainly were not telling the police
that it was Redser and Mickser (by that stage
Paddy McEntee was referring to Macker as
Mickser). You were giving the clear impression
to the police that this is something that they
might take seriously”.
In his statement to the gardaí in July 2000 Gerry
Heapes told of another visit to Jack White’s, this
time to make enquiries about property in the area
that might be for sale. In his evidence in court he
claimed to have no recollection of this at all.
Commentary:
* It is difficult to see how a jury could believe
“beyond reasonable doubt” that Gerry Heapes evi-
dence was credible at all, given the claims about
Redser and Macker or Mickser, about which,
clearly, he was lying.
* In his first interview with the gardaí he explic-
itly denied Catherine Nevin every asked him to
kill her husband.
* Likewise it is difficult to see how the jury could
have accepted the veracity of his second state-
ment to the gardaí where he first claimed Cather-
ine Nevin had suborned him, when, in the same
statement he conveyed to the Gardaí that those
to whom he was reporting (Redser and Macker)
to were sorting out the affair.
* He acknowledged he was a conman and a
trickster and had gone to Wicklow to con money
from Catherine Nevin.
* He made several other claims in his evi-
dence – including claims that he was asked to
become a director of a property/pub company –
which were not believable.
* There is also the point that it is hardly believ-
able that Catherine Nevin would ask someone to
murder her husband, knowing that this person
might well go immediately to her husband and
inform him of the request.
William McClean
He gave evidence on days 14 and 15.
September 2007
He is the most intriguing of the witnesses and his
background is curious. He has been a prime
focus for “Justice for the Forgotten” lobby which
has been campaigning for a public enquiry into
the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings. There
is no suggestion that William McClean had any
culpability for the Dublin and Monaghan bomb-
ings of 1974 but that he had given informed about
the bombings in advance to gardaí and that, dur-
ing some periods at least, he was a Garda
informer.
In the report of the investigating by Mr Justice
Henry Barron into the Dublin and Monaghan
bombings of 17 May 1974 there is the following
paragraph:
“General enquiries in Dublin brought to light
a man who had stayed at the Four Courts Hotel
from 10 to 16 May 1974. During that time he
apparently made a number of phone calls and
sent telegrams to Belfast and London. Suspicion
focused on this man because of his known
friendship with Joseph Stewart Young, an active
member of the mid-Ulster UVF, and the fact
that he left the night before 17 May without pay-
ing his bill. However, Garda enquiries failed to
trace him, and attempts to follow up the various
communications he had made led nowhere. In
February 2000, the same man turned up as a wit-
ness in a murder trial in the State. He was traced
and interviewed informally by Gardaí. Informa-
tion received from that interview was conveyed
to the Inquiry in a letter dated 30 September 2003.
Garda inquiries are continuing”. (Barron report,
p age 73).
Some members of the Justice for the Forgot-
ten believe that this is a reference to William
McClean and the reference to this man giving evi-
dence in a murder trial in 2000 adds weight to
the claim.
Coincidentally, the barrister who defended
Catherine Nevin in the murder trial, Patrick
McEntee, SC, was asked by the government to fol-
low up the investigation of Mr Justice Barron on
the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 1974. In
his report on this, which was published some
months ago, an entire chapter ahs been excised
from the published version and it is understood
this chapter deals in part with the role of William
McClean. Again, there is no suggestion that
William McClean had any culpability for the
bombings, indeed the reverse in that he may have
informed gardaí in advance of the imminence of
the bombings.
The fact that the Garda file on him was not
made available for the Catherine Nevin trial
may raise doubts in the minds of other courts that
a fair trial was denied. Had he been cross exam-
ined on the material that became available to Mr
September 2007
Justice Barron and later Patrick McEntee, the jury
might have taken a different view of the reliabil-
ity of his evidence.
In writing this we are making no insinuation
about William McClean. The fact that he has lived
openly here for decades suggests that he has noth-
ing to hide in relation to the Dublin and Mon-
aghan bombings.
He was born on 13 June 1951 at Ballinode,
Co.Monaghan. By 1974 he had two convictions
for criminal activity. He said in evidence at the
Catherine Nevin case that he first met her in late
1984 or early 1985 in the Red Cow Inn on the
Naas Rd, Dublin. He said they just got talking and
“it went from there”. He claimed to have had a
sexual relationship with her from around August
1986. At the time she was living in Green Park.
He claimed that later on Tom Nevin knew of his
relationship with Catherine Nevin. He said Tom
Nevin came into the bedroom one morning and
saw him and Catherine in bed. He simply asked
for keys of one of the flats. McClean says Cather-
ine Nevin replied they keys were on the kitchen
table and Tom Nevin simply closed the door. He
said Tom Nevin never raised the issue with him
subsequently. In a statement to gardaí he said the
relationship ended after a few months.
He said he arranged for the removal of the
Nevin’s furniture from Green Park to Jack White’s
in 1986 and attended the opening night and went
down “a good few times” afterwards, during
which he helped at the bar occasionally on an ex-
gratia basis. He said that after a break of a few
years he went down again to Jack White’s around
Christmas 1989 or early 1990. He was with his
then girlfriend at the time. They had a meal and
as he was going to the toilets at one stage Cather-
ine Nevin asked him for a contact phone num-
ber. He said he told her the only way he could be
contacted was at a pub, in which he drank, The
Irish House, in Harold’s Cross, Dublin.
He said that he got a call there some time after-
wards from Catherine Nevin who, at the time was
in St Vincent’s private hospital. She asked him
to visit her in the hospital, which he did. He said
she asked him if it would be possible to get
someone to kill her husband and she mentioned
a payoff or £20,000. He said he asked her why she
would do that and she replied: “I will get the insur-
ance money, the lot, everything”.
He said his response was “no fucking way” and
he got up and walked out.
Subsequently on St Patrick’s Day in 1993 he
called into Jack White’s and had a few drinks.
Asked if he had known Tom Nevin, he replied
“reasonably”.
He acknowledged that in statements to gar-
daí and in his evidence on depositions he never
made any reference to Catherine Nevin want-
ing to kill her husband to get the insurance
money.
Commentary:
* Would the jury have had a different view of
his reliability as a witness had they known of
the material concerning McClean in relation to
the Dublin and Monaghan bombings? The
judge in the Catherine Nevin case, the late Mella
Carroll, did examine the Garda files on
McClean, Jones and Heapes and held they were
not relevant – the Central Criminal Court did
likewise in connection with Catherine Nevins’s
appeal and found likewise. But the material
made available to Mr Justice Barron seems to
be new material and might therefore be rele-
vant.
* There is also the point about the risk that
Catherine Nevin was going to in asking William
McClean to murder her husband. Because he
had reasonable relations with Tom Nevin he
might well have contacted him and said what
was being propositioned.
* Why would Catherine Nevin have thought
William McClean would be in the business of
murdering somebody?
Conclusion:
Whether Catherine Nevin was involved in the
murder of her husband is not at issue in this analy-
sis. The issue is whether it was safe to convict her
on the evidence of these three witnesses.
* The evidence of John Jones was discredited by
his claim he knew no one in the IRA and had no
means of tipping off the IRA about his apprehen-
sions that Catherine Nevin might have been
attempting to set-up the organisation.
* The evidence of Gerry Heapes was discredit-
ed comprehensively by the ludicrous claims he
made about being directed by two pool hall
acquaintances, whom he knew only as Redser and
Macker or Mickser, on his dealings with Cather-
ine Nevin.
* The evidence of William McClean might
have been treated very differently by the jury had
it known of William McClean’s curious relations
with the gardaí and his involvement in the 1974
Dublin and Monaghan bombings (an involve-
ment which included no culpability for what hap-
pened then, indeed almost certainly quite the
reverse).
There are other dimensions to the case which
add to the doubts about the reliability of her con-
viction but because these arose from conversa-
tions with her, we are not at liberty to disclose
them now. π
27 Village
www.village.ie
 POLITICS
A nice little earner
Both Fianna Fáil and the Greens promised a reduction in the overall number of
ministers. Instead, the number of junior ministers has been increased yet again,
now seven more than Fianna Fáil promised. By Joe O’Malley
welve years ago Charlie McCreevy, then in opposition, suddenly dis-
T
covered the ‘Rainbow law’ of government, and was shocked. As he
explained, adapting Parkinson’s famous law for his own purpose,
“work expands to fill the number of Ministers of State available for
its completion”. The occasion was a Dáil debate on a bill to increase
the number of junior ministers from 15 to 17. And the legislation enabled
Democratic Left, in the form of Pat Rabbitte, to occupy a high-seat at the
Cabinet table. He became a super-junior minister in the newly-formed Rain-
bow coalition, led by John Bruton.
Of course the Rainbow government was not making a new law in 1995.
Instead Charlie McCreevy was simply giving a new name to an old Fianna
Fáil practise, one the party had operated for nearly twenty years, and very
successfully. Indeed in the three years between 1977 and 1980, when Char-
lie McCreevy was a newly elected backbencher, Fianna Fáil had managed
to double the number of junior ministers from seven to 15.
Nevertheless, by 1995, he felt no doubt greatly outraged by the Rainbow
government emulating Fianna Fáil’s example and creating new ministers
of state at will. And so he said: “I give this commitment on behalf of the
Fianna Fáil party, we will repeal this legislation when we return to office
after the next general election”. Of course Fianna Fáil didn’t do so on regain-
ing power in 1997.
Ten years later and with McCreevy banished to Brussels, Fianna Fáil went
one better or, more precisely, three better. In June, Bertie Ahern increased
the number of junior ministers from 17 to 20, partly to facilitate the Greens,
Village 28
www.village.ie
but largely to reward more of his own backbenchers with promotion.
Before the last election, however, the Greens had promised to reduce the
number of government ministers by one fifth and to cut the ministers of
state by a similar proportion. If fulfilled that would have meant 12, not 15
Cabinet ministers, and 14 not 17 junior ministers. Like Charlie McCreevy,
the Greens very quickly forgot all about downsizing government. The party’s
pre-election promise made in May was repudiated in June in the post-elec-
tion negotiations for power. It had to happen.
Maintaining the number of senior ministers helped to ensure there were
two places in the Cabinet for John Gormley and Eamon Ryan, while the
appointment of three additional junior ministers meant there was more room
to accommodate Trevor Sargent. A one fifth reduction in the number of jun-
ior ministers, as promised, became a one fifth increase, as later delivered.
Since 1977, the quota of junior ministers has been raised four times. On
each occasion, save 1977, the government and opposition responses to the
appointment of extra ministers of state have been wholly predictable. The
political script never varies from either side, whether delivered in 1980, 1995,
or 2007.
For whoever is in power always claims that, because the business of gov-
ernment has grown in volume and complexity, more junior ministers are
needed to handle all the additional work. Likewise the opposition counter
claim invariably is that extra junior ministers are a waste of taxpayers’ money,
and really have more to do with political patronage than with delivering more
effective government.
September 2007
 As minister for children
Brian Lenihan was a
‘super-junior’ minister
who was allowed to
sit at Cabinet
Right: Tom Parlon as s
junior minister had
repsonsiblity for
delvering
decentralisation
The opposition parties are always outraged, at
least until the next time they are in a position to
form a government. And then they follow the
precedent set by their predecessor in office and
create even more ministers of state. The ritual
moral outrage of the opposition on this subject
is surpassed only by the cynicism of the govern-
ment. Both are engaged in acts of mutual
hypocrisy, and last month’s Dáil debate provid-
ed just the latest illustration.
A mere seven parliamentary secretaries served
all government ministers for the half century
from 1924 to 1977 – 12 ministers until 1937, and
later 15 ministers under the new Constitution.
By the early seventies, after Ireland joined the
European Community and took on extra inter-
national responsibilities, which includ-
ed hosting the presidency of the
Community for a six-month period, The ritual moral outrage of the
there was a very strong case for provid- opposition on the appointment
ing senior ministers with extra minis-
terial support. of additional junior ministers is
And so in 1977, parliamentary secre- surpassed only by the cynicism
taries were abolished and replaced by
ministers of state, with three addition-
al junior ministers appointed, bringing
the number to 10. The title change occurred
because, outside Ireland and Britain, a parliamen-
tary secretary is viewed as a very junior figure in
the hierarchy of government. And a minister of
state is generally accepted as a minister below
Cabinet rank.
Of course, because the Constitution restricts
the number of Cabinet ministers to 15, no more
appointments can be made without a change in
the Constitution. But because the number of jun-
ior ministers can be changed by legislation,
there is no limit on their number. Which helps
to explain why junior ministers have increased
and multiplied, a trebling from 7 to twenty in
just 30 years.
September 2007
Between the upper and lower tier of govern-
ment, there are 35 ministers of greater or less sta-
tus. These officeholders amount to 41 per cent
of the TDs of the three coalition parties, which
means that virtually every second person in
those parties is either in government, or attached
to it in some ministerial capacity. At such a rapid
rate of growth, the government backbencher is
in danger of extinction later this century.
The problem with 35 different ministers of
varying rank and importance is that too many are
simply in office, and too few are in power, while
all (both senior and junior) are greatly over-paid
by comparison with their peers elsewhere.
As of 1 June, a minister of state is paid €147,284,
which includes a Dáil salary, and represents
of government
about five times the average industrial wage. That
is broadly similar to the pay of a minister of state
at Westminster, but who serves a population
some fifteen times greater. And it is two thirds
more than the pay of a junior minister at the Stor-
mont assembly.
In recent years, three classes of junior min-
ister have become distinguishable. Class A is
the super-junior, who has a right of attendance
at Cabinet, such as Pat Rabbitte enjoyed in 1995,
Bobby Molloy in 1997, and Brian Lenihan (as Min-
ister for Children) in the last government. Like
the Victorian child, however, the super-junior
may be seen at the Cabinet table, but speaks only
when addressed.
The class B type junior has clearly defined
departmental responsibilities, which are based
in one department, such as the Office of Pub-
lic Works. Tom Parlon in the last government
had responsibility for delivering the ill-con-
ceived decentralisation policy.
And the class C type are those non-descript
ministers of state who do anything and every-
thing, whose title and precise departmental
responsibilities almost no one ever really
knows. In Education, no fewer than five junior
ministers are delegated responsibilities for
aspects of its work; four junior ministers are
assigned various duties in Health. Add in the
imminent decentralisation of many govern-
ment departments to various locations outside
Dublin and one can readily see the
impracticality of this multi-tasking
approach.
In the property market ‘location,
location, location’ are often cited as
the three most important factors in
house purchase. For location dictates
the ultimate resale value of the prop-
erty. Something similar applies in the
political market. Who gets a junior
ministerial post may have less to do with the
political abilities of the office holder, and more
with the minister’s capacity either to help win
an extra Dáil seat in a constituency, or to help
save a marginal one.
Can anything be done to check the rate of job
creation in the junior ministerial sector, paid
for by the taxpayer? Nothing, it might seem, but
a change in the Constitution to limit, as in the
case of Cabinet ministers, the number of jun-
ior ministers that may be appointed. And the
recent performance of the Greens on this issue
indicates the likelihood of that happening.
Joseph O’Malley was the political correspondent with
the Sunday Independent from 1973 to 2007.
29 Village
www.village.ie
 AGENDA

McAliskey extradition farce continues

Roisin McAliskey was arrested in 1996 in relation to a bombing in Germany, but the Crown
Prosectuion Service in Britain decided not to proceed with Germany’s extradition request as it
would be ‘unjust and oppressive’. Last year Germany reissued the request. By Eoin O’Broin

GETTY IMAGES
was released several weeks later.
The German authorities claimed to have a
fingerprint on a piece of cellophane but never
confirmed when or where this came into their
possession. They also claimed that they had a
witness who confirmed McAliskey’s presence
at a holiday park over 100km from Osnabruck.
The witness, Manfred Smidt subsequently
denied any such claim on German television.
Roisin’s has always maintained that she was
not in Germany at the time and could call
witnesses to this effect from her employment
and from her community.
Following a parliamentary question
submitted by the Labour MP Paul Goggins in
2002, it was revealed that in 2000 the British
Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) sought to
prosecute Roisin in Britain. Following an
Roisin McAliskey (far right), leaving court with her sister and mother earlier this year. During her pregnancy assessment of the aevidence the CPS
McAliskey was incarcerated and subject to 23 hour a day lock up and solitary confinement concluded that there was no basis to initiate a
trial and the case was dropped. This view was
n Monday 21 May 2007 Roisin McAliskey was classified as an Exceptionally High Risk endorsed by the British Attorney General and

O at her home in Co Tyrone when she was Category, subject to 23-hour lock up with only
served with a European Arrest Warrant in one hour per day solitary confinement on the
connection to a 1996 IRA bombing of the British prison roof as exercise time.
Solicitor General.
However, on 12 November 2006, a request
for the extradition of McAliskey was again
Army Base in Osnabruek, Germany. Her daughter, born in May 1997, was named submitted by the German authorities. It is
McAliskey was originally arrested by the RUC Loinnir, an old Irish name meaning ‘ray of light unclear why it took seven months for the
in November 1996. Four months pregnant, she that shines through a dark cloud’. Roisin chose warrant to be acted upon.
was questioned for a week in the Castlereagh the name while in her cell where the only At the hearing in Belfast on 21 May Judge
detention centre on matters unrelated to Tom Burgess granted bail of £2,500 (€3,600).
Germany. She was released, instantly There have been two additional hearings, on 6
rearrested, and served with an extradition British Home Secretary Jack Straw June and 22 August. A third is set for 5
request from the German authorities in halted the extradition proceedings September, at which the arguments of the CPS
relation to the Osnabruk bombing. The request and McAliskey’s defence team will be heard.
was secured during her seven day detention.
on the basis that it would be McAliskey’s legal team has yet to see all the
One of the detectives involved during her ‘unjust and oppressive’ relevant documentation regarding the case
time in Castlereagh was at the scene of a UDA they are still unclear as to why the extradition
attack on her family home in 1981 in which natural light came through the clouded glass of warrant was issued when all concerned
her mother was shot six times, an episode a small window which had been glued shut. believed the case to be closed.
believed to involve collusion between the UDA Suffering from post-natal depression and The date for the extradition case to start is set
and the security services. McAliskey is pursuing deep post-traumatic stress disorder Roisin spent for Tuesday 23 October 2007.
an case against the RUC in relation to her seven months at Maudsley hospital in London Whatever the motivations of either the
treatment at Castlereagh. while still in custody and subsequently received German authorities or the Crown Prosecution
McAliskey was held for 15 months in additional treatment in Ireland. Service, the trauma for Roisin McAliskey and
Holloway Womens Prison and Belmarsh Prison British Home Secretary Jack Straw halted the her family continues. That a case such as this is
for Men. She was subjected to more than 70 extradition proceedings on the basis that it even being heard is itself a travesty of justice.
strip searches. Despite her pregnancy she was would be “unjust and oppressive”, McAliskey More: www.friendsofroisinmcaliskey.info

Village 30 September 2007

www.village.ie
 NEWS

Review of Waste Policy needed

Local authorities are unfairly advantaged over private operators in the waste management sector as
a result of several shortcomings in government policy in the sector. By Malachy Browne

BRENDA FITZSIMONS / THE IRISH TIMES

potential conflict of interest exists in the

A waste market where local authorities may

act as both market players and regulators of
their competitors in the private sector. The reg-
ulatory anomaly has allowed a situation to arise
in one Dublin authority where the regulator
(who provides a service to the area) is accused of
attempting to ‘monopolise’ Dublin waste.
Panda Waste, a private waste collection serv-
ice, was licenced to collect domestic waste in
Dublin in 2001. In November 2006, Panda intro-
duced a wheelie bin service to customers in the
Dun Laoighre-Rathdown council at competi-
tive rates. Since then, 15,000 customers have
transferred their domestic waste service to
Panda.
Following the introduction of Panda’s wheel-
ie bin service, the Dublin Waste Management
Authority (DA), who also provide a waste collec-
tion service in Dublin, issued Panda a letter
stating that it was in breach of its licence and may
have the licence revoked. After several consul-
tations between the DA and solicitors repre-
senting Panda it was resolved that Panda was not
in breach of its licence.
The DA oversees waste management in the
four Dublin county council areas through Dublin
City Council.
In June 2007 the DA issued a public notice of
a proposed ‘variation’ to the Dublin Regional
Waste Management Plan 2005-2010 whereby
“the collection of household waste... will be
carried out by the local authorities… or the
local authorities will make arrangements by way
of a public tendering process”.
Panda described the DA proposal as an attempt
to gain “exclusive control over all household
waste in the entire Dublin area”. Eamon Waters,
Managing Director of Panda said that should the
proposal be approved, the DA may stipulate
that collected waste must be disposed at certain
depositories, a “restrictive tender”.
Waters said that while the DA is attempting
to gain greater control of Dublin waste via the
four county council areas under its contorl, all
other local councils in Ireland are privatising
their waste services, allowing external operators
to collect and direct waste. The Irish Waste
Management Association (IWMA) confirmed
The Dublin Waste Management Authority has proposed that waste collection be carried out solely
by local authorities to the potential disadvantage of private operators like Panda Waste
that the DA are “the first authority to engage the
IWMA on this particular issue of domestic
waste”.
The IWMA has called for a review of regula-
tory policy in the waste sector since 1999. In
August 2006 the government recognised the
IWMA view that a conflict of interest exists in
the waste market. However, nothing has been
done at the time of writing to legislate against
the regulatory issue.
The IWMA outlined further policy shortfalls
that advantage local authority operators over pri-
vate operators. Local Authority operators are not
required to have a licence to collect waste while
private operators are which, according to the
IWMA, results in an unfair regulation of the mar-
ket. In addition, waste services provided by a
Local Athority are exempt from VAT while pri-
vate operators must include 13.5 per cent VAT
on their services.
The VAT paid on waste that goes to landfill is
contributed to a public ‘Environment Fund’, as
does other tax such as the plastic bag levy. The
purpose of the fund is to encourage environmen-
tal initiatives and €40m of this fund has been
given to local authorities to invest in waste
management. However, some of this fund has
been used by local authorities for infrastructure
that has given them a competitive edge over pri-
vate operators – a situation the IWMA deems
“unfair advantage” vis a vis private competitors.
Nothing from the Environmental Fund is given
to private operators.
Ireland has EU obligations in waste manage-
ment, and may face millions of Euro in fines if
the landfill objective is not met. A report by the
Environmental Protection Agency said that 63
per cent of waste went to to landfill in 2005. The
Forfás report 2006 says that Ireland’s “heavy
reliance on landfill... is mainly due to the limit-
ed progress being made in delivering infrastruc-
ture”.
While the National Development Plan (NDP)
2000 - 2006 proposed that much investment in
waste infrastructure be conducted by Public
Private Partnership, most investment to date has
been provided by the private sector. The NDP
2007 expects this trend to continue.The IWMA
criticises the present situation whereby private
investment generates taxes, money that in turn
advantages local authorities over private oper-
ators, who are relied upon to put further invest-
ment into the sector.
Read more on Dublin Waste at www.village.ie

Village 32 September 2007

www.village.ie
   

      

  
 

  

 
 TAX
Riding the tax reform wave
Pre-election proposals by all the political parties to reform stamp duty was about politics rather
than economics. By Sheilia Killian
n most elections a single issue grabs the media
I attention and becomes the rule along which
parties are measured. Sometimes it’s a social
issue or concerns the provision of government
services. This time round it was reform of stamp
duty on residential property.
The first indication that stamp duty would
become an election issue came on the 18 Septem-
ber 2006, when Michael McDowell said that the
government didn’t really need the revenue
from stamp duty, and that it was a burden on
what he called “the coping classes”. A few days
later the PDs highlighted the way rates of stamp
duty rose in thresholds rather than bands. This
meant that once the property price passed the
limit for a low rate of duty, the higher rate
applied to the full sale price, not just the excess
over that limit. For example, if a first time buyer
purchased a new house for €317,500 their stamp
duty bill was zero. But if they paid €317,501 the
stamp duty bill would jump from nil to over
€9,500. The PDs discussed introducing bands
rather than thresholds if re-elected.
The reaction of other political parties was
polite indifference from Fianna Fáil, and open
scorn from other parties at first. The Greens
called it “a disingenuous publicity stunt”, Fine
Gael “kite flying”, and Pat Rabbitte described it
as part of “the selfish agenda” of the PDs. Brian
Cowen, meanwhile, simply said he had no
intention of altering stamp duty.
The issue continued to simmer in the media.
Meanwhile the property market was cooling,
and estate agents attributed this in part to uncer-
tainty over the future of the tax.
It was November before Fine Gael said they
would introduce bands rather than thresholds
and raise the limit for first-time buyers to
€450,000. In April, Fine Gael and Labour brought
out their joint policy on stamp duty. The very
next day, Michael McDowell raised the stakes
with a promise to abolish residential stamp
duty for first time buyers.
Two weeks later, Fianna Fáil announced plans
to abolish stamp duty for first time buyers, and
to backdate the legislation to the end of March.
Around this time the Socialists said they too
would abolish stamp duty, and the Greens said
they would ease it for first time buyers and
Village 34
www.village.ie
older people trading down. Only Sinn Féin
steered clear. The situation was remarkable.
Almost all political parties, regardless of ideol-
ogy, were focusing their agendas on a bidding
war on residential stamp duty paid by first time
buyers, an issue hardly any voters rated as crit-
ical.
After the election, a largely unchanged govern-
ment introduced a hasty bill to eliminate stamp
duty for all first time buyers of residential prop-
erty. The bill was opposed by Fine Gael, Labour,
The idea of making tax reform a
major election issue was good, but
the choice of tax to reform was
extraordinary
the Socialist Party and Sinn Féin, and was signed
into law before the summer recess.
The idea of making tax reform a major elec-
tion issue was good, but the choice of tax to
reform was extraordinary. Taxes are usually
rated in terms of four maxims developed by the
father of economics, Adam Smith. These are
equality (or fairness), certainty, convenience of
payment and economy in collection. Stamp
duty scored very well on these scales. It was fair,
in so far as those who could afford the most
expensive property paid most. The liability was
ALAN BETSON / IRISH TIMES
certain. It was convenient to pay and didn’t
cost a lot to collect. It remained one of our more
progressive taxes, paid by a very small percent-
age of the middle class population each year. The
only aspects that seemed unfair were the use of
thresholds rather than bands, and an open loop-
hole for developers, who could legally avoid pay-
ing stamp duty on property they developed as
long as they leased rather than purchased it.
However, tax is not just about economics.
Since Ireland is heavily dependent on foreign
direct investment, they choose a tax that does
not affect multinational firms. And they want
something visible, unlike VAT which is hidden,
or PAYE which is deducted painlessly. It was a vic-
tory of politics over economics.
Finally, the fact that the legislation was
brought in after the election by a government
almost identical to that which had resisted such
a change for ten years is difficult to explain in
economic terms. The loophole used by develop-
ers was not closed. Banding was not introduced.
Perhaps the last word should be left to Minister
for Finance, Brian Cowen while still opposed to
stamp duty changes, said of opposition propos-
als: “If this is an example of how policy is going
to be formulated in a sophisticated economy like
Ireland's, God help us”.
Sheila Killian lectures at the Kemmy Business School, Uni-
versity of Limerick, and is chair of Soweto Connection,
www.sowetoconnection.org
September 2007
 Great Special Offers
available on Golf, Spa & Leisure, City,
Country/Coastal and last minute breaks

September 2007 35 Village

www.village.ie
 GREECE
U.S.A.
Fires ‘a European problem’
Bush told to avoid rift
European
President Bush and Federal Commission
Reserve head Ben Bernanke president Jose
each unveiled plans to ease Manuel Barroso
economic problems caused by toured fire damaged
the housing slump. Bush areas in southern
announced measures to help Greece by helicopter,
homeowners amid the and promised aid to relieve areas where 64
subprime loan crisis. Bernanke hinted that rates may people died and an estimated 190,000
be cut as the Fed seeks to “promote general hectares of mostly forest and farmland were
financial stability”. Meanwhile senators urged Bush destroyed. “The Greek problem is a European
to avoid a battle over the next attorney general by problem,” Barroso said. In Loreto, Italy, the
picking a unifying nominee to heal a justice Catholic Church declared Sunday 2 September
department reeling from accusations of playing “Save Creation Day” as Pope Benedict, in front
politics following the resignation of Alberto of about 500,000 young people, called for
Gonzales, who will step down on 17 September. “courageous decisions” to safeguard creation.

VENEZUELA
IRAQ
Chavez frees 27 Colombians
Venezuela pardoned Bush stops off
and freed 27 President Bush made an
Colombians arrested unannounced visit ahead
three years ago for of his visit to Australia for
plotting against an Asian economic
President Hugo Chavez. summit. Bush used the visit
Chavez said he hoped to argue that the build-up
this would help ease of US troops is helping to stabilise Iraq. Two British
tensions between Colombia’s government, right-wing generals criticised US post-invasion policy. Maj Gen
paramilitaries and Marxist guerrillas. He is mediating Tim Cross, the most senior UK officer for post-war
between the Bogota government and the left-wing planning, said US policy was “fatally flawed” and
Farc, hoping to secure the release of hostages by Farc retired Gen Sir Mike Jackson, army chief during the
in exchange for rebels held by the authorities. After invasion, said US policy was “intellectually
earlier talks with President Alvaro Uribe, Chavez said bankrupt”. A group of Iraqi politicians spent the
he would invite Farc leaders to Caracas. summer plotting a parliamentary coup to oust
prime minister Nouri al-Maliki. Violence killed 1,773
civilians in August - up 7 per cent on July, according
to Iraq government data. Iraqbodycount.org figures
were at least 2,600.
Why does this map look strange?

Dr Arno Peters (1916-2002) SUDAN

Creator of the Peters Projection UN warns of humanitarian crisis
The Peters World Map shows all countries the A UN official warned
same size in relation to each other. This is that the humanitarian
situation is worsening
known as an Equal Area projection. Most world in Sudan’s war-ravaged
map projections are not equal area; they exaggerate scale IR
Darfur region, with
towards the poles, so direct comparisons between countries more people being 3,
cannot be made. Countries in high latitudes look much larger displaced, increased P
security risks to aid workers and potentially A
than they are in relation to equatorial countries. The Peters map rising famine rates. UN deputy emergency co
not only preserves equal area but also retains a rectangular grid, relief coordinator Margareta Wahlström said th
so that north always points straight up, as on the globe. In order that out of a total population in Darfur of 6.4 en
to preserve these qualities, the shapes of the landmasses million, 2.2 million are displaced while four ta
million are dependent on humanitarian n
become distorted. On the Peters map, shapes are stretched assistance. In a report ahead of his visit on sa
across the equator and squashed towards the poles. Shapes are Monday 3 September, UN chief Ban Ki-Moon its
correct only at 45 degrees north and south. The Peters Map also urgently appealed to member states to make U
military contributions to the joint UN-AU sa
shows each continent in a distinctive colour, eg green for the
Darfur operation. He will also visit Chad and n
Americas, yellow for Africa. Short of an actual globe, the Peters Libya. U
Map provides the most appropriate view of the world for ea
international comparisons. w
to

EDITED BY DAVID SHANKS

Village 36 September 2007

www.village.ie
 PALESTINE
Thousands oppose Hamas
Thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza
Strip took part in protests against the
territory’s Hamas rulers, despite a ban
on public gatherings. About 20 people
were injured in clashes after outdoor
prayers were organised that turned
into marches in main towns. The
Israeli military said a tank fired at three Palestinian children who
were killed in Gaza because troops mistook them for militants.
The children were playing. In Lebanon, 20 Islamist militants
were killed by troops as they tried to flee a besieged Palestinian
refugee camp, the army said. Two soldiers also died in one of
the deadliest clashes since fighting began in May. considering
flood aid.

JAPAN
N Korea agrees on nuclear arms
North Korea claimed the
US had agreed to remove
it from a list of countries
that support terrorism.
This followed an
agreement that
Pyongyang would disable
all its nuclear facilities by
the end of this year,
according to Washington’s chief negotiator,
Christopher Hill. A deal promising aid and
diplomatic benefits from the US, China,
British Russia, Japan and South Korea if North Korea
Maj Gen disables its nuclear programme had already
st-war been agreed. The US state department said
and earlier Washington was ready to talk to North
ng the Korea about a “significant” food aid package
for victims of the recent devastating floods.
the Japan is also considering flood aid.
ust
d 1,773 AFGHANISTAN
cording
figures 40 Taliban killed
At least 40 suspected
Taliban rebels were
killed in clashes
around Afghanistan,
according to the US-
led coalition. In an
upsurge in fighting over the past year more
than 3,000 people have been killed in 2007.
Meanwhile President Hamid Karzai criticised
leading Western nations for their failure to
cooperate in tackling soaring opium
IRAN production in the country. To neighbouring
3,000 centrifuges target reached PAPUA NEW GUINEA Pakistan, former prime minister Benazir
AIDS victims ‘buried alive’ Bhutto sent a message that she would
President Mahmoud return “very soon”, despite having reached
y Ahmadinejad said his Claims by an HIV-
y no power-sharing deal with the military
country now had more positive woman that dictator, Gen Pervez Musharraf. In Karachi, a
id than 3,000 centrifuges people with AIDS
6.4 bridge recently opened by Musharraf,
enriching uranium - a were buried alive by collapsed killing four people.
r target it set itself in its relatives have been
nuclear programme. He met with disbelief by
n said Iran would continue church and health
oon its nuclear drive, despite agencies. Margaret Marabe told PNG’s Post-
ake UN resolutions against it. UN officials have Courier she had seen three people with
said 3,000 centrifuges would be the point of HIV/AIDS buried alive by family members in
ALL IMAGES BY GETTY/ AFP GETTY

d no return in an industrial programme. The
UN’s IAEA head Mohamed Elbaradei said
earlier a cooperation deal struck last month
with Iran may be its last chance Tehran had
to come clean about its atomic programme.
the Tari region of the Southern Highlands
this year. “When they got very sick and
people could not look after them, they
buried them,” she said. Marabe works with
HIV-positive people and called for
government and other agencies to do more
to raise awareness about the disease and
help relatives cope with sick family members.

September 2007 37 Village

www.village.ie
 FOREIGN
The old city of
Sana’a where
ground water
reserves will be
depleted by 2010.
With the
unification of
North and South
Yemen in 1990 the
population of the
city has
dramatically
increased

Yemen: oil and water running out

Divisions among Islamic sects and poverty characterise a forgotten
Arabian State. By Mairead Ryan
ntering the old city of Sana’a through of geometric designs, executed in lighter tones traders, all men, wear a length of cloth wrapped

E
Bab al-Yemen, there is the familiar mish-
mash of alleyways lined with small
shops. All around tall, narrow, stone and
brick buildings of a salmon pink hue.
Elaborate decorative elements, with a variety
of white gypsum. The lower stories of the
houses are darker, built with basalt stone slabs.
Window lunettes of alabaster filled with
coloured glass complement the masonry work
for which Yemeni builders are famous. The
around their waists into which are woven pat-
terns similar to those seen in the architecture.
A sheathed janbiyya is held centre-waist by a
wide brocaded belt.
Along with local cloth from the Tihamah,

Village 38 September 2007

www.village.ie
coastal plains to the west, the large textile mar-
ket has silks from India and synthetic’s from
China . We buy saffron and frankincense in the
spice souk. Every afternoon the men of Yemen
and many women, chew qat, gathering an
unsightly green mess in the corner of the
mouth to absorb the mild stimulant. Taxi driv-
ers chew as they drive around the chaotic traf-
fic.
A young Dutchman working in development
aid is pessimistic about the country’s future.
“They will run out of oil in 15 years, their water
supply is precarious”.
What about the new Marib Dam financed by
the president of the United Arab Emirates, and
desalination projects in the South?
“There is no way of channelling water up to
these heights and many of the water channels
are in a bad state of repair,”he says.
“Much of the land is being used to grow qat
which consumes a lot of water,” he continues.
The population of Yemen is around 21 million
with an estimated 10 million living abroad.
Since North and South Yemen united in 1990,
the population of Sana’a has increased dramat-
ically and it is estimated that the ground water
reserves beneath Sana’a will be depleted by
2010.
A recent article in the Yemen Observer reports
on a large quantity of weapons and explosives
seized by government forces in Sana’a, believed
to be heading for the war in Sa’ada, Yemen’s
most Northern Province and the birthplace of
Zaydism, a Shi’a sect whose members constitute
one-third to one-half of the population of Yemen.
September 2007
The Ismaelis, another Shi’a sect are a minority
group of one percent, with the predominant
group being Orthodox or Sunni. In 1995, Zayi-
di’s attacked many of the shrines of the Ismaelis
dotted around the Haraz mountains, destroying
the six hundred year old grave of a holy man and
causing great tension between religious commu-
nities.
The country was formerly divided into two sep-
arate states the Peoples Democratic Republic of
Yemen in the South, supported exclusively by
Eastern Block countries, and the Yemen Arab
Republic (YAR) in the North financed by Saudi
In 1995, Zayidi’s attacked many of
the shrines of the Ismaelis dotted
around the Haraz mountains,
destroying the six hundred year
old grave of a holy man and caus-
ing great tension between religious
communities
Arabia and the West. Following many years of
political struggle unification was declared in
1990 and Ali Abdulla Salah president of the YAR
became President of a unified Yemen. Civil War
broke out in 1994, which cost thousands of lives
and millions of dollars. Ali Abdullah Salah con-
tinues to be President of the Republic of Yemen.
The white horse of the government part is invari-
ably coupled with images of the sun, emblem of
the Islamic Group who wants Sharia Law enact-
ed. Prior to the civil war, 10
per cent of the population
belonged to the Ba’athist
Party. Yemen’s apparent sup-
port of Iraq during the 1990-
1991 Gulf War had a
detrimental impact on the
level of Western aide and pic-
tures of Saddam Hussein con-
tinue to be displayed in many
shops and internet cafes.
Political stability is relative Sana’a, in Zafar further south, and in Najran
and tribal loyalties strong.
At 2,800 meters above sea
In 1995 some of the villages in was sent to defile the church in Sana’a, which
the Haraz mountains were
attacked by Zayidis, a Shi’a
sect whose members
constitute one-third to one-
half of the population of
Yemen
level and surrounded by mountains, Sana’a is
protected from the extremes of heat and
humidity found further south in Aden. The
mountains carved by deep wadi’s or river val-
leys are spectacular. Geologically the Yemeni
mountains were formed by the movement of
landmasses caused by the Rift Valley and were
originally attached to the Ethiopian High-
lands. The ancient inhabitants of Yemen had
an expertise in canal and dam building, which
enabled them to utilise the flash floods or
sayl and disperse the water over fields, prevent-
ing its loss into the desert sands.
The mountains are terraced with stone
walls, built to prevent erosion of the soil where
wheat, sorghum, maize, fenugreek, lentils
and coffee are grown. Donkeys are a useful
source of transport. In Hajarah a village in the
Haraz Mountains south- west of Sana’a, we
encounter nine-year-old Bilqis, named after the
Queen of Sab’a or Sheba. She is selling brocad-
ed belts, used to hold the janbiyya, which her
mother makes at home. She takes us on a tour
of her village and points out the ruins of a syn-
agogue. I ask if she learns English at school and
she tells me she has finished school and is
studying tourism. Her father is dead. She had
an older brother and a sister. Capable, endear-
ing and intelligent, she already contributes to
the family’s finances.
Surrounded by hibiscus, oleander, and gera-
nium we speak with the Ethiopian Ambassador
in the garden of the British Yemini Institute.
When asked about the problem of AIDS, he
acknowledges that it is considerable and says
that government and religious leaders are
encouraging education.
“Ethiopia has 700,000 orphans,” he says
despondently. He says qat chewing is a big
social problem in Yemen and amongst the
Muslim’s of Ethiopia who constitute almost
half of the population. Ethiopia was Chris-
tianized in the early centuries AD and invad-
ed Yemen at the behest of the Byzantine
Emperor who wanted to appropriate the lucra-
tive incense trade. Churches were built in
where the Judaised Himyarite King, Dhu-
Nuwas carried out a massacre of the Christian
population. When Christianity became a threat
to the pre–Islamic trade in Mekka a delegation
was achieved by spitting inside the sanctuary.
Along with Christianity, Ethiopia exported
qat and the coffee plant to Yemen. The initial
use of coffee was by Mystics who used it to
maintain a state of ecstatic wakefulness when
praying. π
39 Village
www.village.ie
 GAA
Kerry Gold: going for the double
Evanne Ní Chuilinn talks to Kerry half-back, Aidan O’Mahony about the
Kingdom’s hard-fought battle to retain the Sam Maguire and win an
elusive double not acheieved since Cork did it in 1989 and 1990.
unique All Ireland Final awaits Gaelic
A Football fans on 16 September, and
although it will be an all Munster affair,
the fixture hasn’t fallen short in whetting the
appetite of a sports mad nation. This Sep-
tember will mark the first time ever that
Cork and Kerry have met on the last day of the
GAA season, and for Kerry centre-back, Aidan
O’Mahony, growing up on the border between
the two counties has added more than a
smidgen of spice to the contest.
“The rivalry between Cork and Kerry would-
n’t be bitter but it’s massive. It goes way back
the years, and for me, coming from the bor-
der it really is huge. You’d have a few Cork peo-
ple living in my town, Rathmore, and then
Ballydesmond would be split aswell, half
Cork, half Kerry. The craic is mighty though!
We’d be delighted with the bit of banter, sure
you can’t beat that kind of build up to an All
Ireland”.
And the pre-match hype to this year’s final
hasn’t been found wanting.
“Nothing could have prepared us for the last
day against Dublin. I’m playing Senior Inter-
county football with Kerry since 2004, but no
amount of experience on or off the field could
have equipped you for that blue Hill.
“The roar of the crowd all over Croke Park
was ferocious, and to be honest, towards the
end of the game Dublin’s support nearly
drove them over the line. I actually think we
fell under the radar that day, because a lot of
people wrote us off after the Monaghan game,
and the Dubs were handed the favourites
tag.”
And there was every reason to favour the
Dubs. Paul Caffrey’s side had orchestrated a
comfortable three point win over a much
fancied Derry side, while Kerry needed a late
winner to avoid the draw against Séamus
McEneaney’s charges. Kerry manager Pat
O’Shea was explicitly content with the result
against Monaghan. After all, a Championship
win was a Championship win, and finally,
after a six week break, his players had a com-
Village 40
www.village.ie
petitive game under their belts.
But O’Mahony concedes that there was
more than a little bit of luck involved on the
day.
“We were very fortunate to come away
with that win. We knew it’d be a tough game,
but we just didn’t reach the right form on the
day. Sure, we hadn’t played in six weeks, but
credit has to be given to Monaghan. They
played clever football, they dropped an extra
man back, and we found it very difficult to
break down that kind of defence. I suppose our
experience shone through in the finish, and
just about got us over the line.”
This year, the Kingdom has the opportuni-
‘Nothing could have prepared
us for the last day against
Dublin... no amount of
experiemce could have
equipped you for that blue Hill...
and Dublin’s support nearly
drove them over the line’
ty to put back to back titles together, a feat not
achieved since Cork produced the goods in 1989
and 1990. Given that the great teams of recent
years, Armagh in 2003, and the Kerry team of
2005, couldn’t complete the elusive double, tak-
ing the Sam Maguire back to Killarney on Mon-
day 17 September would be a considerable
accomplishment.
“I’m trying not to think about the two-in-a-
row to be honest, but it’s like the elephant in
a small room! What really adds to the occasion
is that it’s Cork we have to get passed – they
were the last team to do it, so we’ll be giving
it full throttle to inherit that honour!”
So what of the opposition? Cork, under Billy
Morgan, have illustrated that they have scoring
prowess aplenty, and wearing the green and
gold number six jersey, means that O’Mahony
will be right in the thick of the action.
“In the Munster Final, we only beat them
by two points, and last year they beat us, so
we’re under no illusions as to the seriousness
of this match. Watching the Meath game
now the last day, they looked very physical up
front.
“They brought Cussen out, and it worked
to their advantage. People forget that there’s
more than James Masters in the forwards, and
they showed that against Meath. Daniel
Goulding came on, and they had three or four
big men around the middle.
“Cork are a very good running team, and
they’ll be very confident having beaten
Meath, who were fancied to go all the way this
year.”
The confidence to go all the way is palpa-
ble down in Kerry, and it’s not exactly sparse
in Cork either. How the teams deal with the
occasion will, as always, be crucial. Both sides
are capable of a win, but it may come down
to who can play the more controlled, focused
football for longest. There’s always the sug-
gestion though, that nerves are more difficult
to be in command of than any football on the
third Sunday in September.
“The nerves do start to creep in when
you’re behind the Garda escort, driving
through the streets of Dublin, getting closer
and closer to Croke Park. You always think in
the morning that you’ll be grand, but it’s a dif-
ferent story in that dressing room before the
match. You can hear the crowd from in there,
and when you finally take a walk around
the field it really hits home.”
So how will Aidan O’Mahony keep a reign
on his anxiety?
“Well, when you get to an All Ireland Final,
you want to take advantage of it. My motiva-
tion this year is the double, and I know this
is a cliché, but it’s all on the day. We won’t be
taking anything for granted, we have a job to
do, and hopefully we’ll get the right result.
“The only sure thing is that myself and Tom
O’Sullivan will have to move out of Rath-
more altogether if we lose!”
September 2007
 Aidan O’Mahony playing
in the All-Ireland Football
Final last year, where
they beat Mayo to win
the Sam Maguire.
© INPHO

September 2007 41 Village

www.village.ie
 THE
BIGGER
PICTURE

Village 42 September 2007

www.village.ie
 Ramadan
Iraqi customers buy nuts ahead of the holy month of Ramadan on Al-Karada street in central Baghdad, 03 September 2007. Islam's
holy month of Ramadan will begin on September 12 or 13 in the Middle East depending on the sighting of the crescent moon.
The lunar month, during which able-bodied Muslims are expected to abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from sun-
rise to sunset, begins each year when religious authorities in each country are able to observe the new moon. Ramadan is derived
from an Arabic word for intense heat and scorched ground nd it is the ninth month of the Islamic (Hijri) calendar, established
in the year 638 CE.

September 2007 43 Village

www.village.ie
 Advertising Feature - Continuing Education
Music and Dance
Following on from our two previous education advertorials, this month’s Village takes a look at some exciting
courses in the areas of music and dance
As children and teenagers return to school at
this time of year, parents are thinking of more
than points and college placements. Generally,
a “balanced” education that addresses the arts
as well as core subjects is considered more
beneficial to young people. In the context of
musical education, great benefit in terms of
appreciation, as well as the enjoyment of play-
ing and performing, is derived from playing and
learning in a supportive, helpful environment.
BELLYDANCE IRELAND
Bellydance is a total body workout that
improves muscle tone, strengthens the pelvic
floor, and increases both flexibility and strength
in the lower back and other key areas. The
nature of this art-form means that it does not
interfere with other exercise plans or gym
work, and it is suitable for women of all ages,
shapes and sizes.
“It is the oldest extant form of dance on record,”
Village 44
www.village.ie
says Valerie, Director of Bellydance Ireland – her-
self a full-time top international performer as
well as a fully qualified dance teacher. She
explains that the name ‘bellydance’ is some-
thing of a misnomer – ‘The original word ‘bal-
adi’ means ‘the place I live, the place I come
from’”. Professionals refer to it as Egyptian
Dance or Oriental Dance (which includes Turk-
ish, etc.). Bellydance is great fun and helps
women achieve and maintain fitness, in a
friendly, relaxed atmosphere.
JAZZ AT NEWPARK
The Bachelor of Arts in Jazz Performance (BAJP)
at Newpark Music Centre is the first non-clas-
sical undergraduate music performance course
in Ireland. The course covers a wide range of
musical techniques including performance,
instrumental technique, improvisation, com-
position, computer music, aural training,
arranging and pedagogical studies. The BAJP
covers many different areas and gives the par-
ticipants the skills necessary to operate in a
wide area of contemporary music, not just
jazz. All of the subjects in the course are geared
towards training young musicians to the high-
est international standards and to be fully
equipped to work in the world of contemporary
music.
Newpark’s Jazz Department is staffed by the
finest jazz performers and teachers on the
Irish jazz scene and is also an affiliate school
of the renowned Berklee College of Music in
Boston, the biggest music school in the world
and a pioneer in jazz education techniques.
Newpark is also a founder member of the
International Association of Schools of Jazz, and
these contacts allow Newpark to give BAJP
students access to masterclasses by internation-
ally recognized teachers and performers and
exposure to the latest techniques in the study
of jazz performance.
September 2007
ETC CONSULT
Many of this year’s Leaving Cert stu-
dents are either starting college or tak-
ing time off to plan their next move.
Some might be confused by the range of
options on offer. Fortunately, consultan-
cies such as ETC can offer expert guid-
ance at this time to second level students
from Junior Certificate upwards and
adults of all ages.
Parents find the service provided of enor-
mous benefit to their children in helping
them decide what careers to pursue;
what courses to choose at third level,
whether to do a Post Leaving Certificate
Course, repeat the Leaving Certificate or
take a year out.
Adults who are in jobs that they no
longer find interesting can also benefit
from the service.
The service is based on the philosophy
that if one wants to be competent and
happy in a job one needs to be interest-
ed in it, be able to do it. ETC Consult gives
September 2007
clients an Occupational Interest Invento-
ry to help them discover what they are
likely to get a kick out of; a series of Apti-
tude Tests to identify their aptitudes
and a Personality Inventory to identify
their personality type, followed by a
comprehensive discussion on his or her
background – education, training, recre-
ational pursuits, skills, knowledge, hob-
bies, experience, circumstances and
aspirations.
Based on all of this data ETC Consult pro-
vides a comprehensive report ending
with a short list of five to eight careers.
ETC Consult provides a similar service to
companies as well. It also trains people
in companies how to use psychometric
tests and objective, competence-based
interviewing and is the sole distributor
of tests for publishers of international
standing.
For more information or to arrange an appoint-
ment please phone 01 478 1884 or visit www.etc-
consult.com
45 Village
www.village.ie
 Advertising Feature - Continuing Education

WALTONS NEW SCHOOL OF MUSIC

Waltons New School was founded in 1994 as a comprehensive music centre, with
equal emphasis on providing music tuition of a high standard and on taking innova-
tive approaches to music education. With a current faculty of 55 instrumental, voice
and theory/musicianship teachers, the school provides tuition in the broadest range
of instruments and styles of any music school in the country. Each term they offer
tuition to over 1,300 children and adults of all ages, skill levels and economic and cul-
tural backgrounds.
Other events at the school include: The Waltons World Masters series, bringing a
number of important jazz and world music artists to the National Concert Hall for
concerts, master classes and workshops. Past ‘masters’ include Bobby McFerrin,
Wayne Shorter, Dianne Reeves, Branford Marsalis, Trilok Gurtu and the Buena Vista
Social Club.
A range of music/cultural outreach workshops in subjects ranging from Capoeira to Irish
music An ‘In-School Music Programme’ assigning teachers to local primary
schools for ten-week ‘residencies’. Six years of ‘weekend workshops’ on the Leaving Cer-
tificate Music syllabus, run at UCD, Trinity College, Dublin, UCC, UCG and other ven-
ues in Limerick, Waterford, Mullingar, Portlaoise, Athlone and Kilkenny to a combined
audience of well over 3,500 secondary school students and 200 teachers.

For more information, please contact:

Bellydance Ireland, 01 – 296 3856, see www.bellydanceireland.com for current class schedule. New-
park Music Centre, Nigel Flegg, Director 01 288 3740 / 01 288 3989, www.newparkmusic.com. Wal-
tons New School of Music 01 478 1884 www.newschool.ie.

Village 46 September 2007

www.village.ie
 Bellydancing: one of oldest
dances in world
Unlike a lot of other physical activities
Bellydancing is a hobby that can be enjoyed
by all ages from teens learning to shake
their hips like popstar Sahkira, to older
people looking to improve their flexibility.
Bellydancing is one of the oldest social
dances in history and originates from the
Middle East and is considered an art form.
As an exercise it is a great way to tone the
stomach and improve flexibility. As it tones
the core muscles of the torso it can also
improve posture. A new craze has begun in
the States for pre-natal bellydancing classes,
because of its benefits to stomach muscles.
And you may even learn a few new moves
you can strut on the dancefloor.

September 2007 47 Village

www.village.ie
 Science+Nature Media
Nature Éanna Ní Lamhna
Mosquitoes - Nothing to do with Global Warming
Éanna Ní Lamhna dispels the myth that there are no
mosquitoes in Ireland
hy do people think we have no mosqui-
W toes in Ireland? Why am I being inun-
dated at present with emails from
incredulous people who have been told by
their doctor or pharmacist that the big itchy
lumps on their ankles are caused by mosqui-
toes? Why shouldn’t we have mosquitoes
here – it’s wet enough surely. The disbelief
it would seem is caused by the fact that our
mosquitoes do not carry malaria and people
are amazed that we can have one without the
other. They should be grateful – it was not
always so.
Mosquitoes are insects that need still water
in which to lay their eggs. Areas of fresh
water marshes and swamps are their
favourite habitat.
The female mosquito requires a feed of
blood before she can lay her eggs and it is in
search of this that she seeks out an unguard-
ed ankle or elbow as dusk falls. Her piercing
blood-sucking proboscis sticks out from the
front of her head and she brings it into play
as she lands so imperceptibly on the exposed
skin. She stabs the skin with her needle-
sharp mandible and immediately insects a
pain-killer and an anticoagulant so that she
can extract her feed of blood unnoticed. And
she’s full and gone before the body reacts to
these inserted liquids by itching and swelling
up.
What she doesn’t insert - in these lati-
tudes at least - is a dose of malaria, or indeed
yellow fever, filaria, dengue, or brain fever,
all of which are mos-
quito-borne diseases
in other parts of the
world. So we
shouldn’t moan about a
mere itchy bite. Mind
you malaria
was once rife
in this
country.The weather was
warmer in mediaeval
times and the malaria-
Village 48
www.village.ie
causing Plasmodium was able to over-winter
here. As a consequence bites from parasite-
carrying mosquitoes caused a dis-
ease known then as the ague,
which was often fatal. In fact
one of the last per-
sons of note in
these islands to
die of this dis-
ease was one
O l i v e r
Cromwell
who died on 3
Sept 1658 of
recurring
malarial fever.
Quite possibly
he picked this up on his
Irish campaigns – revenge
for Drogheda and Wexford!
The Irish climate changed after that and we
entered a Little Ice Age from the end of the
1600’s to the middle of the 1800’s and while
it was not cold enough to wipe out the mos-
quitoes it did mean an end to the malaria-
causing Plasmodium. Marshes and swamps
were drained with the increasing demand for
agricultural land by a rising population so the
mosquitoes themselves had less habitat. But
nonetheless we still have eighteen species of
mosquito here, four of which are capable of
carrying malaria if given half a chance.
This wet summer has meant that many gar-
dens became havens for breeding mosqui-
toes. Flower pots trays, buckets, jars left in
the garden all quickly became filled with
rainwater and the mosquitoes were at their
grannies! The good weather at the end of
August lured residents on to their patios,
verandas and decking and the newly emerg-
ing mosquitoes now had their feed of blood
in their sights. So, do a clear up job on your
garden and get rid of all that standing water
and at least your blood sacrifice will not go
towards further generations of the biting
pests.
Walks Tony Quinn
Rathmullan, Co. Donegal
WALK IN THE EARLS’ FOOTSTEPS on the
Fanad Peninsula. Four Hundred years ago,
Hugh O’Neill of Tyrone and Rory O’Donnell
of Tyrconnell with elite soldiers and scholars
departed to the continent from Portnamur-
ry. Nearby, Rathmullan Wood is a National
Nature Reeserve with old beech trees, sessile
oak and willow in this haunt of herons and
merlin. The ruined abbey was fortified in
Scottish style during the Ulster plantations.
The abbey graveyard reflects maritime her-
itage. A headstone remembers William Pack-
enham, captain of the ‘Saldanha’, wrecked
in Lough Swilly in 1811. From the Ferry Gate
near the harbour, walk on a woodland path
above the extensive strand at Kinnegar. A
stome cist and ringed pin found there sugges
a Viking burial site. Relish scenic views over
Swilly, and the Inishowen mountains beck-
oning for longer hikes. Beside the path, the
Rooty Brae is noted for heliotrope wiht
rhubarb-like leaves and almond aromas. To
return to the harbour, reverse steps on the
woodland path or, depending on tides, ram-
ble on the strand.
Beside the harbour, the Battery Fort was
built in 1810 as a defence against a Frennch
invasion. The fort is now a heritage centre
recalling a fateful event marking a French
invasion. The fort is now a heritage centre
recalling a fateful event marking the end of
the old Gaelic order: the Flight of the Earls in
september 1607, from Swilly’s shores.
More: Walking Donegal, Rathmullan guide;
flightoftheearls.ie; map OS Discovery no 2; access
from Letterkenny by R247 ferry from Buncrana
September 2007
 Media

Merlin (Meirliuin) Birds Niall Hatch

Falco columbaruis

he smallest of Ireland’s three breeding The male is a beautiful blue-grey on the

T falcon species, the Merlin is quite a

scarce bird in Ireland, though it is found
in all counties. Mainly breeding in upland
areas on heather moors and in the vicinity of
conifer plantations, in the winter many move
to coastal lowlands, which is where they are
most often encountered.
Merlins are strictly carnivorous, mainly
feeding on small birds such as Meadow Pipits
and Skylarks. Occasionally larger birds and
small mammals such as mice and bats will
also be taken, along with large moths and
beetles. Males are about 25cm in length; as
with most birds of prey, the female is
somewhat larger, averaging 30cm.
back and crown, with a dark-streaked rusty
breast, face and neck and black outer wings
and tail-tip. The female is much browner and
more mottled overall, with a thickly barred
tail.
Traditionally nesting amongst heather o-n
the ground, recently some Merlins have
begun to nest instead in trees, using the old
nests of crows; as is the case with all falcons,
they never build a nest themselves.
If you would like to learn more about Ireland’s
birds, visit BirdWatch Ireland’s newly
redesigned website at
www.birdwatchireland.ie

Trees John McLoughlin, The Tree Council of Ireland Aspen

Crann Creathach
spen is our only native poplar; all others make storage boxes for cheese and butter as Populus Tremula

A are assumed to be introduced although

there is still some debate about black
poplar. Aspen thrives in wet fertile places and
is happiest near rivers and lakes. In common
with other poplars the leaves of aspen are
round in shape. Its leaves make a distinctive
sound as they quiver on their have long stems.
The leaves have a sweet smell in spring.
Aspen seed is borne in catkins. However,
aspen also spreads vegetatively by suckers
i.e. new shoots which arise from its roots. It
is easiest to propagate aspen by cutting a
root and transplanting the resultant sucker.
Beware! the suckers may spread too far too
fast…. choose aspen only if you do not fear
an invasion! It has been reliably reported
that a single aspen in South Wales produced
more than 1,000 stems covering an area
larger than a football pitch. Aspen may be
coppiced. This involves the cutting of trees
to ground level thus initiating a vigorous re-
growth. Coppicing is an ideal method of
producing fast growing crops for fuel-
wood.
Aspen timber is use for making matches as
its low flammability makes it safer than
other timbers. Traditionally it was used to
the timber did not taint the produce. There
are few townlands named after the aspen,
possibly indicating its scarcity in earlier
times. However, Glencree in Co. Wicklow
derives from the Irish Gleann Crithigh, the
‘valley of the aspen’. The tree can reach a
height of 20 metres.
On Thursday, 11 October 2007, all 450,000
primary school children will leave their
school bags at home and spend the day
learning about trees in a fun and relaxed
environment. This year the tree chosen for
‘Tree Day’ is the aspen. During this the
eleventh annual Tree Day, more than
100,000 children will join in guided wood-
land walks at over 120 locations.
The aim of Tree Day is to create a learning
experience which will enthuse and enlight-
en all children by making them aware of
the magic, the beauty and the importance
of trees. It will ensure that each child who
passes through the primary school curricu-
lum will have eight full days exposure to
trees and will gain knowledge, understand-
ing and an appreciation of trees and the
wider environment, before progressing to
secondary school.

September 2007 49 Village

www.village.ie
 BIRDS WALKS PLANTS SPACE TECHNOLOGY GADGETS COMMUNICATIONS

Science+Nature
© ESO

Village 50 September 2007

www.village.ie
 Comet-like tail discovered
behind star
A star which has been observed for over 400 years shocked the scientific
world when a tail was discovered trailing behind the star, writes Leo
Enright
stronomers have astonished themselves
A by discovering something totally unex-
pected. Just when they thought there
was nothing new to be learned about a star
that has been observed for more than four
centuries by professionals and amateurs
alike, Mira – a common-or-garden variable
star – has gone and flummoxed everyone.
It is a dramatic reminder that Hamlet was
right when he declared: “There are more
things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are
dreamt of in your philosophy”.
Mira is one of the best studied stars in the
sky. Discovered in 1596 by the great Italian
physician Fabricius, it was the first variable
star ever recorded, with an 11 month cycle
that sees it grow in brightness and then fade
away. For this reason it was named
“Mira”, meaning “marvelous”, by the 17th
Century Polish astronomer Hevelius. It even-
tually became the model for an entire class
of stars known as the “Mira variables”.
But despite centuries of accumulated obser-
vations nobody had ever noticed that there
was an enormous comet-like tail trailing
behind the star. This is probably because
Mira’s brilliant tail does not register at all in
visible light, only in the ultraviolet range of
the spectrum, which is how it was spotted by
the American astronomy satellite Galex, the
Galaxy Evolution Explorer.
“I was shocked when I first saw this com-
pletely unexpected humongous tail trailing
behind a well-known star” said Galex’s chief
scientist, Dr Christopher Martin of the Cali-
fornia Institute of Technology.
Our picture shows Mira racing through
September 2007
space very many times faster than a speeding
bullet (Mira is clocking 130 kilometers per sec-
ond, whereas a rifle bullet might reach one
kilometer per second). As it hurls along, it is
shedding material that will be recycled into
new stars, planets and possibly even into
life itself.
Mira is moving from left to right, and is
visible as the pinkish dot in the bulb shape to
the right of the image; it is traveling so fast
that it is creating a “bow shock” (as in the bow
of a ship), a build-up of hot gas forming ahead
of the star in the direction of its motion.
This heated hydrogen gas then flows
around behind the star, forming a
complicated wake with streams and loops
that are still being analysed.
In some ways, this picture is a vision of our
own future, because Mira is a highly evolved
“Red Giant” star near the end of its life.
Five billion years from now, our own Sun will
become a Red Giant which will engulf the
Earth and everything out to the orbit of
Mars.
But Mira is different from our Sun in one
important respect. While our star travels
serenely around the disk of our Milky Way
galaxy, Mira is charging through it, like a
fairground horse on a merry-go-round,
periodically plunging through the main disk.
Because Mira is not moving with the
“pack” it is travelling much faster and has
released enough material over the past
30,000 years to seed at least 3,000
Earth-sized planets or nine Jupiter-sized
ones. It is scattering the stuff of creation
like snuff at a wake.
51 Village
www.village.ie
 Culture+Media Media

Meejit
Harry Browne

Seasonal adjustments
In the spirit of the recent and highly learned Irish Times leader about the difference between “uncertainty” and “risk”, I will admit that I am
“uncertain” about addressing the media coverage of the August stock-market volatility due to the “risk” that the crisis will have passed by the
time you read this.
Monthly magazine production schedules, and the publications’ interminable shelf time, provide ample opportunities for events to trip up
contributors, especially those of us who have previously strutted to the rhythms of the daily or weekly grind. When the Irish Times first
editorialised about the market hiccups on 3 August, it could write, “this modest market correction should not, as yet, give too much cause for
investor concern”, in the certain knowledge that those words
would be deep down in the green recycling bin by the time
circumstances were in a position to contradict them. The
editorial writers could wait a full fortnight to return to the
AFP/ GETTY IMAGES

topic with more alarm, without referring to their previous

sanguinity or facing any wrath from investors who had skipped
off on their holidays without “too much cause for concern”.
Indeed, the very fact of the August timing of the equity jitters
meant that some news organisations weren’t really geared up for a big business story, and neither covered it nor explained it terribly well.
On RTÉ, obsessive and repetitive with the Aer Lingus issue, the excellent Christopher McKevitt – who tends to cover business like a journalist
rather than a booster – cut a lonely figure, when he was there at all. Over on the TV business channels you could see the summertime B-team
presenters getting a real thrill from their unexpected boost in importance and ratings, and some of their “experts” were literally phoning-in
their thoughts from Long Island beach houses.

The media coverage of
the recent world
financial crisis failed to
mention the
contradictions
between freee markets
and state intervention
AFP / Getty Images
A debt to history
The biggest problems with the
coverage of Wall Street and its
intersecting international
thoroughfares have been structural
rather than seasonal. The media, and
perhaps business media in particular,
are congenitally incapable of the
simplest observations about the
contradiction between allegedly “free”
markets and, eg, the
expectation/demand that State forces
step in – with extra cheap money –
when there seems to be some sort of
credit crunch.
Combine the essentially ideological
allergy to critical analysis of the
relationship between corporate and
State power with the typical hack’s
incapacity to think historically and
some of the most basic facts will go
unreported, at least in most media. The
fact that this potential global credit
crisis was made possible by changes in
recent years in the regulation of
finance, leading inexorably to the
proliferation of a maddening global
complexity of debt-for-sale products,
has been little remarked-upon. Not
even here, though legal changes here
are a particularly salient aspect of
Ireland’s high exposure to the recent
troubles associated with the baffling
market in debt.
Instead we hear vaguely about the “inter-
nationalisation of money” as though this
were a simple force of nature rather than
the result of political decisions about
what to regulate and how.
The media morality tale (half-true, as
usual) has been about a few big bold
subprime lenders in America, nasty
gougers outside the normal banking
sector, who went and ruined it for the
rest of us by providing mortgages to (ie
screwing with further debt)
dangerously poor people. The
commercial banks who eagerly
grabbed and sold on a piece of those
debts, making themselves ever-more-
rich and helping to ensure the debts
are ensconced everywhere in the
world, have hardly been criticised. And
of course they’ll continue to do fine if
and when the bubbles burst and
governments prioritise their
continuing profits over our homes, jobs
and pensions.
Occupation once again
Notwithstanding the blind spots, my
recent spell in America reminded me
that the US media’s reporting and
analysis of the economy is positively
copious and comprehensive compared
to the myopia of its Iraq coverage. This
is only partly explained by the fact that,
at least at the time of writing,
downtown Manhattan is a safer beat
than downtown Baghdad.
Continuously the impression given is

Village 52 September 2007

www.village.ie
 Media
AFP / GETTY IMAGES
that Iraq is a basket case, and – to
paraphrase the views at the
increasingly populous margins of
dissent – perhaps even the very best
efforts of a selfless American military
involvement will prove insufficient to
sort it out. Incredibly but inevitably
given the media amnesia about which
this column always rants, the ethnic
and sectarian violence in Iraq, its death
tolls and the country’s sinking into
poverty and despair are discussed
without the simple context of foreign
invasion in 2003. Of course it might be
argued that everyone knows about the
invasion, but when even the Irish Times
reports Oxfam’s terrifying account of
Iraq’s humanitarian catastrophe
without any mention of the foreign
powers responsible, we are surely
missing something.
There should be no doubt that the US
is fundamentally responsible for the
state of Iraq, but in the US mainstream
media and political culture it is, at
worst, a blundering Gulliver stunned
by the savagery of the Lilliputians.
It takes Noam Chomsky to remind us,
repeatedly, of the essential moral and
legal truth, as summarised by the US
chief prosecutor at Nuremburg, Robert
Jackson: “To initiate a war of
aggression, therefore, is not only an
international crime; it is the supreme
international crime differing only from
other war crimes in that it contains
within itself the accumulated evil of
the whole”.
Even beyond the legal abstraction, the
US has increasing numbers of troops in
Iraq, and as well as bombing and
shooting liberally, they are attacked
hundreds of times every week. There
are no more basic facts on the ground
in Iraq than these, and yet they are
increasingly invisible. π
September 2007
Media Focus
The death of modern television
Television from the internet is going to be the next big thing
By Malachy Browne
he way in which television channels are
T accessed and viewed will change dramatically
in the coming years with the convergence of
internet and broadcasting technologies. The
relaunch of RTÉ’s website provided Irish broad-
band users a taste for the kind of video on-demand
(VOD) that is possible over the internet. No longer
must rush hour traffic be negotiated to arrive in time
for Six One News; viewers with high speed internet
connections can now visit the RTÉ website at their
leisure and view any number of programmes. Six One,
Prime Time and other programmes are streamed
online, even Sean Ban’s cringing performances on
Charity You’re A Star.
The hardware that enables internet television
(IPTV) will also merge. At the moment, most IPTV
is delivered to a set-top box similar to a Chorus, NTL
or a Sky box. In time, conventional television sets
will be replaced by display units that connect direct-
ly to the internet.
Internet television will be provided by at least two
models – free and subscription based content. Most
freely available content is likely to be be provided
by state agencies, political parties and public broad-
casters. Several subscriber-based internet channels
already exist that stream terrestrial TV channels and
niche content.
The website Joost.com offers MTV, VH-1, Nation-
al Geographic and Comedy Central among other ter-
restrial channels to its subscribers. Cycling.tv is an
internet channel for cycling enthusiasts that streams
videos of races from around the world along with
news and downloads. Home Choice is a UK IPTV serv-
ice that offers subscribers over 1,000 movies, 5,000
music videos and BBC programmes. All of these serv-
ices allow viewers to stop, rewind, pause and fast-
forward programmes as they would with a DVD or
video cassette.
Merging television with the internet brings far
greater accessibility demand-driven options to view-
ers and broadcasters alike. Irish consumers will
have access to VOD streamed by UK service providers
just as it would UK websites. Indeed, RTÉ is building
a new emigrants’ channel to reach the Irish abroad.
Advertisers will also benefit from the ability to tar-
get niche markets and regions. Cycling manufactur-
ers who wish to advertise their products know that
Cycling.tv provides an ideal audience. A manufac-
turer who sells products in a particular region can
opt to display their ads only to viewers within that
region.
Broadcasters will know how many people view
a programme, where they were view it and how long
they spend viewing it. Greater interactivity will
benefit service providers such as online turf account-
ants who will offer ‘live betting’ as viewers see play
develop during the British Open or a Rugby World
Cup match. Live broadcasts will engage more peo-
ple – no longer will a production room switch-
board ‘light up’, the inbox will jam.
But internet broadcasting is limited at present due
to broadband connectivity rates. Most commercial
services offer download rates of one to two Megabits
per second (MBps). Eight to 10 MBps are required to
send visual images of broadcast quality. Video serv-
ices such as YouTube.com compress images for
delivery over slow connections, but the image qual-
ity suffers as a result and is not sharp enough be
viewed on a typical television set.
Infrastructure is particularly problematic in Ire-
land. Much of Eircom’s network consists of long cop-
per lines, particularly in rural areas. Copper lines
support download rates of a couple of hundred
kilobits per second – far lower than needed for IPTV.
In time however, broadband technologies including
WIMAX (long range wireless), FTTH (Optic Fibre to
the Home) and BPL (broadband through power
lines) will confine today's broadband experience to
history.
An estimated 4.5 million homes in Europe will
have internet television services by 2008 as broad-
band saturation and video compression technologies
improve. The recent sale of Cycling.tv for $6m
demonstrates how lucrative the IPTV industry is and
companies in Ireland are positioning themselves to
capitalise. Gravitate, an interactive media firm in Ire-
land recently launched an internet television divi-
sion with a focus on corporations, county councils,
tourism bodies, political parties and state organisa-
tions. Ronan O’Caollai of Gravitate told Village that
“building an online TV channel now only takes a
matter of weeks, even days, [allowing businesses to]
benefit from advertising, subscription, sponsor-
ship, pay per view and ecommerce revenues.”
53 Village
www.village.ie
 Culture+Media Media

Press watch
Chekov Feeney

Aer Lingus’ PR campaign against the pilots backfires

AFP / GETTYIMAGES
n Monday 20 August, the day that was inconveniencing the public,

o before Aer Lingus pilots were

due to go on strike, Eoghan
Corry produced an analysis of the
conflict in the Evening Herald. He
remarked that the “pilots have one of
the slickest PR machines in the
business [and] have managed the
news agenda to promote their cause.”
In reality, however, coverage of the
potential strike showed absolutely no
evidence of any behind-the-scenes
manipulation by pilots and indeed
suggested quite the opposite
conclusion.
Within 24 hours of the pilots’
announcement of the planned strike,
Aer Lingus launched a media
offensive.
Their press release lamented the
fact that “pilots would choose to
attack customers in an act of self-
centred brinkmanship”. They were
bolstered by immediate press
statements issued by several other
groups. IBEC, “the group that
represents Irish business”,
denounced the strike threat as
“opportunism of the worst kind.”
ITIC, the Irish Tourist Industry
Confederation, issued a statement
entitled “ITIC Demands Strike to be
called off”, while ITAA, the Irish
Travel Agents Association, accused
the pilots of “treating the public with
contempt”. All of these press releases
closely echoed the position put
forward by Aer Lingus’s
management. Regardless of whether
it was a coordinated campaign or
whether it was simply instinctive
capitalist class-solidarity in action,
the volley of denunciations
succeeded in setting the news
agenda.
The views of IBEC, ITIC and ITAA
Michael O’Leary’s
colourful featured prominently in the news
denunciations bulletins and newspaper articles
referring to Aer announcing the strike threat. The
Lingus pilots as unanimous opinion of the assembled
‘overpaid, organisations representing interested
underworked capitalists was unbalanced by any
peacocks’ were coverage of the opinions of
widely aired organisations representing interested
during the Aer workers. The colourful denunciations
Lingus dispute of Michael O’Leary, CEO of Aer
Lingus’s chief rival, Ryanair, were
even widely aired – without anybody
remarking on the irony of a multi-
millionaire who seems to spend all his
time posing for wacky photo-
opportunities referring to pilots as
“overpaid, underworked peacocks”.
A large majority of subsequent
coverage of the dispute presented the
union as the active agent in a situation
thereby implicitly accepting
management’s position. This was
typified by the Examiner headline
which apocryphally predicted: “pilots’
strike to cause holiday chaos.”
There were no attempts to evaluate
the union’s claim that management
were breaking the collective
agreement with pilots. Nobody asked
why the company was unwilling to
have the claim evaluated by the
state’s industrial relations apparatus.
In the midst of the dispute, the Irish
Times devoted the front page of
their weekend section to a long
interview with Aer Lingus CEO
Dermot Mannion. As is usual in
profiles of business figures, the
interview was admiring in tone.
It presented the dispute as a test of
Mannion’s character. Mannion’s
management experience was in
Emirates, a Dubai based airline with
a “can-do attitude”, where
management didn’t have unions to
stop them from “getting things
done”. Thus, proving his mettle
meant that “the strike has to be
faced down”. The pervasiveness of
coverage coloured by management’s
agenda can partially be explained by
PR slickness. Unlike trade unions,
corporations have the resources to
pay significant numbers of people to
write press-releases, cultivate media
contacts, arrange favourable
interviews, contact radio stations and
all of the other means by which the
news agenda can be influenced.
However, it’s not simply a
consequence of an imbalance in
resources.
If newspaper coverage of the
dispute had exclusively highlighted
the views of trade unionists and

Village 54 September 2007

www.village.ie
socialists, and prominently featured
sympathetic interviews with union
leaders where they were given space
to promulgate their goal of liberating
the oppressed workers, it would be
glaringly obvious that it was socialist
propaganda. However, the neo-liberal
capitalist view of the world, where
profitability is the only goal worth
considering and unions are little more
than an obstacle to management’s
plans to attain that goal, is so common
in the corporate media that it is
almost invisible. Coverage which
uniformly assumes, for example, that
it is economically desirable to give
management greater power to
unilaterally impose changes to
working agreements, is so common
that it appears to be simply stating the
obvious rather than looking like
ideological capitalist propaganda.
Corry’s article in the Herald, in
which he described how the pilots PR
machine had managed the news
agenda wasn’t necessarily entirely
delusional or dishonest.
Aer Lingus’s PR campaign against the
pilots was less successful than usual
in painting the strikers as the
villains. Normally, when workers
whose salaries are above average
threaten industrial action, they face a
PR offensive which portrays them as
greedy aristocrats and the company
as the champion of low prices for
ordinary consumers. However, in this
case, Aer Lingus was simultaneously
engaged in a much greater battle
regarding the termination of its
service from Shannon to Heathrow.
In the PR war over Shannon, they
were presenting themselves as a
hard-nosed commercial entity
which is obliged to chase profits
over the pleas of ordinary
consumers – a contradictory
position which rendered their PR
offensive against the pilots
ineffective, leading them to
eventually back down and agree to
negotiations. π
Discuss this article
@ with Chekov:
village.ie/category/
newspapers/
September 2007
Web Watch
Teaching an old dog new tricks
The proliferation of digital cameras has resulted in a hoarde
of amatuer snappers bungling thier shots. Village chooses its
best websites for photography tutorials, hints and tips
GEOFF LAWERENCE PHOTOGRAPHY
Geoff is a professional photographer who has
obviously had enough of seeing what he describes
as ‘snaps’. He wants us take pictures that will not
bore the pants of others. To this end he offers an
encyclopaedic list of possible problems you may
face, technical and artistic. While not made for true
beginners, the tutorials are informative and easy to
understand, and each one has example photos. He
understands that digital photography is as much
about the work done on computers later as it is
about the correct light and distance. Topics
covered include composition, cropping, close-ups
and photographing animals amongst many others.
Worryingly, for a man who purports to teach
others about composition, Geoff’s garish red and
black website is quite ugly, but makes up for this
with ease of use. There is a section for the more
ambitious photographer with advice on what to do
with your photos, from sales to home display.
Happily, unlike many other photo-tip sites there are
no membership or subscription fees, probably due
to the large number of photography advertisements.
The site also offers a photo quiz that will challenge
even the most knowledgeable of photo-enthusiasts
and a quick top-ten hints for those impatient to get
out and about with their new camera.
www.geofflawrence.com
DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY SCHOOL
The Digital Photography School blog and forum
holds a host of valuable hints and tips articles. This
is a more interactive and friendly site than
Lawerence’s, but less technically rigorous. It
features competitions and assignments each week,
where users
are given a
theme on
what to
photograph,
such as Time,
or Sunsets.
They then
send in their
entry and the
winner’s
photo is
shown on the
home page of the blog. It’s all very cute. Users can
comment on articles and assignments or upload
their own photos to the forum as well as comment
on others photos and submit their own tips.
The site has an awkward interface that can make
it difficult to navigate around at first, but the hidden
nooks and crannies harbour many interesting pieces
of information, especially on the rules of
composition. That said, several sections could use
an editor, if only for punctuation duties, as the long
entries have a tendency to meander without
paragraphs or full stops, making them annoying to
read.
www.digital-photography-school.com
DIGITAL IMAGE CAFÉ
This site is choc-a-bloc with flashy images and
advertisements, reflecting the $25 membership fee
for full use of the services which include a personal
website to display your photos. A nice feature is the
‘Today’s Specials’ feature which showcases
members best new pictures on the front page of
the site, as well as the photo of the week section
and a critique corner, where advice on how to
improve photos is asked for (no insults please). For
those not yet confident enough in their skills to
exhibit photos or pay the membership fee, the
tutorials, articles and reviews are free. This site is
definitely for the more advanced photographer
who wants to improve their work and is not afraid
of jargon.
www.digitalimagecafe.com
AISLING O’ROURKE AND TOM ROWE
55 Village
www.village.ie
 Culture+Media Media

Radio and TV
Maggie Kenneally
The same tired old formats
The RTÉ formats remain the same, tired dreary, obsolete - The Late Late Show returns and the
RTÉ One Radio schedule has not been livened up much. And a once bright talent, Ryan Tubridy
has been encouraged to belittle his ability and his substance. By Maggie Kenneally

©RTE
he autumn schedule is back on

T RTÉ, more of the same, and more

of the same again. Will there
ever come a time when the tired for-
mats are retired and new formats
explored?
The Late Late Show is so jaded now as
to be sclerotic. Pat Kenny, who
remains a superb radio broadcaster, is
an embarrassment on television, the
format of the programme is awful
now because of its sameness. A new
set won’t make a difference. The show
and the format should be closed down.
So too Questions and Answers. The
same format for decades, the same eld-
erly presenter. The same dreary pan-
ellists. The set up questions, the
awkward interventions of audience
members. Stilted, monotonous, repet-
itive.
Prime Time is also dreary to tedious
most of the time. Yes a few times a
year Prime Time Investigates creates a stir
but the usual Tuesday/Thursday for-
mats? Does nobody get a new idea on
how to do these things?
The Rose of Tralee programmes got up
to a million viewers. Does that mean so where? The radio heads will be buoyed up
RTÉ cannot change that format? Isn’t The Late Late Show How did RTÉ miss out on the Rugby by the recent listenership figures
there some way of making this pro- RTÉ One World Cup? How come TV3 snitched showing most programmes gained
gramme a bit livelier, a bit more chal- Fridays that along with Setanta? Is this the listeners since the last survey. A few
9.30pm
lenging, a bit more entertaining? beginning of the end of RTE’s domi- comments on those. First the changes
Same on radio. The Ryan Tubridy nance on radio and television, a dom- are so miniscule as to be of no signif-
The Tubridy Show
gab-fest at 9.00am, followed by Pat inance it has enjoyed not because of icance at all. Secondly, these improved
RTE Radio One,
Kenny, who himself is superb but Weekdays 9.00am the excellence of the programmes or blips disguise a pattern of lost listen-
again the format and the content? broadcasters but because of the lega- ers going back over a decade. Of
Boring, boring. An attempt is being The Last Word cy of a monopoly position for so long? course this is inevitable in a changing
made to refresh the night schedule Today FM The arena is about to change dra- market place but should it not prompt
but putting an arts programme on at Weekdays matically, I suspect. The internet will RTÉ chiefs into some innovative
10.00pm and then Tom McGurk on at 4.30pm intrude into television is a few short broadcasting that might help to buck
11.00pm. Refresh? years in a way that will transform the that trend?
Is there intelligent life in RTÉ and if medium. Think of what someone in the

Village 56 September 2007

www.village.ie
 Media
media world, akin to what Michael
O’Leary is in the airline world, would
do with the RTÉ schedules?
The best programme over the sum-
mer was Charity You’re a Star. The pro-
gramme was awful. The participants
invariably awful – one especially. The
panellists – or two of them – were ter-
rible, the presenter frighteningly bad.
But it was still the best programme
RTÉ has done in an age.
And let me acknowledge, there
was one star, who might work in a dif-
ferent setting, Brendan O’Connor. I
never thought I would write this,
never since I came across him in UCC
decades ago.
But he is clever, he is funny, and
now he understands the medium and
the audience. And the boorishness
has been toned down.
Wouldn’t it make sense to put him
in the slot occupied by The Late Late
Show now? Give him a new format
and let him off. It might work. Could-
n’t be worse than the Late Late.
Matt Cooper, on Today FM’s Last
Word, continues to impress as among
the most professional of the current
affairs broadcasters. He is informed,
clever, his voice has settled down, he
can be even vaguely humurous at
times (not that often, let me acknowl-
edge). There is a substance to him
which is lacking so much elsewhere.
Another who impressed over the
summer was Anton Savage, first as a
stand-in for Ryan Tubridy and then a
stand-in for Matt Cooper. He knows
his stuff too, very professional, does-
n’t gab on and on like you-know-who
but, that said some of his programmes
on RTÉ were truly awful. One morning
he had to talk about the colour black
for what seemed like hours.
It was awful. Who did that to him?
Isn’t it a pity what is happening to
Ryan Tubridy. An intelligent young
man, who did some good current
affairs broadcasting a few years ago.
Great voice.
Now he has become a personality.
He has cheapened his talent, maybe
irretrievably. Bit by bit he is destroy-
ing his credibility and his substance.
And nobody out there tells him stop.
September 2007
Media Junkie
John Horgan
Writer and Press Ombudsman
Favourite book:
The Bank Manager and the Holy Grail, by Byron
Rogers. Part history, part pol-
itics, part gonzo jour-
nalism, this is an
exploration of Wales,
past and present, that
defies description, but is
a must-read.
Last book you read:
John Donne: The Reformed
Soul, by John Stubbs. I have
been fascinated by John
Donne, reformed rake and
crystalline poet, ever since
my undergraduate days. This
is the definitive life.
Daily newspapers you read:
The Irish Times and the Guardian regularly;
most others intermittently. Life is too short
for more than that.
Sunday newspapers you read:
The Sunday Tribune, the Sunday Business Post
and the Observer regularly; the Sunday Inde-
pendent intermittently. Sunday is too short
for more than that.
Favourite website:
Abebooks.com. Here you can buy good sec-
ond-hand books at a huge discount to the
extortionate prices charged by the Dublin
trade.
Favourite news website:
I prefer radio.
Generally – when it doesn't relapse into
feature-y, soft coverage – it is faster
and more reliable than the web.
Favourite search engine:
Google. Life is too short to compare
them all.
What radio do you lis-
ten to:
RTÉ1, BBC Radio 4, Lyric;
occasionally Newstalk,
Today FM.
How much radio do you lis-
ten to:
About three hours a day. After
print, I'm a bit of a radio junkie:
I can listen to bits of all the
drive-time programmes in the
course of a 20-minute journey to or from
work.
How much television do you watch:
About an hour a day, apart from the occa-
sional movie. Much of it sends me to sleep.
What televi-
sion pro-
grammes do
you watch:
News, Prime
Time, docu-
mentaries. I
live in hope of
seeing an interviewee saying something
unpredictable.
Do you blog, if so how often:
Not guilty. Don’t read blogs either, or con-
tribute to on-line discussions. Most of this
stuff is vanity publishing.
Guilty pleasure:
Thinking about sailing when I’m supposed
to be doing something else.
57 Village
www.village.ie
 Culture+Media Cinema

A careful handling
Breach, a film based on the true story of the most serious national security leak in US
history, fails to deliver the intrigue needed in a thriller, while comedy Two Days In Paris
is handled skilfully by the director. By Declan Burke

spionage movies that don’t include car

E chases, fight scenes and gunplay tend to

be moody, downbeat talkies (re The Good
Shepherd) and Breach has more in
common with De Niro’s sophomore outing
than, say, The Bourne franchise or No Way
Out.
Based on a true story of the most serious
national security leak in U.S history, Breach
(12A) sees Ryan Phillipe’s ambitious but
naïve computer expert Eric ‘O Neill climb
the internal ladder of the FBI. Because of his
catholic upbringing, O’Neill is selected by
top brass Kate Burroughs (Laura Linney) to
spy on former Russian counter intelligence
agent Robert Hanssen (Chris Cooper), a
religious, old fashioned man suspected of
sexual deviancy. As O’Neill keeps a close eye
on Hanssen he grows to respect the man and
suspects that the sexual deviancy angle was
just a ploy by the bureau to cover up
Hanssen’s real crime – selling secrets to the
government’s enemies.
Director Billy Ray (Shattered Glass) hopes
that the slow-paced storytelling will pass for
tension and intrigue, but unfortunately
there’s more tension in The Care Bears Movie.
It’s a joyless, uptight affair with straight-as-a-
die, starched shirt performances that hinder Chris Cooper stars a suspected spy and Ryan the top of their game to pull it off and
any sympathy for the characters taking root. Phillippe, is the young FBI agent sent to keep Goldberg and Delpy soundly deliver. Delpy
Linney and Dennis Haysbert – playing special an seye on him in Breach. allows Goldberg to steal the limelight as the
agent Dan Plesac, the man overseeing the © Universal Studios jealous guy doing everything in his power
operation – are miscast and don’t have a lot not to be jealous but whose insecurity is
to do, while Phillippe, although competent, jealous, but even the most confident man on challenged on every street corner. Delpy
delivers his performance without breaking a the planet would second-guess himself when either understands how men think or has
sweat. Cooper on the other hand is the couple constantly bump into Marion’s been in a situation like this before, because
watchable and at times magnetic, but he’s ex-boyfriends, of which there are many. everything feels real and there isn’t a
never allowed to break out of his one-note Throw her eccentric family into the mix and ridiculous moment throughout. In the hands
character. the short holiday turns into a nightmare. of a less-competent writer/director, Two Days
It’s characters and performances that grab Written and directed by Julie Delpy, Two In Paris could have been a dreadful
you in Two Days In Paris. Adam Goldberg Days In Paris is one of the funniest films misadventure with obvious jokes, but Delpy
(probably best known as Chandler’s freaky released this year. The ad-lib, free-flowing constantly goes for unusual but realistic
roommate in Friends) plays American Jack, in approach to the dialogue, which Delpy first scenarios.
Paris for the weekend with French girlfriend flirted with in her screenplay for Richard Breach **
Marion (Julie Delpy). Jack is insecure and Linlater’s Before Sunrise, needs great actors at Two Days In Paris ****

Village 58
September 2007
www.village.ie
 Theatre
Keeping it on the fringe
The Spiegeltent has become the central focus of the Dublin Fringe Festival. But the rest of the
fetivals offerings should not be overlooked. By Colin Murphy
ALL THAT JAZZ
It’s finally happened. The Spiegeltent has
taken over the fringe. The tent – a 1920s
Belgian mirror tent, which tours Europe as
a festival venue for cabaret acts and late-
night hyjinks – embodies all that fringe
folk typically want to be: louche, outré,
risqué. Crucially, you can have the “fringe”
experience there without even having to
see some rubbishy play. This year, they’ve
made it even easier: the festival’s headline
show is on at the Spiegeltent, a collection
of international cabaret and circus acts
called ‘La Clique’ (8-23 Sept), which has
been a big success in Edinburgh and
elsewhere. The title is curious, because the
Spiegeltent normally comes complete
with its own clique. Still, international
reviews indicate it’s probably worth seeing
and a trawl through the festival
programme reveals that, though cabaret
may be attracting more than its fair share
of publicity, the mainstay of the festival is
still theatre. If it’s cabaret you’re after,
venture further north any night to the
more authentic Cobalt Café on North
Great George’s St, Dublin’s original red
light district.
DANNY AND CHANTELLE ARE STILL
HERE
September 2007
Philip McMahon’s Danny and Chantelle won the
Spirit of the Fringe award last year. It was a
spiky, witty piece of writing about a young
Ballymun couple on the tear in town. This year,
McMahon and his colleagues have decided to
take over the festival. McMahon has a new
play, written for the energetic Calipo theatre
company (11-15 Sept at the Project); his
company are involved in a play called Dublin
City Counselling (18-23 Sept at the New Theatre);
and McMahon is directing Panti’s new comic
lecture, All Dolled Up (18-22 Sept, Project). The
collaboration between McMahon and Calipo
should be unmissable for anybody wondering
what youth culture means these days.
FOR THE POLITICS
Gavin Kostick spends more of his time these
days fostering other writing talent than his
own, as literary manager for new-writing
company Fishamble. But he has a substantial
body of work, and this year’s Fringe sees him
add to it. He’s written an outdoor spectacle for
Whiplash Productions based on Shakespeare’s
Henry VI, War of the Roses, which is playing just
once (14 Sept). There’s also a chance to catch
snippets of his past work, and that of a
plethora of other Irish writers, in the Bus
Project, which is, as it says, on a bus (17-23
Sept). And finally, in a magnificent act of
hubris, Costick will perform Conrad’s Heart of
Darkness, the whole thing, over five and a half
hours, in the Winding Stair bookshop (14-16
Sept). Why? “ it’s the classic indictment of
Western imperialism”, he says.
LOVE-SPOTTING
Over in Limerick, a dance company called
Daghdha are doing interesting things with
public access and art. They like to complicate it
greatly when they talk about it, but there are
good, earthy ideas there, and Daniel Vais, a
young Israeli choreographer, is at the
vanguard. He brings one of his projects to the
Fringe, though it’s just one part of the
uninspiringly-titled ‘Dance Triple Bill 4: the
Love Spotters’ (21-23 Sept, Dancehous) are a
group of dancers from a special needs day-
centre in Limerick, most of them with Down’s
Syndrome, and Vais’s work with them sounds
extraordinary.
IGNORE THE FRINGE
Consistently overshadowed, and consistently
excellent, is the Lambert Puppet Theatre’s
international puppet festival (7-16 Sept) in Dun
Laoghaire. There’s a small selection of Irish and
international puppetry in both the Lamberts’
own theatre and the Pavilion. Highlights look
to be the Portuguese folk puppet show, The
Creation of the World, by the Centro Dramatico
de Evora, accompanied by haunting fado
music, an Italian shadow puppetry company,
Controluce, with Haiku.
THE TRUTH ABOUT GLOBALISATION
Festival director Wolfgang Hoffmann is a man
with his finger on the pulse of contemporary
European performance, so his picks of the
international shows are worth noting. The Au
Cul du Loup from France, The TEAM from the
US, Men of Steel from Australia, Plasma from
Switzerland and Jo Stromgren Company from
Norway. Also worth a look will be Teatr Polski
Wroclaw from Poland, at the Axis in Ballymun
(20-22 Sept).
The Dublin Fringe Festival runs from 8 – 23
September.
See www.fringefest.com for details.
59 Village
www.village.ie
 Village Events
Arts
Literary Dempsey, offers the viewer the and moving images. Her work will brow banter? The Dubliner maga-
MS READaTHON 2007 possibility of studying the rela- Media be on display in the Galllery of zine and Dublin Culture Night are
MS Ireland’s reading superhero tionship between reality and visu- Photography Temple Bar until 19 organising a debate on Friday 7
RED is asking children to sign up al clichés of working outside the
Festivals September. September in St Michael and
for this year’s MS READaTHON
campaign.
pale. It includes work from nine of
Ireland’s promi-
TV galleryofphotography.ie John’s Church, 15-19 Essex Street
West, Temple Bar. Particpants in
2007 is the nent artists. Radio The Natural History Museum in a the debate are Ulick O’Connor,
chance to be The exhibition unique collaboration with the Victoria Mary Clarke, Rossa
part of the runs until 29 Lectures Gallery of Photography, Dublin, O’Snodaigh and Mik Pyro along
20th birthday September. will jointly present Dignified Kings with others.
of this annual 065 7077200 Books Play Chess On Fine Green Silk, a Free tickets at dubliner.ie
sponsored body of new work by artist Karl
read. By join- A native of Music Grimes. The exhibition
ing in, not only Calafornia, is based on his year-
will children Barry McGee’s
Sport long term as artist-in-
all over the country be reading work will be on be on show for residence at the
their favourite books in the space the first time in Ireland in the But- Natural History Muse-
of a month (19 October to 19 ler Gallery, Kilkenny. McGee is work is a celebration of colour. um. The exhibition will
November) but they’ll also be rais- known for his work as a street The bright neon lights of cities be on display in the
ing money for the 7,000 people artist and for his painted installa- and the warm glow of carnivals. Natural Museum of Ire-
living with Multiple Sclerosis in tions in galleries and museums It’s about people and fun. badart- land, Kildare Street,
Ireland. Sign up begins on 10 Sep- around the world. He has created gallery.ie Dublin from 26 Sep-
tember. a new installation for the Butler tember to 4 November
msreadathon.ie Gallery. His work will be on dis- Photography and the Gallery of Photography,
play until 21 October. Finnish artist Liisa Lounila is one Temple Bar, Dublin, from 27 Sep- Culture
Art infor@butlergallery.com of the up and coming stars of the tember to 2 November. In its second year Dublin Culture
Wild Honey international art scene. Her karlgrimes.net Night 2007 will host over 100 free
The Burren College of Art pres- Deborah Donnelly’s Solo Show intriguing projected time-slice events across Dublin city on Fri-
ents the fourth in the series of Celebrations takes place in The works, seen at Venice and Istanbul Debate day 14 September. The events
Burrne Annual exhibitions. The Bad Art Gallery, 21 September to Biennials, are fascinating explo- Has Ireland lost its cultural identity? include tours, talks, exhibitions,
exhibition curated by Micheal 18 October. Her new body of rations of the space between still In the mood for a spot of high- concerts, films, workshops,

TODAY IN HISTORY
6 SEPTEMBER 1870 18 SEPTEMBER 1906
Louisa Ann Swain of Laramie, Wyoming becomes the An estimated 10,000 people die as a typhoon and playing card game
first woman in the United States to cast a vote after tsunami hit Hong Kong. Hanafuda.
1807.
19 SEPTEMBER 1893 25 SEPTEMBER 1996
8 SEPTEMBER 1930 The New Zealand governor consents to The last of the Mag-
3M begins marketing Scotch transparent the Electoral Act of 1893 giving all dalen Laundries closes.
tape. women the right to vote in the coun-
try. 27 SEPTEMBER 1964
8 SEPTEMBER 1966 The Warren Commis-
The first episode of Star Trek airs. 19 SEPTEMBER 1952 sion report is released.
Following a trip to England. Charlie In it the commission
11 SEPTEMBER 2001 Chaplin is barred from re- concludes that Lee Harvey Oswald, acting
Planes fly into the World Trade centre in entering the United alone, assassinated President John F
New York and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, a States. Kennedy.
passenger airliner in Shanks Ville, Pennsylvania crash-
es. 2,974 people die. 20 SEPTEMBER 1519 28 SEPTEMBER 1871
Ferdinand Magellan and his crew of Brazil frees its future children of slavery.
13 SEPTEMBER 1503 approximately 270 men set sail to cir-
Michelangelo begins work on David. cumnavigate the globe. 29 SEPTEMBER 1650
The first historically documented dating
SEPTEMBER 16 1963 23 SEPTEMBER 1889 service is opened in Threadneedle Street,
Malaysia comes into existence. It is formed from Nintendo Koppai is founded by Fusajiro London. The service, Office of Addresses and
Malaya, Singapore, British North Borneo and Sarawak. Yamauchi to produce and market the Encounters, was opened by Henry Robinson.

Village 60 September 2007

www.village.ie

indoor and outdoor performanc-
es from 5pm until 10pm.
culturenight.ie
Cookery
Dun Laoghaire’s
stylish Cook’s Acad-
emy runs several
evening classes for
budding chefs.
Including a “How to
Make Cocktails”
class where partici-
pants will learn
how to make a per-
fect martini or a minty mojito, a
sunny pina colada or a sophisti-
cated cosmopolitan. Also avail-
able is a vegetarian and
wholefood course, perfect pas-
tries and desserts and a bread
making workshop.
cooksacademy.com.
Sport
Golf
The Royal and Ancient Golf Club
in County Down will play host
to the 2007 Walker Cup
between Great Britain and Ire-
land and the United States of
America. County Down will
become only the second club in
Ireland, after Portmarnock in
1991, to host this fiercely com-
petitive biennial contest. From 8
to 9 September.
walkercup.org
Rugby World Cup 2007 will be
held in France, Cardiff and Edin-
burgh from 7 Sep-
tember to 20 October.
Setanta Sports have
exclusive rights to
broadcast the games
in Ireland.
rugbuworldcup.com
Festivals
Harvest Time Blues
The annual blues festival takes
place between 6 and 9 Septem-
ber in Monaghan town. Featur-
ing a free Blues Trail the festival
highlights include Republic of
Loose and Bobby Radcliff.
harvestblues.com
September 2007
Clarenbridge Oyster Festival
The 53rd annual Oyster festival
takes place in Clarenbridge from
7 to 9 September. The festival,
which has been running since
1954 has gained
international
acclaim. High-
lights include a
golf classic and
the Ultimate
Oyster Gala Cel-
ebration with
the Galway
tenors.
clarenbridge.com
50th Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre
Festival
September sees the beginning of
the annual theatre festival. Now
in its 50th year the festival has a
variety of shows on offer. In total
there will be 221 performances
with 33 shows from 13 coun-
tries.
dublintheatrefestival.com
The International Garden Festi-
val which was launched at the
beginning of the summer will
close later this month on 23
September. The International
Garden Festival is part of a
worldwide movement celebrat-
ing conceptual garden design.
The festival takes place in Emo
Court, Co. Laois.
igf.ie
Clonakilty International Guitar
Festival Once again this
autumn, the glorious sound of
guitars being strummed shall
resonate around Clonakilty.
The festival takes place over
four days from 20 to 23 Septem-
ber.
myspace.com/clonguitarfest.
Send details of your events to events@village.ie for consideration
Dublin Fringe Festival 2007
Opening...
Georges Dock, IFSC,
Water is the underlying theme of
the 2007 opening. The event will
spring from different wells around
the city and trickle in growing
(human) streams toward the sea,
gathering momentum and scale as
it approaches Georges Dock, where
it will culminate in a transforma-
tion of exquisite beauty. The event
features dozens of brass musicians,
performers and acrobats, this
extraordinary happening promises
to be an unparalleled collective
experience. 8 September.
How the west was
won!...
Back Loft. Set against the back-
drop of 1980s Ireland, when it
was ok to be poor, where every
local pub was a hotbed of political
activity and Dallas was the num-
ber one show on the nation’s two
channels, this fast and furious
satire charts the human tales
behind the momentous day; the
day when Michael D. and Bishop
Casey stood up to Big Ron. Runs
from 10 to 14 September at 8pm
and 15 September at 5pm.
Ann Gildea goes all the
way...
Venue: Cobalt Café 12-14: Former
member of the legendary Nualas
(the funniest female comedy trio
ever to break out of an Irish con-
vent), Anne Gildea presents her
much anticipated new show.
Candid chats, stunning insights
and outrageous sexiness abound
in this comedy show that mixes
dry, acerbic wit with pant-wetting
tunes on topics both bizarre and
mundane. Runs from 12 to 14 Sep-
tember at 9pm.
Hairy Bottom and the
Jockstrap of Destiny
International Bar. Delve into a sur-
real world of audacious characters
and random lunacy in this jam
packed hour of sketches and short
films from two of the writers of the
Fallen Angels Cabaret. A Pandora’s
box of irreverent and off-beat skits,
these fearless performers combine
slapstick and physical comedy with
razor sharp wit. Runs from 10 to 23
September at 6pm.
Block Party...
Meeting House Square It’s a Block
Party! And a set of giant Rubik’s
cubes en pointe. Giant blocks take
over merging the worlds of dance,
music and architecture in this out-
door spectacle full of vibrant colour
and imagination. Runs every hour
from 2pm to 7pm, 23 September.
Caliper Boy ...
Venue: Players Theatre A 189 year-
old 12-year-old boy is searching for
the answer to his life long question:
“Why aren’t I like the other chil-
dren, Mother?” Caliper Boy’s end-
less urban existence is illuminated
through an evocative live score, dis-
torted body parts and tales that dis-
orientate and perturb. Runs from
18 to 23 September at 2 pm.
Incarnat...
Venue: Samuel Beckett Theatre A
naked body is smeared red, another
holds its entrails in its hands. Incar-
nat is an incisive, almost furious
and incredibly invigorating plea for
involvement and commitment.
This show is a must-see for every-
one who questions the relevance of
art.
Runs from 19 to 23 September at
8.30pm
Compiled by Aisling O’Rourke
Dog Show: Fido...
Samuel Beckett Theatre
First there was Shep, then came
Rex, now please meet Fido; a
cocaine-snorting, champagne-swill-
ing dog and star of the latest install-
ment in the critically-lauded Dog
Show series. Where will Fido’s next
line come from?
This grotesque, lurid Dublin
odyssey will draw you in with
puppy dog eyes before shedding all
over your mind.
Runs from 18 to 23 September at
6.15pm.
Matinee 21 September 1pm.
Haircuts by children...
Venue to be confirmed:
Following sucessful runs in Los
Angeles, Toronto and Birmingham,
Haircuts By Children invites you to
take part in an event that will test
your courage and faith in the
future. Surrender your preconcep-
tions (and your scalp) to the aesthet-
ic choices of these minibarbers.
Runs from 22 to 23 September and
1pm to 6pm.
Bus project..
Teachers Club, 36 Parnell Square.
Hop on a Dublin Bus as it travels
along its notso everyday route.
Make sure you have the correct
change for this full frontal com-
mute through the imagination of
some of Ireland’s finest contempo-
rary playwrights including Dermot
Bolger, Gavin Kostick, and Louise
Lowe.
Runs from 17 to 23 September at
6.30pm and 8.30pm
For more information on the Dublin
Fringe Festival check out www.fringe-
fest.com
61 Village
www.village.ie
 Q +
A Do you heed reviews?
I remember every name, every glib dismissal and every
adolescent hatchet job

Pat McCabe
Novelist and screenplay writer

Have you ever thought directors would prefer if you were not looking over Was Shane McGowan really there giving singing lessons from a platform of
their shoulder while they are making movies? freshly cut hay?
Definitely I don’t know. I was playing Larry Cunningham

Ever thought of making the movies of your books yourself? Which of these three characters do you see most of yourself in – Patsy Brady
No. Couldn’t direct traffic The Butcher Boy, Malachy Dudgeon of the Dead School or Patrick ‘Pussy’ Brady
of Breakfast on Pluto?
What draws you to the theatre? All of them and none of them
Working with a good director
Given your love of comics, what do you think of the increasing respect that
Are you getting closer to the ‘dark side’ with time, as your latest novel Win- graphic novels are receiving in the literary world?
terwood would suggest? Delighted
Can’t say for sure. Seems that way

Is your children’s childhood very different from yours?

Very

Do you get out of the house more these days?

No. I’m in the shed

How much time do you spend writing per week?

45 - 50 hours

Do you still play the country and western keyboards?

Only at parties

What difference if any is there between screenplay and novel writing?

The Grand Canyon

Why do you read at so many literary festivals?

I don’t. I’ve only done a couple this year

Your musical references are largely from your youth. Do you listen to new
music?
I don’t listen to much new music. I like Larry Cunningham

Do you heed reviews?

I remember every name, every glib dismissal and every adolescent hatch-
et job

You have had two Booker Prize nominations. Is it an aim of yours to win one?
Couldn’t care less

Why did you organise the Flat Lake Festival in Monaghan?

Fed up with teenagers littering the street at 3am like ravaged debris and
not valuing themselves and their importance enough

Village 62
www.village.ie
 ONE WOMAN DARED
TO KEEP HOPE ALIVE

ANGELINA JOLIE “Compelling” Empire

“The sense of authenticity

is thrilling” Nigel Andrews, Financial Times

++++
“An important film
15A for many reasons...The most
impressive performance
of Angelina Jolie’s career...
electric” James Christopher, The Times

FOR FILM CLASSIFICATION

THE TRUE STORY OF DANIEL PEARL. AN ORDINARY HERO AND EXTRAORDINARY LOVE. GUIDELINES VISIT WWW.IFCO.IE

www.amightyheartmovie.ie
www.paramountpictures.ie AT SELECTED CINEMAS SEPTEMBER 21
CHECK LISTINGS FOR DETAILS
Ceh[
Yekdjh_[i$

Ceh[
lWbk[$
N\Êm\
X[[\[
\m\e
dfi\
Zfleki`\j
kf

Mf[X]fe\
GXjjgfik%
Jf#
b\\g`e^
fe
kfg
f]
pfli

ZXcc
Z_Xi^\j
n_\e
Ylj`e\jj
kXb\j
pfl
XYifX[

`j
Xj
\Xjp
Xj
\m\i
%%%
`e
dfi\
Xe[
dfi\
gcXZ\j%
=fi
dfi\
[\kX`cj#
ZXcc
k_\
9lj`e\jj
:Xi\
K\Xd

fe
(/''
*'
/'
)'%

CWa[
j^[
ceij
e\
dem