John Boyle O’Reilly Summer School: September, 2007
Saturday, September 1st, 2007The Flight of the Earls is the subject of this year’s John Boyle O’Reilly Summer School, hosted by The Old Drogheda Society. Speakers will include Dr Patrick Fitzgerald of the Centre for Migration Studies at the Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh, who will speak on “The Flight of the Earls and the Origins of Modern Diasporas”.
Other speakers include Dr John McGurk, Senior Research Fellow in Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool, whose talk will be “The Flight or Escape of the Earls: Why and with what results”. Dr John McCavitt, noted historian and author of the www.theflightoftheearls.net website, will speak on “The Flight of the Earls and County Louth”.
The event takes place on September 9 in the Boyne Valley Hotel.
Visit www.eastmeath.org for more information.
RTE gives details of global All-Ireland broadcasting
Thursday, August 30th, 2007RTE Radio has announced that its All-Ireland Hurling and Football Final coverage will be broadcast to Irish people living abroad in countries across Europe, Africa and the Far East.
In Africa and the Far East, the finals will be on shortwave. Across most of Britain, listeners will get coverage on LongWave 252. Most of Europe can hear the finals on DRM; RTE is broadcasting the finals on DRM for the second year in a row.
Audio coverage will also be available worldwide on www.rte.ie/sport.
The broadcaster notes:
The service is part of RTE’s continued commitment to Irish people overseas, particularly in geographically or technically isolated areas.
The hurling final takes place on 2 September and the football final takes place on 16 September.
See full details of the All-Ireland broadcast on the RTE website.
For more information on RTE’s global coverage visit the broadcaster’s website.
Irish Theatrical Diaspora focuses on Dublin Theatre Festival
Monday, August 20th, 2007The Irish Theatrical Diaspora group will hold its 2007 conference in association with the Dublin Theatre Festival and the Irish Theatre Institute.
The conference will explore the history of the Dublin Theatre Festival in its first five decades, focusing on
- landmark Irish plays first staged at the DTF
- visiting companies and productions from abroad that have influenced Irish theatre practice, and
- Â DTF plays and productions that have highlighted social and political issues of their time.
The conference will be held at Dublin’s Project Arts Centre from 4-5 October.
Irish Theatrical Diaspora’s purpose is to develop and co-ordinate research on the production and reception of Irish drama in its local, national and international contexts. By “Irish drama” is defined as all theatrical performances within the island of Ireland, and any theatrical performances outside the country involving Irish-born personnel or having substantial Irish content.
The group’s previous conferences focused on “Irish Theatre on Tour” (in 2004), “Irish Theatre in England” (2005), and “Irish Theatre in America” (2006). Conference proceedings of all these events have been published or are in process.
Visit the Irish Theatrical Diaspora website.
Agency reports increase in Australia visas
Monday, August 20th, 2007A business that assists would-be migrants to Australia claims that there has been a large jump in the number of workers moving to Australia.
Migration.ie spokesperson Barry Dowling told the Irish Independent, “We deal with about 350 applications a month and we probably deal with about half the market for Australia”. The newspaper reports that the company is dealing with an increasing number of construction workers who are looking for jobs as the industry slows down.
He says that people are leaving for economic and lifestyle reasons. “Most people leaving for Australia are looking for a better standard of living and Australia consistently beats Ireland hands down in terms of both cost and standard of living.”
Australia is actively encouraging immigration to deal with a skills shortage. The recruitment efforts include efforts to attract a wide range of workers, including medical professionals, cooks, hairdressers, accountants and construction workers.
The newspaper also reports that the number of students taking up the J-1 visa has also increased substantially.
“Irish Prisoners Abroad” published by DFA
Monday, August 13th, 2007A report highlighting the status of Irish prisoners abroad has been written by Chris Flood for the Department of Foreign Affairs.
According to “Irish Prisoners Abroad”, there are about 800 Irish prisoners abroad, although Mr Flood recognises that this estimate is likely to be on the low side, as not all prisoners are known to consular officials. Prisoners serving time away from their home countries can be disadvantaged for a variety of reasons, and, the report notes, “their plight sometimes evokes little sympathy among some sections of the wider community in Ireland”. However, the Irish government has obligations as a result of international law to ensure the consular rights of prisoners.
The report makes a series of recommendations aimed at ensuring prisoner welfare abroad. These include:
- Recognise a need to ensure best international practice
- Establish a new unit within the DFA dedicated to the consular needs of prisoners
- Establish a register of Irish prisoners abroad.
- Ensure that every prisoner have a right to a consular visit at least once a year.
- Embassies should pursue the automatic notification of consular staff.
- The policy dimension of NGOs such as the Irish Commission for Prisoners Overseas should be funded.
- Prisoners should receive an information pack that would include the details of ICPO.
In launching the publication, the Minister said,
“Of course, if Irish people commit crimes abroad, they must face the consequences of their actions before the local criminal justice system. However, we have a responsibility to ensure that our people are not discriminated against as foreign prisoners, and that any concerns they may have regarding their safety or treatment, are brought to the attention of the relevant authorities within the local prison system or the civilian authorities where necessary�.
The Minister pledged to examine the report to see how the Government might improve on current services.
Mr Ahern also announced a grant of €218,000 to the Irish Commission for Prisoners Overseas, paying tribute to the organisation’s work: “The ICPO is a valued partner in the provision of consular assistance to Irish citizens imprisoned abroad and compliments the work of our diplomatic missions”.
Aer Lingus’ Shannon shift means end to repatriation
Friday, August 10th, 2007There has been substantial commentary on the issue of the Aer Lingus decision to end its London Heathrow route out of Shannon. While most of this commentary has focused on the decision’s effect on the industry around Shannon, a small amount of this commentary has focused on the move’s effect on emigrant travel. One RTE commentator told of a US-based emigrant’s anger at the move, and subsequent pledge to stop using the airline.
There is another dimension, however, as pointed out by Fr Tom Ryan, as quoted in the Irish Times. Fr Ryan told the newspaper that the end of the service will mean that the bodies of Irish people who die in Europe and the UK will no longer be repatriated through Shannon. Families in the West will now need to travel to Dublin or Cork to receive the bodies.
Fr Ryan said, “The dead don’t have a voice and this decision to end the Heathrow service will only add to the distress of families at a very vulnerable time where they will have to embark on long journeys to retrieve the bodies.” He adde that he hoped Aer Lingus would reverse its decision.
A Limerick-based funeral director confirmed that the move would have a negative effect.
“The service at Shannon is used greatly as Heathrow was the hub for all over the world for bodies being repatriated”, said Gerry Griffin. “The emotional impact will be huge for families worried about not being able to bring their loved ones home through Shannon and will only add to the trauma.”
Read the full report in the Irish Times.
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