Category Archives: Ireland

In The Name Of The Fada

In the Name of the Fada

You’ll already know about the Irish version of Jump Around by Des Bishop if you’re a regular reader here, but if you have missed previous episodes, please watch the last episode of “In The Name Of The Fada”. It’s on RTE 1 tonight at 10:15pm. Sky+ is set to record it here.

We just watched the 5th episode in New York and Boston and totally enjoyed it. That Korean guy in Times Square had a brilliant grasp of Irish even though he’d never been to Ireland. I’m looking forward to the last episode, even if it does make me feel embarrassed that I’ve forgotten so much of the language…

“Ta sé fucking brilliant!”

External links:

Bertie Ahern Jokes

It didn’t take long. Bertie Ahern, the Irish prime minister, announced his resignation yesterday and already the joke emails are pouring in. (Thanks Brian and Louise!)

My own contributions:


Sunday Times, December 23rd 2007.

The Bertie score card above is from Bifsniff.com (but created by Brendan O’Connell), anyone want to claim credit for the others? Unfortunately email forwarders don’t usually give credit ..

Gavin, who has blogged the Mahon Tribunal for so long has given his own reaction as well as a chronology of events leading to the resignation yesterday. It’s scary how long the Teflon Taoiseach managed to survive in politics. Nothing stuck to him.

Edit: Green Ink created Bertie 300. Thanks for commenting!

Do you read any Irish blogs?

If you’re not Irish or living in Ireland, can you name an Irish blogger that you read on a regular basis? (Besides me of course!) And more importantly, why? Is it because of their niche, or is it their witty and insightful commentary?

I ask this because Kathy Foley blasted Irish blogger Twenty Major’s new book and proceeded to question whether the Irish blogosphere had anything to offer the world. Has the land of saints and scholars become a land of consumers without giving anything worthwhile back?

I haven’t read Twenty’s book so I can’t comment on that but I do not agree with her assertions regarding the Irish blogosphere. If you’d like to find out for yourself, here’s an easy way to immerse yourself:

Happy reading!

Jump Around as Gaeilge

“Léim Thart” le Des Bishop ag canadh ag Oireachtas na Samhna 2007 i gCathair na Mart. It’ll be on RTE 1 tonight on “In the Name of the Fada” at 10:15pm if you want to catch a probably better version. I can barely make out any of the song in any of the Youtube videos of his performances I watched this morning!

Fair dues to him for taking on the Irish language. Takes a foreigner to show the Irish how to make it popular! 🙂

A Photowalk in Cork on Sunday

If you’re not subscribed to my photoblog, In Photos, you may have missed my photowalking announcement.

Next Sunday, the 9th of March a number of us will converge on the scenic Lough area of Cork for a few hours walking and snapping. The Lough is a protected wild life area (and one of the oldest in the country), it teems with swans, ducks, geese and I don’t know how many other types of birds. There are always people about, kids feeding the birds, sometimes fishermen, couples walking by the water’s edge. It’s a beautiful place to go for a walk.

And at 3pm we’re going to descend on the area with our cameras. If you’re around Cork and free, why not join us? It doesn’t matter if you only have a point and shoot camera, or you’re only starting out in photography. A photowalk is a great chance to practise and learn. There’s also a local bar giving us a chance to put our feet up and relax, even if driving home means minerals are the order of the day.

So, see you on Sunday?

PS. there’s still time to buy a Daffodil picture before lunchtime tomorrow!

On Tuesday I join the Bebo Generation at BlogTalk

Sigh. The local free newspaper, The Cork Independent, covered BlogTalk 2008 here in Cork and lead with the headline, “Bebo Generation descend on Cork”. Bebo? *mutter* *mutter*

Anyway, I’ll be sitting on a panel titled, From blog-style commentary to conversational social media which pretty much spans the entire blogging and social media experiences. On the panel with me will be Stephanie Booth who I have conversed with a few times on IRC but never met, Bernie Goldbach who I have met a number of times and always has something interesting to say, and finally, Jan Schmidt who I had never heard of but his bio suggests someone who will know a lot about the topic of social media!

How do I feel about the current crop of social media sites? I quit Facebook! Well, no I didn’t, but I will, soon!

Three killed at Dunboy Castle

Three young men were killed today when their car fell into the water at Dunboy Castle just outside Castletownbere in Co Cork.

Investigating gardaí say that the three local young men had been driving in the grounds of Dunboy Castle when their Ford Fiesta got stuck in grass close to a laneway below the castle which is currently being renovated.

Two other friends came to their rescue with a jeep, but for reasons which are not yet clear, all five were in the Fiesta when it slipped from the embankment and into the water.

Sad and shocking as it is, I wouldn’t mention it here except that I drove down there with my family only a week ago. We enjoyed a lovely meal in Castletownbere during which we were told that Dunboy Castle was worth a look. On the way out of the town the castle is signposted so we decided to go look. Here are a few pictures. Judging by the picture on the RTE website I’d say they went into water very close to where I parked a week earlier. That freaks me out a little bit.

Dunboy Castle

Dunboy Castle

Dunboy Castle

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