Ah yes that’s what the bible tells us. Well in that case the total population of Ireland will find a place on the other side of “The Pearly Gates”
Our country is on its knees, broken by people who still control and govern us.
Hundreds of thousands of people are unemployed; thousands now live with negative equity, reduced pensions, and reduced salaries.
Yes we call Joe Duffy on a daily basis, we scream and shout about it to our friends and family, but what we don’t do in large enough numbers is confront the leaders of our nation with the issues that affect our daily lives
What we do is sit on our hands, and wait for someone else to make a stand. We are the sheep of Europe, the followers, never the leaders, never and the ones to break fresh ground
Throughout the world, history has shown us the tremendous contribution that Irish people have made to the every corner of the world. We spread our confident hard working message when we went to far-flung places and made it work
Yet at home we just sit on our hands.
Last night a march and rally was organised to give the people of this nation an opportunity to air their grievances about the political and economic mire that we find ourselves in and less than 1000 people turned up
There are currently over 400,000 people unemployed in Ireland and less than 1,000 people turned up. Do the unemployed just not care enough to care?
Have they been that brow beaten?
They say that you always get the leaders and governments that you deserve, and much as I hate to say it, but we have exactly the government that we deserve.
I am sure the politicians in Leinster House last evening worried little for the small group outside. What difference can a few hundred hardy souls make? The answer is very little I’m afraid, very little.
We placed these people in positions of power, yet there seems to be no national will to remove them and replace them with forward thinking individuals who will put the well being of the citizens of our nation before anything else
I would like to ask all politicians in Ireland to ask themselves one question and one question only before they vote in future in the Dail chamber
Is the decision I am about to make the correct one for the people of Ireland?
Not the people of my village or town or county, but for the people of our nation as a whole.
We must leave the parochial politics of the past at the door and bring to power individuals with vision, drive and above all answers to the problems that the current incumbents seem unwilling or unable to answer.
The world may see us as a nation that punches above it’s weight, I see a nation that has been floored by one to many punches and is wondering whether it should bother even rising from the canvas.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
"Rising After Redundancy"
The Programme "Rising After Redundancy" starts on RTE 1 at 9.30pm on Sunday 16th May
I am one of the contributors to this groundbreaking documentary
Check it out and I would really welcome all comments on the show
I am one of the contributors to this groundbreaking documentary
Check it out and I would really welcome all comments on the show
Thursday, May 6, 2010
That "Where Were You Moment"?
That “Where Were You Moment”?
For those of us a little older, then JF Kennedy may have been the first. Then for some it was Princess Diana and now it’s Gerry Ryan. That “where were you moment?” where were you when you heard they were dead?
There have been many more who have died and have been remembered. The first person outside of family that I can remember dying was Elvis Presley I was 6 years old it was August 1977 I was playing football on a Dublin estate and one of the lads told me Elvis was dead. I ran home through the front door and asked my ma if it was true, because to a 6 year old your ma was your oracle, your window on the world, your worldwide web. My mother was my www.
I remember Elvis and where I was. Elvis was followed by Indira Ghandi, Princess Diana and now Gerry Ryan. I know Indira Ghandi is a strange one, but so was breakfast Television in the 1980’s
I know where I was because they had an impact on me. They actually stopped me in my tracks and gave me cause to contemplate their lives.
We all die, but outside or our nearest and dearest, the death of few have a real effect on us.
My latest is Mr Gerry Ryan. It’s not that I really listened every day or for that matter every year, it’s just that he always seemed to be there, doling out advice but also spending much time in listening to the nation. Yes he seemed to be the nations barometer. He took our temperature on a daily basis. I like to see him as the “calpol” of the nation. He kept us from over boiling by giving us an outlet for our fears and anxieties.
At this time in our nations history, we need a Gerry Ryan. We will always require a Gerry Ryan, someone who allows us to use them as a conduit for our own thoughts and fears.
There will be more to follow, more deaths to stop us in our tracks. Yet that in itself is life. We stop and remember and then we just pick up the slack and go again
For those of us a little older, then JF Kennedy may have been the first. Then for some it was Princess Diana and now it’s Gerry Ryan. That “where were you moment?” where were you when you heard they were dead?
There have been many more who have died and have been remembered. The first person outside of family that I can remember dying was Elvis Presley I was 6 years old it was August 1977 I was playing football on a Dublin estate and one of the lads told me Elvis was dead. I ran home through the front door and asked my ma if it was true, because to a 6 year old your ma was your oracle, your window on the world, your worldwide web. My mother was my www.
I remember Elvis and where I was. Elvis was followed by Indira Ghandi, Princess Diana and now Gerry Ryan. I know Indira Ghandi is a strange one, but so was breakfast Television in the 1980’s
I know where I was because they had an impact on me. They actually stopped me in my tracks and gave me cause to contemplate their lives.
We all die, but outside or our nearest and dearest, the death of few have a real effect on us.
My latest is Mr Gerry Ryan. It’s not that I really listened every day or for that matter every year, it’s just that he always seemed to be there, doling out advice but also spending much time in listening to the nation. Yes he seemed to be the nations barometer. He took our temperature on a daily basis. I like to see him as the “calpol” of the nation. He kept us from over boiling by giving us an outlet for our fears and anxieties.
At this time in our nations history, we need a Gerry Ryan. We will always require a Gerry Ryan, someone who allows us to use them as a conduit for our own thoughts and fears.
There will be more to follow, more deaths to stop us in our tracks. Yet that in itself is life. We stop and remember and then we just pick up the slack and go again
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Let's Rock the Boat
It hasn’t rained for nearly two weeks now, there is warmth in the sun and the National League is coming to an end.
This must mean that summer is here, and that means Championship football
It’s the time where all counties dream of success, for some it would be to win a Championship game for others it would be to make a Provincial final for others nothing but winning a Provincial Final would do
And then there’s the “big boys” where nothing short of All Ireland success would deem there seasons a failure.
I should be exited, and I suppose I am in a weird sort of way, but I am also apprehensive. It seems that the internal wrangling between counties shows no signs of abating
This week Westmeath lost their manager Brendan Hackett and a Championship ball had not been kicked in Anger, Limerick hurlers are at their lowest ebb having been relegated by Dublin to Division 2 of the National League and beaten by a cricket score into the bargain
Over the last few years it seems that most counties have had their managerial problems
“Player Power” has reared its ugly head and I am sure that the powers that be in Croke Park wish that players would just turn up and play and stop “rocking the boat”
I on the other hand hope that they continue to turn up to play but continue to “rock the boat”.
I want them to rock the boat until it capsizes. I want the Lifeboats to be launched and lifejackets issued and inflated; because the issue of so called “player power” needs to be addressed
The management and head honcho’s in Croke Park are wondering what all the fuss is about. Why can’t the players just train and play and leave the running of the association to us
Well the news the players have for the hierarchy is “without the players we don’t have a GAA and all you so called leaders would be without a job, and in many cases without an income, so think on.
We all know that some players want to be paid, and others don’t, but what they all want is to be treated fairly – treated as equals not just as a means to an end for ambitious club or county administrators
A county player will give up at least 10 months of their year to their respective county, training up to four times a week, playing once or twice a week, competing with their clubs.
These players are roll models for the youth of their community. They also have work and family commitments that take second place behind their sports for most of the year, and yet some feel that they receive very little back in return
Now I hear you say that “Nobody has forced them to play” and this is correct, but they are playing and giving their best and they feel that to achieve the best results possible they need to have a say in how their counties are managed.
Is this too much to ask?
Now I feel that the “Player Power” issue could be settled once and for all and consigned to the history books with one stroke of a pen. Now wait for it some of you are going to find what I am about to say very distressing indeed, others may need to sit down, take the weight off and pour yourself a stiff drink
Are you ready?
“PAY THE PLAYERS”
Intercounty hurlers and footballers should be paid hard cash for the efforts that they put in. The money in turn will increase their personal well-being and reduce the need for players to demand extra from their county boards and management
Do we ever hear of rugby players unhappy with their lot, or “League of Ireland” footballers? No we don’t. If they have issues with the way things are done they keep things in house, whereas GAA players feel that the only way that they can exact change is to bring things to a head on a local and national level, and I can only surmise that this in turn makes the GAA look at the least slow to react and the worst backward thinking
It is the summer of 2010 and I really want to look forward to a great championship season. I want the good weather and the cheering crowds and the adulation to go to the people who bring me to Cusack Park, or Park Tailteann or Croke Park, and that is the players.
These supreme athletes lay it all on the line week in week out for the love of the jersey. They should also be laying it on the line for a couple of hundred euros a match.
This must mean that summer is here, and that means Championship football
It’s the time where all counties dream of success, for some it would be to win a Championship game for others it would be to make a Provincial final for others nothing but winning a Provincial Final would do
And then there’s the “big boys” where nothing short of All Ireland success would deem there seasons a failure.
I should be exited, and I suppose I am in a weird sort of way, but I am also apprehensive. It seems that the internal wrangling between counties shows no signs of abating
This week Westmeath lost their manager Brendan Hackett and a Championship ball had not been kicked in Anger, Limerick hurlers are at their lowest ebb having been relegated by Dublin to Division 2 of the National League and beaten by a cricket score into the bargain
Over the last few years it seems that most counties have had their managerial problems
“Player Power” has reared its ugly head and I am sure that the powers that be in Croke Park wish that players would just turn up and play and stop “rocking the boat”
I on the other hand hope that they continue to turn up to play but continue to “rock the boat”.
I want them to rock the boat until it capsizes. I want the Lifeboats to be launched and lifejackets issued and inflated; because the issue of so called “player power” needs to be addressed
The management and head honcho’s in Croke Park are wondering what all the fuss is about. Why can’t the players just train and play and leave the running of the association to us
Well the news the players have for the hierarchy is “without the players we don’t have a GAA and all you so called leaders would be without a job, and in many cases without an income, so think on.
We all know that some players want to be paid, and others don’t, but what they all want is to be treated fairly – treated as equals not just as a means to an end for ambitious club or county administrators
A county player will give up at least 10 months of their year to their respective county, training up to four times a week, playing once or twice a week, competing with their clubs.
These players are roll models for the youth of their community. They also have work and family commitments that take second place behind their sports for most of the year, and yet some feel that they receive very little back in return
Now I hear you say that “Nobody has forced them to play” and this is correct, but they are playing and giving their best and they feel that to achieve the best results possible they need to have a say in how their counties are managed.
Is this too much to ask?
Now I feel that the “Player Power” issue could be settled once and for all and consigned to the history books with one stroke of a pen. Now wait for it some of you are going to find what I am about to say very distressing indeed, others may need to sit down, take the weight off and pour yourself a stiff drink
Are you ready?
“PAY THE PLAYERS”
Intercounty hurlers and footballers should be paid hard cash for the efforts that they put in. The money in turn will increase their personal well-being and reduce the need for players to demand extra from their county boards and management
Do we ever hear of rugby players unhappy with their lot, or “League of Ireland” footballers? No we don’t. If they have issues with the way things are done they keep things in house, whereas GAA players feel that the only way that they can exact change is to bring things to a head on a local and national level, and I can only surmise that this in turn makes the GAA look at the least slow to react and the worst backward thinking
It is the summer of 2010 and I really want to look forward to a great championship season. I want the good weather and the cheering crowds and the adulation to go to the people who bring me to Cusack Park, or Park Tailteann or Croke Park, and that is the players.
These supreme athletes lay it all on the line week in week out for the love of the jersey. They should also be laying it on the line for a couple of hundred euros a match.
Friday, January 22, 2010
"The Conversation"
The following conversation, or one very like it will be held the length and breadth of the country this weekend. People will as usual discuss the “State of The Nation” and as always will come to very similar conclusions.
Political conversations are not banned from pubs because they may cause arguments. They are banned because they leave the participants depressed and unable to finish their drinks.
Mick and Tommy are down the pub on Friday night. There they sit at the bar with a couple of pints in front of them. The conversation goes as follows
Tommy: So Mick what do you think of this inquiry into the failure of the banking system?
Mick: Well Tommy let me tell you this, you can guarantee that lots of taxpayer’s money will be spent and at the end of it nobody will be held accountable. Nobody will lose their jobs, or have their pensions touched. It will be a whitewash.
Tommy: You know what Mick; I think I have to agree with you there.
Mick: The government have said that they are going to follow the style of the “Murphy Report” because that was a huge success in getting to the bottom of the clerical abuse problem, and it will cost less money
Tommy: That’s right. They are going to meet behind closed doors and the report will be issued before anyone has the right to reply. I wonder will they just take a sample count of the perpetrators just like the Murphy report did?
Mick: As I said at the start Tommy nobody will be held accountable, we as a nation will be out of pocket and nothing will change within the banking sector.
Tommy: Do you think the report will be made public before the next General Election?
Mick: Tommy, are you being serious, there is more chance of getting a yes or no answer from a politician than there is of this report being published before the election.
Tommy: Will you have another pint Mick?
Mick: I will Tommy, sure “a bird never flew on one wing” now did he.
Tommy: So how’s the family Mick?
You see this is the general public talking. The very same people who placed the T.D’s in power.
I hope they can make it down to their very own local’s this weekend. They will be helping the economy by spending money that they can claim back on un vouched expenses and also listening to common sense spoken by their electorate.
Maybe we should make it compulsory that once a month the local T.D has to go down to their local hostelry and actually listen to the very people who put them into power.
We live in hope.
Political conversations are not banned from pubs because they may cause arguments. They are banned because they leave the participants depressed and unable to finish their drinks.
Mick and Tommy are down the pub on Friday night. There they sit at the bar with a couple of pints in front of them. The conversation goes as follows
Tommy: So Mick what do you think of this inquiry into the failure of the banking system?
Mick: Well Tommy let me tell you this, you can guarantee that lots of taxpayer’s money will be spent and at the end of it nobody will be held accountable. Nobody will lose their jobs, or have their pensions touched. It will be a whitewash.
Tommy: You know what Mick; I think I have to agree with you there.
Mick: The government have said that they are going to follow the style of the “Murphy Report” because that was a huge success in getting to the bottom of the clerical abuse problem, and it will cost less money
Tommy: That’s right. They are going to meet behind closed doors and the report will be issued before anyone has the right to reply. I wonder will they just take a sample count of the perpetrators just like the Murphy report did?
Mick: As I said at the start Tommy nobody will be held accountable, we as a nation will be out of pocket and nothing will change within the banking sector.
Tommy: Do you think the report will be made public before the next General Election?
Mick: Tommy, are you being serious, there is more chance of getting a yes or no answer from a politician than there is of this report being published before the election.
Tommy: Will you have another pint Mick?
Mick: I will Tommy, sure “a bird never flew on one wing” now did he.
Tommy: So how’s the family Mick?
You see this is the general public talking. The very same people who placed the T.D’s in power.
I hope they can make it down to their very own local’s this weekend. They will be helping the economy by spending money that they can claim back on un vouched expenses and also listening to common sense spoken by their electorate.
Maybe we should make it compulsory that once a month the local T.D has to go down to their local hostelry and actually listen to the very people who put them into power.
We live in hope.
Monday, January 4, 2010
2010 - Happy New Year
Athlone has been hit badly by the recent floods and now its freezing cold but believe it or not I’m exited
I’m looking forward to the New Year
My New Year resolution is to have a positive attitude for the coming year.
I will not allow myself to be negative in 2010
The government can throw whatever they want at me and I will still keep a smile on my face.
The travails of 2009 have thought me a great lesson. You have to look after yourself and your family and this is what I will be doing. I will build a little bubble around ourselves and we will succeed.
As a nation we have a great opportunity now to stick together. We all know that times are tough, but the simple things in life can get us through
The joy and wonder on a child’s face as they open their Christmas presents.
The support of family and friends.
The sunrise in the morning.
A smile here and a laugh there.
We live in a great country that just needs a little help to get it back up from its knees
There is no harm in looking back to find a way forward. We have been through recessions before and we can come out the other end a little wiser.
I just want to let you know that I am ready, confident and keen to make this the best year ever.
We are all lucky in different ways; sometimes you just need to have it spelled out for you.
So the year had begun. What are you going to make of it? Will you grab it by the scruff of the neck and give it a shake? Or will you sit idly by and allow things to happen around you?
As I said I’m exited. I’m going to smile more at people. I’m going to make an effort to get to know new people; I’m going to learn new skills. I’m going to progress.
It’s all out there for us we just have to go and get it. I know barriers are sometimes placed in our way, but nothing that can’t be overcome.
If anyone sees me being miserable in 2010 you have my permission to issue me with a rebuke.
The New Year is here whether we like it or not, now we just have to go and make the most of it.
Good Luck
I’m looking forward to the New Year
My New Year resolution is to have a positive attitude for the coming year.
I will not allow myself to be negative in 2010
The government can throw whatever they want at me and I will still keep a smile on my face.
The travails of 2009 have thought me a great lesson. You have to look after yourself and your family and this is what I will be doing. I will build a little bubble around ourselves and we will succeed.
As a nation we have a great opportunity now to stick together. We all know that times are tough, but the simple things in life can get us through
The joy and wonder on a child’s face as they open their Christmas presents.
The support of family and friends.
The sunrise in the morning.
A smile here and a laugh there.
We live in a great country that just needs a little help to get it back up from its knees
There is no harm in looking back to find a way forward. We have been through recessions before and we can come out the other end a little wiser.
I just want to let you know that I am ready, confident and keen to make this the best year ever.
We are all lucky in different ways; sometimes you just need to have it spelled out for you.
So the year had begun. What are you going to make of it? Will you grab it by the scruff of the neck and give it a shake? Or will you sit idly by and allow things to happen around you?
As I said I’m exited. I’m going to smile more at people. I’m going to make an effort to get to know new people; I’m going to learn new skills. I’m going to progress.
It’s all out there for us we just have to go and get it. I know barriers are sometimes placed in our way, but nothing that can’t be overcome.
If anyone sees me being miserable in 2010 you have my permission to issue me with a rebuke.
The New Year is here whether we like it or not, now we just have to go and make the most of it.
Good Luck
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
"Fairytale Of Athlone"
“Fairytale of Athlone”
Once upon a time there was a 38-year-old married man with one child. He spent 6 months of 2009 unemployed. He spent every day searching for jobs, while doing the best for his family.
“Job seekers allowance” paid him and his family 365.00 euros per week. That money was badly needed.
When he had the chance to get back into the workforce he jumped at it. Working again, a reason to rise in the morning and a belief that he could make a difference.
The job paid minimum wage, which meant that he would be 25.00 euros worse off per week. Not a great start but at least he was working, back in the swing of things, back communicating with people, making decisions and making a difference.
He applied for Family Income Support on the 15th October 2009 and was told that there would be a delay of 4-5 weeks before payment would be made as there was a huge increase in the volume of applications for F.I.S
He waited until the 23rd November and rang the social welfare to see how his application was progressing.
He was then told the astonishing news that there would be a further delay of between 5 – 6 weeks before any payments are made.
The employee at the social welfare office did say that the payment would be backdated when it was paid, so that makes it all ok then.
So it will be 2010 before any payment is made. What about Christmas? He screamed, how would he get through Christmas, how will his family get through Christmas.
His son wants Santa to bring him a toy tractor; a bloody toy tractor is all he wants.
What will he get his wife? What will his wife get him? Nothing I’m afraid.
There can be no presents for his nieces and nephews, no presents for his parents or his wife’s parents; it’s just not possible. Friends will just have to be patient.
This is a real person with real human concerns. He is angry, angry at everything, but will refuse to give up. He will continue to fight to re-establish himself. He refuses to go back on social welfare. He prefers to work and give something back to his community
And yes his son will receive his tractor for Christmas. He will make damn sure of that, and he will make sure that it comes with a trailer and is the best tractor that he can afford.
To his friends at the social welfare office he can only ask that every time a claim comes across their desk that they think of the human aspects of each claim. They are not just pieces of paper, there are lives affected by your actions every day of the week.
Try and process one more claim each day, take five minutes less for your lunch break and process one more claim, come in five minutes early and process one more claim. Don’t go on strike and you can process lots more claims.
This recession will not beat this man and not beat his family. 2010 will be a better year full of the ups and downs that every year brings. Here’s hoping for more ups than downs.
Once upon a time there was a 38-year-old married man with one child. He spent 6 months of 2009 unemployed. He spent every day searching for jobs, while doing the best for his family.
“Job seekers allowance” paid him and his family 365.00 euros per week. That money was badly needed.
When he had the chance to get back into the workforce he jumped at it. Working again, a reason to rise in the morning and a belief that he could make a difference.
The job paid minimum wage, which meant that he would be 25.00 euros worse off per week. Not a great start but at least he was working, back in the swing of things, back communicating with people, making decisions and making a difference.
He applied for Family Income Support on the 15th October 2009 and was told that there would be a delay of 4-5 weeks before payment would be made as there was a huge increase in the volume of applications for F.I.S
He waited until the 23rd November and rang the social welfare to see how his application was progressing.
He was then told the astonishing news that there would be a further delay of between 5 – 6 weeks before any payments are made.
The employee at the social welfare office did say that the payment would be backdated when it was paid, so that makes it all ok then.
So it will be 2010 before any payment is made. What about Christmas? He screamed, how would he get through Christmas, how will his family get through Christmas.
His son wants Santa to bring him a toy tractor; a bloody toy tractor is all he wants.
What will he get his wife? What will his wife get him? Nothing I’m afraid.
There can be no presents for his nieces and nephews, no presents for his parents or his wife’s parents; it’s just not possible. Friends will just have to be patient.
This is a real person with real human concerns. He is angry, angry at everything, but will refuse to give up. He will continue to fight to re-establish himself. He refuses to go back on social welfare. He prefers to work and give something back to his community
And yes his son will receive his tractor for Christmas. He will make damn sure of that, and he will make sure that it comes with a trailer and is the best tractor that he can afford.
To his friends at the social welfare office he can only ask that every time a claim comes across their desk that they think of the human aspects of each claim. They are not just pieces of paper, there are lives affected by your actions every day of the week.
Try and process one more claim each day, take five minutes less for your lunch break and process one more claim, come in five minutes early and process one more claim. Don’t go on strike and you can process lots more claims.
This recession will not beat this man and not beat his family. 2010 will be a better year full of the ups and downs that every year brings. Here’s hoping for more ups than downs.
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