Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG

Millions of spectators turn out to watch St Patrick’s New York parade

 

Themes of rebuilding and coming together permeate world’s ‘largest and best’ St Patrick’s Day celebration

Even though many weren’t Irish, and even though it wasn’t actually St Patrick’s Day, an estimated two million New Yorkers marched out to line Fifth Avenue this morning to watch the city’s 252nd St Patrick’s Day parade.

 Enda Kenny meets Michael Bloomberg in New York and presents an ‘emigrant’s teapot’

“On the streets of New York since 1762 – the oldest, largest, and best in the world,” is how the parade’s committee sells it, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg echoed this idea during the St Patrick’s Day breakfast he hosted on Saturday to kick off all the Irish-American weekend celebrations.

“This is always the greatest St Patrick’s Day in the world,” said Bloomberg at the Irish coffee filled reception at the landmark Gracie Mansion overlooking Manhattan’s East River high up on

“It’s a time to remember all the Irish who built this city and this country – and to understand how New York is truly a city of immigrants,” the mayor added.

Last year’s parade paid tribute to American veterans. This year, led by about 750 members of the New York State Army National Guard First Battalion 69th Infantry, the themes of rebuilding and coming together permeated from Mr Bloomberg’s morning address into the afternoon crowds.

As part of his current US trip, Taoiseach Enda Kenny – who walked in the parade alongside the United Irish Counties group – also spoke at the mayoral breakfast and emphasized the need for continuing Irish-American immigration and trade: “We’re here to celebrate our national day and who better to do that with than our own all of you,” he said.

Mr Kenny presented Bloomberg with an “emigrant’s teapot” that is housed in the National Museum of Ireland in Mayo, one of the 100 objects featured in a new e-book describing itself as “Ireland’s gift to America” to mark St Patrick’s Day.

Meanwhile, St Patrick’s Cathedral celebrated a St Patrick’s mass this morning presided by Edward Cardinal Egan, Archbishop emeritus, as Cardinal Timothy Dolan remained in Rome following the election of Pope Francis.

Light snow started to sprinkle parade participants and their fans about midday, as the Grand Marshall led his team up from 44th street and past the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The cold was no match for the cheering green-clad crowds and scores of Irish and Irish-American groups.

“I was most looking forward to marching!” Rose of Tralee Nicola McEvoy, who wore a red dress and her crown, told the Irish Times.

The usual suspects followed the green line painted along the parade route on Fifth Avenue, following the footsteps of this year’s grand marshal, Al Smith, great-grandson to the late four-time governor of New York and 1928 Democratic US presidential nominee Al Smith.

“I’m wearing the exact top hat that my great grandfather wore when he himself led this parade 88 years ago,” Mr Smith told The Irish Times.

“I think it’s destined to be a Smith family tradition, every 88 years someone has to do this!” he joked, adding how, with all the preparations, for him the parade started “back in January”.

Representing and celebrating his Irish background – in a rather shameless green coat with a vaguely visible shamrock pattern — Smith sheparded scores of the usual suspects doing the exact same thing: Irish dancers, young musicians from Catholic Schools, visiting Irish artists and singers, New York City Council members, and just about every Hiberno-group imaginable.

The New York City St Patrick’s Day parade marched for the first time in 1762, 14 years before the Declaration of Independence was signed in Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

Lots of reasons to love Ireland despite recession

 

Despite the rain, recession and repression – we remain proud of our wee country.

And here they are

1. Because we can find hope in bleak theatre . One of the best things about Ireland in recent years has also been the willingness to look honestly and unflinchingly at the (very) dark side of Irish life. How can you exorcise demons if you don’t acknowledge their existence? Ireland has become infinitely better at telling the truth about itself. Artists have been crucial to this process and none more so than Louise Lowe. The continuing Monto Cycle she has created with her collaborators in ANU Productions is brutal, confrontational and deeply uncomfortable in the way it explores the history of what was once Dublin’s notorious red-light district. How could the excavation of prostitution, Magdalene laundries, a drug epidemic and sexual violence be one of the good things about Ireland? Because it is brave, serious and superbly done, making for some of the best site-specific theatre anywhere in the world.

2. Because we have style. Our stylists, fashion and costume designers are some of the best around, and we’re pretty good at mixing old-school materials of wool, tweed and leathers with contemporary pieces. While an over-reliance on the high street, along with weird copycat uniforms among certain tribes, thwarts general style on occasion, there’s an improvised individualism here, an off-the-cuff way we wear contemporary fashion. The key to style is not caring, and we’re pretty good at being blasé.

3. Because of the Dublin Bikes scheme. It makes getting around the city easier than ever, and not just for tourists. It seems that so many improvements in infrastructure are made with tourism in mind, but for once we have a scheme that puts the residents first. With a €10 annual subscription and a pair of legs, the city opens itself up for exploring. Where previously, north and south were a day’s work each, now you can go from Portobello to Mountjoy Square and back again in less time than it would take to hop on a bus. Fresh air, exercise and feelings of smugness are the icing on the cake.

4. Because of our conversation . Whenever I am somewhere else – and I am not just talking about China, where I’m living for a year – I miss the simplicity of conversation that we have in Ireland.

5. Because we have our own superheroes now. We once relied on the Americans to invent Celtic-themed superheroes for us (Marvel Comics’ Shamrock is just one terrible example). More recently, however, Rob Curley cultivated a homegrown pantheon of mythically themed Irish superheroes called the League of Volunteers. Ireland also has some excellent offbeat comic-book creators such as Philip Barrett, Paddy Lynch, Cathal Duggan and Garret Shanley. You can find out about more of them by catching up with Liam Geraghty and Craig O’Connor’s Comic Cast podcasts at comiccast.com.

6. Because we have real heroes. People such as Andrew Madden, Dr Christine Buckley, Marie Collins, Michael O’Brien, Colm O’Gorman and, latterly, the Magdalene women, all of whom overcame decades of neglect, abuse, pain, and stigma to force the rest of us to look at what we were and might still be. But what they are most to be admired for is how, from such early privation, all have built successful lives for themselves and their loved ones.

7. Because our roads are safer than at any time since the advent mass motoring. Even during the very worst years of the Northern conflict, you were far more likely to die or to be seriously injured in a car crash than from the effects of political violence. In the early 1970s, 600 people a year were losing their lives on Irish roads: an annual massacre that was largely avoidable but attracted nothing like the attention devoted to the Troubles.

Despite the far higher numbers of people driving today compared with the 1970s, 161 people died from crashes in the Republic last year: the seventh consecutive year in which the numbers fell. Of course, that’s 161 too many. But Ireland is now Europe’s sixth-safest place to drive, a vast improvement on past decades. You can reasonably conclude that there are hundreds of people walking around today whose lives were saved last year alone.

This should put our economic problems in some perspective. The breakthrough was a combined result of decisions deliberately taken by governments, State agencies, volunteer groups, the Garda, and individuals, all of whom can share the credit.

8. Because we’re bringing our own bottle s. “It takes the sting out of a night out,” says Marianne Delaney, owner of Café Gusto on Washington Street in Cork, which joined the BYOB recession-friendly trend three years ago. With a meal costing no more than €10 per head, Delaney’s place – “Mediterranean with a sprinkle of local passion” – attracts “people who like to spend less but socialise more, often over food and wine”. Try also: Rigby’s, Upper Leeson Street, Dublin; Galway Arts Centre; the Leisureplex centres in Dublin.

9. Because of the hope, fun and empathy of our young. I see the world through my teenage daughters, and they see Irish society positively, in a way that my generation didn’t. They see the challenges of modern Irish life stoically – unemployment, emigration, trying to gain further education. … What gives me hope in the work I do is watching how young people embrace life and find joy easily. They are open, they hug each other, sexuality is not an issue or barrier to life. People in their 20s are living life with a value system that has a strong and wonderful empathy.

10. Because you can take a wheelchair on to the beach. Until two summers ago, wheelchair users were not able to enjoy the beautiful beach in Kilkee, west Clare, as the vehicles are not designed for sand. Unless it’s a Deming De-Bug All Terrain BeachWheelchair, which looks like a cross between a noon buggy and four-wheeled ball-barrow.

The community wanted to support a project that was focused on changing perceptions around disability, and found the Deming wheelchair on the internet. This will be the third summer the wheelchair will be freely available on Kilkee beach. It offers a way of experiencing the pleasure of being on the beach in a way so many able-bodied people take for granted.

11. Because Ireland at the moment has a potential for greatness. “That possibility is there despite all its problems, foreboding and economic difficulties. There is still a residue of possibility. People feel part of something here, even if it is part of a problem. Most other nationalities don’t really feel that sense of home that we do. We are coming to terms with lots of issues in Ireland but I don’t know anybody that didn’t love being in Ireland, if only for a visit.

12. Because of the bond we have with horses. Even the most unhorsey of Irish people have shown sympathy for the major victims of the horsemeat crisis: horses. The scandal has also finally alerted Government, authorities and the breeders to the ramifications of the indiscriminate pre-recession breeding that caused the surplus of horses in the first place. The Irish horse enhances Ireland’s international image; this vulnerable beast may now earn some much deserved respect and better standards of welfare.

13. Because of our cloudscapes. Okay, so they might dump large amounts of water on us – 141 millimetres so far this year if you live in Dublin; a whopping 353 if you’re a Valentia islander – but with their kaleidoscope of moods and textures, from wispy to whimsical, scuddy to scary, Irish skies are a cloud-spotter’s paradise.

14. Because we have rediscovered the run of ourselves. We are chastened, and nicer, since the recession has blunted the coarseness of the Celtic Tiger. Many of us are poorer, and angrier at the unfairness of a debt not of our making being foisted upon us and our children. But maybe we’re more considerate of others too, with a renewed appreciation of what’s important in life.

15. Because we can build beautiful modern neighbourhoods. The most depressing images of recent years have been of ghost estates, derelict building and empty apartment complexes. It’s even more frustrating when brilliant examples of modern neighbourhoods are sited next to the dingy ones.

The Grand Canal Dock area is an example of what can happen when architecture, planning, and a proper mix of business, leisure, entertainment and living space is worked out properly.

It is Ireland’s finest modern neighbourhood, almost living up to the digital images that preceded it, with rollerbladers leaping off benches, people brunching in waterside cafes and Facebook and Google mirroring each other across the water. Daniel Libeskind’s stunning theatre and Martha Schwartz Partners’ red light sculptures bring colour and style to the square.

There are newer developments too: a neighbourhood warehouse holding parties and installations, and The Marker hotel opening in April. Planners might have screwed up so many developments, but at least they got this one right.

16. Because of our rainbows. They might be as common as chips, but people visit us to see them, and our emigrants miss them. We have ideal conditions: a mixture of sunshine and showers with the sun not too high in the sky, especially in the spring. The farther south you go towards the equator, the rarer they become. To see a rainbow, the sun has to be behind you with the shower in front of you. If the sun is more than 42 degrees above the horizon, no rainbow will be visible, which is why our position in the northern hemisphere is perfect. Double rainbows are common enough, but a rare triple rainbow over Shannon, in Co Clare, last November was remarkable enough for Met Éireann to issue a press release.

17. Because of our Eurovision obsession. You say you’re not going to watch it. You say you haven’t watched it in years and that it’s not the way it used to be, but when May 18th rolls around, you’ll be glued to the Eurovision as well. Don’t feel bad. We all will. Although our Eurovision glory years might be behind us, and this year’s Irish entrant has average odds at 25 to 1 to win, the Eurovision is still one of the country’s annual talking points. Our obsession with the contest is here to stay.

18. Because we are adventurous readers. It is fitting that a literary prize as wideranging and inclusive of foreign-language fiction in translation as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award should have originated here. This year’s shortlist will be announced on April 9th, and it is fairly certain that librarians throughout Ireland have already been ordering many titles from among the 154 nominated books for readers. If the readers are keeping their local libraries busy, it is equally certain that the librarians are keeping their local book clubs well provided with choice. What makes the Irish reader special? He or she is just as likely to be reading a Polish classic, a contemporary German or French title, or the latest big US novel as works by Irish writers, who enjoy a loyal domestic readership.

Irish Banking price war here as PTSB scraps fees

 

Customers can save €120 in charges as pressure grows on BoI and AIB

A PRICE war among banks is set to break out after Permanent TSB said it would scrap charges for customers with current accounts.

The move will put huge pressure on AIB and Bank of Ireland, both of which have put severe charging structures in place that cost the average account holder up to €120 a year, experts said.

Permanent TSB is hoping to attract some of the more than two million customers of the big banks with the move.

And Ulster Bank will now find it difficult to go ahead with its plans to bring in charges for its current account customers, now that Permanent TSB has thrown down a massive challenge to the banking sector, analysts said.

It is the first time a bank has given consumers a break since the financial crisis erupted five years ago.

Both Bank of Ireland and AIB require customers to keep between €2,500 and €3,000 in credit in their current accounts at all times to avoid fees and charges.

In the case of Bank of Ireland, if the balance falls below €3,000 – even for one minute – then charges of up to 30c for every transaction, and fees of €4.50 per quarter apply.

A survey carried out by the European Commission found that Irish current accounts were less transparent than the European average, with more complex pricing structures.

And research carried out by the Central Bank in 2011 found that most people end up paying €120 a year to their bank for operating a current account.

The fees are higher in Ireland for those who avoid going into the red than they are in the UK and the North.

Danske Bank, which was formerly called National Irish Bank, also has fees on its three types of current accounts.

Ulster Bank was forced to delay introducing a charges regime until this summer after its payments system was paralysed by an IT fault last year.

The breakdown affected 600,000 customers.

Permanent TSB has around 200,000 active current account customers and is hoping to ramp this up hugely by poaching customers from the other banks.

At the moment, customers with Permanent TSB have to pay €12 every three months for their current account unless they lodge at least €3,000, make at least 18 card purchases, make at least one online transaction and keep the account within agreed limits.

Prostate Cancer deaths can occur despite first normal PSA result

  

One quarter of all men with an initially normal PSA level will be diagnosed with PCa within 16 years, and many will have incurable disease, researchers reported at the 28th annual European Association of Urology congress. The findings raise questions about whether the currently used screening algorithm has adequate sensitivity, according to researchers.

Maria Frånlund, MD, of Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden, and colleagues studied 2,246 men aged 50-64 years randomized to biennial PSA screening in the Gothenburg Randomized Screening Trial. The men had a total PSA level of 1.0-2.99 ng/mL during an initial screening round in 1995-1996. Men with a total PSA level of 3.0 or higher were recommended for prostate biopsy. The last date o follow-up was December 31, 2011.

After a median follow-up of nearly 16 years, PCa was diagnosed in 524 men (cumulative detection rate of 26.8%), Dr. Frånlund told attendees. The mean age at diagnosis was 65.8 years. Of these, 201 had low-risk disease (cumulative detect rate of 10.9%). The mean age of these men was 67.6 years. Incurable PCa developed in 61 men with a mean age of 70 years (cumulative detection rate of 3.6%). Fifteen of these patients died from PCa. Only one third of patients with incurable cancers had a low initial free-to-total (F/T) PSA ratio. Of 42 men who had a total PSA level of 1.00-1.99 in the first screening round, 12 later died from PCa.

In addition, Dr. Frånlund said the F/T PSA ratio at baseline seems to have limited value in predicting who will develop incurable PCa.

The researchers defined low-risk cancer as stage T1, not N1 or M1; a Gleason score of 6 or less; and a total PSA level below 10. They defined incurable PCa as either histologic or radiologic evidence of metastases, death from PCa, initiation of hormonal treatment or relapse after curative treatment.

Cites conference finish in Bangkok on planet’s endangered species

 

DELEGATES FROM 170 COUNTRIES PASSED PROPOSALS UPGRADING PROTECTION FOR MORE THAN 50 SPECIES, BUT CRITICS WARN THAT LOOPHOLES ALLOWING TRADE IN SOME CRITICALLY ENDANGERED SPECIES REMAIN UNCLOSED

The Cites conference wrapped up in Bangkok on Thursday with opinions sharply divided on what advances the meeting made to protect the planet’s endangered species. What progress the host country has made in this regard was also a subject of intense debate.

John Scanlon, secretary-general of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), was effusive in his assessment in his closing statements.

”It is a historical moment in which we have shared one voice to fight against illegal poaching of elephants and rhinos. We have agreed on deploying resources of technology, financing and better intelligence to overcome organised crime.”

Steven Galster, director of anti-wildlife trafficking group Freeland, disagreed, saying the meeting came up with little to protect and preserve wildlife. Instead, he said, the conference became a venue for promoting the legal trade of tigers, elephant and rhinos.

The Cites conference was successful in providing protection for certain threatened species such as sharks and Thai rosewood, while it failed to strengthen protective measures for other species. For example, the proposal to move polar bears to the Cites’ Appendix I list failed. The list comprises the most critically endangered species, for which trading is banned except, in some circumstances, for animals raised in captivity. Polar bears are now under Appendix II, which includes species that are not necessarily threatened with extinction, but may become so unless trade is closely monitored. Some hunting of polar bears is allowed by indigenous groups. In Canada an estimated 600 polar bears are killed annually. Polar bear skins can fetch US$12,000 (355,000 baht) or more, and throughout the Arctic, global warming is shrinking their natural habitat.

In all, 65 proposals to place species under specific Cites appendices were considered. A total of 55 were passed and 10 rejected. The conference unanimously agreed to improve trade controls on hundreds of new timber species, along with several tortoises and turtles and a range of plants and animals, including manta rays and five shark species.

The meeting, which began on March 3, was attended by more than 2,000 delegates from 170 countries.

ON THE HORNS OF IVORY DILEMMA

Even before the conference began, the illegal trade of African ivory and its devastating effect on African elephants took centre stage in Bangkok. Thailand has long been criticised for allowing the trade of ivory from domestic elephants in certain circumstances.

Critics call this a loophole that allows the illegal ivory trade to flourish. Before the conference a global petition calling on Thailand to abolish the ivory trade was presented to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Ms Yingluck responded by promising delegates at the conference’s opening on March 3 that the ivory trade would be abolished in Thailand. However, critics point out that no timeline has been established to pass the necessary laws to do so, and until the laws are passed and enforced, the trade will likely continue in Thailand.

STILL VULNERABLE: Inuit hunters skin a polar bear at Frobisher Bay in Canada’s Northwest Territories. A proposal to to increase protection of the bears failed.

Theerapat Prayurasiddhi, deputy director-general of the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department said he would submit an action plan regulating the domestic ivory trade to the Cites standing committee. On Thursday, he told Spectrum that international concern over the issue is welcome. However, he said, Thailand has long attempted to explain to the international community its efforts to solve the problem of illegal trade in ivory and wildlife.

”In reality, the Thai government has continuously suppressed the illegal ivory trade, and it is not because Cites or any NGOs force us to do so. It is a global problem which needs a collaborative effort.

”We do understand the concerns and are willing to take any suggestion into consideration,” he said.

However, the Cites standing committee is not budging from its demand for an immediate ban of the ivory trade. During the meeting, the committee said a ”Gang of Eight” countries – Thailand, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and China – must completely stop trading in ivory or face severe sanctions.

Senior Cites official Tom de Meulenaer said the eight countries must implement targeted, precise and measurable steps to stop the ivory trade within a year or be subject to stiff sanctions in trade in all flora and fauna, including in some species which are a significant source of revenue for Thailand.

Tom Milliken, head of the Elephant Trade Information System, said at the Cites summit that his organisation has found that the eight countries have been major players in the ivory trade for over a decade.

Meanwhile, Patrick Omondi, senior assistant director of Wildlife Service in Kenya, said that these countries are making it difficult to crack down on elephant poaching in Africa.

”Without a demand reduction, we are not going to win this war,” he said.

Mr Theerapat said: ”We have to do it from both sides. Reducing the supply will in one way or another affect the demand as well.”

Thailand is obliged to do a regular survey of shops selling ivory products and also survey the number of tusked elephants at elephant parks, to help guarantee that Asian ones in the wild are not being hunted for ivory. A report will be made to the Cites standing committee within two months’ time for consideration before any further action.

THAI MOTIONS

Thailand submitted proposals to move two native species – the saltwater crocodile and the Siamese crocodile – from Appendix I to Appendix II on the grounds that over several decades, successful breeding programmes had reduced the threat facing both species.

At present both crocodile species can be sold commercially if they have been bred in captivity. Both motions were defeated. The motion to relist the Siamese crocodile received more votes and was reopened, but failed again. Both proposals are likely to reappear at the Cites meeting in South Africa in 2016.

”We can provide more information on their population in the wild to the meeting,” said Wimol Jantrarotai, director-general of the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry’s Fisheries Department.

GAUDY GIFTS: A worker cleans the preserved heads of saltwater crocodiles to be sold as souvenirs at a crocodile farm in the southern Philippines.

A Thai proposal to protect phayung, or Siamese rosewood, (Dalbergia cochinchinensis) under Appendix II was more successful.

Conservationists hope the move will help put a stop to the rampant illegal logging of the tree.

Duangdeun Sripotha, a plant researcher for Cites Thailand, said that at present the only Siamese rosewood trees left in the country are in protected forests in the Northeast, and these are rapidly vanishing. In 2005, a survey estimated 300,000 trees were left in the forest. Last year, however, the estimate was slashed to 100,000.

”Inclusion in Appendix II will help reduce smuggling of rosewood outside the country,” said Mr Theerapat said. He added that international trade will be possible once the tree is successfully and legally planted for commercial purpose.

In other developments, the Cites membership voted to restrict the international trade in manta rays and place the fish in Appendix II. Thailand supported this move despite concerns about the negative impact it would have on the local ornamental fish breeding industry.

Three of the four manta ray species listed are popular among Thai breeders, who have traditionally obtained them from South American countries.

Mr Wimol said Thailand would see little if any negative impact from the move, as local breeders no longer needed to import the fish.

Along with manta rays, five shark species _ oceanic whitetip sharks, scalloped hammerhead sharks, great hammerhead sharks, smooth hammerhead sharks and porbeagle sharks _ gained protection under Appendix II.

This move was previously rejected at the Cites conference in Doha in 2010.

Elizabeth Wilson, a manager of Pew Charitable Trusts’ Global Shark Conservation project, called the protections for sharks ”a landmark for this Cites meeting”. A report tabled by the US, which co-sponsored a proposal with Colombia to list the oceanic whitetip shark in Appendix II, says sharks are over-harvested in many parts of the world, primarily for their fins. Most shark fins are exported to Asia for shark fin soup.

Due to their low reproductive rate and high economic value, populations of these species have been devastated. Porbeagle sharks also face pressures due to demand for their meat, while manta rays are over-harvested for their gill plates.

China, as the world ‘s largest consumer of shark, along with Japan, led the effort to reject the shark proposals without success.

”More and more countries understand the problem and now support the sharks proposals,” said Ms Wilson.

It is expected that more shark species, hunted because of the high prices they fetch, will also be protected under Cites. Studies are now being conducted to provide substantial scientific evidence of declining populations before the submission of proposals to include them in Cites appendices.

Cites delegates also looked into measures to protect African rhinoceroses from extinction due to the illegal trade in the animal’s parts, especially the horn. Vietnam is alleged to be a major driver in the demand for rhino horn.

Allen Thornton, president of the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), a non-profit conservation group based in Washington DC, told a sideline meeting that Vietnamese politicians and diplomats were involved in the illegal trade.

A total of 146 African rhinoceroses are known to have been killed since the beginning of this year, 107 of them in South Africa’s Kruger National Park. In 2010, a total of 333 rhino were poached, 448 in 2011, and 668 in 2012. In 1977, Cites included all rhino subspecies in Appendix I. However, the southern white rhino population of South Africa was downlisted to Appendix II in 1994, as was the southern white rhino population of Swaziland in 2004.

The EIA urged the Vietnamese government to enforce strict laws on the illegal trade of rhino horn.

According to an EIA report, in the past 10 years Vietnam has become the world’s largest importer of rhino horns from South Africa and studies indicate that Vietnam is not adequately enforcing its Cites obligations to monitor the import of rhino horn. The Vietnamese government denied the allegations saying that a lack of seizures by authorities indicates that the illegal trade in rhino horn is decreasing.