The Irish Famine of 1847-48 resulted in a population decrease of millions. Before the Famine, there were some 10m people living here, afterwards only 6m.
The Irish Holocaust site has more.
Of the 100,000 who fled to Canada in 1847, only 60,000 were still alive one month after landing. Among the 40,000 dead was Henry Ford’s father’s mother who died en route from Cork or in quarantine on Quebec’s Grosse Ile.
The Fun Lovin’ Criminals played last night in The Savoy in Cork. This is the second time I’ve seen them play. The last time was in the Show Grounds in Blackrock when I got down there early and into the enclosure in front of the stage. At the time I thought the performance was great but the sound quality was terrible!
Part of FLC’s attraction for me is the great lyrics. On their studio albums Huey’s voice can clearly be heard, but their live performances leave a lot to be desired. It was difficult to make out what song they were playing from time to time as the sound was so fuzzy and loud!
The concert was disappointing for me. They played several encores but I felt like leaving before they were finished. I still love their studio work but I don’t think I’ll be going to see them play live again.
Mel was there too and thinks the same about their sound quality.
FLC play the Savoy tonight at 8.30!
CP Hennessy posted a screenshot of what is the first build of Open Offfice.org as gaeilge (or in Irish for everyone else!)
This is quite exciting because it may help spread the use of Free Software in Irish speaking areas.
The Peoples Republic Of Cork present a game featuring Eddie Hobbs battling Bertie Ahern, Mary Harney and Jackie Healy Ray!
Having stumled across this post about the price of petrol I decided to find out how I’m paying per US Gallon.
I used Google to convert from gallon to litre which told me:
1 US gallon = 3.7854118 litre
The last time I bought petrol it was priced at 1.09 Euro/lt. Do the maths and you have expensive petrol, no matter how you look at it.
Eddie Hobbs’ last episode of Rip Off Republic aired tonight and while it wasn’t as focued as earlier ones on consumer rip offs, it covered ground that we should all be familiar with: taxes. Eddie revealed that the average tax payer over-pays his tax by 700 Euro a year! Many people may not know that they can claim tax relief on their waste disposal charges. Did you? Here’s a page courtesy of Fine Gael giving summaries on medical, dental, rent and refuse expenses and tax relief. Damien has a few more links, including links to further discussion about Mr. Hobbs.
The SBP has an article from Eddie Hobbs explaining why his program is a success. It’s getting people talking, and hopefully consumers won’t be as ripped-off in the future as we are now.
I say “hopefully” but I doubt anything will change in the short term. There are far too many vested interests and lobby groups.
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We’re off to the Midleton Food & Drink Festival later. Sounds like good fun and I’ll have plenty of snaps with my new lens! (more)
There’s another vintage rally happening down near Macroom tomorrow which is where we’ll head.
Looks like lots more to do this week and until the end of the year too!
This week being heritage week there’s lots of events on! There’s everything from guided tours of lighthouses to re-enactments of the American Civil War at Charles Fort, to displays of 16th century weapons that ravaged Munster at the time!
Next Saturday is when An Ceile Mor 2005 will take place! Over 10,000 people will gather on 7 stages on Grand Parade and South Mall to dance the Siege of Ennis in an attempt to break a world record!
Fun Lovin’ Criminals will play in the Savoy, Patrick St. Cork on the 7th September.