Different Stuff

Sorry it has been a while since I posted but I have been looking for information to fill my blog with the end of the Irish Presidential election. Michael D Higgins won the election and will be made the president in about 2 weeks time in a ceremony in Dublin Castle. Higgins won just over 40% of first preference votes with Sean Gallagher in second place with just over 20% of the vote. The reason for the sharp increase in Higgins's vote from the previous polls appears to be the Martin McGuinness attack on Gallagher on the Front Line Debate last Monday.

Michael D Higgins.

This attack was in relation to Gallagher collecting money in envelopes for the Fianna Fail party while they were in Government. People want to see their President as somebody who had no secrets to hide and I think the Higgins fitted this bill. Following the vote counting Higgins ended up with just over 1 million votes so the mandate from the people is strong and hopefully he will play a major role in making Ireland a better place to live in the first 7 years of his term.


The 7 billionth person living in the world was born today in Australia. The world population is growing at a rate which means that when I was born nearly 47 years ago I was the 3,295,347,831st against the 7 billion now which means the world population have more than doubled in this time. I was also the 77,172,136,406th person born into the world. Use the following link to find your position in the world http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-15391515 . 
India is due to take over from China soon as the most populated country in the world, the UK has 246 people per square km against Australia which has just 3 people per square km, for Singapore this is 7,272 people.


I have a lot of space to fill up now that the election is over and as the blog is about Dublin from a Dubliners view I have decided to do some posts about Dublin's in other countries. There are cities, towns, an island and some townlands with Dublin in their name and I will be looking at them over the next few weeks. I have also tried to contact people from these locations to gain a better insight into their lives. I have enjoyed doing the investigation and information gathering so I hope that you find the blogs interesting,

The Last Presidential Debate 2011

On RTE last night we had the last Television debate between the 7 candidates ahead of the canvasing blackout at 2pm Wednesday. The debate was on the Fronth Line Program hosted by Pat Kenny but the questions came from the audience.
The following is what Pat Stacey of the Evening Herald thought of  the debate
RTE'S promos for the Frontline Presidential Debate implied that this was THE BIG ONE. The only one with a studio audience. who set the questions and therefore the tone, and the only one hosted by Pat Kenny.
It turned out to be true. This was the liveliest, most entertaining debate of them all, boasting one bombshell and one complete implosion. You wish it had come earlier in the campaign. So how did the seven fare?

Sean Gallagher The old wisdom that television debates ultimately have a negligible effect on how the public votes in an election will be tested to the limit after the current frontrunner's chaotic performance last night. 
Gallagher, who looked stiff, tense, and uneasy throughout the evening, hadn't been handling brickbats about his involvement with Fianna Fail or the toxic Charlie Haughey at all well, while Pat Kenny's persistent questioning about how certain monies had come to "lay resting" in one of his accounts ("How can you mislay 89 grand") left him looking rattled and unconvincing.
And then came Chequegate, delivered by Martin McGuinness, who claimed he'd earlier spoken to a man who told him Gallagher had visited his house to personally pick up a €5,000 cheque for a Fianna Fail nosh-up Gallagher had personally organised at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, and also to drop off a photograph from the event.
Gallagher stated that he man rented an office to Gerry Adams during the General Election
When pressed by Kenny, Gallagher first said he had "no recollection" of this man giving him any cheque. Under increasing pressure from McGuinness, he conceded: "I may well have delivered the photographs. If he gave me an envelope..." - cue hoots of laughter from the audience and an awkward pause from Gallagher - "..if he gave me the cheque it was made out to Fianna Fail headquarters and it was delivered and that was that. It was nothing to do with me"
Oops. Afraid it had, Sean.
A week is a long time in politics; so, sometimes, is 90 minutes.
RATING 3/10



Michael D Higgins Kenny asked if he hadn't been "too presidential" by not engaging in attack on the other candidates. Higgins said he hadn't, thereby proving, again, that he's probably the most presidential of the lot. There was nothing thrown at him here that he couldn't handle and he effectively niggled away at Gallagher. 
This was a good, solid performance during which Higgins used charm and self-deprecating quios about his age - deadpanning that Gallagher's labyrinthine explanation of his accounting systemwas a little "too complicated" for him - to great effect.
RATING 6/10

Martin McGuinness For much of the evening he was Gallagher's main tormented, keeping him wriggling on the hook by venturing that there was "something rotten" at the heart of Fianna Fail and that Gallagher was "up to his neck in it".
But he simply unravelled when he found himself staring down the barrel of a direct question: does he regard the IRA killings in Northern Ireland as murder or casualties of war?
He couldn't give a straight answer and fell back on a well-rehearsed routine which continually referred to dealing with the reality that there was "a conflict"
There was one deeply disingenuous incident of double-speak after Kenny had asked him if he could bring himself to say he believes Jean McConville was murdered. "I can bring myself to say the family of Jean McConville believe she was murdered" he said.
Those who were always guaranteed to vote for McGuinness are still guaranteed to vote for him. But a significant number of transfers might wander after this performance.
RATING 4/10

David Norris Norris's performance, which showed some of the sparkle of old, will have done him no harm at all. He was witty, funny, erudite, interjected intelligently and made one fine point about the possibility of polls being self-fulfilling prophecies.
He delivered a standout moment - and the biggest laugh of the night - when Kenny asked all candidates if, should they be elected, they'd resign if damaging information about them came to light : "I'm sorry to disappoint the Irish public but the closet is absolutely empty!"
RATING 6/10

Gay Mitchell You can take as many pops at the other candidates as you like during a debate - and Gay Mitchell has been popping like a bowl of Rice Krispies on every occasion. You can take a pop at the host if you wish, and he did so here, criticising Kenny for the way he was conducting proceedings.
But the one thing you can never, ever do is take a pop at the studio audience for asking the wrong sort of questions. Mitchell did just that, losing his temper with a rant about there weren't enough questions being asked about the presidency.
It was a spectacularly bad call. Mitchell has a brilliant understanding of the Constitution and the role of the president, but his tetchiness has continually undermined his strong points. He imploded last night in a puff of purple pique.
RATING 2/10

Mary Davis With Kenny seemingly uninterested in following up Davis's role on various State boards, she had a quiet night of it and acquitted herself well, especially when reinforcing her claim that the constitutional amendment to widen the powers of the Oireachtas inquiries could dilute the rights of citizens. But it's probably too late to have any significant impact. If only she and some of the other candidates had been this coherent earlier in the campaign.
RATING 5/10


Dana Rosemary Scallon The wheels had already come off Dana's campaign long before her tyre blew out. This was another utterly inept and irrelevant performance, which once again suggested she's not entirely sure exactly what she'd be signing up for it the electorate went collectively mad overnight and voted her in. The silliest comment last night has to be. "I don't trust the Dublin 4 polls. I trust the people I meet on the street." Dear, oh, dear.
RATING 0/10


Pat Kenny He might be to light entertainment what Derek Mooney is to cage fighting but when he's in his proper settings, Kenny is the best TV current affairs broadcaster we have.
He was in his proper settings here and he marshalled the evening brilliantly, cutting the candidates off when they waffled, abruptly shunting them back on track when they threatened to veer off and never, not for a moment, putting up with any nonsense, yet sill giving them time and space to talk. An excellent performance
RATING 10/10

Due to the horrible weather in Dublin last night the final debate was ideal television viewing. Sean Gallagher reminded me of rabbit in the headlights when McGuinsess brought up the cheque, the more he tried to distance himself the bigger the hole got. This has to damage his push for the Aras, but how much will be known on Friday. Higgins was Higgins and as usual never put a foot wrong. McGuinness was good in attack but his defence is woeful. Norris seems to have admitted defeat and just turned up last night to ensure that he gets enough votes to be able to claim back his expenses (must get 12.5% of the vote with transfers). I think Mitchell, Davis and Scallon were written off before this debate but Mitchell put the final nail in this coffin with his attack on the host and the audience.
Still a two horse race but much closer than the weekend polls suggested. It will be a very interesting count on Friday.

Dublin Floods

Over the past two days there has been torrential rain in many parts of Ireland, last evening this weather band struck Dublin and the surrounding areas. In Blessington/ Manor Kilbride an off duty 25 year old Garda was swept away by the swollen River Liffey as he tried to help and inform drivers of dangerous water levels on the road. His body was found close by earlier today.
In the south side area of Dublin called Crumlin a 35 year old woman was found dead in the basement of her house which is beside the Grand Canal that runs through the area. Following is a video I put together today showing different areas of the city and what 70mm of rain falling in a short space of time causes.

These floods had a major impact on travel yesterday and have subsided somewhat today. An apartment block in the Harold's Cross area of the city was evacuated today to allow the emergency services pump out the water that had entered the premises.
Some houses that had flooded following heavy snow in January of this year have flooded again just weeks after being finally repaired and following payment of insurance claims. The following video was taken in the Crumlin area of Dublin after the Poddle River burst it banks and overflowed into an adjoining park and then out onto the road beside the park.

On of the best known up market shopping centres in Dublin is in Dundrum on the South side and close to the Dodder river. The first phase of the centre was completed in 2005 so it is only 6 years old. The shopping centre is closed today to allow staff time to clean up and to get any repairs completed following yesterday's deluge. The following video shows the power of water and how it can get in where it is not wanted.

But of course being Irish we also have to try to look on the bright side life and the following has been put together with "Singing In The Rain". Have to admit that it is not as bad as it looks once music has been added.

The Latest Poll...

Irish girl Katie Taylor won her fifth European lightweight title in a row. She won her final showdown 10 -5 against two times world champion Sofya Ochigava from Russia. The finals were held over the past week in Rotterdam, Holland and Katie fought 5 times over the week and won 89 points over the 5 fights loosing just 30 points in the process.

Katie Taylor with her 5th Gold Medal

As mentioned earlier in the blog we were due to have 3 Pre-Election polls over the last couple of days in the national press, the following table indicates the result of these polls including a poll of polls which averages out the position of each candidate and the result of the last poll on October 16th 2011
 

Candidate	Last Poll	Sunday Business Post	Sunday Independent	Irish Times
Sean Gallagher	39	40	41	40
Michael D Higgins	27	26	28	25
Martin McGuinness	13	13	9	15
Gay Mitchell	8	6	8	6
David Norris	7	10	6	8
Mary Davis	4	2	3	3
Dana Rosemary Scallon	3	3	3	3

According to these figures Sean Gallagher is way ahead with Michael D Higgins in a solid second place. In order for Higgins to overtake Gallagher he would need to get about 70% of all transferrs as candidates are eliminated from the election. Currently the transfer rate is about 32% for Higgins against 20% for Gallagher, so it would appear that Gallagher should be elected as the next President some time next Friday.
Voting actually started today in the Presidential election with polling stations opened on the islands around the mainland. These stations will close later today with the voting papers transfered to the mainland and stored in Garda Stations until the count commences on Friday. On one of the islands there are 67 people registered to vote, 65 of them do not live on the island full time so there are only 2 people voting unless the weather picks up. There are high winds and torrential rain throughout the country today so to sail to islands is not the most advisable activity today.

The Tyre following the Blow Out

Earlier in the blog I mentioned that Dana Rosemary Scallon had had a tyre blow out on her way home one evening. There had been up to 15 different puncture holes in the tyre which made some people think that somebody had interfered with the tyre. Following examination by the Garda technical bureau it has been found that there was no interference and the most likely cause was because the tyre was driven on while flat or with reduced inflation.

New Zealand were worthy winners of the 2011 Rugby World Cup beating a gallant French side 8 points to 7 in the final yesterday in Auckland. Richie McCaw, the New Zealand captain picked up the Webb Ellis Trophy for his country for the first time in 24 years.

Richie McCaw receiving the Trophy

Quotes

Found this today on the Irish Times Web site http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/1020/breaking34.html and thought it was interesting.

Mary Davis:"What I’m more interested in is the people who are airbrushed out of society" - responding to a question about airbrushed images from Pat Kenny.

"I would like the Áras to be a very open home. In fact, I would be interested in changing the name to Áras na Daoine" - making the pitch for the people's presidency.

“I knew the campaign would be hard, but it got to be very negative. I’m the best candidate. I speak the truth all of the time."

“For example, the fact that I had only served on three State boards, and there was nothing about the 18 voluntary organisations that I had given my time and commitment to and giving opportunity to people who are marginalised” - expressing frustration that her integrity was being called into question.

Seán Gallagher:

"I'm sure I'm probably the only candidate who ever had their own herd number."

"I have never used the word 'condemnation' in my life. It is not in my vocabulary" - explaining why he had not been harsher on Fianna Fáil during a television debate.

"I was asked to condemn Fianna Fáil, and the first thing that came into my mind was the thousands of ordinary decent men and women who are the grassroots of Fianna Fáil . . . and I didn't want to condemn them because they weren't in government, they weren't in Cabinet."

"It was an accounting procedure really in terms of which account the money went into," - declaring that his receipt of a large loan that breached company law was "an honest mistake".

Michael D Higgins:

"You know even in the old days, I never liked champagne for a start" - when asked about Gay Mitchell’s warning to voters not to elect a president who will sip champagne and recite poetry in Áras an Uachtaráin (see below).

“I think it’s time we stopped the nonsense of suggesting that somehow or other that if you have served in every elective office in this country, if you have been lord mayor twice, been president of the Council of [Arts] Ministers, that all of that counts for nothing."

"I have the stamina and the energy . . . I'm running a very rigorous campaign."

Martin McGuinness:

How do you square, Martin McGuinness, with your God the fact that you were involved in the murder of so many people? - Miriam O’Callaghan questions the Sinn Féin candidate during the 'Prime Time' debate.

"I think that’s a disgraceful comment to make" - the candidate responds

"I was accused of being a murderer. That was wrong . . . Miriam went round all the other candidates and asked each and every one of them if I was suitable to be president. She didn’t ask me if I thought any of them were suitable to be president of Ireland."

"I could count on the fingers in one hand the number of people in the North who have said to me - when did you leave the IRA - so it's not an issue for ordinary people."

“I wouldn’t even attempt to pitch myself against any other poet. I do it for fun" - denying he was set for a poetry battle with Mr Higgins.

Gay Mitchell:

“I will work with them [the Government] and the network I have to restore the confidence of this country so those children in Buncrana and Sligo and Dublin do not have to become part of a Skype generation, while we sip champagne in the park reading poetry."

"I've been speaking to friends this morning who've said they haven't made their minds up yet" - discussing his friends' voting intentions.

“Seán Gallagher is not going to be Minister for Innovation and Jobs. That is the problem. The job is a different job to the one Seán is applying for. This is a political job."

"It’s a political job. I travelled with Mary Robinson abroad more than any other minister. I know this job. I want to contribute to the recovery of my country. I believe I am the best qualified person to do that.”

Davis Norris:

“But you are not running for election in ancient Greece. You are running for election in modern Ireland” - "Morning Ireland" presenter Áine Lawlor to the senator as he sought to explain the difference between paedophilia and pederasty.

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better” - pulling out of his initial bid for the presidency.

“I am tempered steel; I have been through the fire” - speaking on radio in the aftermath of controversy over clemency letters he sent on behalf of his former partner.

I’ve been told by my lawyers that these letters are subject to professional legal privilege, and I’ve been told I cannot publish them” - on those letters.

“While other candidates may wear the badge of independence for political gain, I am the only one who has never been a member of a political party, never been appointed to a State board or never had my political campaigns backed by those with vested interests" - claiming to be the only true “24 carat” independent candidate.

"We would have different views but Pope Benedict shares certain things in common with me. . . . Pope Benedict has put his foot in it once or twice and got slapped, and I share that experience with him."

Dana Rosemary Scallon:

"I'm a very fast learner."

“It has come to my attention that yet further allegations, this time of a most untrue and malicious, vile nature have been levelled against a member of my family. Let it be known that lawyers have already been instructed to forensically investigate a particular communication that spread this vile, false allegation which attempts to implicate me and destroy my good character" - reading from a statement at the end of the "Prime Time" debate.

“I am going to leave it behind me. I am standing by my statement” - expressing her determination to stay in the race for the Áras following the controversy that surfaced surrounding a family member.

“I’ve never been on a board. I’ve never been invited to be on a board so I won’t be able to put that forward, and I haven’t been on the Council of State, but I have been on a council estate."

“It was very scary to look at. I think we are all very lucky to be here today. I never start a journey without saying a little prayer and I think we are all very lucky" - commenting after her campaign car suffered a tyre blowout while travelling on the M4.

The Newest Addition to Dublin

The Little Museum of Dublin:
Earlier today 21/10/2011 a new tourist and indeed a local Dublin attraction opened it doors for the first time. the following is a press release by the Little Museum.

Items in the New Museum

October 21, 2011: Dublin is about to get a museum of its own. This evening a new museum of the city will be formally opened by the Lord Mayor, Councillor Andrew Montague. “This is a very exciting day for Dublin,” says Trevor White, the director of the museum. “All great cities have a museum that documents their history, and now – at last – Dublin is no exception.”
This new non-profit museum is housed on the first floor of a Georgian townhouse at 15 St Stephen’s Green. Over 400 Dubliner's have donated artefact's for the collection, which chronicles the social, cultural and political history of the capital in the 20^th Century.
Among the highlights of the collection are the lectern that JFK used to address the Oireachtas in 1963; the first English edition of Ulysses; the original Wanderly Wagon that was used for the flying scenes in the famous TV programme; James Joyce’s death mask; the menu from Jammet’s restaurant; and a postcard from George Bernard Shaw.
Some of the artefacts have a nostalgic appeal (‘I saw Santa at Switzers’) while others relate to famous visitors such as Marlene Dietrich and Muhammad Ali. “We hope the collection will appeal to Dubliners as well as tourists,” says the curator of the museum, Simon O’Connor.
With a decade of major centenaries upon us, this new community museum will host many public debates, as well as regular lectures and an outreach and education programme. Finally, the museum will also serve as the headquarters for City of a Thousand Welcomes, a remarkable project to boost tourism and civic pride.

Item from the Museum

This new attraction looks to have something for everybody and for locals will invoke memories of years gone by.

Priory Hall Update:
In the High Court today the Judge informed Dublin City Council that it also had to be responsible for any costs incurred by the residents to ensure that they are not out of pocket for this fiasco. He also asked that the banks who have given mortgages to residents act with compassion when dealing with residents of Priory Hall.
The judge also instructed Dublin Fire Service to maintain a presence on site until the repairs have been completed as "it would be the ultimate disaster if having gone through all this, the development then burned to the ground".
The Developer Tom McFeely and his team must report every Friday to the High Court detailing their progress to pre defined deadlines. Failure to meet these deadlines on the fire safety will be classed as a breech of a court order.
Mr McFeely also lodged a statement of means with the court this morning but this was rejected as being incomplete and he had until 2pm today to lodge a statement that was acceptable.

The Presidential Election: All the candidates have been on tour and trying to drum up support, Dana Rosemary Scallon had a tyre blow out on a motorway the other night and suggested that there was interference with the tyre while the car was parked in Town where she was campaigning, no proof of this.
David Norris is being questioned on interviews he gave 10 years ago and claims that he never said what is being reported so now audio proof has been released.
Gay Mitchell has stated that no agreement on vote transfer has been made between his party, Fine Gale and their government partners Labour who are backing Michael D Higgins.
Mary Davis had had second thoughts on building societies issuing 100% mortgages even though she was a board member of the ICS Building Society who introduced this practice in 2005.
Michael D Higgins has disowned a statement that remarked about David Norris in regard to his voting on the Bank guarantee which was sent in an email from his campaign office.
Martin McGuinness has stated that he would be outspoken in a positive and constructive way if elected President and would speak out for people who cast heir vote in this election.
Sean Gallagher is under pressure about his fundraising activities for Fianna Fail in 2008 and how he personally invited donors to a secret corporate fundraiser.

There will be 3 pre election polls over the weekend which should indicate who should be the next President of Ireland but at this stage it appears to be a two horse race between Michael D Higgins and Sean Gallagher.

All Kinds of Everything

Guinness:
 1759 was a land mark year for Dublin. 34 year old Arthur Guinness signs a 9000 year lease on a brewery in St James Gate in Dublin. The yearly rent on the site is £45. Good business. Over the next 250 years Guinness is to become one of the most recognised brand names associated with Ireland.
There are over 10 million glasses of the black stuff drank every day in over 150 countries worldwide.

In 2000 the Guinness Storehouse was opened and this has gone on to be the biggest tourist attraction in Dublin and Ireland. The Storehouse is an experience that details the history of Guinness in Dublin and also the brand through the ages, there are exhibits of past advertising campaigns, and the Gravity Bar. The experience is spread over 7 floors and starts at the bottom on the largest pint shaped glass in the world. To call this a pint glass is incorrect as it would hold over 14 million pints of Guinness if it were filled. Your journey will end in the Gravity Bar which offers a 360° view of Dublin while sampling the delights of a Pint of Guinness.
A must see place any time you are in Dublin.

Presidential Election Music?
Galway Bay FM a radio station in the West of Ireland has taken a novel approach to the candidates of the Presidential Election by trying to find out what music each of the 7 listen to. Martin McGuinness refused to reveal his favourite selection and it is probably best if we try not to suggest one just in case.
Dana Rosemary Scallon opted for a Dusty Springfield classic of "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me"

David Norris picked the excellent track from Dublin's own Imelda May, "Big Bad Handsome Man"

 

Gay Mitchell choose "Where do You Go To My Lovely" sung by Peter Sarstedt.

Michael D Higgins picked another good Irish tune "Ordinary Man" by the peerless Christy Moore.

Mary Davis choose the Rod Stewart song "Maggie May"

The final choice is by Sean Gallager who picked "The River" by Garth Brooks.

These music choices give another view of the candidates and what they like to do when relaxing during their trips around the country. The election takes place this day next week and we should know the outcome based on tally counting sometime Friday with the official result either Friday or Saturday depending on the speed of the count and if there are any recounts needed.

Dublin Today??

Bad Fact about Dublin:In the North Side suburb of Donaghmede 240 people who reside in an apartment block called Priory Hall have been evacuated because the premises is below acceptable fire safety standards. This building was built in 2006 and not as you would expect 1906 when fire safety was not really considered.

Priory Hall - Donaghmede Dublin

Dublin City Council have had to move all 240 residents to a hotel in Whitehall Dublin at a cost of €4,000 a day. Dublin City Council have been instructed by the high court to pay the hotel costs as the developer, Mr Thomas McFeely and his associate Mr. Larry O'Mahony do not have the means to cover the cost of the re-housing.

Mr Tom McFeely

Mr McFeely was in the IRA and was a prisoner in the Maze prison in 1980 and went on a 53 day hunger strike. He was sentenced to 26 years in prison for his part in post office robbery and the attempted murder of a Northern Irish Policeman in a gun battle. He served 12 years in total and upon his release in 1989 he came to Dublin to work on the building sites.
The developers have agreed to bring the building up to acceptable standards by November 28th which means that at a minimum Dublin City Council will be faced with a bill for €172,000 if the repairs are completed on time. This is money that will have to be found or moved from some budget that is there to give some form of service to the people of Dublin so again the taxpayer must pay for the developers.
The developer and his associate must submit their means to the court by Friday this week for the Judge to make a decision. This case has been in the news for the past few days since the Fire Service brought a case to the High Court last Friday looking to close down the site due to the shortcomings in the safety of the building. The High Court Judge decided that the Fire Service should remain on site all weekend to allow residents to pack up their items and find alternative accommodation by 17/10/2011 when the site would need to be evacuated.

Priory Hall Residents at the courts 17/10/2011

This building was built at the height of the Celtic Tiger by utterly greedy developers with little or no regard for the safety of people who had to borrow 100% mortgages to purchase their dream homes (or the home they could afford at the height of the property boom).
The problem in the building is defects with the fire safety barrier in the external wall which means that if a fire was to start in any of the apartments it would spread like wildfire to the remaining apartments. This situation would mean that residents would not have the recommended time to vacate the building and this would therefore put human life in danger.
When the building was finished an architect signed off on the fire safety following a visual inspection and after viewing letters from the sub contractor responsible for the fire safety that the works had been carried out to the highest standard.
Residents of other apartment complexes around the city and it's surrounds are now living in fear that their premises may have also been built to standards that are below what is acceptable in 21st century.

Things to See..

The Royal Hospital Kilmainham. The Royal Hospital in Kilmainham on the outskirts Dublin City was built in period of 4 years from 1680 to 1684 for a cost of £22,500. The site where the Hospital was built was the location a medieval hospital founded in 1174 by Strongbow. Strongbow had been one of the leaders of the Norman invasion of Ireland and had married Aoife who was the daughter of the then King of Leinster, Diarmait Mac Murchadha (Dermot MacMurrough) and eventually inherited the throne himself.

Royal Hospital Kilmainham.

The hospital was actually a home for retired soldiers over 250 peopled lived in the Hospital at any one time. Queen Victoria of Britain visited the hospital on two different occasions the last being 1900 before her death in January 1901. In 1922 the Hospital was handed over to the Irish Free State and went on to be the Headquarters of the Garda Siochana (Irish Police Force) between 1930 and 1950.
In 1991 the Hospital became home to the Irish Museum of Modern Art and is a wonderful place to visit if you are in Dublin.

While in the Kilmainham area, another site well worth a visit is Kilmainham Gaol or Jail. Built in 1796 the New Gaol or as it was officially known, County of Dublin Gaol was used as a place of incarceration and execution of many Irish leaders during times of rebellion or insurgence over the years. The last prisoner in the jail was Eamon DeVelera who went on to become Taoiseach and President of the country.

New Gaol or County of Dublin Gaol

The jail is one of the largest empty prisons in Europe and is currently the Irish History Museum following a restoration in the 1960's. For years the building was left idol as it possibly had too many ghosts of the past history of the Irish struggle. The jail have been used as a site in many films over the years including The Italian Job in 1969, In The Name Of The Father in 1993 and  Michael Collins in 1996.

Presidential Election: In a RedC poll for the Sunday Business Post on Sunday last , 16/10/2011 we saw swift change in how the country expect to vote on October 27th. The poll topper was Sean Gallagher with 39% of the vote which was up an incredible 18 points from the previous poll 10 days earlier. Michael D Higgins was in 2nd place with 27% of the vote which was up 2 points. Martin McGuinness was at 13% down 3 and Gay Mitchell was down 5 points to 8%. David Norris had half of his previous vote at 7% and Mary Davis had gone from 9% to 4% while Dana Rosemary Scallon  received just 2% of the vote down 3 points.



Caricature of Candidates Tweeted by Niall O'Loughlin

The spending limits for this election is €750,000 per candidate of which €200,000 can be reimbursed by the state, which means the the bottom 4 people in the poll with a collective total of 21%  of the vote are to claim €800,000 from the state for wasting their time.

Yet Another Debate.

In the presidential election we had another TV debate last night which was hosted by Miriam O'Callaghan on RTE's Prime Time slot. The following is the view of Pat Stacey of the Evening Herald on the proceedings. ( Taken from the Evening Herald 13/10/11)
Sick and tired of presidential election debates? We were until about 10.50 last night, when Dana dropped her "vile and malicious allegation" bombshell.
Or was it a smoke bomb designed to distract attention from the emptiness of her campaign and garner a little sympathy - and maybe a few votes? Or perhaps Dana just dropped an egg that will send her skidding even further to the margins of irrelevancy. After all, her CV includes Something's Cooking In The Kitchen.
Whatever, it brought what had been a largely muted and fractured debate in which none of the candidates exactly covered themselves in glory to an electrifying surreal and chaotic end.
Dana nearly broke down. David Norris went off on a rant. Miriam O'Callaghan was bemused. "What are you talking about?" she asked "What is the nature of the allegation?"
We don't know yet, but we do know how The Somewhat Less Than Magnificent Seven performed on the night. It's ratings time.

Michael D Higgins: A texter to Tonight With Vincent Browne on TV3 later wryly remarked the Michael D had taken the Ronan Keating approach to the debate: " He says it best when he say nothing at all". And that was about the size of it.
Spared the intense grilling Miriam O'Callaghan meted out to some of the others, Higgins kept his foot and mouth well apart, and said nothing likely to stall what is increasingly looking like a slow, if not always steady-in-his-gait, amble to the Aras. RATING 6.5/10

Gay Mitchell: Once again, Mitchell demonstrated his inside-out, upside-down knowledge of the Constitution and ho the job of President fits into the political structure. But this was still another dull and uninspired performance unlikely to alter the perception of him as a bit, well, cold and superior.
He can's seem to let his Martin McGuinness obsession go, either, taking digs at McG whenever the opportunity arose - and sometimes even when it didn't. Some commentators believe that tactic has backfired. And besides, as we'll see in a moment, McGuinness doesn't need any help tarnishing his own campaign. RATINGS 4/10

Martin McGuinness: Basically, he didn't handle Miriam's questions well. Her suggestion that his Catholicism would be difficult to reconcile with his involvement in murder was met with a snippy, "That's a disgraceful comment"
He accused her of making "a stupid statement" when she pressed him on his knowledge about who murdered David Kelly's father and suggested uncomfortable encounters would be a regular feature of a McGuinness presidency. This was the closest we've seen to McGuinness losing his rag, and while it won't change the minds of his hardcore republican supporters, it's likely to have an effect on the second preferences. RATING 2/10

Sean Gallagher: Healthy options poll signs and woolly waffle about creating jobs (which, as Miriam reminded him, is not the President's job) aside, Gallagher seemed to be the The Candidate Who Stands For Nothing In Particular. Until last night , when it appeared clear that he stands for: Fianna Fail.
The crucial damage was done when, at Miriam's prompting, he couldn't bring himself to state that the party he'd joined as a teenager, but now claims he's no longer involved with, had screwed up the country. It was a damaging performance. The ties that bind may be the ones that drag him  down. RATINGS 2/10

Mary Davis: "How can you be on so many boards and not be an insider?" Miriam asked the woman who claims to be the ultimate outsider. Davis pointed out that she was on three State boards. Miriam had suggested 25.
Davis is recovering well from the fuss over that particular subject.
And more impressively, she kept her cool when others around her were losing theirs under Miriam O'Callaghan's relentless grilling questioning. RATINGS 5/10

David Norris:Though he escaped the kind of grilling Vincent Browne gave him, there was nothing here to suggest Norris can recover an inch of lost ground. Miriam wondered if he had "the right judgement" for the job. He protested he'd been the victim of "a media firestorm, the like of which had never been seen".
The disability benefit issue? It had all been "legal". And the letters?. He has already "answered that comprehensively". It's all on his website, apparently. Her questioning of him seemed almost perfunctory; so, now, does his campaign. RATINGS 2/10

Dana Rosemary Scallon: The bombshell aside, this was another dismal performance that highlighted Dana's poor understanding of the role. Miriam went relatively easy on the American citizenship angle which has been done to death and instead targeted Dana's "right-wing fundamentalism"
She responded that if she was a right-winged fundamentalist (and she doesn't think she is) then "the Constitution is right-wing fundamentalist". Ah, so that's that cleared up. RATINGS 1/10

A bit of Everything Today

Dublin Fact: On April 13th 1742 the world wide premier of George Frideric Handel's oratorio Messiah was preformed at the New Music Hall in Fishamble Street. Some of the choirs or Christchurch and St. Patricks Cathedrals took part in this production.


Places to Visit: St Patricks Cathedral is located in the centre of Dublin on St Patricks Close. The cathedral was founded in 1191, is the largest church in Ireland and has a 140 feet (43 Metre) spire. The Cathedral is headed by the Dean of St. Patricks, since 1219 and the most famous dean was Jonathan Swift who was dean from 1713 until his death in 1745. A full restoration of the cathedral was carried out between 1860 and 1900 by the Guinness Family.

St Patricks Cathedral Dublin.

Presidential Election: The pre election tours have been in full swing with all 7 candidates visiting all corners of the country and turning up where ever there is a chance of a crowd of people. On October 6th the results of a poll carried out by RedC for Paddy Power indicated that Michael D Higgins and Sean Gallagher were leading the race with 25% and 21% of the vote respectively with Martin McGuinness in third place on 16%. David Norris is next on 14% and Gay Mitchell completes a top 5 places for male candidates on 10%. Mary Davis on 9% and Dana Rosemary Scallon on 6% are the bottom two which means that if the polls are to be believed we have have our first male president since Patrick Hillary in 1990.

Michael D Higgins

Sean Gallagher

The winner of the race to the Aras will become the 9th Irish President following in the footsteps of

• Douglas Hyde who was President from 1938 to 1945.
• Sean T O'Ceallaigh who was President from 1945 to 1959.
• Eamon De  Valera who was President from 1959 to 1973.
• Erskine Childers who was President from 1973 to 1974 when he died while in office.
• Cearbhall O'Dalaigh who was President from 1974 to 1976 when he resigned his position.
• Patrick Hillary who was President from 1976 to 1990.
• Mary Robinson who was President from 1990 to 1997 when she resigned her position.
• Mary McAleese who is President since 1997.

On the day of the Presidential election the Irish public will be asked to vote on two referendums to the Irish Constitution. The first referendum is on judicial salary pay cuts and the second is on giving extra powers to committees of the Oireachtas.
The people of the constituency of Dublin West will be asked to vote in a bye election caused following the untimely death of the former Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan.

The Irish Soccer team will play their final qualifying game for UEFA Euro 2012 finals tonight at 18.45 in Dublin's Aviva Stadium. They will play against Armenia and a draw will be enough for them to qualify for a playoff place at a later stage. Good luck to the team.

Dublin, Home of the Irish Government

As Dublin is the Capital City of Ireland it has the privilege of housing the Irish Government. The Houses of the Oireacthas or National Parliament is made up of the President, Dail Eireann (House of Representatives) and Seanad Eireann (Senate).

In earlier posts of this blog I have given an insight in the President and where they reside but today I will explain the office of the President, the Dail and the Seanad.

   

The President is the Supreme Commander of the Irish Defence Forces and representatives all of the Irish people in official functions both home and away. The president's role in Government is set out in the Irish Constitution but they have no input into policy decisions. The president appoints the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of the country who has been elected by Dail Eireann. Then based on the advice of the Taoiseach the President will appoint all the ministers who work in the Government. They also dissolve the Dail on the advice of the Taoiseach at the end of a term or when the government has no majority to govern any more. At times, if the Government has no majority, the President might instruct the out-going Taoiseach or indeed the opposition leader to try to form a Government.

The President is also responsible for the appointing Judges, Attorney General and Commissioned Officers of the Defence Forces bases on advice from the Government.

The President must also sign bills passed by the Dail and Seanad into law between the 5th and 7th day after it is presented to them but he / she can sign it sooner to have the new law enacted quicker. On occasions the President may think that a bill that has been presented to them may go against the constitution and they may therefore ask the Supreme Court to make a judgement to ensure that the law is correct.

   

The Dail or the House of Representatives, consists of 166 members or Teachtai Dala or TD's who are elected in the 43 constituencies of Ireland, of which 12 are in Dublin. There is a review of all constituencies after every Irish Census to ensure that the correct balance of TD to voting population is correct.

Dail Chambers

Constituencies

These TD's are elected by the Irish People in a General Election, after the Dail has been dissolved by the President, or via a bye election, following the death or retirement of a standing TD. In Ireland the vote is carried out using PR STV (Proportional Representation Single Transferable Vote) as explained by ACE The Electoral Network

The first Dail meeting was held in the Mansion House (Home of the Lord Mayor of Dublin) in January 1919 where the Irish Constitution was adopted by the members and the Declaration of Independence was approved.

The 166 members of the Dail meet in the chambers every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday where they discuss different topics and laws and vote on the same to get news laws enacted. Most of the detailed work on new bills and laws are completed by the relevant government departments and are introduced to the Dail as and when ready or required.

   

The Seanad or Senate is made up of 60 senators who are chosen as follows

     

• 43 elected by five panels representing vocational interests namely, Culture and Education, Agriculture, Labour, Industry and Commerce and Public Administration
• 6 elected by the graduates of two universities: - three each by the National University of Ireland and the University of Dublin (Trinity College)
• 11 nominated by the Taoiseach.   

The senators debate and pass bills sent to it by the Dail but have no real authority in determining what laws should be enacted. The current Government has agreed to a review of the Seanad with the possibility that it may be scrapped in order to streamline the political process in the country.

Wales Win

In a qualifier for the 2012 European Championship last night Ireland had a 2-0 win in Andorra and will now face Armenia in the final group match needing just a draw to qualify for a play-off game to make the finals.

   

Earlier today (6am) our Rugby world cup odyessy came to an end with a 22 -10 defeat by Wales. Wales were the better team on the day and they go forward to meet France in the semi-final. Good Luck to Wales next week.

Where to go Today

Places of Interest: Dublinia is an exhibition of life in Dublin during Viking and Medieval times.
The Viking Exhibition takes you back to Dublin in the Viking times where you can see what life was like on a longboat, what a viking used during war and you can even become a Viking Slave.
Next it is on to the Medieval section of the exhibition where you are given a glimpse of  what life was like in Dublin and also learn to play games and what the latest toothache remedy was 700 years ago.

St Michael's Tower

There is the History Hunters Exhibition which show you how archaeology and history and science are used to piece together history.

Christ Church Crypt

There are also tours of the 96 step St. Michael's Tower where you can have a panoramic view of Dublin and Christ Church Cathedral where 1000 years of history and worship come to life while visiting the crypts. This is another way to enjoy the History and sights of Dublin.

Presidential Election Update:
On Tuesday Oct 4th 2011 we had the 2nd debate among the 7 candidates on TV3 with Vincent Browne and the following link will give what Breakingnews.ie thought about the debate directly after the finish. Candidates face off in TV3 debate | BreakingNews.ie .

As I did not see the debate it would be unfair for me to comment. There is one more debate to happen which I think is with Pat Kenny on RTE so hopefully I will get the chance to have a look at that one. According to a poll in tomorrows Irish Times the following is the % vote each candidate would receive.
David Norris                       11%
Dana Rosemary Scallon      6%
Martin McGuinness            19%
Michael D Higgins              23%
Gay Mitchell                        9%
Sean Gallagher                   20%
Mary Davis                          12%

The surprises in this poll are the Gallagher is so high at 20% and the both Norris and Mitchell are loosing ground.

Dublin Facts: the Oldest Pub in Dublin and indeed Ireland is The Brazen Head where there has been a pub sine 1198.