Emer and Rory Murphy, official launch of Titanic 100 Cobh 2012

It was on 11th April 1912 that the Titanic left Cobh, its last port of call on its maiden voyage to New York, just three and a half days before it [...]]]>

Emer and Rory Murphy, official launch of Titanic 100 Cobh 2012

It was on 11th April 1912 that the Titanic left Cobh, its last port of call on its maiden voyage to New York, just three and a half days before it was to tragically find its way to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

123 passengers joined her at Cobh and they symbolise Irish emigrants of the time, often poor and on a single ticket to start a new life in another country. They joined a number of irish already on board the Titanic and most were lost on the fateful journey. In total, of the 2,228 passengers and crew members who set sail, only 705 survived.

To commemorate the centenary of the life and legacy of the Titanic, and the people associated with her, Cobh will be hosting a series of events and activities throughout 2012.

The programme will appeal to all ages and includes concerts, lectures, walking tours and memorials, boat trips, exhibitions and more.

All the details about this year’s events at the Titanic 100 Cobh 2010 website.

Jimmy Deenihan, T.D., Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, and Chair of the National Famine Commemoration Committee also announced that President McAleese has accepted an invitation [...]]]> The government has announced the date for this year’s National Famine Commemoration day – now scheduled to take place in Clones County Monaghan on Saturday, 10th September.

Jimmy Deenihan, T.D., Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, and Chair of the National Famine Commemoration Committee also announced that President McAleese has accepted an invitation to lead the official representation:

‘President McAleese’s involvement in this commemorative event shows the deep respect and honour that the Irish nation has for the victims of the great famine. This year’s event promises to be a great success and a fitting tribute to those that perished many years ago but who will not be forgotten.’

The application to hold the commemoration in Clones was made by Clones Community Forum and supported by local historian Brian McDonald, Grace Maloney and the Clogher Historical Society amongst others, with the minister confirming that he felt that the town was particularly suitable as the Great Famine had “impacted starkly” on the area.

The Irish Presidential election takes place in October this year, and the commemoration will be one of the last official ceremonies that Mary McAleese will attend in this role.

Her ongoing engagement with the Irish Diaspora has been a feature during her tenure, and given that probably tens of millions of Irish descent around the world are where they are because of the famine it feels very fitting that she should lead the commemoration.

The week is only halfway through but here’s a couple of videos from the organisers giving [...]]]> The Ireland Reaching Out project launched its first Week Of Welcomes this week, and it looks like it’s going well. Impressions from here are that it appears to be rewarding for all involved and hopefully everyone is enjoying themselves.

The week is only halfway through but here’s a couple of videos from the organisers giving a flavour of things so far…

David McWilliams is obviously still in the stages of introducing the principles behind the project, but hopefully as things progress and the programme expands we’ll get past this initial hurdle. It will also be interesting to hear peoples thoughts once the week is over, how they felt it went, and in a broader sense whether the proactive engagement at a personal level is helping move the relationship to another level.

Once again well done to all the IRO team.

That’s why you’ll occasionally read here about the Hill of Tara, the oil and gas off the west coast, [...]]]> I don’t write much about domestic politics (governments and policies change, and there’s plenty of other sites keeping track and commenting), but when it comes to the nations’ heritage and Irelands natural resources it’s another story.

That’s why you’ll occasionally read here about the Hill of Tara, the oil and gas off the west coast, or threats to other areas of intrinsic interest to Ireland.

This time it’s the turn of Irelands forests and ancient native woodlands.

Out of public gaze it looks like a sell-off of Irelands woods and forests is being manouevered into place, and it’s happening without discussion – public opinion is not invited.

Another step in the process appears to be the ITT (31/1/2011) submitted by Coillte seeking an economic evaluation of the public goods provided by its forest estate. The closing date for submission is 18/2/2011 – a short timescale in itself.

Colm McCarthy’s 2009 An Bord Snip Nua report suggested that the state ‘review the operations of Coillte with a view to realising optimal return through rationalisation, asset disposal and, possibly, privatisation’.

So who appear to be the players..?

The International Forestry Fund : www.forestry-fund.com (live links denied without permission)
Helvetia Wealth A.G.
IFS Asset Managers Ltd.

The International Forestry Fund describes itself as a ‘joint venture between Helvetia Wealth A.G. and IFS Asset Managers Limited’. The Managing Director of IFS also holds a director position with the IFF and the Irish Forestry Fund – the latter whose literature states ‘The International Forestry Fund is attractive to institutional and private investors interested in acquiring forestry assets on a global basis’.

Sinn Fein were quick to pick up on the threat last year, and the Labour Party and Fine Gael have recently ruled out the possible privatisation of the state forestry company.

(Coillte confusingly already considers itself a private limited company despite the fact that the European Court of Justice in Case C-339/00 determined that it is a public enterprise wholly owned and controlled by the State.)

Despite the recent political statements you can’t help feeling there’s no smoke without fire, and hopefully the politicians won’t need to be reminded of their (honourably patriotic) stance after the general election. The Woodland League have been tracking this for quite a while and are running a petition to demonstrate public support – and in their own words are ‘dedicated to restoring the relationship between people and their native woodlands’.

You can sign the petition here (or below) and I would urge you to do so – if the dominoes start to fall it might be public opinion that provides the last bastion of defence.